Myanmar junta says Suu Kyi in ‘good’ health

Myanmar’s military says Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is in “good health”, contradicting her son’s fears that she may already be dead.

Suu Kyi’s youngest son, Kim Aris, said in a recent interview that he has had no contact with his mother since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021.

“For all I know, he may be dead,” he told the Reuters news agency.

Aung San Suu Kyi, now over 80 years old, has been detained since the coup and is serving multiple prison sentences handed down by military-controlled courts.

Conditions of detention and access to medical care remain unclear, and independent verification is impossible due to the tight restrictions imposed by the junta.

Suu Kyi is Myanmar’s most prominent democratic leader and an international symbol of resistance to military rule.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for his non-violent struggle for democracy while under house arrest during the early periods of military rule.

The daughter of independence hero General Aung San, she led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide election victory in 2015, becoming the country’s de facto civilian leader – with the title of state counselor – after decades of military dominance.

Following the 2021 coup in which the military overturned general election results that the NLD won overwhelmingly, Suu Kyi was arrested and later convicted on a series of charges widely condemned by international observers as politically motivated.

He has not been seen in public since his detention.

Aris has repeatedly called for his mother’s release.

He said that as he got older, prolonged silence and lack of formal communication intensified his concerns.

The military had previously provided brief assurances about Aung San Suu Kyi’s health but had not allowed independent observers, diplomats or family members to see her.