Myanmar's 'brave' taxi driver mourned by thousands

By Kyaw Ye Lynn

YANGON, Myanmar (AA) - Thousands of people on Tuesday attended the funeral of a taxi driver who was killed during an attempt to apprehend a gunman who assassinated a leading Muslim lawyer in Myanmar’s former capital Yangon.

Taxi driver Nay Win, 48, was shot dead by the assailant outside the Yangon International Airport on Sunday evening soon after Ko Ni, a legal advisor to the country’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) was shot in the head.

More than 200 taxi drivers gathered Tuesday morning at a playground near the airport for a march to the Yayway cemetery on the outskirts of Yangon.

"He threw a brick at the gunman running after him," Myo Nyunt, a witness and a taxi driver, told Anadolu Agency.

He added that the gunman was hit by the brick, then turned and shot Nay Win.

"We are very proud of him. He is a brave and honest man," Myo Nyunt said.

Muslim community leaders are among an estimated 3,000 people who attended the funeral of Nay Win, a Buddhist and a member of NLD.

Nyunt Maung Shein, chairman of Islamic Religious Council in Myanmar, said people were hoping the tragic assassination would unite leaders and people from all communities in standing up against hatred and violence.

"Amid the sorrow, we are glad to see that Buddhists and Muslims are helping each other," he told Anadolu Agency by phone on Tuesday morning.

"This clearly shows that violence over the past years was driven by a few, but powerful people who want to destabilize the country for their own interests.

"We, Buddhists and Muslims, have been leaving together peacefully for a long time."

The suspected gunman was arrested shortly after the shooting and named by police, who did not suggest a motive. He is said to be a 53-year-old man from Mandalay who was released from prison in 2014.

The President's office issued a statement late Monday, urging people not to be stricken by panic and to remain calm and cautious in the face of any religious and racial incitements following the assassination.

"Based off an initial interrogation, the incident appears to be an attempt to destabilize the state," said the statement without providing details.

Although the motive of the assassin remains unclear, some fear the killing could prompt another round of communal violence as the gunman has been praised by nationalists on social media for Ko Ni’s assassination.

"U Ko Ni would never want his death to be a spark for further violence," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of U.S-based Human Rights Watch, adding Myanmar should honor his legacy by building respect for rule of law, non-discrimination, and human rights.

"What’s shocking and appalling is praise on social media by far too many Burmese people for the killer," Robertson said in an e-mail to Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

He urged the government led by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to clamp down on hate speech in Myanmar where religious intolerance has been on the rise over the past few years.

"Those in Myanmar who are promoting hate against the Muslim minority are playing with fire," Phil Robertson said.

"They need to be stopped by this NLD government before it’s too late."

Predominantly Buddhist, Myanmar has seen a series of anti-Muslim violence following the rise of the ultra-nationalist group, better known as Ma Ba Tha in its Myanmar acronym, since communal violence erupted in western Rakhine state in mid-2012.