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State Counsellor breaks silence at Ko Ni memorial service

By Shoon Naing   |   Monday, 27 February 2017

State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi broke her silence on the murder of U Ko Ni yesterday when she attended a memorial service for the National League for Democracy lawyer and the taxi driver who was also killed in the incident last month.

At the memorial service in Yangon's Bahan township and organised by NLD for the two victims, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi referred to U Ko Ni as a close colleague.

“U Ko Ni is someone who loved to talk about the law even after the listener got bored. He had a big interest in it, especially the constitution,” she said during her speech.

U Ko Ni was shot dead outside Yangon airport on January 29. Taxi driver U Nay Win was also killed trying to stop the gunman who was arrested.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s silence since the daylight assassination had been criticised by many quarters, with some claiming she did not even send a wreath to the funeral, as U Ko Ni was credited with finding the legal and constitutional loophole that allowed for the formation of the State Counsellor’s role.

In her 30-minute speech, the State Counsellor made no mention of the investigation into the murder.

“The memorial ceremony is not just about missing them but about honoring the two,” she said.

She also thanked taxi driver U Nay Win and praised him for doing the “right” thing.

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A day before, at a press conference by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Myanmar Police Force on the investigation into the killing, Lieutenant General Kyaw Swe described the reason for U Ko Ni’s murder as “extreme nationalism”.

Police Chief Zaw Win, meanwhile, said, “It is just the behaviour of the youths; they had a personal grudge against him and decided to kill him.”

The suspects arrested over the murder are being investigated under various laws. The alleged gunman Kyi Lin and suspect Aung Win Zaw are being investigated under Article 301 of the Penal Code and Article 19(f) of the Arms Act.

The case against another suspect, Zayar Phyo, is under Article 67 of the Telecommunications Law for possession of restricted telecommunications equipment and Articles 420 and 468 of the Penal Code for forgery.

A fourth suspect Aung Win Khaing is on the run, and according to the Ministry of Home Affairs, any update on the case would only be possible if Aung Win Khaing was arrested.

Zayar Phyo, 42, a former captain in the Burma Army information department until 2004, was arrested on February 3.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Zayar Phyo was in the military training batch number 38, two batches after the one attended by the missing suspect Aung Win Khaing.

According to information released by the government, Zayar Phyo gave 1000 lakh to Aung Win Khaing to arrange the murder. Aung Win Khaing gave 400 lakh to his elder brother Aung Win Zaw to find the guns and the gunman.

Aung Win Zaw met with two other people ahead of Kyi Lin, the arrested gunman. One is Nagar Lay, who agreed to do the job for 200 lakh in cash and payment for a 64 lakh car.

However, he fled with the money. Aung Win Zaw then met with U Aung Soe who refused to do the job. Nagar Lay was later arrested.

It was reported that the assassination of U Ko Ni was planned as early as April last year.

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