Sharon Launches Historic Visit to India

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon launched his historic visit to India by laying a wreath Tuesday at the memorial of the subcontinent’s great peacemaker, Mohandas K. Gandhi.

After the ceremonial welcome, amid tight security and planned protests against Sharon, the first Israeli prime minister to visit India was planning to get down to the business of defense deals, trade and counterterrorism talks.

“I hope this visit, the first by an Israeli prime minister, will help us to move forward and accomplish all the things that we believe in,” Sharon said, after inspecting an honor guard at the presidential palace.

Sharon then placed a wreath at the memorial of Gandhi, the father of India’s independence movement who was slain by a Hindu fundamentalist in 1948.

Pakistan, India’s neighbor and chief rival, warned of the “dangerous consequences” of a military alliance between Israel and India following Sharon’s arrival Monday for a three-day visit. Sharon hopes to seal the $1 billion sale of an advanced airborne radar package.

“I think such a collaboration should be avoided at all costs,” Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan said, adding it would hurt peace in the region.

Several hundred demonstrators marched Tuesday through the capital, beating their chests and shouting slogans against Sharon.

The United States is applauding the state visit, the first by an Israeli leader since India opened ties with the Jewish state in 1992, and may be looking toward a three-way strategic alliance in the region.

“We are always glad when our friends make friends with each other and work together,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters.

However, Washington might oppose Israeli efforts to provide India with technology – some developed jointly with the United States – that could tilt the military balance in the region and upset U.S. allies, such as Pakistan, in the global war on terrorism.

Sharon’s entourage of three Cabinet ministers and more than 30 business and defense leaders can expect street protests by leftist and Muslim groups.

Indian leaders have always supported the Palestinian struggle for self-rule, long before India and Israel gained independence from Britain more than half a century ago.

The country’s major Muslim organizations and chief clerics have called for street protests Tuesday, accusing the Israeli leader of being a “war criminal.”

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said he was confident Sharon’s visit would boost military and trade ties with Israel without diluting India’s support of the Palestinian cause.

“This is a historic visit. I’m confident that as a result of this visit, the two countries will come closer,” Vajpayee said after the ceremonial welcoming on Tuesday.

In India, many see the burgeoning relations with Israel as advantageous to their rapidly developing nation.

The countries have developed thriving commercial and military ties. Israeli experts say India already has bought Israeli missiles, radar, communications equipment and guns. Bilateral trade grew to $1.27 billion last year, according to the Indian government.

Indian and U.S. defense officials met last month in Washington, where they declared a “new strategic partnership.” Israel has its own friendship with the Americans, prompting analysts to talk of a possible three-way alliance in which India’s proximity to the Persian Gulf region could serve Israeli and U.S. efforts to pre-empt any hostile action by countries such as Iran.

Sharon was scheduled Tuesday to meet with Vajpayee, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and India’s deputy prime minister, foreign minister and national security adviser.

The Israeli and Indian leaders were expected to discuss the possible sale to India of the Arrow missile defense system, developed by Israel and the United States. Also on the agenda is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the role of radical Islamic groups operating in Pakistan and Kashmir.

India has been battling an Islamic insurgency in its portion of Kashmir since 1989. More than 63,000 people have been killed in the struggle for an independent Kashmir or one merged with Islamic Pakistan.

After talks Wednesday, Sharon planned to fly to Bombay Thursday to meet with business leaders and members of the city’s small Jewish community before heading back to Tel Aviv.