Suu Kyi attends session of Parliament

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NAYPYITAW, Myanmar, July 9 (UPI) -- Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi attended a session of Parliament Monday for the first time since taking the oath of office.

The democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner who spent years under house arrest attended the morning session of the lower house, CNN reported.

Political observers say the appearance of Suu Kyi and fellow members of her National League for Democracy in Parliament is a major step forward for the political reforms instituted by President Thein Sein in a country ruled for decades by a military junta.

Myanmar's election commission requested last month that the National League for Democracy stop referring to the country as Burma, which was the official name until 1989.

CNN said Suu Kyi responded that she could say what she wanted because Myanmar was "a democratic country."