Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi to Make Historic Overseas Trip

Posted April 18th, 2012 at 4:40 am (UTC-5)
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The Norwegian foreign ministry says Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will visit Oslo in June, marking the first time she has traveled outside Burma in more than 24 years.

Aung San Suu Kyi spent much of the past two decades in detention under Burma's former oppressive military government, which stepped aside last year.

No exact date has been set for her visit to Norway. But Reuters news agency quoted her party's spokesperson as saying that the trip will also include a visit to Britain.

The Nobel Peace laureate was elected to parliament in Burma's April 1 by-elections, which saw her National League for Democracy Party claim a landslide victory.

She and her allies will take their seats on April 23, becoming the main opposition party in a parliament dominated by military-backed political parties.

Since taking office a year ago, President Thein Sein has enacted a series of democratic reforms, including greater press freedom and the release of many political prisoners.

Several Western nations, including the U.S. and Britain, have rewarded those reforms by lifting some of the many long-standing sanctions against Burma.

On Sunday, Norway's foreign ministry announced it was lifting economic sanctions on Burma. But its arms embargo and limitations on military cooperation with Burma remain in force.