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India opposes Arafat's confinement

By Atul Aneja

NEW DELHI APRIL 3. India today opposed the confinement of the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, and expressed solidarity with the Palestinians.

In a telephonic conversation with Mr. Arafat on Tuesday, the External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh, reiterated that India saw him as the symbol of the Palestinian Authority and was concerned about his safety and well-being. Mr. Singh, who also spoke to the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, Shimon Peres, on Monday told him that by "incarcerating'' Mr. Arafat by "virtually imprisoning him'', Israel was compounding difficulties rather than lessening them.

Mr. Peres, on his part, told Mr. Singh that Israel would want Mr. Arafat to declare that terrorist violence was unacceptable and take action against those responsible for it. He told Mr. Singh that Israel intended no harm to Mr. Arafat.

Mr. Singh also conveyed to both the leaders that India was in touch with the United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell. Besides, New Delhi was ready to do anything to bring back peace in West Asia.

Mr. Arafat, in response, sought India's continued intervention with the U.S. and Israel.

India, Mr. Singh said, wanted early implementation of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1402 that calls upon both parties to implement a meaningful ceasefire and cease all acts of violence immediately. India also wanted both sides to fully cooperate with the U.S. Special envoy, Anthony Zinni.

In a related development, the visiting special envoy of Mr. Arafat, Hani-al-Hasan, met the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. Asked by reporters whether Mr. Singh was playing a "balancing act'' between the Palestinians and the Israelis, Mr. Hasan said, "we would like India to play a role in the West Asia. Politicians are generally balanced. We want a just equation''.

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