Thousands of Myanmar politicians, activists and others shocked by the assassination of a longtime adviser to leader Aung San Suu Kyi gathered today at a cemetery for an emotional funeral ceremony, while police investigated the motive for the killing.
Ko Ni, a prominent lawyer and member of Myanmar's Muslim minority, was shot in the head at close range as he walked out of the Yangon airport yesterday. The suspected shooter was apprehended while trying to escape.
A statement issued late today by the office of President Htin Kyaw said that according to an initial interrogation, the shooting was intended "to threaten the country's stability."
It said the authorities would step up security measures, and urged people not to be frightened and refrain from agitation involving race or religion.
The killing shocked many in Yangon because attacks on prominent people are rare, although security forces are notorious for brutal behavior in remote rural areas, especially when dealing with ethnic minorities.
Ko Ni "is irreplaceable for both Aung San Suu Kyi and the party," Suu Kyi's ruling National League for Democracy party said in a statement. He was especially valued as an expert in constitutional law, looking for ways to sidestep provisions placed in the charter by an earlier military junta to retain power at the expense of elected governments.
He was seen as a familiar and helpful figure by journalists and human rights workers who have found Suu Kyi's government almost as difficult to deal with as the military-backed regime it replaced.
At the same time, Ko Ni was active in defending the rights of Muslims, who often face discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Last year, he helped found the Myanmar Muslim Lawyers Association, which was criticized by ultra-nationalist Buddhists monks as well as by some of his political allies, who feared it encouraged sectarianism.
Anti-Muslim sentiments have increased in the country in recent years following deadly intercommunal violence in the western state of Rakhine, home to many Muslims belonging to the Rohingya minority. As a Burmese Muslim, Ko Ni shared their religion but was better integrated into mainstream Myanmar society.
The suspect was arrested after he also shot a taxi driver who tried to stop him from fleeing the airport, the Information Ministry said in a video posted on state-run MRTV. The driver died on the way to a hospital.
Police seized two guns from the man, whom they identified as Kyi Linn of Mandalay. Authorities were searching for any possible accomplices. Speculation about the motive included political intimidation, anti-Muslim prejudice and a possible business dispute involving the victim's private law practice.
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