Members of a student group that planned to mark the 50th anniversary of the destruction of the University of Rangoon Student Union building were summoned by police in Mandalay Division on Thursday and warned not to “dig up the past.”. “He warned us that if we went ahead with our plans, we would be breaching the law,” added a leader.

The authorities in other cities have also told students not to hold events to mark the anniversary. However, a number of groups said they will go ahead with plans to commemorate the incident, during which dozens of unarmed students were killed by soldiers. In Rangoon, students originally planned to hold the commemoration at the Royal Rose Restaurant, but the owner came under pressure and decided he didn’t dare let them use his place. The authorities seem to suspect that the students are planning to stage a protest or incite the public.

Members of the ABFSU led demonstrations against Ne Win’s March 1962 coup. On July 7 of the same year, the protesting students were killed and Student Union building was dynamited by the Burmese army under the command of Lt-Col Sein Lwin, who later served as Burma’s president. However, neither Ne Win nor his deputy Aung Gyi took responsibility for the incident.

2012.07.06 Irrawaddy -Not Commemorate Key Anniversary

Burmese officials released up to 20 student leaders after briefly holding them ahead of the anniversary of a deadly 1962 military attack on students in Rangoon. Burma's political activists said the arrests are “a misunderstanding” and called on the military-backed civilian government to show greater confidence in student leaders. 2012.07.07