A two-day seminar at the Gandhi Peace Foundation began today with over 45-participants including Indian geo politics experts, legal experts, civil societies group, environmentalists, Indian women activists, Indian North East gas campaign activists and Burmese democracy activists.

The discussion at the seminar revolved around the geo-politics of energy led by the Shwe Gas Pipeline Campaign Committee (India) and other media based in New Delhi.

Kim, a coordinator of the Shwe Gas Campaign based in New Delhi said that “we would like to know how to stop gas exploration in Burma through legal issues and how to stop the pipeline project with the help of expert views.”

He also said that the seminar is the next step to the movement, which was related to the resent visit of the Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam, because his official tour to Burma led to bilateral signing for energy plants.

The official visit of Indian President Kalam is very significant and it alerted our gas campaign movement for we felt before he departed to Burma that some thing would come about from the trip, he added.

“Moreover the military junta has a partnership with China, Korea and India and now the military government is going to sell gas to Russia,” he added.

Carol Ransely, Assistant Director, Earth Rights International based on the Thai-Burma border said “we should inform the Indian government and make people in India aware of the situation in Burma to stop the project given the rampant human right violations in Burma.”

She added that they strongly support the movement over gas and encourage the activities because it is related to humanitarian crisis including forced labour, forced relocation. The same experience has been shared during the Yadana Gas pipeline project in Burma.

The Shwe Gas bulletin also stated that the Shwe Gas Project also poses a long-term threat. It is potentially the largest source of revenue for the brutal and repressive military junta, with natural gas deposits at an estimated market value of over US$60 billion.

Indian Professor M. Mohanty pointed to this major source of foreign investment in Burma and said “we know the scale of corruption is very high and the manner of financing the dictatorial regime through the gas projects.

While we have been demanding democratic rights for people in Burma the governments of India, China, and Korea are looking to get gas through pipelines. As long as “the junta is in power one cannot contribute to democratic transition in Burma.”

He also proposed that for limited energy resources we needed to use solar energy for long-term energy instead of using oil and gas among others. There needs to be alternative means of energy for human development, dependent on sustainable resources including natural resources.

The International Day of Action is slated for April 18 and over 20-countries will stage massive protest demonstrations against foreign investments including those by Daewoo International, the government of India, South Korea and China. The protest will also be against support provided to the military regime and unacceptable human right abuses and environmental destruction in Burma.