Myanmar’s military-backed government announced on Thursday that former leader Aung San Suu Kyi – currently under house arrest – was allowed to talk for 20 minutes to her son Kim Aris at 2:30 p.m. via a call placed to the Myanmar embassy in London, where Aris resides. He speaks in an exclusive interview with Radio Free Asia. Radio Free Asia: After more than five years without direct contact, how did you get the opportunity to speak with your mother and how did the Myanmar Embassy in London reach out to…
Tag: Myanmar
Aung San Suu Kyi phone call is ‘political calculation’ by military-backed government
Read a version of this story in Burmese Updated 5:05 PM ET Allowing Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi to speak on the phone with her son for the first time in five years is not enough – the military government must immediately release her and all other political prisoners, a human rights advocate told Radio Free Asia Thursday. The country’s military-backed government announced that the former leader – currently under house arrest – was allowed to talk for 20 minutes to her son Kim Aris at 2:30…
Rare photos of Aung San Suu Kyi spark renewed calls for her release
Myanmar’s military-backed government released images of deposed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi receiving items sent by King Charles III of the United Kingdom, a development that brought on renewed calls for the ousted former leader’s release. Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained since the 2021 military coup that ousted her and the rest of the country’s democratically elected government from power. She was sentenced to 18 years for a broad range of crimes that include corruption and election fraud, though she maintains that she is innocent. For the…
Myanmar junta airstrikes target civilians to coerce Arakan Army into peace talks
Myanmar’s military junta is increasingly resorting to attacks on civilians as a means to bring the rebel Arakan Army in the western coastal state of Rakhine to the negotiating table, Rakhine politicians and analysts told Radio Free Asia. Airstrikes targeting civilians for peace talks (RFA Video) The junta launched an airstrike on the town of Kyauktaw, dropping bombs on a crowded marketplace and other civilian areas killing at least 50 people, including children and pregnant women, according to the Arakan Army, or AA, an armed ethnic group which controls most…
‘Modern day slavery:’ Myanmar’s military swells ranks through corruption and deceit
Read a version of this story in Burmese The Myanmar military junta’s recruitment practices are “modern day slavery,” an expert from the volatile Southeast Asian country told Radio Free Asia. An investigation by RFA Burmese shows that for more than two years, thousands of young men in Myanmar have been captured, sold, and conscripted in ways that rights groups say may be crimes against humanity. Ever since the military junta seized power in the 2021 coup, it has faced a growing armed resistance and significant personnel shortages. To fill the…
Exclusive: Kim Aris warns ASEAN against legitimizing Myanmar military government
Read RFA coverage of this story in Burmese In the months following the 2021 Myanmar military coup, ASEAN banned the junta from attending its annual summit. Earlier this year, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing oversaw staged, multi-phased elections which resulted in his being named President in April. On July 12-13, ASEAN foreign ministers held their first direct, in-person informal meeting with Myanmar’s foreign minister in Bangkok. Kim Aris on ASEAN and Myanmar (RFA Video) Kim Aris, son of Aung San Suu Kyi, spoke to RFA on July 20 about ASEAN’s…
Myanmar removes at least 15 statues of national hero Gen. Aung San nationwide
Myanmar’s military-backed government removed or destroyed at least 15 statues of Gen. Aung San, who led the country to independence from British rule and was the father of jailed former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, residents tell Radio Free Asia. Since former general Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as Myanmar’s new president in April, the removal of statues of Aung San in public areas have increased in Magway, Bago, Yangon, Ayeyarwady, Sagaing, and Mandalay regions, according to an RFA tally. aung-san-suu-kyi-father Women show the three-finger salute as they…
What to Know About Myanmar’s Chaotic War
The civil war in Myanmar has churned for five years, with the military finding ever more creative ways to kill people who are fighting for democracy and an end to ethnic repression. But the conflict has garnered little attention compared with those in the Middle East and Ukraine. Myanmar’s former army chief, U Min Aung Hlaing, staged a coup in 2021, ousting the elected government. That event catalyzed a full-blown war that has pitted the powerful military against hundreds of disparate rebel groups united in their mission to unseat the…
China Arrests U.S. Scholar on Spying Charge
Chinese security officers have arrested an American citizen who studies politics in Myanmar, an authoritarian nation on China’s southwest border, and accused him of endangering national security, according to people with knowledge of the arrest. The U.S. citizen, U Min Zin, was arrested in early June, the people said on the condition of anonymity because of sensitive diplomacy surrounding the previously unreported arrest. He disappeared on June 3 while in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, which borders Myanmar. American diplomats visited him on Friday. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman…
China arrests US academic at conference for ‘espionage activities’
China has arrested a US scholar who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy on suspicion of spying. Min Zin was suspected of “engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security,” China’s ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, Lin Jian, said on Friday. It is uncommon for Beijing to arrest a US citizen on national security allegations, and the case comes just a month after Donald Trump met the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in Beijing as the two countries aim to reset their tumultuous relationship. A Burmese activist said Min…