India will send teams to monitor a general election in war-torn Myanmar that is scheduled to start in December, Myanmar state media said on Monday, as New Delhi signals support for a vote that has already been derided by critics as a sham.
Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China, a rare international engagement for the general who had largely been shunned by foreign leaders since leading a coup in 2021.
“At the meeting, they exchanged views on measures to ensure peace and stability in the border regions of both countries, trade promotion, enhancement of friendship and cooperation,” the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.
The military’s ouster of an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi 4-1/2-years ago, on a pretext of election fraud, triggered a devastating civil war that has engulfed large parts of the impoverished Southeast Asia nation.
Myanmar plans to hold the initial phase of the first general election since the coup on December 28, as part of voting that a military-backed interim administration is seeking to conduct in more than 300 constituencies nationwide, including areas currently held by opposition armed groups.
In a statement on Sunday, India’s foreign ministry said that Modi hoped the upcoming elections in Myanmar would be “held in a fair and inclusive manner involving all stakeholders.”
A day earlier, Min Aung Hlaing also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the two leaders discussed Beijing’s support for the preparations for the polls, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar.
The planned election would occur amid a raging conflict that may make it difficult to conduct. During a nationwide census last year to create voter rolls, Myanmar’s military-backed authorities managed to survey only 145 of the country’s 330 townships.
So far, nine parties have registered to contest elections nationwide and 55 parties have signed up at the provincial level, having secured approvals from military-backed election authorities, according to state media.
But with parties opposed to the military either excluded or boycotting the polls, western governments and human rights groups see the election as an attempt by the generals to tighten their grip on power by paving the way for proxies to rule.
India backs Myanmar military’s election plan, state media says
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India backs Myanmar military’s election plan, state media says
- Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday on the sidelines of a summit in China
France demands EU-Mercosur trade pact signing be put off
- “France asks that the deadlines be pushed back to continue work on getting the legitimate measures of protection for our European agriculture,” said the statement
PARIS, France: France on Sunday urged the European Union to postpone the deadlines set for signing a free trade agreement with South American bloc Mercosur, rejecting the deal in its current form.
In a statement from Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office, Paris said the conditions were not in place for EU member states to vote on the agreement.
“France asks that the deadlines be pushed back to continue work on getting the legitimate measures of protection for our European agriculture,” said the statement.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due in Brazil on Monday for talks to finalize the landmark pact with the Mercosur bloc, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
But Brussels first has to get the approval of the EU member states over the coming week.
“Given a Mercosur summit is announced for December 20 (Saturday), it is clear in this context that the conditions have not been met for any vote (by states) on authorizing the signing of the agreement,” said the statement from Paris.
Earlier Sunday, in an interview published in the Germany financial daily Handelsblatt, France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure made France’s objections clear.
“As it stands, the treaty is simply not acceptable,” he said.
Securing robust and effective safeguard clauses was one of the three key conditions France set before giving its blessing to the agreement, he added.
The other key points were requiring the same production standards faced by EU farmers and establishing “import controls.”
“Until we have obtained assurances on these three points, France will not accept the agreement,” said Lescure.
European nations are poised to vote on the trade agreement between Tuesday and Friday, according to EU sources.
The European Parliament votes Tuesday on safeguards to reassure farmers — particularly those in France — who are fiercely opposed to the treaty.
If approved, the EU-Mercosur agreement would create a common market of 722 million people.
It is intended to allow the EU to export more cars, machinery, wine, and other goods, and will also facilitate the entry into the European Union of beef, poultry, sugar, honey, and other products.
Farmers in France and some other European countries say it will create unfair competition due to less stringent standards, which they fear could destabilize already fragile European food sectors.
