rachel harvey now reports from rangoon. >> anxious faces. they heard she would come. they hoped she would come. but when will their leader arrive? i've been so excited, this woman told me. i can hardly eat or sleep i'm so happy. and then, they spot her. party officials struggle to keep control as the crowd surges. her car drove by a sea of ecstatic reporters. finally, she abandoned it all together. a moment to savior. look how much it means to them. if the convicted results are confirmed, it will be a victory for her party and a personal vindication. she's taken great risks to get here, and there will be more to come. >> the beginning of a new era where there will be more emphasis on the role of the people in the every day politics of our country. we also hope that we will be able to go further along to national reconciliation. we welcome all parties who wish to join us in the process of being peace and prosperity to the country. >> when she speaks, leaders around the world sit up and listen. but it is here that she must now make her voice heard. in the glow of victor

rachel harvey, our correspondent, is following all the events from thailand. >> it's already been brewing for some days, but they flag up in advance that it wasn't prepared to take its seat in parliament. both the national and state parliament unless the wording of this was changed. they have written to the parliament. they've written to the president. they've been to the constitutional tribunal, but so far with no success. the president, who's on a visit to japan, has today told reporters that he's not going to weigh in and try and change this oath, and it's not at all clear he has the authority to do so anyway, because in the burmese political system, there is a strict separation of the legislative and executive branches. so, if he can't do it, if the constitutional tribunal has said that it's not prepared to do it, then presumably that only leaves parliament itself to be able to vote for some kind of amendment to change this oath. but not at all clear they might wish to do so. so, we've got this impasse at the moment. the m.l.b. says it's still confident this will get sorted out in a m

rachel harvey has the report. >> uniforms, both civilian and military, on display here. the speaker of arrived to oversee proceedings. the stage is now set. the star of the show is missing. aung san suu kyi did not like the script and so postponed her parliamentary debut. the pro-democracy i can't let her party to a sweeping victory -- pro-democracy icon led her party to a sweeping victory. the party is refusing to take the seat until the parliamentary oath of office is changed, with just one word, to allow them to respect, rather than safeguard the constitution. the party spokesman seeks to play down the current confrontation. no one seems quite sure how to do it. changing the oath may require parliamentary approval, which would mean the support of the military, whose powers it wants to curb. the timing of all this is awkward. the european union met today to decide whether to ease sanctions on burma. the british foreign secretary pointing to the outcome, a delicate diplomatic balance. >> great progress has been made in burma, but we remain concerned about conflict and h

. -- rachel harvey reports. >> the terror on their face speaks volumes. the 2004 tsunami is not ancient history, the memories are still fresh, still painful. you did not forget the loss of more than 200,000 lives. today, there was another powerful reminder of this region's volatile foundation. the response? visceral fear. but this time there was purpose within the panic, a mass movement to higher ground and the safety of a mosque, one of the three buildings to survive the tsunami seven years ago. the same reaction on thailand's west coast. locals guiding holidaymakers to safety. they hoped the siren -- they listen to the siren, followed the sirens, knew what to do. the lessons have been learned. today's earthquake was hugely powerful, felt as far away as bangkok and southern india. why no tsunami this time? in 2004, the one tectonic plate slipped beneath the other, displeasing a huge volume of water. today's earthquake was a collateral, to plates rubbing against each other violently, but less likely to spawn huge waves. nevertheless, experts say the decis

rachel harvey is there. of course you have your own memories of the tsunami in aceh in 2004. give us a feeling of how the response is going. >> six provinces all along the west coast of thailand, precisely the same areas that were badly affected in 2004. but the preparation and warnings ran this time are clearly much better. the sirens were sounded and people knew where to back to, because they were told to go to higher ground. there were signs all along that coast. the areas that were very badly affected in 2004. but they now have clear tsunami warning signs prominently displayed. there were blue symbols of a waive and people running, in other words, if you hear a tsunami warning, run in this direction, and that direction is towards higher ground. our sense is people are responding to that warning. and the airport has been closed in precaution and we're told that tsunami warning will stay in place for the teem. >> pretty dramatic scenes including people coming out of hospitals and the like in search for security and safety. little wonder, as you say, that is the response. ho

. >> the bbc's rachel harvey is in rangoon. she explained more about the significance of these unofficial results. >> the first thing would be to get these results confirmed, and we might have to wait a few days for that. these results are on the basis of what the n.l.d., aung san suu kyi's party itself is saying. they've been getting information from party workers around the country who witnessed the count in individual polling stations. they're collating that information, and that's how they're getting to this figure of what they claim is 43 of the 45 available seats going to the n.l.d. that represents a thumping victory for the opposition party and a vipped indication of aung san suu kyi's decision to re-enter the political fray. remember, her party boycotted the national election in 2010, but she's been sufficiently encouraged by government reforms that you were mentioning to get back into the official political process, albeit with some caveats. she was in fairly conciliatory mood this morning. i was down at n.l.d. headqua

our correspondent, rachel harvey, is in burma. she is following events there. let's just listen to what david cameron said about the prospect of reform in burma. >> this country is desperately poor. one in three children are malnourished. it doesn't have to be this way. there is a government that said it is reformed, started to take steps, and i think it's right to encourage those steps. i think it's also right to meet with aung san suu kyi, who has shown incredible courage over these past decades, and frankly, is a shining example to people all over the world who yearn for freedom, for democracy, and for progress. >> david cameron there. right, i want to bring you more images we've been getting from pyongyang, as they've been pretty dramatic celebrations taking place to mark the unveiling of two absolutely huge statues of kim jong il and kim il-sung to commemorate 100 years of the korean state. lucy williamson in seoul is marvelling at the pictures. >> quite dramatic pictures indeed, and obviously a great distraction for north korea from the failure that they

s rachel karroubi joins me now from rangoon. -- racial harvey joined now from rangoon. what is expected from this trip today? >> he said in malaysia before coming here that he wants to assess things for himself, see things firsthand. the british foreign secretary, william haggis, was here in january. david cameron feel that a stop here is worthwhile, as british -- britain considers its position toward sanctions. and the european union is also discussing sanctions policy. there's a lot -- an awful lot going on in diplomacy this month. given the colonial history between britain and burma, it made sense for him to come here and get an assessment with his own eyes. >> rachel, the prime minister is travelling with a business delegation, some of whom include defense firms. is it too soon to lift the arms embargo and other restrictions on key industries, such as mining and timber? >> it is almost certain that the arms embargo will not be lifted by anybody, whether the u.s., the u.k., or the e.u.. that will stay in place. the question is, which of the sanctions could be eased,