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Israel,
India Finalize Phalcon Deal, Protestors Arrested
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Indian
Muslims shout slogans and hold anti-Sharon placards
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NEW
DELHI, September 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Amid
country-wide demonstrations by thousands of Indians against the
current visit by Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon, Indian and Israeli top
brass discussed Tuesday, September 9, the final details of a
billion-dollar deal for selling advanced Phalcon radar systems to New
Delhi, after an American green-light.
Israeli
Defense Ministry Director-General Major General Amos Yaron and Indian
Air Force Commander Chief Air Marshal S. Krishnaswamy held a one-hour
meeting, Indian and Israeli officials said.
"The
two sides discussed a series of issues but their talks mainly focused
on our requirement for the three Phalcon AWACS systems for which there
are no obstacles now," an Indian air force official said on
condition of anonymity.
The
meeting came after an Israeli official accompanying Sharon told
reporters that the long-awaited deal would be signed within weeks,
reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
Phalcon is an Israeli-developed long-range radar warning and control
system carried in a Russian Ilyushin-76 cargo plane.
"It
will probably be another couple of weeks because of a couple of
bureaucratic lapses, things that have to be worked out," an
Israeli official said.
Israeli
defense sources hinted it was likely the source of the delay hinged on
the issue of the transfer of source code for the system.
The
United States, which had been blocking the sale of Phalcons to both
India and China, gave Israel the go-ahead last month to sign the
Airbourne Warning and Control System (AWACS) deal with New Delhi.
Indian
Defense Ministry sources said that beside the Phalcon talks, Yaron and
Krishnaswamy discussed upgrading India's crash-plagued MiG-21 Russian
fighter jets.
Yaron,
heading a two-member Israeli military team comprising Colonel Yoash
Rubin and Colonel Moshe Kravitz, also held a 75-minute meeting with
Indian Defense Ministry's Chief Scientific Adviser, V. K. Atre, the
sources said.
"The
talks focused on a possible collaboration between state-owned Israeli
Aircraft Industry and India's Defense Research and Development
Organization for joint production of unmanned aerial vehicles
(drones)," one source said.
The
Israeli military team is set to hold a series of meetings Wednesday,
September 10, with Indian military planners.
Talks
are likely to accelerate the sale of Israeli Travos infantry weaponry
for counter-insurgency operations, especially in Indian-controlled
Kashmir.
Yaron
will hold talks Wednesday with India's naval chief Admiral Madhvendera
Singh and army chief General N.C. Vij, while Defense Minister George
Fernandes will call on Sharon after the day's negotiations.
Speaking
at an official welcome ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the
presidential palace, Sharon said Israel was "very
interested" in developing and strengthening relations with India.
"No
doubt, as a leader of the non-aligned bloc of countries, India plays a
significant role in international politics and Israel would like to
avail itself of its ties with India in order to improve Israel's
position in the international arena," an Israeli official told
reporters, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Sharon
arrived in New Delhi Monday, September 8, leading a 150-strong
delegation of politicians and senior business executives, many from
the defense, high tech and agriculture industries.
Anti-Sharon
Protests
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Activists
of the Communist Party of India protesting Sharon’s visit
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Thousands
of people took to the streets in major Indian cities Tuesday to
protest Sharon’s visit but scores of them were arrested by police.
Protests
were staged in New Delhi, where Sharon was holding talks with Indian
leaders; the western city of Bombay, where he will travel on Thursday,
September 11, the last day of his visit; and in India-controlled
Kashmir.
Some
2,000 communists carrying banners and placards tried to march on to
the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi, shouting anti-Sharon slogans, an AFP
reporter confirmed.
"Butcher
Sharon, go back, go back," screamed the protesters from various
Indian communist parties which have been staunch backers of the
Palestinian cause since the height of the Cold War.
"You
have blood on your hands," the protesters chanted after Sharon
kicked off his official visit by inspecting an honor guard at the
British-built presidential palace Tuesday morning.
Anti-riot
paramilitary soldiers blocked the protesters, who included women and
students, but the marchers changed tact and squatted on a street
leading to a hotel, now fortified for Sharon's stay.
Earlier
Tuesday, police stopped activists of the Communist Party of
India-Marxist (CPM) from marching on the Rajghat tomb of Indian
freedom champion Mahatma Gandhi ahead of Sharon's trip to the
barricaded mausoleum.
The
CPI argues that since Gandhi was an apostle of peace, Sharon had no
right to pay homage there.
"Palestinians
daily suffer genocide and terror at the hands of the Israeli regime
and yet Israel projects itself as a 'victim of terror,'" CPM
leader Sitaram Yechuri said.
"It
is sacrilege to allow Sharon anywhere (near) Gandhi's tomb as it
defiles the spirit of India," he maintained.
In
the western economic hub Bombay, people staged a protest in the busy
Bhendi Bazaar Muslim area, chanting anti-Israeli slogans before they
were rounded up by police.
As
they were being led away to waiting police vans, the protestors
chanted slogans such as "Sharon is the enemy of humanity",
"death to Sharon" and "Ariel Sharon should be
hanged".
"Sharon
has spent his life doing nothing but stabbing humanity. We do not want
such people to put their feet in India," said Suhail Rizvi,
secretary of the Raza Academy, a local Islamic organization.
Police
indicated they would release the protestors without pressing charges
against them.
In
Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, dozens of
communists held a noisy demonstration against Sharon's visit.
"Down
with Sharon. Down with Israel," shouted several hundred Kashmiri
workers from the Communist Party of India.
They
were led by Yusuf Tarigami, the chief of the party in Kashmir, who is
also a prominent lawmaker.
The
protesters marched through the lanes of Lal Chowk, Srinagar's main
commercial hub.
New
Delhi Joint Police Commissioner Maxwell Pereira, tasked with Sharon's
security, said protesters would not be allowed near any of the sites
to be visited by the Israeli premier.
"None
of the groups has our permission to hold such demonstrations and
rallies at the venues," Pereira told AFP.
Sharon
has already cancelled a planned trip to the Taj Mahal town of Agra,
cutting short his original five-day trip by a day due to security
fears.
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