Khin Ohmar
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Khin Ohmar ( my, ခင်ဥမ္မာ, ) is a
Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (hor ...
democracy activist noted for her leadership in the
8888 Uprising The 8888 Uprising ( my, ၈၈၈၈ အရေးအခင်း), also known as the People Power UprisingYawnghwe (1995), pp. 170 and the 1988 Uprising, was a series of nationwide protests, marches, and riots in Burma (present-day Myanmar) th ...
and her work with the
Women's League of Burma The Women's League of Burma is a community-based organisation working on the rights of women from Burma, with a focus on systematic sexual violence in ethnic areas, and women's involvement in political processes, especially in the peace process. I ...
and the Burma Partnership. Khin Ohmar was a senior student at
Rangoon Arts and Science University '') , mottoeng = There's no friend like wisdom. , established = , type = Public , rector = Dr. Tin Mg Tun , undergrad = 4194 , postgrad = 5748 , city = Kamayut 11041, Yangon , state = Yangon Regio ...
studying chemistry when the events leading up to the 1988 anti-government protests began. She was twenty years old. On 5 September 1987, military ruler
Ne Win Ne Win ( my, နေဝင်း ; 10 July 1910, or 14 or 24 May 1911 – 5 December 2002) was a Burmese politician and military commander who served as Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974, and also President of Burma ...
announced the withdrawal of the newly replaced currency notes,
Ks. KS and variants may refer to: Businesses and organizations * , a German postwar commando frogman force * , a Norwegian type of company * Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities * PenAir, Peninsula Airways, Anchorage, Alaska, US (IAT ...
100/-, Ks.75/-, Ks.35/- and Ks.25/-, leaving only Ks.45/- and Ks.90/- notes in circulation, apparently because only the latter two are numbers divisible by 9, considered lucky by Ne Win.Tucker, Shelby. (2001). ''Burma: The Curse of Independence.'' Pluto Press. . p. 228. Many Burmese people thus lost their savings overnight. Students, who often had savings for their tuition, were particularly affected. The next day, Khin Ohmar joined 20 other students in writing a letter to Ne Win protesting the move, which they forwarded through their university chancellor. The 21 signatories were arrested and held until Burma Union Day, 12 February 1988. According to her 1995 testimony to a
US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
sub-committee, she then joined a 16 March student rally protesting the death of student activist
Phone Maw The 8888 Uprising ( my, ၈၈၈၈ အရေးအခင်း), also known as the People Power UprisingYawnghwe (1995), pp. 170 and the 1988 Uprising, was a series of nationwide protests, marches, and riots in Burma (present-day Myanmar) th ...
, which was violently suppressed by riot police; she escaped when a
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese diplomat gave her and other protesters shelter in his home. On 18 March, the universities were closed. She continued to help coordinate protests and international media coverage until the climactic rally of 8 August 1988, from which the "8888 Uprising" takes its name. Following the further suppression of pro-democracy protests by the State Law and Order Restoration Council, Burma's military government, she traveled to the
Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...
-
Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (hor ...
border to join the
All Burma Students' Democratic Front The All Burma Students' Democratic Front ( my, မြန်မာနိုင်ငံလုံးဆိုင်ရာကျောင်းသားများဒီမိုကရက်တစ်တပ်ဦး; abbreviated ABSDF or မက ...
(ABSDF), a revolutionary army. Political differences and alleged leadership failures in the ABSDF leadership eventually caused Khin Ohmar to leave the group, and she subsequently lived in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
for at least five years. As of August 2007, she was active in the Burmese Women's Union, the
Women's League of Burma The Women's League of Burma is a community-based organisation working on the rights of women from Burma, with a focus on systematic sexual violence in ethnic areas, and women's involvement in political processes, especially in the peace process. I ...
and the Network for Democracy and Development. On October 25, 2009, she was "kicked out" of an
Asean ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit on human rights, later charging that the organization was ineffective on Burmese human rights and "afraid to hear from civil society". In April 2011, she called on the first US Ambassador to Asean, David Lee Carden, to " tandfirmly on democracy and human rights for Burma".


Awards

In 2008, Khin Ohmar won the
Anna Lindh Prize Ylva Anna Maria Lindh (19 June 1957 – 11 September 2003) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician and lawyer who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1998 until her death. She was also a Member of the Riksdag (member of parliament) f ...
, named for assassinated
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politician
Anna Lindh Ylva Anna Maria Lindh (19 June 1957 – 11 September 2003) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician and lawyer who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1998 until her death. She was also a Member of the Riksdag (member of parliament) f ...
, which is awarded annually to a woman or young person with "the courage to fight indifference, prejudice, oppression and injustices in order to promote a good life for all people in an environment marked by respect for human rights." The award citation stated, "Her courageous and visionary work is a source of inspiration for all those engaged in the struggle for human rights and for a life of dignity. For the people of Burma, Khin Ohmar’s unerring faith provides hope and confidence that a just future is, in fact, possible." She also won the 2008
Vital Voices Vital Voices Global Partnership is an American international, 501(c)(3), non-profit, non-governmental organization that works with women leaders in the areas of economic empowerment, women's political participation, and human rights. The organiz ...
Global Leadership Award The Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards honor international women leaders in the fields of human rights, economic empowerment, or political reform. The event takes place annually in early spring at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Ar ...
for Human Rights, which she shared with Shan Women Action Network activist
Charm Tong Charm Tong (born in 1981, Shan State, Burma) is a Shan teacher and human rights activist. She is head of the School for Shan State Nationalities Youth in Northern Thailand. Charm Tong is also one of the founders of Shan Women's Action Network, whi ...
. US First Lady
Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...
, the award's presenter, described Khin Ohmar as "one of the strongest voices against Burma's violent regime".


References


External links


Khin Ohmar
''
Freedom Collection Freedom Collection is a digital repository sponsored by the George W. Bush Institute at the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Southern Methodist University's campus in Dallas, Texas. The collection documents major players in human rights and ...
'' interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Khin Ohmar Burmese democracy activists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)