Htay Kywe
Encyclopedia
Htay Kywe is a currently-imprisoned Burmese pro-democracy activist considered a prisoner of conscience
by Amnesty International
. BBC News
describes him as a key member of the 8888 Generation
movement.
at the University of Yangon
. In 1988, his second year at the university, he became an early organizer in the widespread protests
against military ruler Ne Win
. On 17 March, he helped organize what the democracy movement would later name the "Red Bridge protest," during which riot police allegedly killed more than 100 protesters. On 22 March, he and his brother Win Kywe were arrested for their role and detained in Insein Prison
until July. These protests culminated in a general strike
which began on 8 August, giving the "8888 Uprising" its name. Htay Kywe acted as a spokesman for the movement, giving an interview to BBC News
.
Following the military coup by Saw Maung
's State Law and Order Restoration Council
, Htay Kywe was one of the student delegates to meet with the general to seek reconciliation.
's National League for Democracy
winning 392 of 492 available seats. However, the military annulled the results and soon arrested a number of opposition figures, among them Htay Kywe, who was arrested at his home in Yangon on July 1991. On December 30, 1991, he received a fifteen-year prison term, and he remained jailed until 2004. After his release, he remained active in the pro-democracy movement, co-founding the 88 Generation Students Group
.
In September 2006, he was detained along with fellow 88 Generation Students Group members Min Ko Naing
, Ko Ko Gyi, Pone Cho and Min Zeya, in advance of Burma's 2006 national convention. In January 2007, they were released, without official explanation for either their original arrest or their sudden release.
When rising fuel and commodity prices led to widespread unrest in Yangon
in August 2007, the 88 Generation Students Group played a major role in organizing protests. The largest of these rallies drew over one hundred thousand protesters, most notably a number of Buddhist monks, giving the uprising the popular nickname "The Saffron Revolution" for the color of their robes.
Following a government crackdown on protestors, members of the 88 Generation Students Group were swiftly arrested. Htay Kywe was among the last to be captured, leading the New York Times to describe him as Burma's "most-wanted man". Security forces posted his photograph in hotels, raided homes, and searched buses for him at checkpoints. He was finally arrested on 13 October 2007 when he emerged from hiding to visit his mother, who was suffering from cancer; when she died a month later, he was not allowed to attend her funeral.
Htay Kywe is serving his sentence in Buthitaung Prison in Rakhine State
. In August 2010, he issued a statement through family members protesting the upcoming 2010 general election
, stating that it would be "insignificant without the participation of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi." His brother-in-law reported that Htay Kywe had lost weight in confinement and was spending his prison term reading, meditating, and studying economics. He is often kept in solitary confinement.
called for him to be exonerated and freed, as did Front Line
.
The US State Department
protested Htay Kywe's arrest, and British
Deputy Prime Minister
Nick Clegg
declared that "this Government will not rest until Htay Kywe and other political prisoners like him are free." United Nations
Special Rapporteur Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro
also called for the activist's release.
Prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...
by Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
. BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
describes him as a key member of the 8888 Generation
8888 Uprising
The 8888 Nationwide Popular Pro-Democracy Protests was a series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots in the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma...
movement.
Background and role in 1988 protests
Htay Kywe was the third son of U Kywe and Mi Mi Lay of Yangon; he went on to study geologyGeology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
at the University of Yangon
University of Yangon
Yangon University , located in Kamayut, Yangon, is the oldest and most well-known university in Myanmar. The university offers mainly graduate degree programs in liberal arts, sciences and law...
. In 1988, his second year at the university, he became an early organizer in the widespread protests
8888 Uprising
The 8888 Nationwide Popular Pro-Democracy Protests was a series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots in the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma...
against military ruler Ne Win
Ne Win
Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...
. On 17 March, he helped organize what the democracy movement would later name the "Red Bridge protest," during which riot police allegedly killed more than 100 protesters. On 22 March, he and his brother Win Kywe were arrested for their role and detained in Insein Prison
Insein Prison
Insein Prison is located in Yangon Division, near Yangon , the old capital of Myanmar. It is run by the military junta of Myanmar, the State Peace and Development Council, and used largely to repress political dissidents....
until July. These protests culminated in a general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
which began on 8 August, giving the "8888 Uprising" its name. Htay Kywe acted as a spokesman for the movement, giving an interview to BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
.
Following the military coup by Saw Maung
Saw Maung
Senior General Saw Maung was the founder of the State Peace and Development Council in Myanmar. He served as their Chairman from 1988 to 1992.-Early life and career:...
's State Law and Order Restoration Council
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council was the official name of the military regime of Burma , which seized power in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General Than Shwe signed a decree to officially dissolve the Council....
, Htay Kywe was one of the student delegates to meet with the general to seek reconciliation.
Post-election arrests
In May 1990, Burma held its first multi-party elections since 1960, with Aung San Suu KyiAung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi, AC is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained...
's National League for Democracy
National League for Democracy
The National League for Democracy is a Burmese political party founded on 27 September 1988. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi serves as its General Secretary. The party won a substantial parliamentary majority in the 1990 Burmese general election. However, the ruling military junta...
winning 392 of 492 available seats. However, the military annulled the results and soon arrested a number of opposition figures, among them Htay Kywe, who was arrested at his home in Yangon on July 1991. On December 30, 1991, he received a fifteen-year prison term, and he remained jailed until 2004. After his release, he remained active in the pro-democracy movement, co-founding the 88 Generation Students Group
88 Generation Students Group
The 88 Generation Students Group is a Burmese pro-democracy movement known for their anti-government activism. Many of its members are currently imprisoned by the Burmese government on charges of "illegally using electronic media" and "forming an illegal organization"...
.
In September 2006, he was detained along with fellow 88 Generation Students Group members Min Ko Naing
Min Ko Naing
Paw Oo Tun is the President of Universities Student Union of Burma and a leading democracy activist and dissident. He has spent the majority of the last 22 years imprisoned by the state for his opposition activities.-Biography:...
, Ko Ko Gyi, Pone Cho and Min Zeya, in advance of Burma's 2006 national convention. In January 2007, they were released, without official explanation for either their original arrest or their sudden release.
Role in 2007 anti-government protests and arrest
2007 Burmese anti-government protests
The 2007 Burmese anti-government protests were a series of anti-government protests that started in Burma on 15 August 2007...
in August 2007, the 88 Generation Students Group played a major role in organizing protests. The largest of these rallies drew over one hundred thousand protesters, most notably a number of Buddhist monks, giving the uprising the popular nickname "The Saffron Revolution" for the color of their robes.
Following a government crackdown on protestors, members of the 88 Generation Students Group were swiftly arrested. Htay Kywe was among the last to be captured, leading the New York Times to describe him as Burma's "most-wanted man". Security forces posted his photograph in hotels, raided homes, and searched buses for him at checkpoints. He was finally arrested on 13 October 2007 when he emerged from hiding to visit his mother, who was suffering from cancer; when she died a month later, he was not allowed to attend her funeral.
Trial and current imprisonment
On 11 November 2008, Htay Kywe and thirteen other activists were convicted of four counts of "illegally using electronic media" and one count of "forming an illegal organization", for a total sentence of 65 years in prison. Other charges against Htay Kwe are still pending. The Burmese government further accused Htay Kywe of being influenced by foreign powers, alleging that a private American group had delivered him $30,000 the previous year.Htay Kywe is serving his sentence in Buthitaung Prison in Rakhine State
Rakhine State
Rakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...
. In August 2010, he issued a statement through family members protesting the upcoming 2010 general election
Burmese general election, 2010
A general election was held in Burma on 2010, in accordance with the new constitution which was approved in a referendum held in...
, stating that it would be "insignificant without the participation of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi." His brother-in-law reported that Htay Kywe had lost weight in confinement and was spending his prison term reading, meditating, and studying economics. He is often kept in solitary confinement.
International response
Htay Kywe's repeated arrests have been condemned by numerous human rights organizations. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience and has called for his immediate release. Human Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
called for him to be exonerated and freed, as did Front Line
Front Line (NGO)
Front Line or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders is an Irish-based human rights organisation founded in Dublin, Ireland in 2001 to protect human rights defenders at risk, i.e...
.
The US State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
protested Htay Kywe's arrest, and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a senior member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister, who may appoint to other offices...
Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
declared that "this Government will not rest until Htay Kywe and other political prisoners like him are free." United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Special Rapporteur Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro
Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro
Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro is a Brazilian diplomat and legal scholar.Within the United Nations System, he serves as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar....
also called for the activist's release.