On Saturday India will host the prestigious G20 Summit, when leaders of the top 20 biggest economies and trading countries meet in New Delhi.
It’s a big moment for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is presenting himself as a respected world leader ahead of elections next year.
Far from being respected, he should be condemned, as India is arming the Burmese military, funding the Burmese military, and giving diplomatic support to the Burmese military.
A report earlier this year by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation in Myanmar revealed that India-based entities have supplied $51 million worth of arms and related materials to the military since the coup in February 2021.
Indian companies have entered into business relationships with the military or are working for the Burmese military, helping to finance the military and providing it with technology enabling it to arrest human rights activists.
Diplomatically, India has been working regionally to undermine ASEAN's five-point consensus and assist the military in gaining the international legitimacy it craves. India is also attempting to protect the military at a global level, including at the UN Security Council, negotiating to weaken a resolution on Burma and then refusing to vote in favour of it.
We have been lobbying the British government to make sure Burma is raised at the summit, but to date British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and other European leaders, have been so keen to promote trade and investment with India that they have kept silent about the deadly support Modi is giving to the Burmese military.
We will not be silent!
We can’t let Modi get away with arming and supporting the Burmese military without facing any pressure.
