Episode #226: After the National League for Democracy (NLD) party’s landslide victory in 2015, 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.
The trigger for his activism was in 1987 when the Burmese government suddenly invalidated currency notes, devastating the economy and propelling Ko Ko Gyi and his peers at the Rangoon Institute of Technology into action. The violent clashes with security forces that ensued, particularly the horrific night when peaceful protests were met with lethal force, ignited the 8888 Uprising.
Ko Ko Gyi's journey led him to the Thai-Burma border, as the military dictatorship evolved into the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Uniting with ethnic militias like the Karen National Union (KNU), he fought for the regime's overthrow. In the fact of the army’s divide-and-conquer strategy and overwhelming military superiority, Ko Ko Gyi fled the country to continue to protest from abroad.
He relocated to the United States in 1993, where he continued his advocacy. He thought the elections of 2015 might finally have ended the need for activism, but the 2021 coup dashed that hope. Today, his activism is multifaceted, involving organizing rallies, supporting diplomatic efforts, fundraising, and promoting innovative financial strategies like war bonds for the NUG.
"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 Burma more effectively and to help end the terrorist regime!”