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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview With Carola Hoyos of 'Financial Times'

Aired June 01, 2002 - 07:36   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: Now, as India and Pakistan stand on the edge of war, the international community is on the edge of its seat. Governments have dispatched diplomats, and world leaders are urging restraint.

For some analysis now, we turn to reporter Carola Hoyos. She is the U.N. correspondent for "The Financial Times" in New York. Carola, good to see you.

CAROLA HOYOS, "FINANCIAL TIMES": Nice to be here.

PHILLIPS: All right. First, reaction to the interview with Pervez Musharraf. He's done quite the PR drive we were talking about.

HOYOS: That's right. I think first reaction is that he took some potshots at India, but was relatively calm. I think the international community is probably more worried about this than indications from the ground we're not seeing the kind of massive evacuations or people lining up for food. And even the evacuations that have been called by the U.S. State Department and by the U.N. are for non-essential personnel and families, and people are relatively slow to leave.

But you have to remember, unlike Afghanistan, there are a lot of international citizens living in India.

PHILLIPS: I asked Tom Mintier this questions. Why doesn't Vajpayee and Musharraf sit down and talk? Is this a standoff of two egos?

HOYOS: Well, they've tried it before in Agra (ph), and the condition of India and Vajpayee is that Musharraf needs to stop talking and start doing something, and therefore he's been quite reluctant to come out and have a bilateral meeting with Musharraf.

And we are seeing signs that Musharraf, despite internal pressures, is starting to do something about the militants, as much as he can in the Kashmir region.

PHILLIPS: Why can't Kashmir just be left alone?

HOYOS: That's a good question. I think a lot of Kashmiris are asking exactly that question. But this is a very critical area. It's critical for India as a secular state. It's a very emotional situation for Pakistan. It's something that a lot of Pakistanis care a lot about, and Musharraf is really walking a tightrope here between pleasing the international community, now that he has a bigger role there with the fight against the war on terrorism, and making sure he doesn't lose power because of internal dissent.

There is still a lot of sentiment for those militants fighting in Kashmir within Pakistan that Musharraf cannot ignore.

PHILLIPS: Carola, final question: Do you see a nuclear war? You've got India, which definitely has said no nukes, and India is the one with all the troop power and more nuclear weapons.

HOYOS: That's right. I don't see nuclear war, but this is a very dangerous situation. It's very different to the cold war between Moscow and Washington. The communications systems aren't there. These are very different countries. It's not as sophisticated. So there is a danger. It has escalated.

But I think we might be in the deescalation phase, and I wouldn't worry too much about a nuclear war, but this is a very dangerous part of the world.

PHILLIPS: Carola Hoyos, of "The Financial Times," thanks so much for your insight this morning.

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