Suu Kyi changes, becomes pragmatic in dealing with former junta

Listeners might have been surprised by the Nobel peace laureate’s gentle tone towards Than Shwe, former head of the junta that ruled Myanmar for nearly half a century. But it was just one of several conciliatory gestures Suu Kyi has made towards her one-time enemies since the Nov. 8 poll, underlining her transformation from persecuted democracy icon to pragmatic politician.

Her readiness to forge alliances with even those she once reviled could augur well for Myanmar, no longer a global pariah but still a country fraught with political risk as Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) and the military prepare to share power. “We should think of working for the emergence of a brighter future based on the present situation, instead of thinking why we didn’t do it in the past,” Suu Kyi said after meeting Than Shwe, whose regime kept her locked up in her lakeside Yangon home and prevented her dying British husband from visiting Myanmar.