AUNG SAN SUU KYI357jailed NLD leader was briefl y glimpsed at the gate of her
compound, tears in her eyes, silently accepting the bless-
ing of the monks.
A couple of meetings with a UN envoy, Ibrahim Gam-
bari, and members of the military later that year failed
to result in Suu Kyi’s release. Her house arrest was ex-
tended a year in 2008 and then by a further 18 months
in August 2009 following her encounter with John Yet-
taw (see box, p 356 ).
With the 2010 election in the bag, the regime fi nally
saw fi t to release her, announcing in theNew Light of
Myanmarr that she had been pardoned for ‘good con-
duct’. Suu Kyi mocks the government’s English lan-
guage mouthpiece as the ‘The New Blight of Myanmar’,
so it’s a fair assumption she didn’t take too seriously
the same paper’s insistence, a few months later, that
she and her supporters would come to a ‘tragic end’ for
their continued calls for sanctions and a ‘second Pan-
glong Conference’ to discuss ethnic issues.
An Unpredictable Future
Emerging from house arrest in November 2010, Suu
Kyi addressed a jubilant crowd. ‘I’m going to work for
national reconciliation. That is a very important thing’,
she said, adding, ‘There is nobody I cannot talk to. I am
prepared to talk with anyone. I have no personal grudge
toward anybody.’
Initially, Suu Kyi’s off er fell on deaf ears. However, in
August 2011, the regime began to take a more concilia-
tory approach. At the time of writing there have been
two rounds of talks between Suu Kyi and a government
minister in which both sides agreed ‘to cooperate on
national stability and development’. Also, for the fi rst
time since 2003, the NLD leader has been allowed to
travel out of Yangon on political business. On a trip to
Bago, thousands of well-wishers lined the streets, and
in the nearby town of Tha Nat Pin, where she opened a
library, Suu Kyi told the assembled crowd ‘We can de-
velop this country only when we all work together.’
‘It’s still not very clear still what her role is going
to be’, says Thant Myint-U, commenting on the much
more complex nature of Myanmar politics today versus
the united opposition that existed back in the 1990s.
Aung Zaw, editor of the Irrawaddy, sums up the situ-
ation when he says that Suu Kyi ‘steps into the fray at
a time when the NLD requires fresh ideas and strong
leadership’. Conscious of this, Suu Kyi has repeatedly
reached out to, and mentioned the work of, younger
NLD and democracy supporters in the many interviews
and speeches she has given since her release.
How long will Aung San Suu Kyi remain at large?
Nobody knows, least of all Suu Kyi herself. ‘I want to do
as much as I can while I’m free’, she said in a January
2011 interview withTime. Over two decades since she
mounted that podium at Shwedagon Paya, and despite
everything she has undergone since, the Lady’s deter-
mination to fi ght for democracy and freedom for the
people of Myanmar appears undiminished.
2000
Begins second period of house
arrest in September; a month
later starts secret talks with
the junta, facilitated by UN
special envoy Rizali Ismail.2002
Released in May; returns to
campaigning around Yangon
and in late June makes a
triumphant visit to Mandalay,
her fi rst trip to Myanmar’s
second-largest city since 1989.2003
In May, while touring northern
Myanmar, Suu Kyi and 250
NLD members are attacked
by a pro-junta mob; at least
70 people are killed. Another
period of house arrest follows.2007
In September she makes a
fl eeting appearance, greeting
protesting monks at her gate.
In October a meeting with
UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari is
followed by talks with NLD and
regime reps.2008
Suu Kyi’s detention is
extended for another year in
May despite this contravening
Myanmar’s law requiring a
person to be put on trial or
released within a fi ve-year
period.2010
Released on 13 November, six
days after the general election;
10 days later, is reunited with
son Kim, who brings her a
puppy as a present.2011
Suu Kyi gives the prestigious
Reith Lectures on BBC
Radio (www.bbc.co.uk/
programmes/b0126d29) and
journeys to Bagan with her
son Kim, her fi rst time out of
Yangon in eight years.