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1998 Eyewitness: 'I still remember
Eyewitness: 'I still remember the sound of gunfire'
Aye Chang Naing was a student in Burma in 1988
and took part in the demonstrations ten years ago.
After the military crackdown he was forced to flee
the country and now lives in Norway where he is
the news editor for the Voice of Democratic Burma
radio service.
These are his memories of those events:
It was first frustration, pain and anger
that burst into explosion, then there
were hopes and dreams and finally,
we were left with permanent scars.
I still vividly remember the sound of
gun fire, people shouting for help, smoke from the
crematorium chimney and the swearing of evil men
during the summer of 1988 that claimed the lives of
thousands of peaceful demonstrators.
I was a final year dentistry student.
In March, the students from
Rangoon University staged
the first demonstration inside
the campus. I was there.
'Beaten to death'
I went back to my college to
inform my colleagues. When
I returned, I saw hundreds of
soldiers surrounding the
campus and I saw students
running away and crying.
Around 100 students were beaten to death or drowned in
the lake that afternoon. I felt great pain and anger.
The government may not feel the pain
that stays inside the mind of the
students but everybody knew that
once the universities were reopened,
the students would be there to stage
another anti-government
demonstration.
Two days after the universities were
reopened, there were widespread demonstrations at
various universities and campuses throughout Rangoon.
'Brutally crushed'
It lasted for little more than
two weeks and it was brutally
crushed.
There was more frustration,
more pain and more anger.
It was 8th August 1988 that
the frustration exploded in
millions of Burmese
throughout the country.
The killings, shootings and beatings could not really help
the military to end the demonstrations any longer.
Perhaps thousands were killed during those few days
but it did not matter any more - the most important thing
was to get rid of the government.
'Hopes and dreams were
dashed'
There was joy and hope once
the troops withdrew from the
streets. People from all
walks of life demonstrated,
demanding an end to
26-years of one party military
rule.
In September 1988, these
hopes and dreams were
dashed. Thousands of army
trucks and tanks rolled into the cities and towns.
The sound of gunfire day and night made it seem like the
country was in the midst of civil war.
Hospitals were filled with
dead bodies and injured
demonstrators. Smoke came
out from chimneys at the city
crematoriums almost
continuously. That left
permanent scars among
many citizens of Burma.
I left a note to my parents,
saying that I'll be gone for few
months.
Then I left my home
immediately.
From Rangoon to Thailand, it took me about two weeks:
first by bus, by foot, then by boat and then by bus again.
I arrived in Thailand in September. It was ten years ago.
Like most students who left from Burma at that time, I
did not think I would be in exile for ten years but the
memory of 1988 is still like something that happened
yesterday.