ABFSU student leader detained

The student members gathered at Sanyeiknyein bus top on Pyay Road in Yangon at about 2.30pm on July 7 and marched toward Yangon University. Zeyar Lwin was detained by police after the ceremony at the university.
At the ceremony, Zeyar Lwin gave a speech about how successive military regimes in Myanmar have harmed the country and the people since General Ne Win took the power in 1962. He said the army should not influence the civilian government in a democratic nations. He also said the military MPs must withdraw from the parliament.
Following the ceremony, driver Swan Kaung said: “I took Zeyar Lwin in my car after the ceremony. Two other students were also with us in my car. Two police cars followed us on Inya Road when we left the university compound. We were sandwiched between two police cars. Zeyar Lwin and Paing Phyoe Min were forcibly pulled from my car by the police and arrested.”
On June 30, ABFSU students protested in front of Yangon City Hall to demand constitutional amendment and the immediate abolition of the 25 per cent of parliament seats reserved for the military. Arrest warrants were issued for student leaders Zeyar Lwin, Nan Lin and Paing Ye Thu under Section 18 and Section 505(b). The police have yet to arrest Nan Lin.
In the statement, which also marked its 79th anniversary, the ABFSU announced that it would continue their fight to free students who remain in prisons. Seventy nine years ago, students adopted a five-point policy to work toward a democratic educational system, safeguarding student rights and working toward democracy, national peace and reconciliation.
“The fighting peacock is the symbol of students involved in the movement of the ABFSU. They vowed to continue their fight to achieve democracy, a democratic education system and peace, following the examples of student leaders throughout the history of the ABFSU,” the announcement said.
ABFSU leaders urged the government to release all students and activists from prison and to implement a democratic education system.
“The government is behaving like a military junta, and if they continue to do this, they will have to take responsibility for the consequences,” the leaders said. They invited all citizens, students, social organisations and political forces to cooperate with them.
A video of student leader Kyaw Ko Ko was shown at the event. In the video, the student leader said: “The ABFSU is a student union that does politics. The ABSFU has never refrained from engaging in politics. All students from the ABFSU need to understand the politics. They should seek to understand it themselves instead of listening to other people.”
A group of 17 organisations sent a formal letter to ABFSU in honour of the anniversary, including the National Network for Education Reform and the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front. Parents of three imprisoned students and two students who were shared their experiences at the event.
Photos taken by the press during the Letpadan crackdown and cartoons portraying the education movement were displayed at the event.