Kim Aris, who lives in Britain and whose late father was the British historian Michael Aris, was allowed to speak to Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday at the Myanmar embassy in London. He told The Guardian she “sounds certainly all there mentally, and physically she sounds strong.”
Aris said his mother has been moved to an unspecified location in the capital, Naypyidaw, likely a fenced-off residence with a “scrubby bit of land around it.” He believes she has had no contact with anyone outside the military or police for the entire five years since the 2021 military coup that ousted her government. “Essentially she’s been held in solitary confinement from what I gather,” he said.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a pro-democracy leader who spent much of her life under house arrest, is now alone and cut off from news, newspapers, radio or television, according to her son. Aris described the invitation to speak as part of a “public relations” campaign by Myanmar's military leaders, who are seeking to rebuild international ties after widely condemned elections in April.
In recent months, the junta has allowed limited proof-of-life images. In August, Aung San Suu Kyi was photographed during a Red Cross visit. Last week, official photos showed her smiling in a wood-panelled room holding two gardening books gifted by Britain’s King Charles. Aris said these photo-ops were well-known stunts the regime has used before to create an appearance of fair treatment.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s international reputation was badly damaged by the 2016-2017 mass killings and expulsion of Rohingya Muslims. She defended the government at the International Court of Justice, saying military units may have used “disproportionate force” but denying genocide. Aris said his mother was never “silent” on the crisis and that her public statements “could fill volumes.” He said as state counsellor, she had to walk “a tightrope” with the military always able to strip her of power. “The very hard-won nascent democracy that she was trying to lead was holding on to things by a thread,” he said.
The 2021 military takeover triggered a civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people, according to conflict monitors. Aris said global support for his mother has “dwindled incredibly” since the Rohingya crisis and that the country now suffers from a lack of international attention. He urged the world not to ignore Myanmar’s suffering because of the Rohingya tragedy. “Never mind my mother, the fact that people ignore what’s happening in Burma shouldn’t be down to what was being done to the Rohingya,” he said.