Son Hears Mother's Voice After Five Years

Kim Aris spoke to his mother for the first time in more than five years on Thursday. The call took place at the Myanmar embassy in London. He described the 81-year-old former leader as physically strong and mentally sharp.

Aris said he believes his mother lives in near-total isolation. He stated that she has no family or friends around her, only military or police personnel. This arrangement, he argued, amounts to solitary confinement.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was deposed in a 2021 military coup. She has since been held in an unspecified location in the capital city of Naypyidaw. Aris believes she resides in a fenced-off house with a patch of scrubby land nearby, though he does not know the exact address.

The military regime arranged the meeting. Aris accepted the invitation but viewed it as part of a public relations effort by junta chief Min Aung Hlaing. Hlaing has sought to improve diplomatic ties abroad. In April, he switched from military fatigues to civilian clothes following elections that many observers condemned as a sham.

Government officials released photographs of Suu Kyi last week. The images showed her smiling in a wood-paneled room while receiving two gardening books from King Charles III. A calendar on the wall behind her displayed the date. Aris called these photo opportunities familiar stunts used to suggest fair treatment.

He noted that his mother is barred from newspapers, radio, and television. He described her situation as being locked up for five years on politically motivated charges. He argued that she should be free.

Suu Kyi has faced house arrest in and out since the late 1980s. She led pro-democracy movements as the daughter of Gen Aung San, an independence hero who was assassinated. Her political career included a brief democratic opening after her party won a 2015 election overwhelmingly. She served as state counsellor in a civilian-military power-sharing deal.

Her international standing faced challenges after 2016 and 2017, when mass killings and expulsions of Rohingya Muslims occurred. At the International Court of Justice, she acknowledged that military units might have used disproportionate force. She defended the government against genocide accusations. Aris said she was never silent on the crisis and that her views could fill volumes. He noted that Myanmar began a domestic inquiry and appointed former UN chief Kofi Annan to lead a commission.

The 2021 takeover sparked a civil war that conflict monitors say has killed more than 100,000 people. Aris said global support for his mother has dwindled since the Rohingya crisis. He stated that the country now suffers from a lack of international attention. He warned that the world's focus on past events should not distract from current conditions.