Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi finally walks to freedom

• Release: Burma's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi appears at the gates of the house that has been her prison for much of the past two decades Photograph: AP

As the sun set over her crumbling lakeside home in the Burmese capital of Rangoon, Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, with flowers in her hair, climbed up on to the railings of the compound that has served as her prison for two decades and, after struggling to make herself heard over the roar of the crowd, said: "If we work in unity, we will achieve our goal. We have a lot of things to do."

Suu Kyi's release has been welcomed by leaders around the world. Prime minister David Cameron said her release was "long overdue" and branded her detention "a travesty".

"Aung San Suu Kyi is an inspiration for all of us who believe in freedom of speech, democracy and human rights," he said. "Her detention was a travesty, designed only to silence the voice of the Burmese people."

Gordon Brown, the former prime minister, who is travelling to Asia this week and hopes to meet with Suu Kyi during his visit said: "There will be joy around the world at the release of Aung San Suu Kyi."

Meanwhile US president Barack Obama said: "She is a hero of mine and a source of inspiration for all who work to advance basic human rights."

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Archbishop Desmond Tutu described her as "a global symbol of moral courage" and said that her release offered hope to the people of Burma.

Suu Kyi, who left her British husband and two young sons in 1988 to return to Burma and take over the country's pro-democracy movement, has been under house arrest since 1990, when the country ran its last free elections, which her political party overwhelmingly won. She has had brief periods of freedom since, but only saw her husband Michael Aris five more times before his death in 1999 of prostate cancer.

Speaking from Warminster, in Wiltshire, her brother-in-law Adrian Phillips, 68, said yesterday was a "happy day".

He added: "We are obviously very pleased if it means we can contact her again after so many years of silence. The last time I spoke to her was when her husband died in 1999."

Relatives have yet to hear from her directly but expect to make contact "in due course".

Last week's elections in the country, the first in 20 years, were won by the military- backed political party and have been declared a sham by international observers. The regime's move to release Suu Kyi at this time is seen by many as an attempt by the military generals to ramp up international support for Burma, which has been under strict economic sanctions for many years in an attempt to force the country to improve its poor human rights record.Amnesty International estimates more than 2,200 political prisoners remain jailed by the junta.

"While Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's release is certainly welcome, it only marks the end of an unfair sentence that was illegally extended, and is by no means a concession on the part of the authorities," said Amnesty's Secretary-General Salil Shetty.

It is widely hoped that Suu Kyi's release will re-energise the democractic movement in Burma. Many of her supporters have waited for years to hear her voice again.

Mya Kyi, a 65-year-old housewife stood outside Suu Kyi's house with tears rolling down her face.

She said she had waited anxiously since the morning after traveling 25 miles from her home north of Yangon. "Now that I have seen her face, I'm ready to die," she said.