Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will focus on international relations if she is released from house arrest, according to sources close to the National League for Democracy (NLD).
“She is expected to be released in the evening of November 12,” said the source on condition of anonymity. “After her release, she will mainly focus on diplomatic relations with foreign countries, both regional and around the world.”
Her release from an 18-month extension of detention expires Saturday. according to her lawyer Nyan Win.
Suu Kyi said that the country's problems over the past years associated with the junta have been well-founded, according to the source. This time, her politics will be to expand her relations within the international community and to bring democracy to Burma, he said.
She also plans to use her home only for her private life, not for political gatherings, said the source, adding that she intends to advise NLD party elders do likewise.
Now aged 65, Suu Kyi entered the political arena in Burma when she was 43. She has since struggled relentlessly for democratic change in the country. She has been detained under house arrest three times and has spent no less than 15 years in detention. After her release, she has no immediate plans to travel across the country, said the source.
News agency Reuters recently quoted her lawyer Nyan Win as saying that she will not accept any conditions imposed on her freedom after she is released.
Suu Kyi opposed the election held on Sunday and urged voters to exercise their right not to vote. Her party, the NLD, carried out a “No Vote” campaign throughout the pre-election period.
Observers said that the voter turnout was low in Sundays' general election, mainly due to two factors: Suu Kyi's call for the election boycott; and massive fraud by the junta in collecting advance votes before election day.
Meanwhile Kim Aris, 33, the youngest son of Suu Kyi, has applied for a visa to enter Burma. He last saw his mother more than 10 years ago.
In an interview in Bangkok on Monday, he said that he did not know if his mother would be released on Saturday. “They’re unpredictable—these people. We’ll see what they’ll do,” he said.
Kim said he would talk only about their family, “nothing political,” if he is allowed to visit her.
