A painting by prominent democracy activist Ko Min Ko Naing was auctioned for US$ 12,345 (about 37 million kyats) on Monday, with the funds going to support the anti-regime resistance movement.
The painting, “Pyi Taw Win” (Returning Home), conveys the ambiance of Myanmar’s second-largest city, Mandalay, and was sold to help the Mandalay People’s Defense Force (PDF). The auction is part of a project that aims to provide weapons and ammunition to the PDF so that it can conduct a mission to drive out the junta troops based at the Mandalay Palace. The painting was the final one auctioned as part of the “Pyi Taw Win” project.
The series of auctions began on May 25 and ended on Monday. The final auction was conducted live on Facebook on Monday night. A bidder identified by alias “Shwe Bhawdi” won the auction. A member of the Mandalay PDF said: “When I saw the painting, I missed my home town, Mandalay, and I wanted to go home.” He made the comment in a video posted on Padauk Phoo’s Facebook page, one of the Facebook pages where the auction was broadcast.
The auction began on June 27 with a starting price of US$ 1,988 (about 6 million kyats). Bidding pushed the price up to more than 15 million kyats within a few hours.
Ko Min Ko Naing is a member of the ’88 Generation student movement and a prominent democracy figure. He was imprisoned for 25 years after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. He was awarded the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights in 2009. The prize is given by the May 18 Memorial Foundation in honor of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising against South Korean dictator Chun Doo-hwan, and those killed in the massacre that ensued. The uprising is considered by many South Koreans to be a pivotal event in their decades-long struggle for democracy.
