A renewed effort to auction off the family home of Myanmar’s imprisoned former leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, ended without a single bid on Wednesday, The Associated Press reports.
The lakeside property, a historical landmark of Suu Kyi’s nonviolent struggle against military rule, has failed to attract buyers due to its hefty price tag and the country’s ongoing civil war.
This marks the third unsuccessful attempt to sell the house where Suu Kyi was held under house arrest for nearly 15 years. It’s widely considered a symbol of her fight for democracy, which earned her the Nobel Peace Prize.
The court-ordered auction follows a decades-long legal dispute between Suu Kyi and her brother, Aung San Oo, who is seeking an equal division of the property. Each auction has seen the asking price reduced, yet no one has come forward with a bid. In March, the initial price was 315 billion kyats (some $150 million at official rates), which was lowered to 300 billion kyats (over $142 million) in August.
On Wednesday, the opening asking price for the 1.9-acre (0.78-hectare) property in Yangon was set at 297 billion kyats, or about $141 million at official exchange rates. However, at black-market rates, which more accurately reflect the kyat’s real value, the price is closer to $66 million.
The democratically elected government led by Suu Kyi was overthrown by the military in February 2021. Suu Kyi is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence after being convicted on various criminal charges that her supporters claim are fabricated to discredit her. Since the coup, resistance to the military government has surged, plunging the country into a brutal civil war.
The auction on Wednesday was held in front of the property’s closed gates, a site that has served as an unofficial headquarters and a political shrine for Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement. During her time there, Suu Kyi hosted numerous dignitaries, including US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Similar to previous attempts, a district court official emerged from the property in under a minute to announce the lack of bidders, promptly ending the proceedings.
The two-story colonial-style building on Inye Lake in Yangon was originally gifted to Suu Kyi’s mother, Khin Kyi, by the government decades ago after her husband, independence hero Gen. Aung San, was assassinated in July 1947.
Suu Kyi, now 79, lived at the property until her release from house arrest in 2010, later moving to the capital, Naypyitaw, in 2012 to serve in parliament. She became the nation’s leader following the 2015 general election.
