VOA: Nuclear Test Ban: India v US

kerry miller (mailto:astingsh@KSU.EDU)
Thu, 8 Aug 1996 21:13:39 -0500 

Message-ID:  <Pine.SOL.3.91.960808211138.13557B-100000@nbc.ksu.ksu.edu>
Date:         Thu, 8 Aug 1996 21:13:39 -0500
From: kerry miller <mailto:astingsh@KSU.EDU>
Subject:      VOA:  Nuclear Test Ban: India v US
To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>


NUCLEAR TEST BAN
By GORDON MARTIN/ GENEVA


text:  China appears to have dropped its reservations about the
proposed agreement but India continues to voice strong concerns
about the draft treaty.


India has demanded that the agreement lead to complete nuclear
disarmament and the dismantlement of nuclear stockpiles by the
five nuclear weapons nations -- Britain, China, France, Russia,
and The United States.


India's Ambassador, Arundhati Ghose, repeated charges made last
week by India's External Affairs Minister (Kumar Gujral) that the
nuclear powers do  not  want to give up their arsenals.  She
reaffirmed India's need to safeguard its own security.  and she
said the draft treaty does  not  meet india's concerns.


                         // GHOSE act //


         This text, while it does contain a treaty, does  not
         contain the comprehensive test ban treaty we had been
         mandated to negotiate.  Therefore, our position as
         stated on 20th june,  not  to sign this treaty, in this
         form, stands.


                          // end act //


India, Pakistan, And Israel are the three so-called threshold
states believed to have nuclear capability.  And the draft
agreement says the three countries must sign the treaty before it
can go into effect.


Miss Ghose said India opposes that provision.


                         // GHOSE act //


         If however, the present text is sought to be retained, I
         am instructed to inform the conference that India would
         be reluctantly obliged to oppose such efforts.  While we
         do  not  wish to prevent other countries from exercising
         their sovereign right to adopt a treaty to which they
         wish to accede, we  cannot  have our sovereign right
         not  to sign the treaty taken away and accept
         obligations on India that we  cannot  and will  not
         accept.
                          // end act //


However, some diplomats say they do  not  find India's tough
language is a threat to block the treaty completely.


The chief U-S negotiator, Stephen Ledogar, said it is clear India
does  not  intend to endorse the treaty.  But he said he hopes
india will  not  prevent the rest of the conference from moving
it forward.


Observers say they believe negotiators will find a way to send
the treaty to the U-N General Assembly without India's approval.
Failure to do so, they say, could delay a test ban treaty
indefinitely.  (signed_


NEB/GM/JWH/CF


08-Aug-96 11:09 AM EDT (1509 UTC)


Source: Voice of America




  CHRISTOPHER / INDIA
 By RON PEMSTEIN/ STATE DEPARTMENT


text: India is threatening to block a consensus on the treaty in
Geneva which the United States wants to see opened for signature
at the United Nations next month. Secretary of State Christopher
called  in India's ambassador to washington, Naresh Chandra, to
emphasize the long time interest of both countries in a nuclear
test ban.


State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns says  Mr. Christopher
urged the ambassador to permit an international consensus on the
treaty.
         "We believe that India should allow the international
         community to move forward to finish discussions about
         this treaty so that leaders of the world can convene
         here in the United States just in a  month or so to sign
         this treaty. And that was the basic message that the
         Secretary gave to ambassador Chandra this morning."


India wants a commitment that the treaty will not enter into
force  unless nuclear disarmament is carried out. The United
states says the two issues should not be connected. (signed)


NEB/RP/KL


08-Aug-96 5:09 PM


ÿ-ÿ-ÿ-