Red Cross Official Meets Imprisoned Suu Kyi: What Her Son Said

Photo: Collected

​News Desk: Imprisoned pro-democracy leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, has met with a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The meeting took place on Monday following years of concern regarding the health and overall condition of the 81-year-old Nobel laureate.

​She has been living in captivity since February 2021, when her elected civilian government was ousted in a military coup. As a result of that coup, the impoverished Southeast Asian nation plunged into extreme instability.

​Since then, it has been difficult to ascertain Suu Kyi's exact location and physical condition. Although regional countries—which excluded Myanmar's leadership from their top summits—requested communication, no foreign leader or envoy has publicly met with Suu Kyi.

​In a Telegram message, government spokesperson Khaing Khaing Soe stated that Suu Kyi met with Arnaud de Baecque, the ICRC's resident representative to Myanmar, in the capital Naypyidaw on Monday.

​Without naming the ICRC official, the ICRC confirmed the meeting between one of its representatives and Suu Kyi. Meanwhile, Suu Kyi's son described the meeting as the first positive development regarding his mother in over five years.

​In one of the four photographs released by the Myanmar government spokesperson, Suu Kyi was seen dressed in traditional Burmese attire. She was standing unassisted and shaking hands with Arnaud de Baecque.

​Another photo showed them seated in a neat, wood-walled room furnished with only two chairs and a desk.

​"This Should Be the First Step," Says Suu Kyi's Son

​The ICRC stated that the standards and procedures followed during visits with detainees were applied in this meeting as well. In a statement, using the Burmese honorific, the organization noted that "it included the opportunity to speak with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in private."

​Suu Kyi's son, Kim Aris, stated that he has not yet been able to confirm his mother's current condition or health through any independent source.

​In a statement, he said, "This may be a first step, but it must not be the last."

​"I hope this leads to further humanitarian progress, including direct communication with my mother, access for our family, credible and independently verified information about her wellbeing, and ultimately her immediate and unconditional release alongside all political prisoners," he added.

​Last December, Aris told Reuters that he had occasionally received information from third parties regarding his mother's heart, bone, and gum problems—though he had not heard directly from his mother in recent years.

​Detained Since the Coup

​Following the 2021 coup, Suu Kyi was sentenced to 33 years in prison through a prolonged, one-sided secret trial. She had previously spent a total of 15 years under house arrest under the former junta regime. Various charges were brought against her, ranging from corruption and incitement of election fraud to violations of the Official Secrets Act.

​Her supporters maintain that these charges were politically motivated and designed to sideline the most popular politician in the country of 51 million people.

​Later, her prison sentence was reduced, with the latest reduction occurring last April. According to a member of her legal team, Suu Kyi still has to serve an 18-year sentence.

​Despite growing international pressure to allow independent verification, the administration backed by Myanmar's military has repeatedly claimed that Suu Kyi—the daughter of General Aung San, the hero of the nation's independence struggle—is "in good health."