Myanmar junta exhumed body of taekwondo girl

Myanmar authorities exhumed the body of a 19-year-old woman who was killed at a demonstration wearing a T-shirt that read “Everything will be OK,” which has sent shock waves. It is seen as an attempt of the junta to manipulate the cause of death of Kyal Sin, widely known as taekwondo girl in South Korea who died from a shot to the head, while there is growing violence among supporters of the coup.

Local media reported that the authorities exhumed her body and carried out an investigation on Friday. The military arrived at the grave site with doctors and threatened the staff with guns to seal off the entrance. Doctors in protective gear were seen exhuming the body and putting her head on a brick before showing a piece of lead found in the body to each other. Sin was shot dead on Wednesday at a protest in the second largest city Mandalay, and her funeral was held on Thursday.

According to MRTV on Saturday, the authorities found a penetration wound in the back of the brain and a piece of lead measuring 1.2 centimeters by 0.7 centimeter in the brain. It also said that police had been face-to-face with the protesters and the wound was at the back of the head, adding that it was different from the tips of bullets used by the police. “Therefore, it can be assumed that those who do not want stability conducted the assassination,” it claimed.

Police and military made a similar claim for the death of 20-year-old Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing, who was the first casualty since nationwide demonstrations began. Khaing was shot in the head in an anti-coup protest in the capital Nay Pyi Taw on Feb. 9 and was pronounced brain-dead before she died 10 days later. The authorities said that the bullet was different from the one used by the police and there was a possibility that she was killed by an external group.

The exhumation of Sin has enraged protesters who argue that the authorities damaged the body to manipulate the cause of death. The tomb was sealed with fresh cement and discarded rubber boots and gloves and plastic surgical gowns littered the site on Saturday, according to Reuters.

On Friday in the central Magwe region, an official of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy and his 17-year-old nephew was stabbed to death by 25 military supporters. Six people who were at the scene were also severely wounded.

Myanmar asked India to return eight police officers who crossed the border to the Indian state of Mizoram on Saturday. It also warned public servants who are refusing to work as a protest against the coup that it would fire them unless they return to work by Monday.


jyr0101@donga.com