WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement Monday after U Ko Ni was assassinated in Myanmar:

“I would like to express my deep condolences to the people of Myanmar over the assassination of U Ko Ni, a prominent lawyer and leader of Myanmar’s Muslim minority, as he left the Yangon Airport this past Sunday.  His death is a particularly tragic loss given the challenges that the people of Myanmar face in their continued effort to build democracy, ethnic and religious tolerance, and national reconciliation.  I have expressed concerns in the past about the challenges Myanmar still faces in its political transition, as well as what appears to be a growing tide of anti-Muslim sentiment in Myanmar in recent years, including the deadly violence in Rakhine state directed at the Rohingya community.  This assassination underscores those concerns. U Ko Ni’s death is a terrible loss, but we can honor his commitment to his country, to constitutional law, and to democracy by continuing to fight his fight, in Myanmar and everywhere.”