Dawn, August 3, 2006
India in a fix after Israeli attack
By Praful Bidwai
NEW DELHI: A major rift has opened up between the Indian government and domestic public opinion over Israel’s recent military actions in Gaza Strip and its invasion of Lebanon, which has led to deaths of hundreds of civilians.
The Manmohan Singh government is hesitant to join the international community in unambiguously and consistently condemning Israel. But domestic opinion is appalled and outraged at the brazenness of the Israeli actions, which continue to cause havoc in Lebanon. The Indian people were particularly shocked at the Israeli bombing of Qana on Sunday, which left 56 civilians, including 37 children, dead.
“The contrast between the mood expressed in the anti-Israel demonstrations held in different cities of India over the past week, and the ambivalent, hesitant and timid approach of the government, could not have been any more stark,” says Qamar Agha, an independent expert on West Asian affairs who currently works for the Indian National Social Action Forum (INSAF), a non-government organization (NGO).
Surprisingly, the Indian government took three weeks to comment on Israel’s military attacks on Gaza and its arrest of a large number of Palestinian lawmakers, including ministers.
“This does not speak well of the government. It is acting under pressure from the United States and Israel. It is also keen to further expand its military ties with Israel and promote the US-India nuclear deal with the help of pro-Israel groups,” said Agha.
In July 2005 India and the US signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement to legitimize nuclear weapons held by India and lift nuclear technology embargoes imposed after New Delhi first exploded a nuclear device in 1974.
India’s first response to the Lebanon crisis, on June 27, was to condemn the capture of the soldier. While commenting on the issue later, after ferocious Israeli attacks, India expressed mild “regret that Israel should have chosen to give a military response to the capture of an Israeli soldier rather than afford time and opportunity for a diplomatic action.”
In the past, New Delhi used to affirm its recognition of the right of a people under occupation to militarily target and arrest soldiers of the occupying army. India also made no mention of the Israeli decision to impose harsh forms of collective punishment on civilians in Gaza by cutting off their water and power supply. It only tepidly referred to Israeli actions which “have affected the lives of ordinary citizens.”
When several public and political figures, including Members of Parliament from the Left parties, protested against the government’s reluctance to call a spade a spade, New Delhi voted to reprimand Israel at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on July 6. The vote was 29 against 11.
Although India’s foreign ministry spokesman claimed the vote was “in keeping with (New Delhi’s) traditional position on Palestine,” the resolution in question did not affirm the cause of a Palestinian state and demand an immediate end to the Israeli occupation, the crux of the traditional Indian stand, to which the Singh government solemnly promised it would return.
India’s hesitation in deploring the Israeli offensive in Lebanon following a Hezbollah raid on July 12 became evident when it described the violence as a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. India condemned “the excessive and disproportionate military retaliation by Israel”, but stopped short of calling it an invasion or aggression targeting Lebanon’s civilian population.
“Israel’s actions had nothing to do with self-defence,” says Agha. “They were not directed mainly at Hezbollah, but also targeted civilians in South Lebanon. This is not a case of ‘collateral damage’ but of conscious, intended damage. The intention is related to what Israeli defence chief Dan Holutz described as Israel’s goal of ‘turning the clock back by 20 years in Lebanon.’”
After the Qana attack on Sunday, India had no choice but to “strongly” condemn “the continued irresponsible and indiscriminate bombing of Lebanon by the Israeli military, ignoring calls for restraint. Particularly outrageous is the bombing this morning of a building in Qana in south Lebanon.” But the tone of this statement was much milder than the unanimous resolution passed in the Lower House of the Indian Parliament on July 31, which called “for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire” and called for “providing humanitarian relief to the victims of this tragic conflict.”—Dawn/IPS News Service
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