8888 Historical Memoir
Cungbik Zaathang
The 8888 uprising of 1988 marked a significant turning point in Myanmar’s modern history. In Hakha, the movement for democracy involved a broad range of civic groups, including the Chin Youth Organization (Chin Seino Organization (CSO), an organization founded in September 1988 at Hakha YMCA hall by 300 yoths to promote Democracy in Myanmar and protect Hakha city), the Student Union, and the Teachers’ Union. These organizations played an important role in mobilizing students, teachers, and members of the wider community to protest military rule and demand democracy. The people of Hakha also participated actively in demonstrations and other forms of civil resistance.
Following the military coup and the suppression of the democracy movement, the authorities moved quickly to dismantle the locations and offices associated with the protests, including the protest camps. Participants in the movement were subjected to arrest, imprisonment, interrogation, torture, and other forms of persecution. Some were killed, while others were forced to go into hiding or flee to escape further repression.
During this period, the CSO office in Hakha was located at the home of Pu Ram Luai. One day, soldiers delivered a written notice ordering us to vacate the office before 5:00 p.m. that evening. The message stated that if we failed to leave, the authorities would take appropriate action against us.
In response, we convened a meeting of the CSO Executive Committee. The members included Pu Zing Cung, Saya Thang Rem, Salai Biak Thiang (late), Pu Thawng Cung Lian, Solomon Thang Ding, Norman Ceu Tu (late), Pu Nawvel, Pu Heaven, and myself, Cung Bik.
Eight members were present at the meeting because Pu Thawng Cung Lian was taking a trip, away from home. Rev. Mang Kio Thang also joined the meeting. We invited him to sit with us, and he took a seat beside me.
The central question before the committee was whether we should comply with the military authorities' order and vacate the CSO office or remain there despite the threat. We initially decided to settle the matter through a secret ballot. When the votes were counted, the result was evenly divided, with four members voting to leave and four voting to remain.
As chairman of the meeting, I was asked to make the final decision. Rather than making the decision personally, I proposed that we conduct another ballot using two clearly stated choices: “We will leave” and “We will not leave.” I stated that we would accept the decision of the final vote and act together according to its outcome.
Before the final decision was made, Rev. Mang Kio Thang prayed for us. His prayer was deeply emotional, and tears filled his eyes as he entrusted our situation to God. Following his prayer, I announced the decision: “We will not leave.”
We then knelt together and remained in the CSO office, prepared to face whatever consequences might follow.
We waited throughout the evening. By approximately 9:00 p.m., the soldiers had still not arrived. They eventually came at around 5:00 a.m. the following morning and entered the CSO office. They ransacked the office and destroyed or scattered the materials and belongings inside.
Looking back on that event decades later, I regard it as one of the defining moments of my experience during the 8888 movement. The decision to remain in the office was not made lightly. We understood the danger and the possibility of arrest, imprisonment, torture, or even death. Nevertheless, we believed that abandoning the office under threat would undermine the purpose for which we had gathered.
This memory is also inseparable from the people who stood with us during those difficult days. I remember with particular gratitude, Rev. Mang Kio Thang, whose leadership, courage, and prayer left a lasting impression on me. I also remember Norman Ceu Tu and Salai Biak Thiang, whose lives and sacrifices became part of the broader history of the struggle for freedom and democracy among the Chin people. Salai Biak Thiang ultimately gave his life in service to the nation.
After more than three decades, these events remain important not merely as personal memories but as part of the historical experience of a generation that witnessed the rise of the democracy movement, its violent suppression, and the sacrifices made by countless ordinary people.
For me, however, the memory also carries a profound spiritual significance. I continue to thank God for the opportunity to have participated in the CSO movement and for the courage He gave us during a time of uncertainty and danger. The events of that night remind me that history is shaped not only by political movements and institutions but also by the convictions, decisions, sacrifices, and faith of individuals who are willing to stand for what they believe is right.
As we remember the 8888 movement and the decades of service and sacrifice that followed, it is important to preserve the stories of those who participated in it. Their experiences provide future generations with a better understanding of the cost of freedom, the dangers of authoritarian rule, and the enduring responsibility to remember those who sacrificed their lives in the pursuit of justice and democracy.
Cungbik Zaathang (Maung Chit)
August 8, 2026
