Aquino, Suu Kyi talk over the phone

President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday said he had talked to recently freed Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi over the phone where they expressed support for each other’s leadership and shared experiences on fighting military rule. At a press conference in Laguna, Aquino said he called up Suu Kyi on Monday because she was supposedly prohibited from initiating phone calls. Aquino said he congratulated Suu Kyi, who has been jailed or under house arrest for more than 15 of the last 21 years, for her recently-attained freedom. Aquino, son of democracy icons Corazon Aquino and Benigno “Ninoy" Aquino Jr., said he also shared some of his experiences during Martial Law in the Philippines in the 1970s and early 1980s. “Pinarating po natin ang pag-asa natin na magkaroon ng ganap na demokrasya sa Myanmar (I told her that I hope that genuine democracy will be achieved in Myanmar)," he said. Aquino reiterated that he is calling for genuine democracy in Myanmar because stability in the military-ruled country will also bring stability to the rest of Asia. Myanmar held its first election in 20 years early this month, but Suu Kyi was banned from participating in it. Aquino said Suu Kyi thanked him for his expression of support. “Nagpasalamat po siya. Malaking bagay nga raw po ‘yung mga expression of sympathy natin. Nangako nga siya ng pakikipag-ugnayan pero sabi nga niya, alam mo naman, wala kami sa poder dito hindi pa maliwanag kung ever kami darating doon. Pero kung ano ho ang magagawa namin ay kasama n’yo kami," he said. (She thanked us; she said our expression of sympathy is very much appreciated. She promised to stay in touch but she also reminded me that her group is not in power and she doesn’t know if they ever will be. But she said they will back us up when they can.) Aquino said the phone conversation was arranged by former Bukidnon Rep. Neric Acosta, his party-mate at the Liberal Party who is also the group's representative in the Council of Asian Liberal Democrats, which has ties to Suu Kyi’s now defunct National League for Democracy. Suu Kyi’s release last November 13 was welcomed by world leaders, including Aquino, who called for her freedom during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Hanoi, Vietnam last month. - KBK, GMANews.TV