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Min Ko Naing, his name literally meaning “conqueror of kings,” is one of Burma’s most prominent revolutionaries in Burma following Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In the mid-1980s as a student at the University of Rangoon, declining economic conditions and military oppression led him to secretly collaborate with other students and form a student union, the nationwide All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), opposing illegitimate military rule. The ABFSU largely participated in the 1988 uprising where millions of students, monks, teachers, and even members of the military joined together and peacefully demanded democracy and an end to the military dictatorship. Unfortunately, the military regime, what is now known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), responded violently, murdering up to an estimated 10,000 people.

Since then, Min Ko Naing had no other choice but to hide from the government in order to continue his fight for democracy, establishing an underground network of political activists. After several months of the 88′ uprising, he and other fellow democracy activists were imprisoned for “disturbances to the detriment of law and order, peace and tranquility” according to the SPDC’s Section 5(j) of the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act, a legislation frequently called on to arrest political prisoners, and sentenced for 20 years. In his years in prison, he has been severely tortured and ill-treated, effectively destroying his physical health. He was bribed several times to give up his cause in exchange for his own individual freedom but constantly refused. On November 19th, 2004, he was released from prison but was rearrested again in September 2006 with four other activists supposedly on the grounds that he caused “terrorism, internal commotion, and instability.” However, due to heavy outside criticism, the SPDC released him on January 11, 2007.

In the summer of 2007, Min Ko Naing and other veteran 88′ student leaders again courageously led peaceful demonstrations with millions of protestors, better known as the Saffron Revolution, protesting the sudden spike in fuel prices in addition to the corruption and incompetence of the generals ruling their country. Predictably though regrettable, the SPDC and its military soldiers failed to initiate dialogue with Min Ko Naing and other activists and instead went bloodthirsty, ruthlessly killing 3,000 unarmed people or more. Accusing him of undermining the security and stability of the nation, the military has arrested Min Ko Naing along with other 384 political activists for 65 years in an effort to have him silenced and forgotten but to no avail.

Min Ko Naing has won several awards for his unforgettable endeavors to relieve Burma out of the violent human rights violations perpetrated by its current government, including the John Humphrey Freedom Award in 1999, Civil Courage Prize in 2005, the Homo Homini Award by People in Need Foundation, and the Student Peace Prize in 2001. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said of him in a video smuggled out of Burma, “He has stood firm against all pressure from the authorities. He represents many others who are suffering from the injustices of the present military regime.”

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