Myanmar’s deposed democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday marked her 80th birthday in junta detention, serving a raft of sentences set to last the rest of her life.
Aung San 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,” her 47-year-old son, Kim Aris, said from the UK. “We’ve learned to endure when it’s been going on so long.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
He was running 80km over the eight days leading up to her birthday, and has collected more than 80,000 well-wishing video messages for his mother.
However, Aung San Suu Kyi would 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 in a 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.
No formal celebrations are planned in junta-held parts of Myanmar, but a gaggle of followers in military-controlled Mandalay staged a spontaneous protest ahead of her birthday, local media said.
A few masked protesters showered a street with pamphlets reading “freedom from fear” and “happy birthday,” as one member held up a portrait of Aung San 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 Agence France-Presse has not been able to independently verify.
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