Fatchett Spars With Scribes On Kashmir
Derek Fatchett, the British minister of external affairs and Commonwealth, had a somewhat antagonistic face-off with the Indian media yesterday over the British Labour partys switch from aggressive stances on Kashmiri rights to the new governments hands-off acceptance of Indias viewpoint.
The bitterness in the Indian establishment over the sabre-rattling on Kashmir when Labour was in opposition was apparent in many of the questions.
The most obvious was a question on whether Fatchett was satisfied with his answer to an earlier question on whether Labour had been posturing on the Kashmir issue because of domestic politics and to win votes, and had switched to international pragmatism now that it was in power.
Fatchett had begun his answer to the earlier question combatively, saying he would not take exception to the word posturing since he presumed it was meant journalistically and not personally. He then insisted that Labour had not gained votes through its positions on Kashmir and that all Asians, whether they were of Pakistani, Indian or Bangladeshi origin, had voted Labour. Kashmir did not determine votes in the UK, he asserted.
Labour leaders had earlier spoken of Britains responsibility to protect human rights in Kashmir and to help resolve problems between the two countries. Fatchetts written statement, and his conversations with various Indian policy-makers, were clearly designed to any Indian feathers that may have been ruffled by past Labour statements.
He stated that Britain welcomed the dialogue between India and Pakistan and that the recent initiatives of Prime Ministers Gujral and Nawaz Sharif would soon bear fruit. He then cautiously repeated our offer of our good offices if that will assist the talks, and it is wished by the parties.
Faced with questions such as what exactly you mean by good offices and why Britain continued to offer to mediate when India clear did not welcome it, Fatchett was forced to keep repeating that Britain would only mediate if it was wished by both countries. We are not trying to impose ourselves. We have never tried to impose ourselves, he said.
chett had begun on the wrong foot. He arrived 20 minutes late for the press conference - by design, since the UK high commission staff had decided to allow 15 minutes for Indian journalists unpunctuality. When he did arrive, Fatchett announced he would use the lectern rather than his chair to answer questions. Rejecting requests from TV camera crews, which had set up their mikes on the table at which he was to have sat, he went over to the lectern, forcing them to scramble after him with their mikes.