UK PM draws fire with frank talk

2010-07-29 11:11

New Delhi - British Prime Minister David Cameron has revealed a plain-speaking streak during a tour of Turkey and India that raises questions over whether it is down to youthful inexperience or a bold new approach to diplomacy.

He caused anger among Israelis by saying in Turkey that Gaza was a "prison camp", and went on to offend Islamabad when he suggested in front of an Indian audience in Bangalore that Pakistan "promoted the export of terror".

In Ankara he also dismissed opponents of Turkish membership of the European Union as "protectionist, polarised or prejudiced", an analysis which will not be shared in Paris or Berlin. France and Germany oppose Turkish entry.

"I think it's important, as I say, to speak frankly about these things to countries that are your friends," Cameron said on Thursday in an interview with British broadcasters, adding that he would "do so in the future" as well.

India happy, Pakistan disturbed

At 43, Cameron is the youngest British prime minister in nearly two centuries. He has been in office since May.

His comments on Pakistan delighted the Indian media, which devoted much of its coverage of his visit to the subject, to the detriment of his core message that he wanted to boost trade and business links between Britain and India.

Pakistan's high commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, called Cameron's comments "completely contrary to the realities on the ground".

"A bilateral visit (to India) aimed at attracting business could have been conducted without damaging the prospects of regional peace," he wrote in a column in Thursday's edition of the British newspaper The Guardian.

'A great diplomat'

The Israeli ambassador to Britain, Ron Prosor, was equally unimpressed. "The people of Gaza are the prisoners of the terrorist organisation Hamas," he said in a sharp retort to Cameron's "prison camp" comment.

In a briefing with British journalists covering the tour, Foreign Secretary William Hague came under a barrage of questions on Thursday on whether Cameron might watch his words more carefully in future.

"The prime minister speaks the truth and we are all united and clear and happy about what he said," Hague said.

"The prime minister is a great diplomat and I see that in action every day when he's dealing with foreign leaders. He is a natural at it, so I don't think you need to be worried on that score," he said.

Cameron will get a direct response from Pakistan when he hosts President Asif Ali Zardari at his Chequers country residence in Britain next week.

Asked in his interview with British broadcasters whether he regretted damaging relations with Pakistan ahead of the meeting, he said: "I don't accept that they have been damaged ... I look forward to discussing these and other issues (with Zardari)."
 

- Reuters