The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Nation Commemorates Martyrs’ Day
- Aung San: A Legacy Unfulfilled
- Erasing the General
- Interactive Timeline: Heroes in Myanmar’s History
| Nation Commemorates Martyrs’ Day Posted: 19 Jul 2017 04:20 AM PDT YANGON — At 10:37 a.m. on Wednesday, sirens suddenly wailed. Many of the cars on the roads of Yangon came to a halt. Drivers blared their horns for one full minute. People walking on the pavement stood still. The moment was synchronized across the country as Myanmar mourned the loss of her leaders 70 years ago today. Members of the public—from the country's President U Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to students to street vendors—commemorated the death of the country's independence leader Gen Aung San, alongside seven members of his cabinet and a bodyguard, all assassinated by a political rival in Yangon's Secretariat on July 19, 1947. Since then, the date has been designated a national day of mourning known as Martyrs' Day, annually memorialized as a state-level event. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Gen Aung San, attended the state memorial ceremony on Wednesday morning held at the red mausoleum where her father and his colleagues are interred. She was joined by other state dignitaries, including the country's vice president U Myint Swe, the Speakers for the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament, military chief Snr-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and descendants of the martyrs. When the sirens went off at 10:37 a.m., people gathering at the Gen Aung San statue in Yangon observed one minute of silence before heading to the nearby Gen Aung San Museum, the martyrs' mausoleum, and then to the Secretariat building downtown, which is open to the public on this day. In a commemoration ceremony held by Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) on Wednesday, party chairman U Nyan Win said, "When we talk about national reconciliation today, it means to take power by peaceful means, not with guns. The martyrs fell as the result of someone who took this differently. We all should take it as a lesson." Meanwhile, across Myanmar, government officials led by chief ministers commemorated the day at martyrs' monuments in their respective cities and towns with hundreds of people in attendance. In Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, Chief Minister U Zaw Myint Maung led the memorial event at Mandalar Thiri Stadium, located in Chanmyathazi Township. Hundreds of locals, students and representatives of non-governmental and civil society organizations attended. At Gen Aung San Square in Pyigyi Tagon Township, another ceremony organized by local activists was held separately. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also commemorated the occasion at her lakeside villa in Yangon by making offerings to Buddhist monks, as she did last year. The ceremony came under the spotlight in 2016 as Myanmar Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing was seen in attendance for the first time. It prompted speculation that warmer relations were in store between the army chief and the State Counselor, who has been coaxing the powerful military to further engage in the government-led peace process and to consider amendments to the 2008 military-drafted Constitution. But the senior general was not present at this year's event held at Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's villa. He was last seen at the state ceremony at the mausoleum earlier in the morning. Very recently, relations between the NLD government and the army turned sour after the Yangon chief minister made public remarks concerning the position of the military chief in the national leadership hierarchy. The army took the comments as an insult and the chief minister issued an apology to him. Additional reporting by Zarni Mann from Mandalay and Htun Htun from Yangon. The post Nation Commemorates Martyrs' Day appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Aung San: A Legacy Unfulfilled Posted: 18 Jul 2017 07:55 PM PDT Since the 32-year-old Aung San was killed in 1947, Myanmar has suffered from a crisis of leadership. The architect of national independence left a giant hole that no one has been able to fill over the past nearly 70 years. Even now, as the country tries to scale back from the abyss after decades of military rule, it continues to struggle in the absence of strong and visionary leadership. Myanmar seriously needs another Aung San, but there is no one close to the widely revered general. Myanmar people still remember him as a selfless leader with integrity, whose shrewd dealings with both the British and the Japanese in the mid-20th century helped Myanmar break free of imperialism and achieve independence. Sixty-eight years since he was assassinated by a political rival, General Aung San remains an unrivaled political figure in modern Myanmar. As his centennial birthday approaches on Feb. 13, the country will embrace grand commemorative celebrations mainly organized by the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party and its leader, the General's daughter, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The martyred Aung San is regarded as the father of modern Myanmar and the founder of the Myanmar Army. He is lovingly called "Bogyoke," meaning "General" in Myanmar language. Aung San worked for unity, equality, democracy and prosperity in Myanmar—goals that are yet to be fulfilled. Myanmar people still long for these ideals and believe that if the General had survived, the country would have evolved along this path. His immediate successor, U Nu, the most senior member of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League and Myanmar's first prime minister after the country gained independence on Jan. 4, 1948, failed to build unity with the various ethnic groups. A coup was launched in 1962 and the military has since ruled, in various guises, without pause. In January 1946, General Aung San said in a public speech that "No man, however great, can alone set the wheels of history in motion, unless he has the active support and co-operation of a whole people. No doubt individuals have played brilliant roles in history, but then it is evident that history is not made by a few individuals only." This reflected the value he placed on the participation of individual citizens in the building of the country. But it was an ideal that failed to materialize. In Myanmar since independence, only a handful of individuals "made" history—the military leaders that consistently ruled the country without the consent of ordinary citizens. When individuals strived to overturn the military's influence, they were systematically defeated. Myanmar became a failed state. Those new generations that fought for democracy were in fact struggling to achieve General Aung San's own aspirations. Even now, whenever protestors stage demonstrations, images of the General are frequently held aloft. When demonstrations were crushed, so too were General Aung San's photos scattered across the streets. Aung San once said, "I am never relieved when it comes to Burma's fate. Even in my dreams, I cry and am angry for my country as it is not independent." If he were still alive today to witness the oppression and disunity in Myanmar, he would undoubtedly shed even more tears. Aung San urged politicians to work for unity among all citizens, including ethnic nationalities. Otherwise, the General said, Myanmar "won't be able to fully enjoy the essence of independence." He was absolutely right. Aung San always underscored the importance of unity and this led to the signing of the Panglong Agreement that enshrined equal rights and political autonomy for ethnic nationalities in 1947. But successive leaders failed to build on this legacy and Myanmar descended into civil war. Aung San said, "When we build an independent Burma, ethnic people and Bamar [Burman] must have equality without discrimination." One of his favorite quotes, applicable for all ethnic people, was: "If Bamar get one kyat, Shan and Kachin must get one kyat respectively." The military leaders who ruled the country with an iron fist after 1962 failed to honor Aung San's pledge. They undercut unity, not only with ethnic people, but also pro-democracy groups and all those who spoke out against oppression. Aung San may be long dead but the aspirations he articulated are still as relevant as ever. If Myanmar is to realize the General's hopes—of peace, democracy and prosperity—current leaders must create an atmosphere of collaboration with all stakeholders, including opposition parties and ethnic groups. To work towards this, all that's needed is the genuine political will. Otherwise the country will remain in crisis. Kyaw Zwa Moe is the editor of The Irrawaddy English edition. This article originally appeared in the Feb. 2015 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Aung San: A Legacy Unfulfilled appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 18 Jul 2017 07:48 PM PDT YANGON — Just after North Korean operatives remotely detonated bombs they had hidden in the ceiling of the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Yangon, Sun Oo received a long-distance phone call. "Are they safe?" asked the caller in a worrisome tone before telling Sun Oo, who was in Mandalay at the time, about the bloody blast of 1983. The "safety" in question had nothing to do with people but rather was referring to architectural survey drawings of the site drafted months before. "My professor was calling because he was worried that the drawings had been leaked to the North Koreans. So I told him they were safe at our department in the Yangon Institute of Technology," Sun Oo, an architect, recalled 33 years after the bombing.  The Oct. 9 blast at the mausoleum where Myanmar national independence hero Aung San and his eight colleagues are interred was an attempt to assassinate South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan who was on an official visit to Myanmar. He was scheduled for a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument on that day. The president narrowly escaped the bombing but 17 other people in his delegation, including four high-ranking ministers, were killed. Thanks to the explosion, the building that housed the tombs was badly damaged, and needed to be rebuilt for the annual Martyrs Day commemoration which falls on July 19 to mark the 1947 assassination of Gen Aung San, the father of Myanmar State Counselor and de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and his colleagues. For many Burmese, paying respect to the leaders at the mausoleum has been a ritual repeated for nearly seven decades.  In mid-1984, then-dictator Ne Win's government formed a 12-member "Special Task Group" led by Sun Oo to work on a new mausoleum design. The reconstruction was completed the following year. The massive red mausoleum, adorned with a large white star on the upper left hand side, should have been the crowning achievement of his career. But for the last 32 years, Sun Oo, now president of the Association for Myanmar Architects, has felt little pride in the large red mausoleum.  "It's nothing more than a structure. It lacks the core spirit it should have conveyed," said the veteran architect. "What they should have there, for example, are inscriptions of extracts from Aung San's famous quotes. When Martyrs' Day comes, his speeches should be played on a PA system while people are paying respect," the 61-year-old said. "What lies inside is of huge sentimental value to the people," he added. "But you can't see anything related to the leaders there now." Sun Oo is not exaggerating. Until recently, the names of the nine interred were nowhere to be seen on the red mausoleum, which is located near the Shwedagon Pagoda. There are no pictures of the martyrs on the main platform, large enough to hold 600 people. Even the entrance gate lacks a sign which could educate visitors on the significance of the site. "Anything related to Gen Aung San and the other leaders has been intentionally wiped out," said Sun Oo. Hiding the History After the conceptual design for the new mausoleum was approved by the cabinet in April 1984, Sun Oo received an order to meet with the government's chief architect. During the meeting, the official asked him to jot down what he dictated: "Firstly, the new design of the mausoleum may not be a dedication to Gen Aung San and his colleagues. Second, if possible, it has to be a memorial site for 'every martyr.'" "It was the first time in my life I had ever heard they were trying to wipe out the identity of Gen Aung San and his colleagues," Sun Oo recalled. "I had never thought that they could be that ruthless especially to Gen Aung San, who was the founder of the Myanmar Army. But on that day I heard it with my own ears." Maw Lin, the current Vice Chairman of Association for Myanmar Architects, was a member of a Special Task Group that worked on the new design of the mausoleum. He said Ne Win's regime wanted to remove Aung San and the other leaders from history, even in 1984. "They rebuilt it, because they had to, but they tried their best to hide the significant roles of the leaders," he said. Their attempt to erase the martyrs, especially Aung San, from people's memories intensified after the rise of Aung San's daughter as a leader of the Myanmar pro-democracy movement following the 1988 student uprising. Everything related to Aung San was pushed from view by the then-military dictatorship.  His portrait at government schools and offices was later replaced with former junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe. On Myanmar banknotes, Aung San's image was replaced with the lion, the insignia of the military regime. The Martyrs' Day ceremony was not an exception. Public access to the mausoleum on July 19 was restricted until 2010 because the military government was afraid of the public gathering there. Senior military leaders were rarely seen attending the event. In 2008, Yangon's City Development Council, a municipal body, managed the Martyrs' Day ceremony, and until 2011, the mayor was the most senior person to attend. Even under the previous government, Thein Sein, a former general-turned-president, never attended. Yan Myo Thein, a Yangon-based political commentator, said Ne Win and successive military regimes wanted to remove Aung San from public memory because of his overwhelming political legacy. "Even though he was assassinated in 1947, Gen Aung San still is influential and earned respect from the people. U Ne Win may have been jealous of that," he explained. "The military regime at the time might have felt worried because what they were doing was contrary to what Gen. Aung San planned as the founder of the army," he added, referring to the army's repressive rule over the civilians and wars on ethnic groups in the border areas. The general believed the army should protect the people, not bully them. Pushing the Envelope Despite the orders to take out the identities of the martyrs, Sun Oo and his colleagues skillfully concealed additional spaces in their design for museum, inscriptions and plaques for their biographies and speeches "to add the spirit" to the mausoleum in the future. The authorities who reviewed the design were not aware of these details and approved it. "We added them with a faint expectation that they could be used someday," said Sun Oo. With the new civilian government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, he is hopeful that his expectations will be met. While State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi goes every year, people are excited at the prospect of the country's President Htin Kyaw attending this year's commemoration on July 19 at the mausoleum. If he does, he will be the first Myanmar head of state to celebrate Martyrs' Day publicly in many decades.  Currently, renovations are underway at the mausoleum in preparation for this year's, 69th Anniversary of Martyrs' Day. Sun Oo and the other architects who designed the monument had several meetings with authorities to put the spirit and legacy of Aung San and his colleagues back into the mausoleum. They are now waiting on the final approval from general's daughter. "If she wants us to make it happen, it will not be difficult for us because we have already prepared for it many years ago," he said. This article was originally published on June 16, 2016. The post Erasing the General appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Interactive Timeline: Heroes in Myanmar’s History Posted: 18 Jul 2017 07:34 PM PDT YANGON — As Myanmar prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of Martyrs' Day on Wednesday, The Irrawaddy memorializes a number of individuals who committed their lives to causes for the good of the country. While the list is inspired by Gen Aung San and his eight colleagues assassinated on July 19, 1947, we admit that there are many others we are unable to mention below, due to constraints of time, space and information. They also deserve honor for their merit. The years mentioned in the text below signify the date in which these individuals passed away. The post Interactive Timeline: Heroes in Myanmar's History appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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