Supporters Prepare For Possible Suu Kyi Release In Myanmar

Aung San Suu Kyi

An ally of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said an order for her release has been signed by Myanmar's ruling generals.

Tin Oo, vice chairman of National League for Democracy (NLD), Suu Kyi's party, did not say when the order had been signed or when she would be freed.

About 300 people gathered at the headquarters of the party, while some 200 supporters gathered outside her house, which is guarded by security forces.

Suu Kyi's house arrest officially ends on November 13. Suu Kyi has been jailed or under house arrest for more than 15 of the last 21 years.

The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, now 65, has become a symbol for the struggle to rid Myanmar of decades of military rule.

Suu Kyi was barred from participating in the November 7 election -- the first in two decades -- which critics called a sham aimed at cementing the military's power.

Suu Kyi's NLD party won a 1990 election but the result was ignored by the military.

compiled from agency reports