New Delhi19 June 2011
External affairs minister SM Krishna has sought a meeting with Burmese pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, but New Delhi would not confirm Sunday whether its request has been accepted. Mr Krishna, accompanied by foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and other officials, will visit Burma on June 20 and 21. The minister last visited Burma in December 2009.
The uncertainty about a possible meeting with Ms Suu Kyi was attributed to the terms of an agreement she was understood to have reached with the Burmese military regime prior to her release from house arrest in November 2010, one of which was that she would not meet foreign government leaders. If the Krishna-Suu Kyi meeting does take place, it will be the first high-level contact with the Burmese opposition leader in over two decades.
A government source said Mr Krishna could be expected to discuss issues such as security, connectivity, and infrastructure projects in what will be the first visit to Burma by an Indian minister after the military junta handed over power on March 30 this year to a nominally civilian government. Specifically, the source said, New Delhi would be keen to understand the new Burmese government's priorities and outlook.
Over the past few months foreign governments and organisations have reached out to Burma by sending special envoys or other officials. A European Union delegation was expected to visit Burma at around the same time as the Indian delegation. United States Republican senator John McCain visited Burma in the first week of June, and United
Nations secretary general's special envoy Vijay Nambiar and US deputy assistant secretary of state Joseph Yun were there in May.
President Thein Sein of Burma visited China in May, and it is likely that he would visit New Delhi at the invitation of the Indian government. Than Shwe was the last Burmese leader to visit India in July 2010.
Meanwhile, Ms Suu Kyi celebrated her birthday Sunday in freedom for the first time in many years. In a video message that was screened at a function organised by Burmese democracy activists in New Delhi Sunday evening, Ms Suu Kyi urged Indians to help restore human rights and democracy in Burma.
The uncertainty about a possible meeting with Ms Suu Kyi was attributed to the terms of an agreement she was understood to have reached with the Burmese military regime prior to her release from house arrest in November 2010, one of which was that she would not meet foreign government leaders. If the Krishna-Suu Kyi meeting does take place, it will be the first high-level contact with the Burmese opposition leader in over two decades.
A government source said Mr Krishna could be expected to discuss issues such as security, connectivity, and infrastructure projects in what will be the first visit to Burma by an Indian minister after the military junta handed over power on March 30 this year to a nominally civilian government. Specifically, the source said, New Delhi would be keen to understand the new Burmese government's priorities and outlook.
Over the past few months foreign governments and organisations have reached out to Burma by sending special envoys or other officials. A European Union delegation was expected to visit Burma at around the same time as the Indian delegation. United States Republican senator John McCain visited Burma in the first week of June, and United
Nations secretary general's special envoy Vijay Nambiar and US deputy assistant secretary of state Joseph Yun were there in May.
President Thein Sein of Burma visited China in May, and it is likely that he would visit New Delhi at the invitation of the Indian government. Than Shwe was the last Burmese leader to visit India in July 2010.
Meanwhile, Ms Suu Kyi celebrated her birthday Sunday in freedom for the first time in many years. In a video message that was screened at a function organised by Burmese democracy activists in New Delhi Sunday evening, Ms Suu Kyi urged Indians to help restore human rights and democracy in Burma.
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Author's comment: As it turned out, the foreign secretary of India, Ms Nirupama Rao, called on Ms Aung San Suu Kyi at the latter's residence in Yangon on Monday, 20 June 2011.
Author's comment: For additional reading, an editorial in The Hindu newspaper of Friday, 24 June 2011, entitled "Drop the pretence on Myanmar". Cut-and-paste the following link in your Internet browser to read the editorial
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article2129502.ece
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