Indian ‘expansionism’ exposed

BEIRUT: India's imperialist and expansionist role in the Congo was bitterly denounced yesterday by a number of African leaders who passed through here on their way back home after attending the third African People's Conference in Cairo."An eminent Arab leader prevented the conference from openly denouncing the Indian role," they disclosed. The conference then restricted itself to the criticism of the UN operations in the Congo which is headed by Indian diplomat Rajeshwar Dayal. The strong African criticism coincided with broadsides delivered this week by The New York Times and Time news magazine. "One of the problems UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld is worrying about," said the Time magazine, "is the future of the UN operations boss in the Congo, Indian diplomat Rajeshwar Dayal, whose inflexible polices and personal prejudices have won him the enmity of every Congolese leader from President Joseph Kasavubu on down." Slating that Mr Hammarskjöld had planned to replace Mr Dayal, but last week ordered him back to Lepoidville, The New York Times said: "The Secretary-General could scarcely repudiate his senior Indian aide at the very moment when India, reversing its previous policy, had just sent an entire 4,700-man brigade to beef up the UN's dwindling Congo forces." Wide coverage was given here in this connection to a statement made in Madras this week by the former Indian Commander-in-Chief, Gen K.M. Cariappa, who was quoted as saying that "if it was necessary to send troops to the Congo, a token force would have sufficed in place of the battalion of 4,700 when our Northern borders are threatened." Newspaper editorials here asked if India's border was "really exposed or was the whole Chinese scare a blatant ruse to bargain for increased assistance from a frightened America". All Lebanese newspapers today prominently featured the statement made yesterday at the UN General Assembly by the Congolese government delegate, Mr Maria Ordaise, who repeatedly attacked Rajeshwar Dayal for jeopardising the entire UN operations in the Congo. He told the world body that Mr Dayal's "failure to consult President Kasavubu's government had prevented a solution of the Congolese problem and there could be no cooperation with Mr Dayal if he returned."