Aung San Suu Kyi’s son ‘concerned’ as leader marks 79th birthday in house arrest
The son of detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has expressed concerned about her health as she marks her 79th birthday while under house arrest.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ms Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year jail sentence imposed by the country’s military junta after it removed her from power in a 2021 coup. The charges, which include bizarre allegations such as the illegal import of walkie-talkies, are widely regarded as politicall motivated.
Referring to her with the Burmese word for mother, Ms Suu Kyi’s son Kim Aris said: “While I am sure maymay’s many years under house arrest will have prepared her for her current period of isolation, given her age and ongoing health issues, I am concerned about her circumstances.”
He noted that his mother has now spent almost a quarter of her life under house arrest, including 15 of the 21 years from 1989 to 2010, which were spent at her mother’s home at 54 University Avenue, Yangon.
Mr Aris, currently living in London, said he has not had any communication with his mother since February when he received a letter stating she was in “strong spirits”. He said he has no information on her location or condition.
“As always I appeal to the military junta to free maymay and all other political prisoners and to respect the overwhelming vote of the people for democracy and freedom,” he said.
He also urged people to celebrate his mother’s birthday by supporting humanitarian aid campaigns.
“Currently, people who love her want to give her flowers and cakes as birthday presents, but she is in a situation where she is not allowed to accept it,” he said in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
Her admirers should do as much as they can to help with humanitarian aid, he said. “I think this will be my mother’s most desired birthday present,” Mr Aris said.
Ms Suu Kyi is among more than 20,600 people detained by the junta since it seized control of the country from the democratically elected government, according to a tally maintained by the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Despite the risks involved, Myanmar saw a range of flower-themed protests and other public celebrations of Suu Kyi’s birthday on Wednesday, as hundreds of her supporters took to the streets.
Photos shared on social media showed protesters carrying Ms Suu Kyi’s picture and banners reading “Happy Birthday, Steel Rose” and “The Steel Roses will retaliate against the junta’s oppression without yielding,” referencing one of their hero’s nicknames and adopting the sobriquet for themselves.
Celebrations were also reported from the border regions of the country held by pro-democracy guerrillas, who are fighting a civil war against the military.
Hundreds of Ms Suu Kyi’s supporters celebrated her birthday in Dawei in southeastern Myanmar, where resistance groups have been making gains against the junta. They carried a banner with one of Ms Suu Kyi’s most well-known sayings, reading: “The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.”
The quote was supposed to inspire people to have courage in the fight against military dictatorship, said Min Lwin Oo, a leader of the Democracy Movement Strike Committee (Dawei).
Young people held more discreet protests in the big cities of Yangon and Mandalay, where security forces are reported to have used force to break up demonstrations and make arrests.
At least 22 people were arrested in Mandalay for alleged involvement in the flower protests, reported Eleven Media, a news outlet with close links to the military government.
