 |
|
Aung San Suu Kyi with supporters after the opening ceremony of Aungsan Jar-mon Library at Thanatpin township near Bago, 97km north of Yangon yesterday |
Her trip to Bago and Thanetpin, towns about 80km north of the former capital, involved little more than the opening of two libraries, but her party billed it as her first overtly political trip since her release from house arrest last year.
On Friday, Suu Kyi held talks for just under an hour with Labour Minister Aung Kyi and they issued a joint statement afterwards saying they wanted to cooperate to bring stability and economic development to the country.
“I know the people are very eager to know about the details of my talks with Minister U Aung Kyi,” she said yesterday at the ceremony in Bago, using the honorific “U”.
“In fact, it is not time yet to reveal the details as there are certain things to be carried out specifically. I just don’t want to form false, lofty expectations. Please understand it,” she said.
She called on people to be responsible and do their bit to support her.
Friday’s meeting was the second in just over two weeks between the minister and the 66-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate.
Separately on Friday, at a rare news conference in the capital, Naypyitaw, Kyaw Hsan, the Minister of Information and leader of a newly formed “Spokespersons and Information Team”, held out another olive branch to Suu Kyi and her party.
“In view of national reconciliation, the government is delicately and carefully handling the issue of the NLD, which has no legal right to exist, offering it opportunities to serve the national interest in cohesion,” he said.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) was officially disbanded because it refused to register for a general election last November that led to the end of formal military rule this year.
However, the party has continued to function, apparently without harassment by the authorities. Suu Kyi was released shortly after the vote.
“If the NLD wants to get involved in politics, it should set up a legal party through formal procedures. Anyhow, the government is doing its best to invite the NLD to its national reconciliation process,” Kyaw Hsan said.
Suu Kyi has been careful not to antagonise the government since her release and did not directly criticise the election, which was regarded at home and abroad as a sham that ensured the army retained power behind a veneer of democracy.
The government and military appear to have backed off from their tough stance towards Suu Kyi, occasionally criticising her in state-run media but allowing her freedom to travel and meet diplomats, journalists and supporters.
NLD spokesman Nyan Win said there had been some cooperation with the authorities in advance of yesterday’s trip as regards her security.
Toll gates out of Yangon were lifted for her convoy to pass without fuss, and even the payment was waived, according to a worker at the toll booth.
Around 36 cars were in the convoy, including 24 transporting nearly 100 reporters, three carrying Western diplomats and two or three that appeared to be occupied by plain-clothes police.
About 300 and 600 supporters attended the ceremonies in Thanetpin and Bago respectively, listening to Suu Kyi speak and applauding. Hundreds of people lined the route to wave to her as she drove in the area.
She returned home to Yangon without incident late yesterday afternoon. Reuters