Aung San Suu Kyi. Back on the political trail: Democracy crusader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks during the opening of a library in Thanatpin, Burma, yesterday. Photo: AP
BURMESE democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has called for unity in her country, as she addressed crowds on her first political trip outside her home city since her release from house arrest.
Ms Suu Kyi, who was released from seven years of detention days after an election last November, has defied a government security warning with a visit to the Bago region, about 80 kilometres north of Rangoon.
Police yesterday tried to clear supporters off the roads as hundreds of people lined the streets to greet Ms Suu Kyi as she travelled between towns in the area. Many supporters shouted and waved small banners saying: ''We love Mother Suu''.
Ms Suu Kyi, 66, began the one-day trip with a visit to a pagoda in the town of Bago before opening a library in nearby Thanatpin, where she delivered a speech to a crowd of around 600.
''We can develop this country only when we all work together,'' she said.
''Unity is a strength, unity is needed everywhere and it is needed especially in our country.''
A convoy of about 30 cars left Rangoon early in the morning, also carrying members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, journalists and diplomats.
''I'm very happy to see her. We all are,'' said Win Win Myint, 23, a student in Bago. ''I haven't see her in person before.''
Security is a concern as Ms Suu Kyi's convoy was attacked during a political trip in 2003, in an ambush apparently organised by a junta frightened by her popularity.
''Our party members will take care of her security and also the authorities will help us,'' Nyan Win, an NLD spokesman, said.
He has described the one-day excursion as ''political''.
In June the military-backed government warned Ms Suu Kyi that a political tour could spark chaos and riots.
She has since tested her freedom with a trip to an ancient temple city in central Burma, although politics was not on the agenda.
The democracy champion has spent much of the past two decades in detention, and some observers believe the government would be quick to restrict her freedom again if she were perceived to threaten its rule.
But there have been signs of a thaw in relations between the government and Ms Suu Kyi.
AFP