Aung San Suu Kyi, the ousted leader of Myanmar, spoke with her son Kim Aris by telephone Thursday after nearly six years of detention. The 20-minute call marked their first direct conversation since a military coup toppled her democratically elected government in 2021. Aris, a 49-year-old carpenter living in London, received the call through Myanmar’s Embassy in the United Kingdom and believes the military monitored the conversation.
Suu Kyi, now 81 years old and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was initially sentenced in 2021 on charges of corruption and electoral fraud, which human rights organizations and Western nations have characterized as fabricated. Subsequent trials extended her total sentence to 33 years, later reduced to 18 years. Since the coup, little public information has emerged about her condition or whereabouts. According to Aris, she is being held at a residence near Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s capital, surrounded by police and military personnel and enclosed by fencing. He described her situation as solitary confinement despite not being imprisoned in a cell. She has restricted access to information, with no radio, television, or newspapers permitted.
Aris reported that his mother sounded strong during their conversation but continues to experience significant pain from tendonitis in her hand, sometimes rendering it unusable. She receives health checkups every six months and has access to books and a small garden area. Food appears to be prepared at the residence, with some provisions delivered by her lawyers. Aris expressed his intention to send care packages and noted that Suu Kyi requested healthy foods and treats, including specific items from her time in England.
The coup in 2021 precipitated a civil war that has caused approximately 100,000 deaths and displaced millions of people according to conflict monitoring organizations and United Nations assessments. Aris suggested the military may be seeking to improve its international image, noting that coup leader Min Aung Hlaing, now installed as president following a military-engineered election in January, has been traveling abroad. Aris cautioned against international acceptance of such gestures, characterizing them as tactics employed by Myanmar’s military for decades. He emphasized that his mother’s detention highlights broader suffering within Myanmar, where she remains a significant figure for many citizens.
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