The Government and the Labour Party have welcomed the release from house arrest of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi."Aung San Suu Kyi has long been a beacon of hope for the Burmese people and a focal point for their desire for a democrat
The Government and the Labour Party have welcomed the release from house arrest of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
"Aung San Suu Kyi has long been a beacon of hope for the Burmese people and a focal point for their desire for a democratic nation," said Foreign Minister Murray McCully.
"Her release from years of detention is long overdue.
"We trust she will now be free from restrictions on movement or association."
Mr McCully said New Zealand and the rest of the international community would be watching her situation closely in the weeks ahead.
Labour's foreign affairs spokeswoman, Maryan Street, said Aung San Suu Kyi's release was "hopefully the welcome next chapter in the movement of that country towards democracy".
"The leader of the former National League for Democracy has become an international symbol of democracy," she said.
"She has spent 15 of the last 20 years under one form or another of detention."
Ms Street said the international community needed to stand by Aung San Suu Kyi "and ensure the junta does not use civil unrest in the wake of the unsatisfactory elections in Burma as an excuse to imprison Aung San Suu Kyi again".
Ms Street said the pro-democracy leader had the ability and the mana to reunite the country once more, if she was given the chance.
