Imagine not knowing if your own mother is alive or dead. That's the agonizing reality for Kim Aris, son of Myanmar's iconic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. He hasn't heard from his 80-year-old mother in years, and fears the worst amid a brutal military crackdown and a near-total information blackout.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Aris expressed his deep concerns about his mother's well-being, revealing that he's only received fragmented, secondhand information about her declining health since the 2021 coup. He detailed that his mother is suffering from heart, bone and gum problems. The coup, of course, deposed her democratically elected government, plunging Myanmar into chaos.
"She's got ongoing health issues. Nobody has seen her in over two years. She hasn't been allowed contact with her legal team, never mind her family," Aris stated during the interview in Tokyo. "For all I know, she could be dead already." The emotional weight of his words is undeniable, highlighting the desperation of the situation.
But here's where it gets controversial... While Aris vehemently rejects the junta's attempts to legitimize their rule through upcoming elections – elections widely condemned by foreign governments as a sham – he also sees a glimmer of hope. He believes these elections could, ironically, provide an opportunity to ease his mother's suffering.
"I imagine (Myanmar junta leader) Min Aung Hlaing has his own agenda when it comes to my mother. If he does want to use her to try and appease the general population before or after the elections by either releasing her or moving her to house arrest, then at least that would be something," he explained. A spokesperson for the Myanmar junta did not respond to requests for comment, further fueling concerns about transparency and accountability.
Myanmar's history offers a faint echo of hope. The military has a track record of releasing prisoners to mark significant holidays or events. Aung San Suu Kyi herself was freed in 2010, shortly after an election, ending a previous long period of detention, mostly spent at her family home in Yangon. She then became Myanmar's de-facto leader after the 2015 elections, the first openly contested vote in a quarter century.
However, her international image suffered a significant blow due to accusations of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority. And this is the part most people miss... While she held the position of de-facto leader, Myanmar's constitution severely limited her power over the military, making her ability to directly intervene in the Rohingya crisis questionable. She even admitted that war crimes may have been committed, but denied the charge of genocide at an international tribunal in The Hague in 2020.
Since the 2021 coup, Myanmar has been engulfed in turmoil, triggering an armed rebellion that has seized control of large swathes of territory. Aung San Suu Kyi is currently serving a 27-year sentence on various charges, including incitement, corruption, and election fraud – all of which she vehemently denies. Aris believes his mother is being held in Naypyitaw, the capital city. In the last letter he received from her two years ago, she wrote about the unbearable heat and cold in her cell, depending on the season.
With global attention stretched thin by conflicts around the world, Aris fears that Myanmar is being forgotten. He's now trying to leverage the upcoming elections – scheduled to begin on December 28 – to pressure foreign governments, like Japan, to take a stronger stance against the junta and demand his mother's release.
"Because of the upcoming elections that the military are trying to stage, which we all know are completely unfair, and so far from being free that it would be laughable if it wasn't so lamentable, I need to use this small window of opportunity," he said. He emphasized that his mother's tarnished image has made it harder to garner international support. "In the past, when my mother was held in higher regard by the international community, then it was much harder for people to ignore what's happening in Burma. But since her position was undermined through the crisis in Rakhine, that's no longer the case," he added, using Myanmar's former name, Burma.
Aris, a British national who has maintained a low profile until recently, insists that his mother was "not complicit" in the military's alleged genocidal campaign against the Rohingya in Rakhine state in 2016-17. This claim is, of course, highly contentious and reflects a deep divide in perspectives on the Rohingya crisis.
During his trip to Japan, Aris met with Japanese politicians and government officials to advocate for a stronger stance against the junta and a rejection of the elections. When asked about what his mother would think of his efforts, he responded, "I think she'd be incredibly sad that I've had to do this. She's always wanted me to not have to get involved. 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."
What do you think? Is there a realistic path to securing Aung San Suu Kyi's release, or is she destined to remain a political prisoner? And to what extent should the international community hold her accountable for the Rohingya crisis, given the limitations on her power? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
