Lift sanctions, 47 Congressmen tell Bush

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, APRIL 5. Forty-seven U.S. law-makers, Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives, have written to the President, Mr. George Bush, saying that as the economic sanctions imposed on India three years ago have not served to advance American interests, they must be lifted.

The letter to the President dated April 3 was released on the day the Minister for External Affairs and Defence, Mr. Jaswant Singh, is scheduled to arrive to hold high-level consultations with senior members of the Bush administration.

Mr. Singh is to arrive in Washington later this evening. On Friday morning he is scheduled to meet the National Security Adviser, Ms. Condoloeeza Rice; Mr. Singh then meets the Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell; and has an afternoon appointment at the Pentagon with the Defence Secretary, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld.

``On the occasion of the first high-level meeting between the United States and India during your administration, we would like to highlight the importance we attach to relations between the world's two largest democracies. While recent years have witnessed significant improvement in U.S.-India relations, we believe it is now more vital than ever to continue to build on this progress,'' the law-makers said in their letter.

Hoping that the meetings with Mr. Singh will renew and expand the close working relationship between the two countries, the members of Congress said that they believe ``it is essential that the U.S. re-engage India in a policy dialogue to make possible the lifting of sanctions''.

Prominent signatories to the letter include the Co-Chairs of the India Caucus, Mr. Ed Royce and Mr. Jim McDermott, the former Chairman of the International Relations Committee, Mr. Benjamin Gilman, Mr. Gary Ackerman, Ms. Connie Morella, Mr. Alcee Hastings and Mr. Howard Berman.

Economic sanctions against India, the Congressmen have told the President, ``disrupted the growing economic ties between our countries'', complicated access to India for international financial institutions and that the Entities List needed to be examined and pared back. ``We hope that the Powell-Singh meeting will be an occasion for thoroughly reviewing the multi-faceted relationship with India, an important and natural ally of the U.S.,'' the bipartisan group of law-makers said.

The Congress members have further stressed that in the last two summit meetings, the U.S. and India committed themselves to closer partnership on a range of issues such as fighting terrorism, preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, stability and growth in the global economy and in combating diseases.

``The relationship between America and India is based on the solid foundation of a shared commitment to democracy, individual rights, freedom of expression and free markets. India offers enormous opportunities for trade and investment for U.S.companies. At the same time, U.S. and India are confronted by many of the same threats, particularly the forces of international terrorism. For these reasons close U.S.-India ties will mean a better life for American and Indian peoples, and a more stable and prosperous world,'' the law-makers said.

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