In Memory of Myanmar's Pro-Democracy Activist

Members of the Chin ethnic group from Myanmar stage a rally in front of the Myanmarese Embassy in Seoul, July 13, to call for freedom and democracy in the Asian country. The event was also organized in memory of Salai Tin Maung Oo, a Chin student activist, who was hanged on June 24, 1976. The demonstrators belong to the Chin Democracy and Human Rights Network.

By John Smith Thang

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, enjoyed a short period of democracy in the 1950s and was a prosperous country in Southeast Asia.

Later, the Cold War atmosphere and a misguided concept of Orientalism in Myanmar led to a form of government that ignored the people's voice, ethnic equality and human rights. It established a firm system of military rule based on socialism.

The Myanmarese military took power in a 1962 coup, which failed to win public support. Since then, Myanmar has faced a nationwide pro-democracy movement and various ethnic conflicts in which students played the main role as activists.

A student called Salai Tin Maung Oo, who was from Asho Plains Chin ethnic group, attend Rangoon University in 1974-75. He was popularly known among university students as a dedicated fighter against the brutal military regime.

At the time, U Thant, the first non-Western and the first Asian secretary general of the United Nations, died in New York after serving from 1961 to 1971. His body was flown back to Yangon, formerly Rangoon, to be buried there according to his last wish.

Many people around the globe reckoned him as an intercessor devoting himself to preventing a Third World War amid the Cold War. So U Thant is still respected and remembered by the people around the world. But the Myanmarese military did not allow a funeral ceremony for U Thant, fearing that it might stoke up the pro-democracy movement.

Salai Tin Maung Oo and other student leaders declared that it was unacceptable for the government to have ignored their demand for an official funeral for U Thant. So hundreds of student marched toward Kyaikasan Stadium to pay their last respects to him on December 5, 1974. This is also popularly know as the ``U Thant Uprising" among Myanmarese activists.

After this, students and the people have continued to demonstrate, calling for freedom from dictatorial rule. Salai Tin Maung Oo fought for the dignity of the entire country as well as the symbol of the ethnic Chin's brave freedom fighter.

Also Salai Tin Maung Oo organized many other activities and events in addition to the ``U Thant Uprising.'' He organized a ``labor strike anniversary day'' on July 6, 1975 and ``Mai-yar-pih events'' in 1976. The military arrested him for his role in the uprising and other events.

Before Salai Tin Maung Oo was executed by hanging, military intelligence tried to persuade him to pledge to follow their authority in exchange for freedom. But he refused to do so and shouted, ``I shall never kneel down under your soldiers' boots.'' And he continued to shout in jail, ``Comrades, they are killing me secretly.''

Finally he was secretly hanged at Insein Jail at 4 a.m. on June 24, 1976. He was truly a pro-democracy activist and hero fighting for freedom. His death was unforgettably painful for Myanmarese yearning for freedom and democracy.

Today, the military regime continues its dictatorial rule, trampling on the nation's Constitution and democracy. It even neglected rescue and rehabilitation work for victims of Cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar on May 3, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives.

On the contrary, the junta continued to push for a constitutional referendum in the midst of the people's suffering from the natural disaster. And the government is not willing to help millions of victims who have no food, no water and no shelter. Rather it has intentionally delayed and halted international relief aid.

It is one of the cruelest acts against humanity the world has ever seen. It is the military that turned Myanmar from the most prosperous nation in Asia into the most impoverished in the region.

Therefore, it is a big challenge for us to continue our struggle for freedom and democracy under the military dictatorship. Myanmar needs a lot more heroes like Salai Tin Maung Oo to fight for freedom. We also call for support from around the world for our cause for freedom and democracy.

John Smith Thang wrote this article to honor Salai Tin Maung Oo and remember him with profound grief and sorrow as an ethnic Chin student leader who died as a martyr for freedom and democracy. The writer is director of the Chin Democracy and Human Rights Network based in Korea. He can be reached at cdhrn.kr [at] gmail [dot] com.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2008/07/137_27912.html