Myanmar’s reclusive military ruler, Senior General Than Shwe, received a red-carpet welcome in New Delhi yesterday as he began the formal leg of a state visit to India amid criticism from rights groups. The general was accorded a full ceremonial welcome at the presidential palace, although the traditional guard of honor was missing as rain forced the event indoors.
Than Shwe, 77, met Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna and was scheduled to hold talks later yesterday with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The junta chief, who oversaw the ruthless suppression of pro-democracy protests led by Myanmar’s monks in 2007, also laid a wreath at the mausoleum to India’s independence hero and global icon of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi.
Human rights groups have condemned India’s decision to bestow the legitimacy of a full state visit on Than Shwe, who is regarded as a pariah by many Western nations that have targeted his regime with sanctions.
Once a staunch supporter of Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, India began engaging the junta in the mid-1990s as security, energy and strategic priorities began to override concerns over democracy and human rights.
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