By TOSHIYA OBU/ Correspondent
June 20, 2023 at 18:45 JST
Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi holds the arm of her son, Kim Aris, after he arrived at Yangon’s airport on June 19, 2011. (Reuters file photo)
BANGKOK—Kim Aris, second son of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, criticized Japan and India for “supporting” the military junta that continues to detain her.
“It is disappointing, to say the least, that countries such as Japan and India, which is supposed to be the largest democracy in the world, would have anything to do with the junta,” Aris said in a video on June 18, a day before Suu Kyi’s 78th birthday. “The fact that they are supporting them saddens me greatly for a number of reasons.”
He did not describe what support Japan and India were giving to the military.
Aris said he has “fond memories” of the two countries where he lived with his mother when he was a child.
Still, he said it is “no surprise” and “a great comfort” that the position of the two governments does not reflect the stance of the peoples of the two countries.
In the approximately six-minute video posted on Voice of America’s social media account, Aris renewed his call on the military government, which seized power in a coup in February 2021, to release his mother and all political prisoners.
“Her arrest was completely illegal, and all charges are fraudulent,” he said.
Aris, who currently resides in Britain, said he has not been granted any contact with Suu Kyi and has not been informed about her whereabouts or the conditions under which she is being kept.
He also said he has not received any response to his inquiries from the British foreign office or Myanmar’s embassy in London.
Aris emphasized that Suu Kyi’s trials were held through illegal procedures, adding, “Unfortunately, the story is common to so many in Burma (Myanmar) today.”
He urged the international community to “start applying meaningful pressure on the military junta to stop the brutal and inhumane treatment of its own people.”
Aris went on to say that it is “clear that the military will never win this war.”
“The youths of Burma will never accept having their freedom taken away from them,” he said.
He concluded the message with, “Happy birthday, Mama.”
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