Myanmar to remain India's strategic partner

 

_ By Nava Thakuria  

The international communities may continue condemning the Burmese regime as a worst violator of   human rights and press freedom, but India reiterates its stand that Yangon (now Nay Pyi Taw ) will remain a strategic partner for New Delhi. India's foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee, while speaking to a groups of journalists and civil society representatives recently at Shillong, the capital of Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya has reaffirmed the importance of Myanmar (Burma) for pragmatic implementation of New Delhi's widely discussed 'Look East' policy. "India has already involved in a variety of cross border development projects with Myanmar in diverse fields as roads, railways, telecommunications, IT, science and technology, power etc. to improve connectivity between Northeast and Myanmar", declared Mr Mukherjee.

Attending an interactive session on 'Look East Policy: Geography as an Opportunity', which was organized by Public Diplomacy Division of India's External Affairs Ministry on June 16, Mr   Mukherjee also added, "By integrating the Northeast through cross border market access, it can become the bridge between the Indian economy and what is beyond doubt the fastest growing and dynamic region in the world, due to the paradigm shift from state centralism to interdependence and global and regional cooperation."

"Developing ties with the Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) has been a major aim of the 'Look East Policy'. Similarly, the sub-regional grouping called BIMSTEC, the SAARC etc. are all aimed at regional cooperation to meet this objective. These organizations have identified all fields of education, trade and commerce, energy and food security etc. as areas of development," informed Mr Mukherjee while adding, "From the steps taken on the foreign policy and the domestic fronts, it is clear that increased economic activity will lead to robust growth and the welfare of the local population. This requires simplification of border trade procedures and improving physical connectivity and action on these fronts, including cooperation with our neighbours."

He declared during the interaction, which was also attended by the Meghalaya governor B.L. Joshi, Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang with senior officials from India's Foreign Ministry  and the Ministry of Development of North East Region (DoNER), North Eastern Council (NEC) etc,   that New Delhi was surely aware of the geo-economic potential of Northeast, surrounded by Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Myanmar and Bangladesh as a business getaway to East and South East Asia.

However, India has earned brickbats from international communities for maintaining strategic ties with the military junta of Myanmar. Mentionably, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) had recently warned the State Peace and Development Council, the ruling military junta for ignoring the ILO recommendations to prevent the practice of forced labour in the South East Asian country. "The imposition of forced labour continues to be widespread, particularly by the Burmese army, to which specific instructions should be issued,' ILO officials asserted. Moreover, the SPDC chief General Than Shwe was singled out as a menace to press freedom by the Paris based 'Reporters Without Borders'. In a recent report, it accused the SPDC to arrest at least 50 working journalists and maintaining absolute control over the Myanmar media, where the only daily newspaper of Myanmar   'The New light of Myanmar' is predictably used as its mouthpiece by the regime.

For the civil societies of India too, Myanmar is a land of atrocities, human right violation and notorious press censorship. The media in the country is not allowed to cover the activities of the pro-democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been kept under house arrest since 2003 by the SPDC regime. Many news portal, which are traditionally critical to the military regime are banned in Burma. The local media (mostly in Burmese) are tightlipped while reporting the ongoing atrocities and   human right violation by the military on the common people throughout the country.

Even then, New Delhi is not convinced to snap ties with the military rulers till now primarily for many reasons. First, India is very much concerned with the presence of Northeastern militants in northern Myanmar. New Delhi believes that many armed outfits namely NSCN (both K and IM factions), ULFA, PLA, PREPAK, UNLF, KYKL, KCP etc (all are fighting New Delhi for various demands ranging from sovereignty to self-rule) run their training camps inside the thick jungles of northern Burma.

Moreover, Myanmar can play an important role in realizing India's look east policy, where India proposes land connectivity with various South East Asian countries for trades. At the same time, India wants to prevent China's increasing presence in Myanmar that might lead to geo- strategic implications for New Delhi and hence emphasizes on engaging the present Burmese rulers in greater economic cooperation.

After series of meetings between India and Myanmar in different levels during the last ten years, the visit by SPDC chief Than Shwe to New Delhi in October 2004 was reported as the most significant development. Senior General Than Shwe, who is also the Head of the State of Myanmar became the first top officials to India in more than two decades. The spirit was maintained and reciprocated by the visit of none other than the President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in April 2006. It was also identified as the first ever visit by an Indian Head of the State to Myanmar since its independence.