Fort Wayne prepares for Burmese leader's visit

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) Nobel Peace Prize recipient and Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be speaking at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 9:00 a.m. Doors will open at 7:00 a.m.

The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum held a press conference on Wednesday. Suu Kyi's visit and details on ticketing, parking, security, and translation were released.

The event is free and open to the public. Security will be extremely tight. We asked about the details of the security presence, but officials said they couldn't release that information, but said people should be aware of searching from security. No one is allowed to bring in heavy coats or bags.

Officials said any gifts or flowers for the Burmese leader will be collected outside the Memorial Coliseum.

Suu Kyi will be be speaking in Burmese with an English translation of her speech on a large screen behind her.

There was a welcoming committee that was requested by the State Department for her arrival. The committee has been planning for Tuesday's event since July. May Ayar Oo, one of the committee members, said members met every Sunday to discuss the logistics of the event.

Officials with the committee said they're expecting around 7,000 people from not only northeast Indiana, but from around the Midwest.

The cost for the Burmese leader's visit is estimated to be between $8,000 to $10,000, which is money the committee raised.

There have been media requests to attend and televise the event from around the world, including requests from China. Officials with the committee said there will be a live feed to China, and also to Fort Wayne's local PBS affiliate, WFWA.

Suu Kyi is stopping in Fort Wayne during a 17-day-long U.S. tour that started on Monday Sept., 17. On Tuesday, she met with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. President Obama will be meeting with her on Wednesday.

One highlight of her trip will be the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal that she was awarded in absentia in 2008 while she was still being held under house arrest by the military dictatorship of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Suu Kyi received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 while under house arrest. Suu Kyi was first placed under house arrest in 1990 after her opposition party won about 80 percent of the Burmese vote. She was held under arrest until 2010 with just a few brief periods of freedom.

Her release in 2010 is credited to the mounting international pressure. In the spring of 2010, she was elected to a seat in Myanmar's parliament.

She has received many awards since 1990 for her efforts to restore civil liberties and democracy to the military-controlled nation.