Myanmar: Rare pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi: Meeting with Red Cross

For the first time in five and a half years since Myanmar's military coup, former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been photographed meeting with a foreign representative. The military government released footage showing Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, 81, having a meeting with Myanmar representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Arnaud de Baecque.

Little reliable information had been available about where Suu Kyi was staying or her health status for years. State television reported the meeting took place in the morning. The location of the meeting was not disclosed. The footage shows both of them in a wooden-paneled room. The military government also released photos from Suu Kyi's 81st birthday in June, where she was apparently cutting a birthday cake while under house arrest.

The Red Cross confirmed the meeting in a statement. "The visit took place in line with the standards and procedures of the ICRC for visits to detainees," it said. "This included the opportunity to speak face-to-face with Aung San Suu Kyi." Details about where the meeting took place and Suu Kyi's health were not disclosed. Suu Kyi's son Kim Aris expressed hope in social media for a sign of hope.

"This is an important first step, but it must not be the last," he wrote on Facebook. He hoped the ICRC visit would lead to better humanitarian access, direct contact with his mother, credible information about her wellbeing and ultimately her release. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres commented in New York, "We welcome this development and reaffirm our call for the swift and unconditional release of all arbitrarily detained individuals as a fundamental step toward conditions that would support a credible and transparent political process."

From prison to house arrest, Suu Kyi has been under arrest since the military coup in February 2021. The military overthrew the democratically elected government and arrested the politician. Since then, she has been largely insulated from the outside world. She was later convicted of alleged offenses and sentenced to a long prison term.

There have repeatedly been concerns about her health, including reports of heart problems. According to authorities, she was moved from a prison to house arrest at the end of April. Suu Kyi was the most well-known opposition politician in Myanmar for decades and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her non-violent struggle for democracy.

She spent a total of 15 years isolated under house arrest from 1989 to 2010. Since the coup in 2021, the formerly Burma has been in a serious crisis. The removal of the elected government led to nationwide protests and an ongoing armed conflict. Since then, violence, economic decline and resistance to the junta have defined the country.