Zayar Thaw
| Zayar Thaw MP |
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|---|---|
| ဇေယျာသော် | |
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| Member of the Burmese House of Representatives for Zabuthiri Township |
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Assumed office 1 February 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Sanda Min |
| Member of the Burmese House of Representatives for Pobbathiri Township |
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In office 2 May 2012 – 29 January 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Tin Aung Myint Oo |
| Succeeded by | Tun Thit |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Kyaw Kyaw (ကျော်ကျော်) 26 March 1981 Rangoon, Burma |
| Nationality | Burmese |
| Political party | National League for Democracy |
| Alma mater |
BEHS No. 6 Botahtaung Dagon University |
| Occupation | Musician Politician |
| Website | facebook |
Zayar Thaw (Burmese: ဇေယျာသော် [zèjà θɔ̀] and also spelt Zeyar Thaw or Zeya Thaw); born Kyaw Kyaw (ကျော်ကျော် [tɕɔ̀ tɕɔ̀]; born 26 March 1981) is a Burmese politician and hip-hop artist who was detained for the perceived anti-government messages of his lyrics. Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience. He is a member of Pyithu Hluttaw, the Lower House of the Burmese parliament. He, along with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, were elected to the lower house on 1 April 2012.
In 2000, Zayar Thaw's band Acid released Burma's first hip-hop album. Despite predictions of failure by many in the Burmese music industry, the album, Beginning, remained in the number one position of the Burmese charts for more than two months. A Democratic Voice of Burma reporter described his music as blending a "combative, angry style with indigenous poeticism". The band's repertoire has been said to contain many "thinly veiled attacks on the regime".The Independent stated that while the band "focused on the mundane, their lyrics inevitably touched on the hardships of life in Burma, drawing them into dangerous territory."
Zayar Thaw also became known early on for his social activism. At one concert, he teamed with poets Saw Wai and Aung Way to raise money for a charity for HIV-positive orphans founded by the comedian Zarganar. Along with fellow rapper Nge Nge, Zayar Thaw also visited Zarganar's orphanages to help teach English to the children.
Zayar Thaw is one of four founding members of Generation Wave, a youth movement opposed to the State Peace and Development Council, Burma's military rulers. The group was founded on 9 October 2007, following the anti-government protests popularly known as the Saffron Revolution, and used graffiti and pamphlets to spread pro-democracy messages. Zayar Thaw reportedly developed one of the group's more widespread campaigns, bumper stickers reading "Change New Government" to apply to cars carrying "CNG" stickers (for "compressed natural gas"). The group also circulated anti-government films, including Rambo, in which the titular character battles Tatmadaw (Burmese military) soldiers in Karen State. The film had been banned by the government for portraying the SPDC and its soldiers in a negative light.
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Wikipedia