< Opposition Leader Bets On Myanmar Reforms

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It's fair to say that no one predicted the speed with which the generals of Myanmar are now making political reforms. The longtime repressive government of a country also known as Burma is releasing political prisoners, easing censorship and making peace with ethnic insurgents.

Especially amazing, military leaders have reached out to one world-famous opposition leader in particular. Aung San Suu Kyi spent nearly two decades under house arrest. Now she's running for parliament and working to create democracy within the system. NPR's Anthony Kuhn followed her on the campaign trail and filed this report.

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: Aung San Suu Kyi stands up through the sunroof of her SUV, gathering up bouquets of flowers from well-wishers. Her cheering supporters packed the dusty roads leading to the township of Kawhmu, the rural constituency she hopes to represent in parliament.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing in foreign language)

KUHN: At the entrance to one village, Suu Kyi is greeted by ethnic Karen residents, chanting a traditional welcome. The farmers' mouths are stained a rusty red from chewing betel nut. Their cheeks are smeared with a white herbal sun-block.

AUNG SAN SUU KYI: (Foreign language spoken)

KUHN: Suu Kyi asks the villagers for their support, as they sit in a sun-baked field. She says she's wary of making campaign pledges, warning that the road to a better Burma will not be an easy one.

The recent political reforms haven't changed much in Kawhmu. There's not much industry and not many jobs here. Twenty-five-year-old farmer Sa Tun Lin says he's optimistic that Suu Kyi can turn things around.

SA TUN LIN: (Through translator) I and a lot of folks here want to vote for Suu Kyi. I don't understand politics too well, but I want to choose someone who will work hard for the benefit of the people.

KUHN: Suu Kyi is the daughter of General Aung San, the Burmese national hero who negotiated independence from Great Britain in 1947. She didn't get into politics until 1988, and she's spent much of the time since then under house arrest. Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, boycotted the 2010 elections as unfair.

It wasn't until last December that she announced that she had changed her mind and decided to return to electoral politics. Some of her colleagues, including NLD co-founder, 82-year-old Win Tin, think she is too optimistic.

WIN TIN: I don't know whether you can trust this government or this president and so on. You cannot easily trust the army. The army can take power at any time, according to that constitution.

KUHN: Win Tin would prefer to build up the NLD before competing in elections. But he says he knows that Suu Kyi is The Lady, and the only person with the charisma and credentials needed to lead the Burmese pro-democracy movement.

TIN: Although we have some different opinions sometimes on some issues, but anyhow, I stand with her and I follow her and I support her.

KUHN: If she's elected to parliament, Suu Kyi says she wants to revise the constitution. It mandates a leading role for the Burmese army and gives it the right to invoke emergency powers which can be exercised without any accountability.

Even if Suu Kyi and the NLD sweep the April 1st by-elections, the military and the ruling party will still hold an overwhelming advantage in parliament, and pushing any revisions through will be difficult.

Speaking at NLD headquarters, Suu Kyi says, diplomatically, that she's not trying to get the military to give up any of its power.

KYI: I would like the military to cooperate with us in building democracy in Burma. It's not a matter of relinquishing anything, but of joining in our efforts.

KUHN: Aung San Suu Kyi appears to be gambling that the new administration is serious about democratic reform. The government, meanwhile, is gambling that embracing Suu Kyi will persuade foreign powers to lift their sanctions on Myanmar.

Officials have raised the possibility that that once she's in parliament, Suu Kyi could go from lawmaker to Cabinet minister. Whether or not Suu Kyi and the NLD could some day actually hold power will have to wait at least until the next general election in 2015.

Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Yangon.

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