Asia-Pacific News

World leaders welcome release of Aung San Suu Kyi

Nov 13, 2010, 16:16 GMT

A supporter flashes a V for Victory sign (front) as Burma Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi greets thousands of supporters over the fence of her house as she is set free in Yangon. EPA/STF

World leaders welcomed Saturday the release of Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, even as they noted that more than 2,000 political prisoners remain in the country's jails.

The leaders also heaped accolades on Suu Kyi, who has faced severe restrictions by the ruling military government for 15 of the last 20 years, for her role in supporting democracy.

Former South African archbishop Desmond Tutu deemed Suu Kyi, 65, a 'global symbol of moral courage.' United States President Barack Obama said she was a 'hero' and along with United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon called the Myanmar opposition leader an 'inspiration.'

The US president charged that the Asian country's opposition has been 'systematically silenced, incarcerated, and deprived of any opportunity to engage in political processes.'

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was released to massive cheers from her supporters, who flooded the streets outside her home in the capital Yangon.

European leaders, including European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, were also quick to hail the release and urge greater freedoms in Myanmar.

The country last week held elections for the first time in 20 years, but the results were considered a sham in the West.

'Her detention was a travesty, designed only to silence the voice of the Burmese people,' British Prime Minister David Cameron said, calling Suu Kyi 'an inspiration for all of us who believe in freedom of speech, democracy and human rights.'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Suu Kyi's 'non-violence and persistence have made her into a much admired example.' Like neighbouring Switzerland, Berlin called for the other political prisoners to also be released.

'The fact remains that authorities should never have arrested her or the many other prisoners of conscience in Burma in the first place,' Amnesty International said in a statement, noting that rights abuses are rife in Burmese jails.

In Asia, Thailand and Japan were quick to welcome the release.

'Her release marks another important step in the national reconciliation and democratization process in Myanmar,' the Thai Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Myanmar should 'take further positive measures in the future to realize improvement of the human rights situation, democratization and national reconciliation.'

Referring to Myanmar's myriad problems, including deep poverty and a recent revival of violence along its border with Thailand, former US president Jimmy Carter bemoaned the plight of its population.

'It is sad to see a country of such great natural wealth that is so fractured and unable to properly protect and care for its people in a way that allows all of them to prosper,' he said.

Suu Kyi has faced constant pressure from the ruling military junta ever since her party, the National League for Democracy, won the 1990 elections.

The results of that vote were ruled invalid by the military, to much international outcry.

'It is important that her release is unconditional, and that this is honoured in practice,' said Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.