The violent earthquake in Myanmar that has killed at least 2,700 people and left millions without shelter is also turning international attention on the country's governance.
A civil war has been in full swing since 2021, when a military junta seized power. De facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, was arrested and imprisoned. Her son, Kim Aris, believes she's currently in a prison in the capital of Naypyidaw, which was impacted by the earthquake.
"So, we're very concerned about her well-being obviously," he told NPR. "It's very hard to confirm anything. I do know she has ongoing health concerns."
Care packages and letters he sent his mother have gone unanswered, so Aris says he has no way of knowing if she is even receiving them. The last time he spoke with her was a couple of days before the coup.
"Since then," he said, "I've only had one letter from her," which he received about two years ago.
"From what I understand, she hasn't been allowed to see her lawyers for at least a couple of years and she's been held in solitary confinement."
Aris spoke with All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly about his mother and the situation in her country.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Mary Louise Kelly: The sentence that she is currently serving is 33 years on corruption and other charges. I will note that human rights groups have called those charges a sham. You are calling for them to be dropped?
Kim Aris: Absolutely. I'm calling for her to be freed, along with all the other political prisoners and for the country to be returned to its democratically elected government. The military has shown that they're incapable of ruling or leading their country in any way, and people will not accept it.
Kelly: We mentioned the earthquake — a terrible event, obviously, with so many people killed and survivors desperate, even more desperate than they were for food, for medicine, for vital supplies. The quake has made what sounds like an already difficult situation in your country far more difficult.
Aris: Yes, the military [has] used natural disasters in the past to weaponize aid, and they're doing so again on this occasion, and they're still bombing innocent civilians at the same time. At the moment, they've cut off aid organizations, getting to the most needy areas and they're stopping journalists from getting in.
Kelly: We had [Mohamed Riyas, the Myanmar acting country director of the International Rescue Committee] on the program yesterday, who was describing that his teams are able to move, they're getting access, but it's incredibly difficult and there's vast need for medical supplies. Acknowledging the horror of the situation, does it open any doors, any opportunities for change in your mother's circumstances?
Aris: We can only hope. But at the moment, there isn't any indication of that. And I haven't heard of what the results are of that earthquake in the prison, really. I've heard that she's safe, but there's no way of confirming that.
Kelly: I need to ask about a part of your mother's record. She won, as we said, the Nobel Peace Prize. She has also come under criticism for her response to the Rohingya crisis for refusing to acknowledge the military's role in massacres –
Aris: That's incorrect. She never refused to acknowledge the military's role. She refused to condemn the military on the count of genocide. That's something else. But she always said the military were responsible for –
Kelly: She defended the military at the International Court of Justice against allegations of genocide.
Aris: She was not defending the military; she was actually defending her country. That's something very different. She was working with the military, but not in any way against the Rohingya. She was trying to do everything she could for the Rohingya even before it came to the international community's attention. And the fact is that she was doing more for the Rohingya than anybody else in the world, which the media at the time failed to report on because it didn't fit their narrative.
…I think, actually, she may have some regrets, but it wouldn't be the ones you think. She will be able to hold up her head and say she was doing everything she possibly could for the Rohingya. And if you read the evidence, which is out there, I'm sure you would agree.
Kelly: In this moment, do you see a way out for Myanmar?
Aris: I do. Despite the fact that the world is turning a blind eye to what is happening over there, and is doing nothing to help, the military [is] losing. And they have the weaponry, the fighter planes, the backing of countries like China, Russia and India. And still, they're losing. They're not in control of even 70 percent of the country now. So I do see hope that the resistance will win, and soon.
Copyright 2025 NPR
