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)
|