Stepping out of her home in tears, Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi greeted Buddhist monks Saturday in a landmark moment for a swelling protest movement against the military junta. Armed guards usually block the road leading to the rambling lakeside house, but in an unprecedented move, they allowed about 1,000 monks and an equal number of their supporters to walk past the place where she has been detained for 12 of the past 18 years. As the rain poured down, Aung San Suu Kyi walked out with two other women and cried as she waved to the monks, witnesses said. They stopped outside her home for about 15 minutes and chanted a Buddhist prayer: "May we be completely free from all danger, may we be completely free from all grief, may we be completely free from poverty, may we have peace in heart and mind." Some of their supporters broke into tears as they joined in with their own refrain, chanting: "Long life and health for Aung San Suu Kyi, may she have freedom soon." There was no interruption from about 20 uniformed security police, who had opened the roadblock. After the monks left the road was again closed. Read more...
By Frances Langum
— September 22, 2007