BANGKOK For 24 years, Aung San Suu Kyi was either under house arrest or too fearful that if she left Myanmar, the government would never let her return. <\/p>\n
Now, in a sign of how much life there has changed, the democracy activist and longtime political prisoner is resuming world travels, arriving Tuesday night in neighboring Thailand after an 85-minute flight from her homeland. <\/p>\n
With the installation of an elected government last year and her party's own entrance into Parliament this year, she can claim at least partial success for her long fight and feel the freedom to explore the world. <\/p>\n
But planning her first trip abroad appears to have been an afterthought. For example, no one from her office contacted the Thai Foreign Ministry, which normally coordinates such high-profile visits. <\/p>\n
\"As far as I know, we have not been approached by her team,\" said Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi. <\/p>\n
News reports said Suu Kyi would visit a Thai refugee camp in Tak province that is home to ethnic minorities from Myanmar who fled during decades of fighting. But travel to the area is restricted by the Thai government, and the officials who are responsible for granting permission for such visits said they were in the dark. <\/p>\n
Suu Kyi is also scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum on East Asia while in Thailand. <\/p>\n
She'll return to Myanmar and head to Europe in mid-June, with stops including Oslo to formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize she won 21 years ago. <\/p>\n
The tour marks Suu Kyi's latest step in a stunning trajectory from housewife to political prisoner to opposition leader in Parliament, as Myanmar opens to the outside world and sheds a half-century of military rule. Meetings with world leaders are planned along the way as dignitaries line up to shake Suu Kyi's hand. <\/p>\n
The trip \"signifies a strong vote of confidence on Suu Kyi's part in the seriousness of the reforms underway in the country,\" said Suzanne DiMaggio, the Asia Society's vice president of Global Policy Programs. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Longtime Myanmar activist Aung San Suu Kyi resuming world travel<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BANGKOK For 24 years, Aung San Suu Kyi was either under house arrest or too fearful that if she left Myanmar, the government would never let her return. Continue reading