Bloodshed unacceptable, says Pranab

Neighbour’s advice: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Myanmarese counterpart U Nyan Win at a meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Monday

During a meeting with his Myanmarese counterpart U Nyan Win on Monday, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee suggested that Myanmar consider conducting an inquiry into the recent incidents of violence and the use of force in Yangon and other cities.

Meeting on the margins of the ongoing general debate of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Mukherjee noted that as a close and friendly neighbour, India hoped to see peace, prosperity and stability in Myanmar.

Reconciliation process

The Minister also expressed the hope that the process of national reconciliation and political reform, initiated by the Myanmar government, would be taken forward expeditiously. Further, the situation in Myanmar also figured in the meeting between Mr. Mukherjee and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon met U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Adviser Ibrahim Gambari on September 24. This meeting followed the visit of Mr. Gambari to New Delhi in July this year during which he held discussions with Mr. Menon regarding Myanmar developments.

These meetings took place in the context of India’s continuing engagement on these issues, said an External Affairs Ministry release.

Speaking on the same day at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, Mr. Mukherjee said India was concerned about the developments in Myanmar because it required a stable, peaceful and democratic periphery for its own and the region’s future. “If India is to grow rapidly and transform herself, we need a supportive and peaceful regional environment. This is why the present situation in Myanmar concerns us deeply. We urge a broad-based and inclusive process of national reconciliation and peaceful reform to lead Myanmar’s political evolution. Bloodshed in this situation is unacceptable. India will work with like-minded countries to make a peaceful outcome possible in Myanmar.”

Pointing out that many countries in the neighbourhood, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, were witnessing “difficult transitions to democracy,” he conceded that in all these countries, it was for the people themselves to make their choices about the nature and direction of their governments. “India’s interest is in a stable and peaceful periphery, and we will continue to work with our neighbours to achieve this goal.”

“Strategic challenge”

At the same time, India would remain economically engaged with the neighbours because restoring traditional linkages within the region and between the region and the rest of the world was one of New Delhi’s “primary strategic challenge.” Connectivity would enable India’s reintegration into the immediate and extended neighbourhood — Central Asia, South East Asia and West Asia.

This formulation had led India to actively pursue cooperative arrangements such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and dialogue with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Common prosperity

“The web of preferential and asymmetrical trading arrangements that India has built up or is working on with her neighbours is designed to further a vision of common and indivisible prosperity. This is also what is behind India’s consistent initiatives to improve relations with Pakistan, which have borne some fruit in the last three years, but which need to be pursued to their logical conclusion through dialogue in an atmosphere free of violence,” he explained.

Further, India’s political and economic ties with the Asia-Pacific region were also growing through institutional mechanisms such as the East Asia Summit.

India was also pursuing high-level dialogue with major powers through the India, China and Russia trilateral forum and the India-Brazil-South Africa group, and also developing closer linkages with major powers such as the United States, Japan, the European Union and Russia.