Has Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Passed Away?

Myanmar's imprisoned leader has not been seen by anyone since 2022. Taichito had gone everywhere Daw Aung San Suu Kyi went. However, five years ago, after the military junta overthrew her government, the puppy was not allowed to enter the prison. Last month, the floppy-eared mongrel died at the age of 15 in her home in the dilapidated former capital, Yangon, waiting for her to return. The puppy was a gift from her son, Kim Aris, when he was released from his previous prison sentence in 2010. "I think this puppy is the best gift I have ever given her. She was very loyal to her mother," Kim Aris said in an interview in London. However, Kim Aris has a greater concern: the disappearance of his elderly mother. In recent months, he has traveled the world, pressuring presidents and ministers to demand "proof of life" from the Myanmar junta. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, now 81, was last officially seen after a court hearing at the end of 2022. Since then, the military has repeatedly denied her lawyers' requests for meetings. Although news has gradually emerged in recent years that she has been seen within the country's war-torn prison system, it has been impossible to confirm. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the most prominent political prisoners in the world. She spent many years under house arrest during the 1980s and 2010s, leading peaceful democratic protests against the Myanmar military government, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. However, after her party came to power in 2015, her reputation was tarnished by her defense of the military's actions against the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority. In 2021, the military staged a coup, ousted her from power, and imprisoned her. The military regime claimed in April that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had been moved to house arrest, but continued to deny requests for meetings from diplomats. Whenever diplomats inquired about her condition, junta officials repeatedly replied that she was in good health and said little else. A photograph released at the time she was believed to have been moved to house arrest shows her speaking with a police officer and a military officer in a location that cannot be identified. However, there is no evidence that the photograph was taken recently, and Kim Aris also doubts its authenticity. He stated that if she is indeed under house arrest, it is not at her home in Yangon, as her house in the new capital, Naypyidaw, has also been destroyed. General Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in a coup, declared himself president in March. Recently, he has been asked about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at least twice. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised her case in discussions in Delhi last month. Additionally, in May, UN Special Envoy to Myanmar Julie Bishop requested a meeting with him when she met the general. According to diplomats familiar with these discussions, the general reacted furiously when her name was mentioned. Some who have been briefed on these discussions fear that the coup leader's reaction may be due to his inability to provide proof of life, as she may have died or be in the worst possible health. Others are skeptical. "It is impossible to keep this secret," said Morgan Michaels, a Myanmar expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (ISS), a London-based think tank. As one ambassador noted, the general's intense hatred for his political rival alone could be a sufficient explanation for her isolation. Foreign ministers from other ASEAN member states have repeatedly asked about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during meetings with the junta's foreign minister, including at a meeting in Bangkok on July 12. Since the coup, ASEAN has suspended Myanmar from high-level meetings, and the military leaders want to be fully reinstated in ASEAN. They also want to regain their seat at the UN. Since the military coup, only a representative of the ousted civilian government has represented Myanmar at the UN. Releasing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, or allowing foreign diplomats to meet her, could ease objections to a return to normal relations in both organizations. Doing so could have unpredictable consequences within Myanmar. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has consistently urged non-violent resistance. After the coup, a nationwide movement of armed groups representing many of Myanmar's ethnic minorities emerged to challenge the military dictatorship, and for the first time, they joined forces with revolutionaries from the majority Bamar ethnic group. However, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a Bamar nationalist who neglected minorities during her tenure, has not received support from many armed groups. "It would be the easiest way to 'shatter' their unity" if she were released, said one foreign diplomat trying to foster cooperation among them. American expert Michael believes that the military is more concerned about the non-violent movements advocated by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi since 1988 than armed rebellions. He believes she still holds significant influence over the majority Bamar population, who continue to take risks to show their loyalty to her. Diplomatic attention to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's situation