Burma junta member dies

The lowest-ranking member of Burma’s four-man military junta died today after a long illness.

Prime minister Soe Win was 59 and had been suffering with leukaemia.

The reputedly ruthless Soe Win was credited with overseeing a 2003 attack against democracy party leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Soe Win’s death came as the junta continued its crackdown on democracy advocates that followed several weeks of protests in the tightly controlled country.

His departure was unlikely to cause a ripple in the regime’s grip on power.

Soe Win had little if any policy-making role as prime minister and was largely considered a figurehead for the junta.