Herry Tan

Herry Tan (March, 22 1956/ 16 years old/ Saint Paul School)
In 1956, 7th-grade students were taking government examinations. After
they had taken four courses, they realized that the exam questions had
been ‘leaked’. One of the questions was published in “Burma Khit”, a Burmese
newspaper, but the government didn’t take any action. On March the
22nd, the authorities made a surprise announcement that the exam results
were disallowed on the grounds that a question had been published in the
newspaper. When students heard about it, some students were crying. They
had studied for a whole year, and now it was to be abolished. They decided
to call a strike and marched to the office of the Education Commissioner,
then to the Burma Khit newspaper’s office which was already protected
by police. Later, both Pasi Mya Maung, who was a judge from the Eastern
district of Rangoon, and ABFSU leaders arrived there. ABFSU leaders negotiated
with the authorities asking them not to use force to disperse the
students, who were only 12 to 13 years old. They said they would take care
of the students. The judge agreed. However, he suddenly ordered the police
to shoot students. ABFSU leaders requested them not to do it, but they did.
One student, Herry Tan (16 years old) , was killed in the shooting. It was
the first time a Burmese parliamentary government had killed a student.
Student unions such as ABFSU and RUSU demanded the establishment of
a committee to investigate the event. On March the 23rd, 1956, the government
established a committee to investigate the event. To lessen students’
resentment, the U Nu government let all 7th-grade students pass the exam.
The event is popularly known as “Herry Tan” event in Burmese history.