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Khaleej Times
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi marks 80th birthday in junta jail
Myanmar's deposed democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked her 80th birthday in junta detention on Thursday, serving a raft of sentences set to last the rest of her life. Suu Kyi was the figurehead of Myanmar's decade-long democratic thaw, becoming de facto leader as it opened up from military rule. But as the generals snatched back power in a 2021 coup, she was locked up on charges ranging from corruption to breaching Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and is serving a 27-year sentence. "It will be hard to be celebrating at the moment," said her 47-year-old son Kim Aris from the UK. "We've learned to endure when it's been going on so long." He is running 80 kilometres (50 miles) over the eight days leading up to her birthday, and has collected over 80,000 well-wishing video messages for his mother. But Suu Kyi will not see them, sequestered in Myanmar's sprawling capital Naypyidaw from where the military directs a civil war against guerilla fighters. Aris said he has heard from his mother only once via letter two years ago since she was imprisoned. "We have no idea what condition she's in," he said, adding that he fears she is suffering from untreated medical problems with her heart, bones and gums. 'Do you still remember?' No formal celebrations are planned in junta-held parts of Myanmar, but a gaggle of followers in military-controlled Mandalay city staged a spontaneous protest ahead of her birthday, local media said. A few masked protestors showered a street with pamphlets reading "freedom from fear" and "happy birthday" as one member help up a portrait of Suu Kyi in shaky camera footage shared on social media. "Do you still remember this great person?" asked one of the protestors in the video, which AFP has not been able to independently verify. While Suu Kyi remains hugely popular in the majority Buddhist country, her status as a democracy icon abroad collapsed before the military takeover after she defended the generals in their crackdown against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Hundreds of thousands were sent fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh under her rule, though some argued she was powerless against the lingering influence of Myanmar's military. Nonetheless institutions and figures that once showered Suu Kyi with awards rapidly distanced themselves, and her second round of imprisonment has received far less international attention. Locked away birthday Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar independence hero Aung San, became a champion of democracy almost by accident. After spending much of her youth abroad, she returned in 1988 to nurse her sick mother but began leading anti-military protests crushed by a crackdown. She was locked up for 15 years, most of it in her family's Yangon lakeside mansion where she still drew crowds for speeches over the boundary wall. The military offered freedom if she went into exile but her poised refusal thrust her into the spotlight and won her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. Suu Kyi was released in 2010 and led her National League for Democracy party to electoral victory in 2015, never formally in charge as army-drafted rules kept her from the presidency. If the octogenarian were released from her current incarceration, Aris predicts she would likely step back from a "frontline position" in Myanmar politics. The military has promised new elections at the end of this year, but they are set to be boycotted by many groups comprised of former followers of Suu Kyi's non-violent vision who have now taken up arms.
Japan Times
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi marks 80th birthday in junta jail
Myanmar's deposed democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked her 80th birthday in junta detention on Thursday, serving a raft of sentences set to last the rest of her life. Suu Kyi was the figurehead of Myanmar's decade-long democratic thaw, becoming de facto leader as it opened up from military rule. But as the generals snatched back power in a 2021 coup, she was locked up on charges ranging from corruption to breaching COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and is serving a 27-year sentence. "It will be hard to be celebrating at the moment," said her 47-year-old son Kim Aris from the U.K. "We've learned to endure when it's been going on so long." He is running 80 kilometers over the eight days leading up to her birthday and has collected over 80,000 well-wishing video messages for his mother. But Suu Kyi will not see them, sequestered in Myanmar's sprawling capital Naypyidaw from where the military directs a civil war against guerilla fighters. Aris said he has heard from his mother only once via letter two years ago since she was imprisoned. "We have no idea what condition she's in," he said, adding that he fears she is suffering from untreated medical problems with her heart, bones and gums. 'Do you still remember?' No formal celebrations are planned in junta-held parts of Myanmar, but a gaggle of followers in military-controlled Mandalay city staged a spontaneous protest ahead of her birthday, local media said. Suu Kyi and Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing | AFP-jiji A few masked protestors showered a street with pamphlets reading "freedom from fear" and "happy birthday" as one member held up a portrait of Suu Kyi in shaky camera footage shared on social media. "Do you still remember this great person?" asked one of the protestors in the video, which AFP has not been able to independently verify. While Suu Kyi remains hugely popular in the majority Buddhist country, her status as a democracy icon abroad collapsed before the military takeover after she defended the generals in their crackdown against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Hundreds of thousands were sent fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh under her rule, though some argued she was powerless against the lingering influence of Myanmar's military. Nonetheless, institutions and figures that once showered Suu Kyi with awards rapidly distanced themselves, and her second round of imprisonment has received far less international attention. Locked away birthday Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar independence hero Aung San, became a champion of democracy almost by accident. After spending much of her youth abroad, she returned in 1988 to nurse her sick mother but began leading anti-military protests crushed by a crackdown. She was locked up for 15 years, most of it in her family's Yangon lakeside mansion where she still drew crowds for speeches over the boundary wall. Suu Kyi pays homage to Buddhist monks at the Kan Tat Kone monastery during a visit to Mandalay on Feb. 14, 2015. | afp-jiji The military offered freedom if she went into exile, but her poised refusal thrust her into the spotlight and won her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. Suu Kyi was released in 2010 and led her National League for Democracy party to electoral victory in 2015, never formally in charge as army-drafted rules kept her from the presidency. If the octogenarian were released from her current incarceration, Aris predicts she would likely step back from a "frontline position" in Myanmar politics. The military has promised new elections at the end of this year, but they are set to be boycotted by many groups comprised of former followers of Suu Kyi's nonviolent vision who have now taken up arms.
Malay Mail
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Jailed at 80: Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi marks milestone birthday in silence and seclusion
YANGON, June 19 — Myanmar's deposed democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked her 80th birthday in junta detention today, serving a raft of sentences set to last the rest of her life. Suu Kyi was the figurehead of Myanmar's decade-long democratic thaw, becoming de facto leader as it opened up from military rule. But as the generals snatched back power in a 2021 coup, she was locked up on charges ranging from corruption to breaching Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and is serving a 27-year sentence. 'It will be hard to be celebrating at the moment,' said her 47-year-old son Kim Aris from the UK. 'We've learned to endure when it's been going on so long.' He is running 80km over the eight days leading up to her birthday, and has collected over 80,000 well-wishing video messages for his mother. But Suu Kyi will not see them, sequestered in Myanmar's sprawling capital Naypyidaw from where the military directs a civil war against guerilla fighters. Aris said he has heard from his mother only once via letter two years ago since she was imprisoned. 'We have no idea what condition she's in,' he said. While she remains hugely popular in the majority Buddhist country, her status as a democracy icon abroad collapsed before the military takeover after she defended the generals in their crackdown against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Hundreds of thousands were sent fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh under her rule, though some argued she was powerless against the lingering influence of Myanmar's military. Nonetheless institutions and figures that once showered Suu Kyi with awards rapidly distanced themselves, and her second round of imprisonment has received far less international attention. Locked away birthday Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar independence hero Aung San, became a champion of democracy almost by accident. After spending much of her youth abroad, she returned in 1988 to nurse her sick mother but began leading anti-military protests crushed by a crackdown. She was locked up for 15 years, most of it in her family's Yangon lakeside mansion where she still drew crowds for speeches over the boundary wall. The military offered freedom if she went into exile but her poised refusal thrust her into the spotlight and won her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. This time, she disappeared from the public eye on the eve of the coup. Aris said he fears she is suffering from untreated medical problems with her heart, bones and gums. Myanmar's junta offers only intermittent updates on her status and the conditions of her incarceration. 'She is in good health,' junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told reporters in March, adding that she was provided with routine medical check-ups but was not unwell. Suu Kyi was freed from her first confinement in 2010 and led her National League for Democracy party to electoral victory in 2015, never formally in charge as army-drafted rules kept her from the presidency. The military has promised new elections at the end of this year, but they are set to be boycotted by many groups comprised of former followers of Suu Kyi's non-violent vision who have now taken up arms. If the octogenarian were released, Aris predicts she would likely step back from a 'frontline position' in Myanmar politics. — AFP
The Independent
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Leaked prison logs offer rare glimpse into Aung San Suu Kyi's life in Myanmar prison
Leaked prison logs from early 2024 have provided rare insight into the tightly controlled life of Aung San Suu Kyi, the ousted Myanmar leader spending her fourth year in solitary confinement ahead of her 80th birthday, according to a new report. The logs, from a specially built detention facility in the capital Naypyidaw, offer a glimpse into her daily routine, eating habits and health condition as she remains isolated from the outside world under the military government. Since the military overthrew Ms Suu Kyi's elected government in a 2021 coup, little information has emerged about her condition as the junta continues to strictly control the flow of news from the country. Ms Suu Kyi was detained along with dozens of elected leaders and activists and later handed a combined 27-year prison sentence on multiple criminal charges widely condemned as politically motivated. Now, prison logs covering select days in January and February 2024 show that Ms Suu Kyi wakes up at 4.30am and ends her day at around 8.30pm. Her daily routine includes over an hour of meditation, prayer using Buddhist beads and three modest meals. The logs, along with rare footage of her appearing in a court in 2022, were shared with The Guardian by People's Embrace, a group of military defectors from Myanmar. One entry states that Ms Suu Kyi ate two half-fried eggs for breakfast. Her lunch – the heaviest meal of the day – consisted of 'two spoons of rice, chicken, fish ball soup, two pieces of chocolate, and a piece of dragon fruit'. Dinner included soup and bread. She walks around her room for evening exercise and spends several hours reading, mostly English and French novels arranged by her legal team. The records heighten concern over the ousted leader's wellbeing as she's reportedly receiving just basic, symptom-focused medical care. One day, the logs note, the room temperature reached 31C, sparking fears about dehydration and heatstroke. A prison source unaffiliated with People's Embrace who saw Ms Suu Kyi in early 2024 noted a subtle but symbolic change in her way of living. The source said she had stopped wearing flowers in her hair – partly because she no longer wanted to. A video of her appearing in a courtroom shows Ms Suu Kyi sitting with former president Win Myint. They are wearing white face masks, and Ms Suu Kyi is clad in a white shirt and black pants as she briefly stands, clutching a file in her hands. Ahead of her 80th birthday on 19 June, her son Kim Aris, who lives in London, has launched a bid to collect a world-record 80,000 messages for her. As well as asking people around the world to upload voice or video messages for Ms Suu Kyi's birthday, Mr Aris is urging them to sign an e-birthday card which will help raise money for humanitarian aid for Myanmar. The messages will be stored on a disk until Mr Aris can hand them to his mother in person. Ms Suu Kyu, the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero General Aung San, who was assassinated in July 1947, spent nearly 15 years between 1989 to 2010 under house arrest. Ms Suu Kyi raised two children, Kim and Alexander, in the UK after studying at Oxford and marrying a British academic, Michael Aris. She returned to Myanmar in 1988, initially to nurse her sick mother before getting swept up in the pro-democracy movement in the country. In 2015, the junta allowed Ms Suu Kyi to become the de facto head of Myanmar following elections, but only if they controlled key ministries, including home affairs and defence, as well as the military budget. defend her country's use of military violence against the Rohingya minority, which invited criticism from human rights groups.
Globe and Mail
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Rohingya militants joining the fight for Myanmar's Rakhine, putting refugees at risk
As rebel groups have advanced across Myanmar in the past 18 months, nowhere has the Southeast Asian country's military government lost more ground than in Rakhine state, a strip of land along its western coast, bordering Bangladesh. There, the 45,000-strong Arakan Army has seized control of much of northern Rakhine and now appears poised to take over the entire state, even as the junta has pummelled resistance-held towns and cities with airstrikes and tried to mobilize a former bitter enemy against the AA. Since at least last year, Rohingya militant groups have been fighting the AA, often alongside junta troops or allied militias, and have recently paused a years-long turf war to control refugee camps in Bangladesh in order to concentrate on the battle for Rakhine, according to a new report by the International Crisis Group (ICG). A predominantly Muslim ethnic group with a long history of oppression in Myanmar, the Rohingya were targeted by the military in what is now widely recognized as a genocidal campaign in 2016, which left tens of thousands dead and drove the majority of the remaining population into neighbouring Bangladesh, where they have lived in sprawling and increasingly chaotic camps ever since. While Myanmar's parallel National Unity Government – an umbrella group of various ethnic armed organizations and resistance forces – has condemned previous administrations' treatment of the Rohingya and called for their inclusion in a future federal democracy, the Arakan Army, which purports to represents the majority Rakhine ethnic group, has been accused of massacring Rohingya civilians and seeking to drive them out of the region. 'Over the past six months, Rohingya armed groups have paused their turf war in the camps in southern Bangladesh and stepped up recruitment of refugees, telling them the only way to return home is by fighting the Arakan Army,' said Thomas Kean, ICG senior consultant for Myanmar and Bangladesh based in Melbourne. 'Such an insurgency is very unlikely to succeed but could do immense damage on both sides of the border, and undermine any prospect for repatriation of the more than one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.' At the core of this is the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), an Islamist armed group whose attacks on Myanmar military posts in 2016 were used as justification for the subsequent genocide. Largely operating in exile ever since, ARSA has become the dominant force in Cox's Bazar, a sprawling camp on the Bangladesh border where the majority of Rohingya refugees live. Over the years, ARSA has fought Bangladeshi security forces and other armed groups for control of the camps and has been accused of murdering civilian leaders who challenge it. Representatives of both AA and ARSA did not respond to requests for comment. In the past, both groups have expressed support for a multi-ethnic Rakhine. The situation for Rohingya in Bangladesh has grown increasingly dire in recent years, with international funding already insufficient before U.S. President Donald Trump moved to slash most of his country's foreign aid spending. The increased desperation in Cox's Bazar has made recruitment easier for armed groups like ARSA, according to multiple reports by aid groups. Since last year, despite longstanding opposition to the Myanmar military, ARSA forces have fought alongside the junta against the AA in multiple operations, according to local media and online statements by ARSA representatives. Fighting between Rohingya armed groups and the AA, 'as well as the presence of Rohingya in regime-controlled militias,' has had a 'ruinous effect on communal relations,' the ICG report warns, and hate speech on social media is growing, echoing a situation around the 2016-2018 crackdown, when genocidal messages spread widely on Facebook and other platforms. Some 200,000 Rohingya have fled Rakhine as a result of the fighting over the past year, according to ICG. Around 400,000 still live in territory controlled by the AA, and as the group becomes the dominant power in the region, it will be pivotal to any negotiations to allow refugees to return, something Bangladesh has long sought despite warnings from the United Nations and others that the situation in Myanmar is too unstable. Mr. Kean said that in order to reduce support for armed struggle among Rohingya refugees, AA 'needs to demonstrate to both Bangladesh and the Rohingya that it can govern Rakhine State in the interests of all communities.' 'Further conflict between Rohingya armed groups and the Arakan Army is in the interest of neither the Rohingya people, Bangladesh nor the Arakan Army,' the ICG report warns. 'Given the Arakan Army's military strength, armed struggle will not succeed in helping the Rohingya return to Rakhine State, and it could have devastating consequences, now that the Arakan Army in effect controls most of the areas where Rohingya remain and all the areas to which refugees would return.'
