YANGON, Myanmar (Nov 13, 2010) – Myanmar’s military government freed its archrival, democracy heroine Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and tasted freedom today for the first time in 7 1/2 years, as several thousands of jubilant supporters stormed the lakeside compound that was her home and prison minutes after the country’s military rulers authorized her release.
While her release elated many, from ordinary Myanmar citizens to world leaders, some warned her struggle was far from over.
The release 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.
The Santos Republic Crew with its founder and publisher, MJ Santos wishes Suu Kyi well in her future endeavors and applauds Burma’s military government for moving forward in the right direction. We wish Myanmar and its peoples the very best as they journey towards peace and prosperity within its borders and neighbors.
BACKGROUND:
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.
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. She is the only person in history to receive the Nobel in detention, and never received the award in person.
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.
