Mizzima News

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Despite India’s amorphous official stand on the Burmese junta sentencing Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to 18 months in detention, a number of Indian Parliamentarians condemned the act, calling it ‘irrational’ and an utter ‘disregard’ for international opinion.

“We strongly condemn the irrational verdict on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by the military junta. It is complete disregard of international opinion and shows the junta’s determination to oppose democracy,” the Indian Parliamentarians’ Forum for Democracy in Burma (IPFDB), a group formed with a few Members of Parliament, said on Thursday.

IPFDB also reminded India that Burma’s problems are a cause of concern to regional stability and that India should take a pro-active role in supporting democratic changes in its Southeast Asian neighbour.

The IPFDB in a statement released on Thursday said, India should “take strong and effective initiatives on regional stability and democratic changes in Burma.”

But India’s official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, in reply to a question on the sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday said, India has told the Burmese junta of the importance of expediting political reform and national reconciliation process.

“We have maintained that this process should be broad based, including the various ethnic groups. In this context, the issue of release of political prisoners will no doubt receive due attention,” the official spokesperson said without mentioning Aung San Suu Kyi.

But the IPFDB thinks differently, and feels that India should do more as Burma’s problems are creeping onto India and India cannot ignore the problems as an internal affair of the Burmese.

“Every country’s foreign policies are based on its self-interest and we can understand India’s self interest. But India would not be serving its interest by not doing anything to promote democracy in Burma,” Sharad Joshi, a Rajya Sabha (Upper House) MP and convenor of the IPFB, told Mizzima.

Speaking to Mizzima at the signing of the statement, Joshi said, India should be alarmed at the news and rumours of Burma seeking to possess a nuclear weapon with the assistance of other rogue countries.

But an official at the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday told Mizzima India did not want to comment on Burma’s affairs but has urged the government to expedite political reforms and national reconciliation.