National Association for Literature Development

Poet, opposition activist and Burma's leading comedian Zarganar was arrested on the evening of 4 June 2008 after leading a private relief effort to deliver aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis.   Zarganar was sentenced to forty-five years imprisonment on 21 November 2008 for violating the Electronics Act, and received an additional fourteen year prison term on 27 November 2008 for his peaceful opposition activities, making a total of fifty-nine years. On 13 February 2009 the Rangoon Division Court reduced Zargana's prison term by twenty-four years, to thirty-five years.

Zarganar is currently being held in Myitkyina Prison, 1500 kms north of Rangoon, where his sister-in-laws and brother live.  His wife and two children have been in exile in the USA since 2006. According to recent news, he is currently unable to receive family visits having stood up for the rights of a fellow political prisoner, to the annoyance of the prison governor.

English PEN are a leading force in the Free Zarganar Campaign (www.freezarganar.org), a coalition of freedom of expression organisations and individuals working together to highlight the imprisonment of Burmese comedian and writer Zarganar, to mobilise worldwide opinion and to press the Burmese government to release him immediately.

The current focus of the coalition is to try to get Zarganar nominated for the European Parliament's 2010 Sakharov Prize, which would help to raise awareness of his case whilst also drawing attention to the continuing human rights abuses in Burma.

Write to your MEP

Your help is needed in getting Zarganar nominated for the European Parliament's 2010 Sakharov Prize. We need 40 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to nominate Zarganar by 22 September 2010. To help achieve this goal, write to your MEP explaining why they should support Zarganar's nomination.

If you are a UK resident, you can find out who your MEP is by clicking here. If you live elsewhere in Europe you can find the relevant MEP here.

SAMPLE LETTER:

[Please do write a more personal letter if you have time - the following is just an example]

Dear ,

I am writing to ask you to nominate imprisoned Burmese comedian and writer, Zarganar, for the European Parliament's 2010 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Zarganar, Burma's best-known comedian, is renowned for using satire and humour to draw attention to political repression and human rights abuses in his country, and to encourage the Burmese people to speak out against injustice. In 2008 he was arrested and sentenced to 59 years in prison for speaking out against the Burmese government's inadequate response to the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Nargis, which killed approximately 200,000 people. His sentence was reduced to 35 years on appeal.

Zarganar is a prisoner of conscience who has made a fundamental contribution to the defence of human rights and the promotion of freedom of expression in Burma. For more information about Zarganar please refer to http://www.freezarganar.org

I hope that you will agree that Zarganar would be a worthy recipient of the 2010 Sakharov Prize and that you will support his nomination for this prestigious award.

Yours sincerely,

[Your Name and Address]

Please do let English PEN know if you write to your MEP and certainly if you should receive a response by emailing cat@englishpen.org    

For more information on why PEN are nominating Zarganar for this year's Sakharov Prize, please see the letter the Free Zarganar Campaign has sent to MEPs below:

SAKHAROV PRIZE 2010: PROPOSED NOMINATION FOR JAILED BURMESE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST, ZARGANAR

We are writing to you to ask you to nominate imprisoned Burmese comedian and writer Zarganar for the European Parliament's 2010 Sakharov Prize. We need 40 MEPs to nominate Zarganar, who is languishing in jail on a 35 year sentence, so if you could support him and ask your fellow MEPs to nominate him we'd be most grateful.

The Free Zarganar Campaign (www.freezarganar.org) is a loose coalition of human rights/freedom of expression organisations and individuals who are working together to highlight the imprisonment of Burmese/Myanmar comedian, director, writer, musician and actor, Zarganar, to mobilise worldwide opinion and to press the Burmese government to release Zarganar immediately.  The coalition includes The International Committee for Artists' Freedom (ICAF), PEN, Index on Censorship, ARTICLE 19, and Freemuse, as well as Europe-based Burmese and international human rights activists working on local events and campaigns.

The Free Zarganar Campaign believes that Zarganar would be a worthy recipient of the European Parliament's 2010 Sakharov Prize, and urges you and your political group to support his nomination.

Why does Zarganar deserve recognition by the European Parliament?

Zarganar, born in 1961, is Burma's best known comedian, as well as a highly accomplished actor, director, singer, musician and writer.   During college and dental school, he worked with several troupes in drama, dance and comedy. Following graduation, he started performing full time, adopting the name Zarganar, which means "tweezers". But Zarganar is more than a talented artist.  Since the beginning, he has skillfully used his artistic talents to draw attention to political repression in Burma, to critique the military government through subtle but biting satire, and to raise the morale of millions of his Burmese fans, and encourage them to speak out against injustice.  

As a result of his criticism of the government, Zarganar has spent some eight years in prison on four occasions, and remains there today, serving a 59 year sentence, reduced on appeal to 35 years. He was first arrested in October 1988, following the pro-democracy demonstrations, in which he played a leading role. He was sent to Insein Prison where he wrote poetry in the dust and committed it to memory. International PEN, the worldwide association of writers, campaigned for his release; he was freed after six months.

Zarganar was arrested again in 1990 while cracking jokes at a political rally prior to the 1990 elections. He was returned to Insein and spent five years in solitary confinement. Following his release, he immediately returned to the stage. Though his tapes and videos were strictly censored, he was allowed to work for the next 12 years, although from time to time, he was unable to use the name Zarganar. Harsher restrictions resumed in 2006 following an interview with the BBC which angered the regime.

Following his release in 1994, in addition to working in comedy and drama on stage and on film, Zarganar increasingly involved himself in social activism.  He worked closely with international NGOs such as Population Services International (PSI) on issues such as malaria and HIV, writing and directing scripts on the subject. He also became a mentor for the 1988 Generation of students including Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, following their release from prison in 2004/2005, helping them to shape their pro-democracy movement.

Following the re-arrest of the 1988 Generation in August/September 2007, Burmese monks took to the streets to protest against the military government. Zarganar was on of the key figures who led the public support for the 'Saffron Revolution' by organising a donation of alms at the Shwedagon Pagoda. This led to three weeks in detention.

Zarganar's latest arrest in June 2008 was a consequence of his criticism of the Cyclone Nargis relief effort.  He had personally organised support from the Burmese arts and film community and oversaw its delivery to distant villages in the delta.  In the course of his visits, he was angered both by the neglect and corruption he encountered and spoke out about this in radio interviews.

In November 2008, he was sentenced to 59 years in prison, convicted of "public order offenses", under four sections of the criminal code-17/2, 32 (b), 295 (a) and 505 (b), much more than the anticipated maximum of two years. This sentence was reduced to 35 years in February 2009. Late in 2008, he was moved from Insein to Myitkyina Prison in northern Burma.  Myitkyina is 1500 kms north of Rangoon, where his sister-in-laws and brother, the only family members authorised to visit him, live.  His wife and two children have been in exile in the USA since 2006. His parents, who had relied on him for support, have both died during his current imprisonment.  He was unable to attend their funerals. According to recent news, he is currently unable to receive family visits having stood up for the rights of a fellow political prisoner, to the annoyance of the prison governor.

Through his satire and his social activism, Zarganar has made a fundamental contribution to the defence of human rights and the promotion of freedom of expression in Burma, daring to speak out at great risk to himself.

Zarganar's bravery is being recognised at this year's Edinburgh festival, where Amnesty International have organised comedians appearing at the festival to speak out on his behalf.  Festival-goers will have the opportunity to show their support for Zarganar and Burma's other political prisoners by having their photograph taken with the name of a prisoner on the palm of their hand.  These photographs will be taken to Brussels for October's Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), where Amnesty will ask Asian and European leaders to demand freedom for Burma's political prisoners and real human rights improvements in Burma.

The European Parliament has been a strong and consistent supporter of human rights and freedom of expression in Burma, through its many Resolutions and the award in 1990 of the Sakharov Prize to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won the elections that year but were not permitted to form a government. Despite the continuing repression, there has not been a Burmese laureate since 1990.  The military government has declared that elections will take place this year, and today confirmed the election date as 7 November 2010. Despite international pressure, they have refused to release more than 2,000 political prisoners and new election laws and procedures are far short of international standards. It would therefore be a fitting recognition of the continued struggle of the Burmese people for human rights and democracy over the last two decades, and a response to the 2010 elections, to award the Sakharov Prize to Burma's second best known political prisoner, Zarganar.

Zarganar in Strasbourg……...

If Zarganar were to be awarded the Sakharov Prize, it is improbable that he would be able to attend December's plenary, even in the unlikely event that he were released by then, although it is possible that members of his family in the USA would be able travel to Strasbourg. However, he would be able to be present on the screen thanks to a new film by Rex Bloomstein, one of Europe's most established human rights film makers. 'This Prison Where I Live' (www.thisprisonwhereilive.com), a unique documentary about Zarganar and his imprisonment, features in-depth interviews with Zarganar in Rangoon in 2007, including original jokes, coupled with follow-up footage shot in 2010.  In this, popular German comedian Michael Mittermeier goes to Rangoon and Myitkyina on the trail of Zarganar, and despite his absence behind prison walls, develops a strong bond to his fellow comic. The documentary, which brings Zarganar to life on the screen, would be available for showing in Strasbourg.  

In addition to the documentary, a selection of Zarganar's poetry, jokes, music and films are available, including poems written secretly during his current imprisonment.  See www.freezarganar.org for more details.

If Zarganar were to win the Sakharov prize, the Free Zarganar Campaign would endeavour to discover from him, via his family, how he wished the prize to be distributed.  Previous experience suggests that he would want some funds to go to social organisations in Burma and support for political prisoners' families, and some for his remaining family members in Burma to cover their expenses for jail visits, which amount to several hundred euros per trip.

We hope that you will nominate Zarganar for the 2010 Sakharov Prize, and look forward to your response.

English PEN's partners in The Free Zarganar Campaign are

ARTICLE 19
Equity
Freemuse
Htein Lin
Index on Censorship
International PEN
Rex Bloomstein