In Myanmar, 'They have hope in their eyes'

DAWEI, MYANMAR - Euphoric seas of supporters waved party flags and offered yellow garlands. They lined crumbling roads for miles and climbed atop trees, cars and roofs as Aung San Suu Kyi spoke at impromptu rallies. Some cried as her convoy passed.

Cheered by tens of thousands, the 66-year-old opposition leader electrified Myanmar's repressive political landscape everywhere she traveled on Sunday on her first political tour of the countryside since her party registered to run in a historic ballot that could see her elected to parliament for the first time.

"We will bring democracy to the country," Suu Kyi said to roaring applause as her voice boomed through loudspeakers from the balcony of a National League for Democracy (NLD) office in the southern coastal district of Dawei. "We will work for development. We will bring rule of law to the country, and we will see to it that repressive laws are repealed."

As huge crowds screamed, "Long Live Aung San Suu Kyi!" and others held banners saying, "You Are Our Heart," she said: "We can overcome any obstacle with unity and perseverance, however difficult it may be."

Suu Kyi's campaign and elections due April 1 are being watched closely by the international community, which sees the vote as a crucial test of whether the military-backed government is committed to reform. The fact that Suu Kyi was able to speak openly in public in Dawei -- and her supporters were able to greet her en masse without fear of reprisal -- was proof of dramatic progress. Such scenes would have been unthinkable just a year ago, when the long-ruling military junta was still in power and demonstrations were all but banned.

Suu Kyi's visit was equivalent to waking a sleeping dragon, said environmental activist Aung Zaw Hein. "People had been afraid to discuss politics for so long," he said. "Now that she's visiting, the political spirit of people has been awakened."

Looking into the giant crowds, Hein added: "I've never seen people's faces look like this before. For the first time, they have hope in their eyes."

After nearly half a century of iron-fisted military rule, a nominally civilian government took office last March. The new government has surprised even some of its toughest critics by releasing hundreds of political prisoners, signing cease-fire deals with ethnic rebels, increasing media freedoms and easing censorship laws.

Suu Kyi's party boycotted the 2010 election as neither free nor fair. It sought to have its legal status restored after the government amended electoral laws. Her party has been cleared to offer candidates in the April vote, and an election commission ruling on Suu Kyi's candidacy is expected in February.

Some critics are concerned that the government is using its opening with Suu Kyi to show it is committed to reform. The government needs her support to get years of Western sanctions lifted.

On Sunday, Suu Kyi said that the opposition had struggled for democracy for decades and that the best way to do that now was to fight "from within parliament." She also expressed caution over the challenges ahead. "It's easy to make problems, but it's not easy to implement them," she said. "We have a lot to do."

An NLD victory would be highly symbolic, but her party would have limited power because the legislature is overwhelmingly dominated by the military and the ruling pro-military party.