A hip-hop pioneer who vowed to "never surrender" and a democracy activist who said prison was his second home -- Myanmar's execution of two prominent democracy fighters will only keep the flame of defiance burning, their families say.

AFP looks at lives of Kyaw Min Yu -- better known as "Ko Jimmy" -- and Phyo Zeya Thaw, whose executions sparked shock and anger in Myanmar and around the world.

- 'Never surrender' -

Phyo Zeya Thaw burst on to the public stage in the early 2000s as a dragon-tattooed hip-hop pioneer whose subversive rhymes targeted the then-ruling junta.

The band skirted the military's notorious censors by circulating bootlegged copies of songs recorded in underground studios or performing in private stage shows.

"We will never change, never give up, never surrender," his band "Acid" rap in one song.

"We will come out in full force in every tomorrow."

He was jailed in 2008 for membership of an illegal organisation and possession of foreign currency and later told AFP that democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi -- his "real life hero" -- helped him get through three years in jail.

He later became close to Suu Kyi, travelling with her to Europe in 2012 where she finally collected the Nobel prize that thrust her into the international limelight two decades earlier.

In the 2015 elections won by her National League for Democracy, the former junta prisoner won a seat in the military-built capital of Naypyidaw.

"You're very young, you're a hip-hop artist and you're an ex-prisoner. How can you be an MP?" he told AFP in an interview after his election win.

"That's something I hear quite a lot."

He was arrested by the junta in November last year and accused of orchestrating several attacks on regime forces, including a gun attack on a commuter train in Yangon that killed five policemen.

Following a closed trial, he was sentenced to death in January.

"My son was not a thief or a thug," his mother told Radio Free Asia after news of the executions.

"I am proud of him for giving his life for the country... If I could get his ashes or remains, I would like to make a tomb for him and then put an inscription on it."

- 'Never die in our hearts' -

Kyaw Min Yu -- known as "Ko Jimmy" -- rose to prominence during Myanmar's 1988 student uprising against the country's previous military regime.

The writer and organiser spent more than a dozen years in prison under the previous junta for his pro-democracy activism, calling detention his "second home".

But jail only made him more of a steadfast champion of democracy for his people.

"The government tries to keep them out," he told AFP in 2006 as he organised a campaign during a rare stretch of freedom.

But "they are always looking for a way to participate in politics".

Prison love letters saw romance blossom with fellow activist Nilar Thein, and led to their marriage shortly after they were released in 2004.

Months after their daughter was born he was arrested again during the monk-led "Saffron" protests in 2007, and the pair were not reunited until they were both pardoned in a 2012 amnesty.

His death was "blatant murder," his wife told RFA.

"He has written a good record for himself and he will never die in our hearts."

Executed Myanmar prisoners deserved 'many death sentences' says junta
Yangon (AFP) July 26, 2022 - Myanmar's junta lashed out Tuesday against international condemnation of the country's first use of capital punishment in decades, saying the four executed prisoners -- two of them prominent democracy fighters -- "deserved many death sentences".

The executions announced Monday sparked condemnation from around the globe, heightened fears that more will follow and prompted calls for sterner international measures against the already-isolated junta.

But the military authorities were defiant, with spokesman Zaw Min Tun insisting the men were "given the right to defend themselves according to court procedure".

"If we compare their sentence with other death penalty cases, they have committed crimes for which they should have been given death sentences many times," he said at a regular press briefing in the capital Naypyidaw.

"They harmed many innocent people. There were many big losses which could not be replaced."

The prisoners, who included a former lawmaker from ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party, had been allowed to meet family members through video conferencing, he said, without providing details.

The country's foreign ministry said it "rejects in the strongest terms" criticism doled out by international powers including the UN, EU, United States and former colonial ruler Britain.

"Such concerns and criticisms on the Myanmar government's legal actions could be tantamount to interfering in the internal affairs of the country and indirectly abetting terrorism," the ministry said in a statement.

- 'Extremely troubled' -

Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former lawmaker from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) was arrested in November and accused of orchestrating several attacks on regime forces, including a gun attack on a commuter train in Yangon that killed five policemen.

He was sentenced to death in January for offences under anti-terrorism laws.

Democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu -- better known as "Jimmy" -- received the same sentence from the military tribunal.

The junta had previously issued an arrest warrant, alleging he had incited unrest with his social media posts.

It would be up to prison authorities to decide whether their families would be permitted to retrieve their bodies, Zaw Min Tun said.

The two other men were sentenced to death for killing a woman they alleged was an informer for the junta in Yangon.

The junta has sentenced dozens of anti-coup activists to death as part of its crackdown on dissent after seizing power last year, but Myanmar had not carried out an execution in decades.

After a chorus of international condemnation on Monday, there was fresh criticism of the junta on Tuesday.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, which has led diplomatic efforts to end the crisis, said it was "extremely troubled and deeply saddened" by the executions.

In a statement issued by current chair Cambodia, it accused the junta of a "gross lack of will" to engage with ASEAN's efforts to facilitate dialogue between the military and its opponents.

In Bangkok, hundreds of people staged a noisy protest outside the Myanmar embassy.

Some held photos of Ko Jimmy and Phyo Zeya Thaw alongside Aung San Suu Kyi as they chanted "We want democracy."

And Malaysia's foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah slammed the executions, calling them a "crime against humanity".

He called for a review of the so-called five-point consensus agreed by Southeast Asian leaders last year aimed at defusing the political crisis in Myanmar following a coup.

A spokesperson from the foreign affairs ministry of Thailand -- another ASEAN member -- said it regretted "the loss of four lives which aggravates the vexing problems of Myanmar".

Related Links
Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com

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ASEAN says Myanmar executions 'highly reprehensible'
Phnom Penh (AFP) July 26, 2022
Myanmar's execution of four prisoners, including a former member of Aung San Suu Kyi's party, is "highly reprehensible," said the chair of a regional bloc leading diplomatic efforts to resolve the post-coup crisis. Cambodia, which currently heads the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the bloc was "extremely troubled and deeply saddened" by the executions - Myanmar's first in decades. In a statement issued Tuesday, it accused the junta of a "gross lack of will" to engage with ... read more