Kim Aris, the son of Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has voiced fears that he may not even know if his 80-year-old mother is still alive. Speaking to Reuters, Aris said he has not heard from Suu Kyi in years and has only received sporadic, secondhand updates about her health, which has been affected by heart, bone, and gum problems since the 2021 military coup that ousted her government.
Suu Kyi, serving a 27-year sentence on charges including incitement, corruption, and election fraud—claims she denies—has been held incommunicado, with no access to family or legal counsel. Aris said he believes she is being held in Naypyitaw and recounted that her last letter, two years ago, described extreme cell temperatures during both summer and winter. “For all I know, she could be dead already,” he said.
The upcoming Myanmar elections, slated to begin on December 28 and widely dismissed as a sham by foreign governments, may offer a “small window of opportunity” for the junta to ease Suu Kyi’s conditions. Aris hopes that international pressure, particularly from countries like Japan, could push for her release or transfer to house arrest. “If he [junta leader Min Aung Hlaing] does want to use her to try and appease the general population before or after the elections…then at least that would be something,” Aris said.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, first rose to prominence after her release from house arrest in 2010 and became Myanmar’s de-facto leader following the 2015 elections. Her international reputation later suffered amid criticism over her handling of military-led atrocities against the Rohingya Muslim minority, though her son maintains she was “not complicit” in the crimes.
Aris, a British national who has recently taken a more public role, met with Japanese politicians during a trip to urge stronger international action against the junta and to reject the planned elections. “Because of the upcoming elections… I need to use this small window of opportunity,” he said, highlighting the urgency of drawing attention back to Myanmar.
He described the personal toll of the situation, saying, “I think she’d be incredibly sad that I’ve had to do this…But I don’t really have a choice at the moment. I am her son after all. And if I’m not doing it, I can’t expect anybody else to do it.”
