Suu Kyi's trip to Oslo
Suu Kyi's trip to Oslo has
been clouded by ethnic strife at home, regional clashes between
Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya has claimed dozens of lives and displaced
more than 30,000 people.On Saturday, San Suu Kyi deliver her Nobel lecture, more than two decades
after winning the prize for her dogged campaign to free her people,
which has seen her separated from her family since 1988.
"I thank the people of Norway and all others who have helped us along this very difficult path," said Suu Kyi, wearing a trademark white flower in her hair as she stood beside Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
"We're certainly not at the end of the road. By no means. We are just starting out," she told a joint press conference.
"And this road is not going to be a straightforward, smooth one. There are going to be many twists and turns and there'll be obstacles. But we'll have to negotiate these in the spirit of national reconciliation."
There was concern over the punishing schedule of Suu Kyi's trip, which will also take her to Britain, Ireland and France, after the activist, who turns 67 next week, cancelled some events in Switzerland, citing exhaustion.
Suu Kyi, in Oslo, where she was greeted by Burmese community members with song and flowers. When asked by the media whether she had ever dreamt of coming to Norway, she said: "Yes, of course! I've always believed that... I've never doubted that."
She said she was on a journey of "rediscovery and discovery, seeing the world with new eyes".
On Saturday, she was to deliver the Nobel lecture at Oslo City Hall for the prize she won in 1991 but was unable to accept in person, fearing that the regime would bar her from returning to her country.Her husband Michael Aris and their two sons, Kim and Alexander, accepted the award on her behalf. When her husband died of cancer in 1999, Suu Kyi could not be by his side, for the same reason.
It is Suu Kyi's personal courage that has led admirers to liken her to history's great human rights defenders, from Mahatma Gandhi to Nelson Mandela.
Stoltenberg told her: "You've been a champion for democracy, you have been a champion for your people, and you have dedicated your life to the struggle for democracy in your country, and you are an inspiration for all of us."
He said "the new political reality in Myanmar is remarkable", reflecting on a year in which Myanmar's President Thein Sein has freed political prisoners and welcomed Suu Kyi's party back into mainstream politics.
"I thank the people of Norway and all others who have helped us along this very difficult path," said Suu Kyi, wearing a trademark white flower in her hair as she stood beside Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
"We're certainly not at the end of the road. By no means. We are just starting out," she told a joint press conference.
"And this road is not going to be a straightforward, smooth one. There are going to be many twists and turns and there'll be obstacles. But we'll have to negotiate these in the spirit of national reconciliation."
There was concern over the punishing schedule of Suu Kyi's trip, which will also take her to Britain, Ireland and France, after the activist, who turns 67 next week, cancelled some events in Switzerland, citing exhaustion.
Suu Kyi, in Oslo, where she was greeted by Burmese community members with song and flowers. When asked by the media whether she had ever dreamt of coming to Norway, she said: "Yes, of course! I've always believed that... I've never doubted that."
She said she was on a journey of "rediscovery and discovery, seeing the world with new eyes".
On Saturday, she was to deliver the Nobel lecture at Oslo City Hall for the prize she won in 1991 but was unable to accept in person, fearing that the regime would bar her from returning to her country.Her husband Michael Aris and their two sons, Kim and Alexander, accepted the award on her behalf. When her husband died of cancer in 1999, Suu Kyi could not be by his side, for the same reason.
It is Suu Kyi's personal courage that has led admirers to liken her to history's great human rights defenders, from Mahatma Gandhi to Nelson Mandela.
Stoltenberg told her: "You've been a champion for democracy, you have been a champion for your people, and you have dedicated your life to the struggle for democracy in your country, and you are an inspiration for all of us."
He said "the new political reality in Myanmar is remarkable", reflecting on a year in which Myanmar's President Thein Sein has freed political prisoners and welcomed Suu Kyi's party back into mainstream politics.
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