Freed Myanmar Dissident Urges Reconciliation

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her spirit unbroken after six years of detention, Tuesday urged the generals ruling Myanmar to join her in national reconciliation talks.

“We have to choose between dialogue and utter devastation,” the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate said.

Suu Kyi’s unconditional release from house arrest Monday has raised hopes that reform will follow in Myanmar, formerly called Burma. She had been held since 1989 for leading huge pro-democracy rallies that were crushed by the military.

Saying that detention “has not changed my basic objectives at all,” Suu Kyi nonetheless spoke in conciliatory tones.

Looking healthy, Suu Kyi, 50, met reporters and diplomats at the lakeside residence where she had been under house arrest. She was flanked by top officials of the National League for Democracy, the party she helped found.

She noted that in his message Monday notifying her of her release, Gen. Than Shwe, the prime minister, said the government “would like me to help toward achieving peace and stability of the country.”

“Once-bitter enemies in South Africa are now working together for the betterment of the people. We can look forward to a similar process,” Suu Kyi said.

Suu Kyi met with government officials at least twice at her house last year, but no details have been disclosed. The government has said it will not yield power to civilians until a new constitution is drafted, but it has given no timetable.

Suu Kyi commands wide respect in Myanmar as the daughter of Aung San, the assassinated leader of the nation’s struggle for independence from Britain in the 1940s.

By freeing her, authorities took a calculated risk, having previously expressed fears she would incite unrest. But her release is also likely to improve relations with the many foreign countries that have condemned Myanmar’s human rights record and to attract funds for Western-style economic reforms.