6/9/22, 9:46 AM Meet Myanmar’s Blue Shirts – The Diplomat saying he had a tattoo of then-President Thein Sein on his penis. Saung Kha accepts the military is unlikely to drop its defamation cases because of the campaign, but “the more people that join, the more chance real change will be born.” Modest change happened two years ago when steady civil society pressure produced amendments to Article 66(d). But many argued these reforms did not go far enough; for instance, they did not provide reasonable defenses to defamation such as reporting the truth or arguing an opinion. Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month. The renewed push for change is “quite significant,” said news outlet Myanmar Now editor Swe Win, a changing of the guard to a younger generation. “As far as I remember, no uprising or revolution took place in Myanmar or any other country with the leadership of the older generation,” he said. “Most are led by the movement of the youth.” Swe Win has his own defamation battle, for offending the supporters of ultranationalist monk Wirathu, who is now a fugitive after missing a Yangon court hearing on June 4 to face charges of sedition. Being forced to travel the 780-mile round trip from Yangon to a Mandalay court twice per month has brought one positive. “You can learn a lot about how the authoritarian system keeps on ruling quietly, which is good for me as a journalist,” Swe Win said. Meanwhile, Mandalay-based monk Thawbita is also being sued under Article 66(d) for online posts that criticized the military. https://thediplomat.com/2019/06/meet-myanmars-blue-shirts/ 6/8