Aung Suu Kyi finally takes her rightful seat

Associated Press; BostonHerald.com; Wisdom Quarterly

The Lady during the Saffron Revolution, when Buddhist monks marched against the dictatorship and, below, as an iconic poster in the hands of the 14th Dalai Lama.

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NAYPYITAW, Burma - Aung San Suu Kyi [the Lady, Daw Suu] completed her historic journey from political prisoner to parliamentarian Wednesday [May 2, 2012], assuming public office for the first time in a risky new strategy to work alongside Myanmar’s new reform-minded [Orwellian] government after her 24-year struggle against military rule.

The session on Wednesday cements a detente between Suu Kyi’s party and the administration of President Thein Sein, which came to power last year after the nation’s long-ruling army junta stepped down. 

Some analysts see it as a gamble in which the opposition could end up bestowing legitimacy upon a regime that needs Suu Kyi to end years of isolation from the West and get lingering sanctions lifted.

The 66-year-old democracy leader will have almost no power in the assembly, but she’ll nevertheless have an official voice in the legislative branch and the chance to challenge public policy from inside the halls of power for the first time. Suu Kyi’s parliamentary debut... More