India is expected to convey its support for further progress in Myanmar’s movement towards full democracy when the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, meets the Opposition leader, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, tomorrow in what is billed as one of the high-points of his landmark visit.
Ahead of the Dr Singh-Ms Suu Kyi meeting in Yangon which will see the pro-democracy icon sticking to protocol and calling on the Indian premier, the External Affairs Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, said that “Suu Kyi is one of the important leaders of Myanmar and it’s natural for the Prime Minister to receive her with due courtesy and convey our best wishes for a national reconciliation for a democratic process to blossom in this country.’’
Asked what more commitments can India make in helping democracy flourish in Myanmar, Mr Krishna said: “who are we to make more commitments to the democratic process here. This is a free, sovereign country with whom we have diplomatic and other relationships.’’
The meeting with India-educated 66-year-old Nobel Laureate Ms Suu Kyi will take place a day after Dr Singh’s talks with the Myanmar President, Mr Thein Sein, who is credited with initiating a series of political reforms in the last one year.
It speaks volumes of the changed environment in Myanmar that Dr Singh is meeting leaders at opposite ends of the political spectrum, in a break from the past few years when Indian leaders, including the former President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and the Vice-President, Mr Hamid Ansari, visited this country but could not meet Ms Suu Kyi who had been under house arrest.
Dr Singh’s meeting with Ms Suu Kyi is seen as a clear sign that New Delhi wants a reaffirmation of ties with the democracy activist after facing international criticism in the past for its engagement with Myanmar’s former military junta.