Getting Indians Out Of Lebanon

Navtej Sarna: Good Evening. I will touch upon two or three issues thatI have and then I will request Miss Sarita Bali, Joint Secretary (Special KuwaitCell) who is here today to come and speak to you on issues relating to thecompensation of victims of the Iraq-Kuwait war 1991, so there some time-boundissues relating to compensation which we need to get into the press. She hasvery kindly agreed to come here and talk to you about that.

Before we go there, just an update on the issue of possible evacuation ofIndians from Lebanon, on which we have been getting several questions. As youknow there are four Indian navy ships, which should be reaching Lebanese watersright now, and they will be berthing in the harbor as soon as they get place. Asyou can appreciate, there is considerable congestion building up there. So itmight not be immediate, but hopefully soon enough—over the next day or so,they should be in position. And then, they will be moving the people who wouldwant to leave the country. There are about, by present counts, a thousandpeople, and they will be moving them. You may well ask me if they will be movingthem directly into India or somewhere else. I cannot tell you at the moment, butif the numbers remain at 900-1000, it is quite possible that the ships wouldbring them directly back to India. However, if the numbers are more, then likeother countries, there is a possibility that we would be doing the shuttle toLarnaca in Cyprus, from where eventually an airlift would be organized.

Of course, other countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka—there are requests fromthem for their citizens also to be put on the ships and that also, spacepermitting, will be done. This is the update on that issue.

Secondly, The Iranian Government has informed us that the Foreign Minister ofIran, Mr. Manouchehr Mottaki, who was scheduled to come to New Delhi early thismorning on an official visit, has postponed his visit due to the situation inWest Asia and proposed that the visit will be rescheduled for other, mutuallyconvenient dates.

Question: Is India applying enough diplomatic pressure to facilitate thedocking of our ships?

Navtej Sarna:  All diplomatic steps necessary for ensuring thatour ships are given a berth under safe conditions have been taken.

Question: what are the specific steps?

Navtej Sarna:  Whatever is necessary. We have to talk to the twocountries involved, and that is being done.

Question: What specific steps have been taken by the Indian government toensure the safety of the remaining Indians?

Navtej Sarna:  The Indian government is not in a position thereto take steps to ensure the safety of the people. We have issued an advisory tothe people who are there, for instance, in South Lebanon, that they should movefrom there, and many of them have moved. It is an evolving situation, and thehostilities are taking place there. Naturally it is a dangerous place, so peoplewho are wanting to move, we are facilitating (their movement). Some people havealready moved via Damascus, and now these ships have reached the place.

Question: So one would presume that the others who are there will notwant to move?

Navtej Sarna:  It is difficult to predict, because it is anevolving situation; it depends which direction the situation takes, whatperception the people there have of the danger levels.

Question: Is there any proposal to withdraw the peace troops which arethere?

Navtej Sarna:  There are UN peace troops, so this is somethingthat the UN has to take care.

Question: Apart from Sri Lanka and Nepal, has any other country askedfor assistance?

Navtej Sarna:  So far, I only have these two countries on mybrief.

Question: Have we contacted the Syrian government to get them via Syria?

Navtej Sarna:  As I said, some people have already come viaSyria. About 100 people or so have already come on the highway from Beirut toDamascus, and have left.

Question: You said the ships can take only about 800-1000 people.Considering the number of Indians there, will that be adequate?

Navtej Sarna:  I just said that this is the capacity of theships; if the numbers increase, then we are planning to do a shuttle to Larnacain Cyprus, from where an airlift will be organized. There is only a certain kindof ships which can go there, through the Suez Canal.

Question: There is a talk about international stabilization force.What is our view on that?

Navtej Sarna:  This is a very rapidly evolving situation, andwhen there are some matters of concern to us, or matters in which we cancontribute, to the international community’s thinking on the subject, then wewill.

Question: The G-8 came out with a strong statement on 7 /11, and only ahour or two later, Mr.RichardBoucher was asking for evidence. Do you think it is a counter-balancingact by the US?

Navtej Sarna:  I think the United States was part of the St.Petersburg statement. So if you see any inherent contradictions in anystatements coming out of that, then you have to address it to that government.For us, we see the G-8 statement as a very positive statement which recognizesIndia’s terrorism concerns and it is a strong statement which lays out theviews of G-8, plus the other countries, who have supported it besides G-8, on7/11 and other matters related to terrorism.

Question: Any response to Boucher’s statement?

Navtej Sarna:  I do not have a response to it.

Question: On a separate issue; one of the IFS probationers …(inaudible)…

Navtej Sarna:  I am glad you used the word allegedly, becausethat means that it is an issue which has not reached a point ... the law has notasked the Ministry to take a view. As and when there is movement in this regardwhich begins to impinge in legal terms, then we will see under the appropriaterules and regulations, what to do. There are certain rules and regulations,which come into operation once a situation moves from a personal realm into anissue in which the law is involved. Once that threshold is crossed, if thatthreshold is crossed, then we will take appropriate action under the existingrules and regulations.

Question: There was this report that private companies are required totake permission from MEA…

Navtej Sarna:  I am glad you asked that, because this is anotherissue on which we have been trying to clarify matters. We have seen thosereports, and I want to clarify that these reports are distorted. They have beenblown out of proportion, and the essential purport of the Cabinet Secretary’sletter was to reiterate MEA’s existing guidelines, which establish that allcommunication between foreign governments and diplomatic Missions in India andMinistries of Government of India and State governments will be channelisedthrough the Ministry of External Affairs. This includes invitations to foreigngovernments, diplomatic Missions in India, or responses to invitations receivedfrom foreign governments or diplomatic Missions in India, including forparticipation in trade fairs and exhibitions. Under these instructions, it isdesirable, I underline the word desirable, that private organisations shouldextend invitations to delegations from foreign countries to visit India, afterconsulting MEA and MHA. Similarly, they are advised to send delegations toforeign countries, with the knowledge of MEA, so they can be rendered passportand transit facilities, and other assistance if required. Now these areinstructions which have evolved keeping in view the requirements of our foreignpolicy, our protocol, and security interests. These are not meant to act as anyhindrance for functioning of our private sector organisations, and we willcontinue to do our utmost to promote increased collaboration between Indiancompanies and their counterparts abroad. So the nuancing of what I said isimportant.

Question: This is not binding though?

Navtej Sarna:  As I said, it is only desirable. If they needfacilities, it is best to consult us. They are advised that before invitingpeople, please consult us. But the mandatory requirement is for the interactionbetween the Government and the foreign governments - the governments at theCentre and States, and the diplomatic Missions. So, it is important to get itcorrect and not to distort it out of proportion.

Question: The special passports for Bangladesh issued in Northeast Indiahave been withdrawn for the time being. Do you have anything on that?

Navtej Sarna:  From what I understand, there is thisIndia-Bangladesh special passport which used to exist in that area; theexistence of that passport, which used to be issued by various offices, and notnecessarily by Regional Passport Officers, that is a matter, if I recall, underreview and it was felt that perhaps it is best to issue the same passport as isbeing issued for the rest of the country to travel to other countries.

Navtej Sarna:  Now, I would invite Joint Secretary (SKC), Ms. SaritaBali to brief you.

Sarita Bali: The United Nations Security Council had established in 1992,a special compensation commission called the United Nations CompensationCommission (UNCC) to provide compensatory funds to the expatriate nationals ofseveral countries, who suffered injuries or losses during the Iraq-Kuwait GulfWar of 1990-1991.

Among the Indian claimants, over 100 thousand claimants have already been paid asum of US $ 1 billion in compensation. 6500 claimants have yet to receive theircompensation, as they had changed their addresses and did not intimate their newaddresses to Ministry of External Affairs. These claimants are called successful‘Untraced Claimants’.

A list of these claimants can be accessed on the Ministry of External affairswebsite, www.mea.gov.in, under MEA Links (Special Kuwait Cell).

The last date fixed by the UNCC for locating these persons is 30th September2006, after which their claims will lapse. Keeping view the minimum timerequired by banks to secure funds from UNCC, the claimants are advised to ensurethat their letters intimating their new address must reach SKC Division by 20thAugust 2006 at the latest, at the following address:

Ms. Sarita Bali,
Joint Secretary (SKC & Library),
9, Bhagwan Dass Road,
I.S.I.L. Building,
New Delhi-110001
Ph: 23387012, Fax: 23386953
Email: jsskc@mea.gov.in

We would appeal to the media to carry this announcement which will enable us toreach these mostly poor, illiterate and innocent Indian victims of the Gulf War1990-91, many of whom are living in remote areas of India. The modestcompensation that has been approved by UNCC will be invaluable for theirresettlement in India or elsewhere.

Question: What is the total amount of compensation?

Joint Secretary (SKC): It would be approximately USD 20 million.

Question: What is it per individual?

Joint Secretary (SKC): It would vary from one individual to another.

Question: How is the compensation calculated?

Joint Secretary (SKC): There are various categories of compensation.For example, Category A pertains to compensation for travel from Iraq or Kuwaitback to India. Category B pertains to injuries or death. Category C pertains toproperty losses below USD 100,000. Category D pertains to property losses aboveUSD 100,000. Category E is for corporate claims and Category F is for Governmentof India claims.

Question: What is the total figure, the total amount of compensationpackage for India?

Joint Secretary (SKC): Over USD 1 billion has been paid to over 1 lakhclaimants. We are trying to locate 6,500 claimants for whom approximately USD 20million is lying with the UNCC waiting disbursement.