Burma's
second most prominent political prisoner after
Aung San Suu Kyi, a student leader named Min
Ko Naing, was one of a handful of political
prisoners released on November 19th, 2004 following
the sacking of Gen. Khin Nyunt. Prior to the
release of Min Ko Naing students around the
world were circulating a petition demanding
his release.
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Min Ko Naing, which means "Conqueror of
Kings", is one of the most famous persons
in the Southeast Asian country of Burma. While
a student at the University of Rangoon in the
1980s, Min Ko Naing secretly organized a nationwide
student union to oppose decades of military
rule.
The student union coordinated a nationwide uprising,
during which millions of people marched on the
streets, demanding the commencement of democracy.
During the uprising, monks, teachers, students,
and even members of the military joined protests,
holding banners that read, "We want democracy".
Tragically, the military regime running the
country, now known as the State Peace and Development
Council, responded to the uprising with brutal
force, gunning down up to 10,000 persons in
cold blood. Even though the bloodshed took place
one year before Tiananmen Square, the international
media paid very little attention because no
news cameras were permitted in the country.
Min Ko Naing was forced to go "underground",
continuing his organizing work while moving
from house to house every night to avoid arrest.
Unfortunately, after several months, he was
captured along with many other students and
sentenced to a long prison term for instigating,
according to the military regime, "disturbances
to the detriment of law and order, peace and
tranquility". While in prison, he and others
have been subject to torture and spent many
years in solitary confinement.
The military repeatedly tried to break Min Ko
Naing's spirit. He was offered release in exchange
for giving up the democracy movement, yet he
refused. In 1994, then-U.S. Congressman Bill
Richardson visited Min Ko Naing in prison and
informed him the regime would permit him to
be deported to the United States in exchange
for his release. Again, he refused. The military
then moved him to a prison far away from his
family, making it nearly impossible for family
members to visit him on a regular basis. He
was finally released from prison on November
19th, 2004.
Min Ko Naing has won international awards for
his efforts, yet still very few people know
about him or the other hundreds of students
languishing behind bars in Burma's prisons.
Still, thousands of students and others continue
the struggle for freedom in Burma, working secretly
and in some cases publicly to bring about an
end to tyranny in Burma. The former vice-chairman
of Burma's student union and colleague of Min
Ko Naing, Aung Din, who spent over four years
in behind bars as a political prisoner, now
helps lead the United States Campaign for Burma.
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