Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Issues 2012
Candidates 2012
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Jack & Suzy Welch
Frederick Kempe
Christopher Papagianis
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Full Focus
Editor's Choice
Our best photos from the last 24 hours. See more
Images of April
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Powerful "Flame" cyber weapon found in Iran
5:12pm EDT
Miami witness describes horror of cannibalistic attack
4:27pm EDT
Doctors disagree on when to stop PSA screening
11:07am EDT
European shares knocked by Spain bank worries
1:05pm EDT
Spanish debt costs spiral as crisis deepens
|
1:08pm EDT
Discussed
102
Iran has enough uranium for five bombs: expert
91
Protests planned after minister calls for gays to be fenced in
62
Biden tells West Point cadets: prepare for new threats
Watched
A look at the UK’s most beautiful face
Thu, May 10 2012
Violence erupts as Nepal fails to pass new constitution
Sun, May 27 2012
Tony Blair on Rupert Murdoch, spin and politics
12:05pm EDT
Suu Kyi set for overseas venture after 24 years in Myanmar
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Myanmar protests an opportunity to show more reform
Fri, May 25 2012
Suu Kyi to make first trip out of Myanmar in 24 years: party
Thu, May 24 2012
Myanmar police move against spreading power protests
Thu, May 24 2012
U.S. firms eye Myanmar as sanctions suspended
Fri, May 18 2012
U.S. suspends sanctions on investment in Myanmar
Thu, May 17 2012
Related Topics
World »
Myanmar »
Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi smiles as she is escorted in her vehicle after addressing supporters in Yangon May 25, 2012. A week of protests in Myanmar over chronic power outages gained momentum on Friday after opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi gave them her blessing and the government's response added to popular outrage.
Credit: Reuters/Minzayar
By Martin Petty
BANGKOK |
Mon May 28, 2012 3:23pm EDT
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi ventures outside Myanmar for the first time in 24 years on Tuesday in an unmistakable display of confidence in the liberalisation taking shape in her country after five decades of military rule.
The bright lights of Bangkok will greet Suu Kyi when she arrives in the Thai capital late on Tuesday, a stark contrast to her dimly lit home city of Yangon, where daily power outages have sparked protests by people testing the limits of freedom under a new quasi-civilian government.
The democracy leader who spent 15 years in detention during Myanmar's fight against dictatorship will give a speech this week at the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Bangkok, a sprawling city that boomed as Suu Kyi's Myanmar wilted under sanctions and decades of inept army rule.
Until now, Suu Kyi has refused to leave Myanmar during brief periods of freedom from her years of detention, fearing the generals she was challenging would not let her back.
Her decision to leave the country she had only expected to return to temporarily in 1988 comes after a year of dramatic change unthinkable in March 2011, when junta strongman Than Shwe made way for a government stacked with his protégés following elections seen as rigged to favor an army-backed party and held while Suu Kyi was under house arrest.
But over the 18 months since the election which the army-backed party won, the changes have been staggering.
Suu Kyi has since been released and is now a parliamentarian having been convinced by reformist President Thein Sein, a former junta heavyweight she says is sincere and trustworthy, to contest a by-election and take part in a political system devised and dominated by retired and serving soldiers.
HUGE SIGNIFICANCE
Hundreds of political prisoners have been freed, protests legalized, media censorship eased and dialogue with ethnic minority rebels is moving forward, as is economic liberalisation.
The reforms have convinced Suu Kyi to support the suspension of Western sanctions after staunchly advocating embargoes to squeeze the generals. The reforms have also convinced her that she is free to go abroad, and will be allowed back.
"After the 2010 elections, no one believed this would happen, it's beyond our expectations," said Kyaw Zwa Moe, a Myanmar exile and editor of the Thailand-based English-language edition of the Irrawaddy magazine.
"To see her leave the country and attend an event like this is hugely significant, even for Thein Sein's government. The world has looked to her as a leader of our country and it's a chance for her to convince the international community to help prevent these reforms from pausing."
Thein Sein was also due to give a speech at the same forum in Bangkok, but has since cancelled his visit, according to Myanmar government sources, who requested anonymity.
But while a boon for Myanmar, Suu Kyi's international exposure and new role as a parliamentarian will likely add to the burden of expectations placed upon her by a public who have for years seen her as their sole hope for change.
Suu Kyi, the daughter of the leader of Myanmar's campaign for independence from British rule, spent years away from home, including many in Britain after marrying a British academic, Michael Aris.
She returned to her homeland in 1988 to take care of her dying mother and got caught up in a student-led democracy uprising that swept the country that year and which the military eventually crushed. Suu Kyi was first detained in 1989.
From then on, she refused to leave, even after her husband was diagnosed with cancer. Aris died in 1999.
She is also due next month to visit Switzerland, Norway and Britain.
She will give an address in Geneva to an international labor conference on June 14 and will spend a week in Britain from June 18, during which she will give a speech to both houses of parliament.
(Editing by Robert Birsel)
World
Myanmar
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.