The apparent assassination comes amid heightened tensions in that country, where leader Aung San Aung San Suu Kyi is under pressure over a heavy-handed security operation in the country’s northwest Rakhaine. Undeniably, the sudden killing of the Muslim lawyer is likely to make matters between extremist Buddhists and Muslims even worse.
From the UN to many across the globe countries have vehemently condemned this assassination. Most importantly, it happened exactly in the midst of Myanmar and UN’s joint efforts for calming down the prevailing ethnic tensions in that country. We have all reasons to believe that the killing of U Ko Ni was premeditated and carried out in order to hamper the sequential development of the current peace and restoration initiatives of the Rohingya crisis. Moreover, if a prominent Muslim lawmaker can be shot dead in broad-day light, what’s the safety of the thousands of Muslims scattered around the big cities? Who to ensure the safety of lives and properties of the Muslims?
This targeted killing can be marked as only the beginning of a growing and pro-longed hate story where it is the religion that has become the key issue now. Given what’s happened in Rakhaine in recent times, the NLD government should have adopted extra-ordinary measures to safeguard Myanmar’s non – Rohingya Muslim population. It didn’t however, materialise. Moreover, following noticeable joint moves to end the Rohingya crisis, a militant syndicate has suddenly become pro-active to cancel it out. It’s now proved with Ko Ni’s detah.
Reportedly, the deceased was the author of six books on human rights issues and democratic elections apart from being actively involved in the interfaith peace movement. Such key figures are extremely important for handling Myanmar’s internal communal clashes and humanitarian crisis.
Nevertheless, his assassination wasn’t only a big blow for the ruling regime but a clear sign of the countrywide organisational strength of a militant anti-Muslim quarter in Myanmar. We call for launching a thorough, independent and impartial investigation into this killing. Therefore, handout appropriate justice to U Ko Ni’s killer. Such act of communal violence must not be tolerated and go unpunished.
