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The newspapers in New Delhi Februar
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The Hindu: The last emperor, now a saint
The Hindu: A rewarding visit, says Jaswant
The Hindu: Reaching out to a neighbour
The Hindu: Move to set up Indian consulate in Mandalay
The Hindustan Times: India, Myanmar to open up three new trade points
The Times of India: Indian foreign minister ends Myanmar visit
*******************************************
The last emperor, now a saint
The Hindu (New Delhi)
February 16, 2001
By Amit Baruah
YANGON, FEB. 15. He's much more than the last emperor. Bahadur Shah
Zafar, the last Mughal king ? who died in Yangon (then Rangoon) on
November 7, 1862. is saint (pir) worshipped by a large body of the
faithful in this country.
The poet-king's "real grave", an eight foot by six foot bricked mound,
was located only in 1991 when a memorial hall was built at the site.
During the digging operation, nearly 140 years after his death, the
grave, carefully hidden away by the British, was finally discovered.
The External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, following a tradition
set by visiting dignitaries to Yangon, paid his respects at the "mazaar"
at 6, Ziwaka Road, in the heart of Yangon by placing a "chaddar" on it
this afternoon at the end of his visit to Myanmar.
The "mazaar" itself is a living monument to the diverse play of
cultures. During a visit to the shrine today, this reporter saw many
individuals sitting in deep prayer and meditation at the foot of the
grave of Bahadur Shah Zafar.
The poet, who penned his own epitaph, would have been moved to see that
years after he passed away, having been driven from Delhi and his
throne, people today are worshipping him in a different manner ? as a
pir, as a holy man.
"Kitna benaseeb hai Zafar ki dafn ke liye do gaz zameen bhi na mili kua
yaar mein (how tragic that Zafar did not get two yards of space in his
motherland to be buried there)," rads a well-known verse of the
poet-king.
However, a repartee has come from a resident poet in Yangon. "Do gaz
zameen gar na mili to kya malal, khushboo ye kua yaar hai is yaadgar
mein (don't grieve if you didn't get the two yards of space, the scent
of your homeland is here in your memorial).
Interestingly enough, the last ruler here, King Thibaw, died in exile in
Ratnagiri in Maharashtra and his grave is very much there. Some who have
seen the grave of King Thibaw say it is in a state of disrepair.
However, Zafar's "mazaar" is well-maintained and is looked after by a
committee appointed by the Government of Myanmar. There is a regular urs
every year on November 6-7, which is attended by thousands of people.
The Indian Embassy here also organizes "mushairas" (poetry recitation
sessions) and qawwali programmes.
The Indian Ambassador to Myanmar visits the shrine on both Republic Day
and Independence Day as also on November 6 ? the death anniversary of
the poet-king.
By these visits it is clear that India has "reclaimed" its last king ?
at least in spirit. Some 125 years after his death, Zafar is being given
the respect for being the last King of the area that is now India.
The brutality and barbarity displayed by the British even after his
death is a poignant reminder of what lengths the colonists could go to
even extinguish symbols from the face of the earth.
A plaque put up in the "mazaar" has this quote from a book authored by
Mr. G. D. Khosla, former Chief Justice of the Punjab High Court, refers
to a report drawn up by a Captain Davies. "Abu Zafar", Captain Davies
wrote, "expired at 5 0'clock on Friday. All things being in readiness he
was buried? on the same day? in a brick grave covered over with turf,
level with the ground. A bamboo fence surrounded the grave for some
considerable distance. By the time the fence is worn out, the grass will
have again covered the spot and no vestige will remain to distinguish
where the last of the great Mughals rest."
The British may have succeeded in exiling Bahadur Shah Zafar, but they
have failed to extinguish the memories of Mughal India's last Emperor.
**************************************************
A rewarding visit, says Jaswant
The Hindu (New Delhi)
February 16, 2001
By Amit Baruah
YANGON, FEB. 15. Myanmar and India have agreed to open four border
check-points for increasing trade between the two countries and Yangon
has said it would consider re-opening of the Indian Consulate in
Mandalay as the External Affairs Minister had commended Yangon for the
steps it was taking for returning to democracy. The two countries had
also agreed to cooperate in security matters ? especially in combating
insurgency on both sides of the international border, it was said.
In the short term, New Delhi and Yangon will construct a bridge which
would lead to the linking of Champai (Mizoram) with the bordering region
of Myanmar.
Talking to repoters before leaving for New Delhi, Mr. Singh
, who called on the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
Chairman, Senior-General Than Shwe, and Secretary-1 Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt,
said his visit had been "very rewarding".
Mr. Singh said it had been agreed to develop banking, immigration and
customs facilities at the border trade check-points.
As of now, India and Myanmar have no formal bank-to-bank links.
India was willing to cooperate in the construction of the Yeywa
Hydroelectric Project near Mandalay and a team from the Power Ministry
would soon be visiting Myanmar for further discussions and a preliminary
on-site survey, official sources said.
It is clear that India is committed to cooperating in more
infrastructure projects in Myanmar, a point that was made by Mr. Jaswant
Singh in his discussions.
While inaugurating the Myanmar-India Friendship Centre for Remote
Sensing and Data Processing here. Mr. Singh said: "It gives us immense
pleasure to be partners in this project with Myanmar? the applications
of remote sensing cover, weather forecasting and disaster management
capabilities, determination of forest cover and other land-use
delineations, cropping surveys, urban planning, environmental monitoring
and ground water survey."
"The Centre will continue to be an enduring symbol of our partnership as
we move ahead into subsequent phases of upgradation," he said.
The two countries have also agreed to the development of the Akyab
(Sittwe) port, which will allow goods from India's North-East access to
the port.
They also discussed cooperation in the hydro-carbon sector, including
the supply of natural gas to India once proven supplies become
available. "The Inidan side will send a delegation of experts to Myanmar
shortly to look into the possibilities of exploration at available sites
being offered by the Myanmar side."
The two sides welcomed the exchange of high-level visits between the two
countries which is in keeping with the tradition of personal contacts
between the leaders of two friendly neighbours, the statement said,
adding that an invitation had been extended to the Myanmar Foreign
Minister, Mr. U. Win Aung, to visit India. The convenient dates for the
visit would be worked out through diplomatic channels.
The wide range of cooperation between the two countries would indicate
that there are immense possibilities in the relationship being cemented
further.
It is also clear that India-Myanmar relationship is taking off to a
higher plane. This, importantly, will mean that India must remain
focused on Myanmar and ensure that substantive results, like the
inauguration of the Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road link, continue to take
shape.
In an editorial, The New Light of Myanmar, a State-run daily, said today
that "existing friendly relations between the two countries had been
further strengthened."
The Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road link would contribute towards economic and
trade promotion as well as regional peace ad development between the two
countries, the daily said.
**************************************************
Reaching out to a neighbour
The Hindu, Editorial,
February 16, 2001
CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION is the objective spelt out by the External
Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, as he dedicated this week a new
road-link aimed at enhancing friendship between the peoples of India and
Myanmar. It requires no smart political erudition to recognise Mr.
Singh's spin-art of distinguishing this aspect of the current diplomatic
ambience in the India- Myanmar relationship from the Vajpayee
administration's practised criticism of Pakistan for its ``cross-border
terrorism'' in the Kashmir Valley. The 160-km road, connecting India's
northeastern border with a potential commercial nodal point inside
Myanmar, has been built as New Delhi's symbolic gift of good-
neighbourliness with the military regime in Yangon. By itself, this
project is quite modest in financial and engineering terms, given
especially India's growing stature as a country in synch with the
state-of-the-art technological visions. Yet, as Mr. Singh has pointed
out, the road, a remodelled link of the British colonial period, is the
first of several infrastructure projects that India is thinking of
helping Myanmar develop. The pageantry that marked the dedication of the
surface transport link may not raise unmanageably awkward questions for
Indian diplomacy at this juncture. It was only very recently that the
United Nations brokered preliminary contacts between the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), the official incarnation of the Yangon
military Government, and Myanmar's struggling champion of democracy, Ms.
Aung San Suu Kyi. The goal was that the two sides might begin discussing
how best their existing political `system' could be updated. This new
context diminishes the arguable diplomatic odium of a particularly warm
handshake between India and Myanmar at this moment. Moreover, New
Delhi's present policy of smiling at the SPDC deserves to be evaluated
in the larger context of India's increasing need for strategic autonomy
in its foreign policy.
New Delhi and Yangon have in recent months explained the new activism
manifest in their diplomatic exchanges as a mutually beneficial aspect
of bilateral bonhomie that should not alarm the larger international
community or its pro-democracy segment. It is an oft-repeated dictum of
conventional wisdom that India should not unduly alienate or anger
Myanmar, especially over the moral dynamics of the latter's internal
affairs, unless New Delhi's own enlightened self-interest necessitates a
different policy. Cited ad infinitum in this regard is the idea that New
Delhi should actively engage Myanmar so as to induce the powers- that-be
in Yangon to keep their substantive strategic equation with China on a
course that would not be prejudicial to India's interests at any time.
Subtleness is the name of this suggested diplomatic exercise. Not
surprisingly, therefore, Mr. Singh is unwilling to package the latest
India-Myanmar interactions in a China context. A similar cautionary note
was sounded by the Myanmar Foreign Minister, U Win Aung, in an interview
to this newspaper in 1998, when he argued that the Yangon authorities
``don't regard India as coming to woo us''. In his view, instability in
Myanmar would not do good for the security of both India and China.
In a regional context without the Sino-Indian angle, New Delhi tends to
portray its economic ties with Yangon within a South East Asian
framework. Myanmar, a late entrant to the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN), is projected as one of several commercial
gateways to that region. Myanmar, too, is keen to see the latest road
link with India in a larger-than-life perspective as a possible
component of a future Asian highway project. While the euphoria of this
kind should not be allowed to cloud policies, it is just as well that
Mr. Singh has ruled out any immediate move by India to seek membership
of the ASEAN on the principle of geo-economic contiguity. New Delhi has
yet to retrieve its shattered credibility within the more proximate
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
***********************************************************
Move to set up Indian consulate in Mandalay
>From The Hindu,
February 16, 2001
Yangon (Myanmar), Feb. 15 (UNI): India and Myanmar today discussed the
possibility of establishing an Indian consulate in Mandalay and agreed
to open more border points to enhance cross-border trade and economic
linkages between the two countries.
They also decided to step up cooperation in science and technology,
particularly information technology, tourism, culture and other sectors.
(PTI photo shows Jaswant Singh with chairman of Peace and Development
Council Gen Than Shwe in Parliament at Yangon on Thursday.)
The issues came up at a meeting here between External Affairs Minister
Jaswant Singh and Myanmar's top leader and chairman of the ruling State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Than Shwe.
Several top leaders of Myanmar were also present at the meeting which
lasted one hour and 15 minutes.
It was agreed at the meeting that the foreign offices of both countries
would pursue the possibility for setting up consulate in Mandalay which
is the cultural and commercial capital of Myanmar.
*****************************************************
India, Myanmar to open up three new trade points
>From The Hindustan Times, February 16, 2001
Shishir Gupta
(Yangon, February 15)
INDO-MYANMAR relations crossed yet another milestone today with both
sides agreeing to open three new trade points on the border and consider
the possibility of opening an Indian consulate in Mandalay.
Besides the Moreh-Tamu linkage, three new trade points are being opened
at Champai-Rih, Pangsau Pass and Paletwa on the Kaladan River to enhance
economic cooperation between the two countries. The two sides have also
identified Lungwa-Yangyong and Pangsha-Pongnyo crossings as potential
trading points. Weekly "haats (village markets) are held at these places
on the Indo-Myanmar border in the Nagaland sector.
While Champai-Rih and Paletwa crossings are in the Mizoram sector,
Pangsau pass links Arunachal Pradesh with Myanmar. The Champai-Rih point
was included in the Indo-Myanmar border agreement but the crossing has
not been opened due to delay in the construction of a bridge. The two
sides have now decided to expedite the bridge construction.
These decisions are the outcome of meetings that External Affairs
Minister Jaswant Singh had with the Myanmar regime. Mr Singh held
extensive discussions with Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman, State
Peace and Development Committee (SPDC), Vice Chairman Gen Maung Aye, Lt
General Khin Nyunt, Secretary-I of the SPDC and Foreign Minister U Win
Aung. The Minister also inaugurated Myanmar's first Centre of Remote
Sensing and Data Processing at Yangon built with Indian aid.
Mr Singh later confirmed that both the sides had decided to " formalize"
the cross-border trade at Moreh-Tamu crossing placing institutionalised
mechanisms such as banking facilities for opening letters of credit.
"The Indian rupee is almost a legal tender in Tamu and Kalemyo? we are
trying to formalize the already existing economic linkages," he said.
The two sides also underscored their common approach towards terrorism
and insurgency through a twin-pronged strategy of tackling insurgents on
the shared border and working towards the overall economic development.
Myanmar rulers assured Mr Singh that they would not allow their
territory to be used for activities directed against India.
The two sides reviewed the progress on the proposed 1,200 MW Tamanthi
hydro-electric project on the Chindwin river in north-western Myanmar,
the Kaladan multi-modal navigation project and the road and gas pipeline
project in Rakhine state. The Kaladan project is crucial to bilateral
cooperation as it provides a link to southern Mizoram and the entire
North-Eastern states.
Mr Singh reaffirmed India's commitment to building infrastructural
linkages in Myanmar and conveyed India's willingness for early
realisation of the Yeywa hydro-electric project near Mandalay. A
delegation from the Ministry of Power is expected to visit Myanmar for
discussions and a preliminary on-the-site survey.
***************************************************
Indian foreign minister ends Myanmar visit
>From Times of India, February 16, 2001
BANGKOK: Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh called on Myanmar
military leader Senior General Than Shwe in Yangon before he ended his
official visit to Myanmar on Thursday, state-run TV Myanmar said.
The meeting, held at the Yangon defence ministry, was also attended by
other senior members of the ruling military regime including vice
chairman General Maung Aye, the report monitored here said.
Singh also held separate talks with the junta's first secretary
Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt who is also head of the country's powerful
military intelligence unit.
The report did not give details of their discussions.
Singh arrived in Yangon Wednesday on an official visit, the first by a
senior Indian leader to Myanmar since then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi
in 1987.
Singh and his delegation arrived in Yangon from the northern city of
Mandalay, where he spent Tuesday evening after crossing the border
overland at the Moreh-Tamu checkpoint, the legal gateway for border
trade between the two sides.
"India's national interest demanded his government foster good relations
with the military regime in neighbouring Myanmar," said Singh, quoted by
the Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi Thursday,
Speaking to Indian reporters during the visit, Singh said that while
India was committed to democracy it had too many vital issues in common
to turn its back on the Yangon government. (AFP)
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<b><font size=+1><font color="#CC0000">The Hindu:</font><font color="#CC33CC">
The last emperor, now a saint</font></font></b>
<br><b><font size=+1><font color="#CC0000">The Hindu:</font><font color="#CC33CC">
A rewarding visit, says Jaswant</font></font></b>
<br><b><font size=+1><font color="#CC0000">The Hindu:</font><font color="#CC33CC">
Reaching out to a neighbour</font></font></b>
<br><b><font size=+1><font color="#CC0000">The Hindu:</font><font color="#CC33CC">
Move to set up Indian consulate in Mandalay</font></font></b>
<br><b><font size=+1><font color="#CC0000">The Hindustan Times:</font><font color="#CC33CC">
India, Myanmar to open up three new trade points</font></font></b>
<br><b><font size=+1><font color="#CC0000">The Times of India: </font><font color="#CC33CC">Indian
foreign minister ends Myanmar visit</font></font></b>
<center>
<p><b><font color="#006600"><font size=+2>*******************************************</font></font></b>
<p><b><font color="#0000FF"><font size=+2>The last emperor, now a saint</font></font></b></center>
<p><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>The Hindu (New Delhi)</font></font>
<br><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>February 16, 2001</font></font>
<p><font size=+1>By <font color="#800000">Amit Baruah</font></font>
<p><font size=+1><font color="#CC0000">YANGON, FEB. 15.</font> He's much
more than the last emperor. Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal king ?
who died in Yangon (then Rangoon) on November 7, 1862. is saint (pir) worshipped
by a large body of the faithful in this country.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The poet-king's "real grave", an eight foot by six foot
bricked mound, was located only in 1991 when a memorial hall was built
at the site. During the digging operation, nearly 140 years after his death,
the grave, carefully hidden away by the British, was finally discovered.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, following
a tradition set by visiting dignitaries to Yangon, paid his respects at
the "mazaar" at 6, Ziwaka Road, in the heart of Yangon by placing a "chaddar"
on it this afternoon at the end of his visit to Myanmar.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The "mazaar" itself is a living monument to the diverse
play of cultures. During a visit to the shrine today, this reporter saw
many individuals sitting in deep prayer and meditation at the foot of the
grave of Bahadur Shah Zafar.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The poet, who penned his own epitaph, would have been
moved to see that years after he passed away, having been driven from Delhi
and his throne, people today are worshipping him in a different manner
? as a pir, as a holy man.</font>
<p><font size=+1>"Kitna benaseeb hai Zafar ki dafn ke liye do gaz zameen
bhi na mili kua yaar mein (how tragic that Zafar did not get two yards
of space in his motherland to be buried there)," rads a well-known verse
of the poet-king.</font>
<p><font size=+1>However, a repartee has come from a resident poet in Yangon.
"Do gaz zameen gar na mili to kya malal, khushboo ye kua yaar hai is yaadgar
mein (don't grieve if you didn't get the two yards of space, the scent
of your homeland is here in your memorial).</font>
<p><font size=+1>Interestingly enough, the last ruler here, King Thibaw,
died in exile in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra and his grave is very much there.
Some who have seen the grave of King Thibaw say it is in a state of disrepair.</font>
<p><font size=+1>However, Zafar's "mazaar" is well-maintained and is looked
after by a committee appointed by the Government of Myanmar. There is a
regular urs every year on November 6-7, which is attended by thousands
of people. The Indian Embassy here also organizes "mushairas" (poetry recitation
sessions) and qawwali programmes.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The Indian Ambassador to Myanmar visits the shrine on
both Republic Day and Independence Day as also on November 6 ? the death
anniversary of the poet-king.</font>
<p><font size=+1>By these visits it is clear that India has "reclaimed"
its last king ? at least in spirit. Some 125 years after his death, Zafar
is being given the respect for being the last King of the area that is
now India.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The brutality and barbarity displayed by the British even
after his death is a poignant reminder of what lengths the colonists could
go to even extinguish symbols from the face of the earth.</font>
<p><font size=+1>A plaque put up in the "mazaar" has this quote from a
book authored by Mr. G. D. Khosla, former Chief Justice of the Punjab High
Court, refers to a report drawn up by a Captain Davies. "Abu Zafar", Captain
Davies wrote, "expired at 5 0'clock on Friday. All things being in readiness
he was buried? on the same day? in a brick grave covered over with turf,
level with the ground. A bamboo fence surrounded the grave for some considerable
distance. By the time the fence is worn out, the grass will have again
covered the spot and no vestige will remain to distinguish where the last
of the great Mughals rest."</font>
<p><font size=+1>The British may have succeeded in exiling Bahadur Shah
Zafar, but they have failed to extinguish the memories of Mughal India's
last Emperor.</font>
<center>
<p><b><font color="#006600"><font size=+1>**************************************************</font></font></b>
<p><b><font color="#0000FF"><font size=+2>A rewarding visit, says Jaswant</font></font></b></center>
<p><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>The Hindu (New Delhi)</font></font>
<br><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>February 16, 2001</font></font>
<p><font size=+1>By <font color="#800000">Amit Baruah</font></font>
<p><font size=+1><font color="#CC0000">YANGON, FEB. 15.</font> Myanmar
and India have agreed to open four border check-points for increasing trade
between the two countries and Yangon has said it would consider re-opening
of the Indian Consulate in Mandalay as the External Affairs Minister had
commended Yangon for the steps it was taking for returning to democracy.
The two countries had also agreed to cooperate in security matters ? especially
in combating insurgency on both sides of the international border, it was
said.</font>
<p><font size=+1>In the short term, New Delhi and Yangon will construct
a bridge which would lead to the linking of Champai (Mizoram) with the
bordering region of Myanmar.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Talking to repoters before leaving for New Delhi, Mr.
Singh</font>
<br><font size=+1>, who called on the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), Chairman, Senior-General Than Shwe, and Secretary-1 Lt. Gen. Khin
Nyunt, said his visit had been "very rewarding".</font>
<p><font size=+1>Mr. Singh said it had been agreed to develop banking,
immigration and customs facilities at the border trade check-points.</font>
<p><font size=+1>As of now, India and Myanmar have no formal bank-to-bank
links.</font>
<p><font size=+1>India was willing to cooperate in the construction of
the Yeywa Hydroelectric Project near Mandalay and a team from the Power
Ministry would soon be visiting Myanmar for further discussions and a preliminary
on-site survey, official sources said.</font>
<p><font size=+1>It is clear that India is committed to cooperating in
more infrastructure projects in Myanmar, a point that was made by Mr. Jaswant
Singh in his discussions.</font>
<p><font size=+1>While inaugurating the Myanmar-India Friendship Centre
for Remote Sensing and Data Processing here. Mr. Singh said: "It gives
us immense pleasure to be partners in this project with Myanmar? the applications
of remote sensing cover, weather forecasting and disaster management capabilities,
determination of forest cover and other land-use delineations, cropping
surveys, urban planning, environmental monitoring and ground water survey."</font>
<p><font size=+1>"The Centre will continue to be an enduring symbol of
our partnership as we move ahead into subsequent phases of upgradation,"
he said.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The two countries have also agreed to the development
of the Akyab (Sittwe) port, which will allow goods from India's North-East
access to the port.</font>
<p><font size=+1>They also discussed cooperation in the hydro-carbon sector,
including the supply of natural gas to India once proven supplies become
available. "The Inidan side will send a delegation of experts to Myanmar
shortly to look into the possibilities of exploration at available sites
being offered by the Myanmar side."</font>
<p><font size=+1>The two sides welcomed the exchange of high-level visits
between the two countries which is in keeping with the tradition of personal
contacts between the leaders of two friendly neighbours, the statement
said, adding that an invitation had been extended to the Myanmar Foreign
Minister, Mr. U. Win Aung, to visit India. The convenient dates for the
visit would be worked out through diplomatic channels.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The wide range of cooperation between the two countries
would indicate that there are immense possibilities in the relationship
being cemented further.</font>
<p><font size=+1>It is also clear that India-Myanmar relationship is taking
off to a higher plane. This, importantly, will mean that India must remain
focused on Myanmar and ensure that substantive results, like the inauguration
of the Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road link, continue to take shape.</font>
<p><font size=+1>In an editorial, The New Light of Myanmar, a State-run
daily, said today that "existing friendly relations between the two countries
had been further strengthened."</font>
<p><font size=+1>The Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road link would contribute towards
economic and trade promotion as well as regional peace ad development between
the two countries, the daily said.</font>
<center>
<p><b><font color="#006600"><font size=+1>**************************************************</font></font></b>
<p><b><font color="#0000FF"><font size=+2>Reaching out to a neighbour</font></font></b></center>
<p><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>The Hindu, Editorial,</font></font>
<br><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>February 16, 2001</font></font>
<p><font size=+1>CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION is the objective spelt out by
the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, as he dedicated this
week a new road-link aimed at enhancing friendship between the peoples
of India and Myanmar. It requires no smart political erudition to recognise
Mr. Singh's spin-art of distinguishing this aspect of the current diplomatic
ambience in the India- Myanmar relationship from the Vajpayee administration's
practised criticism of Pakistan for its ``cross-border terrorism'' in the
Kashmir Valley. The 160-km road, connecting India's northeastern border
with a potential commercial nodal point inside Myanmar, has been built
as New Delhi's symbolic gift of good- neighbourliness with the military
regime in Yangon. By itself, this project is quite modest in financial
and engineering terms, given especially India's growing stature as a country
in synch with the state-of-the-art technological visions. Yet, as Mr. Singh
has pointed out, the road, a remodelled link of the British colonial period,
is the first of several infrastructure projects that India is thinking
of helping Myanmar develop. The pageantry that marked the dedication of
the surface transport link may not raise unmanageably awkward questions
for Indian diplomacy at this juncture. It was only very recently that the
United Nations brokered preliminary contacts between the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), the official incarnation of the Yangon military
Government, and Myanmar's struggling champion of democracy, Ms. Aung San
Suu Kyi. The goal was that the two sides might begin discussing how best
their existing political `system' could be updated. This new context diminishes
the arguable diplomatic odium of a particularly warm handshake between
India and Myanmar at this moment. Moreover, New Delhi's present policy
of smiling at the SPDC deserves to be evaluated in the larger context of
India's increasing need for strategic autonomy in its foreign policy.</font>
<p><font size=+1>New Delhi and Yangon have in recent months explained the
new activism manifest in their diplomatic exchanges as a mutually beneficial
aspect of bilateral bonhomie that should not alarm the larger international
community or its pro-democracy segment. It is an oft-repeated dictum of
conventional wisdom that India should not unduly alienate or anger Myanmar,
especially over the moral dynamics of the latter's internal affairs, unless
New Delhi's own enlightened self-interest necessitates a different policy.
Cited ad infinitum in this regard is the idea that New Delhi should actively
engage Myanmar so as to induce the powers- that-be in Yangon to keep their
substantive strategic equation with China on a course that would not be
prejudicial to India's interests at any time. Subtleness is the name of
this suggested diplomatic exercise. Not surprisingly, therefore, Mr. Singh
is unwilling to package the latest India-Myanmar interactions in a China
context. A similar cautionary note was sounded by the Myanmar Foreign Minister,
U Win Aung, in an interview to this newspaper in 1998, when he argued that
the Yangon authorities ``don't regard India as coming to woo us''. In his
view, instability in Myanmar would not do good for the security of both
India and China.</font>
<p><font size=+1>In a regional context without the Sino-Indian angle, New
Delhi tends to portray its economic ties with Yangon within a South East
Asian framework. Myanmar, a late entrant to the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN), is projected as one of several commercial gateways
to that region. Myanmar, too, is keen to see the latest road link with
India in a larger-than-life perspective as a possible component of a future
Asian highway project. While the euphoria of this kind should not be allowed
to cloud policies, it is just as well that Mr. Singh has ruled out any
immediate move by India to seek membership of the ASEAN on the principle
of geo-economic contiguity. New Delhi has yet to retrieve its shattered
credibility within the more proximate South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC).</font>
<center>
<p><b><font color="#006600"><font size=+1>***********************************************************</font></font></b>
<p><font color="#0000FF"><font size=+2>Move to set up Indian consulate
in Mandalay</font></font></center>
<p><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>From The Hindu,</font></font>
<br><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>February 16, 2001</font></font>
<p><font size=+1><font color="#CC0000">Yangon (Myanmar), Feb. 15 (UNI):</font>
India and Myanmar today discussed the possibility of establishing an Indian
consulate in Mandalay and agreed to open more border points to enhance
cross-border trade and economic linkages between the two countries.</font>
<p><font size=+1>They also decided to step up cooperation in science and
technology, particularly information technology, tourism, culture and other
sectors.</font>
<p><font size=+1>(PTI photo shows Jaswant Singh with chairman of Peace
and Development Council Gen Than Shwe in Parliament at Yangon on Thursday.)</font>
<p><font size=+1>The issues came up at a meeting here between External
Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and Myanmar's top leader and chairman of
the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Than Shwe.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Several top leaders of Myanmar were also present at the
meeting which lasted one hour and 15 minutes.</font>
<p><font size=+1>It was agreed at the meeting that the foreign offices
of both countries would pursue the possibility for setting up consulate
in Mandalay which is the cultural and commercial capital of Myanmar.</font>
<center>
<p><font size=+1> <b><font color="#006600">*****************************************************</font></b></font>
<p><b><font color="#0000FF"><font size=+2>India, Myanmar to open up three
new trade points</font></font></b></center>
<p><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>From The Hindustan Times, February
16, 2001</font></font>
<p><font color="#800000"><font size=+1>Shishir Gupta</font></font>
<br><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>(Yangon, February 15)</font></font>
<p><font size=+1><font color="#CC0000">INDO-MYANMAR</font> relations crossed
yet another milestone today with both sides agreeing to open three new
trade points on the border and consider the possibility of opening an Indian
consulate in Mandalay.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Besides the Moreh-Tamu linkage, three new trade points
are being opened at Champai-Rih, Pangsau Pass and Paletwa on the Kaladan
River to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries. The two
sides have also identified Lungwa-Yangyong and Pangsha-Pongnyo crossings
as potential trading points. Weekly "haats (village markets) are held at
these places on the Indo-Myanmar border in the Nagaland sector.</font>
<p><font size=+1>While Champai-Rih and Paletwa crossings are in the Mizoram
sector, Pangsau pass links Arunachal Pradesh with Myanmar. The Champai-Rih
point was included in the Indo-Myanmar border agreement but the crossing
has not been opened due to delay in the construction of a bridge. The two
sides have now decided to expedite the bridge construction.</font>
<p><font size=+1>These decisions are the outcome of meetings that External
Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh had with the Myanmar regime. Mr Singh held
extensive discussions with Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman, State Peace
and Development Committee (SPDC), Vice Chairman Gen Maung Aye, Lt General
Khin Nyunt, Secretary-I of the SPDC and Foreign Minister U Win Aung. The
Minister also inaugurated Myanmar's first Centre of Remote Sensing and
Data Processing at Yangon built with Indian aid.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Mr Singh later confirmed that both the sides had decided
to " formalize" the cross-border trade at Moreh-Tamu crossing placing institutionalised
mechanisms such as banking facilities for opening letters of credit. "The
Indian rupee is almost a legal tender in Tamu and Kalemyo? we are trying
to formalize the already existing economic linkages," he said.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The two sides also underscored their common approach towards
terrorism and insurgency through a twin-pronged strategy of tackling insurgents
on the shared border and working towards the overall economic development.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Myanmar rulers assured Mr Singh that they would not allow
their territory to be used for activities directed against India.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The two sides reviewed the progress on the proposed 1,200
MW Tamanthi hydro-electric project on the Chindwin river in north-western
Myanmar, the Kaladan multi-modal navigation project and the road and gas
pipeline project in Rakhine state. The Kaladan project is crucial to bilateral
cooperation as it provides a link to southern Mizoram and the entire North-Eastern
states.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Mr Singh reaffirmed India's commitment to building infrastructural
linkages in Myanmar and conveyed India's willingness for early realisation
of the Yeywa hydro-electric project near Mandalay. A delegation from the
Ministry of Power is expected to visit Myanmar for discussions and a preliminary
on-the-site survey.</font>
<center>
<p><b><font color="#006600"><font size=+1>***************************************************</font></font></b>
<p><b><font color="#0000FF"><font size=+2>Indian foreign minister ends
Myanmar visit</font></font></b></center>
<p><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>From Times of India, February 16,
2001</font></font>
<p><font size=+1><font color="#CC0000">BANGKOK:</font> Indian Foreign Minister
Jaswant Singh called on Myanmar military leader Senior General Than Shwe
in Yangon before he ended his official visit to Myanmar on Thursday, state-run
TV Myanmar said.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The meeting, held at the Yangon defence ministry, was
also attended by other senior members of the ruling military regime including
vice chairman General Maung Aye, the report monitored here said.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Singh also held separate talks with the junta's first
secretary Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt who is also head of the country's
powerful military intelligence unit.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The report did not give details of their discussions.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Singh arrived in Yangon Wednesday on an official visit,
the first by a senior Indian leader to Myanmar since then-prime minister
Rajiv Gandhi in 1987.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Singh and his delegation arrived in Yangon from the northern
city of Mandalay, where he spent Tuesday evening after crossing the border
overland at the Moreh-Tamu checkpoint, the legal gateway for border trade
between the two sides.</font>
<p><font size=+1>"India's national interest demanded his government foster
good relations with the military regime in neighbouring Myanmar," said
Singh, quoted by the Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi Thursday,</font>
<p><font size=+1>Speaking to Indian reporters during the visit, Singh said
that while India was committed to democracy it had too many vital issues
in common to turn its back on the Yangon government. (AFP)</font>
<br>
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