Myanmar's Suu Kyi takes centre stage on Thailand trip

Posted: 01 June 2012 0600 hrs     ...
Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi waves to supporters in Samut Sakhon on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. (AFP PHOTO/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)

BANGKOK: Myanmar democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi will make her first major international engagement after more than two decades of isolation when she addresses world business leaders on Friday in Bangkok.
The Nobel Peace laureate has stolen the show at a meeting of Asian leaders and top businessmen at the World Economic Forum on East Asia in the Thai capital, drawing crowds of well-wishers and photographers wherever she goes.

Suu Kyi's first trip abroad in 24 years comes after the opposition leader was elected to Myanmar's parliament in an April by-election, in dramatic reforms sweeping the country since direct army rule ended last year.

Having spent 15 of the past 22 years under house arrest, she has taken an increasingly global role as Myanmar sheds its pariah status, meeting top world dignitaries in Yangon and encouraging easing of Western economic sanctions.

Speaking to AFP late on Thursday, on just the second full day of her visit, the 66-year-old said she had enjoyed her trip beyond Myanmar's borders and lavished praise on Thailand, which she called a "wonderful place".

"People are very warm here, just like they are in Burma... in fact, I find the people even look the same. It's quite striking," the veteran activist said as she patiently posed for photos with delegates during a dinner.

Analysts say that foreign travel will give Suu Kyi greater access to a global community eager to see her in person and allow her to meet ordinary people as well as world leaders.

After Friday's speech she will field questions from global media and attend a forum session on Asian women.

Since arriving in neighbouring Thailand on Tuesday, the pro-democracy icon has followed a hectic schedule, shuttling between forum meetings and trips to visit Myanmar migrants.

She was greeted by an ecstatic thousands-strong crowd of her compatriots in Samut Sakhon province, south of Bangkok, on Wednesday and dined with dignitaries including Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra Thursday night.

Europe is next on the horizon, where Suu Kyi will address an International Labour Organisation conference in Geneva and give a speech in Oslo to finally accept the Nobel Prize she was awarded in 1991.

She also intends to travel to Britain, where she lived for years with her family, and will address parliament in London.

Sessions at the Bangkok forum have been largely overshadowed by Suu Kyi's presence.

But World Trade Organisation head Pascal Lamy caused a stir on Thursday when he warned that the creeping accumulation of protectionist policies across the world's 20 major economies had hit 4 percent of the group's trade.

- AFP/de

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