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The military authorities in Burma are reported to have signed an order authorising the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under house arrest for 15 of the past 21 years.
Ms Suu Kyi, who is 65, is not expected to accept any order banning her from political activity.
Government officials in Burma, which is also known as Myanmar, are said to be increasing security in the city of Rangoon.
A government source told Reuters Ms Suu Kyi would likely be released in the evening, but the comment could not be officially confirmed.
'Her house arrest expires today, so we think she will be released today,' Nyan Win, a lawyer for Ms Suu Kyi, told Reuters.
Once freed, he said, Ms Suu Kyi would meet the leaders of her National League for Democracy before deciding her next step.
Analysts said it was likely only Senior General Than Shwe, a central figure in the country's military junta, and his closest allies knew the next steps for Ms Suu Kyi.
Freeing the pro-democracy leader could divert some attention from an election held last week, won by an army-backed party, which has widely dismissed as a sham to cement military power under a facade of democracy.
Ms Suu Kyi was just a few weeks away from being released last year when an unexpected visit by an American intruder, John Yettaw, robbed her of her freedom.
She was found guilty of harbouring Mr Yettaw for two days, which breached a 1970s law protecting the state against 'subversive elements'.
Myanmar in 2010: In 1962, Gen. Ne Win staged a government coup and assumed control of Myanmar and its people. He was later forced to vacate his seat in 1988. That year, dissidents protested against the junta’s control, which spurred the military to open fire and imprison protestors. Thousands were killed and sent to prison, according to estimations. Those that have been imprisoned in Myanmar are still haunted by the experience.
“Prisons in Burma are the closest ones to the hell. I was tortured physically and psychologically in prisons.” Din added, “Most of my time in prison was in solitary confinement. Those days haunt me to this day, and I always wake up in the middle of night, having nightmares and hearing cries from the torture chambers.”
Din said over 2,200 dissidents, including Buddhist monks, remain imprisoned because of their political views. He was a part of the 1988 uprising, as the vice chairman of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions. Amnesty International called for his release in 1989.
A year later seemed to bring promise when Suu Kyi’s party won 82 percent of the seats in parliament. However the junta did not recognize the results. Suu Kyi remains under house arrest.
These incidents should be brought to the attention of everyone across the world, said advocates.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's pages