Those traveling to the birthplace of Karen hero Saw Ba U Gyi in Ayeyarwady Region to commemorate the 71st Karen Martyrs’ Day on Thursday were met by a military and police unit of around 40 troops blocking the entrance to the village.
One of many ethnic Karen who tried to visit Baegaret in Kangyidaunt Township to pay homage to the Karen National Union founder on the anniversary of his death said the village was closed off from 5am onwards.
The soldiers cited a “bomb threat” as the reason for the blockade, as well as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the young man told Myanmar Now.
“They told us not to pay homage or offer flowers, and said that it was an order from above,” he said, adding, “We just had to turn back.”
Only those who arrived before the soldiers blocked the road were able to lay flowers at Baegaret’s monument to Saw Ba U Gyi, and flew the village flag at half mast.
The young man said that this was at least the third year in a row that the Karen community was barred from holding a ceremony to mark Karen Martyrs’ Day, or even to use the term “martyrs” on the occasion.
Myanmar Now tried to contact the Ayeyarwady Region deputy police chief regarding the restrictions on the Karen Martyrs’ Day in Baegaret, but all calls went answered.
Some Karen youth instead gathered at the Mahn Than Shein monument at the football field by the same name in Ah Nauk Su village in neighbouring Kyaunggon Township to pay homage to all Karen martyrs, including Saw Ba U Gyi.
In January, the military and National League for Democracy (NLD) authorities forced villagers to remove a bust of Saw Ba U Gyi erected in Baegaret in August of last year under the supervision of joint general secretary (2) of the KNU Padoh Saw Hla Tun.
Before he was killed by the military on August 12, 1950 at age 45, Saw Ba U Gyi had long advocated for autonomy for the Karen people, even prior to Burma gaining independence in 1948. He is known for creating what became the four guiding principles of the Karen Revolution: “Surrender is out of the question. The recognition of the Karen country must be completed. We shall retain our arms. We shall decide our own political destiny.”
In 2019, the 69th Karen Martyrs’ Day commemoration was held in Yangon at the Mahabandoola Park, attended by around 100 people. The organisers of the ceremony—Karen Women’s Union chairperson Naw Ohn Hla, and activists Saw Albert Cho and S Thein Zaw Min—were arrested for allegedly holding an unlawful public gathering and using the banned term “martyr.”
They were later sentenced to 15 days in prison for the act, which they had already served and more.
Naw Ohn Hla told Myanmar Now that Thursday’s prohibition of the Karen Martyrs’ Day ceremony was an example of the military’s continued abuse of power.
“It’s quite ironic that they include ‘solidarity with the people’ in their main objectives for the country all while doing such things. It seems like they don’t care if the solidarity is broken,” she said.
“Each ethnic group should have the right to decide who their leaders are,” she continued. “We had to face a lot of hardships even during the NLD’s tenure. It’s almost completely hopeless now.”
The military objected to the construction of a statue of Saw Ba U Gyi in Dooplaya District—the territory of the KNU’s sixth brigade in Mon State—on Karen National Day in February in both 2018 and 2019.
Padoh Mahn Nyein Maung, a Karen politician who is a current member of the military coup council, once told the local KIC News that restrictions on the 68th Karen Martyrs’ Day commemoration in Ayeyarwady’s Hinthada Township in 2018 were “an insult to all Karen people.”
One year later, when the organisers of the 69th commemoration were arrested in Yangon, he also told Mizzima News that he had questions for the NLD government on the matter, and said that the detention of the activists was harmful to the peace process.
Ceremonies for Karen Martyrs’ Day continue to be held annually at the KNU headquarters and in KNU-controlled territories.
