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Statement on the awards presented to Min Ko Naing, chairman of ABFSU, and Aung
Htun, a leading member of ABFSU by the international communities.

1. Min Ko Naing, Chairman of ABFSU, received the John Henfrey Freedom Award of
Canada and Aung Htun, a leading member of ABFSU, was granted the Hellman
Hemmett Award by Human Rights Watch, an NGO based in the USA.
2. Min Ko Naing, an image of 1988 pro-democracy movements in Burma, was
elected
as Chairman of All Burma Federation of Student Unions which was re-formed in
28Aug 1988 at the student rally. He was a third year Zoology student at
Rangoon
University when he took part in the March and June student affairs and the
1988
General Strike. The speeches given by and the pamphlets written by Min Ko
Naing
during this time were used to rally the people who bowed down to the military
dictatorship for the last 27 years. His strong presence and courageous actions
not only represented the students but also the historic student union that was
forced underground for 30 years. Min Ko Naing was arrested in 23 March 1989 by
the military intelligence and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in 1992.
Though Min Ko Naing is in custody, he is still recognized as the chairman of
ABFSU by decisions made at the student conferences in 1989 and 1990. Students
have been demanding the release Min Ko Naing and other students in every
student movement since. Currently, he is held at the Sittwa prison and is
still
struggling for the movement.
3. Aung Htun was a leader of Rangoon Institute of Technology Students? Union
during the 1988 pro-democracy movements. He actively participated in the March
and June student affairs and organized the people. In 1990, he became a
secretariat member of ABFSU (lower Burma) and was also elected as a
secretariat
member of ABFSU at the June student conference in Mandalay. He was arrested in
September 1990 and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. He was released in the
end of 1994 and secretly reunited with All Burma Federation of Student Unions.
He then compiled the ? 88 years of student history of Burma? and he secretly
distributed it among activists. He also wrote articles for Oway Journal which
is published by ABFSU inside Burma and compiled other books containing poems
and articles, but they were not permitted by the authorities.  Because he

compiled the Burmese student history, he was re-arrested in Feb 1998 and
sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Currently, he is still in custody and is
struggling for the movements.
4. We, All Burma Federation of Student Unions, believed that the awards given
to Min Ko Naing and Aung Htun encourages the students inside Burma and brings
them closer to their international student counterparts. We feel that these
awards honor and recognize the Burmese student movements and the monumental
scarifies of many of the participants.
5. We, Foreign Affairs Committee of ABFSU, are pleased with the international
awards for our leaders and would like to thank the international organizations
and persons who nominated and appointed Min Ko Naing and Aung Htun for the
awards. The strong support from the international community and students
around
the world encourages us in our continuing struggle for democracy and
freedom in
Burma. 


Foreign Affairs Committee
All Burma Federation of Student Unions.