The people of Palestine have won a partial but significant victory after undergoing for 45 years immense sufferings. Israel, which controls one of the most powerful military machines in the world, has initiated measures to recognize the identity and politcal nights of Palestinian people. In terms of a time bound agreement between the Israeli state and the Palestine Liberation Organization, the people of Palestine will have self-government on the lands now occupied by Israel. A significant feature of the agreement is that it has the effective support of the U.S. government. That the agreement was signed in Washington in the presence of the U.S. President and other influential U.S. statesmen amidst drama and fanfare indicate that President Clinton has agreed to underwrite effective implementation of the terms reached between the two sides. It will take some time for specific details of the agreement to emerge. Possibly there will be problems in the course of implementation, But those problems are likely to be sorted out amicably because the basic inspiration to cease hostility appears to have come from within and not from without, The U.S. administration, no doubt, has high stakes in the successful conclusion of the agreement. It ts obvious that the Israel government finally convinced itself of the futility of the use of force against a people determined to get back their termtory and political rights. A deeper study of what exactly prompted Tel Aviv tos negotiated peaceful solution is called for. it is safe to assume that a Situation of permanent war with Palestinians became too much of a burden for Israel 19 bear despite the immense international financial support it gets. In any, case, Israel must have calculated in economic and political terms its likely gains and losses to give up the course ol confrontation. If the peace agreement is sincerely implemented and the people of Palestine get back their termitory and political nights to settle down to rebuild the war-ravaged land. it will be a powerful Contribution to the establishment of peace in the entire west Asian region, True, there may be other tens spots in that arca but the Palestinian question was admittedly more intractable. The vital Steps towards resolution of the problem implied in the agreement will send a strong message of hope for peace in the entire west Asian and Mideast region of Asia, The Israel-P.L.O, agreement has ramifications for all countries engaged in armed confrontations to resolve political issues. India is one country which is in dire need of learning lessons from the Washington agreement. It is using force in Punjab and Kashmir to Suppress the political aspirations of Sikhs and Kashmiris respectively. In the process India has had to pay thousands of crores of rupees {o raise and maintain one of the largest police forces and armies in the world, As a poor country, it could ill afford such a massive and unproductive expenditure. India can not boast of a military and intelligence machine that is superior to what Isracl has. The latter has clearly seen the futility of force in resolving a political conflict. India needs to be helped by international public Opinion to understand that political problems in states like Punjab and ¢x Kashmir can be resolved by means other than force, India itself had (o budge from 2 position that remained inflexible for three decades in respect of its conflict with China on the border issue. New Delhi ultimately had 10 employ practical wisdom to keep its claims out of immediate reckoning in dealing with China. The U.S. President and the country’s public opinion has a special responsibility towards making India realize the folly of using mindless force in Punjab, Kashmir and certain other regions of the country, That is the only way to restore peace and stability in southeast Asia. A word of caution needs to be said about efforts to repeat in India what could be achieved in west Asia.
Dealing with India is no child’s play. That country is ruled by a whole class of warlords. It is a democracy only in name. Isracl may not have significant economic interests in its occupied areas of Palestine but India has immense colonial interests in Punjab and Kashmir, particularly in the former. It is taking away Punjab’s water which ts worth thousands of crores of rupees. It is plundering the Sikh state by treating it as a cheap source of primary produce, it is maintaining relations with Punjab that are worse than what the Soviet Union had been maintaining with the countries of East Europe. It will thus be easier for India to give freedom to Kashmir than to Punjab, India’s mling class remains firmly committed to more and more of militarization of that country and refuses to sign the nuclear nonproliferation treaty despite the collapse of its China alibi, India’s ruling class admired Israel not because it had been working to bring about peace but because it was known as a tough state out to destroy the P.L.O. or any other sign of hypocrisy aimed at securing trade advantages with the Arab world. These are some of the difficulties the west will have to face in trying to bring about peace in the Indian subcontinent, Mere persuasion in dealing with India will not do. Pressure will have to be applied to make India’s ruling class see reason and agree to take a leaf out of the IsraclP.L.O. relations.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 17, 1993
