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India’s Stand on Myanmar:DON’T BLAME US, WEST TOLD, by Dr Chintamani Mahapatra, 23 October 2007 Print E-mail

ROUND THE WORLD

New Delhi, 23 October 2007

India’s Stand on Myanmar

DON’T BLAME US, WEST TOLD

By Dr Chintamani Mahapatra

School of International Studies, JNU

India certainly desires return of democracy to Myanmar, but it does not want coercive diplomacy to bring about this political transformation in a neighbouring country. This was the message conveyed by the Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon to the visiting special envoy of the United Nations Secretary General Ibrahim Gambari.

Gambari’s mission is a clear indication that the United Nations intends to play a proactive role in Myanmar, particularly since the political events of September marked by popular demonstrations led by Buddhist Monks and participated by thousands of common people from all walks of life.

Decades of military rule and international isolation have turned Myanmar, the richest country in the region in 1940s, to one of the poorest countries of the world today. This country, once regarded as a rice bowl of the globe, and still considered as a resource-rich South-east Asian nation, did not draw international attention much in view of more devastating events occurring in other parts of Asia.

Terrorism in Sri Lanka, political chaos in Bangladesh, Maoist insurgency in Nepal, the nuclear weapon programme of North Korea, suspected Iranian nuclear ambition, ongoing war in Afghanistan and Iraq captured headlines day after day. Relegating the authoritarian rule of the military Junta in Myanmar and human rights conditions to the back page small news items or no news at all.

The demonstrations led by the Buddhist Monks in September and the measures adopted by the military Government to crush dissent were telecast by all major global visual media and reported widely in the print media. The international community woke up to yet another major problem that, unless dealt with in time, could galvanize into a major violent upheaval in South-East Asia.

The Association of South-East Asian Nations(ASEAN) yet to completely recover from the financial meltdown of 1997 would certainly get affected by social and political unrest in this member country sooner than later. 

This is not the first time that Monks are politically active in Myanmar. They also played a role in the 1988 events. This is also not the first time that the United Nations is seeking a peaceful political transfer of power in Myanmar. The UN special envoys have been frequently visiting this country to promote non-violent political changes through a democratic process.

Till current events appear to have drawn considerable attention around the world. The United States has already put sanctions on the Government of Myanmar and is pushing other countries to do so. The European Union is with the US on this issue. The UN role has been activated to provide greater legitimacy to the international efforts for affecting transfer of power in Myanmar to a democratically elected government.

The image of the military Junta has been tarnished beyond repair both within Myanmar and in the international community. The rising prices of fuel and food, huge unemployment problem and political discontent in the country against the backdrop of the military consuming about 40 per cent of the annual budget have led to a saturation point. A little spark is necessary before Myanmar gets ablaze with a massive and violent political struggle.

The prevailing talks in the international political bazaar tend to shift the blame on India and China — the two Asian giants which have maintained profitable ties with Myanmar and refuse to pull the rug from below the feet of the military rulers of Myanmar. Commentators in the United States and Europe have particularly been raising this point time and again.

The record of the United States and the European Union in supporting dictators and doing precious little to promote democracy in the Third World has been well documented and can be accessed in their archives. To cite some recent examples, Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, Chun Doo Hwan of South Korea, Auguste Pinochet of Chile, Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan and Shah of Iran received decades of political support and military and economic assistance from the Western countries.

The run of the mill justifications were either the principle of non-intervention or protection of the holy cow — “national interests”. There was no doubt that the perceived national interests of the Western countries would have been adversely affected, if there had been effort to oppose those dictators or to support their opponents.

Even in the post-Cold War, several dictatorships in Asia, Africa and Latin America thrived by cultivating cordial ties with the Western nations. In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US, the military dictatorship in Pakistan has come very handy in the war against terrorism.

President George Bush’s policy of promoting democracy in the Islamic World had a short duration after the shocking victory of HAMAS in the elections in the Palestinian territory. The token democratization processes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and several other countries of West Asia have almost halted after the elections in Iraq and Afghanistan failed to bring about social and political stability.

Political commentaries in Europe and the United States need to focus more on the performances of their Governments on issues like promoting democracy abroad before blaming India and China for negating the effects of sanctions on Myanmar.

Will the Western countries support, if India were to resort to military means or coercive diplomacy to bring about political changes in Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh or any other country in this region? India would have been branded as an aggressor or violator of international law and norms.

What actually can India do in Myanmar to promote democracy? Should it militarily intervene? Should it cut off trade and investment links with Myanmar? The first would lack legitimacy and the second measure would hurt Indian economy. Under any circumstances neither military measures nor trade sanctions can bring about the end of the military rule in Myanmar.

The point is not that India is not doing enough. The real workable alternative is diplomatic initiatives to facilitate a smooth and peaceful political transition in Myanmar. This is exactly the policy of the Government of India and it is a sensible position to take under the current circumstances. ----- INFA

(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)

 

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