Clinton trip evokes positive reactions

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, FEB. 2. The first positive reactions to the visit of the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, to India have started by way of press releases and comments; and not surprisingly the comments have come from some of the key and influential friends of India on Capitol Hill.

Welcoming the visit, the Ranking Member in the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives, Mr. Sam Gejdenson, has said he is confident that the visit would begin an era of close cooperation between the two ``great'' democracies and one that reflected common interests and shared values.

``India and the U.S. must work together on a broad range of common issues including promoting regional stability, combating international terrorism and promoting increased trade between our two countries. It is my hope that President Clinton and Prime Minister Vajpayee will use this visit to lay the foundation for a strong and lasting partnership for the 21st Century,'' Mr. Gejdenson, who recently visited India, said in a statement.

In welcoming the White House announcement, the Democratic Congressman from New Jersey, Mr. Frank Pallone, has said that Mr. Clinton's decision to travel to India represented a recognition of the growing importance of India in both regional and global affairs and in the vast potential for U.S.-India partnerships in such areas as trade and investment, security matters, scientific research and education and cultural exchanges.

Pallone, Ackerman on Pak.

Mr. Pallone, a friend of India on Capitol Hill, has also made the point that Mr. Clinton should not visit Pakistan. ``I don't think the President should go to Pakistan. It is important that the administration continue to send the message to Islamabad that we are very concerned about Pakistan's role in fomenting instability in Kashmir, about the links between Pakistan and terrorist organisations and the crushing of a civilian government by the military junta now in power,'' the New Jersey lawmaker said.

Applauding the presidential visit to India and opposing the same to Pakistan, Democratic Congressman, Mr. Gary Ackerman, has said that Mr. Clinton's visit will give both the U.S. and India a great opportunity to push bilateral relations on to a different and higher plane which would allow Washington and New Delhi to forge a strategic partnership in South Asia.

``I believe that it is time to reexamine our basic premise regarding U.S. policy in South Asia. We should look beyond the simplistic prism of India-Pakistan rivalry. We should abandon old paradigms and Cold war hang-ups and see that India, a robust democracy, is our natural ally in the region,'' Mr. Ackerman has said.

The New York lawmaker, who is the Co-Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, reaffirmed his opposition to Mr. Clinton visiting Pakistan unless he had iron-clad guarantees on at least two key issues: Islamabad taking verifiable steps to stop the proxy war against India in the State of Jammu and Kashmir; and the military junta giving a date- certain schedule to hold democratic elections in which all political parties and political leaders could participate.

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Section  : International
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