Supporters of Myanmar's jailed leader strive to set world record to honor her 80th birthday

Thousands of supporters of Myanmar’s jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi celebrated her 80th birthday Thursday by attempting to set a world record for the most birthday greeting videos.

BANGKOK — Thousands of supporters of Myanmar’s jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi celebrated her 80th birthday Thursday by attempting to set a world record for the most birthday greeting videos, while others took to the streets in demonstrations against the military government that ousted her.

Kalo Say Htoo, an organizer of the birthday video campaign, said the original goal was to collect 80,000 greeting videos to honor Suu Kyi and achieve a recognized Guinness World Record.

The number of videos collected surpassed 103,000 on Thursday, tripling the current record of 32,207 achieved in 2017, organizers said.

Suu Kyi was arrested in February 2021 when the military seized power from her democratically elected government. She was convicted on more than a dozen charges for offenses that her supporters say were concocted to keep her out of politics. She remains regarded by many in Myanmar as the country’s legitimate leader while serving a 27-year prison term.

Kim Aris, Suu Kyi’s son living in London, said in a statement on Facebook Thursday that the campaign is a powerful testament to his mother’s global support.