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13 March day is the Symbol of 8888, But …

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My name is Myo Win. In 1988 I was studying at RIT as a final year student, majoring in Mechanical Engineering.
On the evening of March the 13th, 1988, I was chatting with my friends at a tea shop. One of them told us that students were gathering to go back to the ward to ask the ward authorities to take action against some people who had beaten up a student.

I went back to my hostel because I heard that my friends were looking for me, but I didn’t see anyone at the hostel. I watched TV alone. Then one of my friends came and told me that some students were surrounded and being attacked in the ward, so I went out with him to where the riot was occurring. It was about 8 o’clock.

At that time, there were not too many students there. We organized ourselves as well as we could. When we took to the street, we saw some students who had escaped. A car which belonged to one of our school staff was driving out from the ward. In it were some students who had been injured in the riot. A student shouted from the car that some other students were surrounded at the ward, and we should go and help them. When we heard this, we reacted without thinking, picked up bricks and sticks, and went to the ward.

When we arrived at the riot, students and members of the public were throwing stones at each other. Some students got injured. We send those who got injured to Insein hospital. We saw many injured students. We left them at the hospital and went back to the school. By then, there was already a roadblock, and there were no buses. When we met with soldiers with barricades, they questioned us, but we gave our explanations and were allowed to go back to the school.

When we got back to the RIT complex, we saw the riot police, fire fighters and ward council members positioned on the Insein Road; and soldiers positioned at Thamaing junction and Insein BOC bus stop. High-ranking officials from the Ministry of Education also arrived. In the meantime, the riot police tried to disperse the crowd using fire hoses, but they targeted only the students rather than the public so we got angry.

They could not disperse the crowd. They used tear-gas, while the riot police fired guns at the school complex. They climbed into the school complex, and occupied the school.

At that time, I was standing at near a water fountain. Ko Phone Maw was near the grass, facing the riot police. He was shot, and died on the spot. As I remember, some students got injured. They were Soe Naing, (who died on the 5th of May, 1988), and Myint Oo. That is all I remember of the night when Ko Phone Maw was killed.

After the shooting and tear-gas had stopped, we went back to our hostel in the car which took Ko Soe Naing to the hospital. I had planned to go along with my friends to the hospital but in the end I didn’t. That was lucky for me, because one of our teachers, and some of our friends who went to take Ko Soe Naing to the hospital, got arrested.

We built a mausoleum where Ko Phone Maw’s blood had stained the ground overnight. We didn’t sleep, but made a pamphlet, and discussed justice and revealing the truth. Military personnel were still positioned opposite the grass. All the gates were blocked. I am not sure if we formed a committee or not. Some witnesses told us about their recent experiences.

The next day, on March the 14th, we held a demonstration. We walked around the campus as our teachers would not allow us to go out. The military personnel had withdrawn from the complex, but the roads were still blocked. We discussed how to respond to the government action.

The Burmese Broadcasting Service announced that Phone Maw had died during a clash between the students and members of the public. The BBC (Burmese service) also made the same announcement. This made us angry, and we demanded that our rector reveal the true story. He replied to us that though he knew the truth, he could not do anything. We decided we would do it ourselves.

We gave speeches; – I can’t remember who gave the speeches – we decided that we would never give up this cause; we chose leaders; if our leaders were to die, some of our followers would replace them. Our registry signed a statement that said Phone Maw was shot dead. We copied the letter and distributed it to other university campuses. We formed a Phone Maw funeral service committee. I was one of the committee members. On March the 15th, the roads were reopened. Some students from other universities came to RIT. We collected money for Phone Maw’s tomb. We got a lot of money.

At midday on the 15th of March, soldiers took up position again in front of the school and surrounded us. Some students tried to escape. We discussed what we should do as the military prepared to invade the school. We decided we would probably be arrested when they came in.

At 3pm, the authorities used a loud speaker to tell us not to fight back. We were surrounded and our teachers knew that the military would soon enter the complex. Some teachers tried to help us to escape. They asked a member of the public to show us the way. We followed him, and were able to manage to escape.

I think students launched the demonstration for many reasons. The killing of Ko Phone Maw was an immediate cause, but even before he was killed, there had been some political activity on the campus. In 1987, a student had quarreled with staff from the government savings bank when he went to withdraw money. He was one of our friends. He was just given a warning by the school authorities, but a rumor got up that had been dismissed from the university. Some students planned to demand that he be allowed to remain, but we informed the students that it wasn’t true, that he hadn’t been kicked out of the university. We were also worried that the time was not yet right to take up political activity on the campus.

One student was well aware that the BSPP wasn’t managing the country well. Even Ne Win himself confessed that his socialist economy was not working, and that it might be necessary to change things. After the BSPP demonetization, this student organized a committee to ask the government for compensation. He encouraged us to form a committee. We asked the school authorities for compensation, and to postpone the examinations, but the education authority refused our demands. As a result, we started a demonstration, and marched to Thamaing Township. The Thamaing junction was blocked, so we went back to school. The next day, the school closed.

The school re-opened in December and we took the exam. At that time, when some students were trying to form student unions, we got letters from Rangoon University and Mandalay University which stated that they already formed student unions. I got a letter. We planned activities to start to organize the students on National Day, but we were not successful. We tried again on the night of the last exam. We turned off the lights and shouted by way of demonstration.

Another reason was that the Lanzin Youth leadership training used to be held at Rangoon University, but the authorities planned to hold it at RIT, and decorate the hostels, roads, and parkland etc. Waiters were forced to take a medical check, and those who passed were able to serve in the Lanzin Youth. We got angry because we assumed it was an insult to us, so we broke all the new windows on the last night of the examinations.

The Ko Phone Maw affair followed former affairs. When many people talk about the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, they only concentrate on the clash between the public and students on March the 13th. In fact, there were many reasons for the occurrence of the “Four Eights Affair”.
However, I honestly didn’t know too much about politics at that time. I became involved in politics because of some of my friends.

(Interview with Ko Myo Win/ Translated by Gyittu)

Editorial of 20th Anniversity

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The Responsibility of Youth and Students Today to Fight Against Military Dictatorship

In March, 1988, Ko Phone Maw and Ko Soe Naing who were students at the Rangoon Institute of Technology, were brutally killed on their campus by the BSPP military regime. This event was followed by the Red Bridge Students Affair – the former name of the bridge was White Bridge, but as many university students were killed there by the military, students changed it to Red Bridge (meaning Bloody Bridge). Both bloody affairs led to the “Four Eights Affair” – the pro-democracy peoples’ uprising of 8/8/88. Although the dictatorship has always tried to suppress these revolutions, it was never able to destroy the spirit of the students and their Student’s Union. This has been proved as successive generations of students have handed over the spirit to the next generation.

Since under colonial rule, Burmese students have been at the forefront of the struggle for independence. They love freedom and justice and they are ready to give their right hand for their truth, and to protest against the unjust rule for our people. This is the Burmese student Spirit.

The Burmese military regime have blindly ignored the wishes of the people since the 1990 general election result, and have convened a sham national convention to draft a constitution.

Since September, 2007, the SPDC regime have arbitrarily arrested student leaders and Buddhist monks, and recently they announced 1/2008, 2/2008 and 3/2008, and are trying to gain legitimacy through them. It is unimaginable for the future of our country, our people and our students if the SPDC’s sham constitution can be made to appear legal through a referendum. Therefore it is our people’s and our

students’ unavoidable national responsibility to ensure a NO vote at the referendum. Students should follow the way of former student generations and organize the people to vote NO at the upcoming referendum.

In accordance with the spirit of the Burmese student union, the new generation of students should not put aside their historic responsibility to stand at the forefront of our people and turn down the SPDC’s unilateral constitution.

Go to the Ballot Booth and vote “No”.

We would like to request that the international community and student bodies recognize Burma Human Rights Day, condemn the Burmese military regime’s brutality and demand a stop to human rights violations in Burma. They should demand that the SPDC regime guarantee to give a free and fair referendum for the draft constitution.

ALL BURMA FEDERATION OF STUDENT UNIONS
FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

This Editorial extracted from 20th Anniversity of Phone Maw Death in 2008.

Burma Human Rights Day

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Students are in a position to speak for the people because they are educated and can be considered to be a driving force for modernization in the context of developing countries. As Phillip (1967) states: in developing areas, university and sometimes even secondary school students are among the few “modern” and politically conscious elements in their societies, and have never lost their radical nationalist inclination.
In the case of Burmese student activism, Burmese students have been at the vanguard of the struggle for independence, and the first nationalists emerged from Rangoon University. Historically, students are considered a politically conscious element in Burmese society and are respected by the people. When students have been killed by those in authority, it has generally been followed by mass demonstrations which could lead to revolution or social change.
On 13 March, 1988 Ko Phone maw, a fifth-year student at Rangoon Institute of Technology was killed by government riot police. This could be considered the event which sparked off the historic 1988 pro-democracy uprising. During this uprising, many political leaders remembered Ko Phone Maw’s death, and planned to commemorate the day as Burma Human Rights day.
Aung Myo Min, a human rights activist who was a close friend of Ko Phone Maw, said the day deserved to be named as Human Rights day because the BSPP military-backed government committed many human rights violations over 26 years. People had acquiesced in their oppression because they lacked enough awareness to fight the BSPP government for their rights. However, when people heard Ko Phone Maw had been killed by the BSPP, people got a shock and came to realize the brutality of the government. This increased awareness of the lack of democracy and determined people to fight against for their rights and the event led to the “Four Eights Affair”, which tried to restore democracy, human rights, peace, and justice to Burma. Aung Myo Min also said March 13 is one of the greatest events for the Burmese democracy movement, and is named as a human rights day, but it should not be only related to one student, Ko Phone Maw, who was killed by the government. There were many people who were killed or imprisoned for long-term over human rights, so we should hold Human Rights Day for all those fighting and making sacrifices for democracy and human rights in Burma, both now and in the past. The first Burma Human Rights Day was held in the compound of the Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT) on the 13th of March, 1989. Many political leaders joined it, including Aung San Suu Kyi, U Nu , U Tin Oo, and U Khin Maung Myint from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), U Tha Ban, U Thu Wai, etc.
Ko Tate, was one of the members of the organizing committee for Ko Phone Maw’s day. The committee was formed of 13 people including Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Ko Aung Pwint (RIT), Saw Win Shein (RIT) and other activists. Ko Tate recalled his experience. He said he is not quite sure whose initiative it was to hold the day. Some people said it was inspired by Aung San Suu Kyi, and some said it was motivated by U Nu. During the ceremony, no politician or any student activists declared the day to be Burma Human Rights Day – however, he saw many placards which mentioned “Burma Human Rights Day”. For this reason it can still be considered the first celebration of Burma Human Rights Day.
On that day, many students who planned to join it were detained for a while at the Thamyaing Junction. When some students arrived at RIT and prepared for the commemoration, the RIT complex was enclosed by military trucks which seemed intended to intimidate the people who were coming to join the ceremony. However, the crowd got bigger and the grounds filled with people.
All the participants agreed that the 13th of March, 1988 was the most important day of the “Four Eights Affair”. Although students also resented the government’s irresponsible action of demonetization in 1987, if Ko Phone Maw had not been killed, the 1988 pro-democracy uprising is very unlikely to have happened. Anyhow, the first Burmese Human Rights Day ended successfully.
So far, it is the first and last Burmese Human Rights Day to be held in Burma. Student activists tried to hold a second anniversary of Burmese Human Rights Day, and formed an organizing committee of 13 people including Mar Gi, Kyaw Kyaw Soe, and Mg Mg Kyaw and other students. SLORC took pre-emptive action and arrested many students on the 12th of March, 1990, including Ko Bo Kyi, Toe Kyaw Hlaing , Ko Mya Aye and other students. They were imprisoned for three years, and other students were also arrested.
In Burma, students can’t publicly hold Burmese Human Rights Day, but every 13th of March students put a black piece cloth on their shirt as a symbol of sorrowful memory of Ko Phone Maw’s death. They also distribute leaflets, so as not to forget him as a martyr, and to remind themselves of the fight for human rights, democracy, peace and justice. Burma Human Rights Day is not only observed for the memory of Ko Phone Maw, but also to draw attention to all forms of human rights violation in Burma. It should inspire the fight for human rights regardless of sex, gender, race, status or background, so that our people are treated with human dignity in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Burma Human Rights Day by Myint Zaw

This article is extracted from 20th Anniversity of Phone Maw Death in 2008.

The Portrait of Phone Maw

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Interview with Aung Myo Min

On the 13th of March, 1988, Ko Phone Maw who was a fifth-year student at the Rangoon Institute of Technology majoring in Chemical Engineering, was killed by riot police at Kyogyone township, in the school campus. This is considered to be the one of the major factors contributing to the occurrence of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. Since 1989, Burmese opposition groups have named the 13th of March as Burma Human Rights Day and celebrate it both inside and outside Burma.
We searched for biographical material about Ko Phone Maw, and conducted an interview with one of his closest friends, Aung Myo Min, who is now a director of Human Rights Education in Burma (HREIB).
“Ko Phone Maw was descended from Shan people – some of his family’s relatives lived in Shan State. He was studying at Rangoon, he lived at Hlaing Township with his mother and elder sisters. He was the youngest son of his family. He said his sisters loved him too much and treated him like a child. Although he was old enough to go out and stay with his friends overnight, his sisters didn’t like it. Sometimes he didn’t go along with his sisters. Sometimes he joked, ‘My sisters treat me as if I was a girl’. He was not a hostel student, but he spent most of his time at the hostel with us.
Ko Phone Maw had a pale complexion, he was neither tall nor short, his eyebrows were thick, his lips as red as Shan girls’ lips. He was a good-hearted guy, he liked teamwork, and he was loved by his friends. They called him ‘Phone Phone’ rather than his real name. He was a member of Lanzin Youth, and of Myanmar Red Cross society.” Aung Myo Min recalled Ko Phone Maw’s altruistic spirit:
“He was very altruistic, he liked to be so. When we were studying at Regional College, Hlaing campus, we were members of the Burma Red Cross Society. He was a senior member. After he passed second year at Regional College, he was studying at RIT but there was no Red Cross Society in RIT, so he was still involved in Hlaing Campus’s Red Cross Society. He taught junior students and he was a good trainer of basic military parade drill. He was respected by many students. Only clever students are eligible to study at RIT, so some students were proud to be an RIT student. He was never proud of it. He treated us all equally, regardless of him being a senior student, or of our different subjects and schools.”
Aung Myo Min also recalled more about Ko Phone Maw’s remarkable character. He said that they were very close because there were not so many members of the Red Cross Society. Sometimes they stayed at camp, particularly on World Red Cross Society Day, which is on the 8th of May.
“When we stayed together at camp, sometimes we talked the whole night. Though he was older than me, he was fond of entertainment like us, and sometimes he played the guitar. However, he had self-respect and cared about dignity, and he cared about the Red Cross Society uniform. When he wore the uniform, he acted like a gentleman. He warned us not to act like lay people when we wore the uniform. I often remember it.”
He added that Ko Phone Maw was very smart. “Every year one of our members was given an award as a distinguished member. He was nominated for it, but he missed it that year – it was awarded to a girl.
At that time we were not too much interested in politics. As we were members of the Red Cross Society, we were automatically made members of Lanzin Youth, but it didn’t mean we believed in the BSPP or it’s ideology. In fact, we didn’t care about it; we just wanted to be involved in doing some social work. Frankly, we – Ko Phone Maw and I – were not interested in politics at all.
However, sometimes we had to deal with poor people, particularly when we went to a place where there was a fire. We noticed many people were poor, and after we got back from there to school we talked about the world not being fair. We were studying at the campus, wearing new shirts and driving a state-of-the-art car, we were isolating ourselves and acting like an elite, but not too far away from us, there were many very poor people. However, we never thought it was a result of the political system and didn’t blame BSPP mismanagement.”
Aung Myo Min said that when he heard that Ko Phone was killed, he and all of Ko Phone Maw’s friends got a shock. “Honestly, at that time, I was not yet aware of politics, but after he was killed we joined the demonstration in Rangoon University. In fact, I was drawn into politics because we lost our respectable and peaceful friend. He was arbitrarily killed by the military. However, I have since become deeply involved in politics over time. I am doing politics not only for him, but also for human rights and social justice. Let me say frankly – in a nutshell – that I was involved in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising is because of him.

This interview is extracted from 20th Anniversity of Phone Maw Death in 2008.