Suu Kyi arrives in Thailand

Published: 29/05/2012 at 10:43 PM  .... 

Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Thailand late Tuesday on her first overseas trip from Myanmar in more than two decades, an AFP reporter said.

Suu Kyi, who last left the former army-ruled nation in 1988, landed in the Thai capital around 10:00 pm (1500 GMT) after the short flight from Yangon.

She is expected to meet the Thai prime minister during her stay in Bangkok and attend the World Economic Forum on East Asia and meet Myanmar migrant communities during several days in the country.

Speaking to AFP just before her departure Suu Kyi said she "didn't feel anything special'' about the landmark foreign trip.

"It's a part of my job. I'm going to stay for four or five days... I will visit one refugee camp,'' she added, without providing further details.

The democracy icon, who spent 15 of the past 22 years under house arrest, will emerge into a world transformed _ the skyscrapers and frenetic activity of Bangkok presenting a stark contrast to her home city of Yangon.

Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, has embraced an increasingly global role as Myanmar sheds its pariah status under a quasi-civilian government, meeting world dignitaries in Yangon and accepting overseas invites.

Foreign travel will give her greater access to a global community eager to see her in person and allow her to meet ordinary people as well as world leaders.

Fearful that she would never be allowed to return, Suu Kyi refused to travel abroad in the past, even when the former junta denied her dying husband a visa to visit her from Britain.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/295635/suu-kyi-arrives-in-thailand