The son of Myanmar’s jailed leader Aung San Suu Kyi has called on members of the public to raise awareness of her plight, as he urged the country’s military rulers to prove that his mother is still alive.
Kim Aris, 49 – the younger son of Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader – is launching the “81 for 81” campaign ahead of his mother’s 81st birthday on 19 June, asking members of the public to walk, cycle or run in support of her cause.
Ms Suu Kyi was detained by the military during a 2021 coup that overthrew her democratically elected government. After she was arrested, she was sentenced on multiple charges that her supporters and many international observers consider politically motivated.
Earlier this month, she was moved to house arrest after spending over five years in solitary confinement. But she has still not been seen or heard from or allowed visits from either her family or lawyers, with only a single, grainy picture released showing her sitting on a wooden bench flanked by police officers. The picture is undated and, Mr Aris argues, could easily have been faked.
On Monday he asked supporters of his mother to join his campaign by either taking 81,000 steps, running 81km, cycling 81 miles or by creating their own “81” challenge in solidarity. Mr Aris said he would skate 81km in a single day as his own contribution.
“As a son, I am asking one simple question: is my mother still alive?” said Mr Aris.
“If my mother is alive, why is it so difficult for the military regime to allow credible, independent verification?” he asked.
“The more people who join the Proof of Life Challenge, the louder our collective voice and the harder it becomes for the military regime to ignore the world’s demand for truth,” he said.
“A regime that refuses to provide proof of life for a detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate, while continuing to ignore calls for transparency and basic human rights, should not be rewarded with legitimacy.”
It comes as Myanmar’s general-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing is on a visit to India, his first since he was sworn into office as president in April following an election that has been rejected as a sham to maintain the military’s tight grip on power.
Analysts have raised concerns over the world’s largest democracy giving a red carpet welcome to a leader who seized power by force and also faces intense international scrutiny for his military’s actions against Myanmar’s Rohingya minority.
“We condemn India’s decision to host Min Aung Hlaing, who is a war criminal waging a campaign of terror against the Myanmar people,” said Yadanar Maung, a spokesperson for the Justice For Myanmar activist group, in an emailed statement on Friday.
In a press briefing on Monday, India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri, said prime minister Narendra Modi had “raised” the issue of Ms Suu Kyi’s ongoing detention with Min Aung Hlaing. He said her situation was discussed “largely in the context of the peace process” in Myanmar’s civil war, and provided no further details.
Ms Suu Kyi has spent a total 20 years in detention or under house arrest between 1989 and 2026. The past five years have been especially brutal, with even her family unsure of where she was being held. Her journey is documented in a film released by The Independent entitled Cancelled: The Rise and Fall of Aung San Suu Kyi.
