Today marks the 34th anniversary of Myanmar’s Human Rights Day – a memorial for the first martyrs of the 1988 uprising. Exactly 34 years ago on this day; a student leader named Phone Maw together with other students were shot dead by military forces while demonstrating in front of the Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT) in Yangon, Myanmar.

Myanmar people have been demanding human rights, freedom of expression, freedom of the press to decades, and continue to fight for them now. We had been living under military rule for more than six decades when at last, we were allowed 5 brief years to taste freedom and democracy. Unfortunately, this did not last long and the history repeated yet again in 2021. The coup d’état in 2021 crushed the dreams of millions of the people of Myanmar which was on track to make genuine progress though reform was still crippled by the 2008-military drafted constitution and stagnant mindsets.

Myanmar people have lost their freedom, their human rights, their freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. We need to fight to gain back what we have lost. We need to work to put the country back on track towards democracy and to eradicate the dictatorship once and for all. We promise that the sacrifices of our heroes from both 1988 and spring revolution will not be in vain. We have a duty to fight for freedom, human rights and democracy. We believe that our heroes’ wishes will be fulfilled soon and our country will become a true federal democratic union which respects human rights irrespective of race, religion, or gender.

Sincerely,

H.E. Dr. Sasa
Union Minister of Ministry of International Cooperation
Spoke Person of Nation Unity Government
Former Special Envoy to United Nations