Suu Kyi agrees to take seat in Parliament

YANGON, Myanmar, April 30 (UPI) -- Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Monday she and members of her party would take the oath of office for Parliament, ending a week-long stalemate.

Suu Kyi and 42 other members of her party had refused to take their seats in Parliament, saying they wanted the wording of the swearing-in oath changed to say members of Parliament will "abide by" the constitution rather than "protect" it.

The government of President Thein Sein did not signal it would grant the request to change the wording, CNN reported Monday.

"I will go to the Parliament because there is a demand of people who voted for me," Suu Kyi said after meeting with party members in Yangon.

Suu Kyi and the other members of the National League for Democracy, who were elected in by-elections (special elections) this month, are to take their seats Wednesday.

Under the constitution, 25 percent of the 664 seats in Parliament go to unelected members of the military establishment.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on a three-day visit to Myanmar, called the end of the dispute over the oath "encouraging" and said it was "in the interest of greater democracy," The New York Times reported.

Ban called for further lifting or suspension of Western sanctions on the country.

In the past year, the Myanmar government has pardoned hundreds of political prisoners, entered a cease-fire with Karen rebels and agreed to negotiate with other ethnic rebel groups, CNN said.