Myanmar military planning to transfer Aung San Suu Kyi to house arrest: Reports

The Myanmar military is planning to transfer ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi from prison to house arrest, according to a Reuters report.Suu Kyi has been in detention since the military removed herdemocratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) in 2021 in a coup.

Suu Kyi is currently lodged in a prison in the capital city of Naypyitaw. A top official, speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the military government was planning to announce Suu Kyi's release soon.

Reports state the move is an act of clemency to prisoners as part of a religious ceremony, due to be held next week. The military has built a new giant sitting Buddha statue, as a symbol of devotion and will open it to the public on August 3.

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Suu Kyi has been sentenced to 33 years in prison after a range of charges were brought by the army. Most of the charges, experts argue, have been brought in to keep her away from garnering public support. Her party had won a second five-year mandate in the 2020 elections before the military came calling,

The news of Suu Kyi's transfer has been doing the rounds ever sinceThai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai met her in prison.Pramudwinai became the first foreign visitor to be granted access to meet her after she was arrested.

Change in stance for Suu Kyi

The 78-year-old Nobel laureate, known for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights has implemented a change in stance since being detained.The country's parallel National Unity Government (NUG), formed out of the ashes of NLD, has established the People's Defence Force (PDF) which is responsible for training civilians to fight alongside established ethnic armed groups. Armed ethnic minority groups such as the Karenni, the Karen and the Kachin are part of this group.

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More than 3,700 people have been killed in the military's crackdown on dissent since the coup, according to a local monitoring group. Meanwhile, more than 23,000 have been arrested during the same period.

Earlier this month, a vehicle carrying Chinese military personnel was attacked by an armed ethnic group, according to the Myanmar junta.The Chinese convoy was travelling to a meeting on border security when the alleged attacks took place.

"We can confirm that (Kachin Independence Army) (KIA) members attacked the convoy," junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun was quoted as saying by AFP.

(With inputs from agencies)

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