6/9/22, 9:46 AM Meet Myanmar’s Blue Shirts – The Diplomat He told The Diplomat that the court dropped the 505(b) charge at a June 6 hearing because of a lack of evidence. Thawbita took part in the 2007 Saffron Revolution, monk-led mass demonstrations that “could not change the military’s mindset.” “I have personally come to know the military is sensitive and can’t stand being criticized by the public. But active participation of the public today is better than no public interest,” he said, adding people “get to know the unfairness.” This unfairness is what made nurse Kay Khine Tun speak out, and what will drive her abroad on her release, said her father. “When there is injustice she will always stand up and speak out,” he said. She was pressured into taking examinations for a military nursing school in 2014, he recalled. She received top marks for all the exams — except the essay, for which she wrote six pages praising Suu Kyi. “A secret plan” that successfully got her rejected, Sein Mya said with a smile. Ask her to write the essay again, and, like the other activists, she might prefer to focus on freedom of speech and assembly, press freedom, and other human rights that would make a democratic Myanmar. Lorcan Lovett is a journalist based in Southeast Asia. Rita Shan provided translation for interviews in this article. You have read 3 of your 5 free articles this month. Subscribe to Diplomat All-Access https://thediplomat.com/2019/06/meet-myanmars-blue-shirts/ 7/8