In a show of solidarity with Myanmar, India on Thursday refused to be a part of a declaration adopted at an international conference here in Indonesia as it carried “inappropriate” reference to the violence in Rakhine State from where 1,25,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh.
An Indian Parliamentary delegation, led by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, dissociated itself from the ‘Bali Declaration’ adoped at the ‘World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development’ held here. “This was in view of the fact that the declaration, which was to be adopted at the conclusion of the Forum, was not in line with the agreed global principles of ‘sustainable development’,” said a press release issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
India reiterated its stance that the purpose of convening the Parliamentary forum was to arrive at a mutual consensus for implementation of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) which required inclusive and broad-based development processes, it said.
‘Not by consensus’
“Therefore, the proposed reference to the violence in Rakhine State in the declaration was considered as not consensus-based and inappropriate,” the release said.
The part of the declaration to which India objected spoke of the forum expressing “deep concern on the ongoing violence in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, amongst others...”
The declaration went on to “call on all parties to contribute to the restoration of stability and security, exercise maximum self-restraint from using violent means, respect the human rights of all people in Rakhine State regardless of their faith and ethnicity, as well as facilitate safe access for humanitarian assistance.”
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