{"id":6873,"date":"2026-07-11T11:41:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/?p=6873"},"modified":"2026-07-11T11:41:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:41:03","slug":"the-architect-of-peaces-violent-final-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/2026\/07\/11\/the-architect-of-peaces-violent-final-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"The Architect of Peace’s Violent Final Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Final Journey of the Peace Architect Who Found No Peace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(This post is reshared from a memory originally posted on July 10, 2015).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from the continuous radio broadcasts disparaging and slandering the students, nothing unusual occurred for the first two days. The situation seemed peaceful. The exhausted students did not realize that Ne Win’s troops were covertly plotting to retaliate against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a terrible fate was soon to descend upon them. Out of the students’ sight, the military and military intelligence began enforcing restrictions by setting up barriers and boundaries outside the campus. No one was allowed to enter, and those who came out were subjected to interrogation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day the world fell apart arrived shortly thereafter. It began at 2:00 AM on December 11. As bulldozers smashed through the main gates of Rangoon University, soldiers and riot police simultaneously lunged forward, firing tear gas and entering with bayonets flashing. One detachment, alongside a bulldozer, headed directly toward the temporary mausoleum of peace, while other units arrested anyone they laid eyes on within the campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the peace mausoleum, the confrontation grew even more violent and bloody due to the students’ resistance. As soldiers closed in on the mausoleum, they bayoneted every student they encountered along the way. Courageous female students protected the tomb by lying face down over it, causing their blood to pool around the final resting place of the great advocate of peace\u2014a man who, in body and soul, loathed violence and championed peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military trucks entered the campus one after another. The bodies of deceased and barely alive students and monks were roughly hurled onto the vehicles. Those who were unhurt were ordered onto roofless trucks, forced to kneel, and kept at gunpoint with machine guns. This campus raid and massacre concluded by 8:00 AM. Those arrested were driven away to Insein Prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the Myanmar military had “courageously” raided and successfully seized control of Rangoon University without casualties on their side, news of the campus massacre and the destruction of the mausoleum spread like wildfire across Rangoon. Enraged by this, the public began destroying anything associated with the regime, primarily targeting party unit offices across various townships. Government buildings, police stations, and movie theaters were also vandalized and set on fire. Rangoon instantly transformed into a battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armored cars and tanks patrolled the main avenues of Rangoon. Troops comprised of ethnic minorities, deliberately called in for this purpose, began firing at the crowds with G3 rifles. Following closely behind, military trucks gathered the dead and wounded while thousands of people were arrested. Martial law was declared in Rangoon, and a curfew was imposed. Those captured were summarily tried for destroying state property and sentenced to three to five years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It did not end there. The notorious military intelligence raided the homes of suspected students and civilians, sparing not even high school youths. Many dared not stay at their homes and went into hiding. Some reached the border areas and joined anti-government armed groups, while others fled to neighboring countries. A total of over 7,000 people were arrested, including 450 in Mandalie (Mandalay).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 5, 1975, thousands of students, workers, and monks took to the streets again, demanding the release of those detained. Just like before, armored cars and tanks rolled out onto the streets, resulting in more deaths and mass arrests. Only on the tenth day did a massive army deployed from rural regions secure the university campus, disinter U Thant’s coffin, and rebury it at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Note (HSW):<\/strong> During the U Thant crisis, Salai Tin Maung Oo, a Chin student leader, was executed by hanging.<\/sup> He maintained a hunger strike right up to the gallows. On the day of his execution, as he walked from his cell to the gallows, prison staff made various loud noises to drown out his voice so fellow inmates could not hear his final words of farewell. This demonstrates how much the military dictators feared a good man who had never even stolen a single needle. Salai Tin Maung Oo walked bravely to the gallows like a true martyr, famously declaring, “I will die rather than kneel under your military boots.”<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Note (HSW):<\/strong> The last major student movement before 1988 occurred on March 23, 1976, marking the centenary of the birth of the great writer Thakin Kodaw Hmaing. A peaceful protest was held at his burial site at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda, resulting in the arrest of around 100 students.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Writer Henry Soe Win clarified the root causes behind the U Thant crisis to dispel misconceptions of external political manipulation, outlining three main points:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. The movement began with no political agenda; it was driven purely by the patriotic desire of students to honor someone worthy of honor. However, the government’s blatant disregard and dismissal of the public’s wishes directly triggered these severe consequences.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Over a decade of severe government mismanagement had completely ruined the country’s economy, plunging the population into unprecedented poverty. Basic commodities like rice, oil, salt, and clothing became scarce and expensive on the black market. Unemployment skyrocketed; those fortunate enough to find work earned a mere 3 Kyats and 85 Pyas a day just to survive. Rangoon’s buildings became unmaintained and blackened, and the streets filled with piles of garbage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The third underlying cause was the absolute suppression of freedom of speech and expression. Newspapers, magazines, and journals were tightly restricted by censorship, reducing newspapers to nothing more than obituary sheets, plunging the entire country into darkness.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Why do smiles remain missing from the faces of the people of Myanmar\u2014a naturally cheerful nation living in a land rich with rice, gold, silver, gems, oil, natural gas, beautiful landscapes, and historic pagodas?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Fact Check & Historical Context<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Your notes provide highly accurate historical context regarding the underlying friction between General Ne Win and U Thant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n