Auction for Aung San Suu Kyi’s home fails to attract bidders

The property, located by Yangon’s Inye Lake and spanning 1.923 acres, was auctioned following a legal dispute between Suu Kyi, who was deposed in a 2021 coup, and her brother Aung San Oo.

Despite the anticipation, no buyers appeared, leaving the auction inconclusive. The military government’s spokesperson has not commented on the matter. Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate, remains detained, serving a 27-year sentence on charges her supporters deem unjust.

Aung San Oo could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokesperson for Myanmar’s military government did not immediately respond to efforts to seek comment.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi is serving 27 years in detention at an undisclosed location for a multitude of offences her supporters say are fabricated.

She had lived in the decrepit, colonial-style villa for the bulk of the more than three decades she has spent in Myanmar since returning from Britain, including 15 years of house arrest under a previous junta.

Suu Kyi moved residence to the capital Naypyitaw to attend parliament after her release and remained there as Myanmar’s de facto leader until her February 2021 ouster.

She gave impassioned speeches to crowds of supporters over the metal gates of the house and it was the site of some of her most high-profile meetings, including with former U.S. president Barack Obama and secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

The family home was handed down by her mother, Khin Kyi, after the assassination of her father and independence hero General Aung San in 1947.

The 78-year-old’s estranged brother, Aung San Oo first sued in 2000 for a share of the property. In 2016, a court rendered a verdict dividing the plot equally among the siblings.

Aung San Oo appealed unsuccessfully multiple times for the court to have the property sold by auction and the proceeds split between him and Suu Kyi. Following the coup, the Supreme Court granted his special appeal and ruled to sell the property by auction.