SCMP-Parents warned not to talk of

[tinkyi@xxxxxxx]

Subject: SCMP-Parents warned not to talk of girl's army truck death

Wednesday  January 27  1999

Parents warned not to talk of girl's army truck death

BURMA by WILLIAM BARNES
The parents of a Burmese schoolgirl run over by an army truck have been
warned not to release her picture or talk about her death, a Bangkok-based
opposition group said yesterday.

Ma Phyu Phyu and a friend were cycling home from school in Pegu, 80km from
the capital, Rangoon, when they were hit by a military lorry at a busy
junction.

The victim, 18, died at the scene and her friend was badly injured.

Students leaving a nearby school quickly surrounded the truck, throwing
stones and beating its sides with sticks.

Many passers-by joined in, the All Burma Students Democratic Front said.

Officers from the local military intelligence unit - the secret police - and
ordinary police were eventually able to drive the truck away.

The funeral was attended by 3,000 students, teachers, relatives and friends.
But military intelligence officers told the family to keep quiet about her
death - and not to take the case to court.

The people of Pegu remained angry, the students' front reported.