UK not to intervene in Iran, Syria: O’Brien -- Detail Story

British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Mike O’Brien has said that the British government would not take part in any military intervention in Iran or Syria.

He was talking to newsmen, after delivering keynote speech on "Pakistan and Britain - A Developing Relationship", arranged by the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations, Economic Affairs and Law (KCFREAL) at the FTC Auditorium, here on Thursday.

Describing Iran as an emerging democracy, he said that the UK was working alongside the Iranian government for the country’s growth. He said his country also had no plans to go after Syria.

He dispelled the impression that there was any list of countries to be attacked like Afghanistan and Iraq. He said that the allegations that the US and the UK would be benefited from the oil in Iraq were also baseless.

Responding to a question about the bugging of the Pakistan High Commission in London, he said: "There are people who make all sorts of allegations. The British government’s position is that we don’t either confirm or deny any such allegations."

Earlier in his speech, the minister, who also holds the portfolio of international trade and investment, said: "Britain and Pakistan are intimately linked, in their past and in the present." He said that more than three-quarters of a million Pakistanis, who had made their home in the UK, were playing a vital part in every sector of the British life. Similarly, he added, 80,000 British citizens had chosen to make Pakistan their home. "This is only one of the factors that has helped trade between our two countries to improve so dramatically in recent months," he said.

He said both the countries could and should work closely on some issues facing the world today. He said the concept of "clash of civilisations" had persisted since the phrase was first coined by an American academic, Samuel Huntingdon, a decade ago.

"There is a danger that this perception will gain ground in these difficult times for all. Britain’s multi-cultural society shows that Islam and Christianity can live in harmony.

"The growth of extremism in any religion or society is an issue that concerns us all. It has been found in the Christianity and many other religions also. It is Islam that has a long tradition of tolerance and deep-rooted tenets of equality, humanity and respect for the views of others," he said.

The British minister applauded President Musharraf’s concept of enlightened moderation and his initiatives at the Organisation of Islamic Countries. "He (Musharraf) is right. We all have some serious work to do," he said.

Earlier, KCFREAL Secretary General Ahsan Mukhtar Zubairi and founding member Liaquat Merchant, respectively, delivered the introductory and welcome addresses.

2 posted on 12/12/2003 8:39:04 PM PST by jokar (Beware of the White European Male Christian theological complex !!)

It is Islam that has a long tradition of tolerance and deep-rooted tenets of equality, humanity and respect for the views of others," he said.

Uh huh, right. I suppose their views and treatment of women is a shining example....

Prairie

3 posted on 12/12/2003 8:51:43 PM PST by prairiebreeze (Christmas isn't always a happy time. We must remember to be gentle with each other.)

Unsaid... "We'll hold down the fort in Iraq and Afghanistan while the US kicks Iran's and Syria's a$$

4 posted on 12/12/2003 9:07:42 PM PST by Robe (Rome did not create a great empire with meetings, they did it by killing all those who opposed them)

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.