Yesterday, one of Burma’s prominent student leaders, Thet Win Aung, died in Mandalay prison. His family was informed by the Special Branch of the police in the afternoon. However, the officers made no mention of why and how he died. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions are saddened by the loss of such a brave comrade.

Thet Win Aung was arrested in 1988 and sentenced to 59 years imprisonment in Insein Prison.
Later, he was moved to Khanti prison where he suffered from malaria. Since then, his health situation had deteriorated and he suffered from depression. However, the prison authorities did provide him with the proper medical treatment. Undoubtedly, this tragedy shows that the SPDC has deliberately killed this imprisoned student leader. Thet Win Aung was the younger brother of Ko Pyone Cho, a leader of the 88 Generation Student Group. Pyone Cho was among the five leaders from the group to have been recently arbitrary detained.

“Ko Thet Win Aung took part in the student movement in Burma since 1988. He was arrested in 1998” said Min Naing, spokesperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, “He has died at a time when his elder brother had just been re- arrested. We have deep sympathy for his mourning family. We can not imagine their suffering.
We ourselves are very sorry to have lost such a priceless student leader.

“I was very angry when I heard this sorrowful news. I began to think, how many students will die for our country?” stated Zin Maung, another spokesperson of the ABFSU-FAC, “The SPDC claims that they are trying to march on towards a developed country, but they are imprisoning and killing students. The students are suffering from torture while in prison, as the authorities try to suppress their willingness to work for democracy, human rights and justice in Burma. This tragedy has greatly affected his family, his comrades and his friends. It is a dark moment for our country.”

Brief Biography of Thet Win Aung

Name – Thet Win Aung (aka) Moe Naing
Birth of Date – 27/8/1971
Father – U Win Maung
Mother – Daw Mya Mya Aye
Address – Thamwe, Rangoon.
Prosecution- 1950 provision emergency Act 5 (J), Unlawful Associations Act 17(1) (2) 17 (1, 2)
Sentence – 59 years
Prisons – Insein, Kale, Khanti and Mandalay

Thet Win Aung was an active leader of the High School Student Union in 1988. He also organized and led the Rangoon Student Solidarity Organization. He served as a central executive committee member of the Basic Education Student Union (BESU).  He took part the ABFSU conference which was held in Mandalay in 1990 as a representative of BESU. As a result of his activities, he was arrested and investigated by the Military Intelligence. However, he was released and took part in several student movements. In 1994, he was recognized as a student leader by his peers.

Thet Win Aung actively took part in the 1996 student movement as a key player. A warrant was put out by the Military Intelligence for his arrest. Consequently, he was forced to move from his home. He felt unsafe in Burma and thus fled to the Thai-Burma border for a short time. He ultimately returned to Burma and contacted student activists trying to restore democracy in Burma. He was arrested in September 1998 and sentenced to 52 years imprisonment. He was later given a 7 year extension to his sentence by the authorities.

Thet Win Aung was honored by Reading University’s Student Union from United Kingdom, who appointed him their Vice President.

For More Information:

Min Naing: + 66 1 – 6802015
Zin Maung: + 66 6 – 9233547