Special Correspondent
Guwahati, Northeast India
The United Nations has been making vain efforts for the national reconciliation in Burma as Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest, argues Asian Center for Human Rights (ACHR). The New Delhi based rights body additionally stated that Rizali Ismail, the former special envoy of the UN Secretary General too failed to make any breakthrough.

Speaking to Narinjara, the ACHR director Suhas Chakma narrated that the newly elected UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon had appointed Ibrahim Gambari during May 2007 as his special advisor on Burma. "Gambari was assigned to garner the cooperation of the government of Burma and other concerned parties in making progress toward the restoration of democracy and the protection of human rights in Burma," said Mr Chakma.

In July 2007, Mr Gambari visited China, India, Japan, Russia and several European countries to seek their support on Burma . Earlier this month (August 2007), Ibrahim Gambari also visited Singapore, Thailand, and is supposed to visit Malaysia and Indonesia before visiting Burma. Mr Gambari has been requested to broaden his consultations, added the ACHR director.

Mr Chakma however did not express optimism at the outcome of the recent uprising in Rangoon and some parts of Burma as it cannot 'pose any threat to the military junta'. He predicts that the situations (in Burma) will be volatile as Burmese junta will resort to increased extrajudicial killing, arrests, disappearances and torture. The public condemnation of the human violations by the junta by ICRC on 29 June 2007 is a clear signal of the deteriorating human rights situation in the country, Mr Chakma asserted. Talking about India's role on Burma, Mr Chakma alleged that the embargo on the Burmese junta from the European Union and the United States had been off-set by New Delhi (Beijing and Bangkok).

"India which awarded the highest civilian award to Aung San Suu Kyi is even scared to raise the issue of her release - a demand echoed by most democratic countries in the world including those who do business with the Junta. In August 2006 India's then President APJ Abdul Kalam raised the issue of 'well being' of Ms Suu Kyi with General Than Shwe only at the tarmac of the airport when the General came to see off the President" commented Mr Chakma.

India has been providing largesse of funds and military aid to the Burmese Junta in the hope of joint counter-insurgency operations to deal with insurgency in Northeast India. "India's hope of military cooperation from the Junta to counter insurgency in the Northeast is misplaced. Apart from alleged regular cooperation between the Burmese military and insurgents from Northeast at the local level, insurgency problems of the region are homegrown," argued Mr Chakma.

India did help to crush the Rakhaine insurgency through 'The Operation Leach' of February 1998 in which leaders of the Arakan armed opposition groups were massacred by a double agent from Indian military who hoodwinked the administration including the Prime Minister's Office but even that could not secure the gas from the Arakan for India, he added.

In reality, it is China to whom oil and gas have been sold by the Junta, which like all good businessmen sells to the highest bidder. On 16 August 2007, Burma confirmed to the Reuters that ONGC of India lost the bid to PetroChina to import gas from the A-1 and A-3 blocks off the Rakhine coast of Arakan in Burma.

The two blocks were operated by a joint venture comprising a 60 percent stake from South Korean Daewoo International, a 10 percent interest from Korea Gas Corp, and a combined 30 percent interest from India's state-run GAIL and ONGC Videsh.

Finally Mr Chakma spoke out that New Delhi must support the initiative of the ASEAN for national reconciliation in Burma. The foreign ministers of ASEAN in their summit in July 2007 expressed concern to Burma about its slow pace of change and urged it to 'show tangible progress that would lead to a peaceful transition to democracy in the near future' and release Aung San Suu Kyi and all political detainees.

Mentionable that, on 20 August a group of ASEAN lawmakers urged India and China once again to withdraw their support for Burma's military rulers since Burma failed to bring in genuine reforms. Charles Chong, a Member of Parliament from Singapore stated that ASEAN, China and India should form a 'triangle of influence' to exert political and economic pressure on Burma. #

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