Tin Oo, pro-democracy general who co-founded Suu Kyi’s party, dies at 97

Tin Oo, a towering figure in Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement and close ally of detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, died on Saturday at age 97, political associates and close friends said.
Tin Oo had a pivotal role with Suu Kyi in the 1988 creation of the National League for Democracy (NLD), which suffered two decades of persecution over its non-violent struggle against military dictatorship.
The NLD ruled Myanmar for five years until its overthrow in a 2021 coup, weeks after its second successive landslide election win during a decade of tentative democracy.
A former military commander who turned into a powerful advocate for democracy, Tin Oo had stepped back from active politics during the NLD’s short stint in office due to health issues, but his influence and legacy continued to be felt within the democracy movement, according to his associates.
The cause of death was not immediately clear.