Myanmar not to allow its soil to be used by NE insurgents

Pallab Bhattacharya

Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar), Feb 6 (PTI) Facing heat from the
new Bangladesh government, some insurgent groups active in
India's north-east have shifted bases to Myannmar whose military junta assured New Delhi Friday its territory will not be used to target India.

The junta's assurance came after visiting Indian Vice
President Hamid Ansari raised the security issue stemming from
reports of insurgents taking shelter in Myanmar which shares
border with the north-eastern states of Manipur, Mizoram,
Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland during a meeting with Gen Maung
Aye, the number two in ruling military regime Thursday.

On the second day of his four-day visit to Myanmar, Ansari
held "extremely comprehensive" talks with the head of
military junta Gen Than Shwe here Friday after which the two
countries took "concrete decisions" to enhance cooperation in
security, hydrocarbon and power sectors and agreed to widen
its ambit to agriculture and railways.

At the delegation-level talks between the two sides,
which followed a brief one-to-one meeting between Ansari and
Gen Aye Thursday, the Myanmarese side acknowledged India's
security concerns but conveyed that the north-east insurgents
would not be permitted to use its territory to target India,
sources said.

Since India began engaging the Myanmarese military junta,
there has been cooperation between security forces of the two
countries in flushing out the north-eastern insurgents.

Myanmar's assurance regarding north-eastern insurgents
assumed significance as India, which had kept the military
junta at arms length for a long time after the 1988 crackdown
on pro-democracy protests, changed tack when it found its
security interests in north-eastern states were in jeopardy.


"We have taken concrete decisions on how to enhance
economic cooperation in the areas of hydrocarbon, security and
power," Ansari told journalists accompanying him on board Air
India's special aircraft on his way from Myanmar's
administrative capital here to the country's business hub
Yangon after talks with Gen Shwe.

He, however, did not specify what the decisions were.

"I had extremely fruitful and extremely comprehensive
discussions covering the entire gamut of bilateral relations
with Vice Senior Gen Maung Aye and Senior General Than Shwe.
All bilateral issues were discussed," Ansari said wrapping up
the most substantive part of his four-day visit to Myanmar
after arriving here yesterday.

The Vice President said the two countries have resolved
to move further ahead expeditiously for the economic
cooperation.

Ansari's remarks about "concrete decisions" came after
his talks with Gen Shwe that went on for more than an hour as
against the scheduled time of half an hour. PTI PAL
PMR