OTTAWA – Dec. 6, 2006 – The 2006 John Humphrey Freedom Award, one of Canada’s top honours for work in the field of international human rights, will be presented to Burma 's Su Su Nway at a ceremony this evening at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

 

The award, presented annually by Montreal’s Rights & Democracy, will be awarded in absentia to Su Su Nway, who could not travel to Canada. Restrictions put in place by Burma’s repressive military junta mean it is unlikely she would have been able to return to her village and continue her determined campaign against the junta’s use of forced labour.

 

Su Su Nway, 34, came to the world's attention last year for her inspiring individual efforts to see the junta's representatives in her village brought to justice for forcing her and her neighbours to repair a road without pay. Her efforts earned a historic verdict against the military regime's long-standing practice of forced labour. The military replied by accusing her of defamation and sentencing her to 18-months in Insein Prison, a jail infamous for its horrific conditions. Su Su Nway, who suffers from a heart condition, endured nine months in Insein before authorities finally bowed to international pressure and released her in June.

 

Su Su Nway's defiant struggle for human rights and dignity has made her a symbol of resilience and courage to the people of Burma , who now honour her with the title, “Courageous Su Su Nway.”

 

“We will not allow Su Su Nway’s absence to amount to silence,” said Jean-Louis Roy, President of Rights & Democracy. “It is a reminder of both the tenacity of dictatorship and injustice in Burma and the incredible courage of those who keep the struggle for human rights alive inside its borders.”

 

In honour of Su Su Nway, a Rights & Democracy-sponsored seminar on Thursday, Dec. 7, will hear from some of the world’s leading voices on the issue of forced labour and its current practice inside Burma. Participants include Canada’s Kevin Heppner, Executive Director the Thailand-based Karen Human Rights Group, and Cecilia Brighi of the International Labour Organization. The seminar will be followed by the official launch of Parliamentary Friends of Burma, a new association of Canadian MPs concerned about the human rights crisis in Burma. Dr. Sein Win, Prime Minister of Burma’s government-in-exile, will deliver the keynote address.