Myanmar General Allows Son To Call Detained Leader Aung San Suu Kyi

Kim Aris spoke by phone with his mother, former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, on Thursday. The 20-minute call was their first direct conversation since the military seized power in 2021.

Suu Kyi, 81, was first sentenced in 2021. Consecutive trials through 2022 added corruption and electoral fraud charges to her record, bringing her total sentence to 33 years. The U.S., Western nations, and human rights groups have condemned these charges as fabricated. Her sentence was later reduced, leaving her with 18 years to serve. Khaing Khaing Soe, a spokesperson for the military-backed president, confirmed on social media that the call was arranged through the Myanmar Embassy in London.

Aris, a 49-year-old carpenter based in London, said his mother’s first words were a question about his health. He passed along the family's love and asked about her well-being. "My mother is actually alive and well," Aris said. "Hearing her voice has reassured me."

Aris learned from the call that she is held at a residence near Naypyidaw, the capital. He described the building as fenced off with a scrubby garden she may use. Police and military personnel surround the structure. "From what I can ascertain, she's basically being held in solitary confinement even if she's not in a prison cell," he said. She can read books but likely lacks access to news via radio, television, or newspapers.

Her health has long worried the family. Aris said she sounded strong but suffers from tendonitis in her hand, which at times she cannot use. She told him she receives a health checkup every six months. Aris plans to send a care package with a mix of healthy food and treats. He is considering Ben's Cookies, a brand founded in Oxford, England, where she raised her two sons with her late husband, Michael Aris, before moving to Myanmar in 1988.

Aris believes the military monitored the call, making sensitive topics like the civil war off limits. He recalled her house arrest in Yangon from 1989 to 2010, when the regime photographed parcels as propaganda. He views the call as an image-building effort for Min Aung Hlaing, the coup leader who became president after a military-engineered election in January. "I hope that governments around the world won't be taken in," Aris said.

The coup sparked a civil war that has killed about 100,000 people, according to the monitoring group ACLED. The U.N. says millions have been displaced. ACLED reports that the military has sharply escalated attacks on civilians since Hlaing became president. Hlaing remains under U.S. sanctions for human rights abuses, including the 2016-2017 killings and expulsions of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, which Washington declared a genocide. Suu Kyi’s international standing suffered in 2019 when she defended Myanmar against those allegations at the International Court of Justice, though she remains beloved by many inside the country.

Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the exiled National Unity Government, believes the regime will not release her because her strength would combine with the revolution. Richard Horsey of the International Crisis Group called her status "potentially the most valuable card Min Aung Hlaing holds." He warned she could become a bargaining chip while airstrikes continue and said her release is "very unlikely." The U.S. State Department said it remains concerned about those it considers unjustly detained and urged the military to hold "genuine dialogue with all opposition groups." In August, its Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs called for Suu Kyi's "immediate and unconditional release." Aris said the call may be a one-off, and his mother believes she gives the people of Burma strength by sharing what they are going through.