Maung Zarni
Maung Zarni (Burmese: မောင်ဇာနည်; born 1963) is a Burmese educator, academic, and human rights activist.[1][2] He is noted for his opposition to the violence in Rakhine State and Rohingya refugee crisis.[3]
Maung Zarni | |
---|---|
မောင်ဇာနည် | |
Born | Zarni 1963 (age 57–58) Mandalay, Burma |
Alma mater | University of Mandalay (1984) University of California, Davis (1991) University of Wisconsin-Madison (1998) |
Occupation | Human rights activist |
Spouse(s) | Natalie Brinham |
Children | Nilah Zarni |
Website | maungzarni |
Early life and education
Zarni was born in 1963 into a Burmese Buddhist family in Mandalay, Burma. He migrated to the United States on the eve of Burma’s 1988 uprisings. He graduated with a BSc (Chemistry) from University of Mandalay in 1984, MA from University of California, Davis in 1991, and earned his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998.[4]
Career
Zarni founded and led the Free Burma Coalition, the then pioneering Internet-based human rights movement and spearheaded a successful international boycott against Myanmar’s military dictatorship from 1995 to 2004. Zarni has held a series of academic positions, or research and leadership fellowships, including at the London School of Economics' Human Security Research Unit.[5] He resigned from an academic post at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam in 2013, citing academic censorship.[5]
Zarni is a member of the board of advisors of Genocide Watch and a non-resident fellow at Genocide Documentation Center in Sleuk Rith Institute, Cambodia.[6]
In 2014, Zarni co-authored an academic paper, "The Slow Burning Genocide of Myanmar's Rohingyas", with Alice Cowley, an academic study that examines the plight of the Rohingya using the genocide framework.[7] In 2015, he was awarded the "Cultivation of Harmony Award," by the Parliament of the World's Religions, an international interfaith dialogue.[8]
Personal life
Zarni is married to Natalie Brinham, an English researcher,[9] and has a daughter, Nilah.[10]
Books
- Myanmar’s Enemy of the State speaks: Irreverent Essays and Interviews (2019)
- The Free Burma Coalition Manual: How You Can Help Burma's Struggle for Freedom (1997)
References
- "Maung Zarni: Myanmar feels like a big cage for Rohingyas". Dhaka Tribune. 19 February 2018.
- "Maung Zarni". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
- Tanaka, Chisato (25 October 2018). "Activist for Rohingya Muslims calls on Tokyo to speak out over refugee crisis". The Japan Times Online.
- Rahman Khan, Mizanur (11 October 2017). "'Don't be swayed by Suu Kyi's poisonous snakes'". Prothom Alo.
- Tin Htwe, Nan (14 January 2013). "Myanmar activist, professor resigns over Brunei university 'censorship'". The Myanmar Times.
- "Broader global coalition can solve Rohingya issue". Anadolu Agency. 9 December 2018.
- Zarni, Maung; Cowley, Alice (2014-06-01). "The slow-burning genocide of Myanmar's Rohingya". Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
- Parliament of the World's Religions (2016-12-07), Cultivation of Harmony Award - Dr. Zarni, retrieved 2017-09-08
- "BURMA: "Rohingyas utsätts för ett långsamt folkmord"". AmnestyPress (in Swedish). Retrieved 2019-12-27.
- Gindin, Matthew (2017-11-27). "Voices from Inside the Rohingya Refugee Camps". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Retrieved 2019-12-27.