From MIZZIMA News Group (r)

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Burmese protest against George
By Rezaul H. Laskar
Asian Age, 6 February 1999

New Delhi, Feb. 5:
Burma has officially protested to New Delhi against defence minister
George Fernandes's alleged support to dissident Burmese groups. Government
sources told The Asian Age that the protest was lodged during a meeting of
senior home ministry officials of the two countries held in Burma in
mid-January. The Burmese side minced no words in expressing their
displeasure at Mr. Fernandes's support to dissident Burmese students, with
the issue being listed as the first item on the agenda drawn up for the
meeting by the Burmese authorities.

During the discussions, the Burmese authorities claimed that the outspoken
defence minister had extended financial assistance to students who were
"absconding" from Burma. The home ministry officials, after hearing out
their Burmese counterparts, sought to explain that the defence minister's
support to pro-democracy activists in Burma was a "personal matter", the
sources said. Mr Fernandes was reportedly told at the "highest levels" not
to publicly air his views on Burma and the country's military junta
following the development. "Rangoon has never sought to hide its dislike
for the defence minister's support to Burmese dissidents, but the Union
Home ministry officials were taken aback by the prominence given to the
matter during the meeting," the sources said. 

Mr Fernandes has often come out in open support for organizations and
groups opposed to the Burmese military junta and his official residence at
3, Krishna Menon Marg served as the headquarters for dissident groups like
the All Burma Students League even before he became the defence minister
last year. Sections within the Union Home ministry and the armed forces
are in favour of fogging stronger links with the military regime in Burma
for strategic reasons. They feel the military junta is too well-entrenched
to be dislodged by pro-democracy forces in the near future, and New Delhi
would stand to loose if it did not take steps to counter the growing
Chinese presence in Burma. Cooperation between the armies of the two
countries reached a high point during Golden Bird, a joint operation
conducted in 1995 against militants from various northeastern groups while

they were trying to sneak into India from Burma.