Myanmar on Wednesday observed the 70th anniversary of Martyrs' Day, marking the assassination of independence heroes including Gen. Aung San, father of the country's current leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi, attending a ceremony at the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Yangon as a family member, laid three flower baskets before the tomb of her father before bending down on the floor and paying obeisance.

The heavily secured official ceremony was held at the state level with officials including the vice president, the parliamentary speakers and the military chief representing the government.

When the country was previously under military rule until 2011, the ceremony used to be held in a low-profile manner. The general public was discouraged from taking part for fear of it becoming a political platform for Suu Kyi, who was the then opposition leader and a democracy icon challenging the military junta.

Since the long-time military government stepped down in 2011 and the subsequent military-backed civilian government gradually lifted restrictions on the public, tens of thousands of people have showed up at the mausoleum each year to pay their respects to the martyrs.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Suu Kyi's ruling National League for Democracy party urged the public to take lessons from Martyrs' Day and strive for the emergence of a new constitution that would be in harmony with the qualities of national reconciliation, equal rights, and peaceful coexistence.

Aung San, six Cabinet ministers and two officials were gunned down July 19, 1947, six months before Myanmar gained independence from Britain.