Aung San Suu Kyi's Son Calls Myanmar's Military Junta Possibly Makes His Mother A Human Shield

JAKARTA - The transfer of Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi from prison to house arrest by Myanmar's military junta, is likely to be used as a human shield in the face of resistance groups, the son said.

Suu Kyi has been detained and sentenced to prison by the Myanmar military since her government was ousted in a coup in 2021. The 78-year-old Nobel laureate was held at home for a total of 15 years under the previous junta.

Kim Aris, Suu Kyi's son, who lives in London, said he heard Suu Kyi suffering from the heat, but the reason the military junta officially removed her from prison was "very unlikely".

"I think they have their own reasons for moving him, which is to use him as a human shield or a bargaining chip," Aris said in an interview with Reuters.

As previously reported, a spokesman for the military junta this week announced that Suu Kyi was transferred to house arrest as a step to protect her and other elderly prisoners from hot weather. However, it is not clear exactly where he was transferred.

In February Kim Aris said her mother was being held in an isolation cell but was in good spirits "although her health was not as good as it used to be".

"When fighting gets closer and closer to the military stronghold, I think they might just want to make it a human shield, or they might want to negotiate with resistance forces about their release, trying to gain some kind of profit, you know, a foothold for the future," explains Kim Aris.

Myanmar's military junta said the transfer of prisoners for health reasons from the heat attack was not only for Suu Kyi alone.

"Because the weather is very hot, this is not only happening to Aung San Suu Kyi. For everyone who needs preventive measures, especially elderly prisoners, we are trying to protect them from heat attacks," said junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun.

The release of Suu Kyi and Myanmar's ousted president U Win Myint, reported by the media, was also transferred to house arrests, called for by world leaders and pro-democracy activists. Spokesperson for the NUG shadow government also called for an unconditional release of both.

"Referring them from prison to home is a good thing, because houses are better than prisons. However, they must be released unconditionally. They must take full responsibility for the health and safety of Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint," said NUG spokesman Kyaw Zaw.

Anger at the junta in Myanmar has turned into a national-scale armed resistance movement, which is now increasingly operating through coordination with established ethnic insurgent groups to challenge the military in most parts of the country.