From icon to politician – as Myanmar changes, so does Suu Kyi

Prominent figure: Suu Kyi praying at a public event marking the anniversary of Martyrs’ Day at the Martyrs’ Mausoleum in Yangon in this file photo. — Reuters

NAYPYITAW: When Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi spoke warmly on a recent radio show about a critical meeting that followed her landslide election victory, she was referring to talks with the very man who had detained her for 15 years.

Listeners might have been surprised by the Nobel peace laureate’s gentle tone towards Than Shwe, former head of the junta that ruled Myanmar for nearly half a century.