Suu Kyi Tells Son She Has 18 Years Left

Former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi told her son she has 18 years remaining in detention during a 20-minute phone call on Thursday. The conversation marked their first direct contact since the 2021 military coup. Kim Aris, a 49-year-old carpenter based in London, said his mother asked about his health first. He described her as alive and well, noting that hearing her voice provided reassurance.

Suu Kyi, 81, received her initial sentence in 2021 following the coup. Consecutive trials through 2022 added charges of corruption and electoral fraud, bringing her total term to 33 years. The sentence was later reduced. Western governments and human rights groups have widely condemned the charges as fabricated. Khaing Khaing Soe, a spokesperson for the military-backed president, confirmed the call was arranged through the Myanmar Embassy in London. Soe shared photographs of the pair on social media.

Aris learned from the call that his mother is held at a residence near the capital, Naypyidaw. He believes police and military personnel surround the building, which features a fenced garden she can use. Aris stated that she is effectively in solitary confinement despite not being in a prison cell. She can read books but lacks access to radio, television, or newspapers. He reported that she suffers from tendonitis in her hand, causing pain that sometimes prevents her from using it. She receives a health checkup every six months.

Aris hopes to send a care package containing a mix of healthy food and treats. He is considering Ben's Cookies, a brand from Oxford, England, where Suu Kyi raised her sons with her late husband, Michael Aris, before moving to Myanmar in 1988. Aris believes the military monitored the call. He said sensitive topics, including the civil war, were off limits. He recalled the regime's practice of photographing parcels sent during his mother's house arrest in Yangon from 1989 to 2010.

Aris views the call as an effort to improve the military's image. Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing, who was installed as president after a military-engineered election in January, is traveling abroad seeking legitimacy. Aris said he hopes governments will not be taken in by the gesture. The coup triggered a civil war that has killed about 100,000 people, according to the monitoring group ACLED. The United Nations reports that millions have been displaced. ACLED states the military has escalated attacks on civilians since Hlaing became president.

Hlaing remains under U.S. sanctions for human rights abuses. These include the 2016-2017 killings and expulsions of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, which Washington has declared a genocide. Suu Kyi's international standing suffered in 2019 when she defended Myanmar at the International Court of Justice. She remains beloved by many inside the country. Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the exiled National Unity Government, believes the regime dare not release her because her strength would combine with the revolution.

Richard Horsey of the International Crisis Group called her status potentially the most valuable card Hlaing holds. He warned she could become a bargaining chip while airstrikes continue. Horsey said her release is very unlikely and would not on its own end the war. The U.S. State Department said it remains concerned about those it considers unjustly detained. It urged the military to hold genuine dialogue with all opposition groups. In August, the bureau called for Suu Kyi's immediate and unconditional release. Aris said the call may be a one-off. Suu Kyi believes she gives the people of Burma strength by sharing what they are going through.