Democrat member Mel Levine said the question of symmetry could be appropriately raised between India and China What was needed was a comprehensive proposal for South Asia but this amendment was about India alone He questioned the wisdom of cutting of programs which were extremely important for India and whose relations with the United States were improving substantially over the last several years.
Solarz’s spirited intervention on behalf of India brought the wry comment from Republican Dan Burton that Solarz is doing a very good job of defending India. Without him on the floor India will suffer he is hundred percent with them on any issue
In a related action the house also approved an amendment proposed by Republican Wally Herger calling on the Indian government to extend to international human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Asia Watch access to Punjab and Kashmir to examine allegations of human rights abuses by the Indian security forces. He welcomed the acknowledgement by the house that India must address the serious problem of human rights violations. He could not accept the argument that instability in India was an inappropriate time for imposing sanctions on the country Instability was no excuse for the security forces and the police to indulge in killings and atrocities Herger said.
Congressman Wilson who had cosponsored the Lagomarsino amendment compared Pakistan’s support in the Gulf war and in Afghanistan with the stand of India which he said had sided with the Soviet Union throughout the cold war and which was bullying its smaller neighbors. What the amendment sought was merely equity between India and Pakistan in regard to nuclear non-proliferation
A Republican Senator from South Dakota Larry Pressler’s amendment which had made American aid to Pakistan subject to it not processing nuclear weapons now has been extended to India
Pressler in the Congress had said that In fairness to Pakistan the government of India has been less than forthcoming in its efforts to address proliferation issues on the sub-continent
We must keep in mind that it was India not Pakistan that exploded a nuclear device in the early seventies he said.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 23, 1991
