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Britain
Indicts Indian Firm for Allegedly Helping Iraqi Weapons Project
By
IOL South Asia correspondent
NEW
DELHI, September 26 (IslamOnline) - Britain has indicted an Indian
firm, NEC Engineers Private Limited, for allegedly supplying crucial
ingredients for making solid fuel rocket motors to a new plant in
Iraq.
The
indictment came in a 55-page dossier presented by British Prime
Minister Tony Blair to the specially summoned House of Commons Tuesday
that said Iraq had obtained some key ingredients from India’s
private companies.
“A
new plant at al-Mamoun for indigenously producing ammonium
perchlorate, which is a key ingredient in the production of solid
propellant rocket-motors, has been constructed. This has been provided
illicitly by NEC Engineers Private Limited, an Indian chemical
engineering firm with extensive links in Iraq, including to other
facilities such as the Fallujah-II Chlourine plant.”
Reports
from Britain said not many people were convinced about Blair’s case
for a regime change in Iraq as they were not sure how Iraq threatened
Britain’s vital interests as described by Blair.
Blair
said Britain’s sovereign base in Cyprus as well as NATO allies
Greece and Turkey were within the range of Iraqi missiles which could
carry chemical, biological and nuclear (CBN) weapons. Such weapons
could be assembled at a short notice by Iraq, the dossier claimed.
Almost
as an afterthought, the dossier added that Iraq could use the weapons
against its own citizens, thus making the proposed invasion of Iraq
look like a favor to Iraqi citizens.
The
dossier made no mention of the threat to the region from far more
lethal CBN weapons of Israel, nor was there any regret shown for the
unjust sanctions against Iraq which have killed half a million
children so far.
India
has cancelled the export license of NEC Engineers, but Britain said
other Indian individuals and companies too were involved.
Meanwhile,
India has called for lifting of sanctions against Iraq if it complies
with the U.N. Security Council resolutions to allow U.N. weapons
inspectors.
Secretary
(East) in the ministry of external affairs, RM Abhyankar, said in
Dubai Sunday that Iraq used to supply 30 percent of India’s crude
oil requirements till sanctions were imposed. He said India looked
forward to resuming the old ties once sanctions were lifted.
Earlier,
in New Delhi, Iraqi ambassador Salah Al-Mukhtar met President of
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) heading the ruling coalition at Center.
Al-Mukhtar proposed to BJP president Venkaiah Naidu party-to-party
relationship between Iraq’s ruling party Al-Baath and BJP.
Al-Mukhtar
also explained to Naidu the Iraqi position on U.S. allegations
regarding production of weapons of mass destruction. Naidu expressed
the hope that cooperation between the two countries would grow in
future.
BJP
has aggressively been working on close strategic and military ties
with Israel, which makes it suspect in the eyes of many Arabs. India
takes pains to explain that its ties with Israel are not aimed against
Arab interests.
India,
which is very keen on building its ties with the U.S. and Israel,
often finds it difficult to balance its old relations with Arabs with
its relatively new ties with Israel. Now that there is a clear
conflict between U.S. plans against Iraq and the rest of the world’s
view of it, India is once again in a difficult position.
India
has frequently reiterated its opposition to the U.S. plan of invading
Iraq. Al-Mukhtar said earlier that India should not allow U.S.
warplanes to refuel again on its territory like it did during
Operation Desert Storm.
Even
during Desert Storm India opposed the military action against Iraq,
but allowed U.S. warplanes to refuel at Agra airbase, an impossible
balancing act only India’s brahminical wisdom can justify.
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