-- FREE SAW PHOE KWAR --

Reggae singer detained by the military after the coup in Myanmar.

On Monday February 1st. 2021, Myanmar’s military launched a coup and declared a one year state of emergency transferring authority to the army chief General Min Aung Hlaing. In a few cities, internet and mobile networks are working sporadically and some public figures have been detained, including Myanmar’s de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. A few writers and artists were arrested, among which the popular singer Saw Phoe Kwar.

Saw Phoe Kwar is a former national football player who became a reggae singer well known in Yangon and across the country for inspiring the people of Myanmar to coexist peacefully. His single “Love each other” has been a huge hit among young people and he performs regularly around Myanmar for diverse audiences.

Musicians in the military-ruled nation must submit all their song lyrics to a board of censors who ban anything they deem to be anti-regime. Saw Phoe Kwar has come up against their diktats repeatedly since producing his debut solo album ten years ago, in which three of the songs he wrote were judged taboo and then banned.

His detention is an outrageous human rights and freedom of speech violation.

This petition is our demand for the military who illegally took over power in Myanmar for his immediate release.