No Legal Progress in Pegu Shooting

Legal proceedings have yet to start against Burmese army soldiers who murdered two young men in Pegu on Sep. 4, according to a relative of one of the victims.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, a relative of Aung Thu Hein, one of the young men killed in the shooting, said, “No one from the military has come and told us what action they are taking against those who shot Aung Thu Hein, so, we don't know what is going on.”

Aye Myint, who is a lawyer and a leading labor activist with the labor rights organization Guiding Star in Pegu, said, “They have lowered the curtain on the incident and kept quiet since.”

According to state-run newspaper  The New Light of Myanmar on Sept. 10, legal proceedings against the two army soldiers who shot the two young men are underway.

The newspaper said serious action would be taken against those involved in the shooting, but it described the dispute as a common occurrence among young men and accused Burmese politicians and the exiled media of creating unrest among the Burmese public by publicizing the deaths.

State law in 1956 allowed the prosecution of soldiers who killed civilians, and civilians had the right to appeal to have a case heard in a civilian court if they did not like the military court, according to Aye Myint.

“After 1988, they (the military junta) have not handed over soldiers who committed crimes to civilian courts for prosecution, and civilians have no right of access to legal proceedings in military courts,” he said.

“Today,  no civilian dare ask what the military is doing, regardless of whether it is within the law or not,” he said.

Two civilians, Aung Thu Hein, 21, and Soe Paing Zaw, 17, were shot dead on Sept. 4 by two Burmese army officers after a dispute broke out between the officers and the young men when they were drinking. At least one of the officers was allegedly beaten up in the ensuing fight.

A according to The New Light of Myanmar, one of the officers involved escaped the brawl and came back to the scene with soldiers armed with assault rifles.

In an interview with The Irrawaddy published on Thursday, Aung Thu Hein's aunt said soldiers followed the two men for around 45 minutes, cornerned them near their homes and shot them in cold blood as the two apologized and pleaded to be arrested.

“People feel very unhappy about this as they can do nothing to the military after they killed those two boys. It is a total abuse of human rights,” said Aye Myint.

“I will not allow this story to fade away and keep quiet about it. I will try to expose the murder and get it brought to the court,” adding that he would interview eyewitnesses at the scene soon.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana, also said he would include the deaths of the two men in his report to the United Nations General Assembly in November.
The family of one of the victims, Soe Paing Zaw, accepted the army's offer of 1 million kyat in compensation. But, Aung Thu Hein's family has refused the army's blood money.