SAW YAN NAING / THE IRRAWADDY Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Residents of Pakokku in northern Burma's Magwe Division came out in full force on Tuesday as pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in the area to observe foreign-funded development projects.
Suu Kyi flew from Rangoon to the town of Nyaung-U in Mandalay Division via Air Bagan on Tuesday morning before heading to Myaing Township in Pakokku District, said the editor of a leading Rangoon-based journal.
As she traveled by car from Nyaung-U to project sites in Myaing, thousands of supporters came out to greet her with loud cheers, said the editor, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Nyan Win, the main spokesperson of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the trip was not part of the party’s campaign for upcoming by-elections.
“She went with people from the British Council to observe development projects financed by DFID,” said Nyan Win, referring to the UK's Department for International Development.
The projects, which are coordinated by the British Council in Rangoon, address a range of social, educational and health-related issues.
In the town of Pakokku, which Suu Kyi passed en route to Myaing, thousands of local residents flooded into the town center to welcome her.
Pakokku is a major center of Buddhist learning, with more than 80 monasteries. In 2007, it became one of the focal points of the Saffron Revolution, which was sparked in part by a crackdown on Buddhist monks in Pakokku who took part in peaceful protests against drastic fuel price hikes.
According to Nyan Win, Suu Kyi's next trip outside of Rangoon will take her to Mandalay, Burma's second-biggest city, where she will resume her campaign activities from Feb. 4 to 5.
On Sunday, Suu Kyi also attracted huge crowds in the southern city of Tavoy, the site of a massive Thai-financed deep-sea port and industrial zone project that is currently under development.
Tens of thousands of local residents came out to greet her motorcade, many waving the NLD flag and shouting “Long Live Mother Suu.”
In Tavoy, Suu Kyi said she would try to change laws in the 2008 Constitution that don't benefit Burmese citizens. She said that internal peace, the rule of law and constitutional amendments are the reasons her party decided to take part in by-elections slated for April 1.
In 2010, the NLD boycotted Burma's first election in more than 20 years, saying it was neither free nor fair. However, late last year the party sought to have its legal status restored after the Burmese government made some changes to its electoral laws.
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