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Blair pledges `total solidarity' with India in fight against terrorism
By Our Special Correspondent
BANGALORE, JAN. 5. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, today declared ``total solidarity with India in its outrage against the terrorist attack on its Parliament'' and said there was ``no room in any civilised society for terrorist organisations already banned in the U.K., like Jaish-e-Mohammad or Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The terrorist attacks on Parliament on December 13 and on the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in Srinagar on October 1 show the threat posed by terrorism to all democratic and civilised ways of life, Mr. Blair said addressing the CII Partnership Summit at the Infosys campus here.
``Terrorism is terrorism, wherever it occurs and whoever its victims are.'' While fanaticism and terrorism were not new, their combination with high technology was something new, he said.
On Kashmir, his view was direct; only political dialogue and not terrorism could solve the dispute. Both could not happen at the same time.
On the U.K.'s role in the international coalition against terrorism, he explained that besides sending troops to fight in Afghanistan, Britain was also sending humanitarian aid to the people there. It was part of the International Security Forces in Kabul to make sure that the country could again stand on it feet and does not become a victim of terrorists.
Mr. Blair also wanted democracies to be careful about religious fanaticism and fundamentalism because they bred terrorism and terrorists. ``September 11 was a wake-up call about fanatics and fundamentalists who warp the true values of Islam. The Muslim world can help to tackle this by spreading the true values of its religion and by building bridges of understanding between faiths.
``There are certain basic rules for all civilised nations to follow, whether the mighty U.S. or a poor Bangladesh.'' These included an open economy, priority in government spending on education, technology and infrastructure; good governance for political and economic progress; a welfare state as a social contract between the government and the people, and an atmosphere conducive to a pluralist society.
In his 35-minute speech, Mr. Blair also commended India for sending its armed forces for the U.N. peacekeeping missions in places as far apart as Bosnia and Sierra Leone.
Mr. Blair said ``India is a natural contender for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council and we will work with you to achieve it.''
The U.K.'s bilateral development programme in India will increase from 175 million now to 300 million in 2003-04 and funding for the India-Chevening Scholarships will be increased to 2 million a year, he said.
The Union Minister for Information Technology and Communications, Pramod Mahajan, said today's economy was global as was terrorism. Hoping that the SAARC meet ``will not be as foggy as the weather'', he said ``For good business, we have to be free of terrorism and there cannot be two sets of rules for fighting terrorism. Those who bring terrorism to India cannot talk about Kashmir, it can be solved only by talks and not with bullets.''
``We have been fighting terrorism on our own for 20 years; we don't want war, but the global community should take us out of a war situation. ``We are only fighting for ourselves, we are not war-mongers.''
Mr. Mahajan referred to India's role in Information Technology which he said started by contributing `zero' to mathematics. ``We are also grateful to Columbus who while trying to reach India, discovered America and found a market for the U.S., and to the British for ruling India and teaching us English, a fact the Chinese are repenting now.''
The Karnataka Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, said Bangalore, which accounted for 30 per cent of the software exports would soon have an international airport with the final agreement with private partners to be signed shortly.
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