Cablegate: Delhi Diary, Oct 23-26

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UNCLAS NEW DELHI 004758

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ENRG MARR CH RS BT BM IN
SUBJECT: DELHI DIARY, OCT 23-26

1. (U) Below is a compilation of political highlights from
Embassy New Delhi for October 23-26, 2007 that did not
feature in our other reporting, including:

-- India, China and Russia Jointly Oppose Further Burma
Sanctions
-- Bhutanese Election Dates Announced

India, China and Russia Jointly Oppose Further Burma Sanctions
-------

2. (U) The Foreign Ministers of the three neighbors met
jointly October 24 in Harbin, China for their third so-called
"troika" meeting. In contrast to the last troika which
produced no significant strategic results, all three used
this occasion to publicly criticize the initiative to impose
further UN sanctions against Burma. External Affairs
Minister Pranab Mukherjee confirmed to reporters that the
Burma issue had featured prominently during the trilateral
meeting and voiced support for UN Special Envoy Gambari,s
dialogue with Burma, adding "there should not be any
sanctions (against Burma) at this stage." Chinese FM Yang
Jiechi, speaking to media, echoed Mukherjee's support for UN
dialogue and claimed that the situation in Burma was "calming
down" and that "the countries concerned (the US and other
like-minded countries) should play a helping role rather than
applying sanctions." The three repeated February,s
statement of zero tolerance for terrorism and reassurance
that the trilateral is not directed against any other nation.
Russian FM Sergei Lavrov added explicitly that they were not
setting up any military alliance.

Bhutanese Election Dates Announced
-------

3. (U) As Bhutan embarks on the road to democracy, the Chief
Election Commissioner, Kunzang Wangdi, announced firm dates
for Bhutan,s inaugural national elections with polling for
the nation,s upper-house, the National Council, scheduled
for December 26. Candidates will be competing for twenty of
the twenty-five seats in the National Council, with the
remaining five members appointed by the King of Bhutan.
Candidates have until November 26 to file for nomination and
are constrained to a twenty-five-day campaigning window, from
November 30 until December 24. Elections for the 47 seats in
the Bhutanese lower house, the National Assembly, are slated
to take place in two rounds in February and March of 2008.
We plan to send election observers to Bhutan in December and
early 2008.
MULFORD

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