NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh departed Sunday on a three-day visit to Myanmar that underscores India's quest for energy supplies and concerns about China's strong influence in the Southeast Asian country.PATHEIN, Myanmar – Crowds of supporters greeted Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi with thunderous applause as she embarked Tuesday on her first campaign trip since becoming an official candidate for April elections.
The 66-year-old Nobel Peace laureate traveled for the first time in two decades to the Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar’s rice bowl and the region most devastated by Cyclone Nargis in 2008.
Crowds lined the roads to shout support to Suu Kyi at every major town along her four-hour drive south from Yangon to Pathein, the regional capital. More than 10,000 people packed into a sports stadium under a sweltering sun to hear her speak.
Suu Kyi’s return to electoral politics is another test of the reforms of the new nominally civilian government that took power last year after decades of military control. Her latest trip came a day after the Election Commission formally accepted her candidacy for an April parliamentary by-election.
