Read RFA coverage of this story in Burmese
In the months following the 2021 Myanmar military coup, ASEAN banned the junta from attending its annual summit. Earlier this year, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing oversaw staged, multi-phased elections which resulted in his being named President in April.
On July 12-13, ASEAN foreign ministers held their first direct, in-person informal meeting with Myanmar’s foreign minister in Bangkok.
Kim Aris, son of Aung San Suu Kyi, spoke to RFA on July 20 about ASEAN’s recent engagement with Myanmar, and about his mother who, according to the military-backed government, was transferred from prison to house arrest in April.
The interview has been edited for length:
RFA: ASEAN recently met with Myanmar’s foreign minister who told them that Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health even though she’s still being detained. He also referred to her as “a sister,” telling them that the military authorities would take care of her.
What were your reactions to those remarks?
Kim Aris: I was shocked. If that’s how they treat their sister, I don’t want to know how they treat other people. They still have not allowed me to have any contact with her, and have been denied her basic human rights.
And while they say they’re looking after her, they’re not providing any evidence to support that fact. And they’re saying that no one’s allowed to talk to her or see her until after she has finished serving her sentence. So she would be over 100 years old by that point.
I don’t know where she’s been held or how she is. And she’s over 81 years old now with ongoing health problems. And the fact that she’s been held in probably very bad conditions in a prison in Naypyidaw for the last five years. That makes me extremely concerned.
RFA: Have you heard any updates about your mother recently?
Kim Aris: No, nothing. The last I heard was when there was some news saying that she had been moved to house arrest. But again, there was no evidence to support that.
What are you hoping for at this point?
Half of the international community have been under the wrong idea for the last five years. They have thought that she’s been under house arrest. Actually, she’s been in prison all of this time. But the military spread rumors each year saying that she’s been moved to house arrest and the world listens to these rumors and unfortunately they fall for it all the time. So once again they say that she’s been moved to house arrest without providing any evidence.
All I can ask for is that the international community and the world leaders follow President Macron of France’s example and make their position very clear and call out for proof that my mother is alive and for her to have her basic human rights restored.
She’s been sentenced to however many years it is, I don’t know, 25 or 30 years in prison and these charges against her are completely false. In the first place, she should never have been in prison. So I’m calling for her to be freed.
Following the recent informal meeting, are you hopeful that it could lead to any meaningful changes? What kind of progress would you like to see about your mother and Myanmar people?
I hope that there’ll be no further engagement until certain conditions are met. And that includes the five point consensus that is abided by. And that also includes that my mother is freed along with all the other political prisoners. I can only hope that people will not be engaging with the military too publicly. Obviously I realize they need to talk to them, negotiations need to happen, but this should not happen publicly because that only legitimizes the regime.
ASEAN is still engaging with the military-backed government, even though the Five-Point Consensus hasn’t been implemented. What do you think of ASEAN’s continued engagement under these circumstances?
Well, obviously they still have to talk. But again, I’ll say it again, it doesn’t need to be public. It should be done behind closed doors and done in such a way that it does not legitimize the regime.
Do you think this approach is helping to resolve the Myanmar crisis?
It’s hard to say. We’ll have to see if there’s, you know, actual tangible results in times to come. Let us see. But that would include that the military stops bombing the people and frees all the political prisoners. Those are real tangible results, otherwise it’s pretty meaningless.
In your Martyrs’ Day video message, you spoke about the actions against statues of your grandfather, General Aung San, across the country. The military government said it was not destroying the statues but reexamining and correcting them under historic monument laws. What is your response to that explanation?
I don’t see why they needed to go and tear down the portrait of my grandfather outside 54 University Ave. That wasn’t a statue anyway. And that just goes to show that it’s not just about things. They’re correcting whatever it is. I think that’s laughable. I know that last year also there were statues torn down and yet Min Aung Hlaing still visited the museum of my grandfather’s house. It’s a very confusing message that they’re sending there.
My grandfather stood up against fascism and colonialism and he would be appalled to see what the military are doing to the country now. Even though he is the founder of this military, he would not like the direction they’ve taken. He was never about centralized power, he was about federal power and it didn’t matter where the leader of the country came from so long as he was a good leader. That’s what he believed.
You have been leading the Proof of Life Campaign to draw global attention to your mother’s situation. What kind of support have you received from governments and the international community so far?
Lots of governments and communities have joined this call and it has been very touching to see everybody join me in this. But that’s been encouraging, it hasn’t actually achieved what I want and that I still do not have any contact with Maymay and I still have no proof that she is alive. Nothing that the military have said or done reassures me in any way because they’re still just saying that she’s fine without providing any evidence.
So, I’m extremely grateful for everybody who joined this call. I can only ask them to continue to call and to do more in order to actually get results because words only get so far. We have to take concrete actions and for ASEAN, that would include actually stopping the illegal flow of weaponry going across their borders.
Do you think the campaign is putting significant pressure on Myanmar’s military regime?
I think it is having an effect, so I shall keep going.
Taichito passed away last month. Could you share a little about the bond between your mother and Taichitoe?
Maymay was very fond of Taichito and Taichito was very protective of Maymay. He didn’t like it when people took up too much of her time and he would let them know. So he was actually part of the fighting dog in his blood. So he could be quite bad tempered if he wasn’t happy. But Maymay was able to train him so that he wasn’t too bad.
I think it’s the best gift I could have given her. And he was with her for over 10 years before she was put in prison. I was just very sad that he couldn’t be with her for the last five years.
Have you thought about what you’d like to do with your mother once she’s free?
Just normal family things. I’d like to cook her a meal and go for a walk with her. And, have her spend time with her grandchildren. I’m sure she’s missing us as much as we’re missing her. And I can only think that in time, we will get to see her.
Edited by Charlie Dharapak.
