Feinstein, McConnell want Congressional Gold Medal for Burmese freedom fighter

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced Tuesday that they plan to introduce legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

{mosads}The House passed companion legislation earlier this month. Awarding Aung San Suu Kyi the medal would get Congress involved in the turmoil Burma experienced earlier this year when the military regime suppressed the protests led by the country’s monks.

“Aung San Suu Kyi is a woman of unrivaled courage,” said Feinstein, who called the Burmese Nobel laureate “an unrelenting force for change.”

“She is devoted to the cause of freedom and democracy in Burma, and she continues to suffer for her views at the hands of the military junta,” Feinstein added.

McConnell called Aung San Suu Kyi a “tireless advocate for the rights and welfare of the Burmese people” who “continues to sacrifice much in the struggle for democracy in her country.”