New course for reconciliation?

Immediately upon being freed from house arrest, Burma's pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, vowed to continue to fight for human rights and democracy. On 14 November, her first day of freedom after spending more than seven years under house arrest, most of that in solitary confinement, she was greeted by tens of thousands of well-wishers, many shouting 'We love you Suu!' in Burmese. Thereupon, she made her way to the headquarters of her National League for Democracy (NLD), in central Rangoon. 'I am so excited that she is free,' Mae, a 17-year-old university student in Rangoon, told this writer. 'She has been under house arrest for most of my life; now, we hope things are going to change here.'

In all initial statements and interviews immediately following her release, Suu Kyi has been very cautious. 'There's a conscious attempt not to be provocative and inadvertently upset the generals,' says Justin Wintle, a British scholar and biographer of Suu Kyi. 'But her position has not changed: she steadfastly stands by all she has fought for over the years.' Indeed, Suu Kyi quickly confirmed to members of the NLD that she would 'continue my efforts to bring about national reconciliation, and I need the support of our people.'The years in detention have certainly not dented Suu Kyi's popularity. If anything, her time in house arrest has seen her public esteem grow. This time around, in the aftermath of the 7 November polls, far more people came out for a glimpse of the 65-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate than the last time she was released, in May 2002. This time too, all of them risked long prison terms just by being there. A significant proportion of those in the streets this time were young people, many of them barely aware of the pro-democracy leader's existence when she was last freed. 'I wasn't interested in politics before the elections,' said Moe Myat, another student from Rangoon. 'Now I want to learn everything I can about the situation in my country, and Daw Suu can certainly help us change the country for the better.'