New Delhi
19 June 2011
External affairs minister SM Krishna has sought a meeting with Burmese pro-
democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, but New Delhi would not confirm Sunday whether its
request has been accepted. Mr Krishna, accompanied by foreign secretary Nirupama
Rao and other officials, will visit Burma on June 20 and 21. The minister last visited
Burma in December 2009.
The uncertainty about a possible meeting with Ms Suu Kyi was attributed to the terms of
an agreement she was understood to have reached with the Burmese military regime
prior to her release from house arrest in November 2010, one of which was that she
would not meet foreign government leaders. If the Krishna-Suu Kyi meeting does take
place, it will be the first high-level contact with the Burmese opposition leader in over
two decades.
A government source said Mr Krishna could be expected to discuss issues such as
security, connectivity, and infrastructure projects in what will be the first visit to Burma
by an Indian minister after the military junta handed over power on March 30 this year to
a nominally civilian government. Specifically, the source said, New Delhi would be keen
to understand the new Burmese government's priorities and outlook.
Over the past few months foreign governments and organisations have reached out to
Burma by sending special envoys or other officials. A European Union delegation was
expected to visit Burma at around the same time as the Indian delegation. United States
Republican senator John McCain visited Burma in the first week of June, and United
Nations secretary general's special envoy Vijay Nambiar and US deputy assistant
secretary of state Joseph Yun were there in May.
President Thein Sein of Burma visited China in May, and it is likely that he would visit
New Delhi at the invitation of the Indian government. Than Shwe was the last Burmese
leader to visit India in July 2010.
Meanwhile, Ms Suu Kyi celebrated her birthday Sunday in freedom for the first time in
many years. In a video message that was screened at a function organised by Burmese
democracy activists in New Delhi Sunday evening, Ms Suu Kyi urged Indians to help
restore human rights and democracy in Burma.
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