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Protests dog Burma's Than Shwe in India
Irrawaddy - July 26, 2010
Zarni Mann – Pro-democracy activists will follow the Burmese military chief, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, in India, distributing protest pamphlets wherever he goes, according to Burmese protesters in India.
On Monday, a group of 300 Burmese held a demonstration at Jantar Mantar park in New Delhi near India's Congress building in protest against Than Shwe and the Indian government hosting his second visit to the country.
Burmese protesting against Than Shwe in New Delhi (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Than Shwe visited the eastern Indian Buddhist center in Bodhgaya on Sunday. He then traveled to several Buddhist temples in nearby Kushinagar. On Tuesday, he will lay a wreath at Rajghat where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated.
Protesters say that India, the world's largest democracy, should not have invited the leader of a regime that has committed brutal crimes against its own people and that Than Shwe's visit to Rajghat would be a great insult to Gandhi, who laid down the way of non-violence.
"Than Shwe is a murderer. It is entirely improper for him to go and pay respects to Ghandi," said Mrs. Jaya Jaitly, the former leader of the Samata Party in India.
She expressed hope that the Indian government, once a supporter of the cause of democracy in Burma, would use its democratic powers to effectively persuade the Burmese regime to make positive changes.
India has received nearly 7,000 Burmese refugees who have fled Burma after facing political and economic difficulties.
"The Indian government not only invited a dictator who has no consideration for human rights but is even allowing its president to meet him personally. This visit will only benefit the military regime," said Thin Thin Aung, an executive member of the Women's League of Burma, an exiled Burmese group in India.
"The Indian government has ignored the feelings of the Burmese people and its position is completely unacceptable," she said.
During his visit, Than Shwe would be meeting with Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He will also visit Hyderabad, the Indian IT hub, and Jamshedpur, the home of Tata Steel's century-old plant.
"If the Indian government invited him [Than Shwe] in the interests of India, then I wish to say it's time for the Indian government to look at the interests of the people in both countries," said Dr Tint Swe, a member of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, a government in exile formed by elected representatives from Burma's 1990 election.
Members of the Indian parliament who support the cause for democracy in Burma have also sent letters to both India's President and Prime Minister, denouncing their invitation of Than Shwe and calling for a review of Burma's controversial 2008 Constitution, the release of political prisoners and a free and fair election in Burma.
A group of Indian writers, film directors and movie actors sent similar letters to the Indian government.
According to India's news agencies, Burma and India will sign a number of bilateral economic deals and hold discussions on India's technological support for Burma and the issue of India's separatist rebels based along the Indo-Burmese border.
During his first visit to India in October 2004, Than Shwe met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi and reportedly discussed cooperation on economic development and trade.
India used to support Burma's pro-democracy movement before it initiated its "Look East Policy" in the 1990s in an attempt to solve its insurgency problem along their shared border.
Recently the policy has also been seen as an attempt to stem China's growing influence in Burma and secure more energy supplies.
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