The son of deposed Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Monday that his mother has been held virtually incommunicado in a prison in the capital since January, serving a 27-year sentence on charges brought by the military junta.
Kim Aris expressed concern about the health of her 78-year-old mother in a video conference interview with London news agency EFE, stating that her isolation is a violation of human rights.
“As far as I know, Suu Kyi last had contact with her lawyers in January and has not had contact with anyone outside of prison and the military,” said Kim, Suu Kyi’s youngest son. the late British historian Michael Aris.
The Burmese leader was arrested on the same day as the military’s coup, on February 1, 2021, and was tried in a long and obscure trial criticized by the United States, the United Kingdom, the UN, the European Union (EU) , among other countries and organizations.
“[Os militares] They didn’t let me visit her once and they didn’t let me communicate with her at all, which is a total violation of her human rights,” said the activist, born in 1977 in Oxford (United Kingdom) and also known as Htein Lin .
One exception to Suu Kyi’s isolation was the prison visit she received in July from Thailand’s then foreign minister, Don Pramudwinai, who said the deposed leader was in “good health.”
However, Aris stated that the visit was used by the military junta for its own propaganda and that his mother is “practically isolated” and has no contact with other prisoners.
Turning to the conflict in Myanmar, the son of the deposed leader said he hoped the Burmese military junta would be defeated by pro-democracy forces and called on the international community to support those fighting the Burmese military and ensure access of humanitarian aid. .
The Burmese leader, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, faced the greatest political pressure during the Rohingya – a Muslim minority in Myanmar – crisis, as many activists criticized her for not doing enough to defend the minority. in 2016 and 2017.
“What happened to the Rohingya was terrible, but I think the way they showed my mother who could be involved was completely untrue,” said Aris, who said Suu Kyi was trying to do what she could to to help the Rohingya. , despite military restrictions.
More than a million Rohingya live in Bangladesh and others have fled to various countries due to the military’s brutal repression of this minority.
Source: DN
