NEWDELHI: India on Monday made clear that it opposed to the United Nations-sanctioned air-strikes on Libya. “We regret the air strikes that are taking place,’’ External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said.
His remark went incrementally beyond the External Affairs Ministry statement on Sunday soon after the United States, France and Britain began striking targets linked to Muammar Gaddafi’s forces, now trying to wrest back areas taken over by rebels.
Sunday’s statement didn’t specifically mention the air attacks, though it was obviously referring to them. But Krishna did that, expressing concern that they could harm innocent civilians as well as diplomatic personnel still in Libya. As Delhi distanced itself further from the military intervention in Libya, the Left parties issued calls for halting military action.
About 2,000 Indians are still believed to be in Libya, but for India, the major concern is that the strikes echo the 2003 Western intervention in Iraq. If the air and missile attacks on Libya drag on, they could lead to civilian deaths -- Gaddafi says these have already taken place -- and would trigger resentment among Muslims, including those in India.
Already the Arab League has indicated what arguably is a change of mind. Initially, it had called for a no-fly zone over Libya. But now it says the military action goes beyond that and threatens civilians, rather than protecting them. India, a recent entrant to the UNSC as its non-permanent member, was quick to distance itself from the resolution sanctioning military measures against Gaddafi’s military. Along with India, Brazil, Russia, China and Germany too abstained from the resolution.
The CPM said the five member-nations which had abstained should now demand a review of the UNSC resolution. The CPI said the ``heinous act of aggression’’ was a calculated move to install a puppet regime in Libya.