A flag-lowering and tribute ceremony was held at 7:30 am yesterday at the Secretariat Building, formerly known as the Ministers’ Office, on Theinbyu Road in Botahtaung Township, Yangon, where General Aung San and other national martyrs were assassinated.
Attendees included Yangon Mayor U Myo Myint Aung, who serves as secretary of the 79th Martyrs’ Day Organizing Work Committee, committee members, government officials, district and township administrators, firefighters, Red Cross members and honour guards.
They paid tribute to General Aung San and the fallen leaders by lowering the national flag to half-mast and observing two minutes of silence.
To mark Martyrs’ Day, the meeting room where the leaders were killed and the Parliament Building within the Secretariat compound were opened to the public free of charge from 9 am to 5 pm.
Exhibits included 28 personal items left behind by the martyrs, the tables and chairs used during their meeting, contemporary news reports and articles, the building’s history and architecture, and historical photographs of the more than 130-year-old Parliament Building. Students and visitors also took part enthusiastically in a quiz programme, with commemorative gifts awarded to successful participants. — MNA/ST
