Kyaw Ko Ko
Kyaw Ko Ko is a human rights defender and chairperson of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU). Since November 2014, student organisations including ABFSU have been protesting against the National Education Bill, which student activists claim restricts academic freedom. Enacted by Parliament on 30 September 2014, the National Education Law was intended to reform the country's education system, but the ABFSU claim the government did not seek adequate student input in its drafting. The new restrictions outlaw independent student and teacher unions, and erase ethnic languages, cultures and literatures from university syllabi.
Political reforms introduced in 2011 brought the release of more than 1000 political prisoners, including many human rights defenders. Today, many formerly imprisoned HRDs face a number of restrictions to their work and risk future persecution. Student activists were not allowed to return to study at their universities, and the Ministry of Home Affairs has refused to issue passports to former political prisoners and prominent HRDs.
