Congressional award for Aung San Suu Kyi

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. Senate leaders called on Congress to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition group in Myanmar.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said they intend to introduce legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Suu Kyi, mirroring similar legislation in the House of Representatives.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is a woman of unrivaled courage," Feinstein said in the daily congressional newspaper The Hill.

McConnell echoed Feinstein's statements saying Suu Kyi was a "tireless advocate for the rights and welfare" of the people in Myanmar.

Suu Kyi is a pro-Democracy advocate who supports nonviolent resistance. She has been given a number of international honors, including the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize, the President Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2000, the Rafto Prize, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought and the Jawaharlal Nehru peace prize.