- Title: Thousands mourn Myanmar lawyer shot dead at airport
- Date: 30th January 2017
- Summary: YANGON, MYANMAR (JANUARY 30, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LOOKING AT BODY OF MUSLIM LAWYER KO NI COVERED WITH NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY (NLD) FLAG PEOPLE WALKING PAST COFFIN, TAKING PHOTOS VARIOUS OF KO NI'S BODY WRAPPED IN WHITE CLOTH NLD PARTY FLAG ON TOP OF COFFIN PEOPLE CROWDED AROUND KO NI'S BODY VARIOUS OF WOMEN CRYING AS THEY WALK PAST KO NI'S BODY (SOUNDBITE) (Burmese) 72-YEAR-OLD SENIOR LAWYER WHO WORKED WITH KO NI, OHN HLAING, SAYING: "We have to say that this is a big loss of legal expertise both for NLD (National League for Democracy) party and our country." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SITTING AT MUSLIM CEMETERY (SOUNDBITE) (Burmese) 45-YEAR-OLD MUSLIM WOMAN, THAN THAN HTAY, SAYING: "He did many good things for the country. This is very bad for our country and for us too. I am very sad and mournful because of his death. I would not be sorry like this even if my father died. That's why I came here with deep condolences to pay respect to him." PEOPLE STANDING AND HOLDING UP BANNER WITH PICTURE OF KO NI VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAITING TO SEE KO NI'S BODY VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CARRYING KO NI'S COFFIN COVERED WITH NLD FLAG, WALKING THROUGH CROWDS OF MOURNERS TOWARDS MOSQUE CROWDS GATHERED OUTSIDE MOSQUE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CARRYING KO NI'S COFFIN COVERED WITH RELIGIOUS FUNERAL FLAG WALKING OUT OF MOSQUE PEOPLE CARRYING KO NI'S COFFIN TOWARDS BURIAL SITE COFFIN BEING LOWERED INTO GRAVE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LOOKING OVER AS COFFIN IS PUT INTO GROUND, RELIGIOUS LEADERS STANDING AROUND VARIOUS OF PEOPLE PRAYING FOR KO NI JAKARTA, INDONESIA (JANUARY 30, 2017) (REUTERS) INDONESIA FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, ARRMANATHA NASIR, SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, ARRMANATHA NASIR, SAYING: "First of all, we expressed our condolences to the family and the government of Myanmar. The person in question was in fact visiting Indonesia to join a program in which we shared Indonesia's experiences in democratisation and reconciliation, which was facilitated and in cooperation with Harvard University School of Peace and Democracy. This is quite shocking news and we hope that this will not impede the spirit and efforts of the Myanmar government and people in the process of national democratisation, reformation, and reconciliation." EXTERIOR OF FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING
- Embargoed: 13th February 2017 13:18
- Keywords: Myanmar Indonesia NLD National League for Democracy funeral Suu Kyi Ko Ni shot dead Muslim lawyer adviser
- Location: YANGON, MYANMAR / JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- City: YANGON, MYANMAR / JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- Country: Myanmar
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice
- Reuters ID: LVA001619UURP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Tens of thousands of people gathered in the Myanmar city of Yangon on Monday (January 30) for the funeral of Ko Ni, a Muslim lawyer shot dead the previous day who was involved in efforts to amend a military drafted constitution.
An estimated 100,000 mourners, including family members, lawyers, NLD (National League for Democracy) activists and members of Yangon's diplomatic corps, attended Ko Ni's funeral beginning at a Muslim cemetery in northern Yangon.
"This is very bad for our country and for us, too. I am very sad and mournful," said Than Than Htay, 45-year-old Muslim woman attending the funeral.
The shooting comes amid heightened communal tensions in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where leader Aung San Suu Kyi is under pressure over a security operation in an area of the country's northwest that is populated mostly by Muslims.
Ko Ni, 63, had criticized the continuing role of the military in governing Myanmar despite the party, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, assuming power in April.
Suu Kyi was not in attendance and has yet to comment on the killing. Her party said on Sunday (January 29) Ko Ni's death was "a great loss for which there is no substitute".
Ko Ni had just returned from a trip to Indonesia, where Myanmar government officials and Muslim community leaders discussed with Indonesian counterparts issues of reconciliation.
Indonesia's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Arrmanatha Nasir, on Monday expressed his condolences, and said he hoped Ko Ni's death would not "impede the spirit and efforts of the Myanmar government and people in the process of national democratisation, reformation, and reconciliation.
The killing had "all the hallmarks of an assassination", human rights group Amnesty International said in a statement on Sunday (January 29), calling for a "thorough, independent and impartial investigation".
Ko Ni, who was a prominent member of Myanmar's Muslim minority, was an expert in constitutional law and a legal adviser for Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy.
He was also spearheading a new Interfaith Harmony Bill that would include provisions on hate speech, hate crimes and discrimination, according to two experts working with him on the draft legislation.
An unidentified lone gunman shot the veteran lawyer, Ko Ni in the head and injured two others in front of the main terminal of Yangon's international airport on Sunday evening.
Family members and friends told Reuters Ko Ni had received threats to his life connected to his political work, but the motive for the killing was not known.
Police have detained a 53-year-old man but have not released any details. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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