COSTA MESA : Myanmar Exile to Speak at College

An Orange Coast College counselor, banned from his native Myanmar because of his longtime criticism of the military government, will discuss his troubled nation and its suppressed democracy movement at a campus dinner next week.

U Kyaw Win has been a critic of the government of Myanmar (formerly Burma) since 1969, a year after he came to the United States. The title of his Nov. 19 speech will be “Burma: The Crushed Movement for Democracy.”

In 1988, the Myanmar government squelched a pro-democracy movement by students and others, reportedly killing several thousand people, far more than were killed the next year by the Chinese military in Tian An Men Square during an uprising that received worldwide publicity.

Win will talk about Myanmar, its people, how the country has been faltering since a military junta ousted an elected government in 1962 and what the United States and the international community can do to help the people of Myanmar. Win is the United States ambassador for a provisional government elected in 1990 but has not taken office because the military government refused to recognize the election.

Reservations for the $10 dinner are required by Friday. Call (714) 432-5920.