Burma Police investigate executions committed by student army Slug: Burma mass killing Reporter: Nay Thwin Date:

/10/2012 INTRO: Its been 20 years since more than 30 students were killed by their own colleagues in the jungles of Burmas Kachin State. The students were from the All Burmese Students Democratic Front an armed group fighting for independence from military regime at that time. They were murdered because they were accused of being spies for Burmas Military Intelligence. A new book detailing the mass killings has sparked renewed interest into what happened 20 years ago in the jungle. From the Thai-Burma border Nay Thwin reports. TEXT: In 1992, more than 30 students of All Burmese Students Democratic Front were killed by their own colleagues in the jungles of the Kachin State. Aung Naing was the general secretary of the group. He explains why they were killed. Aung Naing clip 2 (male, Burmese): We had information from our ally, the Kachin Independence Army, that there were knife marks cut on trees, which could have led Burmese soldiers to our underground food storage. In a guerrilla war, if you lost food, you will lose the war. Our food storage was then taken by the government army and we suffered a lot. 15 students who were accused of the betrayal were immediately killed. More than 20 others died during interrogation. After the killings Aung Naing was promoted to become the local chairman of the armed group. Former member Kyaw Naing Oo was one of the students who were accused of being a spy. He was detained for more than two months. Kyaw Naing Oo clip 1: (male, Burmese) I feel sorry for my friends who were murdered. They were beheaded with knifes to save bullets. Before they died they told us to find out the truth. Around 100 students were jailed in a bamboo hut. They had to endure daily beatings and electric shock torturer. Bo Bo was one of the lucky ones who survived. He was only 18 at the time.

Bo Bo (male, Burmese) "I think the people responsible for the killings were the leads of the student army at the time and that includes Dr Naing Aung. Dr Naing Aung was the chairman of the student army at the time. He is now a prominent human rights activist. He denies the accusation that he ordered the killings. Dr Naing Aung (male, Burmese) "We were aware about the massacre after the authority of the student army in the North central committee killed them. The authorities have autonomy and they acted independently. We only knew after the killings happened. When we knew it, we went and tried to stop the killings and to help release the others." But last month he told a local Burmese magazine that he believed some of the students killed were really government spies. SFX1_ performance BED UNDER For 20 years people have been too scared to discuss what happened openly. But this year survivors of the massacre organized events in the city of Mandalay in Burma to mark the 20th anniversary of the killings. Famous performance artist Sue Myint Thein re-enacted what happened. UP SOUND. His eyes, ears and mouth are plastered and he is forced to crawl along a dirt floor. SFX_3 monk reciting Monks prayed for the murdered students. And former general secretary of the students army Aung Naing made a kind of apology. Aung Naing clip 3 (male, Burmese): There may be some misconduct or flaws because of our imperfection. It was the wounds of civil war or consequence of military authoritarian regime in our country. If there were wrong doing towards innocents, it was regrettable and a apology should be made. But the families of the victims are demanding more than words. 40-year old Daw San San Aye has filed a criminal case with the Burmese police about her fathers death. DAW SAN SAN AYE (female, Burmese): We did not get any news of my father since he left home in 1989. We happened to know that he was killed in the jungle only when some of his friends surrendered in July 1992. They worked with my father in the students army front

ABSDF and according to them, my father was tortured to die. This is injustice. As the daughter, I am seeking justice for my father. The Burmese police are now investigating the case. For Asia Calling, this feature is produced by Nay Thwin from Thai-Burma border.