Myanmar officials auctioned off former leader Suu Kyi's lakeside villa with a starting price of $150 million, but no one bought it.
A two-story mansion on more than 7,600 square meters of land in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, is up for auction today, following a decades-long property dispute between former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her brother. The property dates back to the time when Myanmar was a British colony and is a few streets away from the US embassy.
Officials announced the start of the auction by ringing a bell three times. The auctioneer announced the starting price of 315 billion kyat ($150 million), but no one bid. The auction ended shortly thereafter.
The figure is based on property valuations provided by lawyers for Suu Kyi’s brother, Aung San Oo, according to an ongoing lawsuit. Similar properties in upscale areas of Yangon cost between $1 million and $2 million.
Aung San Oo, now a US citizen, has not commented on the auction.
Aung San Suu Kyi's lakeside villa in Yangon, Myanmar in 2009. Photo: AFP
After Suu Kyi's father, General Aung San, was assassinated in 1947, the Myanmar government gave the villa to her mother, Khin Kyi. She died in 1988.
Ms. Suu Kyi was placed under military house arrest in this villa for about 15 years, after she rose to prominence during anti-government protests in 1988. Separated from her husband and children in England, Ms. Suu Kyi spent her time playing the piano, reading detective novels and meditating here.
Hundreds of people regularly gather on the sidewalk outside the compound to hear her speak about democracy and protest against the military government through nonviolence.
After her release in 2010, she continued to live there, hosting a series of foreign leaders, journalists and diplomats. In 2012, then US President Barack Obama visited her at the villa.
She left Yangon in 2012 and moved to the capital Naypyidaw under a power-sharing deal with the military.
Ms Suu Kyi, now 78, has been detained by the military government since February 2021 following the coup. She has been charged with dozens of crimes, including violating the State Secrets Act, corruption and election fraud, and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Aung San Suu Kyi (in blue) in Naypyitaw in 2016. Photo: Reuters
Huyen Le (According to AFP )
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