Aung San Suu Kyi Mentally Sharp, Son Says
Her son Kim Aris spoke to the 81-year-old former leader by phone for the first time in five years, reporting she is in good health but isolated in Naypyidaw.
By Harper Hassan ·
Aung San Suu Kyi remains in good health after more than five years of detention, her son said on Saturday.
Kim Aris spoke by phone with the 81-year-old former Myanmar leader on Thursday. The call took place at the Myanmar embassy in London. It was the first conversation they have had since she was deposed in the 2021 military coup.
Aris described his mother as physically strong and mentally sharp. He said she sounds all there in both respects. He believes she is held in solitary confinement in an unspecified location in Naypyidaw, the capital. He thinks it is a fenced-off residence with scrubby land around it.
Aris said he does not think anyone is near her except military or police personnel. He noted that she has no access to newspapers, radio, or television. She is completely cut off from the rest of the world, he said.
The former Nobel Peace Prize laureate has faced charges Aris called trumped-up and politically motivated. He argued she should be free. Aris said the invitation to speak was part of a public relations campaign by the military leaders.
Former junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has moved to rebuild diplomatic ties. In April, he switched from military fatigues to civilian clothes following elections that many observers condemned as a sham. The move coincided with increased media access for Suu Kyi.
Last week, a government spokesperson released images of Suu Kyi smiling in a wood-paneled room. Officials handed her two gardening books given as gifts by Britain's King Charles. A paper calendar on the wall behind her showed the date. Activists have long demanded proof of life for Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
Aris called these photo opportunities familiar stunts used by the regime to suggest fair treatment. He pointed out that she was also photographed during a Red Cross visit in August. He said such images do not change the reality of her isolation.
Myanmar saw a brief democratic opening after Suu Kyi won a landslide victory in the 2015 election. She served as state counsellor under a civilian-military power-sharing deal. Her international standing faced criticism after mass killings and expulsions of Rohingya Muslims in 2016 and 2017.
At the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Suu Kyi acknowledged that military units might have used disproportionate force. She defended the government against genocide accusations. Aris said his mother was never silent on the crisis and that her defense could fill volumes. He noted she appointed former UN chief Kofi Annan to lead a domestic inquiry.
Aris said his mother always walked on a tightrope as state counsellor. The military worked to undermine her position and could remove her fragile power at any time. The 2021 takeover triggered a civil war that conflict monitors say has killed more than 100,000 people. Aris said global support for his mother has dwindled since the Rohingya crisis. He urged the world not to ignore the current situation in Burma because of past events.
She has spent much of her life since the late 1980s in and out of house arrest for leading pro-democracy movements. She is the daughter of assassinated independence hero Gen Aung San. Aris said the lack of international attention to the country is a problem. He stated that people ignoring what is happening in Burma should not be due to what was being done to the Rohingya.
Source: The Guardian
