Aung San Suu Kyi Freed From House Arrest

Sky News

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest for seven years, has been freed by the country's military rulers.

See live coverage of her release on skynews.com/liveplus

The Nobel peace prize winner met jubilant supporters outside her home in the capital Rangoon after winning her freedom.

Sky's correspondent, at the scene, said: "Aung San Suu Kyi looks humbled by this occasion.

"She has been handed white flowers by the crowd. She looks in good spirits and looks healthy."

She added: "It's getting dark here and people had begun to perhaps fear this was not going to happen but in the end this period of house arrest finally came to an end.

"There is a phenomenal amount of pushing and shoving as everybody is desperate to get to the front of the house to get a glimpse of this woman."

A release order was read by authorities to Ms Suu Kyi, whose house arrest order was due to expire today.

Barricades were removed from her home and police were no longer stationed there.

The Sky correspondent said: "All day since first light here there had been police at the barricade, but in fairly small numbers.

"But a couple of hour ago, a crowd started to grow in numbers and about 40 riot police went up to the barricade. - it was very intimidating.

"However things all started to come to an end when they started to unpick the wire and pull back those barricades.

"The crowd started running a quarter of a mile towards Aung San Suu Kyi’s house - a place that had been denied to Burmese for seven years."

Hundreds of supporters of the Nobel peace prize winner had gathered outside her home and party headquarters calling for her to be released.

Adam Arnold, Sky News Online
Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest for seven years, has been freed by the country's military rulers.

See live coverage of her release on skynews.com/liveplus

The Nobel peace prize winner met jubilant supporters outside her home in the capital Rangoon after winning her freedom.

Sky's correspondent, at the scene, said: "Aung San Suu Kyi looks humbled by this occasion.

"She has been handed white flowers by the crowd. She looks in good spirits and looks healthy."

She added: "It's getting dark here and people had begun to perhaps fear this was not going to happen but in the end this period of house arrest finally came to an end.

"There is a phenomenal amount of pushing and shoving as everybody is desperate to get to the front of the house to get a glimpse of this woman."

A release order was read by authorities to Ms Suu Kyi, whose house arrest order was due to expire today.

Barricades were removed from her home and police were no longer stationed there.

Free At Last: Aung San Suu Kyi
Free At Last: Aung San Suu Kyi red chevron
See pictures from down the years one of the world's most prominent political prisoners has spent in detention

The Sky correspondent said: "All day since first light here there had been police at the barricade, but in fairly small numbers.

"But a couple of hour ago, a crowd started to grow in numbers and about 40 riot police went up to the barricade. - it was very intimidating.

"However things all started to come to an end when they started to unpick the wire and pull back those barricades.

"The crowd started running a quarter of a mile towards Aung San Suu Kyi’s house - a place that had been denied to Burmese for seven years."

Hundreds of supporters of the Nobel peace prize winner had gathered outside her home and party headquarters calling for her to be released.

Supporters of Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi gather outside her home in Rangoon

Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi gather outside her home in Rangoon

Ms Suu Kyi, 65, has become a symbol for a struggle to rid Burma of decades of military rule.

He has been in jail or under house arrest for 15 of the last 21 years.

She was detained because of her opposition to the junta in one of the world's most reclusive, oppressive countries.

Last week, an army-backed party won the country's first election in 20 years - it was widely dismissed as a sham to cement military power under a facade of democracy.

The generals could be trying to seek some international legitimacy by freeing Suu Kyi.

It could be the first step towards a review of western sanctions against the nation.

But many experts say the sanctions benefit the junta, allowing generals and their cronies to dominate industry in a country rich in natural gas, timber and minerals.

Pessimists also question whether the generals really care about their image when they are assured of diplomatic and economic support from their neighbours, in particular China.

Ms Suu Kyi had been due for release last year but was convicted for violating the terms of her previous detention by briefly sheltering an American man who swam uninvited across a lake to her home.