“Everybody is terrified that there could be a hit list from the Burmese military circulating around Thailand of people to be killed.”
- Aung Naing Oo, of the Washington-based Burma Fund
Pado Man Sha, one of the leaders of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement, was assassinated at his home in Thailand today. Two gunmen apparently shot him once each, in front of his family. No word yet on who’s responsible, but it’s likely either Myanmar’s military government - which tends to meet opposition with crushing violence - or a militant splinter group within his own organization.
The killing eliminates one of Myanmar’s most vocal and eloquent proponents of civilian rule, and has received worldwide coverage. Don’t expect to hear about it on CNN, though. As of 1:20 EST, their top stories included “Five ways to find Dr. Right,” “American Idol gets down to 24″ and “Valentine’s Day: Holiday from Hell,” but nothing on Burma. I wonder if Jerry Falwell wrote that last one.
In related news, a new UN report says that Myanmar’s military killed at least 31 people and beat, tortured and imprisoned many more during its crackdown on pro-democracy marchers last fall. The general consensus is that this number is wildly underestimated.
“Since the crackdown there have been an increasing number of reports of deaths in custody as well as beatings, ill-treatment, lack of food, water or medical treatment in overcrowded unsanitary detention facilities across the country.”
- Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, UN Special Envoy to Myanmar
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