Suu Kyi Isolated Five Years, Son Says

Aung San Suu Kyi is 81 years old and has not spoken to a family member in over five years. Her son, Kim Aris, made that clear on Saturday after a phone call arranged by the Myanmar embassy in London. He said she appears physically strong and mentally sharp, but she lives in near-total isolation.

The former state counsellor is held at an unspecified location in Naypyidaw. Aris believes it is a fenced residence surrounded by scrubby land. He said he does not think she has anyone around her except military or police personnel. That means she has effectively been in solitary confinement since her detention began.

Suu Kyi was deposed in a military coup in 2021. She has faced multiple charges since then. Activists have long demanded proof of life for her and other political prisoners. In August, a Red Cross visit produced photographs of her. Last week, a government spokesperson released images of her smiling in a wood-panelled room. Officials handed her two gardening books from King Charles of Britain. A calendar on the wall behind her showed the date.

Aris called those photo opportunities familiar stunts. He said the regime uses them to suggest his mother is treated fairly. In reality, she is shut off from the outside world. She has no access to newspapers, radio, or television. He described her charges as trumped-up and politically motivated.

The phone call happened on Thursday at the Myanmar embassy in London. Aris said he welcomed the chance to talk. He also said the invitation was part of a public relations campaign by military leaders. Former junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has been working to rebuild diplomatic ties abroad. In April, he swapped military fatigues for civilian clothes after elections that were widely condemned as a sham.

Suu Kyi led Myanmar to a brief democratic opening after her party won the 2015 election overwhelmingly. Her international standing suffered after 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. She defended the government against accusations of genocide. Aris said she was never silent on the crisis and that her comments could fill volumes. He noted that Myanmar began a domestic inquiry and appointed former UN chief Kofi Annan to lead a commission under her leadership.

Aris said his mother was always walking on a tightrope as state counsellor. He said she knew the military could remove her fragile power at any time. The army worked to undermine her position. The 2021 takeover triggered a civil war. Conflict monitors say more than 100,000 people have died in that war. Aris said global public support for his mother has dwindled since the Rohingya crisis. He said the whole country now suffers from a lack of international attention.

Aris spent most of his life in the UK. His late father was a British historian. He used the country's former name, Burma, in his remarks. He said the fact that people ignore what is happening there should not depend on what was being done to the Rohingya. He said Suu Kyi should be free after five years of detention on charges he considers politically motivated.