No bids placed as junta attempts to auction off home of imprisoned leader Suu Kyi

The junta’s first attempt to auction off the iconic Yangon home of imprisoned democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi failed on Wednesday when no bids were placed, according to sources close to the process. The regime’s western Yangon District court issued an order on January 25 announcing that the residence would be put up for auction on March 20, with a starting bid of US$90 million; on March 5, Suu Kyi's legal team submitted an appeal to the junta-controlled Supreme Court to amend the auction order, which would have put the process on hold. A passerby reported that the auction began at 10am outside of the two-storey colonial house, often referred to simply as No. 54, a reference to its address on University Avenue along Inya Lake, in one of the commercial capital’s most expensive neighbourhoods. “Plainclothes security personnel were placed on both sides of the road—a vehicle with security forces arrived before the auction began,” an eyewitness told Myanmar Now. Lawyers representing Suu Kyi, as well as reporters, were also present at the scene. “I don’t think anyone dared to place a bid because of the political instability, but [the junta] will continue the auction process,” a source close to the State Counsellor’s legal team said. A prosecutor within the military-controlled court system told Myanmar Now that the call for bids would be reopened in the coming weeks. “The court will reduce the price and set a date to continue the auction within a month,” the individual said. “It will proceed in accordance with the law. The auction will continue under the purview of the court.” The house’s ownership has been in dispute since 2001, when Suu Kyi’s estranged older brother Aung San Oo—a US citizen—went to court in Yangon demanding equal inheritance of the property. Fifteen years later, the court granted both siblings half ownership of the residence. Aung San Oo reportedly challenged the decision. A 2018 appeal was not successful, but the Supreme Court overturned that decision the following year and reopened the case. In August 2022, the junta-controlled court ordered that the house be put up for auction. The residence became the early headquarters of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party in 1988. She proceeded to spend 15 years under house arrest in the University Avenue house for her role in Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement. “The house holds historical significance as it was the birthplace of the revolution against the military dictatorship,” the source close to Suu Kyi’s lawyers said. A spokesperson for the publicly mandated National Unity Government previously told Myanmar Now that an application had been submitted to UNESCO, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, to list the house as a world heritage site, and that “nobody can touch or sell it.” “No sale or auction carried out under this coup regime can be regarded as legitimate,” he said. “Those involved in buying the house will later be held liable for criminal charges under the law.” The NLD’s elected administration was ousted in the February 2021 military coup and Suu Kyi, now 78, was immediately arrested. The regime has strictly limited her contact with anyone outside of the detention centre in Naypyitaw where she is being held.

No bids placed as junta attempts to auction off home of imprisoned leader Suu Kyi

A military-controlled court had previously set the starting bid on the property, where Aung San Suu Kyi served several years under house arrest, at US$90 million

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