Sunday, 20 May 2012 15:31
Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will give a historic speech to both houses of Britain's parliament next month when she makes her first trip outside the country in 24 years.
British Prime Minister David Cameron invited the Nobel Peace Prize winner to come to Britain when he visited her in Burma in April.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been given the rare honor of addressing the joint houses of Britain's parliament, even though she is not a head of state.
She is scheduled to begin her week-long stay in Britain on June 18. She is also expected to visit Norway.
She lived for years in Britain with her husband, now deceased, and their two sons, until returning to her homeland in 1988, when she was required to turn in her passport. She has not traveled outside Burma since then, fearing the military junta that held on to power until 2011 would not permit her to return.
Her European journey follows months of dramatic change in Burma, including a historic election in April that won her a seat in a parliament that replaces nearly five decades of oppressive military rule.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the suspension of economic sanctions against Burma, which have banned U.S. investment in the country for the last 15 years. Clinton also announced that Derek Mitchell, the State Department's special representative to Burma, will be nominated as U.S. ambassador to the country.
Copyright Voanews.com. Used with permission.
Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will give a historic speech to both houses of Britain's parliament next month when she makes her first trip outside the country in 24 years.
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| National League for Democracy (NLD) General-Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi answers questions from local and foreign journalists at a press conference at NLD headquarters in Rangoon on Monday, November 14, 2011. Photo: Mizzima |
British Prime Minister David Cameron invited the Nobel Peace Prize winner to come to Britain when he visited her in Burma in April.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been given the rare honor of addressing the joint houses of Britain's parliament, even though she is not a head of state.
She is scheduled to begin her week-long stay in Britain on June 18. She is also expected to visit Norway.
She lived for years in Britain with her husband, now deceased, and their two sons, until returning to her homeland in 1988, when she was required to turn in her passport. She has not traveled outside Burma since then, fearing the military junta that held on to power until 2011 would not permit her to return.
Her European journey follows months of dramatic change in Burma, including a historic election in April that won her a seat in a parliament that replaces nearly five decades of oppressive military rule.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the suspension of economic sanctions against Burma, which have banned U.S. investment in the country for the last 15 years. Clinton also announced that Derek Mitchell, the State Department's special representative to Burma, will be nominated as U.S. ambassador to the country.
Copyright Voanews.com. Used with permission.
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