Suu Kyi awarded Congressional Gold Medal

WASHINGTON, May 6 (UPI) -- Myanmar pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi has been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor awarded in the United States.

President George Bush signed into law H.R. 4286 Tuesday, calling it "a fitting tribute to a courageous woman who speaks for freedom for all the people of Burma, and who speaks in such a way that she's a powerful voice in contrast to the junta that currently rules the country."

Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for a dozen years.

Bush used the signing ceremony to urge Myanmar's military junta to accept international assistance in dealing with the devastating cyclone that killed tens of thousands of people.

The United States is prepared to mobilize naval equipment to help locate the dead and find the missing, Bush said. All that's necessary is the military junta's OK to allow U.S. disaster assessment teams into the country.

"So our message is to the military rulers: Let the United States come to help you, help the people," he said. "Our hearts go out to the people of Burma."