Kim Aris reports mother Aung San Suu Kyi in solitary after five-year silence

Five years have passed since Aung San Suu Kyi last spoke to family members, a gap her son Kim Aris confirmed following a brief phone conversation this week. The 81-year-old former leader remains in good physical and mental condition, though she lives in near-complete isolation under the watch of military or police personnel. Aris, who has resided primarily in the United Kingdom, said he could not identify anyone else near his mother. He believes she is held in a fenced residence in Naypyidaw, Myanmar's administrative capital, surrounded by scrubby land.

Aris was permitted to call his mother on Thursday at the Myanmar embassy in London. He described the invitation as part of a public relations effort by the country's military leaders. General Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 coup, has recently sought to rebuild diplomatic ties. In April, he swapped his military uniform for civilian clothes following elections that observers widely criticized. The junta aims to project stability while it manages the aftermath of the takeover.

Aris rejected the notion that the regime is treating his mother fairly. He pointed to a recent government release of images showing Suu Kyi smiling in a wood-paneled room. Officials handed her two gardening books from King Charles of Britain during the photo shoot, with a paper calendar visible in the background. Aris called such visual displays familiar stunts used to demonstrate humane treatment. He noted that she remains cut off from news media, including newspapers, radio, and television.

The former state counsellor faces what Aris described as trumped-up and politically motivated charges. He argued that she should be free after five years of detention. Suu Kyi's history includes periods of house arrest dating back to the late 1980s when she led pro-democracy movements. Her international reputation took a hit after the mass killings and expulsions of Rohingya Muslims in 2016 and 2017. At the International Court of Justice, she defended her government against genocide accusations while acknowledging that military units might have used disproportionate force.

Aris disputed the idea that his mother stayed silent during the Rohingya crisis. He said her comments on the subject could fill volumes. He recalled that under her leadership, Myanmar appointed former United Nations chief Kofi Annan to lead a domestic inquiry. He also noted that she always walked a tightrope as state counsellor, knowing the military could dismantle her fragile power at any moment. The army worked steadily to undermine her position before the final coup.

The 2021 military takeover sparked a civil war that conflict monitors say has killed more than 100,000 people. Aris observed that global support for his mother has dwindled since the Rohingya crisis. He noted that the entire country now suffers from a lack of international attention. Using the country's former name, he said the fact that people ignore what is happening in Burma should not depend on what was being done to the Rohingya.