urmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained or under house arrest for 15 of the past 21 years.

But the ruling military regime says the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner will be released in November.

Burma is expected to hold its first parliamentary elections in two decades this October.

The planned election would be the first since 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party scored a landslide victory, which the country's military regime refused to recognize.

But Human Right activist Debbie Stothard of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, says the promise to free Suu Kyi might be a false alarm, as the junta should release her now to give Suu Kyi time to run in the election.

[Debbie Stothard, Human Rights Activist]:
"They've always promised Aung San Suu Kyi's release when they start to feel that the pressure is too much on them."

Human Rights Watch says the country’s new constitution, enacted in 2008, entrenches military rule and limits the role of independent political parties.

[Debbie Stothard, Human Rights Activist]:
"It may not matter who wins the election because the parliament will not be able to change things without military approval."

Ethnic groups still face attacks, and intimidation of political and human rights activists has increased.

In recent months, Suu Kyi has been allowed to meet the junta's liaison officer and foreign diplomats.