The India visit of Myanmar’s president and former junta leader Min Aung Hlaing on the Narendra Modi government’s invitation was condemned by the Justice for Myanmar (JFM) group, which said the Modi government’s move amounted to complicity in the terror allegedly unleashed by Aung Hlaing against his own people, described him as a war criminal, and urged New Delhi to stop conferring false legitimacy on the junta.
In a statement issued on Friday, the activist network accused India of deepening its engagement with a regime that has been widely censured for grave human rights violations since the military overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government in 2021.
JFM, which investigates and exposes the financial and commercial networks sustaining the junta, alleged that India’s continued outreach to the military leadership amounted to complicity in atrocities committed against the Burmese population.
The group asserted that Indian involvement with Myanmar had extended beyond diplomatic engagement and encompassed military cooperation, training programmes and commercial dealings with enterprises controlled by the junta.
It pointed to previous documentation alleging that Indian firms, including state-owned entities, had supplied military-related materiel to Myanmar after the coup, while also highlighting the participation of GAIL and ONGC in the country’s oil and gas sector through links with the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.
JFM spokesperson Yadanar Maung contended that India’s support for the military administration had intensified despite mounting evidence of abuses, and maintained that continued economic and strategic cooperation was helping sustain a regime accused of perpetrating war crimes and widespread repression.
The organisation called upon India to cease what it described as profiteering from the military’s campaign of violence and instead lend support to the people of Myanmar in their struggle for a federal democratic order.
The criticism was echoed by Myanmar’s National Unity Government in exile, which reportedly conveyed its deep concern over the visit in a letter addressed to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
Min Aung Hlaing arrived in India on Saturday for a five-day visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Besides holding discussions with the Indian leadership, he is scheduled to attend a business forum and visit Bodh Gaya.
Responding to questions regarding the propriety of hosting the Myanmar leader amid allegations of military atrocities and concerns over the credibility of recent elections, the Ministry of External Affairs refrained from directly addressing the criticism, while reiterating India’s intention to strengthen bilateral engagement and discuss all aspects of the relationship with Myanmar.