The civil society groups in India reaffirm our concerns about the upcoming elections in Burma and declare our support to the people of Burma’s struggle for restoration of human rights, peace and democracy in their country.
We are deeply disturbed about the official visit of General Than Shwe to India as he does not represent the 50 million peoples of Burma, but instead represents only the military regime that has been culpable in mass atrocities and many systematic international crimes. He is also solely responsible for attempting to assassinate Daw Aung , the Jawaharlal Nehru Award-winner for International Understanding and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, in what has become known as the 2003 Depayin Massacre.

We urge the peoples’ elected Government of India to grasp this opportunity to deliver strong messages to the unpopular military dictator of Burma. India should not work freely with the military regime, unless these necessary benchmarks of genuine democratization are met:
1) Unconditionally release of all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
2) Engage in genuine political dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratic and ethnic representatives
3) Inclusively review the 2008 Constitution and 2010 Election Laws in accordance with democratic principles and
4) Conduct inclusive, free and fair elections under United Nations and international supervision.
The upcoming 2010 Elections in Burma cannot be free, fair or inclusive as long as: more than 2100 political prisoners, including Daw Aung San SuuKyi, are kept behind bars, ethnic communities are attacked by military forces, unjust provisions of 2008 Constitutions are not amended, and the regime refuses to engage in dialogue with key stakeholders in the country. If the regime refuses to meet these benchmarks, India and countries around the world must denounce these sham elections.
Furthermore, we strongly recommend that instead of engaging in the current short-sighted relationship with Burma’s military regime, India must focus on long-term mutual interests by encouraging real democratization, peace and stability in her neighbor. The Government of India should also not tolerate the regime’s efforts to ignore the results of the elections of 1990, which were conducted free and fairly.

Therefore, we request the Government of India
• To bring in Indian principles of humanity and democracy system to the people of Burma.
• To support the people of Burma in their struggle for restoration of peace, human rights and democracy in Burma by demanding that the above-mentioned genuine benchmarks of democratization are met. If these benchmarks are not met the Government of India should reject the results of the unjust election.
To review India’s Foreign Policy on Burma in favor of peaceful transition towards genuine democracy