March 1962 – coup d’etat by General Ne Win; democratic rule of Union of Burma ended

1977 – graduated from Yangon’s Elite Dagon 1 High School

1982 – joined traveling troupe of comedians

1985 – received degree in dental surgery from Yangon University of Dental Medicine

1985 – starred as lead actor in films Mintha Daw Mintha and La Naut

1986 – starred as lead actor in films Sein-Lai-Lay Kya Tha-La Lo and A-Sa-Ga-Daw Mohn De Hso

1986 – took to stage full-time, adopting name Zarganar (Tweezers); formed the Mya Ponnama Anyeint troupe whose shows frequently appeared on TV

September 1987 – students at Rangoon Institute of Technology protested on campus after General Ne Win announced the withdrawal of the newly-replaced currency notes; military killed student activist Phone Maw; sparking wave of protests that ushered in Burma’s “Summer of Democracy”

March 1988 – demonstration provoked ferocious reaction from junta; roughly 100 civilians killed

1988 – spoke at Rangoon General Hospital

8 August 1988 – mass rally called by university students; uprising known as the 8888 Uprising continued for six weeks even though army indiscriminately killed thousands; an estimated 5,000 unarmed demonstrators killed in unrests, thousands arrested, many tortured

18 September 1988 – army responded to calls for democracy; General Saw Maung staged coup d’etat, formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)

2 October 1988 - arrested along with film director Tin Soe and actor Zin Wyne during a meeting at a bookshop in central Rangoon; interrogated at No. 6 Military Intelligence Unit for eight days; accused of being an ‘instigator’ and sent to notorious Insein prison for one year; started writing poetry

23 April 1989 – released from prison, six months early thanks to international campaign launched by International PEN

20 July 1989 – Aung San Suu Kyi placed under house arrest without trial

19 May 1990 – campaigned for his mother, who joined the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi; impersonated SLORC leader General Saw Maung to a crowd of thousands at the Yankin Teacher’s Training College Stadium in Rangoon; arrested shortly afterwards and sentenced to five years in prison; held in solitary confinement at Rangoon’s Insein Prison

May 1990 – parliamentary elections held, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy wins 392 of the 485 seats, results ignored by junta

1991 – awarded the Lillian Hellmann and Dashiell Hammett Grant by the Fund for Free Expression, part of the Human Rights Watch organization

25 March 1994 – released from prison; prohibited from performing on stage but allowed to participate in video productions, working as producer, director, scriptwriter, and actor; accepted invitation to perform at a festival in Rangoon on his first day out of prison

1997 – banned for another three years from show business

2000 – allowed to do films but no comedy shows or stage theater

2001 – starred as supporting actor in his own films Datkhe and Ponna Ba Kun

2002 – starred as supporting actor in his own films La-Min-Go Sein-Khaw-Gya Thu-Mya, Yindwin Zaga, Chit-Pa-Naw- Maung-Go, Padauk Pinle

2003 – starred as supporting actor in his own films Karyan A-Lwe, Pyauk Pyauk Myauk Myauk, Pawpaw Papa Pyon, Style

2004 – directed three short videos and a film to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS in the country

2004 – starred as supporting actor in his own films Ba A-Yay-Kyi Zohn-Le, Balu, Kyepwint Lay-Mya, Ngo-Ah-Htet Yi-Ah-Than

2005 – starred as supporting actor in his own films Mingalaba, Yadana, Model A-Chit-Mya

February 2006 – government banned the film Run Out of Patience directed by Zarganar

April 2006 – criticized official regulations regarding Burma’s traditional water festival in an interview for BBC’s Burmese service

May 2006 – banned from show business indefinitely for BBC interview and for making a television commercial suggesting Taiwanese independence; regime effectively made him a non-person, banning his public performances as well as any news about him in Burmese press

September 2006 – banned indefinitely from performing publicly or participating in any kind of entertainment-related work

February 2007 – state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar accused Zarganar of participating in ‘illegal’ activities and inciting ‘public unrest and violence’ after his speech at a debate at the American Center, a venue operated by the US embassy in Rangoon

15 August 2007 – Saffron Revolution begins in Burma

September 2007 – urged public to support the monks in radio interviews from outside the country; together with fellow Burmese celebrity Kyaw Thu, Zarganar publicly delivered food and water to Buddhist monks preparing to protest

26 September 2007 - arrested at his home for his participation in the ongoing anti-government protests

17 October 2007 – released

2 May 2008 – Cyclone Nargis hits Burma, killing more than 100,000 people

May 2008 – organized a group of an estimated 400 Burmese involved in the entertainment industry to provide volunteer disaster relief aid in areas damaged by Cyclone Nargis

4 June 2008 – arrested for speaking to foreign media about the situation of millions of people left homeless after Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy Delta. Special Branch police and other authorities took him from his home along with a computer, VCDs, and USD 1,000 saying that they needed to speak with him for a couple of days

October 2008 – awarded the One Humanity Award by PEN Canada of which he is an honorary member

21 November 2008 – convicted of ‘public order offenses’ sentenced by a closed court to 45 years imprisonment for violations of the Electronics Act

26 November 2008 – awarded the ArtVenture Freedom to Create Prize for Imprisoned Artists

27 November 2008 – received an additional 14-year prison term for offences under four actions of the criminal code – 17/2, 32 (b), 295 (a), and 5050 (b). Sentence now totals 59 years

13 February 2009 - Rangoon divisional court upholds appeal and prison term reduced by 24 to 35 years, the day before the UN Human Rights envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana visits Burma. Family says it will appeal against remaining sentence to Supreme Court