Nepal-bound plane with U.S. arms in Indian airport
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, Sept 29, IRNA -- An aircraft operated by Vega Airlines, a private Bulgarian cargo company, carrying explosives and ammunition to "combat" Maoists in Nepal, has been sitting at an Indian airport since Saturday, awaiting permission to fly out to Kathmandu. According to the Hindu, a New Delhi-based English daily, the United States government engaged Vega Airlines, which mostly has Russian-made AN-12 aircraft in its fleet, to ferry the explosives and ammunition to Kathmandu for an "anti-terrorist" training facility in Nepal. Sources in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs claimed that the aircraft had not been "detained" while officials in the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that "as of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning" the aircraft was at an Indian airport. At least two sources confirmed that the aircraft was sitting at Ahmedabad airport, but N.S. Jaldhari, Ahmedabad airport director, was reluctant to give away any information. He initially said he had no information, but later denied that any aircraft had been "detained." A source in the Indian security establishment said that the "ghosts of Purulia," the sensational arms drop in Purulia district of West Bengal in December 1995, had not been forgotten in New Delhi. The fact that the Purulia arms drop was by an AN-26 aircraft operated by a five-member Latvian crew is a parallel that few would ignore. The source also said that detailed procedures had been put in place at Indian airports following the Purulia arms drop, which even entitled aviation authorities to ask any aircraft overflying Indian air space to land and match its cargo with its manifest. The DGCA, at least, is not taking any chances with the Vega Airlines` aircraft. "As of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, we have not received clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs to let this aircraft go," said DGCA officials. When it was pointed out that the aircraft had been sitting in Ahmedabad since the weekend, the officials responded: "Let it sit." The officials said clearance from a "number of agencies" had to be obtained in such cases. According to the daily, clearly the Vega Airlines case signals that the US government, while discussing the Nepal situation with India, is also acting on its own as far as building up an anti- terrorist capability in the Himalayan kingdom is concerned. In similar incidents in the past, India had not hidden its irritation as far as foreign involvement in Nepal was concerned. The fact that arms supplied by the United States are making their way to Nepal does not, however, surprise officials in the External Affairs Ministry. However, it appears that the establishment is not so sure in the case of the Vega Airlines aircraft. Given the fact that governments do not want to be seen sending arms and ammunition to other countries, the use of a private charter aircraft would hardly come as a surprise. An element of "deniability" is built into such an arrangement, which governments could easily invoke if and when required. Last month, the All Nepal Federation of Trade Unions (ANFTU) said that it had decided to close down all MNCs in Nepal with US investment forever. "It is because the US has been providing arms and military training to Nepal in order to suppress the Nepali people`s `liberation movement` and US ambassadors are giving directives to the (Royal Nepal) Army by visiting their divisions," the statement, signed by federation`s chairman, Shalik Ram Jamarkattel, said. Maoists have been struggling to establish a communist-style government in Nepal to replace the constitutional monarchy. More than 10,000 people have been killed in the insurgency since 1996. 2160/2321/1432
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