Myanmar\u2019s detained democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, met\nrepresentatives of the country\u2019s Red Cross on Monday (3\/8), after years\nout of public view. It was her first public meeting with foreign\nofficials since she was ousted in the 2021 military coup.<\/p>\n
\u201cArnaud de Baecque, Permanent Representative of the International\nCommittee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Myanmar, met with Daw Aung San Suu\nKyi this morning,\u201d said a statement from the Myanmar president\u2019s office,\nas reported by AFP on Monday (3\/8\/2026).<\/p>\n
The Myanmar military overthrew Suu Kyi in February 2021, imprisoning\nthe Nobel Peace Prize laureate and triggering a civil war that continues\nto this day.<\/p>\n
Coup leader and former junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as\ncivilian president last April following tightly restricted\nelections.<\/p>\n
Later that month, Suu Kyi, now 81 years old, was transferred to house\narrest after Min Aung Hlaing said he had commuted the remainder of her\nsentence.<\/p>\n
Suu Kyi was detained following the coup on a series of charges that\nhuman rights groups say were fabricated to remove her from the political\nscene.<\/p>\n
In photographs released by the president\u2019s office, Suu Kyi is seen\nshaking hands with a man who appears to be de Baecque.<\/p>\n
Other images show Suu Kyi cutting a birthday cake, and another shows\na cake bearing the message: \u201cHappy Birthday Auntie Suu\u201d.<\/p>\n
The photographs could not be immediately verified by AFP, but AI\ntools found no evidence of manipulation.<\/p>\n
Previously, Suu Kyi\u2019s mysterious whereabouts had raised numerous\nquestions. Last seen in public attending a court hearing in late 2022,\nher location was entirely unknown.<\/p>\n
Her family, foreign diplomats and regional leaders, particularly from\nASEAN, had loudly demanded proof that Suu Kyi, now 81, was still alive,\nas reported by The Times of India.<\/p>\n
However, the ruling junta authorities repeatedly refused requests to\nmeet the country\u2019s most prominent political prisoner, despite claims\nthat she had been moved to house arrest earlier this year.<\/p>\n
This fuelled suspicions that Suu Kyi had died. The leading\npublication The Economist even addressed the matter in an article titled\n\u201cIs Aung San Suu Kyi Dead?\u201d<\/p>\n
According to The Economist\u2019s report, Suu Kyi had not appeared in\npublic since her trial concluded in late 2022, following the 2021\nmilitary coup that toppled the civilian government she led.<\/p>\n
The most recent effort came from Suu Kyi\u2019s youngest son, Kim Aris,\nwho travelled to various countries to press the Myanmar military\nauthorities to provide \u201cproof that she is alive\u201d. Kim said that even Suu\nKyi\u2019s legal team had been denied access to her.<\/p>\n
Myanmar\u2019s military government said last April that Suu Kyi had been\ntransferred from prison to house arrest, but it rejected requests from\nforeign diplomats to visit her.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/after-years-unseen-suu-kyi-finally-appears-1785740053", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }