BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is back where the ruling generals [and their leader, Senior General Than Shwe, whose stepfather is Chinese] want her: inside a crumbling mansion, lonely and isolated from the world.
But a fleeting emergence into public view showed that Suu Kyi's steely grace and charisma, along with her popularity, are intact. She remains a potentially potent force for change in a country that has seen virtually no deviation from harsh military rule for nearly half a century.
For now, the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, arguably the world's most famous prisoner, will likely return to her daily meditation, listening to radio news broadcasts and waiting for the occasional censored mail, including letters from two sons she last saw a decade ago.
What continues to keep Suu Kyi tenacious and focused on bringing democracy to Burma are her deep Buddhist faith, rigorous self-discipline and the guiding influence of her parents, those close to her say. The only apparent chink in her armor is a fondness for dark chocolate.
Although set within the teeming city of Yangon, her police-ringed home might just as well be on another continent, removed from a downtrodden populace and a junta that extended her 14-year detention for another 18 months on Tuesday. More>>
