INDIA has said it will not censure old ally Zimbabwe as many countries around the world have condemned the government of President Robert Mugabe and called the June 27 election a ‘sham’.
India has never spoken openly about the situation in Zimbabwe preferring to use diplomatic channels in commenting on the situation in the country.
Addressing reporters yesterday, India’s foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon said India was “looking to the African Union on the Zimbabwe crisis and would follow its lead”. “India does not interfere in the internal affairs of another country”.
India’s minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma refused to comment on the situation in Zimbabwe after attending the African Union summit at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt a fortnight ago.
India has a long relationship with African countries and has, from pre-colonial days, traded cloth and spices with Africa. India, the world’s largest democracy, signed a declaration at the last India-Africa summit calling for respect for ‘democratic principles’ and ‘good governance’ but says it would never lecture Africans on how to handle situations in their own countries.
A recent report in The Wall Street Journal quotes an Indian diplomat saying that “India’s ‘deliberate go-slow’ on Zimbabwe was … a reflection of the ‘double standards’ on the part of many Western nations.”
The WSJ also quotes the diplomat asking: “Will the US and Britain make the same comments about Kenya, or even Pakistan?”
India recently supported Zimbabwe against an International Cricket Committee ban that would have seen Zimbabwe stripped of full-member status when the ICC executive board met in Dubai, United Arab Emirates earlier this month.
India Cricket board secretary Niranjan Shah made it clear that there were no reasons to penalize Zimbabwe Cricket for political events happening in the country. He said at the time: "There is no reason to remove Zimbabwe. We understand England's position because their government wants Zimbabwe out,” adding that "Even our tour commitments are determined by government advice. But we will back Zimbabwe to stay in the ICC.”
India’s foreign policy on Africa is clear. A statement of the Indian Foreign Ministry says the government’s policy “was to consolidate the gains of almost five decades of close ties of friendship; to intensify bilateral economic and commercial links for mutual benefit; to share developmental experiences as part of India's commitment to South-South Cooperation; and to strengthen institutional linkages with regional and sub-regional groups in Africa.”
“India continued to build upon its close and friendly relations with Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” the statement added.
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READER OPINIONS
Omuhle • n/a Subject: n/a Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:26:48 • Dear Editor.
We expect a balanced input into the stories you publish however it is becoming evident you have no such intention of giving us both sides of these arguments against sanctions, talks or anything else.
We can in turn also provide you with our comments which reflect the other view, the other side of the coin so those out there can know there is another view of all these topics and other debates on the state of affiars in our country.
So could you kindly find it in you to publish our comments - despite the fact they don't mirror or expand your position.
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