YANGON - AUNG San Suu Kyi, the Myanmar opposition leader who could soon be released from house arrest, was a political newcomer when she took up the struggle for democracy in 1988. Following are the major events in the history of her role in Myanmar's politics since a military crackdown in 1988 and the formation of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party that followed.
1988:
- August: Thousands of people are believed killed after troops open fire on mass protests. Suu Kyi, daughter of independence hero Aung San, delivers a speech at Yangon's Shwedagon Pagoda to a crowd of 500,000 - September: Military takes charge with the creation of the State Law and Order Restoration Council ? Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) is formed
1989:
- July: Suu Kyi is placed under house arrest
1990:
- May: Her NLD wins 392 out of 485 seats in parliamentary elections but the junta refuses to recognise the results
1991:
- October: Suu Kyi wins Nobel Peace Prize
1994:
- September/October: Talks with junta number one and three, Senior General Than Shwe and Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt
1995:
- July: Released after six years under house arrest
1996:
- May: Some 10,000 supporters of Suu Kyi march in Yangon in the biggest demonstration since 1990, which the junta declares illegal
1999:
- March: Her husband Michael Aris, a British academic, dies from cancer having not seen his wife in four years
2000:
- August: Suu Kyi defies order confining her to Yangon. Again placed under house arrest the following month after attempting to travel to Mandalay
2002:
- May: Released after 19 months under house arrest
2003:
- May: Arrested in the country's north after a violent clash between her supporters and a pro-junta group - September: Moved to her Yangon home and placed under house arrest for a third time
2007:
- September: Suu Kyi prays with Buddhist monks allowed to walk past her home during mass protests against escalating fuel costs, in her first public appearance since 2003
2008:
- May: Her detention is extended again three days after a referendum is held to confirm a new constitution that paves the way for an election in 2010 - August/September: Refuses food and placed on intravenous drip - October: Appeals through her lawyers against her detention
2009:
- May: Appeal against detention is rejected - Shortly before her expected release, Suu Kyi is put on trial over a bizarre incident in which an American man swims uninvited to her lakeside home. She is sentenced to another 18 months of house arrest. - November: Appeals detention at Supreme Court
2010:
- February: Supreme Court rejects appeal - March: Suu Kyi says she opposes contesting the first election in 20 years because the rules are unfair. Her party announces it will boycott the vote and is disbanded - May: Lodges last-ditch appeal with Supreme Court against detention - November: Suu Kyi remains in detention at her lakeside mansion on election day. Her final appeal is rejected but hopes for her release remain when her current sentence is completed - Supporters gather as officials say her release is imminent
Source: www.straitstimes.com
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