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Review India’s policy on Myanmar: Tint Swe

Special Correspondent

“Much more was expected from India’s foreign policy”

Tint Swe, Member of Myanmarese Parliamentarian-in-exile at a press conference in Mumbai on Monday.

MUMBAI: Tint Swe, Myanmarese Parliamentarian in exile, on Monday called on India to decide on its foreign policy using both its head and heart.

Speaking on the movement for democracy in Myanmar at a Meet-the-Press organised by the Mumbai Press Club, Mr. Swe said in the repression by the military junta, over 200 monks had been killed and 6,000 people detained, 2,000 of them monks and nuns. On the surface, he said there was calm but every night there were raids and people living near detention centres could hear cries for help.

He said Indian public opinion was very important though much more was expected from India’s foreign policy. This was the right time to review India’s “Look East policy” and it could not be successful until the military was in power, he said.

While defining the policy towards Myanmar, it was not only the intellect, but also the heart which must be involved. Moral values could be part of the foreign policy, he said. The military regime was on its last leg in Myanmar and the country was in a transitional stage.

After former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s death, the various coalition governments were too weak to have a dynamic foreign policy. They did not want to take risks, they just wanted peace, he said.

Till today, India’s foreign policy towards Myanmar was dictated by the military viewpoint.

He said it was vital that India supported the call to release the detainees and also appealed to the International Red Cross to visit Myanmar. “This time our people have shown the world their courage and aspirations,” he said, “and we deserve democracy.”

India had seeking the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, it was only now that the demand had been revived. “We need both India and China,” he said, “but both countries must understand the people’s aspirations.”

This time the international community responded quickly thanks to more exposure and television coverage. It was British Prime Minister Gordon Brown who made the first statement followed by U.S. President George Bush, he said. However, India reacted 13 days after the first attacks on the monks and that too after the Chinese response. The statement read out by India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was too little too late, he said.

The movement for democracy has all along focused on dialogue between Myanmar military leader Than Shwe and Aung San Suu Kyi and that should also be the focus of the international community.

Mr. Swe has been living in India since 1990 and leading the movement for democracy from the outside. For years, the Burmese had been trying for an international consensus and now they have got it with everybody agreeing to an inclusive solution to the political problem. The government in exile relies on the UN mechanism. “Ours is a dialogue strategy using the UN mechanism,” he said.

Regarding the question of the numerous ethnic minorities in Myanmar, he said 17 groups had reached an agreement with the military and only three armed groups were fighting. He said the question of ethnic minorities was used by the regime to justify the military dictatorship.

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