NEW DELHI, 25 October 2004 — Myanmar military ruler Gen. Than Shwe arrived here yesterday, days after sacking his prime minister in what was seen as a bid to promote military hard-liners.
Than Shwe, who is on a six-day visit, will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan today. Than Shwe is the first Myanmarese leader to visit India since the military took power in the country in 1988.
The visit has been heavily criticized by Myanmar exile groups in India because of the ruling junta’s poor human rights record. India condemned Myanmar’s military dictatorship after it brutally crushed a 1988 pro-democracy uprising. But relations between India and Myanmar’s ruling junta have warmed over the past few years.
Yesterday, Than Shwe was received at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport by Minister of State for External Affairs Minister E. Ahamed and other officials.
The general will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today for what India said would be wide-ranging talks on bilateral, regional and global issues.
India’s pursuit of good ties with its eastern neighbor is part of its “Look East” drive and also aimed at offsetting China’s clout in the region.
The visit has assumed more urgency for New Delhi after an upsurge of violence in the insurgency-racked northeast earlier this month.
New Delhi wants Yangon’s support in cracking down on anti-Indian rebels allegedly sheltering in Myanmar and other neighboring nations. The rebels are believed responsible for a wave of bomb attacks in the Indian states of Nagaland and Assam that left over 80 dead and nearly 220 injured.
“India is not in any way jettisoning its commitment to democracy but we have to be aware of our limitations in exporting democracy. It’s not an easy proposition,” said C. Uday Bhaskar, director of the Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis.
— Additional input from agencies
