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Wednesday, July 15, 1998

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USA softens stand on sanctions
WASHINGTON, July 14 (PTI, AP) — In a softening of its tough stand, the Clinton Administration has asked the Congress to give the President, Mr Bill Clinton, the power to waive stringent sanctions imposed on India and Pakistan following their nuclear tests.
The Assistant Secretary of State, Mr Karl Inderfurth, who sought the waiver authority for all sanctions currently in place against the two countries, said it would not be "utilised until such time as substantial progress" was made towards achieving the goal of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, including signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
At the same time, in a pro-Pakistani tilt, the USA has favoured ending earlier sanctions against Islamabad under the Pressler and Symington Amendments and also greater flexibility in enforcing sanctions under the Glenn Amendment to avoid disproportionately harsh impact on the country.
Inderfurth expressed the Clinton Administration’s anxiety to ensure that sanctions imposed on India and Pakistan after their nuclear tests affected both the countries equally.
He told the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee that this could be done by scrapping the Pressler and Symington amendments, which hit Pakistan for earlier proliferation and breaking assurances to the USA.
"We also would like additional flexibility (in applying the sanctions under the Glenn Amendment) to guard against an overwhelmingly disproportionate effect of the sanctions.... Ideally the sanctions should have roughly the same effect on India as they do on Pakistan," he said.
It is a good idea to abrogate the Pressler and the Symington while giving the President flexibility on Glenn, he said, because "I think it will put us in an equal position regarding India and Pakistan."
The Clinton administration asked Congress for authority to waive the economic sanctions just imposed on India and Pakistan, saying it would give the USA more leverage in slowing the arms race in south Asia.
“Our purpose is not to punish for punishment’s sake, but to influence the behaviour of both governments,” Mr Inderfurth said, adding, we do not wish for unnecessary harm to fall on the civilian populations of either country ... Or on U.S. businesses.
Mr Inderfurth said that the sanctions, required by law, are too rigid and that the USA would have more leverage if it also had the power to waive them.
Still, he told the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, the sanctions won’t be waived till “substantial progress” is made by India and Pakistan toward nuclear non-proliferation goals.
The Senate last week voted 98-0 to exempt wheat and other agricultural exports from the sanctions imposed on India and Pakistan in May after they conducted nuclear tests.
It is expected to take up related legislation, perhaps later this week, that would waive all current sanctions for nine months, followed by a graduated waiver based on presidential certification that India and Pakistan were making progress in reducing nuclear tensions.
Sen. Sam Brownback, the Republican chairman of the subcommittee and a sponsor of that legislation, agreed with the administration that the sanctions could bring harm to the economies of both Asian nations in the midst of the current Asian financial crisis.
The economic situation there was not very good before we imposed sanctions, particularly in Pakistan, and now it is even worse,” Mr Brownback said.
The administration would like to see both India and Pakistan agree to conduct no further tests, sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, refrain from attaching their nuclear weapons to missiles they do have, halt the production of weapons material and seek peaceful resolve of the Kashmir issue.
But Mr Inderfurth said specific goals such as these shouldn’t be dictated by Congress. These are steps we want to see both governments take. They are not demands. ... Countries don’t like to be dictated to.”
We need to engage both India and Pakistan,” Mr Inderfurth said. He said leaders of both countries had signalled a willingness to talk about the situation. We will not let our current momentum slip,” he said.
In related testimony, Robert J. Einhorn, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for non-Proliferation, told the subcommittee that, at least until recently, China had been providing Pakistan with missile technology.
This a continuing source of disagreement between the USA and China,” he said.
Despite efforts by President Bill Clinton to persuade China’s leaders during his recent visit to China against providing Pakistan with additional missile technology, we do not believe this has been resolved,” Mr Einhorn said.
Mr Brownback suggested China’s position is complicating efforts to cool the India-Pakistan arms race. We have to get those sorts of issues resolved. We cannot look past the role of China in this dispute,” he said.
China agreed in October 1994 to stop sending complete missiles to its Pakistani allies.
But since then, it has continued to ship components. He called such reports disturbing.
We do believe that China has certainly, until recently, continued to be supportive of Pakistani missile programmes,” he said.
In a related development, the Clinton Administration has discounted the idea of any shift in the US policy on missile testing vis-a-vis India-Pakistan, asserting that the USA believes that any ballistic missile flight test would be an act of provocation.
To drive this point home, a senior administration official drew attention to the statements of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (P-5) and the Group of Eight industrial nations (G-8) on the subject which formed the basis of its non-proliferation dialogue with India and Pakistan.
The Administration’s response came after a section of the Press had interpreted the statement of Mr Inderfurth in the Senate Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee on near East and South-Asian Affairs yesterday to mean that the USA is not against India and Pakistan building and testing missiles but only against their deployment.
NEW YORK: India has accused nuclear weapons states of consistently ignoring its security concerns and overlooking transfer of nuclear technology to its neighbours and said its nuclear tests are consistent with its policies followed over 40 years.
India’s nuclear tests were a logical culmination of a policy that had been consistent and continuous, Dr L.M. Singh, Rajya Sabha member and former Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, said.
Addressing a group of American academics and intellectuals at Harvard University, he said successive Indian governments had kept the nuclear option open and the BJP-led government had no choice but to exercise or else abandon it

Oppn walkout on postal strike
Tribune News Service
NEW DELHI, July 14 — Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha, barring those from the Congress, today staged a walkout in protest against the Communication Minister, Ms Sushma Swaraj’s remark that the ongoing postal strike, had been 'politically motivated'.
While replying to clarifications on her statement earlier in the House, the minister categorically stated that she would not succumb to any political pressure. She also rejected the Opposition charge that she had made it a prestige issue of not talking to the striking postal employees.
Ms Swaraj said that the government was implementing a contingency plan to maintain the postal services which would help in avoiding inconvenience to the public. She assured the members that all-out efforts were being made to maintain the postal services throughout the country.
She pointed out and regretted that even when she was in the process of having consultations with the Left parties and the leaders of the postal employees unions, the employees decided to go on a strike. This, she pointed out, had been done with the basic motive that the unions of the postal employees could draw political mileage and claim credit for the acceptance of demands, which she herself was trying to meet.
This drew angry protests from the members of the Left parties. They challenged the statement of the minister but were shouted down by the members from the treasury Benches, leading to noisy scenes in the House. The members from the Left parties finally staged a walkout.
The Left members were also joined by the other constituents of the United Front in staging of the walkout.
Postal unions have been on an indefinite countrywide strike since July 9 in support of their 10-point agenda, which includes the implementation of recommendations of the Talwar Committee, improved pay scales and finalization of a bonus formula. The minister said seven of the 10 demands related to the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations were being looked into by the anomalies committee.
On issues relating to revision of the bonus formula and the implementation of Talwar Committee report, the minister said, "They were under active consideration at the highest level in the government."
Ms Swaraj was of the view that continuing the indefinite strike was not in the public interest either of the department or of the postal employees themselves, particularly in view of the responsive stance of the government. With regard to the demand of the postmen for parity with constables, she said that the government had conceded it even before the employees went on strike.
The government was also in the process of settling the other two demands pertaining to extra-departmental employees and bonus.
She went on to say that the postal unions supported by the Left parties were not wanting the government to take the credit and were trying to create an impression that their demands were being met only because of the pressure from them through the strike.
She also charged the previous United Front government for disturbing the postman-constable parity which was restored by the BJP-led government within weeks of coming to power.
She was hopeful that better sense would prevail on the striking employees and she also asked them to maintain an atmosphere of understanding and cooperation for an amicable settlement of all issues.
The Rajya Sabha members had asked the government to concede to the genuine demands of the striking postal employees and provide minimum wages to extra-departmental employees.
While seeking clarifications on the statement of Ms Swaraj, Left Front and Congress members charged the government with terrorising striking employees and warned that the postal system, which had now collapsed, could not run with the help of the police.
Colonial rule has ended in the country but the colonial system is still perpetrated by the rulers, a CPI leader, Mr Gurudas Dasgupta, said, adding that the government had violated the labour law by not providing minimum wages to the 3.5 lakh of the six lakh postal employees.
The employees’ just rights, pending for several years, could not be construed as wrong, Mr Dasgupta said, urging the government to arrive at a negotiated settlement to the issue at the earliest. He also appealed to the striking employees to seek an honourable settlement
A Congress member, Mr Vyalar Ravi, wanted the government to be generous in conceding to the postal employees demand as 60 per cent of the extra-departmental employees belonged to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Meanwhile, the employees of the Department of Posts took out a rally in the Capital today to press the government to implement their 10-point charter of demands.
Scores of employees gathered at Parliament Street and raised slogans to press their demands.
Among others, the MP, Mr Buddhadeb Dasgupta, participated in the rally held in the afternoon.
According to Mr Kothan-andaraman, a member of the Joint Council of Action, the government had invited the employees' representatives for another round of talks. "The Secretary of Posts, Mr R.U.S. Prasad, has invited us for talks", he said.
The strike entered the sixth day today with no signs in breakthrough.
UNI adds: Even as the Communication Minister declared that the government would not give in to pressure by the postal employees, services at various post offices in the Capital remained paralysed with sacks full of mail piling up as the stand-off between the government and the trade unions continued. There was no solution in sight as the government has refused to buckle under any pressure even though both sides agree that they were open to talks.
Contradictory claims were made about participation in the strike with Postal Services Director P.C. Tanwar saying that 75 per cent post offices were open. However, various striking unions claim that 90 per cent employees are on strike.
Mr Tanwar said all services, including sale of stamps, booking of registered articles, parcels, money orders, and speed post articles, were being provided at major post offices. However, letter boxes were cleared only once a day.

Farooq wants quota for Muslim women
From Our Correspondent
KANGRA, July 14 — Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah today demanded reservation for Muslim women in the proposed 33 per cent quota for women in the Lok Sabha.
Dr Farooq was talking to newsmen at the Circuit House in Dharamsala soon after his arrival to inaugurate the 376th branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank. Dr Farooq supported the protest lodged by Prof Saifuddin Soz, NC MP in Delhi yesterday on the issue and said that Muslim women otherwise would not get a chance to reach Parliament.
In reply to a question, he said his government had already provided 33 per cent reservation for women in the panchayat poll. By the time the state went for the next assembly poll, it would have enacted a legislation on reservation for women in the two Houses.
Dr Farooq described it a "constitutional mistake" that for the Upper House in Jammu and Kashmir there were 18 nominations from Jammu and seven odd from the Kashmir valley. This had created an imbalance which would be set right by nominating 11 MLCs each from Jammu and Kashmir regions in future.
The Chief Minister said he was supporting the BJP government to ensure a stable government at the Centre. He asked Himachal Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal to join him in his fight for the rights of hill-states.
He said as part of ethnic cleansing, Hindus were forced to leave the Kashmir valley. Now this was being repeated in the Jammu region. He said the militants resorted to killings which was not permitted by the holy Koran.
Chief Minister Dhumal proposed a joint strategy with Jammu and Kashmir to promote tourism in the two states which, he said, were not rivals in the sector.
There was no competition between Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir as far as tourism was concerned, he said, while exphasising that both states could benefit by adopting a joint strategy to attract tourists as package tours to both states could be organised.
He said both states were facing problems due to difficult terrain and lack of communication.
Spiritual leader of the Tibetans Dalai Lama, who inaugurated the bank's third branch in the state and the first computerised one said without corruption India, during the past 50 years, would have touched the pinnacle of development.
He asked the intelligentsia of both India and Pakistan to help remove the distrust between the two governments.
Dr Farooq announced an ex gratia of Rs 25,000 to the next of kin of each of those from Chamba district killed by Kashmiri militants in Doda recently. He paid the amount to Prof Dhumal on the occasion.
Mr M.Y. Khan, Chairman, and Jammu and Kashmir Bank, said Shimla would have the automatic teller machine facility (ATM) within two months.