By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : Former US first lady Hillary Clinton and 15 other women senators have urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to pressure Myanmar’s military regime to restore democracy and respect human rights.
“As the world’s largest democracy, India should use its influence to put pressure on the regime to stop the violence against pro-democracy activists,” members of bipartisan Senate Women’s Caucus on Burma wrote in a letter to Manmohan Singh.
Led by Democrat Dianne Feinstein and Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison, the caucus also wanted the regime to “release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and begin a true national dialogue on national reconciliation that will lead to a restoration of democratic government”.
Hillary Clinton, Democrat senator from New York and a leading presidential hopeful for the 2008 election, is the first co-chair of the India Caucus in the Senate. She along with former president Bill Clinton is counted among the friends of India in the US Congress.
Recent activities on behalf of the Government of India that included some high-level visits by its officials may be “interpreted as implicitly supporting the military junta”, the senators said.
The letter sent Wednesday was copied to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns.
“We understand that Petroleum Minister Murli Deora visited Burma, even as the protestors were reaching a crescendo, to discuss energy cooperation and to sign a deep-water exploration deal,” the senators said in the letter.
Such a thing is least expected from a country like India, which like the US values democracy and shares a firm commitment to rule of law and democracy, they said, expressing concern over the reports of ongoing military and technology support for the military regime in Myanmar.
“We understand that India has supplied the Burmese military with military hardware, including field guns and howitzers. The Indian Navy has provided the Burmese military with BN-2 ‘defender’ Islander maritime surveillance aircraft, deck-based air defence guns and surveillance equipment,” the letter said.
The lawmakers said they understood India’s geopolitical imperatives and its desire to maintain good neighbourly relations with Burma.
“We appreciate the threat posed by militant groups in northeastern India close to the Burma border. As the host to thousands of Burmese seeking refuge in India, the threat of an increasing torrent of refugees is certainly of serious concern to you,” they acknowledged.
“But we firmly believe that any support for Burma’s current government will only aggravate these problems. A stable, representative civilian government in Burma will be the best ally in addressing these problems,” the senators said.
“As a regional leader and one of the chief trading partners of Burma, India has a unique responsibility to help democratic forces in Burma.
“Mr. Prime Minister, as proponents of closer ties between the United States and India, we urge you to join the United States in leading the global effort to support the people of Burma,” the women senators said.
Others signatories to the letter include Democrats Barbara Boxer, Maria Cantwell, Amy Klobuchar, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lambert Lincoln, Claire McCaskill, Barbara Mikulski, Patty Murray, Debbie Stabenow and Republicans Elizabeth Dole, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Olympia Snowe.