Thousands of mourners have gathered at the funeral of Ko Ni, a senior legal adviser to the National League for Democracy, who was shot dead at Yangon International Airport on Sunday afternoon.
Relatives were joined by senior members of the NLD, members of the public and religious figures, including Muslim clerics and Buddhist monks, for the traditional Muslim ceremony at Yayway Cemetery in North Okkalapa Township.
Ko Ni’s killer was named as U Kyi Lin, who also shot and killed U Nay Win, a taxi driver who pursued the shooter during his attempted escape. Nay Win’s funeral is expected to take place also at the Yayway Cemetery on Tuesday.
“I came to attend this funeral not because he is a Muslim, but because he did his best to unite people of all faiths,” said U Maung Maung Tin, also known as Ashraf Ali, who was present at the funeral.
“We strongly denounce the assassination of Ko Ni likes thi as it is a terrorist act against the NLD’s policies,” the party said in a statement. State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is yet to make a statement about the killing.
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Witnesses said the number of people present could have been in the tens of thousands.
Ko Kyaw Kyaw, who was at the funeral, said the amount of people present was an indication of how popular Ko Ni was.
“You know who how important he is just by looking at the people of all faiths who are mourning his untimely death.”
