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Human Rights Watch calls on India to change its Burma policy
Irrawaddy - November 13, 2009
Zarni Mann – A leading human rights group says India should do more to promote democracy in Burma, despite its concerns about China's growing influence in the Southeast Asian country.
At a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that India, as the world's most populous democratic country, should consider the good of the people of Burma when dealing with the country's ruling junta.
"The Indian government is saying that it will support democracy in Burma, but it isn't doing much to promote that. We think that should change," said Brad Adams, HRW's executive director for Asia.
He said that India should export its democracy, press freedom and strong civil society to Burma instead of competing with China for influence over the country's military leaders.
"We want the Indian government to have a much more proactive foreign policy in promoting democracy in Burma. It's a major neighbor and a major influence, but it has been quiet for the last 10 or 15 years," said Adams, describing the country's Burma policy as "primitive."
Critics say that New Delhi's relations with Burma are narrowly focused on improving trade and combating insurgents in India's restive northeastern border areas. India has also come under fire for its silence on the continuing detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
Adams also criticized the Burmese junta for clinging to power since losing the country's last national election in 1990. He highlighted the regime's brutal crackdown on monk-led protests in 2007, and condemned its efforts to impose a military-drafted Constitution on Burma through last year's rigged referendum and an election slated for next year.
The 2010 election will not be free and fair unless everything about it is changed. [The junta] lost the 1990 election, and again in 2008, they said that more than 90 percent accepted the Constitution. It's not credible. It's a joke," he said.
Burmese activists who attended the meeting said they also hoped to see changes in the relationship between India and Burma.
"We hope the meeting will have some effect on the Burma issue because [Adams] can tell Indian policymakers that it is more beneficial for the Indian government to promote democracy in Burma," said Thin Thin Aung, presidium board member of the Women's League of Burma.
In the early 1990s, India actively supported democratization in Burma, but later changed course with its "Look East" policy, designed to counter Chinese influence in Southeast Asia.
Ties between Burma and India have strengthened steadily since 1993. India is currently the fourth largest investor in Burma, after China, Singapore and Thailand.
Burmese official statistics show that Burma-India bilateral trade reached US $995 million in 2007-08, with Burma's exports to India accounting for $810 million.
In October, Indian Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor visited Burma and met junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
The two countries reached an agreement to begin work on the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, including the Sittwe seaport in Arakan State, in December. India will provide $117 million.
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