No middleman, please

New Delhi is right not to receive the UN Secretary General's special envoy during his forthcoming visit to South Asia. The trip is being mad...

New Delhi is right not to receive the UN Secretary General8217;s special envoy during his forthcoming visit to South Asia. The trip is being made in pursuance of the Security Council resolution of June 6 which required the UN to monitor progress by India and Pakistan in reducing tensions and resolving all issues, including Kashmir, through bilateral talks. New Delhi firmly rejected the resolution as a whole. It cannot be expected to give the UN a foot in the door by entertaining discussions on South Asian tensions with an envoy. The message is what it has always been: any formulation for a UN role in bilateral affairs is unacceptable.

Consequently, the envoy is scheduled to go only to Islamabad, Dhaka and Colombo. At one level therefore the trip will be a formality, a demonstration of UN concern but a dead-end in so far as India is concerned. Even so, there are several things wrong with the limited exercise.

In that Kofi Annan has been so eager to engage the UN in South Asia, offering at one stage to comehimself, it is clear the P-5 are sustaining the pressure even though there is some movement towards India-Pakistan talks. It displays something less than the requisite regard for India8217;s sensitivities. The repeated assertions of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee favouring a dialogue on Kashmir, opposing an arms race and confirming India8217;s responsibility in the matter of ensuring peace in the region all appear to have fallen on deaf ears. At the same time the tilt towards Pakistan is becoming obvious. Islamabad has been displaying its reluctance to talk to New Delhi on a one-to-one basis. This was to be expected. It is bent on internationalising the Kashmir issue and anything which encourages it to believe that agenda is being furthered will make it more recalcitrant about trying to resolve outstanding issues bilaterally. In such a context, the UN envoy8217;s visit will achieve exactly the reverse of what Kofi Annan ostensibly intends.

Involving Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in discussions on the post-testsscenario serves no purpose other than to legitimise mediation attempts by the UN or others. Both capitals have stated their understanding of India8217;s reasons for testing. Their concerns have been raised bilaterally and there is a forum in SAARC for further exchange of views. So there is absolutely no need for UN shuttle diplomacy. New Delhi should be prepared to deal firmly and clear-headedly with many more direct and indirect attempts to interfere in the region. A discussion in the UN General Assembly is more or less inevitable. There is also the reported initiative by France for an international conference on South Asian 8220;tensions8221; from which India and Pakistan will initially be excluded. There can be no accommodation with any of these do-gooders. But there are other promising avenues such as the initiative by non-weapons powers led by Ireland and Norway to pin the P-5 to their treaty commitments on nuclear disarmament. Damage control in Washington and Paris is only part of the job. Many capitals can bedrawn into New Delhi8217;s diplomatic offensive on global disarmament.