On 14 February - Valentine's Day - the General Secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), one of Burma's largest ethnic resistance forces, was assassinated in his home in Thailand. Padoh Mahn Sha was a courageous, humble, wise, principled leader. He was also the father of four children, including Zoya Phan, the brave Karen activist who has spoken twice at Conservative Party Conferences. You can see his children's statement at www.zoyaphan.com and you can see further information at www.csw.org.uk
I spent an entire morning, from 8am until 1pm, with Padoh Mahn Sha in his home just three days before gunmen came to kill him. I sat on the veranda where he was shot. I had lunch with him. He was not only someone I greatly respected - he was someone I could call a friend.
Earlier in the week, East Timor's President Jose Ramos Horta was shot. Thankfully he has, so far, survived, although he is still on hospital and has undergone multiple operations. East Timor's Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao, was shot at too, although thankfully he escaped unharmed. I know Jose Ramos Horta and Xanana personally too, and have sat in their homes on several occasions chatting with them.
The year began with the assassination of Pakistan's democracy leader Benazir Bhutto. While I did not know her personally, I work on Pakistan and have a good friend who was with her at the rally at which she was killed.
It has been a dreadful start to the year. But it reminds us how valuable freedom is. When brave people - friends of mine - pay the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of freedom, democracy, human rights and justice, then we absolutely have to continue their fight. We owe it to them not to take our freedom and our material comforts for granted, but rather to use them to promote freedom for those who are denied it.
