The second attempt to sell the family residence of Myanmar‘s jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi was unsuccessful on Thursday, as no bidders appeared, likely discouraged by the court-mandated starting price of USD 142 million.
The home, where Suu Kyi spent 15 years under house arrest and hosted notable figures such asformer US President Barack Obama, secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, is considered a historical landmark in her peaceful resistance against military rule, for which she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The current minimum sale price of 300 billion kyats was a decrease from the initial March attempt of 315 billion kyats, approximately USD 150 million at official rates. However, considering the black-market exchange rates, which more accurately reflect the kyat’s real value amidst its rapid decline, the March asking price was around USD 90 million, and the current price was closer to USD 46 million. This is still a significant amount in a nation engulfed in civil war, where nearly half the population lives below the national poverty line of 76 US cents per day, according to UN data.
The proceeds from the sale of the 1.9-acre (0.78-hectare) property near a lake in Yangon were to be divided between Suu Kyi and her estranged older brother. Suu Kyi’s legal team had contested the auction order. The attempted auction, which lasted less than a minute, took place in front of the closed gates of the property, which has served as an unofficial party headquarters and a political shrine for the country’s pro-democracy movement.
A district court official announced that there were no bidders and concluded the proceedings. The court will continue to handle the auction process according to legal procedures, but the specifics are not yet known.
The two-story colonial-style building in Yangon, the country’s largest city, was given to Suu Kyi’s mother, Khin Kyi, decades ago by the government after her husband, independence hero Gen Aung San, was assassinated in July 1947.
Suu Kyi, now 79, remained in the house after her release from house arrest in 2010 until moving to the capital, Naypyitaw, in 2012 to serve in parliament. She became the nation’s leader following the 2015 general election.
However, her elected government was overthrown in a military coup in February 2021, and Suu Kyi is currently serving a combined 27-year sentence after being convicted of a series of criminal charges, which her supporters and independent analysts claim were fabricated to discredit her and justify the military’s takeover.
The court-ordered auction was the result of a bitter decades-long legal dispute between Suu Kyi and her brother, Aung San Oo, who has sought an equal division of the property. Suu Kyi’s lawyers have not been allowed to meet with her since their last in-person meeting in December 2022.
The home, where Suu Kyi spent 15 years under house arrest and hosted notable figures such asformer US President Barack Obama, secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, is considered a historical landmark in her peaceful resistance against military rule, for which she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The current minimum sale price of 300 billion kyats was a decrease from the initial March attempt of 315 billion kyats, approximately USD 150 million at official rates. However, considering the black-market exchange rates, which more accurately reflect the kyat’s real value amidst its rapid decline, the March asking price was around USD 90 million, and the current price was closer to USD 46 million. This is still a significant amount in a nation engulfed in civil war, where nearly half the population lives below the national poverty line of 76 US cents per day, according to UN data.
The proceeds from the sale of the 1.9-acre (0.78-hectare) property near a lake in Yangon were to be divided between Suu Kyi and her estranged older brother. Suu Kyi’s legal team had contested the auction order. The attempted auction, which lasted less than a minute, took place in front of the closed gates of the property, which has served as an unofficial party headquarters and a political shrine for the country’s pro-democracy movement.
A district court official announced that there were no bidders and concluded the proceedings. The court will continue to handle the auction process according to legal procedures, but the specifics are not yet known.
The two-story colonial-style building in Yangon, the country’s largest city, was given to Suu Kyi’s mother, Khin Kyi, decades ago by the government after her husband, independence hero Gen Aung San, was assassinated in July 1947.
Suu Kyi, now 79, remained in the house after her release from house arrest in 2010 until moving to the capital, Naypyitaw, in 2012 to serve in parliament. She became the nation’s leader following the 2015 general election.
However, her elected government was overthrown in a military coup in February 2021, and Suu Kyi is currently serving a combined 27-year sentence after being convicted of a series of criminal charges, which her supporters and independent analysts claim were fabricated to discredit her and justify the military’s takeover.
The court-ordered auction was the result of a bitter decades-long legal dispute between Suu Kyi and her brother, Aung San Oo, who has sought an equal division of the property. Suu Kyi’s lawyers have not been allowed to meet with her since their last in-person meeting in December 2022.