Myanmar's leader is "considering good things" for detained Aung San Suu Kyi, Thailand's top diplomat said, after meeting the country's coup leader for the first time since he took over as civilian president.
Tropical Myanmar has been led by Min Aung Hlaing since 2021, who as armed forces chief deposed Suu Kyi's elected government, detained the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and sparked civil war.
This month he took over the role of civilian president after an election democracy watchdogs dismissed as a choreographed affair designed to rebrand military rule.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said he raised the issue of Suu Kyi when he met Myanmar's leader in the capital Naypyidaw on Wednesday.
"The president said that she is being well taken care of and the Myanmar government is considering good things, without giving any further details," Sihasak said in a video message before returning to Thailand Wednesday night.
"This should be a good sign," he added.
Min Aung Hlaing last week pardoned Suu Kyi's top aide Win Myint, who served as the ceremonial president of her administration and was also swept into custody in the coup.
Some analysts have dismissed the clemency measure as part of a rebranding effort for Min Aung Hlaing's new administration as it grasps for legitimacy.
The announcement of Win Myint's pardon has nonetheless renewed diplomatic calls for Suu Kyi's release.
The 80-year-old has now been detained for a half-decade -- with even her close family saying they have been permitted scant communication with her.
Diplomats and media have persistently queried her status, but Myanmar authorities have insisted her detention on a host of criminal convictions is a matter for the courts.
Win Myint's pardon on Friday, however, came directly from the office of Min Aung Hlaing as part of a mass amnesty to mark Myanmar's new year.
That blanket order also shaved some time off Suu Kyi's 27-year sentence, a source close to her legal case told AFP, although it was not clear how much.
Rights groups say charges against Suu Kyi were confected in order to sideline her and allow the military to return to power, ending the country's tentative decade-long experiment with democracy.
Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as Myanmar's civilian president two weeks ago by lawmakers installed in an election which barred Suu Kyi's party and punished protest or criticism with up to a decade in jail.
The election did not take place in huge tracts of Myanmar now controlled by rebels in the civil war, and many armed factions have openly dismissed the vote, saying they will continue fighting.
AFP
