Aung San Suu Kyi takes oath in Myanmar parliament

Nay Pyi Taw, May 2 (IANS) Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party swept last month's by-elections, was sworn in as a member of Myanmar's parliament Wednesday.

The leader of Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) arrived at the legislature building in Nay Pyi Taw Wednesday morning and took her seat in the parliament for the first time.

Suu Kyi, 66, along with 42 other elected law makers of her party except three who are on official visit to Australia, were sworn in to the parliament's two houses about half-an-hour after their arrival, Xinhua reported.

NLD members had refused to take part in a swearing-in ceremony due to the wording of an oath, but BBC said they agreed to a compromise as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited the country.

Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy leader, told reporters that she and her fellow NLD lawmakers would "carry out our duties within the parliament as we have been carrying out our duties outside the parliament for the last 20 or so years".

She also said it did not "bother" her to sit with the military.

Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi has been placed under house arrest on numerous occasions since she began her political career, totalling 15 of the past 21 years.

She was released after serving an 18-month house arrest handed down by a court in July 2009 for breaking the terms of her previous incarceration by allowing an uninvited US national to swim to her lakeside home.