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{{Burmese name|U}}
{{Burmese name|U}}
[[Image:U Gambira.jpg|thumb|x250|U Gambira]]
[[Image:U Gambira.jpg|thumb|x250|U Gambira]]
'''U Sandawbartha''', commonly known by his pseudonym of '''U Gambira''', (born 19 June 1979), is an imprisoned leader of the [[All-Burma Monks' Alliance]], a group which helped lead the [[2007 Burmese anti-government protests]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-asia-pacific-11741612 |title=Who are Burma's political prisoners? |author= |date=13 November 2010 |work= |publisher=[[BBC News]] |accessdate=20 April 2011}}</ref>
'''U Sandawbartha''' ({{lang-my|}}; commonly known by his pseudonym of '''U Gambira''' ({{my|ဦးဂမ္ဘိရ}}); born 19 June 1979), is an imprisoned leader of the [[All-Burma Monks' Alliance]], a group which helped lead the [[2007 Burmese anti-government protests]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-asia-pacific-11741612 |title=Who are Burma's political prisoners? |author= |date=13 November 2010 |work= |publisher=[[BBC News]] |accessdate=20 April 2011}}</ref>


U Gambira started his schooling at age five, but this schooling was interrupted following the [[8888 Uprising|1988 pro-democracy protests]]. According to the [[Assistance Association for Political Prisoners]], he ran away from home at age 12 and was recruited as a child soldier by a military unit in [[Yangon]].<ref name="AAPP1">{{cite web |url=http://www.fbppn.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/U_Gambira_11Aug09.pdf |title=Political Prisoner Profile Case #0006 |author= |date=11 August 2009 |work= |publisher=[[Assistance Association for Political Prisoners]] |accessdate=20 April 2011}}</ref> Once his parents located him, they removed him from the unit and returned to their home of Pauk Township. When the authorities came to investigate, U Gambira's parents enrolled him in a local monastery, fearing for his continued safety.
U Gambira started his schooling at age five, but this schooling was interrupted following the [[8888 Uprising|1988 pro-democracy protests]]. According to the [[Assistance Association for Political Prisoners]], he ran away from home at age 12 and was recruited as a child soldier by a military unit in [[Yangon]].<ref name="AAPP1">{{cite web |url=http://www.fbppn.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/U_Gambira_11Aug09.pdf |title=Political Prisoner Profile Case #0006 |author= |date=11 August 2009 |work= |publisher=[[Assistance Association for Political Prisoners]] |accessdate=20 April 2011}}</ref> Once his parents located him, they removed him from the unit and returned to their home of Pauk Township. When the authorities came to investigate, U Gambira's parents enrolled him in a local monastery, fearing for his continued safety.
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In April 2008, U Gambira's sister reported that he was leading a [[mettā]] chanting campaign among other imprisoned monks of [[Insein Prison]] to protest against their being issued "layperson" identification cards for the upcoming [[Burmese constitutional referendum, 2008|constitutional referendum.]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aappb.org/4_2008_Eng.pdf |title=Democratic Voice of Burma Political Prisoners News |year=2008 |publisher=[[Assistance Association for Political Prisoners]] |accessdate=20 April 2011}}</ref> In October 2008, U Gambira's lawyer, Aung Thein, resigned from his case, saying that the military government would not allow him the materials to prepare an adequate defense.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irrawaddymedia.com/article.php?art_id=14382 |title=Lawyer for U Gambira Resigns |author=SAW YAN NAING |date=3 October 2008 |work= |publisher=''[[The Irrawaddy]]'' |accessdate=20 April 2011}}</ref> On one occasion, U Gambira refused to appear in court himself, stating that the trial of a forcibly-disrobed monk is disrespectful to [[Buddhism]].<ref name="AI2" /> In November, U Gambira was sentenced to 68 years in prison, at least 12 years of which will be hard labor; other charges against him are still pending.<ref name="AI2">{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/iar/pdf/UGambiraCaseSheet.pdf |title=MYANMAR: Monk Receives 68 Years in Prison |author=|date=3 October 2008 |work= |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |accessdate=20 April 2011}}</ref> In early 2009, his sentence was reduced to 63 years.<ref name="HRW2" /> His sentence was protested by Human Rights Watch,<ref name="HRW">{{cite web |url=http://www.hrw.org/en/node/85678 |title=Burma: End Repression of Buddhist Monks |author= |date=22 September 2009 |work= |publisher=Human Rights Watch |accessdate=20 April 2011}},</ref> and [[Amnesty International]] considers him a [[prisoner of conscience]].<ref name="Burma">{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/pdf/POC%20List.pdf |title=Myanmar, Unlock the Prison Doors! |author= |date= |work= |publisher=Amnesty International |accessdate=17 April 2011}}</ref> Both groups have called for his immediate release.
In April 2008, U Gambira's sister reported that he was leading a [[mettā]] chanting campaign among other imprisoned monks of [[Insein Prison]] to protest against their being issued "layperson" identification cards for the upcoming [[Burmese constitutional referendum, 2008|constitutional referendum.]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aappb.org/4_2008_Eng.pdf |title=Democratic Voice of Burma Political Prisoners News |year=2008 |publisher=[[Assistance Association for Political Prisoners]] |accessdate=20 April 2011}}</ref> In October 2008, U Gambira's lawyer, Aung Thein, resigned from his case, saying that the military government would not allow him the materials to prepare an adequate defense.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irrawaddymedia.com/article.php?art_id=14382 |title=Lawyer for U Gambira Resigns |author=SAW YAN NAING |date=3 October 2008 |work= |publisher=''[[The Irrawaddy]]'' |accessdate=20 April 2011}}</ref> On one occasion, U Gambira refused to appear in court himself, stating that the trial of a forcibly-disrobed monk is disrespectful to [[Buddhism]].<ref name="AI2" /> In November, U Gambira was sentenced to 68 years in prison, at least 12 years of which will be hard labor; other charges against him are still pending.<ref name="AI2">{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/iar/pdf/UGambiraCaseSheet.pdf |title=MYANMAR: Monk Receives 68 Years in Prison |author=|date=3 October 2008 |work= |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |accessdate=20 April 2011}}</ref> In early 2009, his sentence was reduced to 63 years.<ref name="HRW2" /> His sentence was protested by Human Rights Watch,<ref name="HRW">{{cite web |url=http://www.hrw.org/en/node/85678 |title=Burma: End Repression of Buddhist Monks |author= |date=22 September 2009 |work= |publisher=Human Rights Watch |accessdate=20 April 2011}},</ref> and [[Amnesty International]] considers him a [[prisoner of conscience]].<ref name="Burma">{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/pdf/POC%20List.pdf |title=Myanmar, Unlock the Prison Doors! |author= |date= |work= |publisher=Amnesty International |accessdate=17 April 2011}}</ref> Both groups have called for his immediate release.


U Gambira is believed to be currently in a labor camp in Sagaing Region.<ref name="HRW2" /> When his mother visited him in early 2009, she reported that he was on [[hunger strike]] in protest of the conditions of his confinement.<ref name="HRW2" /> Amnesty International reports that he suffers from nervous tension and is in generally ill health.<ref name="AI2" /> On 31 October 2011, the organization issued an urgent action stating that U Gambira was being denied necessary hospitalization to treat complications from being tortured at Hkamti prison in April 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/uaa31911.pdf |title=Burmese Monk Needs Urgent Medical Care |author=|date=31 October 2011 |work= |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |accessdate=6 December 2011}}</ref>
U Gambira was sentenced to a labor camp in Sagaing Region.<ref name="HRW2" /> When his mother visited him in early 2009, she reported that he was on [[hunger strike]] in protest of the conditions of his confinement.<ref name="HRW2" /> Amnesty International reports that he suffers from nervous tension and is in generally ill health.<ref name="AI2" /> On 31 October 2011, the organization issued an urgent action stating that U Gambira was being denied necessary hospitalization to treat complications from being tortured at Hkamti prison in April 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/uaa31911.pdf |title=Burmese Monk Needs Urgent Medical Care |author=|date=31 October 2011 |work= |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |accessdate=6 December 2011}}</ref>


U Gambira won the 2008 Bindmans Law and Campaigning Award in absentia at the 2008 [[Index on Censorship]] Freedom of Expression Awards.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2008/04/winners-of-index-on-censorship-freedom-of-expression-award-announced/ |title=WINNERS OF INDEX ON CENSORSHIP FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AWARDS ANNOUNCED |author= |date=22 April 2008 |work= |publisher=[[Index on Censorship]] |accessdate=20 April 2011}}</ref>
U Gambira won the 2008 Bindmans Law and Campaigning Award in absentia at the 2008 [[Index on Censorship]] Freedom of Expression Awards.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2008/04/winners-of-index-on-censorship-freedom-of-expression-award-announced/ |title=WINNERS OF INDEX ON CENSORSHIP FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AWARDS ANNOUNCED |author= |date=22 April 2008 |work= |publisher=[[Index on Censorship]] |accessdate=20 April 2011}}</ref>


On 13 January 2012, U Gambira was released in a mass presidential pardon of political prisoners that also included [[88 Generation]] activists [[Min Ko Naing]], [[Htay Kywe]], and [[Nilar Thein]], as well as [[Shan people|Shan]] leader [[Khun Htun Oo]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://mizzima.com/news/prisoner-watch/6407-prominent-political-prisoners-freed.html |title=Prominent political prisoners freed |author= |date=13 January 2012 |work= |publisher=Mizzima News |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> However, he was rearrested on 10 February.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16977020 |title=Burmese protest leader monk Gambira 'taken away' |author=|date=10 February 2012 |work= |publisher=[[BBC News]] |accessdate=6 December 2011}}</ref>
On 13 January 2012, U Gambira was released in a mass presidential pardon of political prisoners that also included [[88 Generation]] activists [[Min Ko Naing]], [[Htay Kywe]], and [[Nilar Thein]], as well as [[Shan people|Shan]] leader [[Khun Htun Oo]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://mizzima.com/news/prisoner-watch/6407-prominent-political-prisoners-freed.html |title=Prominent political prisoners freed |author= |date=13 January 2012 |work= |publisher=Mizzima News |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> However, he was rearrested on 10 February during a raid at 2 am.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=23013|title=Gambira Apprehended in Midnight Raid|date=10 February 2012|work=The Irrawaddy|accessdate=20 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16977020 |title=Burmese protest leader monk Gambira 'taken away' |author=|date=10 February 2012 |work= |publisher=[[BBC News]] |accessdate=6 December 2011}}</ref> He is currently undergoing investigation for 'illegally' squatting at the Maggin Monastery in [[Yangon]]'s [[Thingangyun Township]] without officially registering with the Ministry of Religious Affairs after his release, and for breaking and entering the Sasana Theikpan and Sasana Gonyi Monasteries in [[Bahan Township]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/Feb19_06.html|title=U Gambhira not only committs offences but also insults national-level Sangha organization after his release from prison Legal actions to be taken in consideration of religion, Sasana and purity of Sasana as Dhamma action no more works|date=18 February 2012|work=New Light of Myanmar|accessdate=20 February 2012}}</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 01:24, 20 February 2012

In this Burmese name, U is an honorific, not a given name.
File:U Gambira.jpg
U Gambira

U Sandawbartha ([] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: no text (help); commonly known by his pseudonym of U Gambira (ဦးဂမ္ဘိရ); born 19 June 1979), is an imprisoned leader of the All-Burma Monks' Alliance, a group which helped lead the 2007 Burmese anti-government protests.[1]

U Gambira started his schooling at age five, but this schooling was interrupted following the 1988 pro-democracy protests. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, he ran away from home at age 12 and was recruited as a child soldier by a military unit in Yangon.[2] Once his parents located him, they removed him from the unit and returned to their home of Pauk Township. When the authorities came to investigate, U Gambira's parents enrolled him in a local monastery, fearing for his continued safety.

U Gambira first became well known in August 2007, when high fuel and commodity prices in Yangon, Burma sparked a series of city-wide protests. The city's Buddhist monks took on a leadership role in these demonstrations, forming the All-Burma Monks' Alliance and lending the uprising its nickname of "the Saffron Revolution", after the color of the monks' robes.[3] U Gambira, a 29-year-old monk, became one of the new organization's leaders.[1]

"Saffron Revolution" protest in Yangon, August 2007

Following the protests, he went into hiding. His brother Aung Kyaw Kyaw was arrested on 17 October, on what the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners believes to be an attempt by the government to force U Gambira out of hiding.[2] On 4 November, he published editorials in the Washington Post[4] and The Guardian[5] calling for the international community to continue sanctions against Burma's leadership, for Russia and China to cease supporting the SPDC on the United Nations Security Council, and for Burma's people to continue to peacefully protest against the military rulers. "The regime's use of mass arrests, murder, torture and imprisonment has failed to extinguish our desire for the freedom that was stolen from us so many years ago. We have taken their best punch", he wrote in the Post.[4]

The same day, he was arrested in Sagaing Region; his father was arrested as well and held for one month in Mandalay prison.[6] Human Rights Watch reports that U Gambira was stripped of his robes and "badly tortured" following his arrest.[6]

In April 2008, U Gambira's sister reported that he was leading a mettā chanting campaign among other imprisoned monks of Insein Prison to protest against their being issued "layperson" identification cards for the upcoming constitutional referendum.[7] In October 2008, U Gambira's lawyer, Aung Thein, resigned from his case, saying that the military government would not allow him the materials to prepare an adequate defense.[8] On one occasion, U Gambira refused to appear in court himself, stating that the trial of a forcibly-disrobed monk is disrespectful to Buddhism.[9] In November, U Gambira was sentenced to 68 years in prison, at least 12 years of which will be hard labor; other charges against him are still pending.[9] In early 2009, his sentence was reduced to 63 years.[6] His sentence was protested by Human Rights Watch,[10] and Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience.[11] Both groups have called for his immediate release.

U Gambira was sentenced to a labor camp in Sagaing Region.[6] When his mother visited him in early 2009, she reported that he was on hunger strike in protest of the conditions of his confinement.[6] Amnesty International reports that he suffers from nervous tension and is in generally ill health.[9] On 31 October 2011, the organization issued an urgent action stating that U Gambira was being denied necessary hospitalization to treat complications from being tortured at Hkamti prison in April 2009.[12]

U Gambira won the 2008 Bindmans Law and Campaigning Award in absentia at the 2008 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards.[13]

On 13 January 2012, U Gambira was released in a mass presidential pardon of political prisoners that also included 88 Generation activists Min Ko Naing, Htay Kywe, and Nilar Thein, as well as Shan leader Khun Htun Oo.[14] However, he was rearrested on 10 February during a raid at 2 am.[15][16] He is currently undergoing investigation for 'illegally' squatting at the Maggin Monastery in Yangon's Thingangyun Township without officially registering with the Ministry of Religious Affairs after his release, and for breaking and entering the Sasana Theikpan and Sasana Gonyi Monasteries in Bahan Township.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b "Who are Burma's political prisoners?". BBC News. 13 November 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Political Prisoner Profile Case #0006" (PDF). Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2011. Cite error: The named reference "AAPP1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ Chang R. Lee (30 June 2009). "Showcase: Exiled but Still Fighting". New York Times. Retrieved 20 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ a b U Gambira (4 November 2007). "What Burma's Junta Must Fear". Washington Post. Retrieved 20 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ U Gambira (4 November 2007). "The uprising is not over". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e "The Resistance of the Monks". Human Rights Watch. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  7. ^ "Democratic Voice of Burma Political Prisoners News" (PDF). Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  8. ^ SAW YAN NAING (3 October 2008). "Lawyer for U Gambira Resigns". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 20 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ a b c "MYANMAR: Monk Receives 68 Years in Prison" (PDF). Amnesty International. 3 October 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  10. ^ "Burma: End Repression of Buddhist Monks". Human Rights Watch. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2011.,
  11. ^ "Myanmar, Unlock the Prison Doors!" (PDF). Amnesty International. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  12. ^ "Burmese Monk Needs Urgent Medical Care" (PDF). Amnesty International. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  13. ^ "WINNERS OF INDEX ON CENSORSHIP FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AWARDS ANNOUNCED". Index on Censorship. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  14. ^ "Prominent political prisoners freed". Mizzima News. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  15. ^ "Gambira Apprehended in Midnight Raid". The Irrawaddy. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  16. ^ "Burmese protest leader monk Gambira 'taken away'". BBC News. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  17. ^ "U Gambhira not only committs offences but also insults national-level Sangha organization after his release from prison Legal actions to be taken in consideration of religion, Sasana and purity of Sasana as Dhamma action no more works". New Light of Myanmar. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.

External links

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