Obama welcomes Suu Kyi's release, calls her 'hero of mine'

Yokohama (Japan): US President Barack Obama says he welcomes Myanmar's decision to release democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, calling her a "hero of mine."

But Obama says that whether Suu Kyi is imprisoned in her own home or in her country doesn't change the fact that she and the movement she represents has been "systematically silenced" and denied the opportunity to engage in political processes that could change the country.

He called on Myanmar to release all of its political prisoners.

Myanmar's military government freed Suu Kyi on Saturday following the expiration of her latest period of detention.