Freedom at hand for democracy campaigner

Ms Suu Kyi's house arrest officially ends today but rumours swept Yangon that she might be freed early.

Jailed or under house arrest for more than 15 of the last 21 years, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate has become a symbol for a struggle to rid the south-east Asian country of decades of military rule.

"My sources tell me that the release order has been signed," said Tin Oo, vice chairman of Ms Suu Kyi's party. "I hope she will be released."

About 300 people gathered at the headquarters of the National League for Democracy, some wearing T-shirts reading: "We stand with you."

"There is no law to hold (Ms Suu Kyi) for another day. Her detention period expires on Saturday and she will be released," her lawyer Nyan Win told reporters.

The country held its first elections in two decades last Sunday in what the junta called a major step toward democracy, but Ms Suu Kyi was barred from participating and critics called the ballot a sham aimed at cementing the military's power. State media announced on Thursday that the pro-junta political party had secured a majority in both houses of parliament.

The victory is a clear sign the military, in civilian guise, will continue to control the country for the foreseeable future.

If she is released, Ms Suu Kyi, 65, plans to help her disbanded party probe allegations of election fraud, said Mr Nyan Win, who is also a spokesman for the party.

Her current detention began in May 2003 after her motorcade was ambushed in northern Burma. The detention period was extended this year when a court convicted her of sheltering an American intruder who came to her house uninvited.