India not Gandhian on Myanmar

New Delhi is not yet ready to condemn the use of military force in its neighbouring country

NEW DELHI: On a day when the United Nations along with India is celebrating Mahatma’s Gandhi’s life and his ideologies of truth and non-violence, the government’s refusal to condemn the use of force against demonstrations by peaceful Buddhist monks in neighbouring Burma is ironic.

If Gandhi were alive would he not have spoken out? But the Congress-led coalition in New Delhi, has so far continued to walk a tight rope on the suppression of democracy in its neighbourhood. New Delhi is fighting shy of using its clout with the generals to broker a deal between the generals and the national league for democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

China is being seen as the major player and Beijing is said to have been responsible for getting the generals to meet with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari. External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is at the UN, has been approached by all major western democracies to use its influence to get the military junta in Yangon to restore democracy in the country.

India’s foreign minister met his Burmese counterpart U Nyan Win, on Monday in New York. Mukherjee suggested that the government should hold an enquiry into the use of force on civilian protesters. This is about the only direct criticism made by India against the ruling generals.

India also expressed its “concern” at the current situation in Myanmar and hoped that the process of national reconciliation and political reform would move forward. At the same time Mukherjee told reporters that India did not believe that sanctions against Myanmar would make a difference.

‘’Sanctions from the Security Council should be the last resort. Sometimes, the use use of such a powerful instrument becomes counter-productive. Instead of correcting the errant rulers, it ends in the suffering of the innocent people,’’ Pranab Mukherjee said.

The situation in Myanmar also figured in Mukherjee’s meeting with UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon on Monday. Earlier, foreign secretary Shivshanker Menon met Ibrahim Gambari on September 24. The situation in Myanmar was also discussed then, the foreign ministry said.

Perhaps, the government is trying to say that its not just China, but India too which is playing a rightful role in the neighbourhood.