"RIP: Rest In Pieces"

On Nov 14th 1996, the Slorc posted a notice at the gate of Kyandaw Cemetery giving relatives one month’s notice to move the remains to a new site at Shwe Nyaung-bin, two hours drive from Rangoon.

Kyandaw cemetery is located on 50-70 acres of what has become prime real estate in downtown Rangoon, near Hantha-waddy intersection. Both Burmese and foreigners are buried there of Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist faiths. Rumours abound in Rangoon as to what the military government wants the land for; a casino to be built by Khun Sa, a hotel to be built with foreign investment, or, a Japanese shopping center.

Whatever is planned for this land remains unknown as the Slorc refuse to specify at this stage. A Slorc spokesman, Major Hla Min stated on a recent Asian Business News television interview: "Yangon has changed, and the location of the cemetery, once it was probably on the outskirts of Yangon, but today its almost in the center of the city, so naturally it has to be relocated."

The deadline for the removal of the remains from the cemetery was extended by two weeks to December 31st. What remains on the land after this date is to be razed.

Cemeteries and graves are moved in cities all over the world as urban areas expand. What makes this Burmese move different is the way it is being carried out. The Slorc have given little notice, moving costs are expensive, and there is little respect given by the Slorc-employed workers to the dead.

Religious ceremonies required to move the dead in some faiths are being hurried along and performed under restricted conditions. Members of one Christian denomination requested the Slorc to allow the construction of a temporary chapel at the new burial site, so that appropriate blessings could be administered there. The Slorc would not allow a chapel to be built, but conceded that they could have a "shed to organise" the re-burial at, but not a chapel to pray or conduct consecrations in.

In faiths where the dead cannot be moved, such as Islam, little or no discussion has been entered into with local religious leaders to what should be done in this situation. Local Muslims state that it is against their religion to move the dead once they are buried and state that the Slorc will just bulldoze the graves of the Muslims after the deadline to move has passed.

In 1993, in Mandalay, Lt Gen Tun Gyi gave the order to flatten a Muslim cemetery after the local Islamic community explained that according to their religion it was impossible for them to move the graves. The Muslims then stood by and watched the Burmese army desecrate the graves of their relatives.

In Judaic law, graves can be moved provided the proper rites are conducted by a Rabbi at the time. There are 700 graves at the Jewish cemetery in downtown Ran-goon that are currently being moved. There are eight Jewish families in Rangoon and without a Rabbi of their own there seems little hope of a re-burial according to religious law and custom. The Jewish community helped raise money for the costs of relocation and for assistance with the religious rites.

The Slorc employed young workers to assist with the digging up of the graves who have little respect for the dead. Although there is often little of value in the graves, looting has been taking place. We saw young boys employed to work at the cemetery to dig up graves, taking the clothes off one skeleton and trying them on. The whole graveyard had been dug up and although most of the graves were empty, there were rotting remains sticking out of some graves and the stench was awful.

There were bones scattered on the ground in some places, and scavengers were also collecting both bones and bricks to sell. One local religious leader made light of the tragic situation stating that when the re-burial of the remains took place that the new blessing given would be: "May he rest in pieces!"

Hundreds of relatives came to Kyandaw Cemetery only to find that they had to pay 250 Kyat (US $1.60) for the workers to dig up the coffin, and to place the bones in a garbage bag, costing a further 10 Kyat (US $0.16). To move the bag of bones to the new site at Shwe Nyaungbin, it costs a further 300 Kyat (US $1.80) for the taxi. To re-bury the bones it costs 2,000 Kyat (US $1.80), and for a new tombstone a further 500 Kyat (US $3.12). If the body has rotting flesh left on it, for example the person died recently, it costs 1,200 Kyat (US $7.50) to dig up the corpse, up to 14,000 Kyat (US $87.50) for a new coffin, 1,500 Kyat (US $3.12) for a taxi to carry the coffin to the new site, and a further 2,000 Kyat (US $12.50) to re-bury the body. The average wage per month is prohibitive. Many poor people are re-burying their dead in the mud without tombstones as they cannot afford to pay.

Some Christian denominations, such as the Catholics, do not cremate corpses, however local Catholic bishops are giving special dispensations for their parishioners to burn their dead, as many cannot afford to move the remains. Just before the relocation notice was posted at the cemeteries, a committee of the various religious leaders was ordered to form to assist Slorc and the local people with the move.

As the populations who practice Christianity, Islam and Hinduism are often ethnic minority groups, the move is stirring up ethnic tension. However as one ethnic national stated of the move at the cemetery, "What can we do about it? If we complain we only get problems."

The relocation of the cemetery is also problematic for the Slorc, as the remains of U Nu, former Prime Minister are also buried there, along with the remains of some of the thirty comrades, the independence heroes of Burma. Also buried there is Daw Khin May Than, a wife of Ne Win, the dictator who ruled Burma from 1962 to 1988, who is still widely believed to be a major power behind the Slorc.

Although there has been an extensive crackdown on those students who participated in the demonstrations in Rangoon in December, the Slorc fear that to disturb the remains of some of Burma’s heroes may be the catalyst for more student unrest. In 1974, the refusal of the Burmese military to bury former United Nations Secretary General U Thant in a venerated position led to the student uprisings of the same year, followed by widespread military suppression.

For many families coming to pick up remains of loved ones, this is not the first time they have had to move their dead. In early 1991, an order was served by Slorc that relatives would have to move their dead from Cantonment Cemetery in Dagon Township. The army then built a military office there.

In 1994, Tamwe Cemetery was also ordered to move in order for the army to build a supermarket. Remains in both of these cemeteries were relocated to Kyandaw Cemetery, which is currently being moved. One Australian Burmese displayed a garbage bag and said: "This is my Dad! ... This is the second time in two years that I’ve come from Australia to re-bury him ... Although I’m Catholic, this time I will have to burn him as I can’t afford to keep coming back to move the bones."

Diplomats based in Rangoon have quietly expressed their disgust at the way the relocations are being conducted. Individuals from ethnic and religious groups have also expressed dismay at what many of them see as a flagrant show of the military’s disrespect for these communities. Others have simply been unable to pay for the move and have had to bury their relatives at home or in unmarked graves at the new site. As one Burmese at Kyandaw cemetery stated: "Even when you die in this country, they [the military] don’t leave you alone."

This story is contribued by Ma Hnin Hlaing Oo.