Wai Moe Naing
ဝေမိုးနိုင်
Born26 September 1995 (1995-09-26) (age 28)
Burma
Occupations
  • Writer
  • politician
  • activist

Wai Moe Naing (Burmese: ဝေမိုးနိုင်; born 26 September 1995), also known as Monywa Panda, is a Burmese writer, politician, activist and one of the most prominent leaders of anti-coup movement in Myanmar.[1][2] He rose to prominence for his role organising daily anti-coup protests in Monywa.[3]

Literary career

At the age of thirteen, his first short story "Pwint Chain Tan Lyin" was published on Phoo Ngone Se Kyaw Thet, a magazine. He wrote several short stories on the local magazines such as Yokeshin Tay Kabyar, Mahaythi, and Yanat Thit.

Political career

Wai Moe Naing is a member of Monywa's General Strike Committee and the Sagaing Regional Youth Committee. He served the chair of the Monywa University Student Union from 2014 to 2015.[4][5] On 15 April 2021, he was hit by a car and arrested by the junta's armed forces. He was charged with murder, unlawful assembly, wrongful confinement, abduction with intent to murder, and incitement.[6][7] During the trial, Wai Moe Naing was forced to represent himself, after his lawyers, were arrested. On 12 August 2022, a military court found him guilty of multiple counts of incitement, which is commonly used by the military junta to target regime critics, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.[8] On 20 October, he was sentenced to an additional 4 years for incitement and violation of COVID-19 restrictions.[9] The sentence has been condemned by PEN America.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "'Panda of Monywa' Remains in Myanmar Regime's Custody as Fears for his Safety Grow". The Irrawaddy. 2021-04-16.
  2. ↑ "Mother of Prominent Protest Leader Detained by Myanmar Junta Fears for his Health". The Irrawaddy. 2021-04-21.
  3. ↑ "In Myanmar, Pair of Protest Activists Share Common Goal: Root Out Dictatorship". The Irrawaddy. 2021-04-09.
  4. ↑ "Wai Moe Naing, prominent leader of anti-coup movement, detained in Monywa". Myanmar NOW. 15 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "Junta accuses Wai Moe Naing of treason as charges pile up". Myanmar NOW. 29 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Mother of detained activist Wai Moe Naing demands her son be granted access to healthcare". Myanmar NOW. 18 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Wai Moe Naing faces 28-year prison sentence as junta hits him with five charges". Myanmar NOW. 24 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Myanmar: PEN Myanmar member facing potential death sentence". Pen International. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  9. ↑ "Beyond the Headlines: Myanmar junta denies incarcerated activist permission to attend funeral of mother killed outside Insein Prison". Myanmar NOW. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  10. ↑ "PEN America Condemns Sentencing of Myanmar Writer-Activist Wai Moe Naing and Calls for His Release". PEN America. 2022-09-02. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
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