Burma releases pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
The Burmese military authorities have released the pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, from house arrest.
Appearing outside her home in Rangoon, Ms Suu Kyi told thousands of jubilant supporters they had to "work in unison" to achieve their goals.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years. It is not yet clear if any conditions have been placed on her release.
US President Barack Obama welcomed her release as "long overdue".
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Ms Suu Kyi was an "inspiration", and called on Burma to free all its remaining political prisoners.
Ms Suu Kyi, 65, was freed after her latest period of house arrest expired and was not renewed by the military government.
Her release comes six days after the political party supported by the military won the country's first election in 20 years. The ballot was widely condemned as a sham.
'Long overdue'
For more than 24 hours crowds of people had been waiting anxiously near Ms Suu Kyi's home and the headquarters of her now-disbanded National League for Democracy (NLD) party for news of her fate.
Many wore T-shirts sporting the slogan "We stand with Aung San Suu Kyi".
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
John Simpson
World Affairs Editor, BBC News, Burma
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What we saw here were scenes of extraordinary, unforgettable pleasure. But no-one knows what comes next. Aung San Suu Kyi phrased her new policy with deliberate vagueness when she talked about people working together to achieve their goals.
Working with the opposition leaders who thought she was wrong to opt out of last week's elections, certainly. But working with the generals who run this country and who have kept her prisoner so long - that's going to be very hard indeed.
This isn't South Africa and the old regime isn't just prepared to fade away. We'll get more of a clue to all of this on Sunday at noon Rangoon time, when Aung San Suu Kyi holds a press conference - assuming that it's allowed to go ahead by the authorities. But the generals are taking a huge risk in releasing her from house arrest and the battle of wills is only just beginning.
On Saturday afternoon, a stand-off developed between armed riot police and several hundred people gathered on the other side of the security barricade blocking the road leading to her lakeside home. Some of them later sat down in the road in an act of defiance.
As tensions rose, reports came in at about 1700 (1030 GMT) that official cars had been seen entering Ms Suu Kyi's compound, and then that unnamed officials had formally read the release order to her.
Hundreds of people then surged forward and rushed forwards to greet her.
The ecstatic crowd swelled to three or four thousand before Ms Suu Kyi, in a traditional lilac dress, finally appeared, about 30 minutes later, on a platform behind the gate of her compound.
She took a flower from someone in the crowd and placed it in her hair.
Ms Suu Kyi then tried to speak, but was drowned out by the noise of the crowd, many singing the national anthem and chanting her name repeatedly.
"I have to give you the first political lesson since my release. We haven't seen each other for so long, so we have many things to talk about. If you have any words for me, please come to the [NLD] headquarters tomorrow and we can talk then and I'll use a loud speaker," she joked.
"There is a time to be quiet and a time to talk," she added. "People must work in unison. Only then can we achieve our goal."
She then went back inside her home for the first meeting with NLD leaders in seven years. She also spoke to her youngest son, Kim Aris, who was awaiting her release in neighbouring Thailand. Ms Suu Kyi had two sons with late husband, British scholar Michael Aris.
International leaders were quick to welcome Ms Suu Kyi's release.
Mr Ban said she was an "inspiration", but he regretted that she had been excluded from the elections.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario