ELECTION 99
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Wrangles delay Clinton visit finalisation

Amberish K Diwanji in New Delhi

It is still not known when United States President Bill Clinton will visit India. Though there is no doubt about his visit, most probably in February 2000, the final dates are caught up in wrangling between India and the US on one side and the US and Pakistan on the other.

"Both the Indian and the US foreign offices are in touch with each other to chose some specific dates for Clinton's visit. But some last-minute hassles are preventing the finalisation," said officials from the ministry of external affairs.

With India, the US is keen to strike a bargain on signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, something New Delhi remains chary about. Moreover, with the US Senate rejecting the ratification of the CTBT, putting the treaty's future in jeopardy, the Indian government is in no hurry to sign the CTBT.

New Delhi insists that it will have to achieve a consensus in the country on the signing of the treaty, including a broad agreement from all the major political parties. This will certainly take time and thus it is clear that India cannot sign the CTBT during Clinton's visit. "I think the Clinton administration understands the Indian government's position and that there is no way that a consensus will be reached so soon, but they are still hoping to drive some sort of a bargain on the treaty with India," the official said.

The US officials feel that the US president must not go back empty handed, hence the US would like India to show some forward movement, however symbolic, on the CTBT during Clinton's visit. Yet what this symbolic gesture can or will be remains unclear.

Besides India, the US is still in a quandary about the visit to Pakistan. The army takeover in Pakistan has thrown Washington DC into a tizzy. While certain sections in the US have been demanding that Washington DC cut off all ties with Islamabad and impose sanctions to force the return of democracy, others have been lobbying with the administration to take the "business as usual" line with the General Pervez Musharraf regime.

The coup d'etat in Pakistan has raised questions about Clinton's visit to Pakistan, which will be seen as promoting army rule over a democratically elected government. "The US administration is trying very hard to strike some sort of a deal with Musharraf that will allow Clinton to visit Pakistan alongside his visit to India without losing face or being seen as supporting the army," the official added. So far, nothing much seems to have emerged.

Incidentally, New Delhi would like nothing better than to have Clinton visit India and skip Pakistan. In case Clinton does visit India without stopping over in Pakistan, it would be a major gain for the Indian government, especially for the ministry of external affairs.

The Indian side has been desperately trying to get Washington DC to view India and Pakistan separately rather than as a South Asian bloc. New Delhi feels that by tying visit to India with visits to Pakistan, the US was keen on keeping India tied down to the South Asian region, rather than see India as a large nation with an impending global role.

Jimmy Carter was the only US president who did not visit Pakistan when he toured India in 1978.

Clinton has been forced to postpone his visit to India twice. He was first scheduled to visit India towards the end of 1998 but the Indian nuclear tests at Pokhran in May 1998 forced him to cancel his visit. Then he was due to visit India in November 1999, but the unexpected mid-term elections again necessitated a postponement.

Besides the dialogue between the Indian and American foreign offices, Track 2 diplomatic efforts to bridge India-United States relations continue unabated. Chief among the Indian interlocutors are former foreign secretary J N Dixit, former home secretary N N Vohra, nuclear strategist K Subrahmanyman and The Hindu's strategic affairs editor C Raja Mohan.

Dixit told rediff.com that he will be visiting the US once in the second week of December. Dixit and Vohra had visited the US following the Pakistan attack in Kargil to garner support for India's position from among the intellectuals in the hope that these in turn would help influence policy decisions.

Though Track 2 diplomacy between India and the US has been going on for many years now, two events increased its importance in recent times. The first was the nuclear tests India undertook in May 1998 and the Kargil war in June 1999. Both necessitated frequent off-the-record talks among non-officials who exercised influence over public opinion and policy-makers and allow Indians to give their views to the Americans.

After Kargil helped India come out of the post-nuclear blasts' isolation, the government is keen to ensure that Clinton's visit goes off without a hitch, seeing in his visit a major diplomatic boost for the country.

Tell us what you think of this report