Date:31/05/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/05/31/stories/2005053109420400.htm

New Delhi

Call to foster democracy

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: The second anniversary of the Deapyin massacre in Myanmar, when pro-democracy supporters of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Su Kyi were ruthlessly gunned down, was the occasion for India, the world's largest democracy, to be urged to take the lead in fostering democracy across Asia.

The call came at a meeting organised here on Monday by the South Asian Forum for People's Initiative (SAFPI), which is committed to mobilising grassroots opinion.

"Downtrodden Asians who have never been able to look towards China and have been let down by an insular Japan look towards New Delhi as a beacon of hope to lead the fight for democracy,'' said SAFPI president Anand Kumar.