M A I N   N E W S

UK opposes veto for India
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 18
British Foreign Minister Jack Straw brought a mixed bag of news for India today. On the one hand, during his talks with his Indian counterpart K. Natwar Singh at Hyderabad House, he handed a formal invitation for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attend G-8 summit in Gleneagles this July. On the other he ruled out veto power for India as a permanent member in the to-be-expanded United Nations Security Council.

Apart from India, Britain, the host country for this year’s G-8 summit, has also invited China, South Africa and Brazil for the event.

What Mr Straw had to say during a speech event later in the evening at FICCI House was unsettling for New Delhi. Mr Straw said in the question and answer session that followed his speech that London supported India’s candidature for permanent membership of the UNSC but not with veto powers.

Mr Straw, speaking on “UK and India: a Dynamic Global Partnership” at an event hosted jointly by the Indo British Partnership Forum (IBPF) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), said: “We favour an expansion of the Security Council to include as permanent members Germany, Japan, Brazil, and India. This is option A of the two put forward by the high-level Panel.”

Both India and the UK contributed members to the Secretary-General’s High level Panel on UN reform—Mr David Hannay and Mr Satish Nambiar.

The British foreign minister pointed out that India was becoming a major force in the world economy — with output set to double by 2020, putting India among the largest economies in the world.

He also said that British Prime Minister Tony Blair will visit India for the EU-India Summit and EU-India Business Summit, along with a programme of bilateral talks.

Mr Straw identified three areas in the India-UK global partnership: security, sustainable development, and building the strength of the international system.

This was the fourth meeting between the two Foreign Ministers since June last year. New Delhi and London had a meeting of the India-UK Round Table a few weeks back, while Foreign Office Consultations are to be held next month.

An important point that came up for intensive discussion between Mr Natwar Singh and Mr Straw was the situation in Nepal. 

Indo-British pact on convicts
S. Satyanarayanan
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 18
India and Britain today signed an agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons and renewed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding verification and return of illegal Indian migrants in the United Kingdom.

The agreement was signed by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and the visiting Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom Jack Straw here.

The agreement on prisoners transfer provides for the two countries to send prisoners back to their native country to serve their jail sentences if they fulfil the criteria for taking such a step.

Under the MoU on asylum returns, people who are not deemed genuine can be sent back to India by Britain. India, in turn, will accept them back home.

The MoU, which was initially signed last February between the then Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and British Home Secretary David Blunkett, will be valid till January 29, 2006.

Both the sides described the signing of the two accords as "very useful" in strengthening the relationship between the two countries.

The agreement on sentenced persons makes it clear that the convicted prisoner shall not be transferred if: The transferring state is of the opinion that it would be prejudicial to the sovereignty, security or any other interest of the transferring state; There is any other case pending in the transferring state against the convicted prisoner; He is convicted of an offence under military law not being an offence under the ordinary criminal law of the transferring state; and Death penalty has been awarded to the convicted prisoner in the transferring state.

The salient features of the agreement are:

* A request for transfer may be made by the convicted prisoner or a person entitled to act on his behalf in view of his age or physical or mental condition.

* The request for transfer will have to be agreed upon by the transferring state and the receiving state.

* The transfer will be effected if the judgement awarding the sentence is final in India, i.e. no appeal or revision against the judgement is pending in any court.

* The transfer will be made if the convicted prisoner is a citizen of the receiving state notwithstanding that he may also be a citizen of any other foreign state.

* The law of the receiving state shall govern the enforcement of the sentence. However, the receiving state shall be bound by the legal nature and duration of the sentence as determined by the transferring state.

* The enforcement of sentence in the receiving state, to the extent that it has been enforced in the transferring state, shall have the effect of discharging the sentence.

* The transferring state alone shall be competent to decide any application for review of the judgement. Either the state may grant pardon, amnesty or commutation in accordance with its Constitution or other laws.