11-13-2004, 07:02 AM
Sonia dropped Cairo visit plan
- By Seema Mustafa
New Delhi, Nov. 12: India was the only country in the developing world to be represented at Palestinian leader Yasser Arafatâs funeral in Cairo on Friday by a delegation led by a foreign minister. All other developing countries, unlike many from Europe, were represented by Presidents and Prime Ministers, with many like Pakistan declaring a three-day period of national mourning.
New Delhi, which is looking to strengthen its strategic and economic relations with the United States, took the deliberate decision to maintain a low-key level of sorrow for the departed leader, who had always considered India to be a close friend. <b>Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was initially expected to lead the delegation, decided against it after consultations with those in the government and the Congress Party</b>. Senior advisers had confirmed on Thursday that she was "very likely" to attend the funeral but by the evening it was clear that the Indian delegation would not include her. <b>Sources said her presence, the first at a large gathering of world leaders, would have given Indian participation a higher profile than the government felt was desirable at this stage</b>.
Officially, of course, it was stated that there was never any question of Mrs Sonia Gandhi participating in the funeral. The Congress Working Committee at an emergency meeting on Friday adopted a resolution commemorating the Palestinian leader. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the Palestinian mission in New Delhi for all of five minutes and signed the register. The low-key response was all the more noticeable as just 10 days ago India had declared three-day mourning for UAE leader Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahayan, with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam representing the country at the funeral.
There is also a distinct East-West divide noticeable in the list of dignitaries, with most Western countries, like India, being represented at Arafatâs funeral by foreign ministers, while most African and West Asian countries were represented by Kings, Presidents and vice-presidents. Jordan was represented by King Abdullah, Pakistan by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Saudi Arabia by Crown Prince Abdullah, Sudan by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, South Africa by President Thabo Mbeki, Somalia by President Abdullahi Yusuf, Turkey by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, Malaysia by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Indonesia by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Zimbabwe by President Robert Mugabe and Lebanon by both President General Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Omar Karami.
The Western representation, like that of India, was mostly at the foreign minister level. Britain sent foreign secretary Jack Straw, <b>while Washington did not even send a Cabinet member: it was represented by assistant secretary of state William Burns</b>. Most European countries sent their respective foreign ministers. The political decision by India not to join the developing world in highlighting its close relations with Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians has surprised analysts here, with a former foreign secretary wondering at the reason for the UPA governmentâs response. As he pointed out, Arafat always had close links with the Congress Party and in particular with late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and <b>"it is surprising that the party prefers to follow the policies set out by the BJP government instead of rediscovering its own friends and allies." </b>
- By Seema Mustafa
New Delhi, Nov. 12: India was the only country in the developing world to be represented at Palestinian leader Yasser Arafatâs funeral in Cairo on Friday by a delegation led by a foreign minister. All other developing countries, unlike many from Europe, were represented by Presidents and Prime Ministers, with many like Pakistan declaring a three-day period of national mourning.
New Delhi, which is looking to strengthen its strategic and economic relations with the United States, took the deliberate decision to maintain a low-key level of sorrow for the departed leader, who had always considered India to be a close friend. <b>Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was initially expected to lead the delegation, decided against it after consultations with those in the government and the Congress Party</b>. Senior advisers had confirmed on Thursday that she was "very likely" to attend the funeral but by the evening it was clear that the Indian delegation would not include her. <b>Sources said her presence, the first at a large gathering of world leaders, would have given Indian participation a higher profile than the government felt was desirable at this stage</b>.
Officially, of course, it was stated that there was never any question of Mrs Sonia Gandhi participating in the funeral. The Congress Working Committee at an emergency meeting on Friday adopted a resolution commemorating the Palestinian leader. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the Palestinian mission in New Delhi for all of five minutes and signed the register. The low-key response was all the more noticeable as just 10 days ago India had declared three-day mourning for UAE leader Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahayan, with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam representing the country at the funeral.
There is also a distinct East-West divide noticeable in the list of dignitaries, with most Western countries, like India, being represented at Arafatâs funeral by foreign ministers, while most African and West Asian countries were represented by Kings, Presidents and vice-presidents. Jordan was represented by King Abdullah, Pakistan by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Saudi Arabia by Crown Prince Abdullah, Sudan by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, South Africa by President Thabo Mbeki, Somalia by President Abdullahi Yusuf, Turkey by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, Malaysia by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Indonesia by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Zimbabwe by President Robert Mugabe and Lebanon by both President General Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Omar Karami.
The Western representation, like that of India, was mostly at the foreign minister level. Britain sent foreign secretary Jack Straw, <b>while Washington did not even send a Cabinet member: it was represented by assistant secretary of state William Burns</b>. Most European countries sent their respective foreign ministers. The political decision by India not to join the developing world in highlighting its close relations with Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians has surprised analysts here, with a former foreign secretary wondering at the reason for the UPA governmentâs response. As he pointed out, Arafat always had close links with the Congress Party and in particular with late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and <b>"it is surprising that the party prefers to follow the policies set out by the BJP government instead of rediscovering its own friends and allies." </b>