The Hindu : Let's reject conflict, says Vajpayee

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 13, 2003

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Let's reject conflict, says Vajpayee

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI DEC. 12. Making out a strong case for rejecting conflict and embracing cooperation, the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said today that South Asia needed the wisdom to emulate the experience of regional organisations in other parts of the world devoted to economic integration. Addressing a conference organised by Hindustan Times, he set India's tone for the coming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit in Islamabad by stressing that hostility only stunted economies, inhibited trade and retarded progress.

"As we develop greater economic stakes in each other [in South Asia], we can put aside mistrust and dispel unwarranted suspicions. We will also develop mutual sensitivity to each other's concerns and promote more of our common interests..." he said.

If legitimate trade was developed, the region could jointly tackle smuggling, drug-trafficking, money-laundering and other trans-national crimes, which flourishes in the region because of mutual rivalries and inadequate coordination. "Once we reach that stage, we would not be far from mutual security cooperation, open borders and even a single currency."

Mr. Vajpayee said that those who thought this seemed "unrealistic and utopian" were, perhaps, being unnecessarily cynical. "Let us remember that the world did not anticipate the sudden end to the Cold War or the collapse of the Berlin Wall. No one thought that apartheid South Africa could be transformed bloodlessly into Mandela's Rainbow country..."

Each one of these developments, he said, flowed from objective factors in the global environment, but actually occurred because of some "enlightened and responsible decisions" by people at the helm of affairs. He asserted that the people of South Asia, businesses and organisations were waiting to interact with one another. "We can sense this impatience in the outpouring of popular sentiment after our initiatives. The increased travel between India and Pakistan of Parliamentarians, businessmen, artists and sportsmen show the intense desire for amity and goodwill. We have to respond to this desire by seeking every possible way to banish hostility and promote peace."

Mr. Vajpayee sounded a note of warning as well. "If we in South Asia look back objectively at the experiences of our freedom struggles and of our nation-building, the one stark lesson that stands out is the imperative of forging a unity based on our commonalities."

"Whenever we have dissipated our energies in internal squabbling, external forces have come in to sort out our differences and stayed on to exploit our resources. We should never create the possibility of reliving these historical differences in new forms and on different fronts."

Collective regional interest was an expression of enlightened self-interest and the peace dividend lay in converting South Asia's potential into a vibrant reality. "Our region is heir to a centuries-old tradition of tolerance, pluralism and creative interaction. We need to recapture this ethos in the modern context."

"In the post-Cold War world of globalisation, countries around the world are increasingly focusing on regional economics. Political disputes have been resolved diplomatically or quietly deferred for tackling at a more opportune time..."

Mr. Vajpayee pointed out that despite geographical proximity, intra-South Asian trade amounted to less than five per cent of our total foreign trade.

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