Aung San Suu Kyi’s son Kim Aris, her former economic advisor Sean Turnell, and Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. Kyaw Moe Tun, met with more than 700 people from the Myanmar community, and its supporters, in New York City on Saturday.
“On this trip, we will work to free all political prisoners who have been unjustly detained, and to provide humanitarian assistance to [Myanmar] as soon as possible. We will meet with Burmese people in the United States and those who provide support,” Kim Aris said during the first stop on his U.S. fundraising tour for the “Suu 8oth birthday campaign” on March 15.
Aris is raising funds by selling calendars featuring artwork from himself and other Myannar artists for his mother’s upcoming 80th birthday on June 19. One of the calendars featuring Aung San Suu Kyi was auctioned for $5,500 USD, and a childhood photo of Aris was auctioned for $8,888 USD at the fundraising event.
Turnell’s new book “Best Laid Plans: The Inside Story of Reform in Aung San Suu Kyi’s Myanmar” was sold by the U.S. based Helping Hands for Burma (H2B) to raise funds for the resistance to the 2021 military coup.
Turnell was imprisoned for 650 days after the coup. His previous book “An Unlikely Prisoner” published in 2023 documented his time in prison.
