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CNN Saturday Morning News

U.N. Orders Staff Families' Evacuation From India

Aired June 01, 2002 - 07:29   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to get some perspective now from India's side.

CNN's Satinder Bindra reports from New Delhi about the evacuations of family members of U.N. staffers in that region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Kyra. I'm talking to you from just outside a place called South Block (ph). This is where the Indian prime minister's office is located.

And all through last night and indeed this morning, one of the main topics for discussion here in India's capital has been an advisory put out by the U.S. State Department. In this advisory, the U.S. State Department is asking all nonessential diplomatic staff in India to leave. The advisory also calls upon some 60,000 U.S. citizens in India to leave.

But I must stress, this is all a voluntary, and there's no great panic among 60,000 U.S. citizens here to leave for the airport. In fact, some U.S. citizens that I've been talking to this morning say they will be staying here.

But this advisory has brought out advisories from other diplomatic missions here. For instance, the United Nations is now saying that dependents off its diplomatic staff will be asked to leave very shortly. The Canadians also asking all their non-essential diplomatic staff to leave.

Clearly, the international community remains very concerned about the possibility of some kind of hostilities breaking out between nuclear neighbors and Pakistan.

Now, in such a charged atmosphere, there is some diplomacy that's going on. The sources here at the Indian prime minister's office telling me that the Indiana prime minister, Mr. Vajpayee, will be leaving for Kazakhstan to attend an Asian security conference, and he will be leaving tomorrow morning.

Now, the Pakistani president, General Pervez Musharraf, will also be there, and the international community is trying to arrange a meeting. Certainly here in New Delhi, there are some senior politicians who are also advising the Indian prime minister that he should consider a meeting. The Indian prime minister's office, though, very adamant -- the Indian prime minister's office saying at this point there is no question of any talks, there is no question of even a meeting, because as New Delhi puts it, "Pakistan must do more to stop what India calls cross-border terrorism."

Satinder Bindra, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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