“ Finally !” said the headline of Northeast Now, an Indian news organisation based in Guwahati, Assam, after it became clear that New Delh...
“Finally!” said the headline of Northeast Now, an Indian news organisation based in Guwahati, Assam, after it became clear that New Delhi had officially condemned the military violence against protesters seeking democracy in neighbouring Myanmar, following the coup in February.
India’s ambassador to the United Nations TS Tirumurti had, in a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council, made a number of remarks regarding developments in Myanmar, that he proceeded to tweet out afterwards:
The statement brought up not just the violence but the loss of lives – totaling more than 536 civilians protesting the military coup – and the detentions of leaders like former state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. Until the statement, India’s official remarks had covered much less ground, only “noting” the developments on the day of the coup and reasserting its “steadfast support to the process of democratic transition”, which had quite evidently been halted and reversed.
In fact, the Indian government had begun to earn some criticism from both within the country and externally after it emerged that the Indian Embassy in Myanmar sent a representative to the Armed Forces Day military parade in Naypitaw last week, even as civilian protesters were being shot dead.
The questions about India’s...
