Fury in India over attack on Iraq

Thursday March 20, 2003 14:53

by bought politican

Message to bertie and his puppet government, India may be a poor country, but it is not a banana republic and it does not sell its people out for blood stained yankee dollars.

Protesters in India have burned American flags and the Indian government has denounced the US-led attack on Iraq.

One hundred women activists gathered outside the US Embassy's cultural centre in New Delhi, blocking the traffic and chanting: "Killer Bush! Down! Down!". Two were arrested.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee met with senior Cabinet colleagues to discuss the Iraq crisis, especially its effect on oil prices and the safety of some 3.5 million Indian expatriates in the Middle East.

In a statement, India's Foreign Ministry said: "The military action lacks justification. We sincerely hope that the Iraqi people will not be subject to further hardships, sufferings, loss of lives and damage to property from an extended military cooperation."

In Lucknow, the capital of India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, communist protesters gathered in front of the state assembly building and burned US flags.

Saddam Hussein has limited support among India's 140 million Muslims. Even so, the US government's war rhetoric and actions in Iraq have created sympathy for Saddam, as many say he's being targeted at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons.

Indian filmmakerMahesh Bhatt, who in January refused President Bush's invitation to a prayer breakfast at the White House, said: "This is the beginning of the end of the domination of Western nations. It is going to be a long, drawn-out tragedy. They may win this battle but they will lose this war."

However, there is some support for the allied action. Florist Suraj Kumar said: "War is not good, but if Iraq is wrong, then a war against them is okay."

In Jammu lawmakers shouted slogans against the US and Bush, and adjourned the assembly for a day to protest the attack. Jammu-Kashmir is India's only Muslim-majority state.

The state's law and parliamentary affairs minister, Muzaffar Beig, said: "It would be wrong to suggest that this is a war between Christians and Muslims. This is a war of self-interest launched by the sole superpower."