Burma Human Rights Day (OR) Red Bri

[FreeBurma@xxxxxxx]

Subject: Burma Human Rights Day (OR) Red Bridge Day

                      Burma Human Rights Day (OR) Red Bridge Day


Dear Friends of Burma,

As you all know, March 13th-18th are the days many students were brutally
tortured and killed by Burmese security forces in 1988. Some of them were
died in prisons.  Although it has been eight years, the memories of the
events of 1988 are still vivid. We would like to request all of you around
the world that while you are reading this, for a few seconds please pray for
those who sacrificed their lives for peace and justice in Burma.   
Thank you.

Free Burma
March 13, 1996

*** The following account was told by a student who had experienced
first-hand, the brutality of the Burmese military regime. ***

For me, the most painful memory, and one that I try not to recall, occurred
in the days following March 13.  Some of the students who were wounded at
that demonstration were held at the General Hospital detention center. I
walked the halls of the center. There I found a lifeless body lying alone on
a bed.  His legs were cuffed together.  The boy's name was Soe Naing.  He was
shot on March 13 and a bullet remained lodged in his chest despite surgery to
remove it. No one, including his family, was allowed to see him.  When he had
first arrived, both his hands and legs had been put in restraints.  The
handcuffs were removed only after doctors protested that they would not treat
his wound while his arms were bound.    
I was able to visit Soe Naing three times, bringing him food and drinks, but
he could eat little.  It was on April 6 that Soe Naing died.  His legs were
still cuffed.   My heart was broken.  It was the first time that I had ever
witnessed the senseless loss of an innocent life.  Authorities ordered the
doctors to destroy all of Soe Naing's medical records and to deny any
knowledge of his case. From this time, my determination to fight for justice
in our country deepened.

---------------------------end.