Aung San Suu Kyi to Visit France

Posted June 25th, 2012 at 6:11 pm (UTC-5)
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Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is planning to visit France on Tuesday, making that country the last leg of her first trip to Europe in 24 years.

The French foreign ministry says Aung San Suu Kyi will meet with President Francois Hollande at the start of her four-day trip. It says she also will meet with the heads of the National Assembly and the Senate, the foreign minister, and the mayor of Paris, and will be given a dinner in her honor.

Her tour of Europe has included visits to Britain, Switzerland, Ireland and Norway.

In Norway, she received the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize denied her while under house arrest in Burma.

During her stop in Britain, Aung San Suu Kyi addressed the parliament in London and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford University, where she studied and lived with her family for years before returning to Burma in 1988.

In her address to Britain's parliament, she commended the reforms taking place under Burmese President Thein Sein, but she said without strong institutions in Burma, the process will not be sustainable.

A nominally civilian government came to power in Burma last year, as the country's long-ruling military junta stepped aside. Aung San Suu Kyi — released from house arrest in November 2010 — won a parliament seat in April elections.