Monday, September 19, 2011

Pro-democracy activists in New Delhi holds Win Maw Oo Day

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Monday, 19 September 2011 21:34 Salai Han Thar San

New Delhi (Mizzima) – A ceremony to mark the day on which a Burmese High School student, Win Maw Oo, was shot dead by Burmese soldiers during the bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in 1988 in Rangoon was held on Monday by pro-democracy activists.

Win Maw Oo, a student at High School No. 4 in Kyimyindaing Township, was shot dead by soldiers at the corner of Sule Pagoda Road and Merchant Road in Rangoon on September 19, 1988. She died a few hours later at a hospital.

Win Maw Oo's parents Win Kyu and Khin Htay Win in their home with a picture of student Win Maw Oo on the right next to a picture of Aung San, Burma's independence hero. Photo: Mizzima

In 2010, Burmese pro-democracy activists in New Delhi named September 19 as Win Maw Oo Day, or Burma’s National Heroes Day, to commemorate her. She was the eldest of six children.

In 1988, 42 days after the start of the nationwide-protest against the Burma Socialist Programme Party, the army staged a bloody coup. Observers estimated that more than 3,000 people died in the crackdown.

Military dictators then ruled Burma for the next 22 years. In November 2010, the former Burmese junta held a controversial general election, and the military-dominated Union Solidarity and Development Party won the majority of seats in the country’s new Parliament.

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