The son of jailed Aung San Suu Kyi says his mother, who is not allowed to have visitors or see her lawyers, is not receiving medical attention.
Myanmar’s government in exile is ratcheting-up the pressure on the military to release democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, saying there are “grave concerns” for her health, after her son revealed she was suffering from a serious heart condition.
The National Unity Government (NUG) said Suu Kyi, who was ousted as state counsellor by the military in early 2021, had been denied appropriate medical attention throughout her incarceration and is now in need of urgent help.
“The junta’s deliberate refusal to provide the urgent and effective medical treatment she requires constitutes a politically motivated threat to her life,” the NUG said. “The terrorist military must bear full responsibility for any consequences that may arise.”
It said information provided by her son Ko Htein Lin — also known as Kim Aris — revealed Suu Kyi, 80, is suffering from a serious heart condition while being denied access to medical care.
Aris has also taken to social media and spoken with the press about her mother’s illnesses, saying she was believed injured during the March earthquake, which killed thousands, her ailments include bone and gum disease and that she had asked to see a cardiologist.
“But nobody knows where she is being held or if she is receiving care,” he also wrote in a Facebook post. He has also said his mother’s situation is “cruel, life threatening and unacceptable” and that the last time he spoke with her was a couple of days before the Feb 1, 2021 coup.
“I’ve only had one letter from her,” he told the United States-based NPR broadcaster. “From what I understand, she hasn’t been allowed to see her lawyers for at least a couple of years and she’s been held in solitary confinement.”
Aris believes his mother is being held in a prison in Naypyidaw, where she is serving a 33 year sentence for convictions including corruption, amid a brutal civil war.
Appeals made to the international community for release of political prisoners
The NUG said it would apply urgent pressure on the United Nations, ASEAN, neighboring countries, and the wider international community to take immediate and effective action in securing Suu Kyi’s release and that of all political prisoners.
However, the military dismissed claims about Suu Kui’s deteriorating health as “fake news” in the state controlled media, saying such claims were a deliberate distraction from the military chief Min Aung Hlaing and his recent visit to China where he met with President Xi Jinping.
With Chinese support, Hlaing has also called national elections for Dec. 28 which are expected to run into January, despite the military holding control of just 30 percent of the country.
Suu Kyi and the NUG are banned from contesting the national vote, which they won in November 2020 by a landslide. Three months later Hlaing led a coup d’etat that tipped the country into a civil war that has since claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The NUG urged the international community to firmly reject “the junta’s staged election.”
“The junta’s unlawful, forced election will not resolve Myanmar’s current crisis. Endorsing such a process would amount to supporting the regime’s past and ongoing war crimes,” The NUG said in its latest weekly update on Sept. 8.
“Only a genuine, inclusive, and democratic process driven by the people — not the junta’s political manipulation — can truly determine Myanmar’s future.”
Featured image: Demonstrators hold placards with pictures of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi as they protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 22, 2021. Anti-coup protesters face ongoing threats of arbitrary arrest, torture, and deadly attacks from the junta, said a new report. (CNS/Reuters)
