Oct 13, 2007

Junta's "Butcher of Depayin" dies

Gen. Soe Win, the fourth-ranking member of the military junta, and largely considered a figurehead, has apparently died Friday after a long illness, relatives and state media said.

Nicknamed "the Butcher of Depayin" for his role in the 2003 attack on Suu Kyi (1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner) and her followers in the northern town of Depayin, his death is not expected to have any effect on the regimes power.

Soe Win first achieved notoriety for brutally suppressing a 1988 pro-democracy uprising, commanding troops around Rangoon University and giving orders to open fire on a crowd of peaceful protesters. Rangoon is the old name for Yangon, Myanmar's largest city.

Apparently, no tears have been shed by the people upon learning of his death.

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