“The junta’s repressive measures are causing immense hardships to ordinary people, who have no rights or even privileges. Everything is very tense. After the National League for Democracy (NLD) was banned, the situation for the people has become even more volatile,” Htun Htun, of the Burma Centre Delhi (BCD), told AsiaNews.

“The climate of fear, suppression and intimidation is even worse in ethnic areas,” he said, especially where some groups are Christian. “Religious freedom too is not allowed.”

In Chin State, approximately 80 per cent of the Chin population is Christian. Recently, the military has begun, among other things, “destroying churches as well as harassing, arresting and even abusing pastors, removing religious symbols such as crosses from mountain tops. It has also started targeting charity organisations,” Htun said.

Things are not much better in predominantly Buddhist Karen State, where soldiers have stormed monasteries and removed monks who supported the pro-democracy movement in 2007.

In addition to Burmese activists, Than Shwe’s visit has mobilised other human rights groups. In a press release yesterday, Human Rights Watch said, “Economic and security interests should not displace concerns about protecting the Burmese people’s fundamental freedoms.”

General Than Shwe’s visit is scheduled to end on Thursday. In order to downplay its significance, both Burmese and Indian authorities have said that it was of a religious nature. In fact, the general, who is Buddhist, began his visit to India with a stop in the city of Budh Gaya (Bihar), where Siddhartha Gautama is believed to have received enlightenment after 49 days of meditation.

For activists however, the main purpose of the visit is to enhance economic and border security cooperation between the countries. The Indian-Burmese border has been the scene of important military activity by rebel groups.

In recent years, India, along with China, has been extending its tentacles on Myanmar’s rich natural resources, both above and underground, fuelling all sorts of traffic, thus buttressing the power of the military junta.

In a recent statement, India’s Tata automobile company has also announced its intention of moving its Nano minicar production to Myanmar.