'US Role In Lanka Can Be Through Consultation'

How much financial assistance has India provided to other countries that have been hit by the tsunami?
We have provided humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Indonesia and Thailand. We are also now proposing to send relief to Seychelles. This assistance has been in the form of composite relief packages to the tune of Rs 100 crore for Sri Lanka, Rs 5 crore for the Maldives and smaller packages for Indonesia and Thailand. Our assistance has been through provision of emergency rations, medical supplies, hospital ships, search and rescue operations and other emergency equipment, urgently required in the affected areas in these countries. Indian naval ships, aircraft and helicopters have been deployed for implementing this assistance and our people are helping with rebuilding the infrastructure in these countries.

How do you explain that India, itself a victim of the tsunami, is an aid-giver?
It’s true that India has also been a victim of the tsunami, and a huge operation has been launched for relief and rehabilitation within India. At the same time, given our place in this region, and our resources and expertise in providing relief after natural disasters, it was natural that we should try and help these friendly countries in this hour of need. It’s important that countries join hands in the face of such enormous disaster and try to alleviate the suffering of their people which, after all, is the common suffering of mankind.

There has been some criticism on India’s refusal to accept foreign aid for tsunami relief effort. What’s our exact position?
We do not have a dogmatic position on the issue of accepting foreign aid. What we’ve stated is that as of now we feel we have enough resources and capabilities to be able to deal with this disaster. We deeply appreciate the offers of help which have poured in from several countries but so far we have managed on our own. We would, of course, be in touch with our friends in case any requirements come up later.

Are foreign governments being discouraged from donating to the PM’s Relief Fund and are foreign charities and other such entities being discouraged from donating/working with NGOs in India?
No such restrictions have been imposed. Anybody who wishes to donate to the PM’s Relief Fund is welcome to do so. As regards the working of NGOs, there are several international NGOs and UN agencies which are already present in India, and are doing excellent work in carrying out relief operations in very close coordination with our local authorities.

We were one of the first off the block in terms of getting our navy off to Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia. What was the rationale in terms of our strategic interests in the region?
India, of course, has strategic interests in its neighbourhood. However, one should not look at the timely relief provided by India in these terms. It was a humanitarian need. We had the required resources and we responded to the needs of our neighbouring friendly countries.

There have been reports that India is somehow unhappy at the sight of seeing so many US marines landing in Sri Lanka. How do we view this? Did Sri Lanka inform us of it?
The magnitude of the disaster in Sri Lanka is such that it requires huge assistance. Indians are already present there in fairly large strength for providing relief. If the US believes it can contribute to that effort, they are most welcome. Of course, coordination has to be ensured and this was done through the coordination group that was set up. The extent of American support required is something that can be determined on the basis of consultation. We don’t think there is any misunderstanding or misapprehension in this respect.

Some say that as an aspirant to a permanent seat in the UNSC, India should not be a supplicant for aid. Is this justified?
The merits of our case for a permanent seat in the UNSC are well known. I don’t think these two issues should be coupled. That would be somewhat cynical. I’ve already stated why we have not taken aid.

There are others who say that given the skewed nature of development in India, the levels of poverty, we are better off utilising the money we give as external aid to better address the problems within.
The problem of poverty requires long-term solutions. Our government is fully committed to that task and there are specific schemes and programmes for that. As a responsible member of the international community, it is also our duty to help friendly countries, especially those in our neighbourhood, in their times of difficulty to the extent possible. I do not think that these are either/or situations.

Is there any area we can look to for international assistance, in terms of long-term issues of rehabilitation, setting up of early tsunami warning systems, ecological aspects of disaster management, etc?
As you say, these are long-term issues and once the immediate crisis created by the tsunami has been tackled, all these issues will no doubt be examined. I was recently present at the Special ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in Jakarta. The declaration issued after the summit pledges to set up an international warning system for such disasters and India is prepared to participate in this exercise.

What was our reason for being part of the core group with the US, considering that we had already launched our relief operations in the region? Was there any signalling involved in this exercise?
The core group was formed in order to facilitate a coordinated effort to deal with the disaster. The fact that India was invited to be a part of this core group was precisely because of the recognition that India had the capabilities, had the resources, in order to help out with the relief efforts in this region.

It is said that our expertise in coping with natural disaster is ‘enviably well-developed’, with other countries sometimes asking us for help. Is it true?
Our experience of handling natural disasters has indeed enabled us to develop well-defined institutional mechanisms for disaster management at all levels. These institutions swing into action immediately in the aftermath of a disaster. Standard operating procedures for different disasters have been developed and regular drills are organised. A Calamity Relief Fund has been set up in each state to enable governments to incur immediate expenditure on response and relief operations in the event of a disaster. This is supplemented by a National Calamity Contingency Fund at the central level. Eight battalions of paramilitary forces have been equipped as specialist search and rescue teams. This holistic approach was extremely useful in dealing with the aftermath of the tsunami. We’ve also circulated a document on disaster management which gives in detail our approach and experience.