Myanmar's Ousted Leader Aung San Suu Kyi Seen in Rare Photos After Receiving Gift From King Charles
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Image: BBC.
Myanmar’s military government released photographs showing detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi receiving two books sent by Britain’s King Charles III, together with a sealed letter and a sealed diplomatic pouch, in a delivery completed on Monday, the BBC and The Guardian reported.
King Charles III sent the two books to Suu Kyi, and officials delivered them along with the sealed letter, Myanmar’s military government said, according to the BBC, which identified the books as “Soil to Table” by British gardeners Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld and “Soil: The World at Our Feet,” the catalogue from a London exhibition. A presidential spokesperson said on social media that home ministry officials handed over two gardening books on soil, “along with one sealed envelope and a sealed diplomatic pouch,” The Guardian reported. Suu Kyi, 81, has been detained since the military ousted her government in 2021 and is serving multiple sentences under house arrest at an undisclosed location in the capital, Naypyidaw, The Guardian said. The BBC noted she was initially sentenced to 33 years in jail following the coup and was moved to house arrest in June.
The Guardian reported that critics described the photographs as a stunt by the military to end the country’s diplomatic isolation. Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing was installed as civilian president in April after elections widely condemned as neither free nor fair, and has conducted regional visits to rebuild ties after ASEAN barred him from its summits, The Guardian said; the BBC noted he is barred from western countries and accused of crimes against humanity. The BBC said the photographs give no details on Suu Kyi’s state of health.
Kim Aris, Suu Kyi’s London-based son, welcomed the gifts but warned against their exploitation, saying in a statement, “We must not allow the military regime to use such selective disclosures to create an illusion of normality or gain international legitimacy,” according to The Guardian. CNA reported that Kim Aris said he had his first call with his mother in five years.