Ko Ko Lay

Ko Ko Lay, an exile Burmese activist currently in the United States, continues struggling for peace, social justice and political change for Burma. While a final year philosophy student, he was one of the student leaders who organized a popular people's uprising in Burma on August 8, 1988. On September 18, 1988, the Burmese military brutally crushed the nationwide peaceful demonstrations and took power. More than 3,000 students and civilians were killed and thousands of activists were arrested and tortured by the Burmese military regime. Consequently, more than 10,000 students left Burma and formed All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) on the Thai Burma border after the military regime coup. Ko Ko Lay was elected as a member of the Central Executive Committee of ABSDF and served as a Secretary of Information. After his two terms of service in ABSDF, he decided to continue his studies and migrated to the U.S. Ko Ko has achieved a degree in Photography and Industrial Design at San Francisco State University (SFSU) and is currently pursuing a Masters degree at SFSU in Social Change Design and Conflict Resolution with an emphasis in International Conflicts. He is a founder of Open Students Network for Burma at SFSU and is also serving his second term as a member of the Strategic Coordinating Committee, the only worldwide Burmese coalition group including the National Coalition Government of Union of Burma and National Council of Burma. Through sharing his first-hand personal experiences and knowledge of Burma, Ko Ko helps raise awareness about the Burmese student movements, the struggle for democracy, human rights issues and the consequences of oil production in Burma.

Topics covered

• Anti-Dictatorship, Democracy, Human Rights and Social Justice movements in Burma
• Consequences of Militarism in Burma
• Impacts of Oil Production in Burma