A man ties a bandage on a protesting monk’s foot in Yangon . (AFP)

New Delhi, Sept. 24 (Reuters): Dozens of Myanmar pro-democracy activists protested today against an Indian minister’s visit to Yangon, urging New Delhi not to put energy and economic ties ahead of democracy and human rights.

The demonstration in New Delhi came a day after petroleum minister Murli Deora began a visit to Myanmar to boost energy cooperation.

The protesters, who included school children, shouted slogans and held placards which read: “Hey, Murli Deora, Don’t Go For Gas, Go For Democracy”and “India Stop Supporting Burmese Military Rule”.

Deora is due to hold talks with Myanmar officials to step up energy links and witness the signing of contracts between Indian and Myanmar oil firms for three deep-water exploration blocks.

“It is a shame for the world’s largest democracy to send its cabinet minister to Burma for reasons of exploiting more natural gas from the country at the time people and monks are protesting against the fuel shortages and economic hardships in Burma,” the protesters said.

Since August, Myanmar, formerly called Burma, has sought to stamp out public protests sparked by fuel price rises but reflecting frustration at the military’s rule.

The poor southeast Asian nation has been hit by fresh protests since last week, this time by Buddhist monks in what appear to be the biggest demonstrations yet against the ruling generals.

While the West has imposed sanctions on the country and stepped up pressure, India has boosted its relations with the junta since the mid-1990s in what is seen as an effort to counter rival China, a long-time supporter of Yangon.

New Delhi initially supported Nobel laureate Aung Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy in the early 1990s, but changed strategy to court the military regime.

It has invested in developing ports, building roads and railways and is also competing with Beijing for Myanmar’s oil and gas reserves.