Burmese democracy leader leaves Rangoon for first time in seven years

BURMESE pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi ventured outside her home city yesterday for the first time since her release from house arrest last November, making a low-key visit to the ancient city of Bagan amid tight security.

The 66-year-old Nobel laureate is allowed to travel where she wants in Burma, but the government last month warned of "chaos and riots" if she seeks to rally support and accused her of trying to exploit the public.

Her now-defunct political party, the National League for Democracy, urged followers to stay away, fearing a repeat of a bloody attack on her motorcade in 2003, in which 70 of her supporters were killed. The trip by Ms Suu Kyi and her British-born son, Kim Aris, was described as a pilgrimage by the NLD and was her first trip outside the former capital Rangoon since the 2003 ambush.

Since her release after seven-years under house arrest, she has been conciliatory in her comments about the country's rulers and has urged dialogue.