This Time It Counts

摘要

In 1990, Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won parliamentary elections by a landslide. The vote, though, was ignored by Burma's ruling military junta, and Suu Kyi found herself under house arrest for nearly two decades, a martyr for democracy in a pariah state. But on April 1, a newly freed Suu Kyi and the NLD won a reported 43 of 45 seats in parliamentary by-elections, though official results have yet to be announced. It was a resounding success for the NLD-just a year ago, merely displaying the party's logo could mean a jail sentence-and a testament to the pace of reforms taking place in this country of nearly 50 million. After years of brutish authoritarian rule, the junta has taken a backseat to a civilian legislature.