May 27, 2008 (DVB), The funeral for the late Karen National Union leader Pado Saw Ba Thin Sein was held yesterday in the headquarters of the Karen National Liberation Army, the KNU’s armed wing.

Representatives of several armed ethnic groups and Burma’s exile movement read out condolences at the funeral and a KNLA honour guard gave a gun salute to honour Saw Ba Thin Sein, who passed away aged 81 on 22 May.

Colonel Thu Thu Leh, general secretary of the KNU, announced to the audience during his speech at the funeral, that the former KNU deputy-chairman general Tamalar Baw has been appointed acting chairman until the next annual congress meeting.

Ba Thin Sein's daughter Naw Kapa Say said she was proud of her father’s devotion to the Karen people and his good guidance.

"I am very proud of my father , he was an honest and cooperative man who did his best in life," said Kapa Say.

"He devoted his whole life to his people and was a good father and leader."

Kapa Say said she believed Ba Thin Sein would be missed not only by Karen society, but also by the people from the whole of Burma.

Reporting by Khin Maung Soe Min