Myanmar Democracy Icon Suu Kyi Released

[webfact]

BREAKING NEWS:

Myanmar democracy icon Suu Kyi released: official

by Hla Hla Htay

YANGON, November 13, 2010 (AFP) - Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest Saturday, an official said, as crowds of excited supporters waited outside her home for a glimpse of their idol.

The crowd cheered and began to surge fowards as police began removing barricades around her crumbling mansion where she has been locked up by the military junta for most of the past two decades.

The authorities went inside to read the order to release her from house arrest, a government official said.

"She is released now," said the official, who did not want to be named.

More than 1,000 people were gathered outside in hope of seeing the 65-year-old dissident, known to her supporters simply as "The Lady".

Although she has been sidelined and silenced by the junta -- occasionally released briefly only to be put back in confinement -- for many in the impoverished nation she still embodies hope of a better future.

"I think of her as my mother and also my sister and grandmother because she's the daughter of our independence leader General Aung San," said 45-year-old Naing Naing Win. "She has her father's blood."

Despite the risks of opposing the military regime in a country with more than 2,200 political prisoners, many supporters wore T-shirts bearing her image and the words: "We stand with Aung San Suu Kyi."

Undercover police were photographing and filming the crowds.

Myanmar's most famous dissident has 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 the first election in 20 years.

The democracy icon swept her party to victory in elections two decades ago, but it was never allowed to take power.

When last released in 2002 she drew huge crowds wherever she went -- a reminder that years of detention had not dimmed her immense popularity.

Some fear that junta chief Than Shwe will continue to put restrictions on the freedom of his number one enemy.

But her lawyer Nyan Win has suggested she would refuse to accept any conditions on her release, as in the past when she tried in vain to leave Yangon in defiance of the regime's orders.

Her 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.

Her youngest son Kim Aris, 33, arrived in Bangkok ahead of her release but it was unclear whether he would be allowed to visit his mother.

Suu Kyi's freedom is seen by observers as an effort by the regime to tame international criticism of Sunday's election, the first since the 1990 vote.

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

Partial election results show that the military and its political proxies have secured a majority in parliament.

The NLD's decision not to participate in the election deeply split Myanmar's opposition and Suu Kyi's party has been disbanded, leaving her future role uncertain.

Little is known about her plans although her lawyer says she has expressed a desire to join Twitter to reach out to the Internet generation.

Few expect her to give up her long struggle for freedom from repression and attention is now on whether she can reunite the splintered opposition and bring about the democratic change that has eluded Myanmar for so long.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2010-11-13

[george]

AP says #AungSanSuuKyi has to decide whether or not to sign the release papers and walk free.

Sky and BBc news confirming Aung San Suu Kyi has been released, crowd are going mad as she appears on platform

[mythBuster]

It seems that this website was fa ahead of its time yesterday. That is remarkable. Next step: Thailand will release its political prisoners?????

[george]

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi appears outside house: AFP

YANGON, November 13, 2010 (AFP) - Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared at the gate of her house on Saturday waving and smiling after her release from detention, according to an AFP reporter.

-- AFP 2010-11-13

[george]

BBC has a reporter on the scene outside Aung San Suu Kyi's house communicating by phone. Crowd too excited to let her speak. / Bangkok Post

ASSK wearing lilac dress waving to cheering crowds outside home in Rangoon /The Nation

[george]

Suu Kyi released — finally

Sat Nov 13 12:15:40 2010 by IANS

Yangon, Nov 13 (IANS) Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was Saturday released from house arrest to the cheers of thousands of supporters, media reports said.

The India-educated Suu Kyi’s detention expired Saturday, and the military junta Friday signed orders authorising her release.

Suu Kyi, 65, is the daughter of Myanmar’s independence hero, General Aung San.

Xinhua reported that Suu Kyi, leader of the dissolved National League for Democracy (NLD), was freed after 18 months of confinement at her residence in Yangon.

Barricades placed in front of her lakeside residence had been removed, it said. Hundreds of people along with journalists had been gathering day and night in anticipation of her release since Friday.

The charismatic opposition leader has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years.

-- IANS 2010-11-13

[elcent]

good news, but that doesn't make the junta look better though.

Good luck and all the best to her and her family and relatives.

[george]

RT @WilliamsJon: In age of going live to remote places,reporting from Burma is like turning back the clock: reporters on terrible phone lines.

[george]

RT @markmackinnon: Aung San Suu Kyi's first words to supporters: "We must work together in unison to achieve our goal."

[sabaijai]

Burma releases Aung San Suu Kyi

BBC 13 November 2010 Last updated at 11:15 GMT

The military authorities in Burma have released the pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

She has appeared in front of a crowd of her supporters who rushed to her house in Rangoon when nearby barricades were removed by the security forces.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years.

Earlier, Ms Suu Kyi's lawyer warned that she was highly unlikely to accept a conditional release if it excluded her from political activity.

The government has restricted her travel and freedom to associate during previous brief spells of liberty, and demanded she quit politics.

She was originally due to be released from house arrest last year, but a case involving an American who swam across Inya Lake to her home, claiming he was on a mission to save her, prompted the latest detention.

Last Sunday, the political party supported by the military government won the country's first election in 20 years. The ballot was widely condemned.

-- BBC 2010-11-13

[george]

Al Jazeera reports that Aung San Suu Kyi, released after a long house arrest, has addressed the crowd and went back in her house. / Al Jazeera

Trucks full of riot police standby 150m from ASSK house. / @gskphoto

RT @WilliamsJon: ASSK will speak again in Rangoon tomorrow at midday local time

[moetownblues]

good news, but that doesn't make the junta look better though.

Good luck and all the best to her and her family and relatives.

I'll second that, good luck to her and it's about time.

[eek]

Amazing. Never thought it would happen.

[george]

Supporters still outside Aung San Suu Kyi's house, chanting and cheering as night falls. /via @markmackinnon

Mizzima: Aung San Suu Kyi is wearing a water-hyacinth-coloured blouse and longyi, w/ single white and red flowers in her hair.

Incredible coverage from Rangoon: amazing when journalists are supposed to be banned in Burma. The crackly phone line adds to the drama... /via @WilliamsJon

Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyer urges people not to get too excited..says nothing may change /via @sharontobin

"Human beings the world over need freedom and security that they may be able to realize their full potential." /via @Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma

[Brewsta]

good news, but that doesn't make the junta look better though.

Good luck and all the best to her and her family and relatives.

I'll second that, good luck to her and it's about time.

Stay safe dear Lady and (literally) watch your steps...........

regards to All,

Brewsta

[Darvil]

I was in Yangon this summer and had a few opportunity to drive by her house.

I really wish I was in BKK right now. I would fly over and give my support.

[niveknedwob]

Infinitely more 'foxy' than Nelson Mandela - let's hope she does better.

[george]

Update:

Myanmar democracy icon Suu Kyi tastes freedom

by Hla Hla Htay

YANGON, November 13, 2010 (AFP) - Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi walked free Saturday from the lakeside home that has been her prison for most of the past two decades, to the delight of huge crowds of waiting supporters.

Waving and smiling, the Nobel Peace Prize winner appeared briefly to loud cheers and clapping from the thousands of people gathered for a glimpse of the 65-year-old, known in Myanmar simply as "The Lady".

"We must work together in unison," she told the sea of jubilant supporters, suggesting she has no intention of giving up her long fight for democracy in what is one of the world's oldest dictatorships.

She asked the crowd to come to her party's headquarters on Sunday to hear her speak after she struggled to make herself heard over the roar of cheers, then went back inside her home as the crowds lingered outside.

British Prime Minister David Cameron was among the first of the world leaders to welcome her release, branding her detention a "travesty".

"This is 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.

Although she has been sidelined and silenced by the junta -- occasionally released briefly only to be put back in confinement -- for many in the impoverished nation she still embodies hope of a better future.

"I think of her as my mother and also my sister and grandmother because she's the daughter of our independence leader General Aung San," said 45-year-old Naing Naing Win. "She has her father's blood."

Despite the risks of opposing the military regime in a country with more than 2,200 political prisoners, many supporters wore T-shirts bearing her image and the words: "We stand with Aung San Suu Kyi."

Undercover police were photographing and filming the crowds.

Myanmar's most famous dissident has 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 the first election in 20 years.

The democracy icon swept her party to victory in elections two decades ago, but it was never allowed to take power.

Her release comes just days after the first vote in the country since 1990, which was boycotted by Suu Kyi's party and was widely decried in the West as a sham.

When last released in 2002 she drew huge crowds wherever she went -- a reminder that years of detention had not dimmed her immense popularity.

Some fear that junta chief Than Shwe will continue to put restrictions on the freedom of his number one enemy.

But her lawyer Nyan Win has suggested she would refuse to accept any conditions on her release, as in the past when she tried in vain to leave Yangon in defiance of the regime's orders.

Her 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.

Her youngest son Kim Aris, 33, arrived in Bangkok ahead of her release but it was unclear whether he would be allowed to visit his mother.

Suu Kyi's freedom is seen by observers as an effort by the regime to tame international criticism of Sunday's election, the first since the 1990 vote.

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

The NLD's decision not to participate in the election deeply split Myanmar's opposition and Suu Kyi's party has been disbanded, leaving her future role uncertain.

Little is known about her plans although her lawyer says she has expressed a desire to join Twitter to reach out to the Internet generation.

Few expect her to give up her long struggle for freedom from repression and attention is now on whether she can reunite the splintered opposition and bring about the democratic change that has eluded Myanmar for so long.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2010-11-13

[george]

ASEAN chief 'very relieved' at Suu Kyi release

YOKOHAMA, November 13, 2010 (AFP) - ASEAN chief Surin Pitsuswan said Saturday he was "very, very relieved" at the release of Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and that he hoped she will not be detained again.

"I'm very, very relieved and hope that this will contribute to true national reconciliation in Myanmar and that Aung San Suu Kyi will be able to play a role in bringing national reconciliation," Surin told AFP.

Surin is the secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc which has 10 members including military-run Myanmar.

-- AFP 2010-11-13

[jayboy]

Fantastic news.I think this is a moment to pay tribute to the Thai leaders (from Thaksin to Abhisit) who have laboured so hard to secure her release and democratic rights for the oppressed people of Burma.Thailand politicians and the Thai army (instead of tying up business deals with the Burmese junta) should be congratulated for their persistent and unflagging efforts.It's also a moment to pay tribute to the moral courage of ASEAN who have never felt bound by the asinine policy of non interference in the internal matters of other members.How we remember with pride the interventions by Thailand when the Burmese generals stole the election and continued through murder and repression to cow the Burmese population.

If only...

[george]

Amnesty highlights other prisoners as Aung San Suu Kyi freed

LONDON, November 13, 2010 (AFP) - Amnesty International welcomed Saturday's release of Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi but pointed out that more than 2,200 political prisoners remain in detention in that country.

The London-based human rights group said Suu Kyi should never have been arrested and her release was not a "concession" by the regime.

"While Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's release is certainly welcome, it only marks the end of an unfair sentence that was illegally extended, and is by no means a concession on the part of the authorities," secretary general Salil Shetty said in a statement.

"The fact remains that authorities should never have arrested her or the many other prisoners of conscience in Burma in the first place, locking them out of the political process."

He said it was now important the authorities ensured her security and "put an end to the ongoing injustice of political imprisonment in the country".

Amnesty claims there are still more than 2,200 political prisoners in Myanmar being held under vague laws frequently used to criminalise peaceful political dissent.

-- AFP 2010-11-13

[george]

France warns Myanmar against restrictions on freed Suu Kyi

PARIS, November 13, 2010 (AFP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned Myanmar against "any restrictions on the freedom of movement and expression" of Aung Sang Suu Kyi after she was freed Saturday, the presidency said.

In a statement welcoming the release of the democracy icon from years of house arrest, Sarkozy said any new restrictions on her would "constitute a new unacceptable denial of her rights".

-- AFP 2010-11-13

[george]

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's first picture after released today on BBC http://plixi.com/p/56664978

--

Entire telephone system in Burma has crashed, BBC reports

--

@Journotopia: Suu Kyi lawyer Jared Genser saying on BBC it would be "a huge mistake" to relieve pressure on the Burmese regime now.

BBC : Kim Aris knew his mother release. He is still in Bangkok and try to apply Burmese visa again next week.

"“If she walks to Shwedagon, tens of thousands of people will follow her” - student activist Naw San on the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. Lawyer for Aung San Suu Kyi tells BBC junta wanted to restrict her movements to Rangoon, but she refused to sign conditions. /via @markmackinnin

BBC Correspondent from BKK: ASSK refuse to leave her house/country cos she knows once she leaves, she might not get to return to Burma

[george]

Suu Kyi has had phone conversation with youngest son Kim Aris who's in Bkk /via @news1005fm

US President Barack Obama welcomes release of Aung San Suu Kyi, calling her "a hero of mine" /MCOT

[Spee]

While her release is obviously a good thing, let's take care to not over-react. She will still be on the junta's tight leash and could easily be jerked back into line. While symbolically important, her release does very little for the current state of affairs of the citizenry. Until the junta is permanently replaced with some sort of constitutional democracy free of military influence, Myanmar is doomed to remain a third rate banana dictatorship. The world must continue to take a hard line against the Myanmar junta.

[niveknedwob]

Chindit spirit !

[Chris Lawrence]

To have her commitment and courage. I was thinking what she would do on her releas....she spoke to her son.

[Deeral]

Maybe they hope that a short spell of freedom will break her when they lock her up again?

On the face of it, it is good news, but this is a country whose government rapes its own citizens and shoots its own children, so one has to be prepared for the worst.

and Thailand? It looks to me as if Thailand and Burma are far too deep into each others pockets for Thailand ever to take a seriously strong stance against the Junta

[george]

Still no words from Thailand and other Asean governments about Aung San Suu Kyi's release. /via @sunaibkk

[dogleg]

Fantastic news.I think this is a moment to pay tribute to the Thai leaders (from Thaksin to Abhisit) who have laboured so hard to secure her release and democratic rights for the oppressed people of Burma.Thailand politicians and the Thai army (instead of tying up business deals with the Burmese junta) should be congratulated for their persistent and unflagging efforts.It's also a moment to pay tribute to the moral courage of ASEAN who have never felt bound by the asinine policy of non interference in the internal matters of other members.How we remember with pride the interventions by Thailand when the Burmese generals stole the election and continued through murder and repression to cow the Burmese population.

If only...

Nicely put Jayboy. Cheers.