Promising change
January 27, 2012
Pointing to the involvement of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the April by-election as evidence of the progress Myanmar has made, Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin said he was "confident" that his government will be able to hold the upcoming by-elections in a free and fair manner.
"The reform process that we have started is irreversible. There will be no turning back or derailment in the road to democracy," Maung Lwin told an august gathering of former diplomats and strategic affairs thinkers at the Indian Council of World Affairs, a think tank in New Delhi.
A transition to democracy?
These were the concluding remarks of Maung Lwin's four-day trip to India where he exchanged views on the internal political changes in the previously military-ruled cloistered country that is gradually opening up to the world.
"Myanmar is a very important neighbor. The foreign minister's remarks have great import. And I feel the political, economic and commercial relations between our two countries will only deepen further," ICWA Director General Sudhir T. Devare told Deutsche Welle.
"We must bolster existing strategic, security, and economic bilateral ties," Devare added.
The last election held in November 2010 under the then ruling military was rejected as heavily rigged in favor of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released in November 2010, having spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest, boycotted that election.
Doubts persist over turnaround
During his wide-ranging talks, Maung Lwin said President Thein Sein had only just met Suu Kyi and they agreed to find potential common ground for collaboration for the interest of the country and the people, setting aside their different views.
"The foreign minister's talk is all fine. We need to wait and see how free and fair the coming by-election under President Thein Sein government will be. If they want free and fair elections they should allow international observers," Tint Swe, an elected Burmese MP and chairman of Delhi's Burma Centre told Deutsche Welle.
He fled to India in 1990 and was never acknowledged by the junta.
There are reportedly more than 80,000 Burmese refugees living in India and over 90 percent of them are of Chin ethnicity.
According to Indian officials, the new administration has allowed access to the Internet and opened up Myanmar to overseas investments. Many political prisoners have also been released and peace overtures have been sent to ethnic rebel groups.
"Let constructive engagement take a further boost. For India, it is important to see that our aid projects are efficiently administered. Myanmar is pressing ahead with political reforms," said Swaran Singh, a professor at Delhi's Jawaharal Nehru University.
Economics over politics
Over the last few years, India has been promoting a much more cooperative stance with Myanmar, in part to counter China's increasing influence there.
For increased economic linkages, India has invested in Myanmar's resource-rich energy and infrastructure sectors. During Thein Sein's visit in 2010, India announced a 500 million US dollar credit line to promote economic and development activity.
The 17th national level meeting to strengthen border issues and to strengthen strategic ties between Myanmar and India was concluded at Nay Pyi Taw, the capital city last week.
Both sides discussed in detail security related issues like the presence of Indian insurgent groups along the Indo-Myanmar border, exchange of intelligence information and arms smuggling.
Author: Murali Krishnan
Editor: Sarah Berning