Myanmar's military-backed government confirmed on October 21 that Aung San Suu Kyi received a gift package from King Charles III, along with the first photographs of the detained leader to be released in two months.
According to a spokesperson for Myanmar's presidential office writing on Facebook, Interior Ministry officials met the former leader on Monday to hand over the package, which contained two books about land and a sealed diplomatic letter from the British monarch. Britain is Myanmar's former colonial power, and King Charles III is known for his deep interest in gardening and the environment.
The announcement was accompanied by two photographs showing Suu Kyi meeting two men whose backs were turned to the camera. The room in the images appears to be the same one used for a previously publicized meeting, when she received a Red Cross representative in August — her first known encounter with a foreign official since she was ousted more than five years ago.
On Tuesday, Myanmar authorities described Suu Kyi as a "special female prisoner," the first time they have used the designation for the democracy and human rights activist, whose global standing was damaged after she defended Myanmar against genocide allegations concerning the country's Muslim Rohingya community.
Suu Kyi was removed from power in the 2021 military coup, which sparked a civil war that continues to this day and has killed more than 100,000 people, according to the conflict-monitoring group ACLED.
Coup leader and former junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was appointed civilian president in April after an election in which Suu Kyi's party did not take part, and she was moved to house arrest shortly afterward.
Suu Kyi remains detained on charges that human rights groups say are fabricated to restore power to the military, which has ruled Myanmar for most of the period since independence.
"I have been very lenient with her," Min Aung Hlaing said in an interview with Time magazine published last month.
The international community, including Britain, has called for Suu Kyi's release and for access to her as part of efforts to resolve Myanmar's political crisis, but the authorities have rejected those demands.
