Suu Kyi visit a homecoming for many in Ind. city


September 24, 2012 at 3:18p.m.

Suu Kyi visit a homecoming for many in Ind. city

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana city with one of the largest Burmese populations in the United States is preparing to welcome the leader of Myanmar’s democracy movement.

Signs welcoming Aung San Suu Kyi (ahng sahn soo chee) have been popping up throughout Fort Wayne, a city of 256,000 where many of her supporters relocated after fleeing political repression in their native country.

Organizers expect at least 7,000 people to turn out at Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday to hear Suu Kyi speak in her native tongue. Her speech will be translated on video for those who don’t speak Burmese.

The visit is part of a 17-day trip to the U.S. during which the 67-year-old Nobel laureate has met with President Barack Obama and received the Congressional Gold Medal.