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No decision on sending troops

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI MAY 26. The Cabinet Committee on Security today took no decision on committing Indian troops to serve under the American-British "Authority'' in Iraq, but consented to sending back India's Ambassador to Baghdad.

The Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, told presspersons that the CCS also decided that the External Affairs Ministry would consult the United Nations, the U.N. Secretary-General's special adviser on Iraq and the "Authority'' to "obtain clarifications on the parameters and scope of the appeal'' contained in the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483 to assist the people of Iraq.

According to Mr. Sibal, the Ministry would then report back to the CCS on the consultations to clarify the scope of the appeal, which also refers to member-States contributing to conditions of stability and security in Iraq. Mr. Sibal made it clear that there was no "deadline'' to report back to the CCS and pointed to the need to study the ground conditions in Iraq. The situation there was not fully stable and it was not clear when the interim Government would be formed.

Once there was "clarity,'' then India could take decisions on what role India could play — a role that was not confined to contributing troops but extended to the reform of Iraqi institutions and reconstruction.

India had not been able to send wheat or medical supplies to Iraq (as previously committed) and India's Ambassador would be able to give "inputs'' to New Delhi on how to tackle these issues. Asked if the CCS had simply postponed taking a decision on sending troops to Iraq, he said: "We are jumping the gun.'' It was a fact that the U.S. had approached several countries to contribute forces and some countries had "responded.''

Has India been asked by the U.S. to send troops? He said, "I think these are not very pertinent questions... I would understand the relevance of this question if India was one country which the U.S. had approached...''

Mr. Sibal said the CCS met today to look at the content of the U.N. Resolution 1483 and not to send troops to Iraq and to have a "position'' on the appeal contained in the resolution.

In a related development, the BJP president, Venkaiah Naidu, said he had no comment on whether India would send troops to Iraq, as there was no such proposal.

The BJP sources, however, said the Government could not go against the unanimous Parliamentary resolution on Iraq.

If, at any stage, it wanted to change its stance in response to new developments, it would have to consult all parties.

For its part, the Congress spokesman, Jaipal Reddy, opposed the proposal to send Indian troops outside the U.N. command. "It would be a contravention of the unanimous resolution of Parliament that had called for the withdrawal of coaition troops (from Iraq),'' he said.

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