Date:13/09/2002 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2002/09/13/stories/2002091308400100.htm

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Bush condemns killings of candidates in J&K

By Amit Baruah

NEW YORK Sept. 12. The U.S. President, George W. Bush, today unambiguously condemned terrorism and dismissed the distinction between terrorism and freedom struggle to justify acts of violence.

Briefing reporters on a 35-minute-long bilateral meeting between Mr. Bush and the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, said that the U.S. President was emphatic on not finding alibis for terrorism. There was, he said, no justification for acts of terrorism.

Mr. Bush condemned the acts of violence in Jammu and Kashmir, specifically the killings of candidates contesting the polls there. He said that the U.S. would continue to use its leverage to push for peaceful elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

Separately, the National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra, informed the American side of the negative remarks made by the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, at his U.N. General Assembly speech this morning.

At this separate meeting, the "disconnect" between the promises made by the Pakistan President on the issue of terrorism to the international community and their implementation was raised by the Indian side. New Delhi reiterated that it was prepared for a dialogue with Pakistan but wanted an end to cross-border terrorism was required.

Indian officials said the "review" took place in the context of the last meeting between the two leaders in Washington in November last year. The issue of Iraq also came up for discussion between the two leaders and Mr. Bush spoke on the lines of his U.N. address at the bilateral meeting.

The U.S., he said, wanted to work through the U.N. and the Security Council.

Mr. Sibal said the Indian side had proposed that the space agencies of India and the U.S. should cooperate to promote distance learning and watershed management projects in Afghanistan. The American response to the Indian proposals was positive.

According to the officials, the two leaders noted the "positive developments" in the field of counter-terrorism and defence cooperation between the two countries. Both the leaders stressed that they would continue on the path of improving bilateral relations.

Mr. Vajpayee and Mr. Bush emphasised the deepening of the strategic dialogue between India and the U.S. and were for expanding cooperation in space, energy, commerce and science.

The External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Brajesh Mishra, the Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, the Joint Secretary (America), Jayant Prasad, and the Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, P.S. Raghavan, were present at the meeting. Other than Mr. Bush, the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca, the National Security Adviser, Condoleeza Rice and Jim Moriati of the National Security Council, were present.

Indian officials have been upbeat on the growing defence contacts between the two countries, pointing out that the ISRO chief, K. Kasturirangan, and the BARC Director, Anil Kakodkar, had paid visits to the U.S.