The Moustache Brothers
The Moustache Brothers are a comedic trio from Mandalay, Burma known for live performances that combine screwball comedy, classic Burmese dance, and sharply satirical criticism of the totalitarian Burmese military regime. The Moustache Brothers originally comprised U Par Par Lay, U Lu Zaw, and U Lu Maw. Par Par Lay and Lu Maw were real life brothers, while the trio's third member, Lu Zaw, is their cousin. Lay and Zaw served almost six years of a sentence to seven years in labour camp for criticizing the government in a performance at the home of Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon in 1996. Two National League for Democracy members who had arranged the performance were also arrested and served the same time. Amnesty International led a campaign for their release, and negotiations by Suu Kyi are suspected of having contributed to their release. As part of the conditions for their release and the fact that they were under house arrest regulations, they were allowed to perform only for foreigners, within the garage of their Mandalay house. Par Par Lay was arrested on 25 September 2007 as part of the crackdown on the anti-government protests and held until 1 November. In August