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Sunday, Jun 17, 2012 7:45 PM UTC

Suu Kyi asks Myanmar refugees to seek ethnic unity

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Topics: From the Wires,

Suu Kyi asks Myanmar refugees to seek ethnic unityNorway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store, left, welcomes Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the Foreign Ministry for a meeting in Oslo, Sunday, June 17, 2012. Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Saturday at a Nobel Prize lecture that the Nobel Peace Prize she won while under house arrest 21 years ago helped to shatter her sense of isolation and ensured that the world would demand democracy in her military-controlled homeland. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)(Credit: AP)

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has paid a jubilant visit to the Norwegian city of Bergen, where she urged refugees from her ethnically divided homeland to build harmony and support cease-fires.

Suu Kyi flew Sunday to Bergen on Norway’s fjord-studded west coast a day after delivering her Oslo acceptance speech for the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. In Bergen she met leaders of another Norwegian group that offered her early support, the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, which awarded her its highest prize in 1990.

She spoke in Burmese to more than 100 Myanmar refugees living in Bergen, many of them members of minority groups hostile to the country’s military-backed government. She urged them to say nothing to undermine cease-fires in place between government and ethnic militia forces.

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Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

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  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

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