Suu Kyi’s party says the junta is endangering the lives of Myanmar’s democratic figures

Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, Thursday (14/9), said that the Myanmar junta was endangering the life of democracy figure, Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been held in prison for a long time. They accused the military of depriving Suu Kyi of her right to medical care and food. Suu Kyi has been forcibly detained since the generals seized power in February 2021. The incident ended the democratic experiment that had been implemented in Myanmar for 10 years and plunged the Southeast Asian country into bloody chaos. In recent days, local media reported that the 78-year-old Nobel laureate was suffering from dizziness, vomiting and being unable to eat due to a tooth infection. “We are very concerned because she did not receive adequate medical care and they did not provide healthy food or adequate accommodation with the intention of risking her life,” said the National League for Democracy (NLD) “If Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s health disturbed, and his life also threatened, the military junta bears full responsibility,” the statement said, using a Burmese honorific title. During her 19-month trial in a junta court that was condemned by human rights groups as a sham trial, Suu Kyi often missed hearings for health reasons. The trial ended last year, and Suu Kyi was sentenced to prison for a total of 33 years, with part of her sentence reduced by junta leader Min Aung Hlaing. Suu Kyi’s son, who lives in Britain, told the BBC last week that the junta had refused treatment for his mother, who was feeling dizzy and suffering from gum disease. However, he did not have direct contact with his mother. A junta spokesman told AFP last week that reports of Suu Kyi’s poor health were just “rumours.” “He didn’t suffer anything because his doctors took care of his health,” said Zaw Min Tun. Hostage Suu Kyi, who remains popular in Myanmar, was “held hostage in secret locations” by the junta, the NLD said. The party called on the international community to “increase efforts and push” for the release of Suu Kyi and all political prisoners in Myanmar. According to local monitoring groups, more than 24,000 people have been arrested by the junta since the coup. In June 2022, after more than a year under house arrest, Suu Kyi was moved to a prison complex in another part of the sprawling, military-built capital Naypyidaw. There, he was no longer allowed to have his household staff of around 10 people. He was only given aides selected by the military, a source told AFP at the time. This exile in the remote capital is a far cry from Suu Kyi’s years under house arrest during the previous junta, during which she became a world-renowned democratic figure. The NLD has been crushed in the junta’s bloody crackdown on dissent. The junta executed a former member of parliament, the country’s first use of the death penalty in decades. In March, the junta dissolved the party because it failed to re-register under a new election law drafted by the military. The junta removed the party from the elections which it indicated would be held in 2025. (ah/rs)