Buddhist Monks Are Key to Change in Burma

Freed Burmese opposition leader talks with Washington Post

(NEWSER) - Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi sat down with the Washington Post this week to discuss her hopes for political change in Burma. Now a free citizen, a political star, and a registered candidate for parliamentary elections , Suu Kyi spoke in the same living room where she endured house arrest for 15 years:

• On President Thein Sein: "I believe he sincerely wants reform. But he is not the only one in government. Our present constitution gives the military far too much power."

Famous dissidents, ethnic leaders released

(NEWSER) - Burma is continuing to move toward meeting the West's demands with surprising speed. Dozens of its best known political prisoners were freed today in the country's most sweeping prisoner release yet, reports the New York Times . Those freed include leaders of 1988's failed pro-democracy uprising, ethnic minority leaders, monks arrested in the 2007 protests, journalists, and former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, who was jailed in 2005 after falling out of favor with the ruling junta. More»

Move meets a key condition for establishing better ties with West

(AP) - Burma's government signed a cease-fire today with ethnic Karen rebels in a major step toward ending one of the world's longest-running insurgencies and meeting a key condition for better ties with the West. The Karen group has been fighting for greater autonomy for more than 60 years in a guerrilla campaign in eastern jungles that dates to before Burma's independence from Britain. It has been the only one of the country's major ethnic groups never to have reached a peace agreement with the government. More»

Burma's democracy leader will seek Parliament seat in April 1 elections

(NEWSER) - None other than Aung San Suu Kyi will run for a Parliament seat in April, standing for election for the first time since her National League for Democracy swept to victory in a 1990 vote that was quickly quashed by Burma's military junta. The democracy icon had expressed reservations about a run as recently as last week, saying "there are obstacles, and there are some dangers we have to look out for," but the NLD confirmed today that she would personally seek a seat in a Yangon suburb, reports the AP . More»

Opposition leader planning to run herself, says spokesperson

(NEWSER) - Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy will officially return to mainstream politics in Burma after a two-decade absence, as the government today approved the NLD to run in upcoming elections. And, though Suu Kyi would not confirm it, a party rep says the opposition leader is herself planning to run in by-elections set for April 1. Candidate lists must be submitted by Jan. 31. More»