Bangkok: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is bullish on democratic reform, but she`s not so sure about Facebook.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was held under house arrest as a political prisoner for much of the past 22 years without even a telephone, was asked Friday at the World Economic Forum on East Asia when she would join the 900-million member social network.
She said it was not an issue with adjusting to new technology, but a matter of finding the time. She said she will join when her schedule opens up.
"Mind you, you never know what will happen with the technological revolution," she said at a news conference. "Facebook may be old hat tomorrow. In that case, I won`t go on Facebook."
Under Myanmar`s previous military junta, her countrymen with Internet connections were blocked by a government firewall from accessing many sites. The reformist but still military-backed government elected last year has since eased most of those restrictions.
Suu Kyi herself had a broadband internet connection installed at her house shortly after her release.
Suu Kyi also said today that she is a big fan of mobile phones, and opposes Myanmar`s tight licensing rules on them.
"This means that we cannot promote the distribution of cellphones as much as we would wish to, and I think we would all agree that cellphones are very important in both the political and economic opening-up of any country," she said.
PTI