Burma's ruling military junta freed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday, the day her latest period of house arrest expired.
Thousands of Suu Kyi's supporters gathered outside her villa in the capital of Rangoon, where she appeared at the gate smiling and clad in a traditional jacket with a flower in her hair.
"If we work in unity, we will achieve our goal. We have a lot of things to do," she told the crowd. Speaking in Burmese, she said she would make an appearance on Sunday at the headquarters of her political party, the National League for Democracy.
In 1990, Suu Kyi's party won Burma's elections by a wide margin. However, the military barred her from taking office. She has been in jail or under house arrest for more than 15 of the last 20 years.
Her latest period of house arrest lasted seven-and-a-half years.
Suu Kyi's release comes exactly one week after the ruling junta swept the country's latest election, which was widely criticized among the international community as an exercise designed to keep the military in power.
World leaders immediately hailed the news of Suu Kyi's release.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he welcomed the news, calling Suu Kyi "an unwavering champion of peace."
"Neither her trial nor appeal process were conducted in line with international standards. She was not granted due process and should never have been detained," Harper in a statement issued from Yokohama, Japan, where he is attending a Pacific Rim summit.
Harper noted that Canada has long called for the release of Suu Kyi, who was granted honorary Canadian citizenship in 2007.
Earlier Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama was one of the first to congratulate Suu Kyi on her release, calling the 65-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate "a hero of mine."
"Whether Aung San Suu Kyi is living in the prison of her house, or the prison of her country, does not change the fact that she, and the political opposition she represents, has been systematically silenced, incarcerated, and deprived of any opportunity to engage in political processes," Obama said in a statement.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said Suu Kyi's release was overdue.
"Aung San Suu Kyi is an inspiration for all of us who believe in freedom of speech, democracy and human rights," Cameron said in a statement.
European Commissioner Jose Manuel Barroso said it is "crucial" that Suu Kyi has "unrestricted freedom of movement and speech and can participate fully in her country's political process."
Pro-democracy activists hope Suu Kyi's release marks a change in attitude by the junta toward its rival parties and will lead to the release of the estimated 2,200 political prisoners still in jail.
However, it is unlikely the junta will allow Suu Kyi to openly continue her work for democratic reform.
Suu Kyi became the face of the pro-democracy movement in Burma in 1988, after returning home to care for her ailing mother just as demonstrators began organizing regular, mass protests against 25 years of military rule.
Supporters chose her largely because she is the daughter of Aung San, who ushered Burma into independence from Britain before being assassinated by political rivals.
Suu Kyi founded her party, the National League for Democracy, and spoke out at length against the ruling junta. In 1989, she was arrested on national security charges and placed under house arrest. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
She was released from house arrest in 1995 and has been detained off and on since then.
With files from The Associated Press
