Aung San Suu Kyi

[rowyn]

Was released from house arrest today. This may not be much, not even for the fate of Burma as a whole, but it still makes me happy.

Comments

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

The news story I saw said this 'brings hope to the democracy movement' but really I'd think it was the opposite. They wouldn't be letting her go if she was any danger to them. :/

[rowyn]

I think it's complicated; there are a lot of reasons to let her go, one of which might be "imprisoning her for no reason makes us look bad". So yeah, they waited until after the election because that's when she was least dangerous. But that they're willing to consider letting her go at all at least suggests they care how they look and therefore there's hope that pressure can accomplish something? As opposed to, say, North Korea, where nothing seems to matter.