Overdue Freedom

Crowds Mark Suu Kyi's Release

Junta releases Myanmar dissident.

After spending 15 of the last 20 years under house arrest, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and renowned dissident Aung San Suu Kyi was released early Saturday morning. A throng of supporters gathered in anticipation, wearing T-shirts that declare “We stand with Aung San Suu Kyi,” and carrying pictures of the democratic activist. Suu Kyi, 65, has been released twice before, in 1995 and 2002, but in both instances she was soon returned to house arrest. Her liberation comes as her most recent sentence expires, and just days after the first parliamentary elections in the repressive regime in 20 years. Suu Kyi has promised not to quit politics if she is let free. “This woman didn’t go through hell to remain silent at this particular point,” said one Myanmar specialist.