Aung San Suu Kyi: Symbol of resistance

Critics have accused Aung San Suu Kyi of inflexibility

By Simon Ingram BBC correspondent in Bangkok

The generals who rule Burma might wish otherwise, but 14 years after she entered the political fray, Aung San Suu Kyi is as central as ever to hopes of resolving the country's long-running crisis.

From behind the walls of her lakeside villa in Rangoon, Aung San Suu Kyi has remained a powerful and enduring symbol of resistance to a vilified regime.

But she is not without her critics. Some accuse her of inflexibility in pressing her demand that the government accept the National League for Democracy's 1990 election victory, and hand over power.

Burma's ruling generals have been forced to give ground

In the past two years, the authorities have tried to exploit the frustration with Aung San Suu Kyi's strategy felt in some quarters abroad to break out of their own international isolation.

They have achieved some success: strengthening ties with China, India and neighbouring Thailand have helped mitigate the continuing hostility of the United States and much of Europe.

But other pressures - notably a fast unravelling economy - obliged the generals to accept the mediation of the United Nations special envoy, Razali Ismail, and begin secret negotiations with Aung San Suu Kyi.

The highly limited results of those talks led many to conclude that the government was more interested in deceiving the outside world than in nudging Burma along the path to democracy.

Even with Aung San Suu Kyi at liberty, some of that scepticism will linger.

For the process to continue, each side's readiness to make concessions will be put to the test. A tortuous process of political re-engagement still has a very long way to go.