Aung San Suu Kyi: the world awaits

The situation in Burma regarding Aung San Suu Kyi’s release is utterly unclear at the moment.

This slight and rather shy woman is so feared by the ruling generals that they have imprisoned Ms Suu Kyi inside her home for 15 of the last 21 years.However, her latest spell of detention is due to finish today and we probably should have seen her walking out of her dilapidated lakeside home by now.  

Yet nothing is simple in this highly repressive state. Her lawyer Nyan Win tells us that the military regime has until by 7:00 pm Burmese time (12:00pm GMT) to let her go.

If the junta fails to release her, it will be breach of the original order which set out the terms of her detention according to Mr Win. So, with the clock ticking, something is clearly holding up the process. 

Many think is likely that the junta is seeking to impose restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi when she is released – they could include a prohibition on travel and restrictions on what she can say.

The generals will be mindful of the last time she was released, back in May 2002. She drew huge crowds throughout the country and promised the people “a new dawn”.

She was thrown in prison the following year.

Ms Suu Kyi has told the regime that she will not accept any conditions on her release and the Nobel laureate clearly plans to speak her mind when she gets out.

Priority number one, says Ms Suu Kyi, is challenging the legitimacy of the recent election in Burma, an election which handed the vast majority of parliamentary seats to the military’s own political party.

The battle of wills between Ms Suu Kyi and the men in starched uniforms seems to be continuing. With the world watching on, neither side is likely to back down easily.