Irrawaddy-July 25
Myanmar people were in a state of shock, anger and grief on Monday as they learned of the junta’s hangings of four regime opponents including prominent democracy activists Ko Jimmy and Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw. In an announcement published in Monday’s papers, the junta said simply that “the punishment has been carried out” against the duo and two others for masterminding and being involved in armed resistance and other anti-regime activities. It’s believed the executions were carried out during the weekend, as family members met them via video on Friday. Millions of Myanmar people, including many based overseas, had anxiously followed the cases of leading pro-democracy activists Ko Jimmy and Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw after the junta insisted last month that it would execute them, defying global condemnations and appeals. The announcement of the execution orders last month triggered a wave of sorrow and fury, as the pair were seen as exemplary freedom fighters against military rule. Ko Jimmy and Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw had both been political prisoners under previous military regimes and had already given much to the cause of democracy over previous decades, before making the ultimate sacrifice over the weekend. Ko Jimmy spent nearly half his life as a prisoner, serving 21 years in Insein and Tharawaddy prisons from 1988 to 2005 and 2007 to 2012. Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw, a hip-hop star turned politician, also became a symbol of resistance against military oppression. Jimmy and Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw were detained by the regime in Yangon late last year and hanged in Yangon’s Insein Prison nearly eight months after their arrests. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/black-day-for-myanmar-as-nation-mourns-executed-democracy-heroes.html
