Suu Kyi released — finally

YANGON - Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was Saturday released from house arrest to the cheers of thousands of supporters, media reports said.

The India-educated Suu Kyi’s detention expired Saturday, and the military junta Friday signed orders authorising her release.

Suu Kyi, 65, is the daughter of Myanmar’s independence hero, General Aung San.

Xinhua reported that Suu Kyi, leader of the dissolved National League for Democracy (NLD), was freed after 18 months of confinement at her residence in Yangon.

Barricades placed in front of her lakeside residence had been removed, it said. Hundreds of people along with journalists had been gathering day and night in anticipation of her release since Friday.

The charismatic opposition leader has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years.