Kofi, No Sympathy

The day after in New York, diplomats here are examining UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan8217;s opening address to the General Assembly yeste...

The day after in New York, diplomats here are examining UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan8217;s opening address to the General Assembly yesterday in great detail. Annan did not mention the 8216;K8217; word at all, in fact, he tip-toed around naming India and Pakistan as the two hot-blooded rivals who have caused such international worry lines in recent months. Still, his comments on 8216;8216;the conflict in South Asia8217;8217; have admittedly somewhat shook them up, considering this is the first time in the history of the UN that any Secretary-General has done so in his opening address.

But Annan8217;s 8216;8216;hostility8217;8217; towards New Delhi is not a new story. He was refused permission to fly into the capital last year, to speak his mind on Kashmir, but nevertheless went on to Islamabad where he was feted with some fervour. During the India-Pakistan crisis this summer, it was Annan8217;s office which is believed to have issued the Type 3 advisory, which sent the spouses and children of diplomats posted in the capital scurrying back to their nations. New Delhi was furious, of course, since UN staff8212;unlike sovereign nations like the US, UK and Japan8212;are usually supposed to behave with greater equanimity. Interestingly, Annan8217;s chef de cabinet is one Iqbal Reza, of Pakistani nationality.

Haq8217;s Moving Finger

Speaking of the General Assembly, General Musharraf8217;s speech that had been earlier handed in for the record, was said to have been far more liberally peppered with the word 8216;8216;Hindu8217;8217;, when it preceded his comments on India8217;s 8216;8216;chauvinistic ideology8217;8217; and 8216;8216;religious bigotry8217;8217; etc. Interestingly, Musharraf dropped the word when he actually delivered his address. UN old-timers pointed to the hand of Inamul Haq, the dapper and sophisticated Pakistani minister of state for foreign affairs, a career diplomat of some standing, as being responsible for the change. Some, however, could not help asking how Haq had allowed the accusatory paragraph on India8217;s internal situation to slip through.

The Sinha Surprise

The surprise of this Indian visit has, believe it or not, been the newly appointed Foreign minister Yashwant Sinha. Sinha8217;s meetings last week in Washington are said to have gone off 8216;8216;very well8217;8217;, with diplomats used to the punishing pace of his predecessor Jaswant Singh, willing to tip their metaphorical hats to him. Said to be a voracious reader, who chomps up briefs and elaborate talking-points with much alacrity, Sinha persuaded his hosts in Washington to put together the 8216;8216;strategic relationship8217;8217; on high-technology and energy read nuclear energy and space that was agreed to between Bush and Vajpayee. To the novice, the jargon may not sound much, but when translated into action, promises to open a brave, new chapter in the bilateral relationship that has been frozen, in cold storage, on the back-burner, out of sight and mind, since New Delhi8217;s first nuclear test in 1974.

TV-op On The Blink

TV crews from Doordarshan and private Indian networks are hopping mad. Apparently, when they went to cover the all-important Bush-Vajpayee meeting, they were asked to position themselves a whole three hours in advance. Then, 15 minutes before the appointed time they were marched four floors up8212;why the elevator couldn8217;t carry them is a Raymond Chandler mystery8212;lugging their heavy camera equipment. Soon after Bush and Vajpayee were seated, the Indian crews were allowed in, but they had barely gotten themselves into place, when the US Secret Service rudely pushed them out. They had barely got 30 seconds to take their photos. Meanwhile, American TV crews, had been waiting inside the room from much before, and had positioned themselves in front of the cordon. The Indian photographers are so livid that they intend to write a complaint about the differential treatment meted out to them to the US mission at the UN.