Myanmar’s junta reinforced its policy of isolating detained democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday by denying a meeting request from former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen.
Hun Sen, now head of Cambodia’s Senate, said he had asked to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been jailed since 2021, during video talks with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing on Tuesday.
In response, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said there was “no reason to facilitate [the meeting] at this time,” adding: “We will avoid issues which may delay or disrupt future processes.”
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested on the day of the 2021 military coup. She faced a closed-doors trial on 19 offenses at Naypyitaw Prison, eventually receiving a prison sentence totaling 33 years. The regime later reduced her sentence to 27 years.
The Nobel laureate, who turns 79 in June, has been detained in Naypyitaw since the military ousted her elected government on Feb. 1, 2021. She is thought to be in solitary confinement in Naypyitaw Prison, though the junta has remained tight-lipped over her situation. She has been held incommunicado since her transfer to the prison in 2022. Requests for visits by her son and lawyers have been denied.
Hun Sen is the latest in a series of international envoys and statesmen whose requests to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi have been rebuffed by the junta.
The two exceptions in the past three years were a Thai foreign minister and a National League for Democracy (NLD) colleague.
ASEAN envoys rebuffed
In October 2021, Brunei’s Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof requested a meeting with all stakeholders in Myanmar, including ousted State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The special envoy canceled his visit after the regime turned down his request.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, who succeeded Erywan Yusof as ASEAN special envoy, was also kept away from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during his visits to Naypyitaw in 2022.
Sokhonn requested that she be transferred from prison to house arrest given her age and health conditions.
Several powerful ASEAN members also called for a meeting between the special envoy and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Their requests fell on deaf ears.
UN special envoy fares no better
Noeleen Heyzer, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy, made her first visit to Myanmar in August 2022, nine months after her appointment. She met with the junta boss Min Aung Hlaing but was not allowed to see Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, which sparked criticism of her visit.
“If I ever visit Myanmar again, it will only be if I can meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” Heyzer said as she defended her talks with the country’s military rulers.
Who has been granted access?
Only two, so far.
Thailand’s outgoing foreign minister Don Pramudwinai became the first foreigner allowed to meet the detained Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in July 2023. The two talked in private for nearly one and a half hours with details of their discussion unknown, the regime reported.
Don said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi appeared in good health and they held a good discussion together. But neither the regime nor the Thai government revealed where or how the meeting took place.
Sandar Min, a former NLD lawmaker with close ties to the regime, was allowed to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to explain the regime’s election plan. The ousted democracy leader reportedly looked furious after the meeting and dismissed the proposal.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers make repeated requests
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s defense team was allowed to meet her before her last trial in December 2022. But several requests to visit her since then have been rejected by the military regime.
Kim Aris not allowed to visit his mother
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s younger son Kim Aris, aka Ko Htein Lin, has made several requests to see his mother via the Myanmar Embassy in London, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the International Red Cross Society.
Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun told VOA that the regime would consider an official request by Kim, but it has not granted him access to his mother.
While placed under Yangon house arrest by the previous military dictatorship headed by Than Shwe, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was permitted to receive phone calls and medical parcels from her family.
China’s envoy?
Reports suggest that Chinese ambassador Chen Hai met Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after talks with former dictator Than Shwe, his deputy Maung Aye and former president Thein Sein ahead of Myanmar’s New Year Festival in April. The Irrawaddy was unable to independently verify the reports, and neither the Chinese Embassy nor the regime confirmed the meeting had taken place.
A few days after the reports, however, the regime announced that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her deposed president U Win Myint were among elderly prisoners given special care amid the summer heatwave.
Junta officials regularly visit the jailed democracy leader, according to spokesman Zaw Min Tun. He mentioned that regime home affairs minister Yar Pyae had recently met with her.
