Nyi Nyi Lwin (; born 19 June 1979),
more widely known by his
monastic name
A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts.
Christianity
Catholic Church Baptismal name
In baptism, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should not be "foreign to ...
U Gambira (), is a former Buddhist monk, activist and a leader of the
All-Burma Monks' Alliance, a group which helped lead the
2007 protests
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, myt ...
against
Burma's military government.
Following the protests, he went into hiding and published two editorials critical of the Burmese government in ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' on 4 November 2007. He was arrested the same day.
In November 2008, he was sentenced to 68 years in prison, including 12 years hard labour; the sentence was reduced to 65 years on appeal. Gambira reportedly protested his imprisonment by organising chanting with other imprisoned monks, boycotting his trial, and going on
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
. Human rights groups including
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 ...
and
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
also protested his imprisonment.
Gambira was released during a mass pardon of prisoners on 13 January 2012 as part of the
2011–2012 Burmese political reforms. He ceased to be a monk in April 2012, stating that he had been unable to find a monastery to join due to his status as a former prisoner. He was re-arrested at least three times in 2012.
Early life
Gambira started attending school at age five, but the
1988 pro-democracy protests caused school closings that interrupted Gambira's schooling.
According to the
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
Assistance is an act of helping behavior.
Assistance may also refer to:
Types of help
* Aid, in international relations, a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another
* Assistance dog, a dog trained to aid or assist a person ...
(AAPP), he ran away from home at age 12 and was recruited as a
child soldier
Children in the military, including state armed forces, non-state armed groups, and other military organizations, may be trained for combat, assigned to support roles, such as cooks, porters/couriers, or messengers, or used for tactical adv ...
by a military unit in
Yangon
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 ...
.
Once his brother and his friend located him, they removed him from the unit and returned with him to their home in Pauk Township. When the authorities came to investigate, Gambira's parents enrolled him in a local monastery to protect him from arrest or conscription into further military service.
2007 protests and aftermath
Gambira first became well known in August 2007 during widespread protests against the
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council ( ; abbreviated SPDC or , ) was the official name of the Military dictatorship, military government of Burma (Myanmar) which, in 1997, succeeded the State Law and Order Restoration Council (; abbrevi ...
(SPDC), the military government which had ruled the country since suppressing the previous uprising in 1988. The protests were sparked when the SPDC cut fuel subsidies without warning, causing fuel and other commodity prices to suddenly rise.
The city's
Buddhist monks
A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community).
The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the prātimo ...
took on a leadership role in these demonstrations, forming the
All-Burma Monks' Alliance and lending the uprising its nickname of "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 ...
", after the colour of the monks' robes. Gambira, then a 29-year-old monk, became one of the new organisation's leaders.
He later stated that the monks had been planning an uprising since 2003 or 2004.
Because monks are revered in Burma's Buddhist-majority society, the government at first appeared reluctant to suppress their demonstrations.

On 24 September 2007, the All-Burma Monks' Alliance released a statement condemning the military government: "In order to banish the common enemy evil regime from Burmese soil forever, united masses of people need to join hands with the united clergy forces ... We pronounce the evil military despotism, which is impoverishing and pauperizing our people of all walks, including the clergy, as the common enemy of all our citizens."
During the demonstrations, Gambira split his time between
Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553.
Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...
and Yangon, moving between the two cities to avoid arrest.
After government forces violently broke up the protests, killing some monks and other protesters,
Gambira went into hiding. His brother Aung Kyaw Kyaw was arrested on 17 October, in what the AAPP called an attempt by the government to force Gambira out of hiding.
On 4 November, Gambira published editorials in ''The Washington Post''
and ''The Guardian'' calling for the international community to continue sanctions against Burma's leadership, for Russia and China to cease supporting the SPDC on the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
, and for Burma's people to continue to peacefully protest against the military rulers. "The regime's use of mass arrests, murder, torture and imprisonment has failed to extinguish our desire for the freedom that was stolen from us so many years ago. We have taken their best punch", he wrote in the ''Post''.
The day that the editorials appeared, Gambira was arrested in
Sagaing Region
Sagaing Region (, ; formerly Sagaing Division) is an administrative divisions of Myanmar, administrative region of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and longitude 94° 97' east. It is border ...
. His father was arrested as well and detained in Mandalay prison for a month.
Imprisonment
Gambira stated after his release that authorities had beaten him and
deprived him of sleep during his imprisonment, and
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
reported that he was "badly tortured" and stripped of his monk's
robes
A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoils ...
.
In April 2008, Gambira's sister reported that he was leading a
mettā chanting campaign among other imprisoned monks of
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 ...
to protest against their being issued "layperson" identification cards for the upcoming
constitutional referendum. He was subsequently placed in solitary confinement.
In speaking later of conditions in the prison, Gambira stated that he had
malaria
Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
for seven of his eight months there.
[ Tomas Ojea Quintana, 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 ...
on Human Rights for Burma, visited Gambira and four other political prisoners at Insein in August.
Gambira faced a total of sixteen charges for his role in the protests,[ including membership in an unlawful association and illegal movement across borders. In October 2008, Gambira's lawyer, Aung Thein, resigned from his case, saying that the military government would not allow him the materials to prepare an adequate defence. On one occasion, Gambira refused to appear in court himself, stating that the trial of a forcibly disrobed monk was disrespectful to ]Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
.
Between November 18 and November 21, Gambira was sentenced to 68 years in prison, at least 12 years of which would be hard labour. In early 2009, five years were taken off his total sentence, reducing it to 63 years. Both Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
and 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 ...
protested his sentence, calling for his immediate release.[ Aung Ko Ko Lwin, Gambira's brother who had sheltered him from authorities, was sentenced to twenty years in prison, and Moe Htet Hlyan, Gambira's brother-in-law, was also imprisoned. Aung Ko Ko Lwin and Moe Htet Hlyan were sent to ]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 ...
and Mon State
Mon State (, ; ) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to the north and Tanintharyi Region to the south, also having a short border with Thailand's Kanchanabu ...
, respectively, to serve their sentences.
Gambira was transferred to a labour camp
A labor camp (or labour camp, see British and American spelling differences, spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are unfree labour, forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have ...
in Sagaing Region. When his mother visited him in early 2009, she reported that he was on hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
, refusing to eat in protest of the conditions of his confinement. Amnesty International reported that he had nervous tension and was in generally ill health. On 31 October 2011, the organisation issued an "urgent action" identifying Gambira as 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 ...
and stating that he was being denied hospitalisation necessary to treat complications from being tortured at Hkamti prison in April 2009. Democratic Voice of Burma
The Democratic Voice of Burma (, abbreviated DVB) is one of Myanmar's largest independent media organisations. DVB was founded as a non-profit media organization based in Oslo, Norway and Chiang Mai, Thailand. Run by Burmese expatriates, it m ...
reported that Gambira was being regularly beaten by guards during the same period and was having seizures as a result.
During his imprisonment, Gambira won the Bindmans Law and Campaigning Award in absentia at the 2008 Index on Censorship
Index on Censorship is an organisation campaigning for freedom of expression. It produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association wit ...
Freedom of Expression Awards. The prize recognises "lawyers and campaigners who have fought repression or who have struggled to change political climates and perceptions, especially those who have used or established legal means to fight injustice in the field of freedom of expression", and is sponsored by Bindmans LLP. Also in 2008, the official website of Morbegno
Morbegno (; or ; ) is a little town in the low Valtellina Valley in Italy, on the left side of the Adda river. It is part of the province of Sondrio of Lombardy.
Given its proximity to the San Marco Pass, which connects the Valtellina with th ...
, Italy announced that Gambira had been made an honorary citizen of the town.
2012 release and re-arrests
On 13 January 2012, Gambira was released in a mass presidential pardon of political prisoners that also included 88 Generation activists Min Ko Naing
Paw Oo Tun ( ; born 18 October 1962), better known by his alias Min Ko Naing ( , lit. "conqueror of kings"), is a leading democracy activist and dissident from Myanmar. He has spent most of the years since 1988 imprisoned by the state for his op ...
, Htay Kywe Htay Kywe may refer to:
* Htay Kywe (activist)
Htay Kywe (, ) is a repeatedly-imprisoned Burmese pro-democracy activist who was considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. BBC News describes him as a key member of the 8888 Ge ...
, and Nilar Thein
Nilar Thein (, ) (born 4 March 1972) is a Burmese democracy activist and political prisoner imprisoned from 2008 to 2012 at Thayet prison in Burma's Magway Region. Amnesty International considered her a prisoner of conscience.
8888 uprising an ...
, as well as Shan leader Khun Htun Oo. Gambira stated in an interview that his imprisonment had left him with depression, frequent headaches, and failing memory; however, he said he had difficulty finding a doctor willing to treat him, for fear that it would draw government reprisals.[ He attempted to leave the country for treatment, but could not get the necessary paperwork.][ Gambira told reporters that his organisation would continue to boycott the government despite the amnesty: "The government has transformed its external appearance into a civilian one but their efforts to implement democracy are still rather weak, while many cases of human rights violations continue".
]
After breaking into and reopening several monasteries closed during the Saffron Revolution, Gambira was rearrested on 10 February during a 2 a.m. raid, and was released after a night in jail. Authorities announced that he was undergoing investigation for illegally squatting at the Maggin Monastery in Yangon's Thingangyun Township
Thingangyun Township (, ) is located in the eastern part of Yangon, Myanmar. The township comprises 38 wards, and shares borders with South Okkalapa township in the north, North Dagon township in the east, Yankin township and Tamwe township in t ...
without officially registering with the Ministry of Religious Affairs after his release, and for breaking and entering the Sasana Theikpan and Sasana Gonyi Monasteries in Bahan Township
Bahan Township (, ) is located in the north central part of Yangon. The township comprises 22 wards, and shares borders with Yankin Township and Mayangon Township in the north, Sanchaung Township and Kamayut Township in the west, Tamwe Town ...
.
On 6 March 2012, he was once again detained and interrogated over a recent visit he had made to Kachin State
Kachin State (; Jingpho language, Kachin: ) is the northernmost administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet and Yunnan, respectively), Shan State to the sou ...
, where local ethnic minority groups were engaged in guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
against the government. He was released two days later. The following month, he was forced to formally cease to be a monk after several monasteries refused him membership, which he said was due to their fear of government reprisals if they were to allow him to enter. He then returned to his birth name of Nyi Nyi Lwin.[
In November 2012, Gambira was seated in the front row for a speech by visiting US President ]Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, who cautiously praised seeming democratic reforms including the release of political prisoners like Gambira. A few weeks after the speech, authorities arrested Gambira again and sent him to Insein prison. The US Embassy released a statement on the arrest, saying, "We're monitoring reports of U Gambira's detention. We urged the government of Burma to be fully transparent and follow due process of law". Gambira's family believed that he had been arrested to prevent him from joining protests by a group of monks against a copper mining project. On 11 December, Gambira was released on a bail of 4 million kyat
The kyat ( or ; ; ISO 4217 code MMK) is the currency of Myanmar (Burma). The typical notation for the kyat is "K" (singular) and "Ks." (plural), placed before the numerals followed by "/-". Amounts less than K. 1/- are typically denoted w ...
(US$4,686).
On 19 January 2016, he was arrested in Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553.
Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...
on a politically motivated charge of illegal border crossing. He was sentenced without evidence to 6 months in prison. The Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said that the deprivation of liberty of Gambira was arbitrary, being in contravention with Articles 10 and 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; it falls within category II of the categories applicable to the consideration of the cases submitted to the Working Group. He was released on 1 July 2016.
Personal life
Gambira, who disrobed in 2012, was living in Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
after being re-arrested several times in 2012 and 2016. He married Marie Siochana, an Australian citizen in 2013. On 8 March 2019 Australia granted him asylum. His biography, ''NARAKA: The U Gambira Story'', written by Marie, was published in 2020.
Health problems
He has been recovering from serious physical and mental health issues, including complex post-traumatic stress disorder
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD, cPTSD, or hyphenated C-PTSD) is a stress-related mental disorder generally occurring in response to complex traumas (i.e., commonly prolonged (or repetitive) exposure to a traumatic event (or trau ...
.
See also
*
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gambira, U
1979 births
Living people
People from Magway Division
Theravada Buddhist monks
Burmese Buddhist monks
Burmese prisoners and detainees
Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Myanmar
Burmese exiles
Burmese emigrants to Thailand
Burmese emigrants to Australia
People with post-traumatic stress disorder
Burmese democracy activists