Aung San Suu Kyi’s estranged brother fights to sell lakeside home, the symbolic site of her house arrest

The crumbling lakeside villa, which served as Aung San Suu Kyi’s prison for 15 years during her house arrest, has become the source of a bitter family dispute between the Myanmar state counsellor and her brother.

Suu Kyi’s estranged older brother, Aung San Oo, an engineer who lives in the United States, has submitted an appeal at the Supreme Court, petitioning for the auction of the home and a share of the proceeds.

While the two-storey villa has long fallen into disrepair, Aung San Oo’s lawyer said it is valued at US$90 million.

The colonial-style house at 54 University Avenue on the shores of Yangon’s Inya Lake has gained revered status. For almost two decades, it was the hub of Suu Kyi’s then-dissident political party, the National League of Democracy.

It became a familiar site on weekend afternoons to see Suu Kyi climb up on a fence or a rickety table outside the dilapidated house, which had once belonged to her parents, and make speeches promoting free speech and democracy to crowds of hundreds, sometimes thousands.

In 2012, it was through the gates of this villa that US president Barack Obama historically drove through to meet Suu Kyi, accompanied by then secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, who rushed to emotionally embrace Suu Kyi in the driveway. However, she has not lived in the house since her release in 2012.