Two pro-democracy activists died and three others were seriously injured in Myanmar when they jumped from a building in Yangon to avoid capture by junta authorities, witnesses said Wednesday, while the father of one of those killed said he was told his son survived the impact and was beaten to death by police.<\/p>\n
Ye Min Oo and a woman, Wai Wai Myint, also called Pan Thee, lost their lives Tuesday night when they and three friends jumped from the roof of a building as junta forces stormed their apartment in Botahtaung township in Myanmar\u2019s largest city.<\/p>\n
The three who survived the jump\u2014Wai Phyo Aung, Thiha Kaung Set, and Poe Kyaw Kyaw\u2014were arrested by police and taken with the bodies of those killed to a military hospital in Mingaladon township in northern Yangon.<\/p>\n
Tin Zaw\u2014the father of Ye Min Oo, who died Tuesday\u2014said he was told by witnesses that his son was still alive after the fall.<\/p>\n
“Immediately after the fall, my son was dying, not dead. Then police officers beat them up, and my son died after the beating,\u201d he told RFA in an exclusive interview. \u201cI got that information from witnesses and residents.\u201d<\/p>\n
A neighborhood resident told RFA on Wednesday that two of those who jumped called out three or four times for water and then died, while the other three remained motionless after they hit the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they fell from a height, they must have broken their limbs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The neighbor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons, told RFA the fleeling activists apparently got trapped on the rooftops of the old buildings.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could climb up to the roof, and the kids must have thought they could run across the rooftops. But there were only four buildings you could run across like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a five-storey building blocking their path on one side and an eight-storey building on the other, and they must have run this way and that, and finally when they couldn\u2019t escape they must have jumped,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dead and injured taken to hospital<\/p>\n
Military forces ordered community service workers to take both the two who died and the three survivors to a 1,000-bed military hospital in Mingaladon, a member of the Lin Let Social Welfare Association told RFA.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two who died were dead when we got there,\u201d the charity worker said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were sure they were dead because we made all the necessary checks required to see if they were still alive,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of the injured had a broken leg, and another had a head injury and had to be taken to the hospital\u2019s neurology center.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soe Myat Thu, the husband of 29-year-old Wai Wai Myint, said he hopes the military will give him back his wife\u2019s body so that he can bury her according to her own request.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to get my wife\u2019s body back, but we are under the rule of a military coup, so what can I do?\u201d he asked. \u201cIf they refuse to release her body, there is nothing we can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe always said, \u2018Don\u2019t cremate my body when I die. Please bury me in a grave,\u2019 and I want to fulfill that last wish. I don\u2019t care about anything else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A police report now circulating on social media says the raid on the activists\u2019 apartment was carried out by a team led by Tactical Commander Col. Soe Tun of the ruling Military Council, while a military press release on Wednesday confirmed that two had been killed and three injured in the operation, with hand grenades and bomb-making materials recovered during the raid.<\/p>\n
An independent scout<\/p>\n
Ye Min Oo, who was born in 1994, was not connected with Myanmar\u2019s shadow National Unity Government (NUG), People\u2019s Defense Force (PDF), or any other formally organized group, his father said.<\/p>\n
Instead, he had worked independently with friends in a scouting unit gathering intelligence on pro-junta informers and other military targets, Tin Zaw said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never expressed any political opinions, but after the February coup, he became actively involved in anti-coup protests, and although I did not forbid this as a parent, I warned him to be mindful and careful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son stood and fought for his beliefs, and now he has fallen in the fight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tin Zaw said Ye Min Oo\u2019s fate was the outcome of the military overthrow of the country\u2019s democratically elected government on unfounded claims of voter fraud in the country\u2019s November 2020 election.<\/p>\n
The junta has yet to provide evidence of its claims and has violently suppressed nationwide demonstrations calling for a return to civilian rule. According to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 948 civilians were killed by police and soldiers between Feb. 1 and Aug. 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese kids were pushed into the struggle by the Feb. 1 coup. They were pure and innocent youths. I am very proud of my son,\u201d Tin Zaw said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Radio Free Asia –Copyright \u00a9 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036Radio Free Europe–Copyright (c) 2015. RFE\/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036. <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two pro-democracy activists died and three others were seriously injured in Myanmar when they jumped from a building in Yangon to avoid capture by junta authorities, witnesses said Wednesday, while the father of one of those killed said he was told his…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n