Does this viral picture show Myanmar army arresting Aung San Suu Kyi?
- By AFP -
- Feb 04, 2021
A photo has been shared in social media posts and news articles about the Myanmar military’s arrest of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi as it seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021.
The photo has been shared in a misleading context; it shows actress Michelle Yeoh playing Suu Kyi in 2011 movie “The Lady”.
The photo was posted on Facebook on February 1, 2021. “Against all forms of military coups. Democracy doesn’t have borders. #SaveAungSanSuuKyi,” the Thai-language caption reads.
The post emerged shortly after news broke that Myanmar’s military had seized power in a bloodless coup on February 1, 2021, arresting de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and imposing a one-year state of emergency.
Myanmar’s President Win Myint was also detained in the capital Naypyidaw.
The photo apparently showing soldiers pointing their guns at Suu Kyi was published in French and Vietnamese news articles about the military coup. It also circulated on Twitter.
However, the photo has been shared in a misleading context.
A keyword search found another version of the photo in an article by British newspaper The Guardian on January 1, 2012. The headline reads: “The Lady – review”.
The photo is captioned: “The Lady: a love story that shows exemplary courage”.
The film’s trailer on Youtube features the scene depicted in the photo.
The movie’s IMDB page describes it as “the story of Aung San Suu Kyi as she becomes the core of Burma’s democracy movement, and her relationship with her husband, writer Michael Aris.”
The woman in the photo is not Suu Kyi, but Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh.