One of the story of Communist Army leader Ne Win

Massacre on July 7th, 1962.

By U Aung, July 6, 2002, Bangkok.

On March 2 1962, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Burma,
instead of
defending the Constitution of the Union and the government elected by
the
people according to the rules and regulations stipulated by the
Constitution
was toppled and the Constitution was suspended. General Ne Win, once
Shu
Maung, a Sino-Burmese, as the Chief of Staff formed the Revolutionary
Council [RC] with his Vice Chief of Staff for Army Brigadier Aung Gyi,
Vice
Chief of Staff Air Force Tommy Cliff, Vice Chief of Staff Navy
Commodore
Than Pe, and top Colonels.

The RC, with an excuse of "containing the deterioration situation of
Burma"
came into power and had been brandishing their power to revolutionize
every
sector of the people, which did not spare the peaceful life of the
students
of the Rangoon University. The RC promulgated Hostel Rules and
Regulations;
one of the points was that all students must be in their respective
room by
9 PM by all means and the Wardens would be inspecting their room, every
night. Students could not bear such suppressive rules that treated them
like
kids.

The historic Rangoon University Student Union [RASU] was chosen by the
Hostel Union as the rallying point to protest against the Hostel Rules
on
July 7, Saturday at 1 PM after the classes. The students rallied on
time,
the RASU's fighting Pea*** flags were flying high, thousands of
anti-junta
posters were pasted, and, one after another, student leaders gave
speeches.
More and more students gathered in front of the Student Union and
became
quite agitated. The main gate that led to the Convocation Hall on the
Adipadi Road was closed as the soldiers were posted along the fences of
the
RASU and the University Compound along the University Avenue.

As time wore on agitation were channeled into action. Rector U Kar's
and
his son's cars were pulled out from U Kar's residence compound on to
the
Adipadi Road and torched them as a punishment for accepting such Rules.
Mass
of students gathered at the closed main gate and pouring out slurs
against
the soldiers: "I alone have 12th standards, I supposed three of you
combined
would not even get to 4th standards?"

Meanwhile, the RC set up a Command Post at the Burma Broadcasting
Station on
Prome Road, which was not so far from the Rangoon University. The
meeting
was presided over by Vice Chief of Staff Brigadier Aung Gyi with full
RC
members attended except the Chairman General Ne Win. At the meeting the
RC
had decided to quell the demonstration, by force if necessary, and, the
historic RASU would be demolished, as it would provide rallying point
for
the future students' demonstrations against the RC. The meeting decided
to
get approval from the Chairman and the task was assigned to Brigadier
Aung
Gyi. Aung Gyi went to see General Ne Win at his Inya Lake side villa.
Aung
Gyi found the General in intense anger and was drunk so fully so much
so
that the General was beyond control and at the state of
incomprehension.
Aung Gyi returned without having any contact with the General. When he
got
back to the Command Post he answered to the RC that "I have seen the
General". The RC assumed that the order to quell the demonstration was
approved, in fact, General Ne Win already had approved long time ago in
his
screams, and the demolishment of the RASU was also decided to carry
out.

The soldiers along the University Avenue, under orders, fired at will,
multi-direction. Many students were mown down like grasses. In the
evening
General Ne Win broadcast from the Burma Broadcasting Station that "he
would
meet sword to sword and spear to spear" to any enemy. From the same
station
it was broadcast in the news that "15 rounds were fired and about 17
people
died". There were, in fact, more than 100 died. In the dead list of 17
person, for example, Aung Khin, a student from Rangoon Arts and
Sciences
University, an onlooker from the front of the University Infirmary was
not
included. His mother and sister were collected from their house and
asked
them to identify and the authorities put the body into a coffin. Aung
Khin
was nearly 6 feet tall and the coffin was short for him. The mother
offered
to buy at her own expense a new bigger coffin was refused and the
authorities broke the legs, put it in and nailed the coffin. No rituals
must be performed was the order to the family.

On July 8 in the early wee hour the historic Rangoon University
Students'
Union was dynamited. Brigadier Aung Gyi, knowing the back ground of
General
Ne Win too well, just assumed that Ne Win would not object the
demolishing
of the Union building. Young Shu Maung had an intense ill feeling
against
the Rangoon University. While attending Senior Intermediate, a hostel
student Shu Maung was caught with a prostitute in his room in one
evening by
a young Junior Warden U Pe Maung Tin. U Pe Maung Tin, if he could have
his
own way, would have taken only disciplinary action but Senior Warden,
an
Englishman pressed charges and Shu Maung was expelled not only from the
hostel but also from the University. Shu Maung became vehemently
jealous of
other students who later led the independence movement from the RASU
main
battleground that drove the British and the Japanese out of Burma.

Military establishment is huge, getting bigger and stronger, day by
day.
Military establishment is being entrenched deeper than ever and they
have
been driving and seem never arriving. From the very first year of their
establishment in 1962, the students, years after years, have been
pulling
and pushing the pillars consistently that supported the military
establishment. As the result, in 1988, the students with a very strong
support from the masses as well as from the police and part of the
armed
forces were able to pull down one major pillar of the military
establishment. It just simply shows that relentless and unswerving
efforts
alone could demolish the military establishment. No historical records
so
far show that a tiger, out of pity for the other animal, turned into a
vegetarian.

National reconciliation program if there is any, and if that program
preclude the reconciliation between the studenzenry and the armed
forces,
then, Burma will not achieve a real reconciled Union where people live
in
happiness and harmony.

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