Kim Aris says Aung San Suu Kyi remains isolated in Naypyidaw after five years

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent the last five years in near-total solitude, according to her son Kim Aris, who spoke with her by telephone for the first time since the 2021 coup. The 81-year-old former state counsellor was permitted to call on Thursday from the Myanmar embassy in London. Aris said he believes his mother is held in solitary confinement at a fenced-off residence in Naypyidaw, the capital, surrounded by scrubby land. He noted that she appears to have no contact with anyone other than military or police personnel.

Aris described his mother’s condition as strong. He stated, "She still sounds certainly all there mentally, and physically she sounds strong." He added that she is completely cut off from the outside world. She has no access to newspapers, radio, or television. The isolation stands in contrast to recent media releases by the military government, which aimed to project an image of care and stability.

The Myanmar junta, led by former chief Min Aung Hlaing, recently shifted its public persona. In April, Hlaing swapped his military fatigues for civilian clothes following elections that observers widely condemned as a sham. The government recently released images of Suu Kyi smiling in a wood-paneled room. In one photo, she held two gardening books given to her as gifts by Britain's King Charles. A paper calendar on the wall behind her confirmed the date. Aris characterized these photo opportunities as familiar stunts designed to suggest the regime treats her fairly.

Suu Kyi was deposed in the 2021 military coup and has faced what Aris calls trumped-up, politically motivated charges. She was photographed during a Red Cross visit in August. Before the coup, she served as state counsellor under a civilian-military power-sharing arrangement after her party won the 2015 election overwhelmingly. Her international standing was tested by the mass killings and expulsions of Rohingya Muslims in 2016 and 2017. At the International Court of Justice, she acknowledged that military units might have used disproportionate force but defended the government against accusations of genocide.

Aris, who has spent most of his life in the United Kingdom, said the invitation to call was part of a public relations campaign. He noted that global support for his mother has dwindled since the Rohingya crisis. He argued that the country’s current lack of international attention should not be attributed solely to that earlier conflict. The 2021 takeover triggered a civil war that conflict monitors say has killed more than 100,000 people. Aris said Suu Kyi was never silent on the Rohingya issue and that her defense of the government involved a complex balancing act with the military.

The former leader has spent much of her life in and out of house arrest since the late 1980s. Her father, Gen Aung San, was an assassinated independence hero. Aris said the military worked to undermine his mother’s position during her tenure, knowing they could remove her fragile power at any time. He described the current situation as a continuation of a long pattern of control. The military government continues to manage the narrative around her detention while attempting to rebuild diplomatic ties abroad.