Myanmar's detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday and seemed to be good health and spirits, her son Kim Aris said.
The 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner has been in detention since February 2021 when an elected civilian government led by her was ousted by Myanmar's military in a dawn coup, plunging the impoverished Southeast Asian nation into turmoil.
Since then, Suu Kyi's exact whereabouts and health condition have been difficult to determine, with no foreign leader or envoy having publicly met her despite requests for contact from countries in the region that have excluded Myanmar's leadership from their summits.
On Monday, Suu Kyi met with Arnaud de Baecque, Resident Representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross to Myanmar in the capital
Naypyitaw, government spokesperson Khine Khine Soe said in a message via Telegram.
Suu Kyi's son, Kim Aris, told Reuters the ICRC was not able to have a physician examine his mother.
"It's the first independent proof that I've had that she's actually alive for a long time now," he said in London. "So it's extremely meaningful."
Aris said that while he remained cautious, he hoped to be able to speak to his mother in time, and urged other governments to keep up the pressure on Myanmar to release her and other political prisoners.
