Some low-key but potentially significant news today, from the Times of India. The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, met with the Burmese Foreign Minister today to discuss relations between the two countries. As the article linked here reports, Singh raised political matters alongside those relating to trade and regional co-operation. Specifically, he urged the Burmese to engage in political reform with 'greater urgency' and in a way that involves all sectors of society - including pro-democracy campaigner and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all of Burma's various ethnic groups (some of which suffer significant discrimination and oppression). It is important that all the world's leaders maintain the pressure for political reform and protection of human rights in Burma. But it matters more when that pressure comes from one of Burma's neighbours and major trading partners. Let's hope that others follow in Singh's footsteps, before the shocking images of 'Burma 2007' fade from memory.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
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