The lonely death of Cycle Maung Maung
By Norman Robespierre
YANGON - Although the Buddhist monks and thousands of ordinary citizens who
marched in last September's "Saffron" revolution seemed powerless against its
brutal suppression by the Myanmar military junta, the cautionary tale of one
belated casualty hints that karmic retribution may yet prevail. This is the
story of Maung Maung.
Maung Maung passed away late last year while just in his late 40s, leaving
behind a wife and a couple of grown children. Premature deaths are hardly news
in Myanmar, which consistently ranks at the bottom in global health care
rankings. But Maung Maung was not an ordinary citizen; and his was not an
ordinary death.
Unlike most Myanmar citizens, Maung Maung was an ardent
supporter of the military regime, known as the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC). He befriended policemen and soldiers and dutifully attended
pro-regime rallies. He became a member of the "Swan-ar-Shin", a civilian
extension of the regime's uniformed forces that assists in controlling the
populace.
Maung Maung's ties with the police and loyalty to the regime brought him some
perks. One was that he could drive a motorcycle in Yangon, a privilege reserved
for a select few, mostly military, police and intelligence officials, and Maung
Maung wore the privilege as a badge of honor. He was often seen on his
motorcycle, earning him the moniker, "Cycle Maung Maung" from his neighbors in
the dusty working-class Paukan ward of Insein Township.
Aside from the motorcycle, catchy nickname and the modest wage of a
Swan-ar-Shin member, Maung Maung received other special considerations from the
authorities. Cell phones were issued to select Swan-Ar-Shin, a benefit beyond
the reach of most ordinary citizens, and one Maung Maung conspicuously enjoyed.
Approval for a new cell phone line can take months and cost over US$2,000, a
hefty sum in a country with a gross domestic product per capita of only $1,900.
The selective enforcement of the law in favor of regime supporters allowed him
to avoid the difficulties and bribes that others without strong government
connections habitually endure. He avoided forced conscription into work parties
for road repair and other manual labor often demanded by the authorities from
ordinary citizens.
He also readily received recommendations from the ward and township that, among
other things, allowed his family members to apply for phone lines and receive
the necessary police certification to process paperwork through the bureaucracy
- recommendations that others would find nearly unobtainable without an
obligatory bribe.
These benefits did not come without a cost, however. Cycle Maung Maung was, as
a member of the Swan-ar-Shin, frequently required to carry out orders in
support of the regime. In September 2007, as part of the regime's combined
force to suppress popular demonstrations, Cycle Maung Maung found himself in
the middle of the government's battle against protesting monks. He and other
Swan-ar-Shin members in civilian clothes and armed with clubs and truncheons
formed a rank immediately behind policemen wielding police batons and riot
shields.
Immediately behind the Swan-ar-Shin was the backbone of the force, soldiers
with automatic weapons and sharpened bayonets. While numerous police in the
front ranks, because of their Buddhist upbringing, hesitated to physically
engage the monks, the politically motivated Swan-ar-Shin and members of the
army - perhaps believing themselves to be true defenders of the nation - were
more eager to attack.
Whether Maung Maung shared the reluctance shown by some police officers to
charge the crowd or whether he eagerly plunged into the fray is unknown. What
is known is that the regime's efforts to quell the protests turned violent,
fatally so. Police, army and the Swan-ar-Shin engaged the peaceful protestors
with fists, kicks, batons and, in some instances, bullets. According to people
from his neighborhood, Cycle Maung Maung, armed with a baton, brutally battered
a monk, who later died.
Karmic justice
There are no official accounts of the violence, and if there were, it's
unlikely Maung Maung would have ever been tried or convicted in Myanmar's
military-controlled courts. Nobody has ever been brought to trial for the
government-orchestrated attacks on hundreds of unarmed pro-democracy
demonstrators in 1988, or the assault on opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi's
motorcade and her supporters that left scores dead in 2003.
The violent act widely attributed to Maung Maung, however, propelled him from
local obscurity. People from his neighborhood said his notoriety even gained
international stature through a satellite television news clip which apparently
showed him beating Buddhist monks. Overseas Myanmar activists based in South
Korea who saw the footage promised justice for the "monk beater" should they
ever gain power.
At home, notoriety brought social isolation. In fervently Buddhist and often
superstitious Myanmar, he was viewed by neighbors who spoke with this reporter
as a pariah for allegedly killing a monk. His social network quickly
deteriorated to immediate family and other ardent supporters of the military
regime, whose numbers grew even scarcer following the outrages against the
monks.
Neighbors in his district found it difficult to comprehend how a fellow
Buddhist could kill an unarmed monk. Rumors spread to explain his alleged
actions: he was possessed by a demon, or the regime gave drugs to the police,
soldiers and Swan-ar-Shin to make them more violent and the narcotics fueled
Maung Maung's cruelty. True or false, his neighbors avoided him and few set
foot into his house after the Saffron revolution crackdown.
But Cycle Maung Maung was not ostracized for long. Nearly six weeks after he
killed the monk, either tormented by guilt or, as neighbors believe, haunted by
ghosts, Cycle Maung Maung fell ill. He felt dogs biting him and yelled at them
to leave him alone; those who were by his bedside saw no dogs.
According to his neighbors, in the middle of the November night before Cycle
Maung Maung died, screams were heard from his house. He cried out, "M'kou net!"
"M'kou net!", which translates as, "Don't come for me! Don't come for
me!" The next morning he was found dead in his bed.
There were no marks on his body and there was no readily apparent cause for his
death, according to those familiar with his last earthly night; his neighbors
assume his demise was related to his alleged slaying of the Buddhist monk.
His family sought monks from the local monastery to perform traditional rites
and ceremonies for his cremation and seven days after his cremation, but the
monks at the monastery would not preside. The family tried in vain at several
other monasteries, but Maung Maung's notoriety was too widespread.
After days of searching, the family finally found monks from a monastery in a
distant township willing to perform the ceremonies, apparently because they
were unaware of his history. Unlike most Myanmar funerals, which are attended
by virtually the entire neighborhood, Cycle Maung Maung's funeral crowd was
sparse.
He died a lonely soul, based on the accounts of his passing and the isolation
he endured during the last month of his life.
While Cycle Maung Maung's death didn't bring back the life of the monk he
purportedly murdered, it did have a positive upshot. In a land where the
population lives under institutionalized injustice, those aware of the
circumstances surrounding Cycle Maung Maung's passing sensed that karmic
justice had prevailed.
One year after the government's brutal crackdown on Buddhist monks, there at
least remains faint hope that the same karmic force that some believe took
Maung Maung's life will eventually also visit SPDC Senior General Than Shwe and
other senior members of his military regime.
Norman Robespierre, a pseudonym, is a political scientist specializing in
Southeast Asian affairs. He may be reached at normanrobespierre@gmail.com.
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