Suu Kyi Running for Office

None other than Aung San Suu Kyi will run for a Parliament seat in April, standing for election for the first time since her National League for Democracy swept to victory in a 1990 vote that was quickly quashed by Burma's military junta. The democracy icon had expressed reservations about a run as recently as last week, saying "there are obstacles, and there are some dangers we have to look out for," but the NLD confirmed today that she would personally seek a seat in a Yangon suburb, reports the AP.

The NLD, which boycotted 2010 elections that banned Suu Kyi from running, stands to pick up 48 seats in the April 1 vote—by no means enough to give it any real power, but perhaps enough to start a slow shuffle toward democracy. The military and main pro-military party still hold the vast majority of seats, but allowing Suu Kyi to run signals the military's continued thaw, which was rewarded yesterday when Australia became the first member of the international community to ease sanctions. (More Aung San Suu Kyi stories.)