Yangon (Myanmar) (AFP) - Myanmar’s detained democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with the Red Cross representative to the country on Monday, the president’s office said, the first publicised meeting between her and a foreign official since she was ousted in a 2021 coup.

The military deposed Suu Kyi in February 2021, jailing the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and triggering an ongoing civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people, according to monitor ACLED.

The coup leader and former junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, was installed as civilian president in April following highly restricted elections.

Suu Kyi, now 81, was moved to house arrest later that month after Min Aung Hlaing said he had commuted the rest of her sentence.

She was detained on a host of charges that rights groups say were confected to sideline her and her popular National League for Democracy party.

The president’s office said in a statement that Arnaud de Baecque, the Resident Representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Myanmar, met with Suu Kyi on Monday morning.

Suu Kyi is seen shaking hands with a man who appears to be de Baecque in a photo released by the president’s office.

Another image shows Suu Kyi cutting a birthday cake, and another shows the cake with text reading: “Happy Birthday Aunty Suu.”

The images could not be verified by AFP but artificial intelligence tools found no instances of fabrication, and no versions of the images were found online before Monday.

AFP has contacted the ICRC for comment.

“We are happy to see her photo like this if it’s really her meeting with the ICRC. We can know now that she’s alive,” a veteran politician of her party told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“However, Aunty should be released immediately as she’s being detained unlawfully,” the politician said.

- Proof of life -

Authorities have not disclosed the exact location of Suu Kyi’s detention in the capital Naypyidaw, nor how many years of her sentence remain.

Her son, Kim Aris, a British national, has sought independently verified proof that his mother is alive after she was transferred to house arrest.

The 11-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has excluded member state Myanmar’s leadership from high-level summits since the coup.

However, neighbour Thailand has been leading an effort to bring Myanmar back in the diplomatic fold, both bilaterally and through the regional bloc.

Min Aung Hlaing has travelled to India, China and ASEAN member Laos since his change in position, and he is scheduled to make an official visit to Thailand this week.

“It’s the old military game plan to use Suu Kyi as a bargaining chip,” independent Myanmar analyst David Mathieson told AFP.

Some ASEAN nations have long called for proof of life, Mathieson said, adding that the timing of the government-permitted meeting between Suu Kyi and the ICRC representative – days before Min Aung Hlaing’s trip to Bangkok – was no coincidence.

“As a gesture to the international community, it’s the wildcard Min Aung Hlaing was holding close to his chest,” he said.

The Myanmar government could “gain a lot from ASEAN” by permitting access to Suu Kyi, said researcher Morgan Michaels of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“Releasing her in particular would go a long way to facilitating Myanmar’s re-invitation at the political level,” Michaels said.

The continued detention of Suu Kyi remains a major sticking point for some despite Myanmar’s recent diplomatic outreach.

ASEAN has pressed for its special envoy to meet Suu Kyi, but Myanmar has so far refused.