Author: Aziz Haniffa in Washington
Publication: Rediff.com
Date: July 27, 2006
URL: http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jul/27ndeal3.htm
Remarks of Congressman Gary Ackerman, made
on the floor of the House of Representatives on July 26 in support of the
Indo-US nuclear agreement:
'Mr Chairman, I rise in strong support of
HR 5682, the US-India Nuclear Cooperation Promotion Act of 2006.
Mr Chairman, today the House has an opportunity
to make an historic choice of great proportions.
For 30 years, Mr Chairman, US policy towards
India has been defined and constrained by our insistence on punishing India
for its sovereign decision not to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Truth be told, had India conducted its nuclear tests earlier, it would have
been treated like China, Russia, France, Britain and the United States. In
short, it would have been grandfathered in as a member of the nuclear weapons
club. But they did not test earlier. And they have been treated differently.
And nothing we have tried over the last three decades has convinced them to
give up their nuclear status. And nothing that we would say over the next
three decades would convince them either.
The time has come for the United States to
deal with the reality of South Asia as it is, and as a fanciful wish. India
lives in a difficult neighbourhood, next to Pakistan which continues to produce
nuclear weapons unchecked and China who's commitment to a fissile material
cut-off is suspect at best. If India didn't exist in that neighborhood, we
would have to invent them. India has been a responsible nuclear power and
deserves to be treated that way. The bill before does just that.
Critics have expressed concerns regarding
the bill's impact on our non-proliferation policy and clearly, Iran, Pakistan
and North Korea are all looking for clues about what this deal means for them
and their nuclear programmes. What do you tell Pakistan and Iran and North
Korea? Well, you tell them this: If you want to be treated like India, be
like India. Be a responsible international actor with regard to weapons of
mass destruction technologies. Don't sell your nuclear technologies to the
highest bidder. Don't provide it to terrorists. Be a democracy -- a real democracy
like India and work with us on important foreign policy objectives and not
against us.
Iran and North Korea signed the NPT and are
now running away from their freely entered into obligations and away from
IAEA inspections. India did not sign the NPT, yet is embracing the IAEA and
embracing global non-proliferation norms. India's attitude should be recognized
and commended and congratulated.
There are two options before us today. One:
Don't pass the bill. We do that and we allow India to pursue its national
interests unimpeded as it has been doing outside the non-proliferation mainstream.
The other is to make the deal with India and
get for the United States and the international community a window in perpetuity
into 2/3rd of India's nuclear facilities and all of its future nuclear facilities,
under safeguards, in compliance, transparent.
I think the choice is clear: if you want the
IAEA to inspect India's civilian nuclear facilities, then you're for this
bill; if you want India to be obligated to adhere to the Missile Technology
Control Regime for the first time, then you're for the bill; if you want them
to comply for the first time with the Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines,
then you're for the bill; if you want to send a clear message to nuclear rogue
states about how to behave, then you're for the bill; and if you want a broad,
deep and enduring strategic relationship with India, then you are for the
bill!
It is time for a 21st century policy towards
India, one that supports and encourages India's emergence as a global responsible
power and solidifies the US-India bilateral relations for decades to come.
The bill before us today is that new policy. I urge our colleagues to vote
yes on HR 5682!'
