Thakin Ohn Myint ( my, သခင် အုန်းမြင့်) was a notable Burmese journalist, best known for his political involvement in British Burma. In 1933, he joined the Dobama Asiayone, an indigenous anti-colonial organization where he earned the

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

"Thakin," (lit. "master"), which was used in protest of British colonialism (since it was customary practice to address the British as "Thakin"). After passing the matriculation exam in 1934, he went on to the Rangoon Medical College (now UM-1 Yangon). However, he dropped out and pursued journalism instead. Throughout his journalism career, he wrote for the ''

Kyipwayay ''Kyipwayay'' ( my, ကြီးပွားရေး, , lit. "Growth") was a pre-World War II Burmese language monthly magazine, closely identified with the '' Khit-San Sarpay'' movement, the first modern literary movement in the history of Burme ...

'' ("Growth") magazine, and the ''Totetyay'' ("Progress"), the '' Journal Kyaw'' (along with Chit Maung), and the '' New Light of Burma'' newspapers. In 1958, soon after

Ne Win Ne Win ( my, နေဝင်း ; 10 July 1910, or 14 or 24 May 1911 – 5 December 2002) was a Burmese politician and military commander who served as Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974, and also President of Burma ...

first declared emergency martial law, he was imprisoned in the

Coco Islands The Coco Islands ( my, ကိုကိုးကျွန်း) are a small group of islands in the northeastern Bay of Bengal. They are part of the Yangon Region of Myanmar. The islands are located south of the city of Yangon. Coco Island ...

for two years, under the Public Order Protection Act, for his leftist political activism. In the mid-1960s, he was detained again in Insein Prison. Ohn Myint is widely considered to have influenced

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Myanm ...

, and the two had a close friendship. In 1989, he was arrested for another 5 years and once again in 1998 for allowing himself to be interviewed by researcher Aung Htun, who was writing a book on the history of Burma's student movement. Although he was sentenced to 7 years of hard labor, his sentence was commuted the following year, after the visit of American congressman Tony P. Hall. He was cremated at the Yayway Cemetery in Yangon.

References

{{Authority control Burmese journalists Burmese people of Chinese descent People from Bago Region 1918 births 2010 deaths