Kim Aris launches ‘Free Her’ campaign for Aung San Suu Kyi
Jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s son, Kim Aris, launched a new campaign on Monday called “Free Her,” which continues to demand the immediate release of his 81-year-old mother, a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and one of the co-founders of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Aung San Suu Kyi has been held by the regime in Naypyidaw since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021.
“I am not asking for special treatment. I am asking for something basic—the right to see and speak with my mother,” Aris wrote in a “Free Her” campaign press release on Sept. 7. “I lived with my mother’s detention when I was a child. I never imagined that decades later we would be here again. I simply want the chance to see my mother and spend time with her while we still can,” Aris added.
This latest campaign follows Aung San Suu Kyi’s meeting with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at an undisclosed location on Aug. 3. Aris launched the “Proof of Life” campaign in April, which demanded independent verification that his mother was still alive, after news of her unverified transfer from Naypyidaw Prison to house arrest was first reported by regime media on April 30.
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Funeral held in Karenni State for Aung San Myint
A funeral for Aung San Myint, the general secretary of the ethnic armed organization Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), was held at an undisclosed location in a resistance-controlled area of Karenni State near the border of Thailand on Saturday. The National Unity Government (NUG) and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) shared messages of condolence.
“Aung San Myint was a passionate and dedicated politician who continued working toward the establishment of a federal democratic union even as his health deteriorated,” Banyar Aung, Secretary-2 of the Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC)—a provisional government established by the Karenni State Consultative Council (KSCC) in June 2023—told DVB.
Aung San Myint, 63, was KSCC chairperson since it was formed immediately after the 2021 coup until he passed away due to an undisclosed medical condition at a hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Aug. 30. He also served as a secretary of the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF)—Myanmar’s premier resistance coalition—established by six resistance groups on March 30.
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India links 7 foreigners to drone attack in Myanmar
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has linked an American and six Ukrainian nationals to a drone strike on a civilian aircraft in Kachin State’s capital Myitkyina, alleging the group was part of a network providing drone warfare training to resistance forces in Burma. The seven foreign nationals were detained in March after allegedly entering India illegally through the border from Burma into Mizoram State.
The NIA told a Delhi court that the group was connected to a “pre-scheduled training on drone warfare, drone operations, assembly and jamming technology” intended for Burma-based resistance forces fighting against the military. It accused Matthew Aaron Van Dyke, an American, and the six Ukrainians of involvement in a terror conspiracy linked to armed groups operating along the Burma-India border.
The NIA made the allegations while seeking permission from a special court in Delhi to interrogate Van Dyke and Ukrainian Kaminskyi Viktor inside Tihar jail, where both are being held. The court granted the agency access to question the two on Sept. 2-3, ruling that interrogation of the accused fell within standard investigative procedure and that courts should generally not interfere in such processes.
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News by Region
KAREN—The Karen National Union (KNU) told DVB that a confrontation with the Border Guard Force (BGF) is likely after its leader Mote Thone relocated from Myawaddy Township, along the Burma-Thai border, to a village in the state capital Hpa-An Township to avoid arrest by Thai authorities.
Hto Robin, the spokesperson for KNU Brigade 5, confirmed that Mote Thone is now staying inside territory under his control, at Mount Mizai near Kyarinn village. Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) issued an arrest warrant for Mote Thone on July 27. Read the full article on our website
MANDALAY—A convoy consisting of 38 Burma Navy vessels reached Singu Township on Sunday after departing the Gaw Wein jetty in Mandalay to travel upstream along the Irrawaddy River. Singu, located 58 miles (93 km) north of Mandalay, was recaptured by regime forces on Dec. 18.
A resident of Sagaing Region’s Tigyaing Township told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the naval convoy is travelling to the Tagaung nickel processing plant to help restart operations with backing from the Chinese state-owned China Nonferrous Metal Mining and Construction. Read the full article on our website
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