SETTING FREE THE LADY

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There were several reasons why the generals decided to take a gamble on Suu Kyi's release. First, the domestic political situation is more stable than it has been in the recent past: the government has concluded peace negotiations with 11 of the country's 12 major ethnic and tribal groups, and there haven't been recent student protests of importance. SLORC 's tailor-made constitution is nearly complete; it includes a provision that disqualifies for the presidency anyone wed to a foreigner, such as Suu Kyi, who is married to British academic Michael Aris. slorc's current leader, Senior General Than Shwe, has improved the image of the junta that killed more than 3,000 student protesters in the late 1980s and early 1990s, changed the country's name to Myanmar and nullified the general election of May 1990 in which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy routed the pro-government party.

Second, the country has emerged from three decades of economic isolationism and needs investment, particularly the highways, irrigation systems, schools and hospitals funded by such institutions as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, which stopped lending to the country under U.S. pressure. No thaw was possible before Suu Kyi was released.

Ultimately, many Burmese hope for a gradual return to civilian rule, with the military taking a backroom power- and money-sharing role, as it does in Thailand and Indonesia. But everything depends on Suu Kyi. Now she is free to walk from the house that has been her prison for six years. But is she free to travel? To take up her democratic campaign -- or, indeed, the mandate given to her by the Burmese people in 1990? That's almost certainly not the kind of freedom handed to her by the 21-general junta last week. The only thing that's sure is that Aung San Suu Kyi cannot conceive of freedom simply -- and the fate of her country may depend on her subtlety.

--Reported by Sandra Burton/Rangoon, John Colmey/Hong Kong and Tamala Edwards/Washington