US Senators urged top honours for Suu Kyi

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, both long-time critics of the military government of Burma, put forth the bill with support of 73 other senators from both parites.

Feinstein called Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi "a woman of unrivaled courage and commitment" who offered hope and democracy to Myanmar, formerly called Burma, which has been under military rule of one form or another since 1962.

"This Congressional Gold Medal will not only honor the life and legacy of this remarkable woman, it will also demonstrate to the world that her cause is our cause: a free and democratic Burma," she said in a statement.

The House of Representatives in December passed the Suu Kyi legislation with 400 to 0 vote. The measure now needs to clear a Senate committee before it can be brought before the full Senate floor.

Past recipients of the Gold Medal include Winston Churchill, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and most recently, Tibet's Dalai Lama. Suu Kyi will be the 20th foreign national to receive the award.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide elections in 1990, but the army refused to hand over power and has detained her for most of the time since then.

The measure is supported by Presidential front-runners Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama.

"Thousands of our members across the United States have worked very hard to ensure that this great honor is bestowed on Aung San Suu Kyi," said Aung Din, executive director of the US Campaign for Burma and a former political prisoner in Burma. 

"Aung San Suu Kyi is a giant for human rights and democracy, and we hope this award will strengthen her efforts even further," said Aung Din in a statement released Thurday.

Added Jack Healey, Director of the Human Rights Action Center, "We also want this award to send a strong signal to China.  China has paralyzed United Nations efforts on Burma while providing billions in arms to Burma's military regime.  There should be no 'business as usual' between China and the US as long as China continues to prop up this brutal regime."

The Congressional Gold Medal, launched in 1776, is considered the most prominent award given by the United States government.  The first medal was awarded by the Second Continental Congress to then-General George Washington

during the American Revolutionary War.