After 35 years, many members of the 88 Generation, most of whom were young student activists during the 8888 Uprising of 1988, continue to inspire and make sacrifices for the cause of democracy and freedom in Myanmar.
Among the 88 Generation members who remained active and sacrificed for the ongoing revolution to root out the military dictatorship after another military takeover ended the short-lived country’s democratic period in February 2021, one stands out as the most exemplary.
He was Ko Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy.
The new military regime led by Min Aung Hlaing hanged the veteran democracy activist in Yangon’s Insein Prison on July 23 last year, after eight months of detention, for his anti-regime activities against military rule. Also killed were former hip-hop artist and parliamentarian Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw and two others. The executions were the first in more than four decades.
The 53-year-old was held dear by the Myanmar people, including the young, for his democracy activism. He is survived by a daughter, now 15, and his wife, Ma Nilar Thein, who was herself an 88 Generation Student Group leader. Ma Nilar Thein is in hiding due to her anti-junta activism.
In 1988, Ko Jimmy was a young university student and among the leading figures of the 88 Generation Student Group.
He spent nearly half his life as a prisoner, serving 21 years in Insein and Tharawaddy prisons from 1988 to 2005 and 2007 to 2012. He was first sentenced to 20 years in jail for his involvement in the student demonstrations and underground movement during the 1988 popular uprising, and was later given five years for his role in the Saffron Revolution in 2007.
After his release in 2012, Ko Jimmy worked with philanthropic projects, capacity-building schemes for young people and educational programs along with 88 Generation comrades like Ko Min Ko Naing. He was also known for his literary works.
When the military staged a coup and overthrew the civilian government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Ko Jimmy was one of the 88 Generation members at the forefront of the anti-regime movement and called on the public to root out the military dictatorship.
The junta arrested him in October at his hideout in Yangon and charged him with high treason and counterterrorism for allegedly masterminding a campaign of guerrilla warfare against the regime in the country’s biggest city.
He was accused of threatening “public tranquility” with social media posts criticizing military rule. The regime also said Ko Jimmy was the leader of Operation Moonlight, which carried out hugely successful urban guerrilla attacks.
In an interview for the 33rd anniversary of the 8888 uprising in August 2021 with local media outlet Burma VJ, two months before of his arrest in Yangon, Ko Jimmy expressed concern that the revolution should proceed without delay, saying the country and people would have to suffer if it took a long time.
But he said he believed that the current struggle would be the final battle to bring down the junta and end military dictatorship once and for all, saying there is unprecedented unity between the old and new generations and different groups, while also praising the new generation’s bravery and intellectual approach to the revolution.
“If we continue forward like this, I believe, we will definitely win,” he said.
Do you wanna write history with bullets saying the winner is right?
You will only achieve this if this generation of students is gone.
Do you wanna write history with artillery?
You will only achieve this if the sky stops raining.
Only the right shall win.
— From a popular speech by Ko Jimmy
