Myanmar’s military-backed authorities have rejected a U.S. call for the immediate and unconditional release of detained former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, saying her release must be handled through the country’s legal process.
The response came in a statement issued on Friday by Myanmar’s embassy in Washington after the U.S. State Department and the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee welcomed a rare meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Aung San Suu Kyi met Arnaud de Baecque, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Myanmar, on Aug. 3 in Naypyidaw. The ICRC has confirmed that its representative was able to speak with her privately, in line with the organisation’s standard procedures for visits to detainees.
The meeting was the first publicly acknowledged encounter between Aung San Suu Kyi and a representative of an international organisation since she was detained when the military seized power on Feb. 1, 2021.
Following the meeting, the U.S. State Department welcomed the ICRC’s access to Aung San Suu Kyi and renewed its call for her and all political prisoners in Myanmar to be released immediately and unconditionally.
The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee also welcomed the meeting and called for her release. ASEAN’s chair has made a similar appeal for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political detainees.
Myanmar’s embassy in Washington said it acknowledged what it described as the positive elements of the U.S. statements but rejected the demand for Aung San Suu Kyi’s unconditional release.
The embassy said such a demand could interfere with Myanmar’s judicial process and the principles of the rule of law.
The military-backed authorities maintain that Aung San Suu Kyi was convicted under Myanmar law on charges including corruption and election-related offences. The embassy said her sentences had been reduced on humanitarian grounds but that any unconditional release could only take place in accordance with the law.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained since the military overthrew her elected government in February 2021. Military-controlled courts subsequently convicted her in a series of cases and imposed lengthy prison sentences.
Her supporters and international human rights organisations have widely criticised the prosecutions as politically motivated. The United States and other governments have repeatedly called for her release and that of other people detained for political reasons since the military takeover.
The Aug. 3 ICRC visit has drawn particular attention because access to Aung San Suu Kyi has been tightly restricted since her detention, with relatively little independent information available about her conditions and well-being.
The ICRC generally keeps the findings of its detention visits confidential, discussing concerns directly with the detaining authorities rather than publicly disclosing details.