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guardian.co.uk Aung San Suu Kyi release: live coverage
9.55am: In his latest report for the Guardian, Jack Davies reports that Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday chose one last night of imprisonment so that she might walk truly free. He said the 65-year-old was told mid-afternoon Burma time yesterday that she was free to leave the two-storey lakeside villa which the junta had made her prison for most of this decade. However, attached to her release, the military sought to impose strict conditions, understood to be restrictions on where she could travel within Burma, and with whom she could meet. He writes: "It was rumoured that Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's best-known democracy advocate and a Nobel peace laureate, demanded an unconditional release and insisted on negotiating her unfettered freedom with military officials before she would set foot outside her door." Today there has so far been no formal statement from Burma's ruling generals on Aung San Suu Kyi's release, but her lawyer Nyan Win told reporters earlier today: "Nothing has happened so far, but her house arrest expires today." To remind you all: Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in elections in 1990 which were promptly ignored by the junta. She has subsequently been detained for 15 of the last 21 years. The first elections since then took place on Sunday but were widely labelled a sham by outside observers. The NLD refused to take part and has now been ordered by the military to disband. The junta-dominated Union Solidarity and Development party looks set to take almost all the seats in both houses of parliament. Among the new MPs is Thein Sein, the current prime minister, who stepped down from the military to stand. 10.07am: While we're awaiting further news, you can have a look through a gallery of the pro-democracy leader's life and another showing private photographs of her as a young bride-to-be, mother and housewife that belonged to her late husband, Michael Aris. There's also a timeline and a profile of her, which describes how she has become "an icon, a universal symbol of courage, endurance and peaceful resistance, a new Mandela." 10.43am: Reuters reports there are around 1,000 people gathered near the pro-democracy leader's home, many chanting "Release Aung San Suu Kyi" and "Long live Aung San Suu Kyi". A government source told the news agency she would likely be released late in the day, but the comment could not be officially confirmed. Reuters suggests that freeing Aung San Suu Kyi could be a bid by the ruling junta to seek some international legitimacy. Such a move would be the first step towards a review of Western sanctions on the resource-rich country, the largest in mainland Southeast Asia and labelled by rights groups as one of the world's most corrupt and oppressive. Freeing the charismatic 65-year-old leader could also divert some attention from an election widely dismissed as a sham to cement military power under a facade of democracy. "The regime needs to create some breathing space urgently," said a retired Burmese academic, who asked not to be identified. "They may do that by releasing her and might think it will help improve an image tarnished by electoral fraud." 10.53am: The BBC's Adam Mynott says the riot police have left and hundreds of people have surged forward outside the gates. He says there are reports that the pro-democracy leader will adress the crowd later today. Here's a gallery of scenes around Aung San Suu Kyi's home today. 11.09am: Amnesty International secretary general Salil Shetty said: "While Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's release is certainly welcome, it only marks the end of an unfair sentence that was illegally extended, and is by no means a concession on the part of the authorities. "The fact remains that authorities should never have arrested her or the many other prisoners of conscience in Burma in the first place, locking them out of the political process." He said it was now important the authorities ensured her security and "put an end to the ongoing injustice of political imprisonment in the country". 11.24am: "There is a time to be quiet and a time to talk. People must work in unison. Only then can we achieve our goal." She has now gone back inside her house. It is unclear what her movements will be for the rest of the day, but she will speak at greater length tomorrow at midday local time outside the NLD's headquarters. 11.28am: The prime minister added: "Aung San Suu Kyi is an inspiration for all of us who believe in freedom of speech, democracy and human rights." 11.36am: Zoya Phan, international co-ordinator at Burma Campaign UK, has described Aung San Suu Kyi's release as a public relations exercise by the military junta, which should not be mistaken for a step towards democratic reform. She said: "I am thrilled to see our democracy leader free at last, but the release is not part of any political process, instead it is designed to get positive publicity for the dictatorship after the blatant rigging of elections on November 7. "We must not forget the thousands of other political prisoners still suffering in Burma's jails." There are more than 2,200 political prisoners in Burma held under vague laws frequently used to criminalise peaceful political dissent, according to human rights campaigners. 11.38am: "Her release proves that no injustice can last forever, and while Burma's junta can continue its policy of repression it has never been able to wholly silence her voice. "Despite enduring two decades of separation, her family has displayed great strength which has proved an inspiration to us all." Labour's shadow foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said: "For Aung San Suu Kyi to be able to speak as a free woman for the first time in eight years is fantastic news. "Aung San Suu Kyi is the symbol of the hope of Burma's people which has survived against the odds under a brutal and corrupt military regime. "This is a significant step, but I hope only the first step. The world must keep up the campaign to support Aung San Suu Kyi and for the release of thousands of other political prisoners in a journey towards a free and democratic Burma." 11.53am: Reuters reports that she is preparing to hold her first meeting with senior members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) later today. 12.00pm: "She must now be allowed to assume a role of her choosing in the political life of her country without further hindrance or restriction. "Last week's sham elections will not bring peace and prosperity to Burma. The regime now needs to release the other 2,100 political prisoners and begin a genuine dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and all opposition and ethnic groups. "These remain the crucial first steps to solving Burma's many problems and addressing the pressing needs of its people." 12.20pm: "She is a hero of mine and a source of inspiration for all who work to advance basic human rights in Burma and around the world," he said. "Whether Aung San Suu Kyi is living in the prison of her house, or the prison of her country, does not change the fact that she, and the political opposition she represents, has been systematically silenced, incarcerated, and deprived of any opportunity to engage in political processes." 12.31pm: French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned the military junta against "any restrictions on the freedom of movement and expression" of the Nobel laureatte. Any new restrictions on her would "constitute a new unacceptable denial of her rights", he said. 1.08pm: Former South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk and Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba gave a joint toast in her honor. "I sincerely hope next year when we have the conference she will attend," said de Klerk, who won the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela in 1993 for his efforts to end apartheid. "For years we have been asking at the laureate conference for her release," he said. "We welcome it, and we hope it will last, and there won't be a regression of any nature." Shirin Ebadi, one of Iran's first female judges and the 2003 Peace Prize winner, reacted with a simple "Bravo." "It's a victory over wrong," she said. "Like the past, I hope she can act for democracy." 1.12pm: "University Avenue, the street on which Aung San Suu Kyi lives, and which has been blocked off for seven years, has been transformed into part-party part-vigil as thousands have flocked to the democracy icon's gate. "People are openly weeping at the news she has been released, cars are beeping horns, and people are dancing, while others are sitting at her bamboo fence, singing and chanting Good health Aung San Suu Kyi. "Thousands of people have appeared, just today, in t-shirts bearing 'The Lady's' likeness, and the words, 'We stand with Aung San Suu Kyi'. It's a t-shirt that would have landed people in jail a few weeks ago. "The police, usually feared as the frontline of Burma's brutal security apparatus, have come in for huge amounts of ridicule and ironic cheers, two armed platoons, dressed in riot gear and carrying shotguns, stood at attention across the road most of the afternoon. When they were finally given the order to leave, they were jeered all the way down the street." 2.33pm: "Rangoon is a city of palpable excitement tonight, across the city people are out, sitting in the tea-shops which are the social hub of Burmese life, discussing Aung San Suu Kyi's release. This was a day of enormous anticipation, which, threatened to fall in to huge disappointment when, by late afternoon, her release had still not materialised. People are overjoyed at the release of their democracy icon. "Usually, politics is the last topic of conversation Burmese people will enter into. Government spies are everywhere, and it is simply not safe. But tonight, everybody in Rangoon is talking about Aung San Suu Kyi, her release, and what it means for their country. This has excited the Burmese people in a way the recent general election did not. "Police remain on standby throughout the city, but there is no mood for protest, just of excitement. "There are no details known yet on what, if any, conditions have been imposed on her, but it is expected the government will attempt to impose some. During her previous brief spells at liberty, the military restricted where she could go (including confining her to Rangoon) and with whom she could meet. Every time, she has railed against and defied the government's restrictions, and there is every reason to believe she will do the same again this time." 3.59pm: Khin Yee said he was happy to see her in good health, and that the authorities were ready to provide any assistance she needs, the report said. The police chief told her that the authorities wanted to maintain the rule of law, peace, stability and tranquility, and the pro-democracy leader replied "she feels the same way, too," it added. 4.21pm: Here's a recap of today's events: • Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's pro-democracy leader, has been released from her latest period of house arrest after seven years. • She told thousands of jubilant supporters gathered outside the compound where she has been confined that "if we work in unity, we will achieve our goal". • She is due to speak at greater length tomorrow at the headquarters of her party, the National League for Democracy. • It is not yet known whether the military junta has imposed any conditions on her release. • World leaders, including US President Barack Obama and British prime minister David Cameron, have welcomed her release and urged the regime not to impose any further restrictions on her.
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