Detained Min Ko Naing Turns 47

By KO HTWE, Irrawaddy News, October 19, 2009.

A leading Burmese activist, Min Ko Naing (aka Paw Oo Tun), celebrated his 47th birthday in Shan State's Kengtung Prison on Sunday.

The former chairman of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) and a leading member of the 88 Generation Students group, Min Ko Naing was arrested in 1989 for participating in the student-led uprising and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Although released in 2004, he was rearrested again on August 21, 2007, on charges of organizing a demonstration that led to the “Saffron Revolution.” He was handed down a 65-year sentence.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, a spokesman for the ABFSU, Zar Ni, said, “In Rangoon, we reorganized the Basic Education Student Union, or BESU, to commemorate Min Ko Naing’s birthday. Students have distributed pamphlets around markets and schools, which state that the BESU has already reorganized.”

Zar Ni said that student members on Sunday took part in a “white campaign,” which was originally started by Min Ko Naing and fellow activist Ko Ko Gyi, which involves students distributing and wearing white T-shirts and walking around town together.

In Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese border, students from seven schools organized a birthday party for Min Ko Naing. ABFSU Foreign affairs committee member Min Naing said the event included a recital of a biography detailing Min Ko Naing’s life.

Min Naing said, “The ABFSU has been a distinct organization from the times of the colonial era to the present political movement it has become in Burma. The ABFSU is a powerful students’ movement because it is organized under the flag of organization.”

Also commemorating Min Ko Naing’s birthday, the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP) published his novel “Naut Kyi Man” [“Back View Mirrors”].

Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the AAPP, said ““We respect his artistic creation. Young people should read this book. He is a good leader. When Min Ko Naing, Bo Bo and I were arrested in 1989, Min Ko Naing was only concerned about us, not himself. He faced down the soldiers and calmly persuaded them to lower their rifles and point them at the ground.”

“His leadership, courage and decisiveness are the distinct things I remember about him,” said Zar Ni. “But he is devoted to his country too, and he respects democracy and human rights.”

Min Ko Naing was born on October 18, 1962, the third son of the respective artist Thet Nyunt and Hla Kyi. From a young age, he was interested in politics. He studied zoology at the Rangoon Arts and Science University before reforming and leading the ABFSU.

Min Ko Naing won the John Humphrey Freedom Award in 1999, the Student Peace Prize in 2001, the Civil Courage Prize in 2005, the Homo Homini Award by People in Need Foundation, and the South Korean Gwangju Human Rights Award for 2009.