28 January 2006

Press Statement

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

US Interference Again

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly objects to the United States asking the Indian government not to proceed to acquire an oilfield  in Syria in partnership with China.  According to The Hindu newspaper, the Bush administration has given an aide memoire to the government asking it to reconsider the decision to invest in Syria.

The United States has already objected to the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. It is opposed to the India-China collaboration  in the energy sector and it expects India to join the US game plan of targeting Iran and Syria. 

The CPI(M) has repeatedly pointed out that India’s national interests require it to forge close economic ties and cooperation with several countries especially keeping in mind our energy requirements.  The recent visit of the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Mani Shankar Aiyar, to China was an important step in this regard. 

Day by day, it is becoming clear that the United States is utilising the “strategic partnership” forged during the Prime Minister’s visit to Washington in July 2005 to pressurise India to fall in line with US strategic interests.  

The Manmohan Singh government should not give the impression that it can be pushed around.

The UPA government  should immediately make public the nature of the US intervention in the Syrian oilfield affair and make a categorical statement that it disapproves all such moves.