Suu Kyi canvasses on Myanmar regime's doorstep

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi hit the campaign trail in the capital Naypyidaw on Monday, seeking to challenge the military-backed government in its political heartland. Thousands of people greeted the Nobel laureate as she visited constituencies at stake in the April 1 by-elections, which are being held to fill places vacated by those who have since become government and deputy ministers. In a speech to supporters, Suu Kyi joked that she had taken a risk to campaign on the regime's doorstep. "I don't mean taking a risk coming here by road but spiritually we took our risk," she said. "By believing in people's spirit to move in the right direction we asked our candidates to come and compete here." The opposition's candidates in the capital include popular hip-hop artist Zayar Thaw, a former political prisoner freed in 2011 after serving three years for co-founding a youth activist group. Myanmar's regime has embarked on a series of dramatic changes since decades of outright military rule ended last year, including freeing political prisoners and welcoming Suu Kyi back into mainstream politics. On Saturday the 66-year-old dissident fell ill and was forced to take a break during a speech to more than 100,000 people -- the largest crowd of her election campaign so far -- in the second largest city of Mandalay. She told supporters on Sunday that she was feeling better. With only 48 seats available nationwide in the April polls, Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party cannot threaten the parliamentary majority of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). But it is a sign of the times that even in the regime's sprawling showpiece capital, where four seats are up for grabs, some people dared to pledge their support openly for the NLD. "We voted USDP in the previous election as the village head asked us to. But this time even if they ask to do the same we'll vote for Mother Suu. I'm not afraid anymore," said Zaw Min San, 30, waiting to hear Suu Kyi speak. The NLD won a landslide victory in an election in 1990 but the ruling junta never accepted the result. A 2010 vote, in which the USDP claimed a crushing victory, was marred by widespread complaints of cheating. The military regime surprised the world in 2005 by suddenly shifting the seat of government from Yangon to Naypyidaw, which means "Abode of Kings". While the motive was unclear, diplomats speculated it could be based on the advice of astrologers, fear of a foreign invasion or a desire by the junta to replicate pre-colonial kings who repeatedly moved the capital.