The year 2024 concluded with calls for the release of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Along with her son Kim Aris, calls for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s release grew in December from respected individuals, organizations, and several countries, including Britain.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically elected leader who has been detained by the military council for the past four years, is currently 79 years old, in poor health, and was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Regarding this, former British Foreign Secretaries Mr. Andrew Mitchell and Sir Alan Duncan pointed out that the junta continues to violate people’s human rights, as evidenced by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention. 1
Along with calls for her release, on 19 December in Britain, The Independent newspaper’s editor-in-chief Geordie Greig premiered a new documentary titled “Cancelled: The Rise and Fall of Aung San Suu Kyi,” which he wrote and directed. The documentary director hopes that his film will help highlight the forgotten sufferings of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, stating that one of the world’s most influential female political leaders should not be in prison on baseless charges.
Through this event, former British Foreign Secretaries William Hague, Malcolm Rifkind, and Jack Straw also called for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is imprisoned in Naypyidaw under unjust laws by the junta. They urged that everyone should be campaigning for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is a symbol and a force of democracy. 2
On 20 December, at the ASEAN meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Singapore’s Foreign Minister also called for the immediate release of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is crucial for national reconciliation. The meeting was attended by Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where they held informal discussions on the Myanmar issue. 3
At the 20 December informal ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Bangkok, which included military council representatives, discussions centered on implementing the already failed ASEAN Five-Point Consensus.
The ASEAN consensus includes immediately stopping violence, engaging in dialogue with relevant stakeholders, mediation by ASEAN’s special envoy, providing humanitarian assistance through ASEAN, and allowing the ASEAN special envoy to visit Myanmar and meet with relevant organizations. 4
However, political analysts concluded that the discussion ended without significant progress on the military council’s implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, mutual dialogue, or crucial matters that could resolve Myanmar’s crisis, instead focusing on listening to the junta’s election promotion plans.
The discussion was attended by high-level foreign affairs officials from Myanmar’s neighbors, including Thailand, China, Bangladesh, India, and Laos. 5
1 Calls grow in UK for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s release, Irrawaddy, 23 December 2024
2 Former UK Ministers call for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s release, documentary premiered, DVB, 20 December 2024
3 Singapore calls for immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Mizzima, 20 December 2024
4 CSOs urge ASEAN to move beyond Five-Point Consensus, Mizzima, 16 December 2024
5 ASEAN Foreign Ministers discuss implementation of Five-Point Consensus at Myanmar affairs discussion, DVB, 20 December 2024