Maung Saungkha

In this Burmese name, the given name is Maung Saungkha. There is no family name.
Maung Saungkha
မောင်ဆောင်းခ
Maung Saunghkha in 2018
Born (1993-01-05) January 5, 1993 (age 31)[1]
Occupation(s)Army commander, poet, activist
OrganizationBamar People's Liberation Army

Maung Saungkha, alternatively romanized as Maung Saung Kha, is a Burmese poet, human rights activist and chief commander of the Bamar People's Liberation Army.[2][3]

Early life and education

From 2010 to 2012, Saungkha studied chemical engineering in university.[4]

Career

Poetry

At university, Saungkha founded a club called the Poetry Lovers’ Association. The club soon attracted the attention of military surveillance, and the members were refused the right to wear the club's symbol on their graduation caps.[4]

In 2016, he was sentenced to six months in prison for publishing "a poem about having a tattoo of [President Thein Sein] on his penis."[5]

Human rights activism

In 2012, Maung Saungkha joined the National League for Democracy as a youth working group representative.[6]

On 15 January 2018 Maung Saungkha founded Athan ('voice'), an activist organisation to "promote freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Myanmar." In December 2018, this organisation received an award from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for their contribution to "the promotion of freedom of expression in Myanmar."[7] He also resigned from the National League for Democracy citing disagreement with Aung San Suu Kyi about the government's actions on protecting the freedom of press and treatment of minorities.[6]

After the 2021 coup d'état, he became a leader of the nationwide protests.[8]

Bamar People's Liberation Army

On 17 April 2022, he co-founded the Bamar People's Liberation Army, an ethnic armed organisation that strives for ethnic federalism in Myanmar, in which he serves as a commander.[9]

Political views and opinions

Sungkha has expressed support for federalism in Myanmar. He has also spoken against the Rohingya genocide.[4]

References

  1. ^ "The Bizarre Trial of a Poet in Myanmar". The New Yorker. 2 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Diep in de jungle trainen Myanmarezen voor de strijd tegen de junta". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  3. ^ "Myanmar's rebellion, divided, outgunned and outnumbered, fights on". The Washington Post. 2022-03-30. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  4. ^ a b c "The Poet Who Commands a Rebel Army". The New York Times. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Myanmar court convicts man over penis tattoo poem". the Guardian. 2016-05-24. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  6. ^ a b Saungkha, Maung (2022-02-09). "Ready for war: my journey from peaceful poet to revolutionary soldier". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  7. ^ "Maung Saungkha – Freedom of expression, internet freedom and independent journalism". www.government.nl. Ministerie van Algemene Zaken. 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  8. ^ "Two protesters killed in Myanmar, shops and factories closed". www.thaipbsworld.com. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  9. ^ Fähnders, Till; Singapur. "Im Angesicht des Todes: So brutal verfolgt Myanmars Militär Demokraten". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 2022-04-07.