As Burma woke up to the news of the sad death of veteran politician and journalist Win Tin, this photo taken last year came to the minds of many.
The unknown photographer captured an image of former intelligence chief Gen Khin Nyunt, who ran Burma’s torture chambers, walking up to greet Win Tin at the funeral of U Sein Win (also known as Guardian Sein Win) in October 2013.
Win Tin spent almost 20 years in prison, during which time he was tortured and locked up in a small cell. Much of his time in jail was spent in solitary confinement. He did not ask for retribution. But he strongly rejected the former spy chief’s comment that he wanted to be involved in “national politics.” The veteran journalist and activist’s response was: “Enough is enough.”
But on this day when the mourning starts for a truly inspirational leader, we ask: Has there been “enough”? In fact, is it not, at last, time for the military regime’s former intelligence chief to finally apologize?