(CNN) -- Myanmar activist Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest Saturday to a throng of thousands of supporters trying to reach out and shake her hand."I'm very happy to see you all again," she told the crowd gathered near her home in Yangon.Witnesses and police said she had been released.Her lawyer Nyan Win went into her house, witnesses said.At party headquarters in the same city, hundreds waited near her National League for Democracy.The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest because of her fight for democracy in the nation formerly known as Burma.Recently, she had little outside human contact except for two maids and visits from her doctor. Sometimes, she spoke to supporters over the wall of her compound.Security has been stepped up in Myanmar, but it was unclear whether that was because of the country's first elections in two decades Sunday.It makes "perfect sense" for the regime to free her since she's "no longer an electoral threat to them, said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Myanmar specialist.She was unable to participate in the elections because of a recent court conviction.There have been calls around the world for Suu Kyi's release, including one from U.S. President Barack Obama during his current trip to Asia.The ruling military junta has been slowly releasing official election results, but critics say a victory for the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party is all but certain.The Burma Campaign UK, which promotes human rights in Myanmar, accused the ruling junta of rigging the November 7 election."Conversely, they could be calculating that by releasing Aung San Suu Kyi they will receive so much positive publicity it will counter the negative attention on the election," the group said.Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962.In 1990, Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won parliamentary elections by a landslide, but the military junta rejected the results. The regime recently passed a law that made her ineligible for Sunday's elections because of her court conviction last year.She was found guilty of breaching the terms of her house arrest after American man John Yettaw swam uninvited to her lakeside house in Yangon and briefly stayed there.Suu Kyi's supporters have said the conviction was simply a way to remove her from the election campaign.Over the years, Suu Kyi has repeatedly challenged the junta and discouraged foreign investment in Myanmar.In one incident in 1998, soldiers prevented her from leaving Yangon. But Suu Kyi refused to turn back and was detained in her minivan for almost two weeks."She is the symbol of the hope for the people of Burma. If she is out today the whole country will rise up, will follow her," said Khin Omar of the Network for Democracy and Development.http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/13/myanmar.suu.kyi.release/index.html?hpt=T1
SINGAPORE – Singapore statesman Lee Kuan Yew considered Myanmar's junta leaders "stupid" and "dense," according to classified U.S. documents released this week by WikiLeaks.The Singapore leader said dealing with Myanmar's military regime was like "talking to dead people," according to a confidential briefing on a 2007 conversation between Lee and U.S. Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Christensen released by WikiLeaks.The 87-year-old Lee is known for his outspoken and blunt assessments of world affairs, but avoids publicly insulting the leadership of foreign countries. Lee was prime minister from 1959 to 1990 and remains a senior adviser to his son, current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.A cable released by Wikileaks a couple of weeks earlier quotes Lee calling North Korea's leaders "psychopathic types with a 'flabby old chap' for a leader who prances around stadiums seeking adulation." The reference to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is from a cable citing a May 2009 conversation between Lee and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg.Lee has not commented on the releases, while Singapore's government has dismissed them as "gossip" and cautioned against taking them out of context.In the most recently released cable, Lee said China had the most influence over Myanmar's leadership of any foreign country and that Beijing was worried the country would "blow up" and thus threaten Chinese investments there."Lee expressed his scorn for the regime's leadership," the leaked cable said. "He said he had given up on them a decade ago, called them 'dense' and 'stupid' and said they had 'mismanaged' the country's great natural resources."Lee said India was engaging Myanmar's leadership in a bid to minimize China's influence, but that "India lacked China's finer grasp of how Burma worked," according to the cable.Lee said a group of less 'obtuse' younger military officers could take control and share power with democracy activists, "although probably not with Aung San Suu Kyi, who was anathema to the military."After more than seven years under house arrest, pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi was released Nov. 13, a week after Myanmar's first election in 20 years, which were won overwhelmingly by a pro-military party. Critics have slammed the polling as a sham aimed at cementing military rule.Singapore has questioned the veracity of some documents purportedly leaked by Wikileaks and published by some Australian newspapers. The reports quote Singapore diplomats as making unflattering remarks about Malaysia, India, Japan and Thailand during meetings with U.S. diplomats.In a statement issued late Tuesday, Singapore's Foreign Ministry said "what Singapore officials were alleged by WikiLeaks to have said did not tally with our own records.""One purported meeting (between Singapore and U.S. diplomats) did not even take place," it said.Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo told reporters earlier this week that, in any case, such cables were interpretations of conversations by U.S. diplomats, and therefore shouldn't be "over-interpreted.""These are in the nature of cocktail talk," Yeo said. "It's always out of context. It's gossip."
YANGON | Wed Mar 28, 2012 5:16am EDT(Reuters) - Myanmar will begin a managed float of its currency from April 1, the central bank said on Wednesday, its first public statement on moves to reform a multi-layered exchange rate regime seen as one of the biggest barriers to developing the economy.The central bank statement, tucked away at the bottom of page eight of the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper, said the external value of the kyat would henceforth be determined by supply and demand conditions in the exchange market, confirming a March 6 Reuters story.The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) said it would publish a reference exchange rate each day, setting the new system in the context of the government's efforts to modernise the economy.Reuters has previously reported that moves towards a unified currency system would start next month, with the exchange rate of the kyat initially set near the present black market rate which is already used for most transactions.A senior government energy official said on Wednesday Myanmar was moving to a unified exchange rate in place of the official and black market rates that co-exist now."We are now using 800 kyat per U.S. dollar for the time being. Starting from April, there will be more exchange rate modifications to come," Htin Aung, director general of the Ministry of Energy's Energy Planning Department, told an energy conference in Yangon.Neither the authorities nor the International Monetary Fund, which is advising the government on the move, have revealed much until now about the exchange rate, given the sensitivity of currency matters.A civilian government took office in Myanmar a year ago after almost five decades of authoritarian military rule. It has started to open up the economy and implement political reforms.Aung San Suu Kyi, long-time leader of the democratic opposition in the former Burma, is expected to enter parliament after by-elections on April 1 and if the polls are deemed free and fair, Western countries could begin to ease sanctions.RESTRICTIONS TO GOThe central bank statement said the state budget for the 2012/13 fiscal year from April 1 assumed a rate for the kyat "in line with the market exchange rate"."A key part of this programme is to unify the various exchange rates and gradually eliminate restrictions on current international payments and transfers abroad," it said.The new system would "also allow room for the CBM to influence the market exchange rate", it said.The government had used a rate of 800 kyat for the budget, a CBM official told Reuters on March 12.That level is close to the current black market rate, which is used for most transactions, and as a result some analysts say the impact of the new system around the country may be limited.The new rate, however, will be a shock to those state companies and agencies that have been using the official rate, pegged at around 6.4 kyat to the dollar.Two officials with private Myanmar banks told Reuters last week that the new managed float would involve a trading band that allowed fluctuations of up to 2 percent either side of a reference rate.They said the new exchange rate would be around 820 kyat.Central bank documents obtained by Reuters earlier this month set out the plans to begin the managed float and develop an interbank money market. From 2013/14 Myanmar would aim to "entirely eliminate" the informal currency market, they said.The authorities have been holding trial currency auctions this month involving 11 private banks, which have been given Authorised Dealer Licences.The kyat's unofficial rate has jumped from more than 1,000 per dollar in 2009 as foreign money has flowed into the timber, energy and gem sectors. That has hurt many in Myanmar, from farmers and manufacturers to traders and employees of foreign firms paid in dollars.(Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Martin Petty)
Current MMK exchange ratesSince 2001, the official exchange rate has varied between 5.75 and 6.70 kyats per US dollar (8.20 to 7.00 kyats per euro). However, the street rate (black market rate), which more accurately takes into account the standing of the national economy, has varied from 750 kyats to 1335 kyats per USD (985 to 1475 kyats per EUR). Black market exchange rates (USD to MMK) decrease during the peak of the tourist season in Burma (December to January).The following exchange rates are official and are primarily stagnant, since the kyat is officially pegged to the SDR. They do not indicate the true exchange rates paid.1 USD = K 6.511 EUR = K 9.37231 GBP = K 10.56131 JPY = K 0.07021 CNY = K 0.9541Rates are as of 4 January 2010.According to The Irrawaddy, which provides accurate estimates of the black market (street rate, and hence unofficial), are as follows:1 USD = K 1280 Rates are as of 15 February 20071 USD = K 1350 Rates are as of 21 September 20071 USD = K 1325 Rates are as of 15 October 20071 USD = K 1100 Rates are as of 14 March 20081 USD = K 1240 Rates are as of 21 October 20081 USD = K 1130 Rates are as of 1 August 20091 USD = K 960 Rates are as of 20 November 20091 USD = K 1040 Rates are as of 21 January 20101 USD = K 890 Rates are as of 22 October 20101 USD = K 830 Rates are as of 12 January 20111 USD = K 823 Rates are as of 11 May 20111 USD = K 752 Rates are as of 10 August 2011According to Myanmar IT, a Burmese website which updates exchange rates daily, the exchange rates are as follows:[3]1 USD = K 870 Rates are as of 21 January 20111 USD = K 895 Rates are as of 20 February 20111 USD = K 754 Rates are as of 12 August 20111 SGD = K 690 Rates are as of 20 February 20111 SGD = K 613 Rates are as of 12 August 2011Myanmar kyat exchange rate has dropped recently. According to Myanmar House, a myanmar website which has daily exchange rates, the exchange rates are as follows:[4]1 SGD = K 610 Rates are as of 1 December 20111 SGD = K 611 Rates are as of 2 December 20111 USD = K 786 Rates are as of 1 December 20111 USD = K 780 Rates are as of 2 December 2011
Myanmar's Suu Kyi reported winning historic voteBy AYE AYE WIN, Associated Press – 34 minutes ago YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — She struggled for a free Myanmar for a quarter-century, much of it spent locked away under house arrest. Now, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose nonviolent campaign for democracy at home transformed her into a global icon is on the verge of ascending to public office for the first time.Aung San Suu Kyi, 66, was elected to parliament Sunday in a historic victory buffeted by the jubilant cheers of supporters who hope her triumph will mark a major turning point in a nation still emerging from a ruthless era of military rule.If confirmed, the election win will also mark an astonishing reversal of fortune for a woman who became one of the world's most prominent prisoners of conscience. When she was finally released in late 2010, just after a vote her party boycotted that was deemed neither free nor fair, few could have imagined she would make the leap from democracy advocate to elected official in less than 17 months, opening the way for a potential presidential run in 2015.But Myanmar has changed dramatically over that time. The junta finally ceded power last year, and although many of its leaders merely swapped their military uniforms for civilian suits, they went on to stun even their staunchest critics by releasing political prisoners, signing cease-fires with rebels, relaxing press censorship and opening a direct dialogue with Suu Kyi — who they tried to silence for decades.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton congratulated Myanmar for holding the poll. Speaking at a news conference in Istanbul, Turkey, she said Washington was committed to supporting the nation's reform effort."Even the most repressive regimes can reform, and even the most closed societies can open," she said.The topdown revolution has left Myanmar befuddled and wondering how it happened — or at least, why now? One theory says the military-backed regime had long been desperate for legitimacy and a lifting of Western sanctions, and its leadership had quietly recognized that their impoverished country, formerly known as Burma, had fallen far behind the rest of skyscraper-rich Asia.On the street in Yangon where Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy maintains its crumbling three-story headquarters, none of that seemed to matter Sunday. The party's foray into electoral politics was its first since 1990 — when it won a landslide that was promptly annulled by the army."It's the people's victory! We've taught them a lesson!" said a shopkeeper who goes by the single name Thien, who was among a crowd of thousands watching as a digital signboard repeatedly flashed news that Suu Kyi won the Kawhmu constituency south of Yangon.The crowds swelled as night fell, blocking traffic on the road. Some chanted "We won! We won!" Others clapped, danced, waved party flags and held their fingers aloft in V-for-victory signs. One official party message even told them not to gloat.As results came in Sunday night from the poll watchers of Suu Kyi's party, spokesman and campaign manager Nyan Win projected the opposition would secure most of the vote, winning 40 of 45 parliamentary seats at stake. Those included four in the capital, Naypyitaw, considered a stronghold of the ruling party whose leaders helped build it. The opposition had contested 44 seats.Other opposition party members, who asked not to be identified because they were waiting to verify some returns, said they achieved a clean sweep of all the contested seats.The results must be confirmed by the government's electoral commission, however, which has yet to release any outcome and may not make an official declaration for days.Sunday's by-election was called to fill vacant seats in Myanmar's 664-member bicameral assembly, and the military-backed government had little to lose by holding it. The last vote had already been engineered in their favor — the army was allotted 25 percent of the seats, and the ruling party won most of the rest.Despite fears that Suu Kyi risks legitimizing a regime she has opposed for decades, her backers see the poll as a chance to take advantage of a government-orchestrated political opening that could eventually spawn real democracy.Suu Kyi herself said Friday that campaigning had been marred by so many irregularities that it could not considered fair — allegations her party reiterated Sunday.Malgorzata Wasilewska, head of the European Union's observer team, called the voting process "convincing enough" but stopped short of declaring it credible yet. "In the polling stations that I visited ... I saw plenty of good practice and good will which is very important," she said.U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., who spearheaded legislation that tightened sanctions in 2008, praised Suu Kyi and the opposition for participating in the vote, but said more needed to be done."Now is not the time for the international community to rush toward lifting pressure on Burma," said Crowley, who in January became the first House member to visit Myanmar in 12 years. "Far too many political prisoners are still locked behind bars, violence continues against ethnic minorities and the military dominates not only the composition but the structure of the government."Despite the polling problems, Suu Kyi had no regrets and stayed in the race anyway."She's fully aware of the risks, even of the possibility that the Burmese government is attempting to co-opt her," said Sean Turnell, a Myanmar expert at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. But "I think she sees an opportunity, and is pushing hard to make it real."At the very least, her candidacy has galvanized Myanmar's downtrodden masses, giving hope where only the smallest slivers existed before."She may not be able to do anything at this stage," said Go Khehtay, who cast his ballot for Suu Kyi at Wah Thin Kha, one of the dirt-poor villages in the rural constituency that she is vying to represent. "But one day, I believe she'll be able to bring real change."David Scott Mathieson, an expert on Myanmar for Human Rights Watch, said "the real danger of the by-elections is the overblown expectations many in the West have cast on them.""The hard work really does start afterward," he said. "Constitutional reform, legal reform, tackling systemic corruption, sustainable economic development, continued human rights challenges ... will take many years."One look at the village Suu Kyi awoke in Sunday — where some voters walked barefoot into a schoolhouse-turned-polling station — illustrates the long road ahead.With no running water, women in Wah Thin Kha draw water from wells with plastic buckets attached to bamboo sticks. With no electricity, her supporters rigged up an electrical grid fueled by groaning generators to light her arrival. There is no Internet, and aside from radios and cellphones, most everyone is cut off from the modern world.Residents said the ruling party recently began building a narrow concrete pathway through village in an apparent last-ditch attempt to win votes. But the concrete has already begun to crack, and few appeared impressed."The government built a clinic here along time ago, but we've never seen a doctor inside it," said Nini Aung, a Suu Kyi supporter whose cheeks were smeared with a decorative cream-colored paste made from ground tree bark."We need hospitals and clinics. We need change in months, not years," she said. "The junta never did much here. We have relied on ourselves, as if we were on our own."Sawhkin Zaw, another voter in Wah Thin Kha, said he didn't expect anything to change soon. But he cast his ballot for her because "she's sacrificed a lot to get to this point. We need to give a little back."
