Earth Science News
PILLAGING PIRATES
Myanmar's junta chief makes first appearance at memorial event
Myanmar's junta chief makes first appearance at memorial event
by AFP Staff Writers
Yangon (AFP) July 19, 2025

Myanmar's junta chief on Saturday attended annual commemorations for the country's assassinated independence hero for the first time since the military seized power more than four years ago.

Known affectionately as "Bogyoke" (General), Aung San led Myanmar's battle for independence from Britain but was gunned down in July 1947, just months before his dream was finally realised.

His daughter Aung San Suu Kyi -- who was two at the time of his death -- became a democracy figurehead, Nobel laureate, and nemesis of the military.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing attended the wreath-laying ceremony Saturday at the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Yangon, the former capital, footage broadcast by state media MRTV showed.

He was joined at the monument next to the famous Shwedagon Pagoda by other top military generals commemorating Aung San's killing.

It is the first time Min Aung Hlaing has attended the event since he took power in 2021, and comes as his military fights anti-coup forces around the country and prepares to hold an election that has been criticised by international monitors.

Born in 1915 under British colonial rule, Aung San became leader of nationalist fighters in what was then Burma -- making him the founder of Myanmar's military.

He remains a deeply revered figure and a core factor behind his daughter's enduring popularity.

She has been detained since the coup and spent her 80th birthday last month -- and Saturday's remembrance of her father's killing -- in junta detention serving a raft of lengthy sentences.

Related Links
21st Century Pirates

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
PILLAGING PIRATES
'Las Vegas in Laos': the riverside city awash with crime
Van Pak Len, Laos (AFP) July 14, 2025
Rising from the muddy fields on the Mekong riverbank in Laos, a lotus tops a casino in a sprawling city which analysts decry as a centre for cybercrime. Shabby, mismatched facades - including an Iberian-style plaza replete with a church tower, turrets and statues - stand alongside high-rise shells. The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) is the most prominent of more than 90 such areas established across the Mekong region in recent years, often offering people reduced taxes or gover ... read more

PILLAGING PIRATES
Rain caused natural disasters in 83% of Brazil's cities: report

Pentagon chief downsizes contentious LA troop deployment

Dominican Navy searches for capsized migrant boat; Guatemalan mob lynches 5 in quake-hit town

Trump voices shock at devastating scale of Texas flood damage

PILLAGING PIRATES
Underappreciated threat of nanoplastic pollution revealed in Atlantic Ocean study

Data centre focused REIT debuts in Singapore, biggest in years

Pentagon takes stake in US rare earth company

Redwire integrates second Hammerhead satellite for ESA in-orbit tech mission

PILLAGING PIRATES
New deep sea mining rules lack consensus despite US pressure

'Dialogue' must be at heart of China, Australia ties, PM tells Xi

Rivers choose their path based on erosion - a discovery that could transform flood planning and restoration

Deep-sea mining negotiators to meet under Trump shadow

PILLAGING PIRATES
Heat melts Alps snow and glaciers, leaving water shortage

From Antarctica to Brussels, hunting climate clues in old ice

Deadly China-Nepal flood caused by glacial lake: experts

Glacier retreat could drive a surge in volcanic eruptions worldwide

PILLAGING PIRATES
Rotten insects, viral videos and climate change: S.Korea battles 'lovebug' invasion

Drought-hit Serbian raspberry farmers fear 'catastrophic' future

Tajikistan's apricot farmers grapple with climate change

Beijing decries 'discriminatory' ban on Chinese purchases of US farmland

PILLAGING PIRATES
Iceland volcano erupts for ninth time since 2023

Two dead in New Jersey as soaked US northeast braces for more rain

Magnitude 6.7 quake hits offshore eastern Indonesia: USGS

Volcanic eruption ends day's search for bodies of Filipino cockfighters

PILLAGING PIRATES
Nigerian hikers blaze trails despite insecurity

Paramilitary attack kills 48 in central Sudan village: war monitor

French army leaves Senegal, ending military presence in west Africa

Nigerian authorities claim to kill 30 criminal 'bandits'

PILLAGING PIRATES
Finns flock to 'shepherd weeks' to disconnect on holiday

Hong Kong leader backs same-sex couples' rights bill

Beyond male dominance in primates new study redefines gender power roles

Light travels through entire human head in breakthrough for optical brain imaging

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.