Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi has given up her Freedom of the city of Dublin in protest at sharing the distinction with Bono, it has emerged.
She was awarded the status on an honorary basis in 1999, although it was not signed in full until 2012 because she was under house arrest. She has now returned the honour, and said this to the Rochdale Herald on her reasons:
“In all conscience, I cannot accept an honour which I know has been bestowed also on Bono. He is smug, sanctimonious and preachy, and just the thought of being deemed his equal in even the smallest way makes me feel physically ill.”
Singer Bono was given the honour in 2005, although it was awarded for his contributions to the offshore accounting and banking industries rather than his music or charity work.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Suu Kyi went on to say, “I admire what he did in the 1980s, Sunday Bloody Sunday was a great song, he made a difference. But in recent years, he has taken to simply imitating his earlier. The only thing creative about Bono these days is his tax planning.”
