Monday, 23 January 2012 17:23 Mizzima News
Speaking at the Jaipur Literary Festival on Sunday, he said: “In the economic arena, China has invested massively in Myanmar. But the Chinese influence is very small in the decision-making process,” according to the Indo Asian News Service. Jaipur is the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan.
The author of the influential “The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma,” Thant Myint-U said Burma’s new government seeks to balance China’s influence and gain more friends among Asian countries, Europe, Russia, India and the United States.
Thant’s newest book “Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia,” looks carefully at Burma’s stance regarding it neighbors India and China, two countries on the brink of much larger roles in the world in coming decades.
He noted that India and Burma were both colonies of Britain. 'There is much India can do in sharing democratic practices,' he said on the day before Burma’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin began a five-day visit to India.
Early on when his first book was published, Thant took criticism for speaking out in support of Burma’s leaders in their efforts to move toward democracy, saying the reformers were sincere.
“Burma is no longer isolated. More Burmese now have access to the Internet. Burma is genuinely trying to move to a democratic system. It's experiencing a degree of political change, freedom of the media and liberal values,” he said, according to the IA news group.
On Burmese President Thein Sein, he said: “He was also the senior general who has no allegations of corruption against him. He is thinking about his legacy as the man who presided over the democratic transformation of Burma.”
India announced a $500 million aid package for various development projects in Burma during a visit by Thein Sein to New Delhi in October.
Reporting on Thant’s talk at the Jaipur festival, the Times of India said Thant believed Burma’s economy was much better than it was some years back, “But there is still a long way to go.”
Speaking at the same event, author Peter Popham, who has published a biography of Aung San Suu Kyi, said that freedom of speech and press are improving.
“When Suu Kyi was asked if she would like to be the president of the country ever, she declined. Then she added that still, she would like a country where she could have become the president if she wanted it,” Popham was quoted as saying.
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