A chara, - On March 18th 2000, the Lord Mayor of Dublin conferred the Freedom of the City of Dublin on the Burmese freedom leader Aung San Suu Kyi. I would be very interested to hear what the recipient's thoughts are on Dublin Corporation's recent proposal to twin the capital with Beijing, as it would appear that, once again, economic interests have overshadowed any real interest in the promotion and protection of human rights.
Attitudes have changed over the years in Dublin (and not always for the better - just ask any one of the victims of racist assault on our streets, or asylum seekers queuing in the rain outside the Department of Justice, or travellers, or the homeless. . .) However, many fledgling democracies and economies are looking to us for guidance and to understand the secrets of our success. Never before have we held such a prominent position on the world stage. We should now be doing our utmost to ensure we don't fall off!
Last year the Lord Mayor said: "In honouring Suu Kyi today we are acknowledging the personal sacrifices this brave woman has made for the people of Burma and highlighting the unacceptable human rights violations being carried out by the military regime there." Let us hope Dublin Corporation's future actions do nothing to take away from this well-deserved accolade and that the awards our fair 'auld city hands out in the future continue to have some real meaning. - Is mise,
Jaime McKeown, Salcott Road, London SW11.