Detained Suu Kyi meets Red Cross official in Myanmar: president office

YANGON: Myanmar’s detained democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with the nation’s Red Cross representative on Monday, the president’s office said, the first publicised meeting between her and a foreign official since she was ousted in a 2021 military coup.

“Mr. Arnaud de Baecque, the Resident Representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Myanmar, met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi this morning,” said a statement from the president’s office.

The military deposed Suu Kyi in February 2021, jailing the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and triggering an ongoing civil war.

The coup leader and former junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, was installed as civilian president in April following highly restricted elections.

Later that month, Suu Kyi, now 81, was moved to house arrest after Min Aung Hlaing said he had commuted the rest of her sentence.

She was detained following the coup on a host of charges which rights groups say were confected to sideline her.

In photos released by the president’s office, Suu Kyi is seen shaking hands with a man who appears to be de Baecque.

Another image shows Suu Kyi cutting a birthday cake, and yet another shows the cake with text reading: “Happy Birthday Aunty Suu”.

The images could not be immediately verified by AFP but AI tools found no instances of fabrication.