Bangkok, May 4 (EFE).- Kim Aris, son of detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, on Monday urged the United Nations to independently verify her condition and whereabouts.
He said he has had no contact with his mother despite the military government’s claim that she has been moved to house arrest after five years in prison.
Posting on social media, Aris, who is based in the United Kingdom, said he has been unable to speak with his 80-year-old mother, casting doubt on the junta’s announcement.
According to authorities, Suu Kyi will continue serving her sentence in a “designated residence,” the location of which has not been disclosed.
Independent Myanmar media have reported that her sentence has been reduced to 18 years from 27, although her lawyer told EFE he could not confirm this.
«The military have used these sorts of tactics time and time again for decades now,» Aris said
“Until an independent body such as the International Committee of the Red Cross or the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances can verify her status and whereabouts, I can’t trust anything that has been said.”
He stressed that the reported move to house arrest, after years of incommunicado detention, does not amount to freedom, arguing that politics in Myanmar “remains a hostage” to the military regime led by Min Aung Hlaing.
“I simply want to be able to see her again and know that she’s okay.”
Last Friday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he had taken note of the announcement regarding Suu Kyi and reiterated his call for the unconditional release of all political prisoners, which the Myanmar NGO Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) estimates at more than 22,000.
Sources from Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, said her residence in Yangon, long a symbol of resistance where she spent years under house arrest, remains closed to the public.
State media have broadcast images of Suu Kyi appearing frail and seated before security personnel, though the date of the footage could not be verified.
Suu Kyi was detained following the 2021 military coup that derailed Myanmar’s democratic transition and deepened a long-running internal conflict, pushing the country further into crisis and international isolation. EFE
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