Paying fulsome tributes, the University of Oxford on Wednesday honoured Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi by presenting her with an honorary doctorate in Civil Law in a traditional ceremony telecast live.
Conducted in Latin, the ceremony called Encaenia honoured eight distinguished individuals, including Suu Kyi, who was described by the Chancellor as “star shining in the east, the light of her countrymen”.
The oration for Suu Kyi, 67, in Latin hailed her achievements and welcomed her back to Oxford where she studied, married and lived for several years, before returning to Myanmar to care for her ailing mother in 1988, never to return, until yesterday.
The oration said: “There is little need of words; for today the line of honorands is led by one whose presence among us speaks more eloquently than any language. We honour her with trumpets, procession and applause, but all this magnificence would mean nothing were it not the outward expression of the hope and admiration deep within us”.
Admitting her to the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law, the chancellor described her as “unbowed champion of liberty, who have given your people and the whole world an example of courage and endurance”.
Suu Kyi smiled as she received the degree while hundreds applauded.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels | Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks