The following text is not a historical study. It is a retelling of the witness’s life story based on the memories recorded in the interview. The story was processed by external collaborators of the Memory of Nations. In some cases, the short biography draws on documents made available by the Security Forces Archives, State District Archives, National Archives, or other institutions. These are used merely to complement the witness’s testimony. The referenced pages of such files are saved in the Documents section.

If you have objections or additions to the text, please contact the chief editor of the Memory of Nations. (michal.smid@ustrcr.cz)

Soe Hlaing (* 1952)

• .

U Soe Hlaing took part in nationwide pro-democracy protests in 88 from Tharyarwaddy. He was a leader of strike camp of there. After military coup d’état, he evaded capture from borderline and entered All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF). He was arrested in 1998 when he came back to Burma with duty by military. He was tortured severely during interrogation for one month in Yay Kyi Ai Interrogation Center. He was beaten, kicked and punched. Besides, he was forced to strip clothes off, also forced to assume the ‘flying the airplane’ (arms stretched out to the side, standing on one leg, bent over at the waist) and the ‘riding a motorbike’ (hand held out in front of the body, bending the knees in a squat) position for lengthy intervals. Then, he was charged under unlawful association act and immigration act and sentenced to 28 years. He was transferred to Tharyarwaddy prison after placed for three months in notorious Insein prison. He was kept for 22 years in prison and his family struggled for living whilst he was imprisoned.