The body of slain journalist Aung Kyaw Naing was taken to Rangoon on Friday morning, despite an order from the Moulmein Municipal office that the body be buried in Moulmein, the Mon State capital.
The body of Aung Kyaw Naing, also known as Par Gyi, was exhumed on Wednesday from a grave in Shwe War Chaung village in Mon State’s Kyaikmayaw Township. According to autopsy results released yesterday, five gunshot wounds were found on the journalist’s body.
Activist Naw Ohn Hla told The Irrawaddy that Thandar, the victim’s widow, received a letter from the Moulmein Municipal office at 9:30 pm yesterday stating that the corpse must be buried at a cemetery in Moulmein, within 24 hours after the autopsy. The letter said that the order was in accordance with section 68(a) of the Moulmein Municipal Act.
Naw Ohn Hla said that family and friends supporting Thandar decided to proceed with plans to take the body to Rangoon, despite pressure from local authorities.
“We left Moulmein at 8 am this morning,” Naw Ohn Hla said by phone on Friday.
The head of Moulmein hospital had issued a letter giving approval for the corpse to be taken to Rangoon, but monks, town elders and local authorities objected. Thandar pleaded with them “to respect the family’s desire” to conduct a proper burial at a place of their choice.
The Free Funeral Service Society in Rangoon helped transport the corpse and representatives of the Mon National Party accompanied the convoy.
As of Friday morning, the group had not faced any obstruction as it traveled to Rangoon, Naw Ohn Hla said.
