Aung San Suu Kyi 'willing to meet Burma's generals'

Ms Suu Kyi said her party was investigating allegations of fraud in the elections

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has told the BBC she is willing to meet its military leaders to help work towards national reconciliation.

A day after her release from house arrest, she said it was time to "sort out our differences across the table".

Ms Suu Kyi also said she intended to listen to what the Burmese people and her international supporters wanted as she planned her next steps.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner has spent 15 of the past 21 years in detention.

World leaders and human rights groups have welcomed her release.

US President Barack Obama said it was "long overdue", while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Ms Suu Kyi was an "inspiration", and urged Burma to free all its remaining 2,200 political prisoners.

The move came six days after Burma held its first elections in 20 years, which was won by the biggest military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), but widely condemned as a sham.

Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won the last election in 1990, but was never allowed to take power. It was disbanded by the military authorities after it decided to boycott last week's polls.

'Not fearful'

In her first interview since being released, Ms Suu Kyi told the BBC's Alastair Leithead in Bangkok by telephone that one of the first things she had to do was "to listen to what the people have to say".

"The only thing is that if you talk to a large crowd, it's difficult to listen to them. You have to do all the talking. But that's not what I want to do.

"I want to listen to what the people want. I want to listen to what the other countries want, what they think they can do for us, what we think then that they could do for us, and to work out something that is acceptable to as many people as possible," she added.

Asked how she would describe her future role, she said: "I just think of myself as one of the workers for democracy. Well, better known, perhaps, than the others here in Burma but one of those working for democracy."

Ms Suu Kyi said she was prepared to hold face-to-face talks with Burma's leader, Senior General Than Shwe, to discuss the opposition's demands and to help launch a process of national reconciliation.

"I think we will have to sort out our differences across the table, talking to each other, agreeing to disagree, or finding out why we disagree and trying to remove the sources of our disagreement," she said.

"There are so many things that we have to talk about."

The NLD was currently investigating allegations of fraud in last week's elections, she said, and would soon publish a report.

"From what I've heard there are many, many questions about the fairness about the election and there are many allegations of vote-rigging and so on."

Ms Suu Kyi said she was not fearful of risking re-arrest by continuing to push for democracy, even though she accepted that it was a possibility.

"I'm not fearful, not in the sense that I think to myself that I won't do this or I won't do that because they'll put me under arrest again. That I don't have in mind," she explained.

"But, I know that there's always the possibility that I might be re-arrested. It's not something that I particularly wish for, because if you're placed under arrest you can't work as much as you can when you're not under arrest."

But she stressed that her situation under house arrest had been much better than that of other political prisoners who are in jail.

Ms Suu Kyi added that, during her time in detention she had never felt alone, partly thanks to the BBC, which kept her in touch with the rest of the world.

Earlier on Sunday, Ms Suu Kyi was mobbed by her supporters as she made her way for the first time since her release from her house to the NLD's offices.

The 65-year-old said freedom of speech was the basis of democracy, but warned a crowd of about 4,000 people in Rangoon that if they wanted change they would have to go about getting it in the right way.

"We must work together," she told them. "We Burmese tend to believe in fate, but if we want change we have to do it ourselves."

Continue reading the main story-Aung San Suu Kyi

* Born 1945, daughter of Burma's independence hero, General Aung San, assassinated in 1947
* 1960: Leaves Burma and is later educated at Oxford University
* 1988: Returns to care for sick mother and is caught up in revolt against then-dictator Ne Win
* 1989: Put under house arrest as Burma junta declares martial law
* 1990: NLD wins election; military disregards result
* 1991: Wins Nobel Peace Prize
* 1995: Released from house arrest, but movements restricted
* 2000: Near continuous period of house arrest begins
* Sept 2007: First public appearance since 2003, greeting protesting Buddhist monks
* November 2010: NLD boycotts first election in 20 years and is disbanded; House arrest ends


Are you in Rangoon? Did you hear Aung San Suu Kyi's speech?

Continue reading the main story
At the scene
A correspondentBBC News, Rangoon

Earlier on Sunday, Aung Sang Suu Kyi had to struggle through the throngs of jubilant supporters to reach the podium where she was supposed to speak. Thousands had gathered to hear her.

They were probably expecting Ms Suu Kyi to make clear what she planned to do now that she was free - in the event she asked for help. She said she could not do it alone, and was "ready to work with all democratic forces" - an appeal perhaps to an opposition bitterly divided over the recent election here to unite once more.

She told the crowd she believed in the rule of human rights and the rule of law and felt no antagonism to those who had kept her detained for much of the past two decades. The basis of democratic freedom, she said, was freedom of speech. But she cautioned that if her supporters wanted to get to where they wanted, they had to do it the right way. "Do not give up hope," she added.

Ms Suu Kyi's words were measured and careful, she will know that the military leaders who rule this country will be scrutinising her every move and today she was careful not to provoke them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11752993

Aung San Suu Kyi Seeks Reconciliation With Military Rulers

Newly freed Burmese democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi is offering an olive branch to the country's military regime that kept her confined for most of the last two decades.

In an exclusive interview with VOA, the 65-year-old Nobel Peace laureate said she and her supporters "are certainly not bent on clashing" with the military rulers. She added, "We hope very much that the regime will understand that clashing is not a solution to Burma's problems."

Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest Saturday and was greeted by thousands of supporters as she emerged from her lakeside home. On Sunday, in a speech at the headquarters of her National League for Democracy party, she said freedom of speech is the cornerstone of democracy.

She said she wants to work with all democratic forces in seeking change in Burma, but that it has to be accomplished in the "right way" through discussions with the military leaders. Otherwise, she said, democratic forces will not be able to achieve their goal, "however noble or correct it may be."

The Nobel laureate told VOA in a telephone interview that she will work to try to persuade the military government that "national reconciliation is in everybody's interest." She said she believes that if both sides are really willing to find a solution, they can find one. She added that they should discuss what is possible and then work on that.
Aung San Suu Kyi Exclusive Interview with VOA Burmese:
Aung San Suu Kyi said she will be calling on governments and people throughout the world to find out how to work together. She said there are many things the international community could do for Burma that are practicable and reasonable. But she did not spell out what she thinks those are.

Despite making an offer to discuss national issues with the military rulers, Aung San Suu Kyi noted there have been many questions raised about the fairness of the Nov. 7 election in Burma. She said her political party has formed a committee to look into the matter and will be issuing a report very soon.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in Burma's national election two decades ago, but the military rulers refused to allow it to take power.

The rulers did not allow international observers to enter Burma to watch the November 7 voting, but there were reports of punishment being meted out to those who voted against the military's political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-Addresses-Supporters-at-Party-Headquarters-107919589.html

Suu Kyi Vows to Renew Push for Change

A day after her release from more than seven years of house arrest, Myanmar prodemocracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi signaled she intends to keep pressing for political change—a mission observers say has been made more difficult by the military junta's tightened grip on power.

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Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi greeted by thousands of cheering supporters, in Yangon, Myanmar, on Sunday.

In a handful of public appearances in Yangon, including a speech before some 5,000 supporters, Ms. Suu Kyi called for talks with the junta's reclusive supreme leader, Gen. Than Shwe, and emphasized the need for "rule of law," the Associated Press reported. She also promised to use "whatever authority I have" to pursue dialogue with the country's generals, who have resisted meeting with her in the past.


Freed Myanmar pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi tells supporters in Yangon she is encouraged to see them. Video courtesy of Reuters.

Ms. Suu Kyi's initial public outings, in a country where gatherings of more than five people are technically illegal, underscored both her widespread popular appeal and the daunting scale of the challenges ahead for her. There was no immediate response from the government on her call for talks.

Her comments also raised questions about how far she will be willing to go to test the regime in the months ahead, given its past record of re-arresting her whenever it feels she poses a threat.

Although Ms. Suu Kyi's remarks on Sunday remained largely conciliatory, they left little doubt she intended to play a political role going forward—something analysts and many residents believe the regime doesn't want to allow.

Ms. Suu Kyi's release on Saturday, on the final day of her latest sentence under the regime, electrified Yangon residents and drew words of encouragement from celebrities and politicians across the globe. Supporters chanted "We love Suu" as she spoke Sunday at the former headquarters of her recently disbanded political organization, the National League for Democracy.

A witness at Ms. Suu Kyi's appearances on Sunday said it was impossible to find space to stand, with residents sitting in trees, on car roofs and on high walls. Some had traveled from rural areas, while many wore T-shirts bearing the words, "We Stand With Suu Kyi." Police with video and still cameras took pictures of people in the crowd from the roof of a nearby religious building.

Some residents said her release offered the first hope in years that the country's military regime, which has overseen Myanmar's descent into one of the poorest countries in the world since taking over in 1962, will change.

Yet Ms. Suu Kyi's ability to alter the political dynamic in Myanmar remains limited, analysts say. Despite being one of the world's most famous political prisoners, her position has weakened considerably in recent years as the military has fortified its financial and military strength through expanded ties with China and other Asian allies, including rapidly rising sales of natural gas and other commodities.

More

U.S. Statement: Release of Aung San Suu Kyi
Frustrations Increase After Myanmar Vote
Myanmar Opposition Group Has New Tack: Cooperation
Graphic: Myanmar Election 2010
The regime appeared to cement its control over the country just days before Ms. Suu Kyi's release, in a national election on Nov. 7 dominated by the government-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. State media have said the party secured a majority in both houses of the country's new Parliament, winning roughly 85% of the seats for which results were announced.

The regime has released results from the election in piecemeal over the past week, and it is still unclear precisely how many seats were won by opposition groups such as the National Democratic Force, a splinter group of Ms. Suu Kyi's NLD that has advocated less-confrontational tactics against the regime.

The NDF and other small opposition parties are expected to wind up with at least a few seats, though fewer than they hoped for.

Dissidents and Western observers derided the election, Myanmar's first in 20 years, as a sham, with widespread reports of voting irregularities.

But the vote was quickly endorsed by neighbors such as China and Vietnam, and Myanmar's government said it was free and fair.

More important for Ms. Suu Kyi, the election wipes out the results of Myanmar's last vote in 1990, which Ms. Suu Kyi's political organization easily won but which the military junta subsequently ignored.

The latest election also saw the emergence of several rival opposition groups—including some that are counseling less confrontation with the regime—that might not fully accept Ms. Suu Kyi's leadership.

Some Myanmar residents, especially younger dissidents, revere Ms. Suu Kyi but have questioned her past tendency to confront the regime, which they believe has led it only to dig in its heels and resist political change.

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European Pressphoto Agency
Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi received flowers over the fence of her house and waved to supporters as she was set free Saturday.

The government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, has made only brief public references to Ms. Suu Kyi's release. A late-evening broadcast on a state news channel Saturday said that Ms. Suu Kyi had been set free by order of the government and that her release came with no conditions. It showed the chief of police visiting her in her home and expressing approval of her good health.

Speculation of a possible release had been building for weeks, mainly because Ms. Suu Kyi's latest term under house arrest—imposed after an American well-wisher swam uninvited to her home, violating the terms of a previous detention—was due to expire on Saturday. Analysts have long thought the junta wanted to free Ms. Suu Kyi to silence international critics who were calling for her release and to ensure she didn't die under its watch, which could have led to unrest.

But the regime was wary of letting her out before the election, when her popularity and formidable political skill could have influenced the outcome.

With the election finished, Myanmar's generals "just seem really self-confident" in their grip on power, says Sean Turnell, a Myanmar expert at Macquarie University in Australia.

Myanmar's government may also hope that freeing Ms. Suu Kyi will lead Western nations to reconsider the economic sanctions they imposed on Myanmar over the past decade, largely in protest of Ms. Suu Kyi's detention. But that appears unlikely given the level of distrust between the two sides.

Soon after her release on Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement that while he welcomed the release of Ms. Suu Kyi, whom he called a "hero," he said it "does not change the fact that she, and the political opposition she represents, has been systematically silenced, incarcerated, and deprived of any opportunity to engage in political processes."

Other international leaders hailed her release, but insisted the government allow her the freedom to move about the country and participate in political activities.

Burma Campaign UK, an activist group, said in a statement that it "welcomed" Ms. Suu Kyi's release, but that it "should not be interpreted as a sign that democratic reform is on the way," and was "designed to get positive publicity" after "the blatant rigging of elections on 7th November."

The biggest question now is how hard Ms. Suu Kyi will push in her efforts to confront the regime.

Many supporters believe she will try to keep a relatively low profile in the short run, focusing largely on rebuilding her political party, the National League for Democracy, which was disbanded by the government earlier this year when it refused to participate in the polls. Its former leaders, many now in their 70s and 80s, have said they intend to keep the party going as a social organization, but its influence has declined in recent years without Ms. Suu Kyi's active participation.

Ms. Suu Kyi has also indicated through a party spokesman that she hopes the party will look into allegations of fraud in the latest election, a move that could quickly put her on a collision course with the regime.

In her speech on Sunday, Ms. Suu Kyi stopped short of directly criticizing the government and even thanked a security detail for treating her well while she was under arrest.

Still, she left little doubt she opposes the regime's policies. If authorities "don't want to be blamed for bad things, they shouldn't do bad things," she said, according to an eyewitness.

She also called on supporters to remember the country's other political prisoners, who total about 2,100 people, according to international human-rights groups.

Ms. Suu Kyi also met with a group of Yangon-based diplomats and was scheduled to attend a funeral and visit a Yangon pagoda.

The daughter of a national hero who helped secure Myanmar's independence from British rule in the 1940s, Ms. Suu Kyi emerged as a political force in the late 1980s, as the country reeled from years of disastrous economic policies and government crackdowns.

Many residents were enthralled by Ms. Suu Kyi's calls for Western-style democracy.

Ms. Suu Kyi quickly aroused the ire of top generals, and they placed her under arrest in 1989, keeping her under detention for 15 of the past 21 years.

She was last detained in 2003, after a pro-government mob attacked her entourage and killed many of her followers during a tour of northern Myanmar. Authorities extended her detention another 18 months in August 2009.

A lot has changed since Ms. Suu Kyi last walked free in 2003. In past years, she was the undisputed leader of Myanmar's dissident movement. The military government, meanwhile, was struggling after years of economic problems intensified by sanctions, which led multinational companies, such as PepsiCo Inc., to cut their ties with the country.

More recently, the regime's position has strengthened considerably. Its decision to disband Ms. Suu Kyi's party allowed other opposition groups—especially those that take a more moderate line against the government—to vie for influence.

The regime has also greatly expanded its trade and investment ties with China and other Asian countries, which covet Myanmar's natural resources and are pouring billions of dollars into new ports, gas pipelines and hydroelectricity facilities, helping the junta overcome sanctions. The country has been running a large trade surplus in recent years and now has an estimated $6 billion in foreign reserves.

Ms. Suu Kyi is "in a far more restricted place than she was" when she was last free, says David Mathieson, a Thailand-based researcher for Human Rights Watch. Over the past seven years, the government has "gotten stronger, while they've weakened her party."

Some analysts have cautioned against underestimating Ms. Suu Kyi, though. She has repeatedly found a way to undermine the regime despite her limited financial and political resources. She remains by far the most popular political figure in the country.

One Yangon woman, a 30-year-old relief worker, said on Saturday that Ms. Suu Kyi's release left "happier than I can say," adding, "we feel empowered by her." Another resident, a 66-year-old retired government employee, was more reserved. "This is the news everyone always wanted to hear," he said. "But there are challenges for her, and of course, for all of us."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703649104575614261631373440.html?mod=wsj_share_facebook

Aung San Suu Kyi: Burma leader's first night of freedom

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has spent her first night free after more than seven years under house arrest.

Thousands of supporters had been waiting near her home in the hours before her release, and the crowd swelled further when news of her freedom filtered through.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner told them they had to "work in unison" to achieve their goals - but with her political party now disbanded, it may be that the hard work still lies ahead.

John Simpson reports from Rangoon.

House arrest (Aung San Suu Kyi)

Ms Suu Kyi remained under house arrest in Rangoon for six years, until she was released in July 1995.

She was again put under house arrest in September 2000, when she tried to travel to the city of Mandalay in defiance of travel restrictions.

She was released unconditionally in May 2002, but just over a year later she was put in prison following a clash between her supporters and a government-backed mob.

She was later allowed to return home - but again under effective house arrest, where she has since remained.

During periods of confinement, Ms Suu Kyi has busied herself studying and exercising.

She has meditated, worked on her French and Japanese language skills, and relaxed by playing Bach on the piano.

In more recent years, she has also been able to meet other NLD officials and selected diplomats.

But during her early years of detention, she was often in solitary confinement. She was not allowed to see her two sons or her husband, who died of cancer in March 1999.

The military authorities offered to allow her to travel to the UK to see him when he was gravely ill, but she felt compelled to refuse for fear she would not be allowed back into the country.

She has grandchildren she has never met.

Continue reading the main story(Aung San Suu Kyi)

* 1989: Put under house arrest as Burma junta declares martial law
* 1990: NLD wins election; military disregards result
* 1991: Wins Nobel Peace Prize
* 1995: Released from house arrest, but movements restricted
* 2000-02: Second period of house arrest
* May 2003: Detained after clash between NLD and junta forces
* Sep 2003: Allowed home after medical treatment, but under effective house arrest
* May 2007: House arrest is extended for another year
* Sept 2007: First public appearance since 2003, greeting protesting Buddhist monks
* May 2008: House arrest extended for another year
* May 2009: Charged with breaking detention rules after an American swims to her compound
* August 2009: Sentenced to 18 months further house arrest

'Can't stop freedom'

In recent months she has been criticised in some quarters for her decision to boycott the November 2010 elections, Burma's first in 20 years.

The NLD said the election laws were unfair and decided not to take part in the polls. Under new election laws, it then had to disband.

But a group of NLD members formed a new party to contest the polls, arguing that some representation in the new parliament would be better than none at all.

The polls - described as "neither free nor fair" by US President Barack Obama - appear to have left military-backed parties firmly in control.

This has raised speculation that she could soon be freed. She has said that she will not accept a release if any conditions are placed on her activities.

Ms Suu Kyi has often said that detention has made her even more sure that she should dedicate her life to representing the average Burmese citizen.

In a rare interview in 2007 during the uprising that was brutally put down by the military, she said democracy was "not finished in Burma".

"No matter the regime's physical power, in the end they can't stop the people; they can't stop freedom," she told British journalist John Pilger. "We shall have our time."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11685977

Political pedigree

Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of the country's independence hero, General Aung San.


Ms Suu Kyi was a toddler when her father was assassinated

Profile: The woman who has become the face of Burma's democracy movement

He was assassinated during the transition period in July 1947, just six months before independence.

Aung San Suu Kyi was only two years old at the time.

In 1960 she went to India with her mother Daw Khin Kyi, who had been appointed Burma's ambassador to Delhi.

Four years later she went to Oxford University in the UK, where she studied philosophy, politics and economics. There she met her future husband, academic Michael Aris.

After stints of living and working in Japan and Bhutan, she settled down to be an English don's housewife and raise their two children, Alexander and Kim.

But Burma was never far from her thoughts.

When she arrived back in Rangoon in 1988 - to look after her critically ill mother - Burma was in the midst of major political upheaval.
Thousands of students, office workers and monks took to the streets demanding democratic reform.

"I could not, as my father's daughter remain indifferent to all that was going on," she said in a speech in Rangoon on 26 August 1988.

Ms Suu Kyi was soon propelled into leading the revolt against the then-dictator, General Ne Win.

Inspired by the non-violent campaigns of US civil rights leader Martin Luther King and India's Mahatma Gandhi, she organised rallies and travelled around the country, calling for peaceful democratic reform and free elections.

But the demonstrations were brutally suppressed by the army, who seized power in a coup on 18 September 1988.

The military government called national elections in May 1990.

Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD convincingly won the polls, despite the fact that she herself was under house arrest and disqualified from standing.

But the junta refused to hand over control, and has remained in power ever since.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11685977

Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to joyous crowds in Myanmar

Thousands cheer newly freed Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, held for 15 years. The opposition leader urges them to make their voices heard and says she's willing to open a dialogue with the ruling junta.
Reporting from Yangon, Myanmar — A day after her release from detention, opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi met dozens of ambassadors, hundreds of journalists and thousands of Burmese citizens Sunday, underscoring the importance of dialogue, strength and determination in the battle for democracy in Myanmar.

As the jubilant crowd swelled in front of the headquarters of her disbanded National League for Democracy party, traffic ground to a halt, and people perched in trees, on fences and on vehicle roofs for a look at their charismatic leader.

Her eventual appearance at noon in the doorway of the ramshackle building electrified the audience. "I understand what the people want; they want democracy," she said to a roar from the crowd. "You must make your voices heard. Only then can we take action."

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Suu Kyi, 65, had been detained by the military-led government for 15 of the last 21 years. She was freed days after a controversial parliamentary election in which the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development party garnered about 80% of parliamentary seats. Suu Kyi boycotted the election, a decision some members of her party disagreed with and fielded candidates under the banner of another party.

During her 45-minute speech and a separate meeting with some two dozen ambassadors Sunday, she stressed her willingness to speak with all political parties, reach out to the country's many ethnic groups and open a dialogue with the military government.

"I am prepared to talk with anyone," she said.

The junta imposed no restrictions on her release, she told diplomats, and she planned to travel around Myanmar and go overseas once she'd caught up on her business in Yangon.

On Saturday, Norway's Nobel committee invited Suu Kyi to make a belated acceptance speech for the prize she won 19 years ago but was unable to pick up because she was under house arrest. The committee said it would ask Myanmar for an assurance she'd be let back in if she made the trip.

Suu Kyi told reporters she would reconsider her support of economic sanctions against Myanmar if asked to by the Burmese people. The country faces U.S. and European Union sanctions for its human-rights record, with some 2,100 political prisoners still in detention.

"The U.S. position is that [sanctions] can be put on the table," said Larry Dinger, the de facto U.S. ambassador to Myanmar. "She was very clear she'd like the international community to have one voice and work with the government here, acknowledging that the differences are great but they need to be bridged."

Suu Kyi has come under some criticism domestically for her support of sanctions, which have put tens of thousands of mostly female textile workers out of jobs even as the military and its associates grow rich trading with China and neighboring Southeast Asian nations.

In the intense heat of the midday assembly, a monk fainted and many in the crowd covered their heads with makeshift newspaper hats, watched over by scores of undercover security people busy recording its attendees on camera. But the uniformed police stayed away, and there was no overt intimidation in a country ruled by the military for the last 48 years.

Suu Kyi, dressed in a green blouse and patterned longyi, the traditional sarong worn here by men and women, urged the crowd to engage politically and get fired up. At one point, as part of the crowd started pushing, masses of people chanted, "Be disciplined!" at the offenders.

The crowd's size and enthusiasm laid to rest any concerns that Suu Kyi would be sidelined politically after years out of public view. "I'm so happy to see her," said Bo Gyi, 67, a retired civil servant. "In fact, I was crying. I've waited so many years for this moment."

Suu Kyi offered few specifics. Asked what her next political move was, she said: "We're moving all the time," and about the political landscape, she quipped: "I don't see a landscape. Look outside, all you see are people."

But she slammed the junta for alleged vote fraud in the Nov. 7 parliamentary election. Democracy must be inclusive, she told supporters, not some system controlled by one man, an obvious reference to the powerful senior general Than Shwe, 78.

Asked whether her popularity and speeches threatened the military regime, she deflected with a joke. "I don't look so threatening, do I?" she said.

Party officials said they were heartened by the huge turnout. "They very much love the lady," said Nyan Win, spokesman of the party forced to disband after it decided to boycott the election. "It shows that the people of Burma don't like the junta."

Giving her showcase speech at the decaying headquarters building signaled her desire to reinvigorate the party that saw its landslide electoral victory in 1990 negated by military leaders intent on maintaining their grip on power.

Although the ruling generals may have let Suu Kyi out in hopes of burnishing their tarnished image or to try to convince outsiders that they follow the rules and laws, some worry that she could land back in detention on some pretext in the future, as she has before.

"We don't care much" if she's rearrested, said U Win Tin, a party leader, who has spent 18 years of his life in prison for crossing the regime. "She needs to meet people and help those in need, and the government may not like it. At the same time, she's very careful. She's well versed in this."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-myanmar-suu-kyi-free-20101115,0,4789872.story

I believe in human rights, says Aung San Suu Kyi

WORLD leaders and rights groups have hailed the release from detention of Burma's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, but warned the junta not to restrict her and called for the release of all political prisoners.

US President Barack Obama said that "while the Burmese regime has gone to extraordinary lengths to isolate and silence Aung San Suu Kyi, she has continued her brave fight for democracy, peace and change in Burma".

"She is a hero of mine and a source of inspiration for all who work to advance basic human rights in Burma and around the world," said Mr Obama in a statement.

In Oslo, the Norwegian Nobel Committee invited Suu Kyi to make the traditional acceptance speech which she, as the Nobel Peace laureate, was prevented from giving in 1991, the NTB news agency reported.

China, one of Burma's closest allies and a mainstay for the junta through trade ties and arms sales, had no immediate reaction although the official Xinhua news agency did report the release of the "noted political figure".





India, which has also been accused of turning a blind eye to the regime's abuses, greeted her release as a welcome step forward in efforts to achieve "a more inclusive approach to political change" in its southeastern neighbour.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes Burma but has been accused by the West of not doing enough to push for change in the military-ruled country, welcomed the release.

"I'm very, very relieved and hope that this will contribute to true national reconciliation," ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuswan said.

Mr Pitsuswan said he hoped Suu Kyi would be able to play a role in any reform process, while ASEAN's largest member, Indonesia, said the release was a "positive step" towards national reconciliation.

Neighbouring Thailand, a major trading partner, echoed the sentiment, saying it hoped that Suu Kyi "will have a constructive role to play in (Burma's) nation-building process".

While the reaction to Suu Kyi's release was broadly positive, several leaders and rights groups urged Burma to do more. Mr Obama said it was "time for the Burmese regime to release all political prisoners", in a statement echoed by Australia.

"The release of Aung San Suu Kyi offers the Burmese authorities an opportunity to move the country forward," Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.

Amnesty International said Suu Kyi's release was not a "concession" by the regime and should not take attention away from other prisoners of conscience being held in "deplorable conditions".

Release a 'cynical ploy'

Human Rights Watch said the release was a "cynical ploy by the military government to distract the international community from its illegitimate elections" held this month and called for all political prisoners to be freed.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said France would be "extremely attentive" to the conditions in which Suu Kyi "enjoys her re-found liberty".

"Restrictions on her freedom of movement and expression would constitute a new unacceptable denial of her rights," Mr Sarkozy said in a statement.

A senior Burmese official said no conditions were tied to Suu Kyi's release.

"She is completely free - there are no conditions at all," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Suu Kyi "an inspiration" to the world.

"The secretary-general expects that no further restrictions will be placed on her, and he urges the (Burmese) authorities to build on today's action by releasing all remaining political prisoners," a spokesman said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, Burma's former colonial ruler, called her release "long overdue", branding her detention for 15 of the past 21 years a "travesty, designed only to silence the voice of the Burmese people".

Desmond Tutu, chair of the group of retired senior statesmen known as The Elders, called Suu Kyi "a global symbol of moral courage" and said her release "offers hope to the people of Burma".

In Brussels, European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso called for Suu Kyi to be granted "unrestricted freedom of movement and speech" and echoed the call for the release of political prisoners.

Europe's top rights body, the 47-member Council of Europe groups welcomed her release as "an important day for human rights defenders worldwide".

UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay called Suu Kyi's release "a positive signal" by Burmese authorities and said she could "make a major contribution" in the transition to democracy and national reconciliation.

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/suu-kyi-welcomed-but-leaders-say-theyre-watching-burma/story-e6frfku0-1225953429991

I want to hear the voice of the people, says freed leader Aung San Suu Kyi

I believe in human rights, says Aung San Suu Kyi
Democratic freedom is freedom of speech, she says
World leaders: We'll be watching you
DEMOCRACY leader Aung San Suu Kyi reached out to Burma's splintered opposition forces as she addressed thousands of exuberant supporters following her release from years of house arrest.

"I want to hear the voice of the people, after that we will decide what we want to do," she told a sea of followers outside her party headquarters.

"I want to work with all democratic forces.

"I believe in human rights and I believe in the rule of law," she added.

"We will work for the people to lift living standards.

"The basis of democratic freedom is freedom of speech.

She also told them: "If we want to get what we want, we have to do it in the right way."

The daughter of Burma's independence hero carries a weight of expectation among her supporters for a better future for the nation after almost half a century of military dictatorship. The Nobel Peace Prize winner was freed yesterday after spending most of the last two decades locked up, in a move greeted with jubilation by her followers and welcomed by rights groups and governments around the world.





But it remains to be seen whether the most famous dissident in Burma can live up to her long-suffering compatriots' high expectations.

A huge crowd gathered outside the headquarters of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy for the speech and television pictures showed her struggling to make her way through the throngs.

Thousands of her supporters had roared with approval yesterday as Suu Kyi appeared for the first time outside her lakeside home after the end of her latest seven-year stretch of detention.

Attention is focused on whether she can reunite the divided opposition after an election widely criticised by the West as a sham to prolong military rule behind a facade of democracy.

Western nations and pro-democracy activists have blasted the November 7 poll as anything but free and fair following widespread reports of intimidation and fraud.

Suu Kyi's party boycotted the vote, a decision that deeply split the opposition.

'She gives us hope'

Many in the impoverished nation see the democracy icon as their best chance for freedom.

"Our country must become democratic. Our future depends on Aung San Suu Kyi," said NLD youth leader Nyi Min.

"She gives us hope and courage. Only she can free us from this anarchist regime."

Many countries were quick to welcome her release, with US President Barack Obama hailing her as "a hero of mine".

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described Suu Kyi as "an inspiration" to the world, but said the junta must release all political prisoners.

Setting her free is a huge gamble for Burma's generals, and observers see it as an attempt to tame criticism of a controversial election last Sunday, the country's first in 20 years.

Some had feared that the junta, whose proxies claimed overwhelming victory in the vote, would continue to put restrictions on the freedom of its number one enemy. But the junta did not impose any restrictions on her release, according to a senior government official as well as her lawyer Nyan Win.

"There was no condition on her release. She is completely free," Nyan Win told AFP.

"She is very glad and happy."

Suu Kyi had been under house arrest since 2003 - just one of several stretches of detention at the hands of the ruling generals. Her sentence was extended last year over a bizarre incident in which an American swam uninvited to her lakeside home, sparking international condemnation and keeping her off the scene for last Sunday's vote.

The pro-democracy leader swept her party to victory in a 1990 election, but it was never allowed to take power.

Suu Kyi's struggle for her country has come at a high personal cost: her husband, British academic Michael Aris, died in 1999, and in the final stages of his battle with cancer the junta refused him a visa to see his wife.

She has not seen her two sons for about a decade and has never met her grandchildren.

http://www.news.com.au/world/i-want-to-hear-the-voice-of-the-people-says-freed-leader-aung-san-suu-kyi/story-e6frfkyi-1225953414004?from=public_rss

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) Shows Solidarity with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Newly free Burma activist urges talks

YANGON, Myanmar (Nov. 14) -- Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, freed from seven years of house arrest, told thousands of wildly cheering supporters Sunday that she would continue to fight for human rights and the rule of law in the military-controlled nation. She called for face-to-face talks with the junta's leader.

She spoke to about 5,000 people who crowded around the dilapidated headquarters of her political party, the first stop for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate after leaving the lakeside residence that had been her prison.

"I believe in human rights and I believe in the rule of law. I will always fight for these things," she said. "I want to work with all democratic forces and I need the support of the people."

Soe Than WIN, AFP / Getty Images
Aung San Suu Kyi addresses supporters Sunday in Yangon, Myanmar. She said she will "always fight" for human rights and the rule of law.

Suu Kyi, 65, told reporters her message to junta leader Gen. Than Shwe was, "Let's speak to each other directly." The two last met in secret talks in 2002 at the encouragement of the United Nations.

"I am for national reconciliation. I am for dialogue. Whatever authority I have, I will use it to that end. I hope people will support me," she said.

She entered the small compound of her National League for Democracy as people shouted "We love Suu" amid thunderous applause.

Inside, she met with Yangon-based diplomats and was later scheduled to attend the funeral of a close friend and pay a customary visit to the city's sacred Shwedagon pagoda.

"This is an unconditional release. No restrictions are placed on her," her lawyer Nyan Win said.

There was speculation whether the charismatic and relentlessly outspoken Suu Kyi would use her freedom to challenge the ruling military head-on, or be more conciliatory.

She did not sound a strident note, saying she bore no grudge against those who had held her in detention for more than 15 of the last 21 years, adding that she had been well-treated.

"I hope they (the military) won't feel threatened by me. Popularity is something that comes and goes. I don't think that anyone should feel threatened by it," she said.

Suu Kyi thanked her well-wishers and asked them to pray for those still imprisoned by the junta. Human rights groups say the government holds more than 2,200 political prisoners.

"If my people are not free, how can I say I am free? Either we are all free together or we are not free together," she said.

Speaking of her isolation while under house arrest, Suu Kyi said she "always felt free within myself. I kept myself pretty much on an even keel." But she said that for years she had only listened to the radio, adding "I'd like to listen to human voices."

In her first public appearance Saturday evening, Suu Kyi indicated she would continue with her political activity but did not specify whether she would challenge the military with mass rallies and other activities that led to her earlier detentions.

"We have a lot of things to do," said Suu Kyi, who has come to symbolize the struggle for democracy in the isolated and secretive nation once known as Burma. The country has been ruled by the military since 1962.

But while her release thrilled her supporters - and also clearly thrilled her - it came just days after an election that was swept by the ruling junta's proxy political party and decried by Western nations as a sham designed to perpetuate authoritarian control.

Many observers have questioned whether her release was timed by the junta to distract the world's attention from the Nov. 7 election.

While welcoming the release, European Commissioner Jose Manuel Barroso urged that no restrictions be placed on her.

"It is now crucial that Aung San Suu Kyi has unrestricted freedom of movement and speech and can participate fully in her country's political process," he said.

President Barack Obama called Suu Kyi "a hero of mine."

"Whether Aung San Suu Kyi is living in the prison of her house, or the prison of her country, does not change the fact that she, and the political opposition she represents, has been systematically silenced, incarcerated, and deprived of any opportunity to engage in political processes," he said in a statement.

Others in Myanmar hailed Suu Kyi as the only one who might unite the impoverished country.

"She's our country's hero," said Tin Tin Yu, a 20-year-old university student, standing near Suu Kyi's house Saturday night. "Our election was a sham. Everyone knows it, but they have guns so what can we do? She's the only one who can make our country a democracy."

The new government is unlikely to win international legitimacy simply by releasing Suu Kyi because the recent election was so obviously skewed, according Trevor Wilson, a former Australian ambassador to Myanmar.

What happens next will depend on what kind of restrictions the regime puts on Suu Kyi - and what she says if she is allowed to speak, Wilson said.

"We will have to wait and see. It could be a little bit of a cat-and-mouse game," Wilson said.

Suu Kyi has said she would help probe allegations of voting fraud, according to Nyan Win, who is a spokesman for her party, which was officially disbanded for refusing to register for the polls. Such actions have provoked military crackdowns in the past.

Myanmar's last elections in 1990 were won overwhelmingly by her National League for Democracy, but the military refused to hand over power and instead clamped down on opponents.

Suu Kyi was convicted last year of violating the terms of her previous detention by briefly sheltering an American man who swam uninvited to her lakeside home, extending a period of continuous detention that began in 2003 after her motorcade was ambushed in northern Myanmar by a government-backed mob.

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Suu Kyi took up the democracy struggle in 1988, as mass demonstrations were breaking out against 25 years of military rule. She was quickly thrust into a leadership role, mainly because she was the daughter of Aung San, who led Myanmar to independence from Britain before his assassination by political rivals.

She rode out the military's bloody suppression of street demonstrations to help found the NLD. Her defiance gained her fame and honor, most notably the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1989, she was detained on national security charges and put under house arrest.

Suu Kyi's freedom had been a key demand of Western nations and groups critical of the military regime's poor human rights record, which includes brutal military campaigns against ethnic minorities. The military government, seeking to burnish its international image, had responded previously by offering to talk with her, only to later shy away from serious negotiations.

Associated Press writers Kay Johnson and Grant Peck in Bangkok and Video journalist Jason Dorn in Washington contributed to this report.



--
Myo Thein
Director
Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
myothein19@gmail.com
myothein@bdcburma.org
+44 208 493 9137
+44 787 788 2386
Skype: myo.thein19
Gtalk: myothein19

Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi says she felt compelled to act on behalf of the people of Burma

Like the South African leader Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi has become an international symbol of peaceful resistance in the face of oppression.

The 65-year-old has spent most of the last 20 years in some form of detention because of her efforts to bring democracy to military-ruled Burma.

In 1991, a year after her National League for Democracy won an overwhelming victory in an election the junta later nullified, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The committee chairman, Francis Sejested, called her "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless".

Sidelined for Burma's first elections in two decades in November 2010, she remains nonetheless a potent symbol of hope to many Burmese people.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11685977

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Speech 2

DASSK NLDHQ speech part2 by yeyintnge

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Speech 1

DASSK NLDHQ speech part1 by yeyintnge

Giri infectious areas in western part of Burma!

Letter from Burma

Dear Friends,

In this mail, you can see what really happened in western part of Burma by Giri Cyclone.
Our interfaith team from YMCA Mandalay is managing and helping people from Myay Pone and Kyaut Phyu's area.
Under the YMCA Mandalay's leadership, we have got over 30 different Orgs, CBOs, FBOs and LNGOs.
We have been doing for emergency release and possible support for Giri infectious people in Myay Pone and Kyat Phyu.
We have been doing our best. But we still need your kind response for emergency donation.
If you are interested in donation, you all can contact with our key persons who are mentioned in this mail.
If you have any question and future information, you can feel free to mail me.
I will be looking forward your kind response.

U Nay Win (YMCA Mandalay)
Ph: 09-6504465

U Myint Swe (Ratana Metta Mandalay)
Ph: 09-2019655

U Win Ko Ko (YSCM)
Ph: 09-2016561

Asia Light Sayadaw
Ph: 09-49123517

U Ye Myint
Ph: 02-91006194

Dr. Kyaw Thu
Ph: 09-2043709

Best Regards
Nickey D. Diamond

Chief Executive Director of YSCM
Youth for Social Change Myanmar
Making change in Myanmar, fight against corrupted society.

Executive Member
RatanaMetta Organization
Mandalay; Myanmar.

Burma democracy leader Suu Kyi to meet allies

YANGON, Myanmar -Pro-democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi, who was unconditionally released from seven years under house arrest, was to meet Sunday with her political allies amid speculation whether she would risk re-arrest by challenging Myanmar's ruling military head-on.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate walked free Saturday after more than seven years under house arrest, welcomed by thousands of cheering supporters outside the decaying lakefront villa that has been her prison.
Suu Kyi was to meet Sunday with her party, diplomats, the public and media and also attend the funeral of a close friend. In the evening, she was planning a customary visit to Yangon's soaring Shwedagon pagoda.
"This is an unconditional release. No restrictions are placed on her," her lawyer Nyan Win said.
In her first public appearance Saturday evening, Suu Kyi indicated she would continue with her political activity but did not specify whether she would challenge the military with mass rallies and other activities that led to her earlier detentions.
"If we work in unity, we will achieve our goal," Suu Kyi told some 5,000 cheering supporters who streamed to her residence when it was clear that she had been freed. Many chanted her name. Some wept.
"I haven't seen you for a long time," she said to laughter, smiling deeply as she held the metal spikes that top the gate. When a supporter handed up a bouquet, she pulled out a flower and wove it into her hair.
"We have a lot of things to do," said Suu Kyi, the 65-year-old charismatic and relentlessly outspoken woman who has come to symbolize the struggle for democracy in the isolated and secretive nation once known as Burma. The country has been ruled by the military since 1962.
But while her release thrilled her supporters — and also clearly thrilled her — it came just days after an election that was swept by the ruling junta's proxy political party and decried by Western nations as a sham designed to perpetuate authoritarian control.
Many observers have questioned whether it was timed by the junta to distract the world's attention from the election. It is also unlikely the ruling generals will allow Suu Kyi, who drew huge crowds of supporters during her few periods of freedom, to actively and publicly pursue her goal of bringing democracy to Myanmar.
While welcoming the release, European Commissioner Jose Manuel Barroso urged that no restrictions be placed on her.
"It is now crucial that Aung San Suu Kyi has unrestricted freedom of movement and speech and can participate fully in her country's political process," he said.
Other international leaders also welcomed the end to her detention.
President Barack Obama called Suu Kyi "a hero of mine."
"Whether Aung San Suu Kyi is living in the prison of her house, or the prison of her country, does not change the fact that she, and the political opposition she represents, has been systematically silenced, incarcerated, and deprived of any opportunity to engage in political processes," he said in a statement.
U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his "deep admiration and heartfelt best wishes" to Suu Kyi. "Her dignity and courage in the face of injustice have been an inspiration to many people around the world."
Still, Nesirky said Ban considered it "deeply regrettable" that Suu Kyi was barred from running in the recent elections, and he urged authorities to release all other political prisoners.
Domestic reactions to Suu Kyi's release widespread popularity.
"She's our country's hero," said Tin Tin Yu, a 20-year-old university student, standing near the house later Saturday night. "Our election was a sham. Everyone knows it, but they have guns so what can we do? She's the only one who can make our country a democracy. I strongly believe it."
Critics say the Nov. 7 elections were manipulated to give the pro-military party a sweeping victory. Results have been released piecemeal and already have given the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party a majority in both houses of Parliament.
The new government is unlikely to win the international legitimacy that it craves simply by releasing Suu Kyi because the recent elections were so obviously skewed, according Trevor Wilson, former Australian ambassador to Myanmar.
What happens next will depend on what kind of restrictions the regime puts on Suu Kyi — and what she says if she is allowed to speak, said Wilson.
"We will have to wait and see. It could be a little bit of a cat-and-mouse game," Wilson said. "The regime may wait for her to make a tactical error and crack down on her again."
Suu Kyi has said she would help probe allegations of voting fraud, according to Nyan Win, who is a spokesman for her party, which was officially disbanded for refusing to register for the polls.
Such actions pose the sort of challenge the military has reacted to in the past by detaining Suu Kyi.
Myanmar's last elections in 1990 were won overwhelmingly by her National League for Democracy, but the military refused to hand over power and instead clamped down on opponents.
Suu Kyi's release gives the junta some ammunition against critics of the election and the government's human rights record, which includes the continued detention of some 2,200 political prisoners and brutal military campaigns against ethnic minorities.
Despite that, it was hard not to see some hope in her release.
"There is no formal opposition (in Myanmar) so her release is going to represent an opportunity to re-energize and reorganize this opposition," said Maung Zarni, an exiled dissident and Myanmar research fellow at the London School of Economics.
But he also said the release was "a tactical move by the regime. It is not out of compassion or as an act of adherence to any legal norms."
The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which tracks political detainees in Myanmar, drew attention to continuing abuses.
"In the absence of rule of law, with the lack of an impartial judiciary and with laws that criminalize basic civil and political rights, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will continue to face the threat of re-arrest," said the group's Joint Secretary, Bo Kyi. "Daw" is a Burmese term of respect for an older woman.
Suu Kyi was convicted last year of violating the terms of her previous detention by briefly sheltering an American man who swam uninvited to her lakeside home, extending a period of continuous detention that began in 2003 after her motorcade was ambushed in northern Myanmar by a government-backed mob.
Suu Kyi, something of an accidental political leader, took up the democracy struggle in 1988.
Having spent much of her life abroad, she returned home to take care of her ailing mother just as mass demonstrations were breaking out against 25 years of military rule. She was quickly thrust into a leadership role, mainly because she was the daughter of Aung San, who led Myanmar to independence from Britain before his assassination by political rivals.
She rode out the military's bloody suppression of street demonstrations to help found the NLD. Her defiance gained her fame and honor, most notably the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
Her popularity threatened the country's new military rulers. In 1989, she was detained on trumped-up national security charges and put under house arrest. She was not released until 1995. Out of the last 21 years, she has been jailed or under house arrest for more than 15.
Suu Kyi's freedom had been a key demand of Western nations and groups critical of the military regime's poor human rights record. The military government, seeking to burnish its international image, had responded previously by offering to talk with her, only to later shy away from serious negotiations.
Awaiting her release in neighboring Thailand was the younger of her two sons, Kim Aris, who is seeking the chance to see his mother for the first time in 10 years. Aris lives in Britain and has been repeatedly denied visas.
Her late husband, the British scholar Michael Aris, raised their sons in England. Their eldest son, Alexander Aris, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on his mother's behalf in 1991 and reportedly lives in the United States.
Michael Aris died of cancer in 1999 at age 53 after having been denied visas to see his wife for the three years before his death. Suu Kyi could have left Myanmar to see her family but decided not to, fearing the junta would not allow her to return.
—
Associated Press writers Kay Johnson and Grant Peck in Bangkok and Video journalist Jason Dorn in Washington contributed to this report.



--
Myo Thein
Director
Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
myothein19@gmail.com
myothein@bdcburma.org
+44 208 493 9137
+44 787 788 2386
Skype: myo.thein19
Gtalk: myothein19

Cheers as freed Burma democracy leader appears

YANGON, Myanmar -Thousands of wildly cheering supporters greeted Myanmar pro-democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi as she arrived at the headquarters of her political party Sunday, a day after her unconditional release from seven years under house arrest.
Arriving by car from the lakeside residence that has been her prison, she slipped into the ramshackle headquarters of her National League for Democracy as people shouted "We love Suu" amid thunderous applause.
Inside, she met with Yangon-based diplomats and was later scheduled to talk with the public and media, attend the funeral of a close friend and pay a customary visit to the city's sacred Shwedagon pagoda.
"This is an unconditional release. No restrictions are placed on her," her lawyer Nyan Win said.
There was speculation whether she would use her newfound freedom to challenge the ruling military head-on, or be more conciliatory.
In her first public appearance Saturday evening, Suu Kyi indicated she would continue with her political activity but did not specify whether she would challenge the military with mass rallies and other activities that led to her earlier detentions.
"We have a lot of things to do," said Suu Kyi, the 65-year-old charismatic and relentlessly outspoken woman who has come to symbolize the struggle for democracy in the isolated and secretive nation once known as Burma. The country has been ruled by the military since 1962.
"If we work in unity, we will achieve our goal," Suu Kyi told some 5,000 cheering supporters who streamed to her residence when it was clear that she had been freed. Many chanted her name. Some wept.
"I haven't seen you for a long time," she said to laughter, smiling deeply as she held the metal spikes that top the gate. When a supporter handed up a bouquet, she pulled out a flower and wove it into her hair.
But while her release thrilled her supporters — and also clearly thrilled her — it came just days after an election that was swept by the ruling junta's proxy political party and decried by Western nations as a sham designed to perpetuate authoritarian control.
Many observers have questioned whether it was timed by the junta to distract the world's attention from the election. It is also unlikely that the ruling generals will allow Suu Kyi, who drew huge crowds of supporters during her few periods of freedom, to actively and publicly pursue her goal of bringing democracy to Myanmar.
While welcoming the release, European Commissioner Jose Manuel Barroso urged that no restrictions be placed on her.
"It is now crucial that Aung San Suu Kyi has unrestricted freedom of movement and speech and can participate fully in her country's political process," he said.
President Barack Obama called Suu Kyi "a hero of mine."
"Whether Aung San Suu Kyi is living in the prison of her house, or the prison of her country, does not change the fact that she, and the political opposition she represents, has been systematically silenced, incarcerated, and deprived of any opportunity to engage in political processes," he said in a statement.
Others in Myanmar hailed Suu Kyi as the only one who might unite the poor, isolated country.
"She's our country's hero," said Tin Tin Yu, a 20-year-old university student, standing near the house later Saturday night. "Our election was a sham. Everyone knows it, but they have guns so what can we do? She's the only one who can make our country a democracy."
Critics say the Nov. 7 elections were manipulated to give the pro-military party a sweeping victory. The new government is unlikely to win the international legitimacy that it craves simply by releasing Suu Kyi because the recent elections were so obviously skewed, according Trevor Wilson, former Australian ambassador to Myanmar.
What happens next will depend on what kind of restrictions the regime puts on Suu Kyi — and what she says if she is allowed to speak, said Wilson.
"We will have to wait and see. It could be a little bit of a cat-and-mouse game," Wilson said.
Suu Kyi has said she would help probe allegations of voting fraud, according to Nyan Win, who is a spokesman for her party, which was officially disbanded for refusing to register for the polls. Such actions have provoked military crackdowns in the past.
Myanmar's last elections in 1990 were won overwhelmingly by her National League for Democracy, but the military refused to hand over power and instead clamped down on opponents.
Suu Kyi was convicted last year of violating the terms of her previous detention by briefly sheltering an American man who swam uninvited to her lakeside home, extending a period of continuous detention that began in 2003 after her motorcade was ambushed in northern Myanmar by a government-backed mob.
Suu Kyi took up the democracy struggle in 1988, as mass demonstrations were breaking out against 25 years of military rule. She was quickly thrust into a leadership role, mainly because she was the daughter of Aung San, who led Myanmar to independence from Britain before his assassination by political rivals.
She rode out the military's bloody suppression of street demonstrations to help found the NLD. Her defiance gained her fame and honor, most notably the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
In 1989, she was detained on national security charges and put under house arrest. Out of the last 21 years, she has been jailed or under house arrest for more than 15.
Suu Kyi's freedom had been a key demand of Western nations and groups critical of the military regime's poor human rights record, which includes the continued detention of some 2,200 political prisoners and brutal military campaigns against ethnic minorities. The military government, seeking to burnish its international image, had responded previously by offering to talk with her, only to later shy away from serious negotiations.
—
Associated Press writers Kay Johnson and Grant Peck in Bangkok and Video journalist Jason Dorn in Washington contributed to this report.



--
Myo Thein
Director
Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
myothein19@gmail.com
myothein@bdcburma.org
+44 208 493 9137
+44 787 788 2386
Skype: myo.thein19
Gtalk: myothein19

Mianmar aguarda para hoje a soltura da dissidente e Nobel da Paz Suu Kyi

Rodrigo Craveiro

Publicação: 13/11/2010 10:24 Atualização:
O budismo prega que a vida é sofrimento e incita seus seguidores a aceitarem suas fortunas e seus infortúnios. Em um país de 53,4 milhões de habitantes (47,5 milhões de budista), a dissidente Aung San Suu Kyi é, ao mesmo tempo, uma prova e uma exceção. Líder da oposição em Mianmar, nação governada a mão de ferro pelo general Than Shwe e por sua Junta Militar, ela amargou 15 dos últimos 22 anos sem direito à liberdade (leia o Personagem da notícia). Desde 2003, Suu Kyi cumpre prisão domiciliar na casa de dois andares às margens do Lago Inya, em Yangun, capital de Mianmar (ou Burma). A expectativa é de que ainda hoje a política, vencedora do Prêmio Nobel da Paz em 1991, seja solta mais uma vez. Citando integrantes da Liga Nacional pela Democracia (LND) e autoridades do governo, agências internacionais de notícias divulgaram ontem que Shwe assinou ontem a suspensão da Ordem de Restrição sobre Suu Kyi.

Assim que a informação começou a circular pela cidade de 4,4 milhões de habitantes, cerca de 400 pessoas se reuniram diante do quartel-general da LND, à espera da libertação. Outras 300 montaram guarda na rua à frente da casa de Suu Kyi. Mas, como em qualquer ditadura, o direito à associação foi violado. Cinco caminhões da polícia pararam diante da mansão, um deles entrou no complexo. Os agentes ordenaram a dispersão dos manifestantes. Nyan Win, um dos advogados de Suu Kyi, revelou à TV CNN que ela deve ser solta no início da noite de hoje (hora local), quando expira a última pena de sete anos de prisão domiciliar. Ao mesmo tempo, rumores davam conta de que a chamada "Dama de Yangun" teria recusado uma oferta de liberdade condicional e estaria recebendo a visita de diplomatas.

Manifestantes celebram possível libertação iminente de SuuKyi diante da sede do partido Liga Nacional pela Democracia, em Yagun
Para Benjamin Zawacki, especialista em Sudeste da Ásia na organização não governamental Anistia Internacional, a soltura de Aung Suu Kyi está "bastante atrasada". "Como prisioneira de consciência, ela jamais deveria ter sido detida", afirma ao Correio, em entrevista por e-mail. Ele acusa a comunidade internacional de fracassar ao não exercer uma pressão efetiva sobre Mianmar em relação ao futuro de seus 2,2 mil prisioneiros políticos e às constantes violações dos direitos humanos. "A tortura nas prisões é endêmica. Nas regiões de minorias étnicas, a Junta Militar cometeu crimes de guerra e contra a humanidade, além de não ter dado passos positivos rumo à consolidação dos direitos econômicos, sociais e culturais", explica, ao acrescentar que o histórico de Mianmar nesse aspecto é "revoltante".

O birmanês Myo Thein sabe o que é isso. "Meu irmão mais velho, Myo Yan Naung Thein, é um dos mais proeminentes líderes de Mianmar. Ele ficou mais de 10 anos na prisão e, durante o interrogatório, foi brutalmente torturado e adquiriu uma paralisia parcial", relata à reportagem, também por e-mail. Myo fundou em Londres a organização não governamental Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) e passou a monitorar a situação em seu país natal. "A prisão arbitrária de Suu Kyi demonstra que a Junta Militar se sobrepõe às leis e volta as costas à reconciliação nacional", critica. De acordo com ele, a opositora líder da LND transformou-se em ícone mundial do pacifismo. "Como líder corajosa, ela nos dá esperança, confiança e fé em nossa aspiração pela democracia em Mianmar", acrescenta Myo.

O ativista acusa o regime do general Than Shwe de ampliar repetidamente o tempo de detenção da dissidente. "Suu Kyi passou 15 dos últimos 22 anos sob prisão domiciliar e, como a Junta Militar não quis libertá-la quando ela completou seis anos de detenção ilegal, as autoridades montaram um plano para a manterem presa", diz Myo. Ele lembra que a LND venceu com folga as eleições de 1990. Os militares haviam prometido entregar o poder. Com a derrota, ignoraram a transferência de governo. "Para anular o resultado daquelas eleições, o general Shwe planejou o vergonhoso pleito de 2010, arquitetado para legitimar o domínio militar", explica.

Ex-embaixador do Reino Unido em Mianmar, Derek Tonkin encontrou-se com Suu Kyi em dezembro de 1999 e, anos depois, com Michael Aris, marido da dissidente. Ele vê como possível a recusa da Nobel da Paz a aceitar uma liberdade condicionada e não crê numa "aposentadoria" da Dama de Yangun. "Tenho certeza de que ela seguirá lutando pela democracia. Mas está com 65 anos, alguns dos integrantes mais experientes da LND têm entre 70 e 80 anos, e o partido foi cassado", lamenta.

http://www.correiobraziliense.com.br/app/noticia/mundo/2010/11/13/interna_mundo,223008/mianmar-aguarda-para-hoje-a-soltura-da-dissidente-e-nobel-da-paz-suu-kyi.shtml

Pro-Democracy Leader Suu Kyi Freed in Myanmar

Khin Maung Win, AP
Aung San Suu Kyi talks to supporters at the gate of her home in Yangon, Myanmar, on Saturday.

YANGON, Myanmar (Nov. 13) -- Myanmar's military government freed its archrival, democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, on Saturday after her latest term of detention expired. Several thousand jubilant supporters streamed to her residence.

A smiling Suu Kyi, wearing a traditional jacket and a flower in her hair, appeared at the gate of her compound as the crowd chanted, cheered and sang the national anthem.

"If we work in unity, we will achieve our goal. We have a lot of things to do," she told the well-wishers, who quickly swelled to as many as 5,000. Speaking briefly in Burmese, she said they would see each other again Sunday at the headquarters of her political party.

The 65-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, whose latest period of detention spanned 7 1/2 years, has come to symbolize the struggle for democracy in the Southeast Asian nation ruled by the military since 1962.

The release from house arrest of one of the world's most prominent political prisoners came a week after an election that was swept by the military's proxy political party and decried by Western nations as a sham designed to perpetuate authoritarian control.

Supporters had been waiting most of the day near her residence and the headquarters of her party. Suu Kyi has been jailed or under house arrest for more than 15 of the last 21 years.

As her release was under way, riot police stationed in the area left the scene and a barbed-wire barricade near her residence was removed, allowing the waiting supporters to surge forward.

Her release was immediately welcomed by world leaders and human rights organizations.

President Barack Obama called Suu Kyi "a hero of mine" said the United States "welcomes her long overdue release."

"Whether Aung San Suu Kyi is living in the prison of her house, or the prison of her country, does not change the fact that she, and the political opposition she represents, has been systematically silenced, incarcerated, and deprived of any opportunity to engage in political processes," he said in a statement.

British Prime Minister David Cameron also said the release was long overdue.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is an inspiration for all of us who believe in freedom of speech, democracy and human rights," he said in a statement.

"It is now crucial that Aung San Suu Kyi has unrestricted freedom of movement and speech and can participate fully in her country's political process," European Commissioner Jose Manuel Barroso said.

Critics allege the Nov. 7 elections were manipulated to give the pro-military party a sweeping victory. Results have been released piecemeal and already have given the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party a majority in both houses of Parliament.

The last elections in 1990 were won overwhelmingly by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, but the military refused to hand over power and instead clamped down on opponents.

Suu Kyi's release gives the junta some ammunition against critics of the election and the government's human rights record, which includes the continued detention of some 2,200 political prisoners and brutal military campaigns against ethnic minorities.

It is unlikely the ruling generals will allow Suu Kyi, who drew huge crowds of supporters during her few periods of freedom, to actively and publicly pursue her goal of bringing democracy to Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

But some see hope in her release.

"There is no formal opposition (in Myanmar) so her release is going to represent an opportunity to re-energize and reorganize this opposition. So in that sense, of revitalizing the opposition in some concrete way, Suu Kyi's release is going to be very pivotal," said Muang Zarni, an exiled dissident and Myanmar research fellow at the London School of Economics.

Suu Kyi herself earlier cautioned about optimism.

"My release should not be looked at as a major breakthrough for democracy. For all people in Burma to enjoy basic freedom, that would be a major breakthrough," she said after her earlier release in 2002.

Suu Kyi was convicted last year of violating the terms of her previous detention by briefly sheltering an American man who swam uninvited to her lakeside home, extending a period of continuous detention that began in 2003 after her motorcade was ambushed in northern Myanmar by a government-backed mob.

Suu Kyi has shown her mettle time and again since taking up the democracy struggle in 1988.

Having spent much of her life abroad, she returned home to take care of her ailing mother just as mass demonstrations were breaking out against 25 years of military rule. She was quickly thrust into a leadership role, mainly because she was the daughter of Aung San, who led Myanmar to independence from Britain before his assassination by political rivals.

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She rode out the military's bloody suppression of street demonstrations to help found the NLD. Her defiance gained her fame and honor, most notably the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

Charismatic, tireless and outspoken, her popularity threatened the country's new military rulers. In 1989, she was detained on trumped-up national security charges and put under house arrest. She was not released until 1995 and has spent various periods in detention since then.

Suu Kyi's freedom had been a key demand of Western nations and groups critical of the military regime's poor human rights record. The military government, seeking to burnish its international image, had responded previously by offering to talk with her, only to later shy away from serious negotiations.

Suu Kyi - who was barred from running in this month's elections - plans to help probe allegations of voting fraud, according to Nyan Win, who is a spokesman for her party, which was officially disbanded for refusing to reregister for this year's polls.

Such action, which could embarrass the junta, poses the sort of challenge the military has reacted to in the past by detaining Suu Kyi.

Awaiting her release in neighboring Thailand was the younger of her two sons, Kim Aris, who is seeking the chance to see his mother for the first time in 10 years. Aris lives in Britain and has been repeatedly denied visas.

Her late husband, British scholar Michael Aris, raised their sons in England. Their eldest son, Alexander Aris, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on his mother's behalf in 1991 and reportedly lives in the United States.

Michael Aris died of cancer in 1999 at age 53 after having been denied visas to see his wife for the three years before his death. Suu Kyi could have left Myanmar to see her family but decided not to, fearing the junta would not allow her back in.

Vigil held for Burma pro-democracy leader

YANGON, Myanmar -Supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi held a vigil on the eve of Saturday's expiration of her house arrest order, hoping to see the Nobel Peace Prize laureate taste freedom for the first time in seven years.
While scores of people who gathered near her home were disappointed that she was not given an early release Friday night, colleagues said an order to set her free had already been signed by Myanmar's ruling generals. Some 200 people has come earlier when rumors of her impending release were at their height.
Adding to the expectant atmosphere was a sharply stepped-up security presence in Yangon: truckloads of riot police, cruising and parked — a familiar sight to city residents during times of political tension.
The country's first in 20 years was held Nov. 7, and critics allege it was manipulated to give a pro-military party a sweeping victory. Results have been released piecemeal and already have given the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party a majority in both houses of Parliament.
The 1990 election was won in a landslide by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, but the military refused to hand over power and instead clamped down on opponents.
Jailed or under house arrest for more than 15 of the last 21 years, Suu Kyi has become a symbol for a struggle to rid the Southeast Asian country of decades of military rule.
She was convicted last year of violating the terms of her previous detention by briefly sheltering an American man who swam uninvited to her lakeside home, extending a period of continuous detention that began in 2003, after her motorcade was ambushed in northern Myanmar by a government-backed mob.
"My sources tell me that the release order has been signed," said Tin Oo, vice chairman of Suu Kyi's party. "I hope she will be released."
He did not say when she would be freed or when the order had been signed.
About 300 people gathered excitedly at NLD headquarters earlier in the day, some wearing T-shirts reading, "We stand with you."
"There is no law to hold (Suu Kyi) for another day. Her detention period expires on Saturday and she will be released," her lawyer, Nyan Win, told reporters.
Suu Kyi, 65, has shown her mettle time and again since taking up the democracy struggle in 1988.
Having spent much of her life abroad, she returned home to take care of her ailing mother just as mass demonstrations were breaking out against 25 years of military rule. She was quickly thrust into a leadership role, mainly because she is the daughter of martyred independence leader Gen. Aung San.
She rode out the military's bloody suppression of street demonstrations to help found the NLD. Her principled defiance gained her fame and honor, most notably the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
Charismatic, tireless and outspoken, her popularity threatened the country's new military rulers. In 1989, she was detained on trumped-up national security charges and put under house arrest. She was not released until 1995 and has spent various periods in detention since then.
Suu Kyi's freedom has been a key demand of Western nations and groups critical of the military regime's poor human rights record. The military government, seeking to burnish its international image, has responded previously by offering to talk with her, only to later shy away from serious negotiations.
Suu Kyi plans to help probe allegations of election fraud, according to Nyan Win, who is also a spokesman for her party, which was officially disbanded for refusing to reregister for this year's polls.
Such action, which could embarrass the junta, poses the sort of challenge the military has met in the past by detaining Suu Kyi.
Awaiting her release in Bangkok in neighboring Thailand is the younger of her two sons, Kim Aris, who is seeking the chance to see his mother for the first time in 10 years. Aris lives in Britain and has been repeatedly denied visas.
Her late husband, British scholar Michael Aris, raised their sons in England. Their eldest son, Alexander Aris, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on his mother's behalf in 1991 and reportedly lives in the United States.
Michael Aris died of prostate cancer in 1999 at 53 after having been denied visas to see his wife for the three years before his death. Suu Kyi could have left Myanmar to see her family but decided not to, fearing the junta would not allow her back in.
The NLD's dilapidated headquarters in Yangon has been bustling with party members cleaning her old office.
Nyan Win said Suu Kyi would meet with the NLD's central committee, members of the media and the public after her release. He noted that after earlier detentions, she always visited the Shwedagon pagoda, one of the most sacred sites in Myanmar, formerly called Burma.
More than 25 young members of Suu Kyi's party planned to donate blood at hospitals as a gesture of welcome.
The junta called this month's vote a major step toward democracy. Suu Kyi was barred from participating and critics said it was aimed at cementing the military's power. Top members of the ruling junta were among those who won seats, including Prime Minister Thein Sein, who also heads the USDP.


Myo Thein
Director
Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
myothein19@gmail.com
myothein@bdcburma.org
+44 208 493 9137
+44 787 788 2386
Skype: myo.thein19
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