Myanmar’s military allegedly preparing to move Aung San Suu Kyi to house arrest, source reveals

MYANMAR: Reports from two media outlets on Wednesday suggest that Myanmar’s military government is considering moving ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi from prison to house arrest in Naypyitaw, the capital.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a 78-year-old Nobel laureate, has been in detention since early 2021 when the military staged a coup and violently cracked down on opponents, resulting in the imprisonment and death of thousands.

According to the Associated Press (AP), an unidentified security official claimed that this potential move was an act of clemency in preparation for a religious ceremony scheduled for the following week.

An official in Naypyidaw, who is knowledgeable about Aung San Suu Kyi’s situation, revealed to The AP that the military government plans to announce her transfer to a different location on the occasion of consecrating a new giant statue of a sitting Buddha.

This statue holds significant religious symbolism in the majority Buddhist nation of Myanmar. The ceremony for the consecration is scheduled for next Tuesday.

The BBC Burmese-language service mentioned that a source close to the prison revealed that she might have already been relocated to a house typically used by government officials.

However, There has been no official confirmation of the plans, though journalists working for outlets friendly to the military government said they had heard the same information.

Similarly, Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers and a spokesperson for the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), which opposes military rule, were unable to confirm the reports.

Despite potential improvements in her conditions, the NUG spokesperson, Kyaw Zaw, asserted that Aung San Suu Kyi remains a prisoner of conscience.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who was arrested on 1 February 2021, faces a cumulative sentence of 33 years in detention after being convicted on various charges, including incitement, election fraud, and corruption, which she denies.

After her arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi was initially held at her official residence in the capital city.

However, she was later moved to an undisclosed location, which was widely believed to be on an army base. Subsequently, on 22 June last year, she was transferred to prison, where she has been detained since then.

Numerous Western governments have criticized the junta’s treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi and others, urging for their release.

Recently, Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai disclosed that he had met Aung San Suu Kyi, becoming the first foreign official to gain access to her since her detention over two years ago.

This meeting occurred as the regional grouping Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) struggled to reach a consensus on how to resolve the crisis in Myanmar, one of its member countries.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar’s independence hero, has a history of being under house arrest.

In 1989, she was first placed under house arrest following large-scale protests against the country’s decades-long military rule. Despite her detention, she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her efforts in advocating for democracy.

Only in 2010 was she fully released from house arrest. She won the 2015 election, part of limited military reforms, which were subsequently halted by the 2021 coup.