Gandhi Peace Award bestowed on Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar' democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was Monday honored with the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation.

Burmese PM-in-exile Thien Win received the award at a ceremony in the South African city of Durban.

The top peace award named after Mahatma Gandhi, according to the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation in South Africa, was bestowed to Suu Kyi for her struggle for peace and justice despite being in detention for nearly two decades.

"She is a non-violent leader in the mould of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. The award is in recognition of her strong commitment to non-violence, justice and peace," said Paddy Kearney, a trustee of the Foundation

Also known as the MAGI Award, the prize was created in 2003 to mark the centenary of a newspaper, Indian Opinion, published in South Africa by Mahatma Gandhi.

The award is bestowed upon people who have committed to non-violence, peace and justice.

Suu Kyi, who has previously received more than 80 international awards, including Nobel Peace Prize, is currently facing charges of violating her house arrest.

The human rights activist has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention for opposing the Burmese military regime and demanding a democratic rule.

Recently, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, called on the United Nations Security Council to take immediate action to secure the release of Suu Kyi.

The call coinciding with the democracy leader's 64th birthday (June 19) also demanded the release of all political prisoners and an end to the Burma Army's offensive against civilians in the east of the country.

Suu Kyi's "unjust detention violates international law, and the continued imprisonment of over 2,100 activists is a scandal," said CSW's East Asia Team Leader, Benedict Rogers.

The gross violations of human rights in Burma, particularly against the Karen people, including the use of rape, forced displacement, destruction of villages, torture, forced labour and extra-judicial killing must be addressed, he said.