Myanmar junta says Suu Kyi ‘in good health’ after son raises alarm

YANGON - Myanmar’s junta said on Dec 16 that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “in good health”, a day after her son told Reuters he has received little information about ‍the ​80-year-old’s condition and

fears she could die without him ‍knowing

.

In an interview in Tokyo, Mr Kim Aris said that he had not heard from his mother in ​years ​and believes she is being held in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw.

Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was detained after

a 2021 military coup

that ousted her elected civilian government ‍and sparked a civil war. She is serving a 27-year sentence for charges including incitement, ​corruption and election fraud – all of ⁠which she denies.

“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health,” said a statement posted on a junta-run Myanmar Digital News, using an honorific for the former leader. The statement offered no evidence or details ​about her condition.

“The military claims she is in good health, yet they refuse to provide any independent proof, no recent photograph, no medical verification, and no access by family, doctors, or international observers. If she is truly well, they can prove it,” Mr Aris told Reuters on Dec 17 in response to the statement.

A Myanmar junta spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment.

In the interview earlier this week, Mr Aris said an upcoming ‌

multi-phase election in Myanmar, starting Dec 28,

​could offer an opportunity to ease his mother’s plight, though many foreign governments have dismissed the polls as a sham aimed at legitimising military rule.

Mr Aris said he hopes the military might release Ms Suu Kyi or move her to house arrest to appease critics ahead of the vote.

The junta accused Mr Aris of trying to disrupt the election – the first general poll since ‍2020, when the military accused Ms Suu Kyi of committing fraud.

“This is merely a fabrication, ​timed and distributed to disrupt the free and fair multi-party democratic general election that will be held ​in Myanmar in the near future,” the statement said.

Ms Suu Kyi’s ‌National League for Democracy, Myanmar’s largest political party, remains dissolved and several other anti-junta political groups are boycotting the polls. REUTERS