Two young men were killed Sunday near the former Burmese capital by members of the country’s military following an altercation with an officer, according to a witness to the incident and relatives of one of the victims.
Ten soldiers led by a captain of unit LIB 59, stationed in the capital of Burma’s Bago division, about 50 miles from Rangoon, went to the home of Aung Thu Hein, 22, and Soe Paing Zaw, 18, and shot the two men to death early on Sept. 5, sources said.
In an interview the same day, the aunt of Aung Thu Hein, Daw Htoo, described the series of events that led to her nephew’s death.
"Last night at about 11 p.m., two military officers left the California Karaoke bar drunk and departed in a cyclo taxi. My nephew and his friends were also driving a cyclo near the same corner, and the two groups had an accident,” Daw Htoo said.
“The [officers] yelled and swore at my nephew and his friends, and they got into a fight,” she said.
“After my nephew fled the scene, [one of] the military officers and 10 soldiers went to his house at about 12:30 a.m. [the next morning]. They demanded that the two men come out or they would enter the home shooting. At that moment, the boys appeared in the street as they walked home. The soldiers shot them several times."
A witness to the shooting who asked to remain anonymous also said the soldiers fired several rounds at the young men.
“One body had four bullets [in it] and the other one had six,” the witness said.
“The military took the bodies and covered their faces. We were not allowed to see them.”
Settlement offered
Daw Wai, the mother of Aung Thu Hein, said she was away in Shan state receiving medical treatment when the shooting occurred.
In an interview the same day, after returning to Bago, Daw Wai said she had not yet been given permission to see the body of her son.
"Today I was called for and offered a settlement, but I did not accept their offer. They offered 1 million kyat (U.S. $1,000) for each [death]. I said I wouldn't take it. I just want my son to have a proper funeral,” Daw Wai said.
“I did ask them if soldiers are allowed to shoot and kill simply because they have military training. They said such actions are not allowed,” she said.
Daw Wai said she was told that the military was scheduled to hold a meeting to discuss the incident on Monday.
“I told them I don't care about any meeting. I don't expect or care about money either. And my son was not involved in any politics either. It is not right thing to do to shoot my son to death just because he was accused of punching someone," she said.
In a Sept. 7 interview, Daw Htoo confirmed that authorities had attempted to compensate the family for their loss.
“The authorities did not threaten us, but they came yesterday to settle the matter with an offer of 1 million kyat. Three military officials, including a high-ranking colonel, came to see us, but we would not accept it,” Daw Htoo said.
“We said, ‘Please, allow us to pay the expenses for our children’s final journeys by ourselves. We are not rich, but we want to pay for it,’” she said.
Officials told the families of the victims that the officer and the soldiers who shot them had been arrested and would be tried.
Funeral security ‘tight’
Days later, the Burmese military oversaw a funeral ceremony that witnesses said was large, but muted.
The early morning funeral procession was held Sept. 7 and led mourners along a five-mile route from the Bago hospital to the Pe Hlaung Taung Quin cemetery.
According to witnesses, nearly 2,000 residents attended the ceremony, which was heavily guarded by plainclothes security officers. Nearly 50 buses and vans filled with mourners followed the procession to the final resting place for the victims’ remains.
One person who attended the funeral said authorities took extra precautions to prevent the crowd from expressing anger over the killings.
“Security was very tight, and police forces from other townships were placed at the hospital, along the road to the cemetery, and at the victims’ homes, which is unusual,” the attendee said.
“At first, they planned the funeral at noon, but later they decided to hold it an hour earlier because of the [large] crowd,” he said.
A woman mourner said the families of the victims were reserved during the procession.
“The families looked well-composed—as if they had possibly been made to follow the orders of the authorities concerning the funeral—because they simply cried out loud. No one shouted in anger about the circumstance of the deaths,” she said.
According to the wishes of family members, the bodies of both of the men were cremated upon arrival at the cemetery.
Only family members were permitted to see the bodies, and then only for a matter of minutes, before the bodies were cremated. Plainclothes officers barred all others attending the funeral from viewing the deceased.
Original reporting by Khin Khin Ei, Kyaw Kyaw Aung and Tin Aung Khine for RFA’s Burmese service. Translated by Kyaw Min Htun and Khin May Zaw. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
