INDIAN DUPLICITY AND HYPOCRISY EXPOSED
Indian Rulers Did Not Deal in Good Faith at the Indo-Pak Agra Summit.
India has a long record of supporting terrorism against the people within its borders.
The Information Times Special Commentary
DAN BURTON (Member of U.S. Congress and Chairman, U.S. House Government Reform Committee - Republican-Indiana)
U.S. CONGRESS, 31 July 2001 (InfoTimes): The duplicity of India is clearer after the collapse of its talks with Pakistan. Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf went home abruptly because India was not dealing in good faith. Although much discussion focused on the Kashmir issue, India's spokeswoman never even acknowledged that Kashmir was on the agenda. India refused to go along with three drafts of a joint statement approved by both leaders. Instead, India insisted on including its unfounded accusations that Pakistan is fomenting "terrorism" in Kashmir and other places that India controls.
India has a long record of supporting terrorism against the people within its borders. The most recent incident took place last month when Indian military troops tried to burn down a Gurdwara and some Sikh homes in Kashmir, but were stopped by Sikh and Muslim residents of the town. There are many other incidents.
The massacre in Chithisinghpora is very well known by now. It's also well known that India paid out over 41,000 cash bounties to police officers for killing Sikhs. It's well known that India holds tens of thousands of political prisoners, Sikhs and other minorities, in illegal detention with no charges and no trial. Some of them have been held since 1984. Is this how a democratic state conducts its affairs?
It is India that introduced the specter of nuclear terrorism into South Asia with its nuclear tests. Can we blame Pakistan for responding? Although it claims that the nuclear weapons are to protect them from China, the majority of them are pointed at Pakistan. Unfortunately, if there is a war between India and Pakistan, it is the minority peoples in Punjab and Kashmir who will suffer the most and bear most of the cost.
The United States must become more engaged in the subcontinent. We should continue to encourage both India and Pakistan to reduce their nuclear stockpiles.
However, we should not remove the sanctions against India for its introduction of nuclear weapons into this region.
In addition, we should end all aid to India until the most basic human rights are respected and not violated.
Finally, we should publicly declare support for a free and fair vote in Kashmir, as promised in 1948 and as President Musharraf was pushing for, and in Punjab, Khalistan, in Nagalim, and in all the 17 nations under Indian occupation where freedom movements are ongoing.
Only by these means can we strengthen America's hand in South Asia, ensure that a violent breakup like that of Yugoslavia does not occur in the subcontinent, and let the glow of freedom shine for all the people of that troubled region.