Myanmar eases political restrictions - UPI.com NAYPYITAW, Myanmar, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Ruling authorities in Myanmar lifted some restrictions on political rallies after the opposition National League for Democracy complained, an official said. Myanmar has by-elections April 1 to fill 48 seats in the country's Senate and lower house of Parliament. The opposition NLDP said at a Monday news conference that some candidates, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, faced "difficulties, inconveniences and harassment" during campaign rallies in the country. An unnamed spokesman for the NLDP told Voice of America's news service in Myanmar that restrictions were lifted within hours of party complaints, however. The NLDP won a decisive victory in 1990 elections though the ruling military junta refused to recognize the results. Suu Kyi spent much of the last decade under house arrest. She was freed following general elections in late 2010. Western governments have praised Myanmar's steps toward democracy, though concerns over prisoners of conscious, human rights and ethnic tensions remain. Some prisoners of conscious released this year said political reforms were window dressing.