Remembering 911; Eight Years Later

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the two tallest buildings in New York — 110 stories each — were destroyed, and over 3000 innocent people died.

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Photos: U OTTAMA Day ( September 9) "Great Leader of Burmese Independence"

U Ottama was a famous monk of Burma. He was a nationalist leader of Burma’s independence struggle as he took Burma’s nationalism to the Burmese people to fight against British rule for the country’s independence. U Ottama is seen as the first of Myanmar's long list of political monks, who had stood up for the Burmese people in times of strife, either under colonial, democratic, socialist or military rule.

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Photos: U OTTAMA Day ( September 9) "Great Leader of Burmese Independence"

According to academics, between 1921 and 1927, U Ottama spent more time in prison than outside. While Ashin Ottama did not hold any post in any organization, he encouraged and participated in many peaceful demonstrations and strikes against British rule. An admirer of Gandhi, he did not advocate use of violence. He died in prison on 9 September 1939.

Photos: U OTTAMA Day ( September 9) "Great Leader of Burmese Independence"

He was one of the first monk to enter political arena and the first person in British Burma to be imprisoned as a result of making a political speech, followed by a long line of nationalists such as Aung San and U Nu.

September 9, 2009 is the monk’s 70th death anniversary.

Photos: U OTTAMA Day ( September 9) "Great Leader of Burmese Independence"

U Ottama is Burma’s impendence hero but the Burmese junta has never honoured him because he was Arakanese. His monastery in Sittwe, the Shwe Zedi Monastery, continues to be an important focal point in the Burmese political movement - the recent August-September 2007 riots were sparked when monks at the Shwe Zedi monastery began to march to the Sittwe Prison demanding the release of an activist.