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By South East Asia correspondent Zoe DanielUpdated November 12, 2010 23:03:00 Burma's opposition party has told supporters gathered outside the house of party leader Aung San Suu Kyi to go home and come back in the morning.
The supporters had gathered outside Ms Suu Kyi's home and the party headquarters amid speculation she was about to be released from detention.
Ten trucks of police were stationed a one-minute drive away from the house where the democracy icon has been held for the best part of the last 20 years, and the route was cleared of traffic.
Ms Suu Kyi was due to be released from house arrest on Saturday.
The speculation she would be freed on Friday started when officials of the military junta entered her home at midday (local time).
Journalists and supporters gathered outside her home, waiting to see her released. Another 800 people gathered at the NLD headquarters.
But as night fell in Burma, the National League for Democracy (NLD) told those gathered to go home and come back on Saturday.
Supporters of the NLD have been cleaning up their office and putting up banners with photographs of the Nobel laureate.
The party confirmed that Ms Suu Kyi had been delivered release papers, and Burmese media is reporting that the country's leader, General Than Shwe, has signed those papers.
"She has already signed some paperwork about her detention (in the) past 18 months," said Nyo Ohn Myint, a spokesman for the NLD.
"And then also the social branch and local authorities are being at her residence. I think people are very nervous and very excited about her release.
"Hundreds of the NLD members are right now gathering at the NLD headquarters."
Some observers believe her release could come with restrictions to ensure she cannot threaten the generals' hold on power.
Ms Suu Kyi has said she would not accept a conditional release.
She says if she is released, she is a politician and she wants to talk to her people.
She said that the first thing she will do is hold a press conference to talk to her supporters and the local and international media.
The opposition leader's release comes only a week after the first election in 20 years.
Ms Suu Kyi and her party won the 1990 election in a landslide, but were not allowed to take office.
She was last released briefly in 2002 but was detained again a year later.
The junta will win last weekend's polls in a landslide once all the votes are counted, because of the way the election was set up.
They will be wary that Ms Suu Kyi is the one person who can unite a very depleted Burmese people, who see her as a hero and want her to lead them.
Tags: world-politics, human-rights, burma First posted November 12, 2010 19:28:00View the original article here
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