Burmese Martyrs' Day (Burmese: အာဇာနည္‌နေ့) is commemorated every year on July 19. 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 Rangoon. 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.] July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Yangôn, formerly Rangoon, population 4,504,000 (2001), is the capital of Myanmar. ... U Saw (1900 - 1948) was a Burmese politician. ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in Leap years). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ...

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.^[1] This article is in need of attention. ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Aung San General Aung San (Burmese: ; MLCTS: ); February 13, 1915 – July 19, 1947) was a Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, general, and politician. ... U Razak U Razak (20 January 1898 - 19 July 1947; Arabic: Abdul Razak) was a Burmese politician who was a respected educationalist. ... The flag features a yellow dancing peacock, which has been a sign of freedom in modern Burmese history. ...

Soon after the assassinations, 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 Myanmar/Burma. U Nu (otherwise known as Thakin Nu) (1907-1995) was a Burmese nationalist and political figure. ... January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 165 days remaining. ...

See also

• History of Myanmar
• Panglong Conference

The History of Burma (Myanmar) is long and complex. ... The Panglong Conference (Burmese: ), held in February 1947, was an historic meeting that took place at Panglong in the Shan States in Burma between the Shan, Kachin and Chin ethnic minority leaders and Aung San, head of the interim Burmese government. ...

References

1. ^ Who Killed Aung San?, an interview with Gen. Kyaw Zaw. The Irrawaddy (August 1997).