New Delhi/Nay Pyi Taw: A cautious but supportive India said on Wednesday that it shares Myanmar’s concerns over “extremist violence” in the Rakhine state and asked all stakeholders to preserve the country’s unity and territorial integrity.
In his talks with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India understands the problems Myanmar is facing. “We share your concerns about extremist violence in Rakhine state and specially the violence against security forces and how innocent lives have been affected. We hope that all the stakeholders together can find a way out in which the unity and territorial integrity of Myanmar is respected and at the same time we can have peace, justice, dignity and democratic values for all,” Mr Modi said in the joint press statement after the talks.
Ms Suu Kyi told the joint news conference at the presidential palace in the capital, Nay Pyi Daw, that Myanmar was grateful for India’s support and added, “Together we will ensure that terror is not allowed to take root on our soil or on the soil of neighbouring countries.”
In the joint statement, the two countries said, “The two leaders discussed the security situation prevailing along their borders and expressed concern at various incidents of terrorism and extremist-inspired violence that have taken place in their respective territories... Myanmar condemned the recent barbaric terror attacks during the Amarnath Yatra in India as also various acts of terror perpetrated by terrorists from across the borders.”
Significantly, both countries recognised that there was a “developmental as well as a security dimension” to the problem in Rakhine. India has offered assistance under the “Rakhine State Development Programme” in several sectors such as health, education and agriculture, which Myanmar has accepted.
PM Modi’s first bilateral visit to Myanmar and support comes at a time when the Myanmar government is facing international pressure over 125,000 Rohingya refugees fleeing to Bangladesh in just two weeks. The exodus, over two weeks, began after Myanmar’s military launched a crackdown in Rakhine.
Rohingya militants had raided police posts in Rakhine last month, killing 12 security personnel. Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims have died since in the military crackdown.
Ms Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace prize in 1991, has been facing lots of criticism for not raising her voice against the persecution of Rohingya Muslims.
The meeting between Mr Modi and Ms Suu Kyi came on a day she was quoted as telling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that global outrage over Myanmar’s treatment of Rohingya was being fuelled by “a huge iceberg of misinformation”.
With China looking to expand its already formidable presence in Myanmar, India too made its presence felt by inking 11 pacts in various fields, including maritime security cooperation and coastal surveillance.
“We would like to contribute to Myanmar’s development efforts as part of our ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas’ initiative,” said PM Modi.
Among other things, PM Modi also announced gratis visas to Myanmarese citizens wanting to visit the country. “I am pleased to announce that we have decided to grant gratis (no-cost) visa to all the citizens of Myanmar who want to visit India,” he said.
Mr Modi also announced that India will release at least 40 Myanmarese fishermen, currently lodged in various jails in India.
Later in the day, in his address to the Indian community at Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon, PM Modi said, “I am seeing a mini India in front of me. You have come from different parts of India and I am pleased to meet you as you represent thousands of years of civilisation of the great sons and daughters of India as well as Myanmar.”
“I read somewhere five Bs are base of India-Myanmar relations —Buddhism, Business, Bollywood, Bharatnatyam and Burma teak.
But, I think most important ‘B’ is missing here and that ‘B’ is
‘Bharosa’… We never shy away from taking big and strict actions for the benefit of the country We have pledged to develop a new India by the time Indian independence turns 75. We will develop a poverty-free, caste-free, terrorism free, disparity-free India.”
“This is the place where Subhash Chandra Bose famously said, ‘You give me blood, I will give you freedom.’ This prompted the youth not only in India but in different parts of the globe to participate in the freedom struggle. I got a chance to meet few of them today,” Mr Modi added.
PM Modi on Wednesday presented Ms Suu Kyi, 72, with a special copy of the original research proposal she had submitted for her fellowship in 1986.
“Presented Daw Aung San Suu Kyi a special reproduction of original research proposal she submitted for fellowship at IIAS (Indian Institute of Advanced Study), Shimla, in May 1986,” PM Modi said in a tweet.
Her original research proposal was titled “The Growth and Development of Burmese and Indian Intellectual Traditions Under Colonialism: A Comparative Study”.
Ms Suu Kyi studied political science at Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi and was a fellow at Shimla’s Indian Institute of Advanced Studies.
