Aung San Suu Kyi: The generals think they have sidelined her. They are wrong

This article was published in The Guardian 13 November 2010

The pro-democracy leader is free. Now there is a huge amount to do to unite Burma.

Supporters of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi wait for her release at her party's headquarters, the National League for Democracy (NLD), in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). Photograph: Nyein Chan Naing/EPA

Burma's Nobel peace laureate and democratic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is free at last. Her release will no doubt raise hopes and expectations. She is not just the leader of her own party, the National League for Democracy; Aung San Suu Kyi is also regarded as the national leader in Burma.

In her absence, critics inside and outside of Burma privately or openly questioned her relevance and popularity, suggesting that she no longer represented a majority of Burmese people. They were wrong.

Britain's Rangoon ambassador, Andrew Heyn, has the answer: "As for her relevance, all the evidence points to a regime that still fears that she is very relevant." Burma's oppressed citizens have not forgotten her.