Support promised for UNSC ambition Obama pushes India against Iran, Myanmar
From the Newspaper
He also told a special sitting of parliament’s two houses that although Pakistan needed to do more to curb safe havens of terrorism on its territory, the world also recognised that everyone had an interest in both an Afghanistan and a Pakistan that were stable, prosperous and democratic – “and none more so than India”.
Mr Obama’s prescription for India on Myanmar’s human rights woes showed glimpses of hectoring, though he studiously
avoided commenting on rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir.
In fact, the Kashmir issue was not on his agenda at all, until an American journalist goaded him to comment on the dispute during a brief press interaction with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Mr Obama thus described Kashmir as an old dispute that needed to be addressed by the people of India and Pakistan. Dr Singh responded by saying that he was not afraid of discussing the “K” word with Pakistan though he would prefer it if Islamabad desisted from exploiting terror to press its policies.
However, Mr Obama lectured India on ways to deal with Myanmar and Iran, virtually as a dry run to prove its worthiness before becoming eligible for the UNSC seat some time in the future.
The United States and India can partner for global security – especially as India serves on the Security Council over the next
two years, Mr Obama said.
“We look forward to working with India – and other nations that aspire to Security Council membership – to ensure that the Security Council is effective; that resolutions are implemented and sanctions are enforced; and that we strengthen the international norms which recognise the rights and responsibilities of all nations and individuals…This includes our responsibility to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.”
Mr Obama said that together, the United States and India could pursue their goal of securing the world’s vulnerable nuclear materials. “We can make it clear that even as every nation has the right to peaceful nuclear energy, every nation must also meet its international obligations – and that includes the Islamic Republic of Iran. And together, we can pursue a vision that Indian leaders have espoused since Independence – a world without nuclear weapons.
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He then spoke of strengthening the foundations of democratic governance, “not only at home but abroad”. Myanmar was in his cross hairs.
“When peaceful democratic movements are suppressed – as in Burma – then the democracies of the world cannot remain silent. For it is unacceptable to gun down peaceful protesters and incarcerate political prisoners decade after decade. It is unacceptable to hold the aspirations of an entire people hostage to the greed and paranoia of a bankrupt regime. It is unacceptable to steal an election, as the regime in Burma has done again for all the world to see.”
Mr Obama said that faced with gross violations of human rights, it was the responsibility of the international community – especially leaders like the United States and India – to condemn it. He then advised India on its mission to spread democracy in the neighbourhood.
“If I can be frank, in international fora, India has often avoided these issues. But speaking up for those who cannot do so for themselves is not interfering in the affairs of other countries. It’s not violating the rights of sovereign nations. It’s staying true to our democratic principles. It’s giving meaning to the human rights that we say are universal. And it sustains the progress that in Asia and around the world has helped turn dictatorships into democracies and ultimately increased our security in the world.”
Of late, despite initial support to pro-freedom parties, India had been wooing Myanmar’s military rulers to neutralise Chinese influence there. Mr Obama’s demands are bound to leave it in a quandary.
On Afghanistan, he said the US strategy to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda and its affiliates had to succeed on both sides of the border. “That is why we have worked with the Pakistani government to address the threat of terrorist networks in the border region. The Pakistani government increasingly recognises that these networks are not just a threat outside of Pakistan – they are a threat to the Pakistani people, who have suffered greatly at the hands of violent extremists.”
The United States would continue to insist to Pakistan’s leaders that “terrorist safe-havens within their borders are unacceptable, and that the terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks be brought to justice. We must also recognise that all of us have an interest in both an Afghanistan and a Pakistan that is stable, prosperous and democratic – and none more so than India”.