Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed by Thai crowds
Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi receives a rapturous reception in Thailand by crowds celebrating her first trip outside Myanmar in nearly a quarter of a century.
More than 1,000 Myanmar migrants lined the streets waving flags and holding aloft pictures of Suu Kyi as she arrived to give a speech from the balcony of a dilapidated building in an industrial zone on the fringes of the Thai capital, Bangkok.
Suu Kyi, who will visit refugees from Myanmar in border camps later on her four-day visit, had refused to leave her country, also known as Burma, for fear of being blocked from returning by the former military junta whose rule she challenged.
In April, she won the by-election in Kawhmu, south west of the commercial capital Yangon, raising the prospect of her first role in government after a two-decade struggle against dictatorship.
Dressed in a floral blouse and red traditional longhi, or sarong, Suu Kyi waved and smiled as the crowd chanting “Mother Suu” jostled for a glimpse of her.
Labour activists estimate there are at least two million Myanmar migrants in Thailand, many sending home part of their wages to help families in a country where a third of the 60 million people live below the poverty line.
Suu Kyi said she would work to improve the rights and working conditions of Myanmar migrants.
“I’ve said this time and again – I don’t want to make promises. It’s not good if you cannot keep your promises after you’ve made them, But I can make you one promise – I will try my very best,” Suu Kyi told the crowd, speaking in Burmese.
Next month, Suu Kyi is due to visit Switzerland, Norway and Britain. She will address an international labour conference in Geneva on 14 June and give a speech to Britain’s parliament.
