Aung San Suu Kyi reports good health after five-year silence
Her son spoke by phone from a London embassy for the first time in half a decade, describing a state of solitary confinement in Myanmar's capital.
By Amina Kaminski ·
Aung San Suu Kyi is alive and physically strong, according to the first conversation she has had with her son in more than five years. The 81-year-old former leader of Myanmar appeared to be in good mental and physical health during the call. Her son, Kim Aris, described the contact as a rare moment of clarity for a figure who has been cut off from the outside world since the 2021 military coup.
Aris said he does not believe anyone other than military or police personnel is present in her location. He concluded that she has effectively been held in solitary confinement. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was deposed by the military and subsequently moved to an unspecified site in the capital. Aris believes she is held in a fenced-off residence in Naypyidaw, surrounded by scrubby land, though he has not confirmed the exact coordinates.
The phone call took place on Thursday at the Myanmar embassy in London. Aris, who has lived in the United Kingdom for most of his life, was granted permission to speak with his mother from that location. He welcomed the chance to hear her voice but noted that the invitation is part of a public relations campaign by the country's military leaders. The move coincides with efforts by former junta chief Min Aung Hlaing to rebuild diplomatic ties abroad.
Hlaing recently swapped his military fatigues for civilian clothes following elections that were widely condemned as a sham. Activists have long demanded proof of life for Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. The regime provided such proof in August when the Red Cross visited her. Last week, a government spokesperson released images of Suu Kyi smiling in a wood-panelled room. Officials handed her two gardening books that Britain's King Charles had given as gifts. A paper calendar on the wall behind her showed the current date.
Aris described these photo opportunities as familiar stunts used to suggest his mother is being treated fairly. He stated that she remains completely shut off from the rest of the world. She is not allowed access to newspapers, radio, or television. Aris said she has been locked up for five years on politically motivated charges that he considers trumped up. He argued that she should be free.
Suu Kyi spent much of her life since the late 1980s in and out of house arrest for leading pro-democracy movements. She became state counsellor after her party won the 2015 election overwhelmingly. Her international standing suffered after the mass killings and expulsions of Rohingya Muslims in 2016 and 2017. At the International Court of Justice in The Hague, she acknowledged that military units might have used disproportionate force but defended the government against accusations of genocide.
Aris said his mother was never silent on the Rohingya crisis. He noted that what she said about the issue could fill volumes. Under her leadership, Myanmar began a domestic inquiry and appointed former UN chief Kofi Annan to lead a commission. He added that she was always walking on a tightrope as state counsellor, knowing the military could remove her fragile power at any time. The army worked to undermine her position before the 2021 takeover.
The 2021 takeover triggered a civil war that conflict monitors say has killed more than 100,000 people. Aris said global public support for his mother has dwindled incredibly since the Rohingya crisis. He noted that the whole country now suffers from a lack of international attention. Using the country's former name, he stated that the fact that people ignore what is happening in Burma should not be down to what was being done to the Rohingya.
