BANGKOK, Aug 3 (dpa) -- Myanmar's military-led government on Monday released footage of jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi meeting an outside representative for the first time since the 2021 coup.
The rare public glimpse comes after years of concern and speculation about the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's health and well-being, including questions about whether she was even still alive.
The footage showed the 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate meeting Arnaud de Baecque, the Myanmar representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The two were seated in a wood-panelled room. State television said the meeting took place on Monday morning, but did not disclose the location.
The junta had previously released photographs of Suu Kyi celebrating her 81st birthday in June, apparently while under house arrest.
"The visit was carried out in accordance with the ICRC's standards and procedures for visiting people deprived of liberty," the ICRC said in a statement. "This included the opportunity to speak with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in private." No further details were disclosed.
Suu Kyi's son, Kim Aris, who has publicly voiced fears in recent months that his mother may no longer be alive, described the meeting as a sign of hope.
"This is an important first step, but it must not be the last," the 49-year-old wrote on Facebook.
He said he hoped the ICRC visit would lead to improved humanitarian access, direct contact with his mother, credible information about her well-being and, ultimately, her release.
Suu Kyi has been under arrest since the military overthrew her democratically elected government in February 2021. She was later sentenced to lengthy prison terms on a raft of charges widely dismissed by supporters and the international community as politically motivated.
The authorities say she was transferred from prison to house arrest at the end of April.
For decades, Suu Kyi was Myanmar's best-known opposition politician and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her non-violent struggle for democracy. Before her election victory in 2015, she had already spent about 15 years under house arrest during previous periods of military rule.
--NNN-dpa