Do not forsake Myanmar's jailed freedom icon Suu Kyi

In the autumn of 2013, I boarded a plane at Yangon airport, leaving Myanmar after four years as the UK's ambassador. Just before setting off to the airport, I made my final official call. It was with the Nobel Peace Laureate and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

- ANDREW HEYN

Back then, she was in the ascendancy as a global icon of democracy and peaceful protest. She was on her way to a landslide election win in 2015; adored across the world and by the Myanmar people who respected her sacrifice, determination and, above all, the hope she represented. Quite a contrast with her circumstances and reputation today.

As the British ambassador, it was fitting to finish with a farewell meeting with someone who embodied Myanmar's democratic hopes. The UK had long stood as one of Ms Suu Kyi's strongest Western advocates, often holding firm when others considered easing pressure on the military junta that had ruled for more than 50 years.

When Myanmar began to open up in 2011/12, I hosted visits by the UK's prime minister and foreign secretary, who were among the first senior Western leaders to visit and show support for her and the reform process. There followed a procession of global leaders, Oscar winners, writers and activists. Being photographed with the Nobel Prize winner had become a must.

Contrast that with 2025. On 19 June, Aung San Suu Kyi spent her 80th birthday in a prison cell in Naypyidaw, the junta's remote capital. Outside the inner circle of the junta, no one knows exactly where she is held. There are no family visits, no letters or cards. The woman once celebrated worldwide is once again the world's most famous female political prisoner - but nowadays, far fewer people seem to care.