Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has been moved by the military junta to an unknown location from a prison in the capital, Naypyidaw, raising questions about her safety.
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint, the country’s former president, were relocated “to a safe place because of the high temperatures in the prison,” Zaw Min Tun, the military spokesman, said Wednesday, without disclosing their location. Temperatures in Naypyidaw hit 114.8 degrees Fahrenheit, or 46 degrees Celsius, in the past week.
Few people in Myanmar believe that the military is genuinely concerned about Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s welfare.
The unexpected movement of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, 78, comes as the military is under intense pressure from a rebel alliance. In recent months, it has suffered its worst losses since seizing power in a coup in 2021.
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who was deposed in the coup and is still widely revered in the country, is serving a 27-year sentence on corruption and other charges. Rights groups and supporters say the charges were trumped up and meant to keep the Nobel Peace laureate from elected office.Kim Aris, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s younger son, said he believes the junta could use his mother as a potential “bargaining chip.”
“As the fighting is getting closer and closer” to the capital, he said, “they are getting more desperate and trying to put things in place that might protect them a little bit.”
