DATE=2/16/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CLINTON-SOUTH ASIA (L)
NUMBER=2-259241
BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST
DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: President Clinton says he has not ruled out a
visit to Pakistan during the South Asian trip he makes
late next month, and says he is willing -- if asked
by the parties -- to try to mediate the Kashmir
dispute between India and Pakistan. V-O-A's David
Gollust reports from the White House.
TEXT: Pakistan is not on the Clinton itinerary -
which is now limited to stops in India and Bangladesh
- because of, among other things, the military
takeover in Islamabad last October.
But at his news conference (Wednesday), the President
said he might yet go if it would advance the cause of
stability - including curbing a nuclear arms race --
in what he stressed is a dangerous region:
/// FIRST CLINTON ACTUALITY ///
I hope that my trip will serve to highlight to
Americans the importance of that region to us,
and the very real danger that a conflict between
India and Pakistan -- not contained -- is one of
the most significant security threats to the
interests of United States in this new century,
and I might say, a tragic situation.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Clinton called off plans to visit India and
Pakistan in 1998 after the two South Asian powers
conducted underground nuclear weapons tests.
Pakistan's military leader General Pervez Musharraf
earlier this month urged Mr. Clinton not to bypass his
country next month - saying parallel visits would go a
long way toward easing tensions with India.
Under questioning, Mr. Clinton said he was
"absolutely" prepared to try to help India and
Pakistan resolve their dispute over Kashmir if both
parties agree -- though only Pakistan thus far has
said it would welcome a U-S mediation role.
/// SECOND CLINTON ACT ///
It is a hugely important area of the world. If
the tensions between India and Pakistan on the
Indian subcontinent could be resolved, it is my
opinion - based on my personal experience with
people from India, people from Pakistan and
people from Bangladesh, that the Indian
subcontinent might very well be the great
success story of the next 50 years.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Clinton said the South Asian countries have great
labor and intellectual resources, and said it
"heartbreaking" to see - as he put it - "how much they
hold each other back by bring trapped in yesterday's
conflicts."
/// REST OPTIONAL ///
On other international issues, Mr. Clinton called the
Irish Republican Army's decision to pull out of
Northern Ireland disarmament talks an unfortunate
development. But he insisted the Irish peace process,
in which he has played a significant role, is not at
an end, and that the I-R-A has given no indication it
intends to return to violence.
He also defended the trade agreement the
administration reached with China late last year that
is now under consideration in Congress. He said it
gives the United States - which runs a big trade
deficit with China - "dramatically" increased access
to Chinese markets. And he said the deal, which helps
open the way to Chinese membership in the World Trade
Organization, will "change China from within" more
than all the other economic openings to that country
over the past two decades combined. (Signed)
NEB/DAG/TVM/gm
16-Feb-2000 17:55 PM EDT (16-Feb-2000 2255 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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