Symbol of resistance, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

The Myanmar military junta has recaptured some territories in the civil war and held mock elections to legitimize its coup. While it is now seeking international recognition, it still lacks what Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) under house arrest, has always symbolized: public support. Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said that during his meeting with Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in April 2026, he was told that the junta was considering "good things" for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. This is another sign of Min Aung Hlaing's attempt to rebrand himself as a "civilian" leader after overthrowing Myanmar's civilian government again in 2021 and plunging the country into a protracted civil war. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the former State Counsellor of Myanmar and a symbolic leader of the democracy movement, is being held in a heavily guarded prison in Naypyidaw. It is reported that she has been moved to house arrest after being sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison on fabricated charges following the coup. This transfer occurred after a process that followed elections under junta control, which saw low voter turnout and were largely held in areas that the junta could control. The junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) then declared victory and transferred power to its "victor." Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's prison sentence was also reduced several times. However, when ASEAN requested to meet her, the junta flatly refused. It is understood that the 81-year-old Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has now been moved to "house arrest" somewhere within Naypyidaw city, but very few people know her exact location. This situation has led to a "Proof of Life" campaign to learn more about her detention. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's unclear situation also reflects the fact that she continues to be seen as a symbol of Myanmar's democracy movement. Furthermore, it shows the situation in Myanmar, where ethnic divisions have deepened with the war since the coup. Although Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the NLD, was recently dissolved, the National Unity Government (NUG) became the centerpiece of the National Unity Government (NUG), formed in 2021, months after the NLD's victory in the 2020 election. However, the movement did not disintegrate. The NUG, which launched an armed resistance against the military coup, was reorganized by anti-coup forces and party leaders. It then allied with most of the ethnic armed organizations that oppose the junta. More than five years after the coup, over 100,000 people have died due to the civil war. Although the junta has regained some initial momentum after significant setbacks, the resistance forces remain strong. Hard-won power The symbolic power of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy movement was not easily won. Her positions as State Counsellor also eroded that power over time. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of General Aung San, the architect of independence, was only two years old when her father was assassinated. She studied in New Delhi and Oxford, married a British academic, and gave birth to two sons abroad. She returned to Myanmar in 1988 and entered politics during the popular uprising against military rule. Her political role, which soon became a threat to the junta, led to nearly 15 years of house arrest, and her movement became an international issue. While under house arrest, she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She was released in 2010, and a year later, military dictator Than Shwe held a controlled election, cautiously opening the country to Western investment and recognition. The NLD won the 2012 by-election and achieved a real wave of victory in 2015. However, the military always suspected her political influence. Despite opening up the democratic space, the military attempted to sideline her from the presidency with a provision in the 2008 constitution that stipulated that no one married to a foreigner could become president. However, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was able to overcome the military generals by using the NLD's majority of parliamentary seats to create a new position of State Counsellor and serve as the de facto head of government. Although the military retained significant influence in parliament, holding a quarter of the parliamentary seats, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi pragmatically chose a political model that allowed her to work alongside the military. The military, led by Min Aung Hlaing, carried out a genocidal operation against the Rohingya in Rakhine State in 2017, causing over 700,000 people to flee and thousands to die. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi did not condemn the act. In 2019, she personally defended Myanmar in front of the International Court of Justice. This pragmatic political compromise brought her closer to the Myanmar junta, which wanted to share power, but it became clear that this idea was not practical after the NLD gained support even in ethnic minority regions in the 2020 election. The NLD won a landslide victory in the 2020 election, and when it did not accept allegations of vote rigging, the military refused to accept the results, organized protests through its proxy party, the USDP, and used the "crisis" as a pretext for a coup. After losing many territories in the civil war, the Myanmar military junta now appears to be turning the tide. Possible changes in China's stance have allowed the junta to regain some territories. China, after long desiring border stability and economic corridors, has once again shifted towards the junta.