The Government today bluntly told the Left that it could not afford to alienate Myanmar by raking up the restoration-of-democracy issue at a time when China was building even better ties with Yangon.Left leaders who met PM Manmohan Singh over breakfast were told that the relatively new Kunming-Mandalay road was bringing the Chinese closer to the military rulers in politically isolated Myanmar.Left leaders yesterday raised the ‘‘politically correct issue’’ of Aung San Suu Kyi continuing to be under house arrest and demanded that New Delhi tell the Yangon regime to restore democracy soon.But at this morning’s meeting at 7 Race Course Road, National Security Advisor J N Dixit reminded Left leaders that it was the Congress government of the Nineties that had bestowed the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award on Aung San Suu Kyi.The sympathy for Suu Kyi remained but the Government, Dixit pointed out, had to do business with Yangon for security and strategic reasons.New Delhi has been watching the expanding Sino-Myanmar relationship. Three days ago, a Chinese oil major signed an oil exploration contract. In March this year, Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi visited Myanmar and signed a detailed agreement, their bilateral cooperation spanning over 20 sectors. According to Left leaders, Dixit drove home the point that better relations with Yangon were important from the security point of view given the situation in the North-East.On helping out with elections in Iraq, the Prime Minister reassured the Left leaders that there was no question of sending over Election Commission officials to Baghdad to help train the Iraqi election personnel. Dixit said that the Left needn’t raise the issue because the Government had no proposal to send any EC personnel to the war-torn country.The Government may arrange to have Iraqi poll personnel brought here for training. Left leaders were, however, told that it could become necessary for a part of the electoral management to be done from Amman in Jordan. In that case, EC personnel would be despatched to Jordan. The Left did not really mind that.Dixit also told Left leaders that it could become imperative to hand over money to the UN for the international fund to bring democracy to Baghdad. He said the UN had asked for US $10 million but India, for the time being, may send US $5 million.
