Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning advocate for democracy in Burma, took her seat in the country’s Parliament today, in what US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called “an important moment for Burma’s future. A genuine transition toward multi-party democracy leading to general elections in 2015 will help build a more prosperous society.” Suu Kyi herself, who leads the National League for Democracy (which won 43 seats in Parliament during the recent democratic elections) and spent 15 of the last 21 years under house arrest, said simply, “I’ve been in politics for the last 23 years. This is a continuation of that.”
This news follows the resolution of a conflict over the oath to protect the country’s constitution, which the NLD briefly boycotted because the constitution was drafted under military rule. (Suu Kyi referred to the resolution as “a gesture of respect to the desires of the people and in consideration of the requests made by lawmakers from democratic parties and independent lawmakers.”) For more, CNN and the New York Times have substantial coverage.
