Suu Kyi stripped of Freedom of City of Oxford award over Rohingya comment

London: Myanmar's State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi has been formally stripped of the Freedom of the City of Oxford award over her response to the Rohingya crisis, the Guardian reported.

The council of Oxford city voted unanimously to permanently remove the honour given to the de facto leader of Myanmar in 1997, saying that it did not want to celebrate "those who turn a blind eye to violence".

Suu Kyi studied as an undergraduate student at the Oxford University, where she was granted the honour in 1997 for her "struggle for democracy".

Meanwhile, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke on Tuesday said the Pope Francis has met army chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Myanmar's powerful army chief told Pope Francis that there was "no religious discrimination" in Myanmar.

In October, Suu Kyi's portrait was removed from public display at the Oxford college.

The governing body of St. Hugh's college decided to remove the painting of the Nobel laureate from its main entrance, days before the start of the university term and the arrival of new students.

Earlier on Saturday, Bangladesh Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would be involved in the repatriation process of Rohingya refugees.

More than 620,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh since the Myanmar security forces launched an operation in Rakhine state in response to alleged attacks by militants on August 25 against 30 police posts and a regimental headquarters.

The Rakhine state is home to Rohingya Muslims, who have long faced persecution in the Buddhist-majority country, especially from the extremists.