Aung San Suu Kyi called for unity in Myanmar as she was feted by thousands of supporters on Sunday during her first political trip outside her home city since being released from house arrest.
Suu Kyi, who was released from seven straight years of detention in November just days after a controversial election, defied a government security warning with a visit to the Bago region north of Yangon, in a key test of her freedom.
Police tried to clear people off roads as hundreds lined the streets to greet the 66-year-old democracy icon as she travelled between towns, many of them shouting and waving banners saying: "We love Mother Suu!"
After visiting a local pagoda, she made similar speeches at the openings of two libraries, the first to about 600 people in Tha Nat Pin and the second to about 2,000 in nearby Bago town, an AFP reporter witnessed.
"We can develop this country only when we all work together," Suu Kyi told the crowds in her first address.
"Unity is a strength, unity is needed everywhere and it is needed especially in our country."
She thanked her followers for their support, asking them to keep providing it. She said she had always "tried her best" since she entered politics more than 20 years ago, and would "continue as much as I can".
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