NEW DELHI, 24 May 2003 — India welcomed yesterday the lifting of UN sanctions against Iraq and said it would look at ways to take part in the country’s reconstruction.
“The long-suffering people of Iraq deserve all the help that they can get from the international community,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters.
“The adoption of this (UN Security Council) resolution would enable intensification of efforts in this direction,” he added.
For India, “it should also enable us to deliver through the UN the humanitarian assistance in cash and kind amounting to $20 million that we have pledged,” Sarna said.
“We can also explore India’s participation in Iraq’s rebuilding and reconstruction.”
The Security Council, which did not specifically authorize the war that toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, lifted the sanctions Thursday in a 14-0 vote, with Syria boycotting the vote.
“The adoption of the resolution shows that despite the differences on the issue of war, all the members of the UN Security Council including the permanent five, have come together on the postwar issues,” Sarna said.
The sanctions imposed after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait restricted both the import and export of goods and services, and were aimed in part at keeping cash out of the hands of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
But they had ripple effects across Iraq’s economy and society.
India said that the lifting of the sanctions would help enable the Iraqi people to “freely determine their future and give them control over their natural resources.”
India opposed the war in Iraq and said the situation could have been resolved through dialogue and a longer stay of UN inspectors searching for alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Sarna said India, which is not on the Security Council, also supported the UN resolution for stating that the Iraqi people will determine their own political future.
Till date, India has sent its forces to other countries only under UN auspices and on its request. Regarding Iraq, India has kept its options open.
“Though we have only participated in peacekeeping operations under the UN mandate with our troops under the command and control of the UN, there is no rule which forces us to adhere to that,” an official said.
There is a view that a major Indian role in Iraq will signal the emergence of India as a great power in the region. Confronting this is the stand, that it will also place India in the American camp.
The third view is that recent developments are hardly suggestive of either US or India moving too close to each other, especially regarding Iraq. The strong diplomatic stand taken by India against the strikes on Iraq and a parliamentary resolution on the same were hardly appreciated by the US. Besides, United States is more concerned about India reviving its talks with Pakistan over the Kashmir issue than considering the role it can play in Iraq.
While India is treading towards normalization of ties with Pakistan, it has ruled out talks in the near future. Defense Minister George Fernandes said yesterday: “When we reach the time for talks it will be held, but it (the time) is not very close.”
In the past too, following the Sept. 11 disasters, when US began making preparations for strikes against Afghanistan, India expressed its willingness to participate in the same. However, against the strategic location of Pakistan, India’s desire was given little importance by US. There is a view, the same may be the case regarding Iraq.
Besides, India’s diplomatic drive indicates that it is moving closer to nations which are not in the American camp. The ongoing Indo-Russian first-ever naval exercise in the Arabian Sea is motivated toward signaling a strong Russian presence in the Indian Ocean.
In the coming days, the Indian premier will be visiting China and Germany.
At the same time, India’s increasing defense cooperation with Israel cannot be ignored. Against this background, what is to be watched for is: Will US actually ask India for its forces or in the entire-drama will India’s role be confined to that of a bystander?
