State counselor Aung San Suu Kyi’s health is “not a cause for concern”, her office said today, as social media rumors swirled suggesting the leader had been seen in a wheelchair at the airport after she flew in from the US last night.
Grainy images posted to Facebook showing a far-off figure in a chair could not be independently verified, but the office confirmed that Suu Kyi arrived “fatigued” after her two-week trip, which also included a stop in London.
Several hundred supporters turned out to the airport to greet her, and though she waved through the window of her car, she did not greet them as usual.
In a statement released this morning, the state counselor’s office said: “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is feeling fatigue as she was on a very tight schedule during her US trip… She is also suffering a gastric problem as she didn’t have meals at regular times during the trip and is suffering from arthritis in her neck. But her health is not in a state of concern and she just needs to rest for a while.”
During her trip, Suu Kyi met with President Barack Obama and made her first speech to the United Nations as Myanmar leader.
She was forced to cancel a meeting with the Partnership Group on Burma on Friday, taking doctor’s advice to rest. She also reportedly joked, during a visit to Roosevelt High School, that it would be good for her health to be under house arrest again at the weekends.
