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<html><body><div>Kim Aris is the younger son of Aung San Suu Kyi.I write as the son of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and I write as a veteran of a decades-long forgotten war. My appeal is not only personal; it is moral. It is about truth, accountability and the lives of millions who cannot speak freely.I was with my mother the first time she was placed under house arrest, on July 20, 1989. I was 12 years old; I recall the troops arriving and severing all external ties to my mother. Today, at the age of 48, I witness a much harsher reality for my mother. Her February 2021 detention -- only three months after she led her party to a landslide electoral victory with 82% of seats up for grabs in rare free elections in Myanmar -- has put her in a far more perilous situation.Unlike her previous confinement, which allowed her to stay at home with limited family access and communication, she is now locked away, in solitary confinement.ASEAN's recent leaders meeting reaffirmed the Five Point Consensus as its framework for addressing the crisis in Myanmar. It has again stated that the generals who seized power in 2021 are not to be treated as normal political leaders. This is welcome, but words must now become action.Since the coup of February 2021, the military has waged a campaign of terror on its own people. Villages have been burned, children targeted, civilians executed and millions displaced. The United Nations calls it one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.This is not governance; it is war on a nation by its rulers.According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners:-- 29,907 people have been arrested, including 627 children and 6,183 women. -- 22,593 remain imprisoned; 11,318 already sentenced by military-controlled courts. -- 173 people have death sentences. -- On average at least two political prisoners die each month from ill treatment or lack of medical care. -- 7,438 civilians are verified killed, with thousands more unconfirmed.Behind these numbers are broken families and stolen futures.Since the 2021 coup and my mother's subsequent imprisonment, she has been held in extreme isolation and denied all contact, legal counsel and the medical care she needs. For nearly four years, no family member or friend has been allowed to see or contact her.I've received just one short letter. She is 80 years old. This inhuman treatment exposes the regime's tyrannical core. I fear her life is in danger. I pray she can be freed to receive the medical attention she desperately needs, and that I might have the opportunity to reunite with her soon.A system that buries an aged woman alive in isolation demonstrates a complete disregard for human rights, dignity and justice. Her arrest is a political maneuver -- a blatant attempt by the junta, under Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, to illegitimately maintain control using a series of specious charges. 
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 Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing attends a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Sept. 25, 2025.




 

 
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In April 2021, Min Aung Hlaing agreed to ASEAN's Five Point Consensus: cessation of violence, dialogue among all parties, mediation by a special envoy, humanitarian assistance, and access to meet all sides. None has been honored.ASEAN has now reaffirmed these commitments, but promises will not stop the bombs or free the detainees. Allowing junta representatives to appear at meetings as peers would reward defiance and weaken ASEAN's moral authority.My mother once said, "I do protect human rights, and I hope I shall always be looked up as a champion of human rights. Assuming the chairmanship of ASEAN isn't going to do anything about improving the lives of people."Her words remain true today. ASEAN's credibility depends not on its meetings, but on the lives it defends.The junta's repression is entwined with organized crime. Across Myanmar's borders, cyber-fraud compounds run under military-linked protection, trafficking thousands forced to scam victims across Asia and beyond. In northern Shan state, Bai Suocheng, the head of the Myanmar military's Kokang Border Guard Force (BGF), has been identified by Chinese authorities and regional media as a central figure in these cyber-fraud networks, which operate with the knowledge of military-linked actors.The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates global internet crime losses exceeded $16 billion in 2024, much of it tied to Southeast Asia. When a regime funds itself through trafficking, fraud and extortion while bombing its own citizens, it forfeits all legitimacy.I appeal to ASEAN leaders not only as the son of a political prisoner but as a human being who cannot accept cruelty dressed as diplomacy. My mother has always believed that peace cannot be built on lies and that reconciliation requires courage, not compromise with injustice.Myanmar cannot heal while the generals who destroy it are treated as diplomats. Real peace demands the release of political prisoners and the inclusion of all ethnic and minority groups in genuine dialogue.ASEAN's founding vision, "One Vision, One Identity, One Community," cannot coexist with impunity. A community based on respect cannot honor those who massacre civilians and silence grandmothers.ASEAN's reaffirmation of its commitments is important. The next step must be decisive: -- Refuse to recognize Min Aung Hlaing or his envoys at any ASEAN meeting. -- Engage Myanmar's legitimate democratic representatives, including the National Unity Government and ethnic organizations with genuine public support. -- Tie cooperation to measurable progress: ending attacks on civilians, releasing prisoners and granting humanitarian access. -- Work with Japan, India and the U.S. to dismantle the financial and cyber networks sustaining the junta. -- Support independent Myanmar media so that truth and transparency survive.This crisis is ASEAN's test of conscience. The bloc's credibility will be judged not by its statements but by its actions. And above all, ASEAN must not ignore the voices of the people of Myanmar. They are the ones paying for every delay and broken promise. Their voices, not the generals, represent the future of our region.The people of Myanmar do not ask for sympathy. They ask for integrity. They ask that the promises made in 2021 be kept in both word and deed.I will not rest until my mother, and all political prisoners, are free and safe. No son should be told he cannot see his mother because her captors seek diplomatic recognition.For justice, for peace and for human dignity, ASEAN must remember: Leadership is not convenience. It is courage, and it must never come at the cost of the people's voice.
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As Aung San Suu Kyi's son, I appeal to ASEAN's conscience

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