Azarni day or Martyr’s Day is held on 19th July annually in Burma/Myanmar.It is held to mark the assassination of its founding father and independence leader along with his cabinet on this day in 1947 This year marks the 63th anniversary of this martyrs’ day.Martyrs' Day
Martyr's Day is a Burmese national holiday observed on July 19 to commemorate Gen. Aung San and six other independence leaders who were assassinated on that day in 1947. It is customary for high-ranking government officials to visit the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Yangon in the morning of that day to pay respects.
History
On this day in 1947 at approximately 10:37am, Burma Standard Time, several of Burma's independence leaders were gunned down by a group of armed men in uniform while they were holding a cabinet meeting at what was known as 'The Secretariat' in downtown Yangon. The assassinations were planned by a rival political group, and the leader and alleged master-mind of that group Galon U Saw, together with the perpetrators, were tried and convicted by a special tribunal presided by U Kyaw Myint with two other Barristers-at-law, U Aung Thar Gyaw and U Si Bu. In a judgment given on December 30, 1947 the tribunal sentenced U Saw and a few others to death and the rest were given prison sentences. Appeals to the High Court of Burma by U Saw and his accomplices were rejected on March 8, 1948. In a judgment written by Supreme Court Justice U E Maung (1898-1977) on April 27, 1948 the Supreme Court (the highest court under the 1947 Constitution of the Union of Burma) refused leave to appeal against the original judgment. [All the judgments of the tribunal, the High Court and the Supreme Court were written in English. The judgment of the tribunal can be read in "A Trial in Burma" by Dr Maung Maung (Martinus Njhoff, 1963) and the judgment of the High Court and Supreme Court can be read in the 1948 Burma Law Reports.]
The President of Burma Sao Shwe Thaik refused to pardon or commute the sentences of most of those who were sentenced to death, and U Saw was hanged inside Rangoon's Insein jail on May 8, 1948. A number of perpetrators met the same fate. Others, who had played relatively minor roles and were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, also spent several years in prison. The assassinated cabinet members were General Aung San, Thakin Mya, Dedoke U Ba Cho, Abdul Razak, U Ba Win (oldest brother of Aung San and father of the leader of the National League for Democracy government-in-exile Dr Sein Win), Mahn Ba Khaing and Saopha of Mong Pawng. Cabinet secretary U Ohn Maung and a bodyguard called Maung Htwe were also killed in the shooting. Many Burmese to this day believe that the British had a hand in the assassination plot one way or another; two British officers were also arrested at the time and one of them charged and convicted for supplying an agent of U Saw with arms and munitions enough to equip a small army, a large part of which was recovered from a lake next to U Saw's house in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
Soon after the assassinations, Sir Hubert Rance, the British governor of Burma appointed Thakin Nu (later U Nu) to head an interim administration and when Burma became independent on January 4, 1948 Thakin Nu became the first Prime Minister of independent Burma. July 19 was designated a public holiday and to be known as Martyr's Day in Burma/Myanmar.
My father was a child of his times who grew into a man for all time.He combined a traditional upbringing with a British colonial education. Influenced by socialist ideas, he was a student revolutionary who plunged into the anti-imperialist movement which galvanized Asia before World War II. In all this he was no different from thousands of his contemporaries who dreamt of wresting independence for their nations from the mighty British Empire.
By the end of his life he had matured into an astute, thoughtful statesman with a strong abhorrence of fascism and a deeply rooted belief in democratic values. His vision encompassed an “internationalism of creative mutuality” which would bring “abiding peace, universal freedom and progress.” He foresaw that time and space would be conquered and that we would become a world of “immediate, not distant neighbors.” He envisaged a “new Asian order” to build Asian unity and co-operation, and win freedom, security, peace and progress for the world.
My father made it abundtly clear that the army was meant to serve the people, that it should abide by principles of justice and honor, and that unless it could win and keep the trust and respect of the people, its purpose would be vitiated. He never intended the army to meddle in government. A liberal and a democrat, he saw from the fascist Japanese army the dangers of military absolutism. When he decided to work for freedom after the war, the beloved, respected general transferred command to a capable Sandhurst-trained Karen officer.
One of my father’s best-known photographs shows him on Downing Street in a military greatcoat provided by Jawaharlal Nehru during a stopover in Delhi. Appalled by his young friend’s wardrobe, the elegant Indian leader mobilized a team of military tailors. Thus, my father had talks in London attired in warm flannel uniform suits, the smartest clothes he ever had.
In February 1947, my father signed the Panglong accord with the leaders of ethnic nationalities, who agreed to work with the Burmese for Independence.
But for my father the struggle remained unremitting. He had to grapple with the factionalism and envy in Burmese politics. On July 19, 1947, a jealous rival had him and six of his cabinet members gunned down. He was 32. During the last months of his life, he often spoke wistfully of the time he could leave his grinding duties and live quietly with his family. All good things were to come with Independence but it came six months too late for him.
My father’s greatest strengths were the largeness of his spirit and an immense capacity to learn from his experiences. He recognized his faults and worked to remedy them. His life is a lesson in revolutionary politics, the hardness and the heartbreak of it. At the same time, it is an inspiration which proves the simple truth that a good leader who serves honestly will be loved and cherished throughout the history of his nation.
(Quotes from Bogyoke Aung San’s biography written by Daw Suu)
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