Khin Maung Shwe

* 1968

  • KHIN MAUNG SHWE, U – FIRST CLIP My name is Khin Maung Shwe. Date of birth is 29 january 1968. When I was a child, I had mum, younger sister and elder brother. My father was then in Rangoon. I went to Basic High School no 2 here. I failed the matriculation exam in the first attempt. I took the exam second time as an individual candidate. I wanted to go to RIT ( Rangoon Institute of Technology ) that year. It was my crush. I took the exam and passed. I got accepted and went there. In third year I specialized in Mining and took courses. If I recall the memories of my studies, it was around 1 pm in one afternoon, the year was 91, the teacher was giving a course, explaining evolution, revolution. I got the point but did not make any comment. Then what the teacher told me was "It is Mining. It is Mining teacher who says it. Only in Myanmar Mining is extracted in the way they want. International practices don't allow this". Later I got there. I got in prison. This is the lesson I remember. This is one part. That year there are teachers inside the prison. I met students too. I also met my teacher. My Mining teacher. There an officer convicted for logging crime gave a course on environmental conservation. I miss this teacher too. I did not want to return outside. What this master told was very simple. "There are three types of resources namely human resources, natural resources, manual resources. It does not exist in the world." I got crazy. I returned still puzzled in my mind. I still don't get it. At this home. We did not have these stuffs at home that time. This clear ground is very recent. I came back home from Rangoon. It was hot. I did not sleep inside the house due to heat. I put mattress on this sidewalk and slept. They came in and took me. I think there were around 12 people. I am sure there was the local administrator, members of local administration. I knew those people. Anyway they took me. I remember one thing. My sister here handed me a cheroot to smoke when I want to. But I was not allowed to smoke. They did not seize anything. They just took me. There was a bag I took back from school. They did not touch it. "We don't need it. We want nothing from him. Just take him". They did not force me. I came along with them. And they did not let me off afterward. They took me from here and put me in the car hooded. You remember that Council office. There people who are not concerned had to get off. They blacked out and took me in their arms, I think, to north east direction. I think it was left turn at the tower clock. I think it was the jetty because I heard the sound of boat. I heard it from left ear. On my right I think was you know Kan Thayar pagoda. I think it was the sound of the triangular gong reminding donation for construction of pagoda. That is what I can tell you, brother. First Clip End.

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Khin Maung Shwe spent more than 8 years in Insein Prison and Myitkyina Prison as a political prisoner. He is suffering from mental illness due to the tortures during interrogation and poor living conditions in the prison. He is still taking medication. He was born in Mongywa and his parents are U Kyi Shwe and Daw Than Tin. He studied until third year at RIT with Mining specialization. He participated in Ever Green Young Men Association. He was involved in 10-D student movement and arrested by military intelligence in December 1991. He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment under the section (5-j). He spent about 8 years in Insein Prison and Myitkyina Prison and he was released from Myitkyina Prison in September 1999.