Kim Aris, the youngest son of Myanmar’s jailed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has issued an urgent plea to the regime in Naypyidaw to provide “proof of life” for his 80-year-old mother on Monday. Aris has had no direct communication with Aung San Suu Kyi since the military seized power in a military coup on Feb. 1, 2021 and detained her.
“I just want some proof that she’s alive more than anything else,” Aris told DVB in an interview on April 20. “The world at large often thinks that she’s still under house arrest, whereas all this time she’s spent in jail.”
This appeal from Aris comes three days after Aung San Suu Kyi loyalist, President Win Myint, was transferred from prison to house arrest in Naypyidaw. But rumors regarding Aung San Suu Kyi’s transfer out of prison have failed to materialize.
A Myanmar New Year amnesty announced by Min Aung Hlaing on April 17 granted parole to a reported 4,514 people, including at least 292 political prisoners, according to the Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM).
Fears about Aung San Suu Kyi’s health
Aris has not spoken to his mother Aung San Suu Kyi since before the 2021 coup. In the last five years, he has received only a single letter, which arrived nearly three years ago in response to a care package he sent to her at Naypidaw Prison.
The last independent verification of her condition in prison came five years ago from Sean Turnell, an Australian economist and former advisor to the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, who was imprisoned alongside her before being released in 2022.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD administration governed Myanmar from 2016 up until it was ousted by Min Aung Hlaing’s military in the 2021 coup. Aris expressed deep concern over his mother’s deteriorating health, specifically her ongoing heart condition.
“Heart conditions need proper machinery to be diagnosed correctly, and I know that she won’t be getting that. I know that prison doctors in Burma will not be providing that,” Aris told DVB.
He directly challenged Min Aung Hlaing, who was inaugurated Myanmar’s president by a pro-military parliament elected in highly controversial polls which ended on Jan. 25, to allow independent verification of her status.
Aris suggested Myanmar grant access to Aung San Suu Kyi to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or foreign diplomats based in Yangon. “If she is still alive and healthy, then let me talk to her,” Aris told DVB.
A bargaining chip for the regime?
Despite the reduction of her 27-year sentence by one-sixth on April 17, Aris dismissed this as meaningless. “She’ll still be over a hundred if she sees this sentence through,” he noted.
If the military does eventually move her to house arrest, Aris suspects she will not be permitted to return to their family home on University Avenue in Yangon.
Instead, he believes the regime will keep her close to their seat of power in Naypyidaw—not only to prevent her from speaking publicly but potentially to use her as a bargaining chip in the ongoing civil war started by resistance forces against the military.
“They’re quite vulnerable in Naypyidaw,” Aris observed. “It’s quite close to the frontline, so it might be good for them to have her nearby. I think [Min Aung Hlaing] has his own agenda where she’s concerned.”
A call to the international community
Aris also criticized the international community for its waning focus on his mother’s plight. Unlike Aung San Suu Kyi’s previous 15 years of house arrest under former military regimes, where global leaders consistently advocated for her release, international pressure has largely stalled in recent years.
He warned that some foreign governments may attempt to use Myanmar’s recent “sham” 2025-26 elections as an excuse to normalize relations with the regime.
“They need to understand that they’re doing business with a bunch of crooks, and they can’t expect good results,” Aris told DVB.
Despite the dire situation facing his mother and over 22,000 other political prisoners held since the 2021 coup, Aris expressed a faint hope that Min Aung Hlaing’s elevation to the presidency might make him feel secure enough to ease restrictions.
“I think there’s very little reason for him to fear anything by moving her to house arrest,” Aris told DVB, urging a return to negotiations. “The bloodshed that’s still going on in Burma can’t continue forever.”
