Episode #226: The Long Road Home
After the National League for Democracy (NLD) party’s landslide victory in 2015, Ko Yin Aye— better known as ‘Ko Ko Gyi’— remembers thinking to himself, “Okay, this is the time to retire from my activism, so let's just relax. I felt forced to retire." This is now a rueful memory as Ko Ko Gyi looks back over some of the key moments in his decades-long struggle for Myanmar’s freedom, and autonomy from military rule and brutality.
His journey as a student activist began with the 1988 Uprising, after which he joined the newly-formed All Bamar Student Democratic Front (ABSDF). His active involvement in that historic movement, and subsequent years of steadfast domestic and international advocacy, illustrate Ko Ko Gyi’s unwavering commitment to advancing Burmese democracy. In this episode, he offers some reflective insights and perspectives that both shed light on the persistent obstacles the country faces, and the windows of hope sees in Myanmar's ongoing journey towards peace and freedom.
Looking back, Ko Ko Gyi vividly recalls those pivotal events of 35 years ago, when he and his college mates at the Rangoon Institute of Technology bravely stood up to their country's repressive regime. In 1987, the government decided to invalidate key currency denominations with little notice, which plunged the majority of the country into poverty overnight and compelled Ko Ko Gyi and his peers to protest despite the dangers. He adds, “A lot of people were in trouble, because all their money was just gone! They went broke and experienced a lot of trouble. They [the regime] never compensated anyone for what they had done.”
Tensions further escalated the following March, when a dispute between university students and the son of a local official culminated in a violent— and disproportionate— response from local authorities. Ko Ko Gyi recounts in detail a horrific night in which nonviolent gatherings were greeted with water cannons, tear gas, and ultimately live ammunition, resulting in casualties. “The security force showed up, and then they started to crack down on the students who had gathered peacefully! They didn't give any warning, nor did they talk to the students. They just started cracking down on us. That happened at night; it was like a nightmare! We didn't expect that crack down.” This initial spat of violence would trigger widespread outrage, eventually leading to the historic even known later as the 8888 Uprising.
“Our anger and frustration got to the maximum. We started a big protest against the injustice and behaviour by the security forces,” he recalls. “That was 35 years ago, and I still remember that night.” Sadly, that evening was only the beginning, and as the military began unleashing even greater violence, Ko Ko Gyi, along with many other protesting students, were forced to flee for their lives towards the Thai-Burma border. "They simply switched from one military dictatorship system to another, and they used guns to control the country,” he says, describing how the BSPP (Burma Socialist Program Party) was disbanded, with SLORC (State Law and Restoration Council) quickly taking its place. “So we decided to fight back through armed struggle," he says, referring to the ABSDF.
Ko Ko Gyi, along with other student leaders, joined forces with various ethnic militias, pushing towards a shared goal of toppling the regime. “We fought back together with the KNU [Karen National Union] and Mon together against the military,” he says. “The ABSDF made a bridge between the majority Bamar and the ethnic people, by paying with some of our colleagues’ lives… we gained the trust of the KNU, the new Mon state party, the KIA [Kachin Independence Army].”
However, the path to liberation was fraught with challenges. Ko Ko Gyi tells how General Khin Nyunt sought to weaken the emerging armed resistance by employing a “divide and conquer” strategy, signing ceasefire agreements with certain ethnic organizations and forging deals with others. “The armed struggle alone couldn’t win, because we didn’t have much support from the international community or the diaspora,” Ko Ko Gyi says, acknowledging the need for a strategic shift of their own in response. So, in the face of overwhelming force and with the pathways to any ground victory increasingly closed off, Ko Ko Gyi and many of his fellow compatriots made the critical decision to abandon direct action, instead undertaking nonviolent protest from abroad. He, himself, relocated to the United States in 1993, where he continued his tireless advocacy for democracy in Myanmar.
Settling near Washington DC, Ko Ko Gyi established the Democratic Burmese Student Organization, laying the foundation for diaspora activism in the post-8888 era. "We began campaigning, lobbying, and doing whatever we could," he remembers. He recalls that President Bill Clinton increased sanctions on the Burmese military regime in 1997, and feeling gratified that his efforts were paying off. And while he began to wonder if he could finally retire from his life of activism after the 2015 election of the NLD, the 2021 military coup set him back on his original course.
He has since been involved in a variety of activities, which include: regularly organizing and attends rallies and demonstrations to mobilize people on the ground; supporting diplomatic campaigns to help rally global support and condemn the coup; overseeing grassroots fundraising campaigns, which often take the form of events or food fairs; and encouraging the NUG to look into war bonds, a clever strategy that facilitated the influx of much-needed funds from the Myanmar diaspora. And then there is the Burma Act. Ko Ko Gyi describes how he and his colleagues provided critical feedback on the legislation as it was being crafted in the US Congress. Important collaborations and endorsements were sought through lobbying, including from influential lawmakers like Mitch McConnell, Ben Cardin, and Gregory Meeks. He describes how Senator McConnell included some of their suggested revisions in the National Defence Authorization Act in 2022. “Mitch McConnell is a long-time champion of democracy of Burma in the US Congress,” Ko Ko Gyi affirms. “He's been introducing a lot of sanction bills, and whenever the United States tries to punish the military, he was there! Mitch McConnell just took that leap, and I think that's his very personal interest. We love it.”
These days, Ko Ko Gyi is also pushing for early warning systems in areas where the junta carries out air attacks, and continues to advocate for further sanctions against MOGE (Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprises) to limit military funding. "We have voters' rights,” he says in closing, recognizing the power he now holds in possessing an American passport, “so we used those kinds of powers to approach the State Department. We definitely need the American people’s help, because… the voice of the people is very powerful. [Getting support] not only from the Burmese diaspora, but also the American voices, is more powerful. So, please help us to push the United States government, and the United States Congress, to help Burma more effectively and to help end the terrorist regime!”