Musa: Old cry

New Delhi, May 30: The new Congress-led government’s claim that it would play a “pro-active” role in volatile West Asia is being put to test.

Palestine has proposed that India use its influence among developing nations to get itself nominated as the Non-Aligned Movement (Nam)’s special representative for the region so that it can work with world players to find a permanent solution to the Palestine-Israel problem.

“If India desires to play the role of a big nation, it cannot expect to do so by locking itself inside a room. It has to go out and try to deal with the problems in the world. And what problem can be bigger than the one in the Middle East:” Palestinian envoy to Delhi Osama Musa asked The Telegraph during an interview.

Musa, like many others, has been watching with interest India’s close relations with Israel in the past few years. “What India does with Israel is its sovereign decision. But for peace in the Middle East, it can do a little more,” he said.

The US and Russia, along with the United Nations and the European Union, all have “special envoys” for West Asia. Their job is to interact with important countries in the region, including Palestine and Israel, with the focus on bringing lasting peace to the violence-prone area.

Musa wants India to play a similar role.

But India on its own cannot appoint a special envoy. What it can do is raise the issue at the Nam and get a decision in its favour from the developing world.

The proposal that Palestine has put forward to Delhi is not new. It had sounded the earlier government, too, but did not get a favourable response. So on Monday, when Musa met South Block officials, he again decided to make the suggestion.

But many observers believe there will be no major shift in India’s policy on West Asia, particularly in its dealings with Israel and Palestine.

The United Progressive Alliance, in its common minimum programme document, said the government would continue to support the demand for an independent Palestinian homeland. Successive governments, including the previous BJP-led coalition, had supported this demand.

However, some Congress leaders claimed that the UPA government would play a “pro-active” role in West Asia. It remains to be seen whether the Congress-led government limits itself to rhetoric or not.

Musa said India’s support for Palestine remained unaltered under the BJP-led government.

“The BJP government gifted us a prime piece of land in Chanakyapuri (with an estimated market value of nearly $10 million) free of cost. It continued to give us other aid, which included medicines and vehicles. We know India is not a rich country like the United States or some other western nations. And, therefore, such gestures from Delhi are even more dear to us,” the ambassador said.

“People of India are known for their sense of fairness and justice. Ours is a just struggle, it’s a fight to end the Israeli occupation and get back our own territory. No matter which party or coalition comes to power in Delhi, there cannot be any change in India’s stand on the Palestinian cause. This is mainly because of the widespread support that we enjoy from the Indian people,” Musa added.