Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi marks 80th birthday in junta jail
NAYPYIDAW - Myanmar's deposed democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked her 80th birthday in junta detention on Thursday, serving a raft of sentences set to last the rest of her life.
Suu Kyi was the figurehead of Myanmar's decade-long democratic thaw, becoming de facto leader as it opened up from military rule.
But as the generals snatched back power in a 2021 coup, she was locked up on charges ranging from corruption to breaching Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and is serving a 27-year sentence.
"It will be hard to be celebrating at the moment," said her 47-year-old son Kim Aris from the UK. "We've learned to endure when it's been going on so long."
He has run 80 kilometres over the eight days leading up to her birthday, and collected over 80,000 well-wishing video messages for his mother.
But Suu Kyi will not see them, sequestered in Myanmar's sprawling capital Naypyidaw from where the military directs a civil war against guerilla fighters, many of whom took up arms in response to the toppling of her government.
Aris said he has heard from his mother only once via letter two years ago since she was imprisoned.
"We have no idea what condition she's in," he said, adding that he fears she is suffering from untreated medical problems with her heart, bones and gums.
Myanmar junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP late on Thursday Suu Kyi "is in good health", without providing any further details.
No formal celebrations took place in junta-held parts of Myanmar, but a gaggle of followers in military-controlled Mandalay city staged a spontaneous protest ahead of her birthday, local media said.
A few masked protestors showered a street with pamphlets reading "freedom from fear" and "happy birthday" as one member held up a portrait of Suu Kyi in shaky camera footage shared on social media.
While Suu Kyi remains hugely popular in the majority Buddhist country, her status as a democracy icon abroad collapsed before the military takeover after she defended the generals in their crackdown against the Rohingya.
Hundreds of thousands of the Muslim minority were sent fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh under her rule, though some argued she was powerless against the lingering influence of Myanmar's military.
Nonetheless, institutions and figures that once showered Suu Kyi with awards rapidly distanced themselves, and her second round of imprisonment has received far less international attention.
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