The Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi visited Norway over the weekend to collect the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded while leading the struggle against the military junta 21 years ago. Suu Kyi spent 15 years under house arrest and never left Burma when she could have, out of fear of being barred from returning. She was recently elected to parliament and allowed to travel abroad as part of the ruling junta’s efforts to ease its global isolation. In her remarks, Suu Kyi said the Nobel Prize award had expanded global solidarity for the Burmese people.

Aung San Suu Kyi: “As the days and months went by and news of reactions to the award came over the airwaves, I began to understand the significance of the Nobel Prize. It had made me real once again. It had drawn me back into the wider community. And what is more important, the Nobel Prize had drawn the attention of the world to the struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma. Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize means personally extending my concern for democracy and human rights beyond national borders. The Nobel Peace Prize opened up a door in my heart.”