Burmese democratic icon Aung San Suu Kyi

Worldwide supporters of Burmese democratic icon Aung San Suu Kyi are readying for her release Saturday, amid unconfirmed reports that the country’s military junta signed papers Friday that will set her free. Her release from seven years of house arrest if it happens is expected to open a new chapter in the history of her country, fresh from fraudulent elections held there this week by the military junta. Supporters say Suu Kyi will jump straight back into the political fray if she steps to freedom. Her lawyer said the 65-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who led the National League for Democracy to a 1990 landslide victory that was denied her by the generals would not agree to any restrictions on her release. “She will resume active politics and make organizing tours throughout the country,” lawyer Nyan Win told reporters this week in Rangoon, the country’s largest city. Hundreds of supporters gathered outside the gates of her home Friday as rumours spread that she could be released a day early. But hours after fans and supporters exchanged congratulatory notes across the social network Twitter, nightfall came and so did a new mood of reserve, mixed with cautious optimism.How long the generals would tolerate Suu Kyi’s political activity and the excited masses that would almost certainly surge through the streets should she tour is unclear. The last time she travelled through Burma (or Myanmar, as her country is also called), was seven years ago when she narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by thugs believed to be backed by the government. Later she was placed under house arrest, and has been there ever since.

She has spent 15 of her last 21 years under detention.