6/9/22, 9:46 AM Meet Myanmar’s Blue Shirts – The Diplomat the young performers for a centuries-old parody tradition was decisive for a coalition of activists. Four days after Kay Khine Tun was arrested, civil society groups such as Athan, Coexist Myanmar, and the Burmese-American Saddha: Buddhists for Peace, formed Doa-A-Yae, which circulated 12 names of those being penalized for free speech. Journalists, activists, a director, a former military captain, and a monk — all either imprisoned or hounded by the courts in the past months — were to become a rallying point. A 2010 photo campaign that saw dissidents, including Aung San Suu Kyi, pose with the names of political prisoners written on their raised palms was resurrected. But this time, the names would be of those suppressed under the government of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), which shares power with the generals under a military-drafted constitution. Meanwhile, squads of Athan members began attending many of the court hearings in blue shirts, inspired by Win Tin, the longest-held political prisoner in Myanmar history. From his 2008 release to his death in 2014, Win Tin wore his blue prison shirt in solidarity with others being held. “Our earnest desire is for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders to see our campaign and remember when they were similarly persecuted,” New York-based activist Khin Mai Aung told The Diplomat. “And that they remember the roots of Burma’s or Myanmar’s pro-democracy struggle so that they lend us their support.” Back then, when the country was united in opposition to the military, Suu Kyi had a https://thediplomat.com/2019/06/meet-myanmars-blue-shirts/ 3/8