Dharamshala: Tibet's political and spiritual leader His Holiness publically proclaimed his joy for the release of Burmese political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi in a press release made Monday (15th November). The 65 year old Nobel Peace Prize winner was put under house arrest in 1989 and was detained for 15 of the past 21 years.
"I welcome the release of fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and extend my appreciation to the military regime in Burma. I extend my full support and solidarity to the movement for democracy in Burma and take this opportunity to appeal to freedom-loving people all over the world to support such non-violent movements," His Holiness the Dalai Lama said in a message from Japan.
"I pray and hope that the government of the People's Republic of China will release fellow Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo and other prisoners of conscience who have been imprisoned for exercising their freedom of expression," His Holiness added.
Her release was met with huge jubilation in the Burmese capital as thousands of supporters assembled outside her house that she had been detained in to hear her address her loyal supporters. She struggled to speak over the singing and chanting crowd but said, "There is a time to be quiet and a time to talk." "People must work in unison. Only then can we achieve our goal," she added.
In a recent interview with the BBC she stated that a revolution was due in Burma saying, "A great change means a revolution, whether its violent or non-violent and we would like a non violent revolution."
In addition to His Holiness' statement many other world leaders have shown their support for Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom, US President Barack Obama called her "a hero of mine" and saying that her release was "long overdue".
UK Prime Minister David Cameron also said the release was "long overdue", describing her detention had been a "travesty".
"Aung San Suu Kyi is an inspiration for all of us who believe in freedom of speech, democracy and human rights," he added.
