Myanmar’s Suu Kyi Speaks To Son After Five Years

BANGKOK, Oct 22 (Bernama-dpa) -- Myanmar’s jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has spoken to her son for the first time in more than five years, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

Kim Aris, Suu Kyi’s 49-year-old son, wrote on Facebook on Thursday that hearing his mother’s voice again meant “more than words can express.”

He called for the immediate and unconditional release of his 81-year-old mother and all political prisoners in Myanmar.

Suu Kyi has been detained since February 2021, when Myanmar’s military seized power and removed the country’s democratically elected government.

She was subsequently sentenced to a lengthy prison term and has been largely cut off from the outside world.

There have been repeated concerns about her health, including reports of heart problems.

At the end of April, she was transferred from prison to house arrest. Her exact whereabouts remain unknown to the public.

Aris thanked everyone who had campaigned for his mother’s release and supported him.

“I believe your voices helped make this moment possible,” he said, adding that people should continue speaking out until his mother was free.

However, Aris warned against interpreting the renewed contact as a sign of fundamental change.

“A conversation does not mean regular access to the family. Access to the family does not mean freedom,” he wrote.

The news comes days after an unusual gesture by Britain’s King Charles III.

Myanmar’s military-backed government, led by Min Aung Hlaing, said Suu Kyi had been given two books from the King, a sealed letter and diplomatic correspondence on Monday.

The developments may indicate that Myanmar’s military leadership is allowing limited contact with the detained former leader, although Aris cautioned that the conversation did not signal a significant shift in her circumstances.

-- BERNAMA-dpa