DATE=02/24/99
TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP
NUMBER=6-11162
TITLE=THE INDIA-PAKISTAN SUMMIT
BYLINE=ANDREW N. GUTHRIE
TELEPHONE=619-3335
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS
CONTENT=
INTRO: IT WAS LAST MAY WHEN INDIA SHOCKED THE WORLD BY
DETONATING A NUCLEAR BOMB, AN EXPLOSION THAT SENT PSYCHOLOGICAL,
AS WELL AS PHYSICAL, SHOCK WAVES AROUND THE WORLD.
IT WAS FOLLOWED, WITHIN WEEKS, BY AN EQUALLY DISQUIETING
EXPLOSION FROM PAKISTAN, AS THE TWO SUB-CONTINENT ENEMIES
FORCEFULLY ENTERED THE EXCLUSIVE CLUB OF ADMITTED NUCLEAR
NATIONS.
NOW, IN WHAT MANY OBSERVERS ARE HAILING AS AN IMPORTANT FIRST
STEP TOWARD REDUCING TENSIONS IN THE REGION, THE PRIME MINISTERS
OF THE TWO COUNTRIES HAVE HELD A SUMMIT IN LAHORE. WE GET A
SAMPLING OF U-S PRESS REACTION NOW FROM _______________ IN
TODAY'S U-S OPINION ROUNDUP.
TEXT: IT WAS A BUS, AN ORDINARY BUS, THAT CARRIED INDIA'S PRIME
MINISTER ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE ACROSS THE NORTHERN INDIAN [PUNJAB]
BORDER AND INTO THE PAKISTANI [PUNJABI] CITY OF LAHORE FOR HIS
SESSION WITH PAKISTANI COUNTERPART NHAWAZ SHARIF. IT WAS THE
FIRST SUCH TRIP INTO PAKISTAN FOR AN INDIAN PRIME MINISTER IN A
DECADE AND, FOR MANY EDITORIAL EDITORS IN THE UNITED STATES, IT
WAS A MEETING LONG OVERDUE.
"A NEW BEGINNING" IS THE HEADLINE IN WEDNESDAY'S [2/24] "DESERET
NEWS," [PRONOUNCED: DES-UH-RHETT] THE EVENING DAILY IN UTAH'S
CAPITAL OF SALT LAKE CITY.
VOICE: /// OPT /// "A NEW BEGINNING FOR PAKISTAN AND INDIA?"
THAT WAS THE HEADLINE IN A RECENT EDITION OF THIS
NEWSPAPER. THE ANSWER SHOULD BE A RESOUNDING 'YES!'
GIVEN THE EVENTS OF THIS PAST WEEKEND, IT MAY BE. ///
END OPT /// ... WHAT [PRIME MINISTER] VAJPAYEE AND [MR.]
SHARIF STARTED NEEDS TO CONTINUE. FRIENDLY RELATIONS
BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES COULD DO MUCH TO HELP
STABILITY IN THE ENTIRE REGION, GIVEN THAT BOTH NATIONS
ARE INCREASING THEIR NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES. .... TO THE
CREDIT OF BOTH LEADERS, THEY RECOGNIZE THAT DANGER. ...
THEY PLEDGED TO REDUCE THE RISK OF AN ACCIDENTAL NUCLEAR
WAR, STOP INTERFERING IN EACH OTHERS' AFFAIRS AND
STRENGTHEN MUTUAL TRUST BY SUCH STEPS AS GIVING ADVANCE
WARNING OF BALLISTIC MISSILE TESTS. CLEARLY THE TWO
COUNTRIES NEED TO LOOK FOR PEACEFUL RESOLUTIONS TO
CONFLICTS. THE TWO HAVE FOUGHT THREE WARS SINCE THEY
WERE CARVED OUT OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN 1947 AS
INDEPENDENT NATIONS. UNFORTUNATELY THEIR DISTRUST OF
ONE ANOTHER HAS NOT ONLY DIVIDED THE COUNTRIES, BUT
FAMILIES AS WELL. MANY HAVE NOT SEEN EACH OTHER SINCE
1947 WHEN A SEVEN-METER HIGH CHAIN-LINK FENCE WAS
ERECTED TO SEPARATE THE TWO NATIONS. /// OPT /// ...
THE WORDS SPOKEN BY [PRIME MINISTER] SHARIF 'THE TIME IS
NOT SO FAR AWAY WHEN WE, PAKISTAN AND INDIA, WILL BE
ABLE TO LIVE AS THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA' -- MUST BE
FULFILLED. /// END OPT ///
TEXT: FAR TO THE NORTHEAST, "THE BOSTON GLOBE" IS EQUALLY
ENCOURAGED BY THIS "FIRST STEP, /// OPT /// AND REACHES INTO
CHINESE HISTORY TO QUANTIFY IT. /// END OPT ///
VOICE: THE BUS TRIP THAT PRIME MINISTER ... VAJPAYEE ... TOOK
... DESERVES PRAISE AS AN AUDACIOUS STEP IN THE RIGHT
DIRECTION. MORE THAN GOOD INTENTIONS WILL BE NEEDED TO
OVERCOME THE BITTERNESS AND MISTRUST DISTILLED FROM
THREE WARS IN THE HALF-CENTURY SINCE PARTITION. ... IF
THE TWO SIDES WANT TO MAKE POSSIBLE THE PEACE AND
PROGRESS THEY INVOKED IN LAHORE, THEY WILL STOP THE
ACTIONS OF REPRESSIVE INDIAN TROOPS AND PAKISTANI-BACKED
INFILTRATORS IN KASHMIR. THEY WILL ALSO PLEDGE NOT TO
DEPLOY NUCLEAR MISSILES AND WILL SIGN THE NUCLEAR TEST
BAN TREATY.
TEXT: TWO OF THE NATION'S LARGEST AND MOST INFLUENTIAL DAILY
NEWSPAPERS, "THE NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES TIMES" ARE ALSO TAKING
NOTE OF THE HISTORIC WEEKEND SUMMIT, AND TRYING TO ASSESS ITS
CONSEQUENCES. "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES" SAYS IN PART:
VOICE: AFTER TWO-DAYS OF MEETINGS, THE MEN REACHED PRELIMINARY
AGREEMENTS INTENDED TO REDUCE THE CHANCE OF WAR. THE
TWO NATIONS AGREED TO WARN EACH OTHER OF MISSILE TESTS,
EXCHANGE INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR WEAPONS AND TRY TO
DEVELOP A FAIL-SAFE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM BETWEEN THE
TWO ARMIES. ... THOUGH THERE WERE NO BREAKTHROUGH
AGREEMENTS, NO PLEDGES TO SIGN THE COMPREHENSIVE TEST
BAN TREATY, THE SUMMIT WAS AN IMPORTANT STEP FORWARD.
... THEY HAVE TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD AND TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF A TOO-SELDOM-SEEN OPPORTUNITY TO REDUCE TENSIONS IN
SOUTH ASIA.
TEXT: LASTLY, "THE NEW YORK TIMES" SUMS IT UP THIS WAY,
COMPLIMENTING BOTH MEN ON THEIR COURAGE AS WELL AS THEIR VISION.
VOICE: /// OPT /// IT TOOK COURAGE FOR MR. VAJPAYEE AND MR.
SHARIF TO MEET AND REDOUBLE THEIR NEGOTIATING EFFORTS
WHILE BOTH ARE UNDER FIRE FROM EXTREMISTS AT HOME. MR.
VAJPAYEE'S DECISION TO ... PAY THE FIRST VISIT TO
PAKISTAN BY AN INDIAN PRIME MINISTER IN 10-YEARS WAS A
REBUKE TO HINDU NATIONALISTS IN HIS OWN RULING COALITION
WHO BELIEVE THAT PAKISTAN HAS FOMENTED THE MUSLIM
REBELLION IN THE INDIAN STATE OF KASHMIR. /// END OPT
/// ... O TRANSLATE THE CORDIAL EXPRESSIONS OF LAHORE
INTO ACHIEVEMENTS, BOTH COUNTRIES MUST NOW WORK HARD TO
SIGN A COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY, WHICH THEY
PLEDGED TO DO LAST FALL. IF THE SPIRIT OF LAHORE CAN BE
TRANSLATED INTO CONCRETE STEPS, THE WAY MAY BE CLEAR FOR
THE LONG-DEFERRED VISIT LATER THIS YEAR BY PRESIDENT
CLINTON. /// END OPT ///
TEXT: THAT ENDS THIS SAMPLING OF EDITORIAL COMMENT FROM THE U-S
PRESS ON THE JUST-COMPLETED INDIA-PAKISTANI SUMMIT IN LAHORE.
NEB/ANG/RAE
24-Feb-99 2:32 PM EST (1932 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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