DATE=3/19/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CLINTON-SOUTH ASIA (L)
NUMBER=2-260332
BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST
DATELINE=NEW DELHI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
///Eds: Clinton arrival scheduled for 8PM Local,
9:30AM EST, 3-19///
INTRO: President Clinton arrives in New Delhi in a
matter of hours (eds: or shortly) to begin the first
visit by a U-S President to the politically-troubled
South Asia region in more than two decades. VOA White
House correspondent David Gollust is in the Indian
capital and filed this report.
TEXT: Mr. Clinton arrives without fanfare at an air
base near the Indian capital and will spend the night
at a New Delhi hotel before flying to Dhaka for the
first-ever visit by a U-S President to Bangladesh.
Mr. Clinton had hoped to make the South Asia trip two
years ago. But plans were put off after the nuclear
weapons tests by India and Pakistan in 1998, and were
further complicated by the flare-up of fighting by the
two powers in Kashmir last year.
Mr. Clinton helped defuse that crisis with a
Washington meeting last July with Pakistan's former
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was subsequently
deposed in a military coup that chilled U-S relations
with Islamabad and brought an end to talks with India.
The President said before leaving Washington that he
will try to reduce tensions over Kashmir. But Clinton
National Security Adviser Sandy Berger says he will
not attempt to mediate the dispute because of Indian
objections:
///Berger actuality///
You can only mediate a dispute if both parties want to
have that done. And the Indians have made very clear
that is not the way they prefer to see this issue
dealt with. And we're certainly not going to interpose
ourselves in a situation where one of the parties does
not believe that's the right course of action.
///end act///
Mr. Berger says the President will also urge both
sides to reinforce their mutual moratorium on further
nuclear testing by signing the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty, and to pledge not to sell weapons technology
or material to other countries.
The President will visit five Indian cities over a
five-day span but his stop in Pakistan will be limited
to just a few hours at the close of this trip Saturday
- reflecting U-S displeasure over the ouster of
democratic rule.
The President will stress support for a return to
elected government in a televised message to the
Pakistani people. In his meeting with military leader
General Pervez Musharraf he will urge that the life of
former Prime Minister Sharif be spared if he is
convicted in his current trial on attempted murder and
other charges.
His visit to Bangladesh Monday is intended in part to
highlight strides that country has made - despite
daunting problems - to combat poverty and build an
inclusive democracy. (Signed)
NEB/DAG/PLM
19-Mar-2000 02:24 AM EDT (19-Mar-2000 0724 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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