Rangoon, Nov. 14: The Burma’s democracy leader, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, who was freed after seven years of house arrest, spoke to about 5,000 people who crowded around the 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”.
Ms Suu Kyi, 65, told reporters that her message to the junta leader, Mr 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. There was speculation whether the charismatic and relentlessly outspoken Ms 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.
“If my people are not free, how can I say I am free? she said and added “I’d like to listen to human voices.”
“We have a lot of things to do,” said Ms Suu Kyi, who has come to symbolise the struggle for democracy in the isolated and secretive nation once known as Burma. The country has been ruled by the military since 1962.
While her release thrilled her supporters, 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.
Welcoming the release, the European Commissioner, Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, urged that no restrictions be placed on her. “She’s our country’s hero,” said Mr Tin Tin Yu, 20-year-old, university student, standing near Ms Suu Kyi’s house on Saturday.