Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has asked to postpone her scheduled debut in parliament this week due to exhaustion from her whirlwind European tour, sources said on Sunday.
“Daw (Madame) Suu Kyi has asked for a leave of absence from parliament which convenes on July 4,” said Nyan Win, a spokesman for her National League for Democracy. “She plans to attend on July 9.” He said Ms. Suu Kyi, 67, needed time to recuperate from her tour which included numerous speeches, press conferences and meetings with government leaders in Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Britain and France.
She returned on Saturday to Yangon, where she was greeted by thousands of followers at the airport and her family compound.
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Ms. Suu Kyi and 42 other NLD members won parliament seats in an April 1 election. She had initially planned to travel to the capital Naypyitaw on Wednesday for the opening legislative session.
The daughter of independence hero Aung San spent 15 years under house arrest between 1989 to 2010.
After her final release on November 13, 2010, days after Myanmar’s first general election in two decades, Ms. Suu Kyi’s political fortunes took a turn for the better.
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President Thein Sein opened a political dialogue with her that led to her entry into mainstream politics.