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13 November 2010
Last updated at
16:15
In pictures: Joy as Aung San Suu Kyi freed
There have been scenes of celebration in the Burmese city of Rangoon, as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest.
Ms Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for the past seven years and has spent much of the past 21 years in detention for her opposition to Burma's military junta.
There had been a sense of uncertainty in the city over the past 24 hours, as her supporters gathered and waited for news.
Members of the Burmese security forces stood by, some equipped with tear gas.
But at the headquarters of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) movement, her supporters began celebrating even before the release was confirmed.
After the news finally came, Aung San Suu Kyi appeared outside the house where she been detained with barely any contact with the outside world.
Hundreds more people raced towards her home to be part of the moment.
Wearing her trademark flower in her hair, Ms Suu Kyi told her supporters: "There is a time to be quiet and a time to talk. People must work in unison."
In the Indian capital, Delhi, some of the tens of thousands of people who have fled Burma joined in the celebrations by releasing balloons carrying Ms Suu Kyi's portrait.
Ms Suu Kyi said she would speak to her NLD supporters on Sunday - it remains unclear how far the junta will allow her to be involved in Burma's political life.
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