Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters strive to set world record to honor her 80th birthday
BANGKOK — Thousands of supporters of Myanmar's jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi celebrated her 80th birthday Thursday by attempting to set a world record for the most birthday greeting videos, while others took to the streets in demonstrations against the military government that ousted her.
Kalo Say Htoo, an organizer of the birthday video campaign, said the original goal was to collect 80,000 greeting videos to honor Suu Kyi and achieve a recognized Guinness World Record.
The number of videos collected surpassed 103,000 on Thursday, tripling the current record of 32,207 achieved in 2017, organizers said.
Suu Kyi was arrested in February 2021 when the military seized power from her democratically elected government. She was convicted on more than a dozen charges for offenses that her supporters say were concocted to keep her out of politics. She remains regarded by many in Myanmar as the country's legitimate leader while serving a 27-year prison term.
Kim Aris, Suu Kyi's son living in London, said in a statement on Facebook Thursday that the campaign is a powerful testament to his mother's global support.
'It's my hope this achievement brings urgent attention to her plight and that of the people of Burma,' said Aris, using the country's former name. 'Her voice may be silenced, but her flame will never be extinguished.'
Aris planned to run 49.7 miles to honor his mother's birthday, while encouraging others to show support with the numerical theme, such as walking for 80 minutes or making 80 recipes.
More than 6,800 civilians are estimated to have been killed by security forces during a widespread armed struggle against military rule that began after generals seized power from Suu Kyi's elected government, according to figures compiled by nongovernmental organizations.
Pro-democracy street protests in Suu Kyi's honor were held Thursday in areas that are not under military control including northern Kachin state, the central regions of Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway and in Tanintharyi in the South.
Photos on social media showed demonstrators carrying flowers, birthday cakes and posters of Suu Kyi, as well as banners reading 'Happy Birthday' and urging supporters to strive for 'the liberation of the entire nation, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.'
The military government's supporters posted calls for the arrest of protesters.
Several Western embassies posted pictures and illustrations on social media of red roses, with some issuing statements calling for Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners to be released.
The Suu Foundation, a nonprofit humanitarian organization, and the law firm Zimeray & Finelle said in a joint statement Thursday that Suu Kyi was thought to have suffered an injury to her left arm during the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit the country in March.
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Billing itself as the world's largest humanitarian organization, WFP has announced plans to cut about a quarter of its 22,000 staff. The aid landscape is shifting One question is how the United Nations remains relevant as an aid provider when global cooperation is on the outs, and national self-interest and self-defense are on the upswing. The United Nations is not alone: Many of its aid partners are feeling the pinch. Groups like GAVI, which tries to ensure fair distribution of vaccines around the world, and the Global Fund, which spends billions each year to help battle HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, have been hit by Trump administration cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development. Some private-sector, government-backed groups also are cropping up, including the divisive Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been providing some food to Palestinians. But violence has erupted as crowds try to reach the distribution sites. No private-sector donor or well-heeled country — China and oil-rich Gulf states are often mentioned by aid groups — have filled the significant gaps from shrinking U.S. and other Western spending. The future of U.N. aid, experts say, will rest where it belongs — with the world body's 193 member countries. 'We need to take that debate back into our countries, into our capitals, because it is there that you either empower the U.N. to act and succeed — or you paralyze it,' said Achim Steiner, administrator of the U.N. Development Program. ___ Chehayeb reported from Beirut and Keaten from Geneva. Associated Press writer Melina Walling in Hamburg, Germany, contributed to this report.
