Pyone Cho (Burmese: ပြုံးချို); born Htay Win Aung; born 2 April 1966), whose name means "sweet smile" in Burmese, is an activist and former political prisoner, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

for Dawbon Township in Yangon, from 2015 to 2021. He was elected as a Regional Parliamentary Member for Dawbon Township for Yangon Division in the 2020 elections, but was unable to serve due to the military coup of 2021. He is an internationally recognized human rights activist, as well as a former student organizer and leader of the

8888 Uprising The 8888 Uprising, also known as the People Power Uprising and the 1988 Uprising, was a series of nationwide protests, marches, and riots in Burma (present-day Myanmar) that peaked in August 1988. Key events occurred on 8 August 1988 and ther ...

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 ...

Political imprisonment

Pyone Cho was arrested in December 1989 and sent to

Insein prison Insein Prison () is located in Yangon Division, near Yangon (Rangoon), the old capital of Myanmar (formerly Burma). From 1988 to 2011 it was run by the military junta of Myanmar, named the State Law and Order Restoration Council from 1988 to 2003 ...

for his involvement in 8888 Uprising. After being held without trial for nearly two years, he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in December 1991. In 1995, during his time in prison, he signed a letter, together with 23 others, to the

United Nations Special Rapporteur Special rapporteur (or independent expert) is the title given to independent human rights experts whose expertise is called upon by the United Nations (UN) to report or advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. De ...

about human rights abuses in prison. He was also accused of organizing, writing, and distributing a newsletter inside the prison that contained poetry, sketches, and stories by political prisoners. Because political prisoners were denied the right to read and write (they were not allowed to have pens or pencils in their possession), the military government added another seven years to his sentence in 1996. He was eventually released in November 2003. Together with Min Ko Naing, Jimmy, Mya Aye, Ko Ko Gyi, Ant Bwe Kyaw, Htay Kywe, and other activists, he founded the 88 Generation Students Group (officially known as the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society) in September 2005. On 29 September 2006, he was arrested again by military junta, together with Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Htay Kywe and Min Zeya for their pro-democracy activities, including the ''White Sunday Campaign'', which began in early 2006. He was released again on 11 January 2007. In August 2007, he and other activists marched to protest against high fuel prices. The protests led to the

Saffron Revolution The Saffron Revolution (; ) was a series of economic and political protests and demonstrations that took place during August, September, and October 2007 in Myanmar. The protests were triggered by the decision of the national military govern ...

, the largest demonstrations against the

military government A military government is any government that is administered by a military, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue or by an occupying power. It is usually administered by military personnel. Types of m ...

since 1988. On 22 August 2007, he and other prominent activists were rearrested. He was detained in prison without trial for more than a year until August 2008. On 11 November, he was sentenced to 65 years in prison. On 13 January 2012, he was released as part of a mass presidential pardon of political prisoners with nearly 600 other political prisoners. He spent 20 years of his adult life as a prisoner and was considered a

prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Political career

Pyone Cho was elected for a parliamentary seat in the lower house (

Pyithu Hluttaw The Pyithu Hluttaw (, ; House of Representatives) is the ''de jure'' lower house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the bicameral legislature of Myanmar (Burma). It consists of 440 members, of which 330 are directly elected through the first-past-the ...

)'s Dawbon constituency in the 2015 general election, representing the

National League for Democracy The National League for Democracy (, ; Abbreviation, abbr. NLD; Burmese abbr. ဒီချုပ်) is a deregistered liberal democratic political party in Myanmar (formerly Burma). It became the country's ruling party after a landslide victo ...

. He is the first student leader of the 88 Generation Students Group to be elected into the Burmese Parliament. Prior to becoming a member of the Burmese Parliament, Pyone Cho was one of the main leaders of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, a social movement and infl activist group, and political and human rights organization in Myanmar, consisting of democracy activists from the 1988 Uprising, the 1996/1998 student democracy movement, and other younger generation of activists.

Family

Pyone Cho married to Wah Wah Win in 2007 in the middle of one of his releases. Pyone Cho's younger brother, Thet Win Aung, was also an internationally recognized human rights figure. Thet Win Aung died in Mandalay Prison at the age of thirty-five, after being imprisoned and tortured for engaging in peaceful acts of protest.

References

{{reflist Burmese human rights activists Living people Members of Pyithu Hluttaw National League for Democracy politicians 1966 births People from Yangon Region Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Myanmar Burmese democracy activists Burmese prisoners and detainees