Asia04 August, 20263 min read
Aung San Suu Kyi Meets International Committee Of The Red Cross In Naypyidaw
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Aung San Suu Kyi, detained former Myanmar leader, met an ICRC representative in Naypyidaw. The meeting marks a rare public contact with the outside world.
Red Cross visit amid detention
Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained former leader of Myanmar, met on Monday with a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), with the ICRC confirming the visit and saying it was carried out under its standards and procedures for visiting people deprived of liberty. The meeting followed years of questions over the wellbeing of the 81-year-old, whose whereabouts and health condition had been largely unknown since the elected civilian government she led was ousted by a military coup in February 2021.
Kim Aris, Suu Kyi’s son, described the Red Cross visit as “the first positive development concerning her in more than five years,” while also saying “This is an important first step, but it must not be the last,.” In photographs released alongside the announcement, Suu Kyi was shown shaking hands with Arnaud de Baecque, the ICRC’s resident representative to Myanmar, and meeting with him in a wood-paneled room in the capital, Naypyidaw.
Aris urges proof beyond photos
Aris welcomed the meeting but stressed that it was not enough on its own, telling the BBC that the image of his mother shown on military-controlled TV was taken years ago and that he had not yet received independent confirmation of her condition. In a social media post, Aris said he hoped the meeting would lead to “greater humanitarian access, direct contact with my mother, credible and independently verified information about her wellbeing, and ultimately her immediate and unconditional release, together with all political prisoners”.
Myanmar’s government spokesperson Khine Khine Soe said the ICRC visit occurred in Naypyidaw and that in two of the four photographs provided by Khine Khine Soe, Suu Kyi was seen with Baecque in a sparsely furnished, wood-panelled room containing only two chairs and a desk. The ICRC statement released afterwards said detention visits provide people deprived of liberty “the opportunity to exchange news with their families,” while also saying observations and recommendations related to the visit are shared exclusively and confidentially with detaining authorities.
Diplomatic pressure and unresolved conflict
The meeting came as calls grew from other countries, including Myanmar’s fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, for access to or engagement with Suu Kyi as part of efforts to resolve the country’s political crisis. In Bangkok in July, Thailand’s foreign minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow called for access to Suu Kyi “so that we can be able to verify the claims” of her good health, while the new military-backed administration had so far been reluctant to provide access, including a May request by the Philippines to allow an Asean special envoy to visit her.
Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the opposition National Unity Government, said the ICRC’s meeting “shouldn’t be taken as a real move to address human rights or democracy issues,” arguing that Suu Kyi must be released without any conditions. The United Nations welcomed the ICRC visit and reiterated its call “for the swift and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained as a fundamental step toward conditions conducive to a credible and transparent political process,” as Myanmar’s political crisis continued under military rule.