Candlelight protest in Delhi against Myanmar junta

Activists of Burma Solidarity group took out a candlelight protest here on Saturday demanding an early restoration of democracy in Myanmar.

New Delhi, Oct 7 : Activists of Burma Solidarity group took out a candlelight protest here on Saturday demanding an early restoration of democracy in Myanmar.

The activists, who have been campaigning against the military junta in Myanmar, joined by Buddhist monks, gathered at India Gate war memorial to stage a silent protest. They expressed the hope that the Indian Government would take some concrete steps to ensure an early end to the crisis in Myanmar.

"We seek solidarity from Indian friends for restoration of democracy in Burma. We appeal to the Government of India, the people of India, (political) parties of India to come forward proactively, proactive way for the cause of Burma. We look forward to India to come and save the life of people and help democratic transformation in Burma," said Tint Swe, a lawmaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile.

Myanmar has seen hundreds of thousands of Buddhist monks protesting in the country for the last few weeks, calling for restoration of democracy and an end to the military government.

A joint EU-US statement issued at the UN on September 26 called on China, India and ASEAN to use their influence to press the junta to open talks with the opponents.

Activists have been seeking New Delhi's help in bringing normalcy in as India shares a 1,645-km border on its east with Myanmar. Bilateral relations between the neighbours go back centuries to the time when Buddhism was born in the subcontinent and spread across the region.

Around 3,000 people are thought to have been killed as soldiers responded with force during the crackdown 19 years ago.

The current protests in Yangon started in reaction to shock fuel price rises, which soon swelled into a mass uprising against 45 years of military rule.

ANI