Ohn Than

Ohn Than was born in 1946 in Ngathinechaung Township, Irrawaddy Division.{{cite web |url=http://www.aappb.org/release42.html |title=A former political prisoner was arrested for protesting alone in front of the United Nations office in Rangoon |date=23 September 2004 |publisher=Assistance Association for Political Prisoners |accessdate=15 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602200853/http://www.aappb.org/release42.html |archivedate=2 June 2011 }} He received a B.Sc. in forestry from Rangoon University in 1971, and began working for the State Timber Corporation, where he served until his first arrest.

Ohn Than is a widower, and has one son and one daughter.

In 1988, a series of protests broke out opposing the military rule of Ne Win.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6958363.stm |title=Profile: 88 Generation Students |date=22 August 2007 |work=BBC News |accessdate=8 May 2011}} In September 1987, Ne Win had voided most denominations of the kyat without warning, causing many people to lose their savings overnight.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7012158.stm |title=Burma's 1988 protests |date=25 September 2007 |work=BBC News |accessdate=8 May 2011}} Students who saved money for tuition fees were particularly affected. The announcement led to riots at several universities.Lwin, Nyi Nyi. (1992). Refugee Student Interviews. A Burma-India Situation Report. The situation was further exacerbated by the shooting of protesting student Phone Maw in a 12 March 1988 clash with police.Boudreau, Vincent. (2004). Resisting Dictatorship: Repression and Protest in Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-521-83989-1}}. p. 193. The student-led protests continued to grow through August of that year, and on 8 August 1988 (8-8-88), a general strike began from which the 8888 Uprising would later take its name.Tucker, Shelby. (2001). Burma: The Curse of Independence. Pluto Press. {{ISBN|978-0-7453-1541-6}}. p. 228

Ohn Than became involved in the uprising at this time, leading protests in Shwegoo township in Kachin State. He was arrested and sentenced to 8 years' imprisonment under the Emergency Provision Act, Section 5 (J). He passed one and a half years of this sentence at Bamaw prison and four and a half years at Mandalay prison before his 1995 release.

In 1996, he was rearrested for distributing a pamphlet titled "A Call for the Fight for Burma’s Human Rights". He was sentenced again under Emergency Provision Act, Section 5 (J) and imprisoned for seven more years, this time in Tharrawaddy prison. He was released in 2003.

On 21 September 2004, Ohn Than staged his first solo protest, standing alone before the Yangon office of the United Nations Development Program with a poster calling for free elections and a UN investigation of the "Depayin Massacre".{{cite news |url=http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2004/10/29/burma-u-ohn-solo-protester-front-un-office-and-thet-wai-pauk-sa-who-assisted-were-se |title=Burma: U Ohn Than, a solo protester in front of UN Office and Thet Wai Pauk Sa who assisted were sentenced to 2 years imprisonment |date=29 October 2004 |newspaper=Asian Tribune |accessdate=15 May 2011}} The protest was timed to match the first day of the current United Nations General Assembly session. Three men appeared during his demonstration and led him away. Another man, Thet Wai, was arrested and charged with aiding him the following day.

Thet Wai and Ohn Than were subsequently sentenced to two years' imprisonment apiece under Burmese penal code article 505(b): "intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquility".

On 12 February 2007—Burma's Union Day—Ohn Than again appeared in international news by protesting alone outside of the National League for Democracy headquarters in Yangon.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/13/AR2007021300857.html |title=Myanmar Extends Opposition's Detention |author=Aye Aye Win |author-link=Aye Aye Win |date=13 February 2007 |newspaper=The Washington Post |accessdate=15 May 2011}}

In August 2007, a new wave of protests hit Yangon following unrest over rising food and fuel prices. These protests would later become popularly known as the "Saffron Revolution" after the robe color of the many Buddhist monks who took a leadership role.{{cite news |url=http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/showcase-13/?scp=2&sq=saffron%20revolution%20alliance&st=cse |title=Showcase: Exiled but Still Fighting |author=Chang R. Lee |date=30 June 2009 |newspaper=The New York Times |accessdate=20 April 2011}}

Ohn Than again helped lead the protests, staging another solo demonstration before the US Embassy in downtown Yangon on 23 August.{{cite web |url=http://www.dvb.no/uncategorized/solo-protestor-suffering-from-cerebral-malaria/1442 |title=Solo protestor suffering from cerebral malaria |author= |date=28 May 2008 |work= |publisher=Democratic Voice of Burma |accessdate=15 May 2011}} He held up posters calling for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to intervene to protect protesters from military reprisals, and for troops in the Tatmadaw (Burmese armed forces) to refuse the orders of their superiors.{{cite web |url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:qYPYntagT58J:www.amnestyusa.org/iar/pdf/UOhnThanCaseSheet.pdf+site:amnestyusa.org+%22Ohn+Than%22&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjL6qUdhZvEq7wBjeAsGzRPG0rRPGqp0Zj5Be9vCaDI28wz-KNlGsNsu4tnnS2dZTdlbMjao83O_2r1Z0jJ0HFLXPB0dGT8nphxWrdfLDpXocbMT9Hvxd9W0VPgyB6h0DhWk5iW&sig=AHIEtbSKQC_RBYGjwk-Ko2CUrc19lMtiBw |title=MYANMAR: Peaceful Protester Jailed For Life |author= |date= |work= |publisher=Amnesty International |accessdate=15 May 2011}} One sign read:

Form a Government that Represents the People / Listen and Act On What People Want / End Military Ruling, Now China and Russia's Vetoes—Go To Hell!

His protest ended when he was arrested by plainclothes security forces.{{cite magazine |url=http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=7052 |title=Solo Protester Arrested in Rangoon |date=25 August 2007 |magazine=The Irrawaddy |accessdate=15 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302234705/http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=7052 |archive-date=2 March 2011 |url-status=dead }}

He was subsequently held in a military camp until January 2008, when he was taken to Yangon's Insein Prison for trial on charges under article 124 (A) of the criminal code, “acts that destabilize the government".{{cite magazine |url=http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=11271 |title=Burmese Authorities Stifle Opposition to Constitution |date=3 April 2008 |magazine=The Irrawaddy |accessdate=15 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302223558/http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=11271 |archive-date=2 March 2011 |url-status=dead }} Amnesty International reports that he was not allowed legal representation. On 3 April 2008, he was given a life sentence and a fine of less than $1 USD.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7330797.stm |title=Silent Burmese protester jailed |author=Jonathan Head |date=4 April 2008 |work=BBC News |accessdate=15 May 2011}} He was subsequently moved between three different prisons, ending at Khamti prison in Sagiang Division. In June 2008, he contracted cerebral malaria, but recovered.

Ohn Than's sentence was protested by Human Rights Watch, which included him in its report Burma's Forgotten Prisoners. Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience and also demanded his immediate release.{{cite web|url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/pdf/POC%20List.pdf |title=Myanmar, Unlock the Prison Doors! |publisher=Amnesty International |accessdate=17 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501120414/http://www.amnestyusa.org/pdf/POC%20List.pdf |archivedate=May 1, 2011 }}

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, Ohn Than was pardoned on 13 January 2012, as part of a series of amnesties for political prisoners.{{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/78223090/Released-217-PPs-List-on-13-01-2012 |title=Released 217 PPs |author= |date=14 January 2012 |work= |publisher=Assistance Association for Political Prisoners |accessdate=15 January 2012 }}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

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• {{YouTube|hZb2B45p3is|Footage of Ohn Than's August 2007 protest}}

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Category:1946 births

Category:Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Myanmar

Category:Burmese democracy activists

Category:Living people

Category:University of Yangon alumni

Category:People from Ayeyarwady Region

Category:Burmese prisoners and detainees