Politics still 'off limits' for Suu Kyi after tour

BAGAN, Myanmar — Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi drew large crowds on a landmark trip to rural Myanmar that tested her freedom, but experts say the regime will tolerate her activities only up to a point.The Nobel Peace Prize winner was trailed by plain clothes police but allowed to travel unhindered as she avoided making public speeches on the low-key four-day excursion to the ancient city of Bagan and nearby villages.Observers warned that a full political tour, if it goes ahead, could still trigger a confrontation with the new army-backed government, which has issued stern warnings for Suu Kyi to stay out of politics."The regime playing nice to her this time should not fool anyone into thinking that as soon as she travels the country to in effect reconnect with her base politically the regime is to sit back and watch, undisturbed," said Maung Zarni, a researcher and activist at the London School of Economics.Suu Kyi refrained from any overtly political activities that might have antagonised the regime during her first trip outside the main city of Yangon since she was freed by the junta from house arrest last November.The democracy hero, who spent most of the past two decades as a prisoner in her own home, made no comments on Friday to a throng of reporters following her every move before she boarded a flight back to Yangon."We had a break but did not rest," her youngest son Kim Aris, a British national who accompanied his mother on the trip, told AFP. "There were too many people everywhere, but you can't get away from that."Suu Kyi, 66, signed autographs and posed for pictures as she visited temples, markets and souvenir shops in and around Bagan, one of the top tourist destinations in Myanmar, also known as Burma.As word spread that the softly-spoken but indomitable opposition leader was nearby, hundreds of supporters gathered to catch a glimpse, some weeping with joy and others shouting: "Mother Suu, may you be in good health!"The crowds that she attracted, while much smaller than those seen when she

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