Aung San Suu Kyi’s family receives first confirmation she is alive three years after coup

First letter from prison reveals Suu Kyi is suffering from dental health problems and osteoporosis

Three years after she was removed from power in a military coup, Aung San Suu Kyi’s family has received its first confirmation that the Nobel Peace Prize winner is alive.

Her son Kim Aris, who lives in the UK, says he has received a handwritten letter from Ms Suu Kyi, the first direct communication with the imprisoned political leader since before the military removed her from power on 1 February 2021.

The letter states that Ms Suu Kyi is suffering from dental health problems and osteoporosis, but assures him that she is otherwise generally well, her son told Sky News.

“I was overjoyed to actually see something in her handwriting, to know that she’s able to actually write, for starters, because I haven’t had any confirmation that she’s actually alive for all these years,” he said.

The junta has heavily restricted Ms Suu Kyi’s contact with the outside world, so much so that her lawyers have been barred by court order from speaking publicly.

Mr Aris said that for the first time, the junta granted permission to her to write a letter to her family – which he says was a “thank you” letter. She had been allowed to receive a care package from her family and the letter was in response to that.

Aung San Suu Kyi (REUTERS)

Mr Aris says he received the letter in early January, and that she did not write much more than an update on her health – presumably she was aware that the contents would be read by her junta jailors.

Ms Suu Kyi was sentenced to 33 years in prison by the Myanmar military junta — which was later reduced to 27 years. Her supporters say the charges, which range from corruption to the ownership of illegally-imported walkie-talkies, are politically motivated.

“I don’t know if she’s able to get much news outside of the prison, as far as I am aware she is being held apart from all the other prisoners — essentially in solitary confinement but I don’t know whether she’s in a cell or whether she’s in a room in a barracks or if they’ve built her a separate cell, like they have done in the past,” Mr Aris said.

“I do know that she’s never accepted any preferential treatment to the other prisoners, so if she is being held separate to the other prisoners and in similar sorts of conditions to them than I can only imagine it’s pretty dire.”

Mr Aris last saw his mother almost five years ago. “At her age, I do worry for her,” he said.

Aung San Suu Kyi (Reuters)

Thursday marks the three-year anniversary of Myanmar’s coup, and saw Myanmar’s military rulers extend the state of emergency that has existed since they seized power, sparking nationwide chaos and ending a decade of tentative democracy and economic reform.

The US imposed further sanctions on the Myanmar military on Wednesday, targeting the resources the junta utilises for aerial bombings against anti-coup forces as well as the military’s capacity for arms production.

“We are taking this action to target the regime’s sources of revenue which support military activities against civilians,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. The fresh sanctions target two entities and several people the US believes to be closely associated with the junta.

The junta in Myanmar is facing significant challenges due to a pro-democracy rebellion that has evolved into an armed resistance following severe crackdowns on protests and dissent.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a local monitoring group, over 4,400 people have lost their lives in the crackdown on opposition to the coup, and some 20,000 people have been detained for their political views.