Bangkok:
Supporters of the pro-democracy leader in Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, gathered near her home on Friday as unconfirmed reports circulated that she would be released soon from house arrest.
Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi has been held for 15 of the last 21 years and her latest term of detention was due to expire Saturday. That date was set in August by the leader of the military junta, Senior General Than Shwe.
News agencies quoted members of her party as saying they had heard that her release was imminent, and the word spread quickly through Internet reports.
"My sources tell me that the release order has been signed," said Tin Oo, vice chairman of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi's party, The Associated Press reported. "I hope she will be released," he added, but did not say when he thought she would be freed or when the order had been signed.
The Thailand-based exile magazine, The Irrawaddy, which has close contacts with people in Myanmar, reported that several riot police trucks had been positioned near her home in downtown Yangon. Later in the afternoon, The Irrawaddy reported, party leaders told supporters to return home and to come back Saturday morning.
The release of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, 65, had been a central demand of Western nations as they sought to pressure the ruling junta on questions of human rights and political freedom.
It came five days after a parliamentary election that cemented military rule behind a civilian government structure and was intended at least in part to gain international legitimacy.
Western diplomats said their reaction would be based on the degree of freedom or restriction placed by the junta on her activities.
Her release by itself was not likely to change the policies of Myanmar's critics like the United States. And it could lead to further condemnation from abroad if authorities attempt to constrain her activities.
Her lawyer, U Nyan Win, told reporters in Yangon that she would not accept restrictions on her freedom and that she would "resume active politics and make organizing tours around the country."
He said she had called for in investigation of irregularities in the election, which was won by the military-backed party but has been criticized as fraudulent by opposition parties.
This activist role could lead to a confrontation like those she faced after her two previous releases, in 1995 and in 2002, when the ruling generals found her freedom too challenging and returned her to house arrest.
Her current term house arrest was extended in August last year after American adventurer, John Yettaw, swam across a lake uninvited to her home, leading to charges against her that she violated the terms of her detention.
Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, won the country's last election, in 1990, by a landslide but the generals who controlled the country annulled the result and clung to power.
It was not clear what role she would now play or what options would be available to her even if her release does not carry restrictive conditions.