(April, 04, 2012) Vatican’s newspaper - L’Osservatore Romano on Tuesday hailed
the sweeping victory of Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar’s by-election. The news of her
victory made it to the front-page of the semi-official Vatican newspaper. A news
article headlined “The seat of hope,” reported on the success of the leader of the
National League for Democracy -NLD, in the first internationally recognized vote in
Myanmar in more than 20 years. “The result of the vote should bring significant economic
benefits to the whole country,” wrote the Vatican newspaper, commenting on the possible
lifting of United States and European Union sanctions against Myanmar. “According
to analysts, the effects of the return of Aung San Suu Kyi to Parliament and of the
victory of her party, will be numerous and far reaching,” L’Osservatore Romano noted.
Fr. Massimo Cenci, undersecretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization
of Peoples, praised the country’s “awakening” and ascribed its merit to the NLD leader.
“Suu Kyi has stirred the people’s longing not only for democracy, but for involvement
in what happens in their country from the social and political point of view,” he
told ucanews. He said the Vatican and the Catholic Church are following the situation
closely. “We are very interested in the developments as there are still significant
restrictions to Church activity there. But if the opening up of the country picks
up steam, the Church will profit from it in terms of freedom,” he added.