Nay San Lwin (; born 1978) is a prominent Rohingya political activist from Myanmar. He is a prolific commentator on Rohingya issues on radio, television channels and other mainstream media outlets. He was publicly attacked by the Myanmar presidential office and state counsellor's office for his role in getting out news about military atrocities in Northern

Rakhine State Rakhine State ( ; , ; ), formerly known as Arakan State, is a Administrative divisions of Myanmar, state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Re ...

. Nay San Lwin was born in

Buthidaung Buthidaung (, ) is a town in Rakhine State, in the westernmost part of Myanmar (Burma). It is the administrative seat of the Buthidaung Township. Buthidaung lies on the west bank of the Mayu river, and experienced severe flooding in June 2010 and ...

, and raised in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

. His parents were civil servants in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. His grandfathers were high-ranking officers in

Buthidaung Township Buthidaung Township ( ) is a township of Maungdaw District in the Rakhine State of Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in ...

Arakan State Rakhine State ( ; , ; ), formerly known as Arakan State, is a state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region to the east, the Bay of Beng ...

. His great-grandfather Abdul Zolil was officially recognized as an indigenous person in Burma (

). In April 2018, he co-founded the Free Rohingya Coalition with

Maung Zarni Maung Zarni (; born 1963) is a Burmese educator, academic, and human rights activist. He is noted for his opposition to the violence in Rakhine State and the Rohingya genocide. Zarni is a co-founder of several activist platforms, including the Fr ...

. Nay San Lwin was targeted, along with

, by

Aye Ne Win Aye Ne Win (; born on 15 November 1976) is a Burmese businessman and former political inmate who spent 11 years in prison for a high treason with plotting to overthrow the Senior General Than Shwe' regime in 2002 along with his two brothers and ...

, a businessman and grandson of Gen. Ne Win, who allegedly financed the genocide against ethnic groups in Myanmar. Zarni stated that he has been targeted because he was 'the whistleblower of Rohingya genocide' and helped the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Rohingya genocide. In May 2024, while speaking to CNN, Nay San Lwin stated that the

Arakan Army The Arakan Army (; Abbreviation, abbreviated AA), sometimes referred to as the Arakha Army is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnic-List of insurgent groups in Myanmar, armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded in April 2009, the Ara ...

had begun targeting Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State, marking an escalation beyond past violence attributed solely to Myanmar's military. He described widespread instances in which the Arakan Army burned Rohingya homes, looted villages, and forced residents to flee, particularly in Buthidaung in mid‑May 2024, displacing over 200,000 people. In July 2025, Nay San Lwin was appointed Co-Chair of the Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC), a unified political platform representing Rohingya communities from Myanmar, refugee camps in Bangladesh, and the global diaspora.

References

Living people People from Rakhine State Burmese activists 1978 births {{Myanmar-bio-stub