What a wonderful day for freedom today was, with the release of the one they call ‘The Lady’ – Aung San Suu Kyi.

Widely respected for her dignified stance while under house arrest for 15 years, I believe she is the Nelson Mandela of the 21st century. Now, if only the Burmese junta can show the courage that F.W. De Klerk did after he released Mandela and initiate free and fair elections. Of course Suu Kyi’s release was specifically timed by the Burmese generals to happen just after elections when they had been confirmed in their power for who knows how long. But free she is, and hopefully this will be a catalyst for an unstoppable wave of pressure on the military junta in Burma.

Now is the time for the world to apply more pressure than ever to this suffering country and push hard for elections that are not the sham that the recent ones (and the ones before that in 1990 when Suu Kyi’s NLD party won a landslide victory) were.

This is a day to remember and a day to pray – to pray that the generals won’t find another pitiful excuse to put Suu Kyi under house arrest again and that they will show courageous leadership and have the elections that the vast majority of people in that country want.

Watch this news report of The Lady’s release, and rejoice:

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