Myanmar’s Suu Kyi Calls for Unity on First Political Trip
Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi called for unity in her country on Sunday, as she addressed crowds on her first political trip outside her home city since her release from house arrest.
Suu Kyi, who was released from seven straight years of detention days after an election last November, has defied a government security warning with a visit to the Bago region, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Yangon.
Police tried to clear supporters off the roads as hundreds of people lined the streets to greet Suu Kyi as she travelled between towns in the area, many of them shouting and waving small banners saying: "We love Mother Suu!"
The 66-year-old began the one-day trip with a visit to a pagoda in the town of Bago before opening a library in nearby Tha Nat Pin, where she delivered a speech to a crowd of around 600.
"We can develop this country only when we all work together," she said.
"Unity is a strength, unity is needed everywhere and it is needed especially in our country."
She said she had always "tried her best" since she joined politics more than 20 years ago, and would "continue as much as I can".
A convoy of about 30 cars left Yangon early in the morning, also carrying members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, journalists and diplomats.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner told AFP as she embarked on the trip that she was reliant "on the support of the people" -- which appeared to be much in evidence in Bago.
"I'm very happy to see her. We all are," said Win Win Myint, a 23-year-old student in Bago. "I haven't seen her in person before."
Security is a concern as Suu Kyi's convoy was attacked in 2003 during a political trip, in an ambush apparently organized by a junta frightened by her popularity.
"Our party members will take care of her security and also the authorities will help us," Nyan Win, an NLD spokesman, told AFP on Saturday.
He has described the one-day excursion as "political".
In June the military-backed government warned Suu Kyi that a political tour could spark chaos and riots.
She has since tested her freedom with a trip to an ancient temple city in central Myanmar, although politics was not on the agenda.
The democracy champion has spent much of the last two decades in detention, and some observers believe the government would be quick to restrict her freedom again if she were perceived to threaten its rule.
Source: Agence France Presse
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