“Use your freedom…”
BEST welcomed the awarding of “Freedom of the City of Edinburgh’ award to Aung San Suu Kyi, which the City Council unanimously agreed, having lobbied for just this solidarity action through BEST trustee’s personal, political and professional networks whilst in Asia.
 There is much to be done to raise public awareness in support of Burmese democracy; for reconciliation and education – and to raise money, you first have to raise awareness.
One exciting thing has been, that in bestowing this honour, the City of Edinburgh Council sees this as the start of a process of engagement – not an end in itself – committing funds from the Jean Watson Trust to commission a striking portrait of Suu Kyi made up of a collage of other Burmese Political Prisoners by Scots artist David Mach for the city’s art collection in 2006.
The Council wants to raise public awareness about Burma and supported BEST, Amnesty International and the Burma Campaign UK to make Edinburgh a focus for the international campaign to free Aung San Suu Kyi and the 1300 other Burmese political prisoners imprisoned by the junta, whose only crime is their commitment to democracy and human rights in Burma by non-violent means.
Work with Scottish academic institutions is being developed by BEST to look at new and innovative ways to support continuing education, such as at Newbattle Abbey College and St Andrew’s University.
Edinburgh primary school, Forthview received special commendation in the 2006 Standard Life Achievement awards for its work building an ongoing link with a refugee/migrant worker school on the Burma/Thai border and has received support to develop this further through DfID’s Global Schools Partnership in 2007. In conferring the ‘Freedom of the City’ award BEST, Amnesty International and the Council hoped to heed the plea of Aung San Suu Kyi herself to the international community, when she says: “Please use your freedom to promote ours”
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