03 June 2002
U.S. Says Question of Kashmir Must Be Decided Through Dialogue
(U.S. focused on reducing tension between India and Pakistan) (1060)
On the eve of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's visit to
South Asia, the United States remains focused on reducing tension
between India and Pakistan and encouraging dialogue between the two
nations, a spokesman from the State Department said.
Speaking at the regular State Department briefing June 3, Deputy
Spokesman Philip Reeker said the question of Kashmir "is an issue that
should be solved through dialogue between the two sides, taking into
account the wishes of the people of Kashmir."
The United States is "focused very much right now on getting the
tension down to make sure that this very difficult situation doesn't
spiral into an armed conflict, which will only bring misery to people
on both sides," Reeker said.
Deputy Secretary Armitage is expected to travel to the region June 6
and 7, followed by a visit from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Following is an excerpt of Reeker's remarks at the June 3 briefing:
(begin excerpt)
QUESTION: And should a dialogue follow the steps that you want the two
sides to take?
MR. REEKER: That is something we have always called for. We think the
solution to problems between the two countries, including the question
of Kashmir, are issues, and in the case of Kashmir, is an issue that
should be solved through dialogue between the two sides, taking into
account the wishes of the people of Kashmir. That has been our
position all along, and we'll continue to say that. But we are focused
very much right now on getting the tension down to make sure that this
very difficult situation doesn't spiral into an armed conflict, which
will only bring misery to people on both sides.
QUESTION: Is there anything beyond the cross-border infiltrations that
the US is looking to Pakistan to end, in particular closing down
terrorist camps that India says exist on the Pakistan side of Kashmir
and turning over those 20 individuals that the Indians had asked for
many months back?
MR. REEKER: Again, I think that the two sides need to communicate
those issues to each other. We need to see the steps that the
Secretary and Deputy Secretary have described in terms of President
Musharraf living up to his promises, doing everything he can to stop
the infiltration.
We do consider President Musharraf to be a strong ally in the war
against terrorism and to take many steps, as he has, to end terrorism.
He spoke in January quite firmly about the need for the silent
majority, as he called it, in Pakistan to stand up against terrorism
and terrorists who were taking Pakistan down the wrong path. And I
think indeed that the majority of the Pakistani population has
listened to that call and supports President Musharraf in that.
Fighting terrorism is not always easy, but he's got to exercise every
lever that he can to do that. And so we'll be looking to President
Musharraf to do that. The Deputy Secretary will be speaking with him
later this week, and then with the Indian side, making quite clear
those points, and that includes particularly the line of control and
making sure that that infiltration is stopped.
QUESTION: I ask because the Pakistanis' concern is that if the
infiltration ends, Vajpayee will up the ante and will want the
terrorist camps to be closed and whatnot before India would take
reciprocal steps. So it sounds as if what you're saying is the US
believes that the reasonable first step in order to get reciprocal
action on the Indian side is to end the infiltration.
MR. REEKER: I think we've been quite clear on that, and the Secretary
reiterated that last week. The Deputy Secretary said it again today. I
don't want to get into hypotheticals about what-if's. What we want to
see is that action, because we think that's very important, and then
some reciprocity on the side of the Indians so that the Pakistanis can
visibly see that there is goodwill on both sides. And then we can look
at possible confidence-building measures that both sides can take to
continue a de-escalation and create an environment that is more
conducive to the dialogue that we think is necessary to solve these
problems.
QUESTION: Just really quick, and this may be a taken question, but on
the State Department's position about the ultimate status of Kashmir.
Does the State Department have specifically an opinion on the
referendum that was conducted some 50 years ago in Kashmir that said
that they wouldn't want to be part of India?
MR. REEKER: Our position is that it needs to be a dialogue between the
two sides, taking into account the wishes of the people of Kashmir. I
think that's as far as it goes, and at this point I don't have any
specifics to remind you.
QUESTION: The Kashmiris --
MR. REEKER: There are a variety --
QUESTION: -- they say that that they voted on this many years ago and
there shouldn't be --
MR. REEKER: I think you want to check some of the history on this.
There are UN resolutions and other things that have never been
fulfilled over a long period of time. That's why we think the solution
is that there needs to be a dialogue between the two sides, and
whatever we can do to facilitate, and the international community can
help with facilitating both sides, we're willing to do.
QUESTION: Do you think that that dialogue should happen immediately,
or these other steps that you're looking for the Pakistanis and
Indians to take should be taken before a dialogue starts? Or do you --
would you urge the parties to begin an immediate dialogue?
MR. REEKER: I don't think I'm going to try to urge one way or the
other. What we're focused on is de-escalation, getting the tension
down, preventing the outbreak of a war. But we've made quite clear
what we think the longer term solutions need to be -- that is,
dialogue -- to find solutions between the two countries. I don't think
at this point I'm going to provide you any specific plan one way or
the other. We're going to let our senior officials go and talk to both
sides, bringing home again the importance of easing the tensions.
(end excerpt)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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