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ROUND THE WORLD
India’s Stand on Myanmar
DON’T BLAME US, WEST TOLD
By Dr Chintamani Mahapatra
School of International Studies, JNU
New Delhi, 29 October 2007
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.
West Takes Note Of Unrest
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.
US Imposes Sanctions
Still 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.
India, China Blamed
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.
West’s Double Standards
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.
India On Right Track
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 and Feature Alliance)
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