Kim Aris, Son Of Imprisoned Burmese Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi: ‘The World Seems To Have Forgotten Her’

On April 17, the government of Myanmar (formerly Burma) announced a reduction in the 27-year prison sentence imposed on Aung San Suu Kyi, the political leader deposed in the 2021 coup and jailed ever since. After the announcement, rumors began circulating about a possible transfer, so that she could serve the remainder of her sentence under house arrest.

Two weeks later, on April 30, state television channel MRTV reported a further reduction in her sentence and added that Suu Kyi — the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate — would complete the rest of her sentence (approximately 18 years) at a “designated residence.” As of now, there’s no independent verification of this alleged transfer.

Kim Aris is the younger of Suu Kyi’s two sons. He was born in Oxford, United Kingdom, in 1977. In an interview with EL PAÍS on Tuesday, May 12, he said that he still doesn’t know his mother’s whereabouts. He has demanded proof of life from the authorities.

“I haven’t received any credible information which assures me that she’s been transferred. I’ve heard the same story countless times,” he notes, during a video call with this newspaper.

Aris is speaking from his home in the UK, where he has lived since childhood. His mother studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University in the 1960s, where she met her husband, the academic Michael Aris. A photograph of his smiling mother (accompanied by her dog, Taichito) and a relief of his grandfather — the hero of Burmese independence, General Aung San — are visible behind Aris.

Suu Kyi, who will turn 81 in June, has been held captive since February 1, 2021. She’s a prisoner of the same military that ousted her from her roles as state counselor and foreign minister. The Tatmadaw — the armed forces of Myanmar — justified the coup by claiming that her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), had committed electoral fraud. The NLD had won comfortably in the 2015 elections — Myanmar’s first openly contested general elections in a quarter-of-a-century — and secured another victory in 2020.

The former leader was accused and sentenced to 33 years in prison on various charges, including corruption, incitement to violence, and violation of Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act, in a series of closed-door trials that the United Nations criticized for the lack of due process. In 2023, she received a partial pardon that reduced her sentence to 27 years.

The last time Aris communicated directly with his mother was almost three years ago, when she replied to a letter. But she hasn’t responded to his subsequent letters. He also has no news about her legal team: “The situation is very dangerous. At least one [of her lawyers] was jailed and may have died in prison,” he explains.

Aris is in contact with Western government officials. They believe that Suu Kyi is a “bargaining chip” for General Min Aung Hlaing, the coup leader who was recently installed as president after an uncontested election that was widely rejected by the international community. “He’s seeking legitimacy. I hope no one grants it to him,” Aris emphasizes. Aris’ sources believe that the military needs to “keep Suu Kyi alive.” However, he notes, “I’m concerned that’s all they’re doing. I doubt she’s being treated well.”

Suu Kyi already spent nearly 15 years under house arrest intermittently between 1989 and 2010, when another military junta ruled Myanmar (1988-2011). Aris interprets the current junta’s secrecy as a sign of the fear that his mother still inspires: “Granting her any kind of freedom is a risk to the junta’s leadership,” he maintains. “The people have made it clear that they don’t accept [military rule]. They fight day in and day out to restore democracy.” According to data from ISP-Myanmar, a Thailand-based think tank, resistance forces controlled approximately 38% of the territory in 2025.

“The Lady,” as many know her, burst onto the political scene during the pro-democracy protests of August 1988. Months earlier, she had returned to her country alone, in order to care for her mother, who had suffered a stroke. Suu Kyi quickly became the most recognizable face of the opposition to the dictatorship. Through the National League for Democracy (NLD), which she co-founded in September of 1988, becoming the general secretary, she advocated for a civil and non-violent political transition, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi.

In 1991, she received the Nobel Peace Prize. Aris recalls the emotion he felt while attending the ceremony in Oslo with his father and his older brother, Alexander. The family accepted the award on Suu Kyi’s behalf. She was in Myanmar at the time, already imprisoned.

Aris has happy memories of his mother’s country, though he regrets not having been able to explore it more. He hasn’t been back in about eight years. “The intelligence services followed us frequently,” he explains. He speaks nostalgically of the moments he shared with Suu Kyi when she was allowed visitors at their home in Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon). The family residence was a symbol of her peaceful resistance. “To me, she was a normal mother. She made sure I did my homework [and] she cooked very well. She was the one who taught me to cook,” he shares.

The physical resemblance to his mother is undeniable, although those who knew his grandfather tell Aris that he speaks like him. General Aung San was a key figure in Burmese independence from the United Kingdom, though he didn’t live to see that feat realized: he was assassinated in 1947, just months before the official proclamation was made the following year. Suu Kyi was only two years old when her father was killed.

Aris, a carpenter by trade, kept a low profile until the 2021 coup attempt. “If I don’t defend my mother, who will?” he explains. “I don’t consider it a political act. I want her to be free. She’s 80 years old… and the rest of the world seems to have forgotten her.”

In his view, the deterioration of Suu Kyi’s international image — which occurred after the Rohingya refugee crisis — contributed to the West abandoning her “too quickly.” The 2017 military offensive in the state of Rakhine, which forced more than 700,000 members of this Muslim ethnic minority to flee to Bangladesh, is the biggest stain on Suu Kyi’s record. At the time, she was serving as state counselor and minister of foreign affairs.

In 2019, after appearing before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, to defend Myanmar against the genocide case filed by The Gambia, she was accused of remaining silent… and even of complicity.

According to Aris, that intervention sought to “keep the country united” in an extremely fragile context, where Suu Kyi “didn’t have real control over the armed forces.” The military had retained considerable power in a still-incomplete democratic transition. Aris interprets the discrediting of his mother as a political victory for the military, which “has exploited ethnic and religious divisions for decades.”

“It would have been more difficult for the Tatmadaw to seize power when my mother’s international prestige was much greater,” he maintains. “They not only took advantage of the situation; I believe they manipulated it from the beginning.”

Myanmar has been mired in a complex civil war since 2021. This has been superimposed on decades-long, heavily-entrenched ethnic armed conflicts. “The breakdown of the entire social fabric has led to a proliferation of crime, human trafficking, online scams, illegal gambling, drugs, organ trafficking, and sexual exploitation. I think the international community is unaware of this,” Aris warns.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors the situation, has documented more than 8,000 deaths perpetrated by the current military junta and estimates that more than 22,000 people remain detained.

He calls on “more world leaders” to take “concrete steps” for the Burmese cause. He’s in contact with several European governments and the Trump administration. However, during his conversation with EL PAÍS, he only highlights the “forceful language” used by French President Emmanuel Macron. “I know some [countries] want to do business with [the junta], but they must remember that it’s impossible to do business [in a country] where there’s no peace and where the army cannot guarantee stability,” he adds.

He believes that China is also “pressuring” for his mother’s release — the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently described her as “an old friend of China” — although he has no evidence that Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently met with her, as reported by independent media outlets in Myanmar.

Aris is hopeful for the future. He “sincerely” believes that there’s a path toward reconciliation, but acknowledges that “it requires time and effort.”

“My mother’s core philosophy is peace. And she managed to reach a point where democracy was beginning to emerge, without [the need to resort to] violence. I hope that people will start talking again and that my mother can help them do it,” he concludes.

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