Suu Kyi: Havel refused Nobel prize

Speaking at the opening of the Forum 2000 conference on Sunday Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyii paid tribute to the late Czech president Vaclav Havel saying he had refused a 1991 nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize and proposed her for the honour instead. In her speech, she voiced thanks for the support the late Mr Havel expressed for the Burmese opposition at the time of the rule of the military junta in the country, saying he had maintained in the Burmese opposition a flame of hope during its darkest period. Although the two never met in person the late Czech president and the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyii were close friends.

On Monday Aung San Suu Kyii was also welcomed at Prague Castle by President Miloš Zeman and will later meet with the country’s Foreign Minister Jan Kohout.