Suu Kyi isolated for five years

Aung San Suu Kyi is alive and mentally sharp after five years in captivity, according to the first conversation between her and her son in that time. Kim Aris spoke with the 81-year-old former state counsellor on Thursday at the Myanmar embassy in London. He described her voice as strong and her mind as intact.

Aris believes his mother is in good physical condition. He stated that she sounds certainly all there mentally. He does not believe she has anyone around her other than military or police personnel. This arrangement amounts to solitary confinement, according to his assessment.

The former Nobel Peace Prize laureate was removed from power in a 2021 military coup. She has since been held at an unspecified location in the capital. Aris thinks she is in a fenced-off residence in Naypyidaw. The property is surrounded by a patch of scrubby land. He remains unsure of the exact site.

Aris, who lives in the UK, was granted permission to make the call. His late father was a British historian. He welcomed the chance to speak with his mother but viewed the invitation as a public relations move by the military leaders. Former junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has been working to rebuild diplomatic ties abroad.

In April, Hlaing swapped his military fatigues for civilian clothes. This change followed elections that were widely condemned as a sham. The move aimed to present a more civilian face to international observers. Aris sees the recent call as part of this broader diplomatic effort.

Activists have long demanded proof of life for Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. She was photographed during a Red Cross visit in August. Last week, a government spokesperson released images of her smiling in a wood-panelled room. Officials handed her two gardening books given by Britain's King Charles. A paper calendar on the wall showed the current date.

Aris described these photo opportunities as familiar stunts. He said the regime uses them to suggest fair treatment. He noted that his mother remains completely shut off from the rest of the world. She is not allowed access to newspapers, radio, or television.

Aris argued that his mother has been locked up for five years. He cited trumped-up, politically motivated charges as the reason. He said she should be free. Her daughter of assassinated independence hero Gen Aung San, she has spent time in and out of house arrest since the late 1980s.

Myanmar saw a brief democratic opening after Suu Kyi won a 2015 election. She became state counsellor under a civilian-military power-sharing arrangement. Her international standing suffered after the mass killings and expulsions of Rohingya Muslims in 2016 and 2017. At the International Court of Justice, she acknowledged that military units might have used disproportionate force.

Aris said his mother was never silent on the Rohingya crisis. He noted that what she said about it could fill volumes. Under her leadership, Myanmar began a domestic inquiry and appointed former UN chief Kofi Annan to lead a commission. He described her position as walking on a tightrope, knowing the military could remove her at any time.