Opinion US arm-twisting
Reviewing Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs visit to the US,the Left has concluded that he has once again surrendered to Washingtons dictates and has almost dittoed the lines drawn by the US administration....
Reviewing Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs visit to the US,the Left has concluded that he has once again surrendered to Washingtons dictates and has almost dittoed the lines drawn by the US administration. The lead editorial in CPI mouthpiece New Age says that though the Washington Nuclear Security Summit could not spell out the actions stipulated against Iran,Singh has agreed to push the US line in the two meetings of BISA and BRIC. Similarly,on Indo-Pak relations,despite the posturings of not meeting his Pakistani counterpart,he had two chance meetings with him and even agreed to have bilateral talks during the SAARC summit. The prime minister was so much under the pressure of the US that on very crucial issues he could not even put forth the Indian position, it said,referring to the David Coleman-Headley issue. We are not in a position to ask Americans the actual status of this double agent, it said. The editorial was also critical of Singhs assertion that New Delhi need not produce any additional evidence to Pakistan as US intelligence and American forces have pointed out the role of Lashkar-e-Toiba and their links to al-Qaeda. It means India is totally accepting the US perception about terrorism and even about activities of various extremist and separatist groups in our sub-continent, it says.
Nuclear diplomacy
The CPM,on the other hand,questioned the purpose of the Nuclear Security Summit. Although it appears that the Obama administration takes the nuclear disarmament agenda more seriously than the Bush regime,keeping out Iran and North Korea from what is ostensibly a meet designed for protecting nuclear materials from non-state actors or terrorists,gives the game away, it feels.
While talking about non-state actors,the US is really using the summit to lobby with the participating countries for enhanced sanctions on Iran, it says,noting that the Iran linkage becomes apparent from the two-fold goals of the summit to protect the stockpile of existing fissile material and to check production of new fissile material. For the latter,justification would be built up for imposing a much harsher sanctions regime on Iran for violating its NPT obligations. What should concern India is that at the same time,international pressure would also be built on India and Pakistan to sign the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty which has hitherto been opposed here, it says. The CPM also took digs at the media for working overtime to portray Obamas meeting with Prime Minister Singh as more significant and substantive than his meeting with the Pakistani prime minister. What was clear to a dispassionate observer was that the American president was careful to deal evenly with both the Indian and the Pakistani prime ministers. Both were given a pat on the back for listening to and abiding by the advice given by the Big Brother, it said.
Tribal concern
Besides the government,the CPM,it seems,is devising a strategy to reach out to the tribals in a big way. This at a time when Maoists claim they have gained the support of a large section of the tribal population. The CPM is organising a National Convention on Tribal Rights in June and party leaders are now touring Adivasi belts to study their living conditions. A report in Peoples Democracy quotes senior leader Brinda Karat as saying that the Centre should come out with a special package for tribals to cover issues of housing,compensation for loss of livelihood in collection of forest produce and fair wages for their labour. With civil rights groups claiming that displacement due to indiscriminate mining by corporate giants was one of the biggest reason for the alienation of tribals,the CPM has also started talking about the problem in the context of increasing Maoist activities in tribal heartlands.
Compiled by Manoj C.G.
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