International   

We have done our bit: Bhutan PM

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Jan. 4. The Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonpo Jigmiy Thinley, declared here today that his Government had been successful in flushing out most of the leaders of extremist outfits engaged in subversive operations against India from Bhutanese territory.

In his address to the SAARC Summit, he dwelt at length on the operations launched by the Royal Bhutan Army in December to hunt down extremist groups operating in India and said that Bhutan, through its actions, had contributed to the eradication of the evil of terrorism in some measure.

His remarks assume significance in the context of the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee's speech that the example set by Bhutan is worthy of emulation. "While we take comfort from the failure of the attempts on the life of President Musharraf, we cannot but see it as yet another rude reminder of our lack of will to root out the menace of terrorism," the Bhutan Premier said.

The air in Islamabad was filled with optimism and the leaders must not waste the opportunity to settle differences. Only peace could ensure economic prosperity of the region. "South Asia is full of resources but unfortunately they are not being used," he said.

The Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, invited the SAARC members to jointly combat the threat of terrorism. "We must work together to eliminate this menace. SAARC should be made more effective," she said.

Ms. Kumaratunga said that her Government had eliminated terrorism in Sri Lanka through talks with the Tamil Tigers. After the 9/11 attacks in the United States and the global fight against the menace, it had become more obligatory to root out the evil from South Asia.

She said the SAARC decisions and proposals must be implemented at a faster pace than the customary delay. The SAARC member countries could alleviate poverty and diseases from the region by joining hands and ignoring petty conflicts.

Ms. Kumaratunga said that approval of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) and South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) was a major decision. The SAARC members should ensure that rich nations did not dominate the poor ones. Her country was against visa restrictions among the SAARC countries. "We have lifted visa restrictions for tourists."

The Bangladesh Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, urged that trade liberalisation should lead to a win-win situation for all SAARC members. The agreement on SAFTA needed to be approached with a more open mind. These could include reduction of the content of value addition requirement; special measures for the Least Developed Countries and an adequate time frame for freeing trade; compensatory financing for revenue loss and the concept of an early harvest.

She highlighted the importance of SAARC in the wake of a highly globalised world. "We are all aware of the limitations of SAARC. Yet its strengths cannot be underestimated. We must build upon them," Ms. Khaleda stressed. SAARC, she said, must move simultaneously in many new directions "if we are to visibly improve living standards. The need of the hour is to consolidate past gains, move towards actual implementation of projects and strengthen common resolve."

Nepal, the Maldives and Bhutan unanimously sought the elimination of terrorism from South Asia seeking peace for regional progress.

The Nepalese Prime Minister, Surya Bahadur Thapa, said that SAARC should become more active against terrorism. His Government had crushed the terrorist networks in his country. "We had to resort to action against them to save the lives of our citizens," he said.

The Maldives President, Maumoon Abdul Qayoom, said that terrorism and drug-trafficking were two issues faced by the SAARC countries. Peace alone could ensure stability in South Asia. "Political confrontation is no answer. We will have to work together," he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• We have done our bit: Bhutan PM
• `Iraqi boy died at U.K. soldiers' hands'
• Blair visits troops in Basra
• China for thrust in ties with U.S.
• Uncertainty persists over flights to U.S.
• Speaker joins race `to help Putin'
• Peace process a complex one, says Chandrika
• Chandrika, Ranil may meet again
• Vajpayee, Jamali steer clear of contentious issues

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu