Speaking to her son for the first time in more than five years, Myanmar’s ousted democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi sounded mentally alert and physically resilient, despite enduring near-complete isolation under military custody. Kim Aris, who spoke with his 81-year-old mother from the Myanmar embassy in London, welcomed the rare conversation but warned that the military regime orchestrated the exchange as a public relations maneuver rather than a genuine concession.
Suu Kyi, who was deposed during the February 2021 military coup, is believed to be detained in a fenced compound in the capital, Naypyidaw, surrounded by security personnel and completely cut off from the outside world. According to Aris, she has no contact with anyone outside the police and military, and remains barred from accessing newspapers, television, or radio. He described her prolonged detention on politically motivated charges as tantamount to solitary confinement.
The rare telephone access coincides with broader efforts by Myanmar’s military leadership, led by Min Aung Hlaing, to rehabilitate its international standing following widely condemned elections. Activists have spent years demanding verifiable proof of life for Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. Recent regime-released photographs—including one showing her receiving gardening books sent by Britain’s King Charles—represent what Aris characterized as calculated publicity stunts designed to project an illusion of humane treatment.
The power grab five years ago plunged Myanmar into a devastating civil war that has claimed over 100,000 lives. While Suu Kyi's international standing suffered severely over her defense of the military during the Rohingya crisis, Aris stressed that past controversies should not blind the international community to Myanmar’s ongoing catastrophe, urging foreign governments not to abandon the country as global attention wanes.