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Suu Kyi banned from Martyrs’ Day

A Myanmar family kneel before the Arzarni memorial in Yangon on Martyrs’ Day yesterday to pay tribute to the nation’s founding father, General Aung, along with his Cabinet in 1947. PHOTO: EPA

Hundreds of riot police and soldiers ringed a monument in downtown Yangon yesterday as officials gathered to commemorate the shooting death 61 years ago of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s father.

Myanmar independence hero General Aung San and other government leaders were assassinated by gunmen during a Cabinet meeting on July 19, 1947, shortly after Britain granted independence to the Southeast Asian colony.

Flags were flown at half mast in the capital to mark the day, a state holiday. Unlike past years, foreign diplomats were not invited to the tightly guarded wreath-laying ceremony at the Martyr’s Monument located near the famed Shwedagon pagoda.

Opposition activists have suggested that the ruling military junta is trying to downgrade the importance of Aung San’s legacy as a way of undercutting the popularity of his daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest.

Aung San Suu Kyi had not been invited to attend the annual ceremony by the ruling military, an official from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party said.

“She wasn’t invited to attend the ceremony although the authorities used to send her an invitation,” the official said.

The mayor, Brigadier General Aung Thein Linn, some government officials and family members of the country’s late leaders all attended the 61st anniversary event.

But invitations to foreign embassies were canceled by the foreign affairs ministry without reason, diplomats in Yangon said.

The diplomats said the foreign ministry had informed them that the government intended this year to hold a low-key ceremony because it came just two-and-a half months after Cyclone Nargis devastated much of the region south of Yangon, leaving at least 85,000 people dead and about 50,000 missing.

Police cordoned off the monument, putting up heavy metal barriers and coils of barbed wire across roads.

Dozens of policemen carrying assault rifles and shotguns manned the barricades during a heavy downpour.

Security was also tight around the headquarters of the NLD, where 300 party members gathered yesterday morning, saluting the spot where the leaders were gunned down.

Amid tight security and with armed police trucks present, the gathering was peaceful with no shouting or marching as has been known in previous years.

But the NLD reiterated its call for the immediate and unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

In a statement, the NLD urged the junta to “immediately and unconditionally” release Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained pro-democracy activists.

Earlier this month 14 Aung San Suu Kyi supporters were charged for protesting against the extension of her house arrest.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained for more than 12 of the past 18 years. Her party swept the last general polls in 1990, but the military refused to hand over power.

The international community has increased pressure on the junta since it violently quashed peaceful mass protests last September. At least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained.

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