News on India papers om June 16th 1

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Subject: News on India papers om June 16th 1996THE PRISONERS OF SILENCE

The Time of India (New Delhi)
16th June 1996.
 
Note.
The Myanmar governments crackdown on democracy activists has 
failed to evoke strong reaction from India. Seema Guba analyses the 
Indian government stand on this important issue
-----------------------------------------------
 
Indian has been strangely reticent on events in neighbouring 
Myanmar. While the United States and Japan have taken the lead 
in condemning the fresh crackdown by the military junta on pro-
democracy activists in the country, and Washington is 
contemplating economic sanctions. New Delhi has maintained a 
discreet neighbourhood.
 
Indias neutral stand on Myanmar and its refusal to criticise the 
ruling State Law and Order Restoration (SLORC) stems from a 
complete re-think of Indian foreign policy initiated by the 
Narasimha Rao government in 1991. The new pragmatism, an 
offshoot of the economic reforms initiated by the former Prime 
Minister, helped to set the agenda for a change in Indias attitude 
towards the military rulers in Yangon.
 
The new United Front government of H.D. Deve Gowda is likely to 
continue Raos policy. "Our security concern, the fact that Myanmar 
borders our sensitive north-eastern region and the need to counter 
the prevailing Chinese influence calls for continuing a non-
confrontation line. There is unlikely to be any policy change on 
Myanmar," an Indian official told The Sunday Times of India.
 
Prior to this, India has actively supported the movement for 
democracy in Myanmar. The leader of the pro-democracy front, 
Aung San Suu Kyi, had always been regarded as a special friend of 
India. Her family ties with Indian leaders go back a long way. Suu 
Kyi herself spent much of her youth in India and has many friends 
and admirers in this country. It was, therefore, not surprising to find 
the Indian government lending all support to the democratic forces 
in Myanmar. At the same time, as one of the largest democracies in 
the world, it was natural for New Delhi to lend support and 
sustenance to a struggle against the military regime in its 
neighbourhood.
 
Even before the United States and rest of the free world took up her 
cause, India lend unstinted support to the pro-democracy activists. 
Apart from granting asylum to a large number of students and 
supporters, the state-run All India Radio, beamed its programmes 
to Burma and kept the people informed of the happening in the 
democratic camp. The military rulers objected time and again 
against these broadcasts, calling them a blatant interference in 
Myanmars domestic affairs. New Delhi shrugged aside these 
objections and continued the broadcasts. Naturally relations between 
the two countries remained frosty through the late 1980s.
 
When the late Congress came to power in July 1991, a review 
Indias policy towards Myanmar took place. The growing influence 
of China at Indias doorstep caused concern among policy planners 
in the Capital. Even as New Delhis stocks fell in Yangon, Chinas 
ratings with the military junta since the late 1980s was skyrocketing, 
"This led us to take a hard look at our previous policy, and decide to 
build bridge with the government in power," an Indian diplomats 
explained.
 
Reports of Myanmars efforts to equip its armed forces with Chinese 
arms was suspiciously close to the countrys turbulent north-east to 
cause anxiety. "Border management," was an imperative for India. 
A hostile Myanmar, which could encourage Indias separatists 
rebels in the north-east was a danger New Delhi could not ignore. 
Improved relations with Myanmar would ensure that insurgent 
groups of the area could not use Burmese territory for their camps. 
While the "no mans lands" between India, Myanmar and 
Bangladesh was being used as a meeting place by the various groups 
in both sides of the border, India wanted to make sure that the 
separatists were thwarted in regions under control by Yangon.
 
Till the late 1970s the Chinese had actively encouraged the north-
eastern separatist groups. The danger of the Chinese resuming arms 
supplies to the militants with the connivance of the authorities in 
Myanmar was an inherent danger to Indias security.
 
A major worry for India was Chinas overwhelming presence in 
Myanmar. Between 1988 to 1990, when Myanmar found itself 
increasingly isolated internationally, China was only country which 
was ready to be friends with Myanmars ruler. As countries 
hesitated, China went into Myanmar in a big way and established a 
major commercial presence in the country. At the same time, China 
supplied arms worth $1.4 billion to Yangon. In 1994, Chinese Prime 
Minister tarvelled to Yangon on a goodwill mission and gave a 
clean chit to the military rulers. This was followed by a visit by the 
Chinese defence minister when another defence deal was signed 
between the two countries.
 
Policy planners in India have long worried about the reported move 
by Chinese to use Myanmars naval bases to monitor the movement 
of ships on the Indian Ocean. If the Chinese gained access of 
Haingyi and Coco islands, New Delhi fears that Indian naval bases 
in the Andamans and Vashakapatnam would become vulnerable. 
There has been much speculation about this project in the 
international and Indian, but so far there has been no confirmation 
from either the SLORC or the Chinese government.
 
While the military regime in Myanmar had been so far content in 
remaining in splendid isolation, in the early 1990s it slowly began 
opening its doors to the outside world. Singapore and Japan were the 
first countries to take advantage of the situation. In fact, under the 
guidance of former Singapore strong man Lee Kuan Yew, the 
ASEAN countries began the process of "positive engagement" with 
Myanmar.
 
The thaw finally resulted in an invitation to Myanmar to join the 
ASEAN Regional Forum next month. The green signal given by 
ASEAN was followed by a number of countries and ASEAN leaders 
patted themselves on the back for helping the SLORC to lift 
restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi and the pro-democracy activists. 
This was before the latest arrests by the military regime. Since than 
the ASEAN has been strangely quiet on the crackdown preferring to 
maintain that it is an internal matter for Yangon. Japan on the other 
hand openly rebuked a visiting Myanmar leader when the crack-
down began.
 
President Clinton has sent two of his emissaries to talk to ASEAN 
governments to try and persuade Myanmars rulers to ease the 
rigorous new regulations against pro-democracy activists, but is 
unlikely to meet with much success among the Asian Tigers.
 
Suu Kyi herself has been critical of ASEANs role in maintaining 
relations with Myanmars military rulers. She is certainly 
disappointed by New Delhis attempts to build bridges with Yangon, 
but South Block is not overtly worried.
 
*****************
 
ASIAN   TREASURE
The Hindu (New Delhi), 16th June 1996.
by Gamma
 
A country at the outermost bounds of Asia, a civilisation thousand 
years rich, dedicated to Buddha but held in the iron fist of the 
military 
of General Ne Win since 1962 -- the country, rename Myanmar in 
1989, opened its borders to tourism two years ago. Since then, 
manna of currency of currency has been feeding the Yangon 
governments cashbox, while 45 million Burmese are held silence.
 
All of them remember that tragic night in August in 1988 when the 
army brought bloody end to a pro-democratic demonstration. The 
leader of the movement, Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under 
supervision. Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), 
won a election in 1990. But junta has never recognised it as 
legitimate, however historic it was. Aung San Suu Kyi received the 
Nobel Peace Prize the following year. The Burmese junta, however, 
only lifted her supervision constraint in July 1995.
 
Beyond the military yoke, Burma remains a country rich with a 
thousand and one treasures. Yangon, the capital, is located in the 
delta of the river of the Irrawaddy which run across the country from 
north to south. It looks like a little Shanghai with its British colonial 
architecture. From a hill covered with palm trees, the Shwedagon 
Pagoda and its stupa, covered with 60 metric tons of gold leaf, light 
the city. Below, the Mahawizaya is decorated with the signs of the 
zodiac. Even more surprising is the enormous Buddha in the main 
hall of the Chauk Htat Gyi train station.
 
We took that train to Pagan, to the central of the country. In the 
heart of temple country, this ancient capital which collapsed in 1287 
as a result of the Mongolian invasion, Preserves the remains of 
brilliant Buddhist civilisation. Temples and pagodas in red-ochre 
brick stands by hundreds, as far as the eye can see. Archaeologists  
have counted 2,219 monuments within 42 sq. km of which some are 
more than 50 metres high. The zedi (reliquary) of the Shwezigon 
pagoda, built in 1059, hold a tooth, a collarbone and the frontal bone 
of Buddha. Thousands of pilgrims pour in each year to honour the 
"Enlightened One" at these sacred places.
 
Further east, at an attitude of 878 metres, Lake Inle extends over 
158 sq. km in the heart of high mountains. For the past eight 
centuries, the Intha (son of the lake) live on the edges of this body of 
the water. Longtime victims of slavery, today they cultivate floating 
gardens where rice and all sort of vegetable grow. The Inhta have 
learnt numerous trade: rice cultivation, fishing, market gardening, 
weaving, blacksmiths, monasteries and reliquaries abound.
 
Seven hundred kilometres north of Pagan, former students of 
Buddhist boarding school in Mingun are one of -a-kind witnesses to 
history. The centre established in 1915 by four Buddhist monks, 
houses men and women from all over Burma. Seen from above, 
crowned with golden arrow, Mandalay proudly displays its religious 
calling. 
 
The bells of parasols topping the countless stupas spread the prayers 
of the faithful with each breath of the wind. Here, the spirits are 
turning inwards and remaining free and strong.
 
***********************
 
SUU KYI NEIGHBOUR WANT TO RALLIES TO BE STOPPED
The Asian Age (New Delhi), 16th June 1996.
 
Rangoon, June 15: Neighbour of democracy leader Aung San Suu 
Kyi are fed up with the "unruly" weekend meetings outside her 
compound and asked, in an open letter published on Saturday, that 
they be stopped.
 
"We have been unable to get any during weekend public holidays 
because of the noisy and unruly crowd that has been obstructing 
traffic and disturbing the peace of mind of residents nearby," the 
neighbours letter said.
 
"To help end the trouble we have to endure every weekend, we 
implore through you the authorities to ban this illegal and unruly 
public gathering," said the letter carried in the peoples forum 
section of the state-run Mirror Daily.
 
Analysts said letter -- the first of its type -- was apparently intended 
to use public sentiment to justify anticipated official action against 
Ms Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy.
 
Last week, Burma passed harsh new laws which, among other 
things, effectively ban public meeting such as the NLD holds each 
weekend and provide for heavy penalties.
 
Signed by "residents of Golden Valley," the neighbourhood 
surrounding Ms Aung San Suu Kyis residential compound, the 
letter complained of broken fences that had to be hurriedly mended 
to ward off thieves and of the stench of urine.
 
The residents alleged they were subjected to abuse whenever they 
attempt to enter or leave their private compounds while the weekend 
meetings were under way.
 
A stepped-up campaign against the NLD includes television 
interviews of NLD candidates who won seats in the 1990 general 
elections and who declared they had decided to give up politics for 
personal or health reasons.
 
The spate of resignations, announced by the elections commission 
which supervised the 1990 balloting, followed a military clampdown 
in which more than 260 NLD candidates were temporarily detained 
in May to prevent a planned party congress.
 
About on dozen candidates are believed to have resigned so far, and 
the number is generally expected to raise. (AFP)
 
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