KO SWE WIN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF MYANMAR NOW

In 2017, Myanmar Now journalist Ko Swe Win criticised a powerful Buddhist monk for inciting hate and endorsing assassination when he publicly praised the killer of a Muslim human rights activist. This was one example of his brave journalism the board of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation cited in naming him a 2019 recipient of the prestigious honour for emergent leadership.

Having grown up in a poor family in the political turmoil of Yangon, even getting arrested in 1998 for protesting in a student demonstration, Swe Win has focused his coverage on social justice issues. His criticism of the monk, Ashin Wirathu, caused him to be sued and briefly jailed, with a trial that was viewed by critics as a form of harassment for requiring the editor to travel 1,255 km a total of 71 times; the case was ultimately dropped by a judge because the plaintiffs did not appear.

“Having passed through various political and social turbulences over the past decades, we have developed a great resilience and a tremendous amount of patience for the problems in our country,” Swe Win said in his acceptance. “None of the people I know in Myanmar expect change to happen overnight, but we have a firm belief that we are not on the right path towards democracy and liberty as long as the supremacy of civilian rule has not come into fruition.”