Suu Kyi meets supporters in Myanmar

(CNN) -- The leading champion of democracy in Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, emerged from house arrest Wednesday to meet with political supporters, a diplomatic source told CNN.

Military leaders in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, let Suu Kyi leave her house to meet with senior leaders of the National League for Democracy, the source said.

The meeting comes after the U.S. State Department criticized Myanmar for arresting 10 democracy activists.

"The United States condemns the regime's decision to press criminal charges against ten Burmese pro-democracy activists ... for the peaceful expression of their political beliefs," the department said in a statement Tuesday.

The department noted that the 10 were charged with crimes that can carry lengthy sentences.

"If the regime were serious about engaging in a peaceful transition to democracy, it would stop arresting and prosecuting Burma's democratic leaders, and instead engage them in a genuine dialogue."

The military government in Myanmar held Suu Kyi under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and again from 2000 to 2002. It restricted her travel afterward and put her back under house arrest in 2003.

She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

The regime in Myanmar used force to suppress a pro-democracy movement a few months ago. The government admitted that its crackdown killed at least 10 people, but human rights groups said they suspect the number is much higher. The government also acknowledged arresting several hundred people after democracy protests led by Buddhist monks. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Dan Rivers contributed to this report

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