Myanmar frees opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi

Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi greets thousands of supporters over the fence of her Yangon house after she was freed. (STR, EPA / November 13, 2010)
The Nobel laureate greets a jubilant crowd outside her home after being held in detention for 15 years by the country's military rulers. She promises to speak at greater length Sunday. The conditions of her release are not immediately clear.

November 13, 2010
By Los Angeles Times Staff

Reporting from Yangon, Myanmar — Opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was freed Saturday in Myanmar after years in detention as a huge crowd presented flowers and chanted "Long Live Suu Kyi."

Soldiers armed with rifles and tear gas launchers pushed aside the barbed-wire barriers blocking her street at 5:15 p.m., leading to a gleeful dash the final 100 yards to her gate. Twenty minutes later, the slight pro-democracy opposition figure known here simply as "the lady" popped her head over her red spiked fence to a roar from jubilant supporters.

"It's very happy to see the people," she said, barely audible over the chanting. "It's been a very long time since I've seen you."