KNU name new leader

FREEDOM TO DEMOCRACY IN BURMA


The Karen National Union (KNU), a leading ethnic rebel group in Burma, has named a new leader following the mysterious murder of its chief.
It also vowed to continue its decades-long struggle against the country's military junta.

KNU general secretary Mahn Sha was shot by two gunmen on Thursday at his home in the Thailand border town of Mae Sot, according to Thai police.
"We lost one of our leaders but nothing will affect our movement," said Ba Thien, president of the KNU, who blamed the killing on troops loyal to the junta.

"The struggle for our cause will continue."
Thai police who investigated the shooting said the murder may have been the result of internal differences in the rebel group.
The KNU's number two official, Htoo Htoo Lay, 61, automatically became the group's new leader, according to the KNU's constitution.

The killing came less than a week after Burma's military government announced plans for a referendum on a new constitution in May, to be followed by a general election in 2010.
The plans have been denounced by the KNU and other opponents of the regime as a sham devised to perpetuate military rule.

Sourced By: The Associated Press