Name? Aung San Suu Kyi
Westphalian identity? Burmese
Age? 76
Why is she in the news? After being detained for over 8 months, Ms. Suu Kyi appeared in a closed-door courtroom yesterday to face charges similar to the former president’s. If Suu Kyi were to be convicted of all 11 charges against her, she could be sentenced to 102 years (maximum) in prison.
Why do we care? If we are being honest, we care about Suu Kyi. We don’t really care about the trials as they are largely a political show meant to keep Suu Kyi and her party from returning to office. In all likelihood, she will be convicted of various charges and sentenced to many more years under house arrest; resulting in what General Min Aung Hlaing hopes to be “out of sight out of mind” both for himself and the rest of Myanmar.
Why should you care? Because Suu Kyi represents hope for Myanmar’s citizens. So long as she is around, the National Unity Government (NUG), Myanmar’s shadow government, has reason to keep fighting the Tatmadaw and lobbying ASEAN. With Suu Kyi already asking for less trial days a week, citing fatigue, we cannot know how much longer Suu Kyi will really be with us.. Therefore, you should care 7/10.
Who else cares? Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN. As the ASEAN Summit began yesterday without a representative from Myanmar, due to the bloc’s unprecedented decision not to allow General Hlaing to attend, HE Jock Hoi is undoubtedly waiting anxiously for the outcome of Suu Kyi’s trial.
Any further comments? Myanmar is set to be the focus of the ASEAN Summit. On one hand, Xi is likely to remind ASEAN leaders of their stance of non-interference as well as the upcoming ASEAN-China Summit. Biden, on the other hand, will likely emphasize “continued US support for the pro-democracy movement” as his National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, has noted to the NUG.
