Aung San Suu Kyi, the general secretary of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar, spent nearly two decades under house arrest after her opposition party won the country’s 1990 parliamentary elections but was denied power by the ruling military junta. Now, after winning a seat in parliamentary by-elections held earlier this month, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's role in Myanmar's domestic politics is poised to change.
Reports that her scheduled debut in parliament Monday may be delayed due to a controversy over the wording of the parliamentary oath underscore the difficult choices facing Suu Kyi as she re-enters the political arena.
“It will be a challenge to transition from being a larger-than-life democracy icon with, let’s face it, rock star status, to being a politician, which as we know requires a lot of compromising in order to get the work done,” said Suzanne DiMaggio, vice president of Global Policy Programs at the Asia Society. “Prior to the reforms that are now underway, you can understand why she would be inflexible, because she was up against a regime that was ruthless and corrupt. But being a politician will require her to take an approach that is open to different views. She has to work within the system. She has always been on the outside of the system, and now she is a part of it.”