Pressure is mounting on Myanmar’s military authorities to provide verifiable proof of life for detained Aung San Suu Kyi, as her son appeals to France for help and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations calls for its special envoy to be granted access to her.
Kim Aris, son of the deposed leader, on Tuesday called on France to help secure independently verified proof that his mother is alive, after she was reportedly transferred to house arrest, her lawyers said.
Myanmar’s junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing on Thursday ordered the 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate to be moved, five years after she was detained in a coup.
Aris said he has still not heard from his mother, who remains widely popular inside Myanmar.
“I implore France to join my call so that we may obtain independently verified proof of life, and so that her fundamental rights are guaranteed: appropriate medical care, access to her lawyers and to her family,” he wrote in a letter addressed to President Emmanuel Macron, seen by AFP.
Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Francois Zimeray, said Aris handed the letter to Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot during a meeting on Tuesday.
“We have had no proof of life, no photos for years, not even any indication that she was actually transferred. We still don't know where she is,” he told AFP.
The office of Min Aung Hlaing on Thursday released an undated photograph appearing to show Suu Kyi seated between two men in uniform.
“But we don’t know if it’s real or if it’s AI,” Zimeray said.
Another lawyer, Catalina de la Sota, raised concerns over Suu Kyi’s health and the secrecy surrounding her detention.
“We cannot imagine that she is no longer alive, but why is she being kept in total secrecy, in violation of all international conventions? We are worried about her health,” she said.
Barrot said France would continue to push for Suu Kyi’s immediate and unconditional release, according to the foreign ministry.
Suu Kyi has been detained since her elected government was overthrown in a 2021 coup. She is serving a 27-year sentence after being convicted of multiple offences that her allies say are politically motivated. Her sentence was reduced by one-sixth under an amnesty last month, which also saw the release of her ally, former president Win Myint.
Meanwhile, the Philippines on Wednesday called on Myanmar to allow ASEAN’s special envoy to meet Suu Kyi, pressing for greater transparency after authorities permitted her to serve the remainder of her sentence under house arrest.
“We view these developments as vital steps in a sequence of confidence-building measures necessary for long-term national stability in Myanmar,” the Philippines, this year’s ASEAN chair, said in a statement.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Myanmar should allow Suu Kyi to communicate with her family to “demonstrate genuine commitment to national reconciliation.”
It added that granting access to ASEAN’s envoy would support engagement with all stakeholders and help advance inclusive national dialogue under the bloc’s Five-Point Consensus.
