Opposition party set to join Burma’s parliament

burmA’S opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been invited to make her debut in parliament in two weeks’ time, her party has said.

Party spokesman Nyan Win yesterday said Ms Suu Kyi and 36 other National League for Democracy (NLD) candidates who won parliament seats had been asked to go to the capital, Naypyitaw, for the resumption of the session, which initially was not expected to include the newly elected members.

The 66-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s appearance in Burma’s parliament will mark one of the biggest leaps forward for a country that was ruled by iron-fisted generals for five decades until a year ago.

Ms Suu Kyi’s presence in parliament is likely to be a big boon for a government trying to prove it is taking steps to becoming a functioning democracy.