Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi holds 1st phone call with UK-based son in over 5 years

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Incarcerated Myanmar politician Aung San Suu Kyi, 81, Thursday spoke to her UK-based son, in what is their first family conversation in over five years.

Khaing Khaing Soe, spokeswoman for Myanmar’s president, said in a statement that Suu Kyi had a consular telephone conversation with her son, Kim Aris, through Myanmar’s Embassy in London.

The phone conversation was held between 0830GMT and 0850GMT, she said in a brief statement on social media messaging platform Telegram.

“One conversation is not regular family access. Family access is not freedom,” Aris said after the phone call, according to Irrawaddy News.

Suu Kyi was arrested when incumbent Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing ousted the government of her National League for Democracy in a military coup in February 2021.

She was sentenced by Myanmar’s military junta courts to a total of 33 years in prison, later reduced by six years to 27 years in August 2023. In April this year, she was moved to house arrest in the capital, Naypyitaw.

The junta had brought 19 charges against her, ranging from incitement and election fraud to corruption. Later, five charges were dropped when her sentence was reduced.

She has denied all accusations.

The first family conversation came after Min’s government delivered two books and a sealed letter to her on Monday, sent by British King Charles III.

Thousands of people have been killed and wounded since the 2021 coup in the Southeast Asian nation, which has seen internal ethnic clashes intensify.

Min was appointed president in April this year after stepping down as chief of military, locally known as the Tatmadaw.

Riyaz Khaliq Khaliq