Former Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi is 'hoped' to be alive despite being denied medical care following ill health, her son has told GB News
Former Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi is "hoped" to be alive despite being denied medical care following ill health, her son has told GB News.
In an exclusive interview with Esther and Philip, Kim Aris explained that his mother has been "unable to eat" due to gum and teeth issues.
Suu Kyi has been detained since February 2021 when she was ousted by a military coup.
Following the coup Myanmar fell into almost full-scale civil war, which has killed thousands of people.
Speaking to GB News, Aris said he has had no contact with his mother for the last two and a half years.
"Any requests that I've made to the military have just come back blank. They don't answer me and I don't really know where she's been held," he said.
"There were rumours that the military were trying to circulate, saying that she had been moved to some form of house arrest. This was back in July, that is evidently not the case.
"At the moment, as far as I'm aware, she's been unable to eat due to gum problems and teeth issues, potentially problems with wisdom tooth, and she's been vomiting and dizzy."
According to local sources, prison chiefs made a request for private care for the 78-year-old but were denied.
Her son Aris, who lives in London, said: "Nobody is allowed to see her. She's still alive, as far as I'm aware. I hope so.
"But until somebody can actually see her and verify that, I don't know. The only spokespeople are military spokespeople or prison spokespeople, so we cannot rely on that information."
He added: "She's been denied access to her personal doctor and dentist, so I can't imagine what sort of state that she's in in that prison, because the prisoners there are not treated well and she does not accept preferential treatment."
Discussing what the British Government has been doing to help him gain access to his mother, he said: "There is very little the British Government can do, they don't have a relationship with the regime.
"And while they are trying to get some communication from me through to my mother, it will be hard to do so, they put many blockages in place, the military doesn't make it easy."
He added: "I'm not going to let Burma slide back further and further as it is now, I hope to help it move forward, like my mother has done."
