Suu Kyi wins re-election as Myanmar opposition leader
By Phyo Wai Lin, for CNN
updated 5:57 AM EDT, Mon March 11, 2013
Aung San Suu Kyi speaks during the National League for Democracy's party conference in Yangon on Saturday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The pro-democracy activist spent years under house arrest
- She is re-elected at the first conference of opposition members in 25 years
Yangon, Myanmar (CNN) -- Pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi won re-election as Myanmar's opposition leader at a gathering of opposition members Sunday.
It was the first conference of opposition members in 25 years -- another indication of the military junta loosening its reins and allowing such a gathering.
At the summit in Yangon, 120 members of the National League for Democracy voted for Suu Kyi on the third day of the party's meeting.
Myanmar is gradually emerging from decades of authoritarian military rule that resulted in internal oppression and international isolation.
Suu Kyi: Try to create a peaceful world
Suu Kyi spent years under house arrest before authorities released her in 2011. Many members of her National League for Democracy party were imprisoned under the military junta.
President Thein Sein, a former military official, has overseen the introduction of greater political freedoms, peace talks with ethnic rebels and the successful participation of Suu Kyi and her party in legislative elections.
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