JUST ONE DAY after her release from house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi has said that she is open to dialogue with the junta that kept her in detention for so many years.
Saying that it was time to “sort out our differences across the table”, Suu Kyi said she welcomed peaceful discussion with Burma’s military leader Senior General Than Shwe:
I think we will have to sort out our differences across the table, talking to each other, agreeing to disagree, or finding out why we disagree and trying to remove the sources of our disagreement.
The BBC reports that Suu Kyi has also said that she will listen to the wishes of the people of Burma, and to those of her international supporters, before deciding on her next course of action.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi was released on Saturday after spending 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest.
Just six days ago, Burma held its first elections in 20 years. The winner was the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), and the proceedings were widely condemned as a sham.
The 65-year-old told the BBC that she would continue to push for democracy and human rights – and that she was not fearful of re-arrest:
I’m not fearful, not in the sense that I think to myself that I won’t do this or I won’t do that because they’ll put me under arrest again. That I don’t have in mind.
Saying that she was treated well during her detention, Suu Kyi called on the military junta to “treat the people well also”. She also urged the people of Burma to stand up for their rights.
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