Aung San Suu Kyi is free today in Burma

A moral giant emerges from an unjust captivity to thousands of supporters.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma, November 13, 2010

Violence subsided around Burma and crowds of thousands gathered outside of her home waiting to see her free. Aung San Suu Kyi, The Lady, Nobel Laureate, and the last real candidate to win the popular vote in a free election in Burma over 20 years ago has served the last day of her unjust sentence. She has spent 15 of the past 21 years unjustly imprisoned.



The junta leaders are silent. In reality they are terrified of Aung San Suu Kyi and the moral authority that she wields. They are violent murderous thugs hanging on to power using brute force and terror. They are also not terribly bright. In 1990 the people of Burma had a chance to vote in a free election. They tried to run a smooth “election” in 2010 barring the press, numerous political parties and barring Aung San Suu Kyi from participating with a sham trial in 2009 and later disbanding her political party. Yet, the results are in; the farce is exposed and the populace was outraged.

As she emerges from her captivity as a moral exemplar and a symbol of nonviolent resistance they are exposed as the small and pathetic bullies that they are. Large crowds of thousands of Burmese greeted the end of her captivity chanting “Long live Daw Aung San Suu Kyi” near her home on University Avenue in Rangoon. Aung San Suu Kyi emerged and addressed the crowd, saying: "There is a time to be quiet and a time to talk. People must work in unison. Only then can we achieve our goal," but was drowned out by jubilant chants celebrating her release.

It is a wonderful day that after long years denied her freedom. Today Aung San Suu Kyi is free. Unfortunately over 2,200 political prisoners still remain behind bars.

Update: Burma Democratic Concern sent me the following e-mail message: Burma's legitimate leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is free today and she will ADDRESS the public tomorrow at the NLD headquarters at 12:00 pm Burma Standard Time (GMT+6.5). As I post this it is 10:53pm EST and the time in Burma is 10:23am on Sunday which means that she will be making her address in about an hour and a half which will be 12:30am Eastern Standard Time.