India: Defense Minister Defends Him

[Rangoonp@xxxxxxx]

Subject: India: Defense Minister Defends Himself as GOV'T Totters

(Arakanese Not Karen)
To: burmanews@xxxxxxxxx, "Burma Net-l @igc.apc.org" <burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx>,
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NOTE: The group detained are not Karen rebels but members of an
Arakanese Rebel group.  THEY WERE BETRAYED and some killed by the Indian
Military Intelligence when purchasing guns as they had done before from
the MIs.  They have been in prison for about a year.
  When will India and their MI's admit their betrayal and that they are
the gun runners selling guns to the Arakanese group of freedom
fighters????

India: Defense Minister Defends Himself as GOV'T Totters

               Inter Press Service
               06-APR-99

               NEW DELHI, (Apr. 6) IPS - Defense Minister George
               Fernandes defended today his sacking of India's navy
chief
               and said it did not call for a parliamentary probe as
               demanded by both the opposition and a key ally of the
ruling
               coalition. 

               As the issue threatened the survival of the government,
               Fernandes told a crowded press conference that Admiral
               Vishnu Bhagwat's dismissal in December was a routine
               decision and that the government could not agree to a
               parliamentary probe. 

               With Minister for Parliamentary Affairs P.R.
               Kumaramangalam present, Fernandes however said the
               government was prepared to debate the issue in Parliament
               -- something which it had avoided earlier on the grounds
that
               it concerned sensitive issues. 

               "The government cannot agree to have a parliamentary
               probe every time it sacks a defense officer -- as far as
the
               government is concerned he (Bhagwat) is just another
               officer," he told a largely skeptical press conference. 

               Yesterday, the AIADMK, the second largest constituent of
               the 19-party coalition, withdrew its two ministers in the
               Cabinet of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a sign
that
               it was preparing to withdraw support to the government
over
               the issue. 

               At the conference, Fernandes avoided mention of the
               AIADMK and its leader Jayalalitha Jayaraman who has
               demanded reinstatement of Admiral Bhagwat, institution of
a
               joint-parliamentary committee (JPC) into Bhagwat's
sacking
               and removal of Fernandes as defence minister. 

               Even as the BJP stuck to its guns, Jayalalitha appeared
to
               backtrack announcing that she was still willing to
negotiate
               with the BJP leadership. 

               How the AIADMK votes will decide the fate of the
year-old,
               Vajpayee government should the Congress party force a
trial
               of strength in the Lok Sabha (lower house) on the JPC
issue

               when Parliament reconvenes after a recess in the budget
               session on Apr. 15. 

               Fernandes denied ever having called Bhagwat a security
               risk saying it was creation of the press. The sacking, he
said
               was carried out because of the former naval chief's
"defiance
               of the authority of the government." 

               Other reasons cited by Fernandes for the sacking included
               criticism and disclosure of details of a top-secret
project of
               the Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO)
               which he did not name but said "were all over the
               newspapers anyway." 

               The project, to build a nuclear-powered submarine with
the
               help of Russia, has been running for 20 years now and
               Bhagwat had opposed its continuance on the grounds that
               money was being squandered on it although it produced no
               results. 

               According to Fernandes, Bhagwat never opposed the project
               at Board meetings but chose to denigrate the DRDO and
               expose the country's security "just because he could not
               have his own man to head it." 

               The defence minister also defended himself against
charges
               by the sacked naval chief that he was a security risk. 

               According to Bhagwat, Fernandes had interfered with
               security operations in the Andaman seas against
               gun-running by Karen rebels in Burma, Sri Lankan Tamil
               Tiger rebels and various insurgent groups operating in
               north-eastern India. 

               Fernandes admitted that he had advised against
"precipitate
               action in the Andaman seas" because of the international
               fallout of "Operation Leach" led by Admiral Bhagwat in
the
               Andaman seas in February, five weeks before he took over
               as defence minister. 

               According to Fernandes, although the operation led to the
               arrest of 73 men who are still in custody and the seizure
of
               weapons "there were human rights complaints and
               ramifications for the security of our men." 

               Last month, despite a tip off from the Sri Lankan
               government, the Indian navy chased but failed to arrest
               gun-runners after they had offloaded a consignment of
arms
               and were heading back to the Thai coast. 

               But Fernandes said the navy was free to act on its own
and
               in fact he had passed a second order giving clearance for
               action. "Bhagwat knew about this second letter but does
not
               speak about is -- he is taking the country for a ride." 

               Fernandes denied harboring Karen rebels in his own home a
               cause for friction between New Delhi and Rangoon saying a
               group of Burmese who have been living in his home were
               students who feared deportation. 


               "These boys and girls are recognized as refugees by the
               United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)
               and have been living in my home since 1992 when the
police
               asked them to leave the country," he said. 

               The conference seemed like the continuation of a
               mud-slinging act between Fernandes and the man he
               sacked. Copies of complaints against Bhagwat made by his
               subordinates in the navy were circulated to the press. 

               Fernandes said, "The reputation of the ex-chief of the
navy
               for levelling slanderous, unsubstantiated and baseless
               allegations through affidavits sworn in courts and the
               publicizing these through the press is too well known to
need
               elaboration."