Pradeep Puri in New Delhi | April 03, 2003 12:15 IST

With the war in Iraq threatening to enter the third week, the petroleum ministry has decided to review its contingency plans to meet the country's oil requirements.

"The plans will be reviewed every 15 days to fine-tune them according to the situation on the ground," Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said on Wednesday.

The government will look for suppliers outside the war zone if the war spreads and blocks the supply routes.

In case the supply of oil is disrupted, the petroleum ministry will explore the alternatives for crude imports, including spot purchases from sources outside the Gulf region.

In the case of a crisis, the government will also try to source crude from countries outside the Persian Gulf, including Egypt, Yemen, Nigeria, Russia, Malaysia, Norway, Angola, Venezuela, Oman and Australia.

The minister said some contracts had already been signed with suppliers far away from the conflict zone. He, however, refused to divulge the names of the suppliers or the quantity of crude to be sourced from them.

Naik said the war had not yet affected the availability of oil in the country. Crude supplies had not been disrupted and the oil tanks were full, he said.

The country would start getting ONGC Videsh Ltd's 25 per cent share of oil production from the Greater Nile project in Sudan from next month, the minister added.

ONGC Videsh, a subsidiary of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, is also trying to buy out the other two partners in the project-the National Oil Company of China and Petronas of Malaysia.

India has 12 days' stock of crude and another 11 days' requirement in transit. It imports less than 5 per cent of its crude requirement of 78.7 million tonnes from Iraq.

The country also has a stock of petrol to last 33 days, diesel 29 days, kerosene 32 days, aviation turbine fuel 47 days and liquefied petroleum gas 15 days.

WSWS : News & Analysis : North America : Canada By Keith Jones 3 April 2003

The US ambassador to Canada has rebuked the Canadian government for not joining the US-led invasion of Iraq and broken with diplomatic protocol to solidarize himself with the right-wing premier of oil-rich Alberta.

Speaking to a big business audience in Toronto March 25, Paul Cellucci said Americans were “disappointed” and “upset” that the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien has stood aside from the “coalition of the willing.” Using unprecedentedly harsh language, he suggested Ottawa has left Washington in the lurch at a time of great peril.

If there was any question as to whether Cellucci’s remarks were reflective of the views of the Bush administration, US government officials were quick to dispel it. Both State Department and White House aides let it be known that Cellucci, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, had spoken out against the Canadian government on express instructions from the highest levels of the Bush administration.

Cellucci told the Economic Club of Toronto that if Canada’s security was ever threatened, the US would commit whatever resources were required for its defense: “We would be there for Canada, part of our family, and that is why so many in the United States are disappointed and upset that Canada is not fully supporting us now.”

Whilst insisting that the partnership between Canada and the US will endure, the ambassador warned of “short-term strains.” Asked what form those strains might take, Cellucci replied, “You’ll have to wait and see.” However, he then let slip that the US government believes “security trumps trade.” This is a thinly veiled threat that the Bush administration will introduce cumbersome procedures to regulate the inflow of goods and people from Canada, if Ottawa fails to bring its security, immigration and military/geopolitical policies in line with those of the Washington.

With 40 percent of Canada’s GNP directly dependent on trade with the US, the Canadian economy is acutely vulnerable to any disruption of cross-border traffic. Nonetheless, the most inflammatory part of Cellucci’s speech was his ringing defense of the premier of Alberta, Ralph Klein.

A flagrant violation of diplomatic protocol

Cellucci suggested that Klein had been unjustly chastised by the federal Liberal government for objecting to its stand on the war. Complained the ambassador, “When Mr. Klein issues strong support for the United States, the Canadian government comes down hard on him.” In fact, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a very restrained letter that simply reiterated that the federal government is solely responsible for formulating Canada’s foreign policy after the Alberta premier had taken the highly unusual step of writing an open letter to Cellucci lauding the US invasion of Iraq.

Writing in the name of “the people of Alberta,” Klein extended “thanks to the United States for its leadership in the war on terrorism and tyranny” and lavished praise on President George W. Bush. “Future generations,” declared Klein, “will owe a great debt to those who fight today.”

Cellucci’s defense of Klein is a flagrant violation of traditional diplomatic practice which calls for noninterference in internal political controversies. What renders it all the more significant is that Klein is the premier of a province whose exports of hydrocarbons (oil and natural gas) to the US rival those of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela and whose political and corporate elite regularly rants against the purported “inequities” of Canada’s federal system. When Klein’s Alberta Tories met in convention last weekend, one of the principal topics of discussion was whether they should threaten Alberta’s secession from Canada to force constitutional change.

Cellucci’s intervention is all the more remarkable in that he concedes that the Canadian government—notwithstanding its official policy of not participating in the US invasion of Iraq—is providing significantly more support to the US war effort than many of those listed as members of the “coalition of the willing.” Canada is currently leading a multination “anti-terrorism” naval task force in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea that is escorting US warships to the Iraqi war theater. More than 30 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) officers are embedded, as part of various exchange programs, in US and British military units that are waging war on Iraq. The recent announcement that some 3,000 CAF personnel will be deployed to Afghanistan to prop up the US-installed regime in Kabul has freed up US logistical and military assets for the invasion of Iraq.

That Washington nonetheless feels compelled to strike out against Canada is an indication of the Bush administration’s isolation and sense of vulnerability

Having embarked on a drive to reorder the Middle East and the world in the interests of Wall Street, the Bush administration no longer feels bound by the system of multilateral institutions and inter-imperialist alliances through which the US exerted its power in the decades after the Second World War. Instead, it is resorting to bullying against even its closest economic partners and geopolitical allies.

In the case of Canada, the Bush White House and the Republican Party have longstanding connections to the political right and big business—connections they are now seeking to use to pressure, if not destabilize, the Chrétien Liberal government.

Notwithstanding Cellucci’s breach of diplomatic protocol, the Official Opposition Canadian Alliance and much of the corporate media have seized on the ambassador’s remarks to ratchet-up their attack on the Chrétien Liberal government. Leading the pack has been the ultra-right National Post. The day after Cellucci’s speech, it devoted the front page and most of four other pages to reports and commentaries trumpeting Cellucci’s remarks and charging that the Chrétien government has placed Canada’s principal economic partnership at risk. Later in the week, the Post floated the rumor that Bush might cancel a planned visit to Ottawa next month, ostensibly because of thewar, but with the real aim of snubbing the Chrétien government.

According to former Canadian trade negotiator Michael Hart, the message of Cellucci’s speech is that the White House has “given up on this particular government [and] we’re waiting for the next one.”

Predictably, Chrétien and his Liberal government have sought to play down the controversy. A handful of backbench Liberal MPs called for Cellucci to be censured or expelled, but the government’s is hoping to demonstrate to Washington that Canada remains a steadfast ally. The very day of Cellucci’s speech, it was leaked to the press that John Manley, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, had argued in cabinet for Canada to join the US-led invasion of Iraq.

The differences between the Chrétien government and its opponent on the right are entirely tactical. While the CanadianAlliance and the National Post are pressing for Canada to fully integrate into Fortress America, the Chrétien Liberals speak for a faction of Canada’s corporate elite that is seeking to maintain the maximum room to independently assert its own predatory interests. This faction is clutching to the hope that the old multilateral order can be revived once Iraq is occupied.

Workers in Canada can only oppose imperialist war and the offensive on the social position of the working class by joining with workers in the US and around the world in a political struggle against the profit system.

See Also: Canada balks at joining US war on Iraq [20 March 2003] Who’s going to be next? Canada’s prime minister denounces US “regime change” policy [4 March 2003]

INSTITUTO N. S. DE LAS AMERICAS CATEDRA PARA LA GOBERNABILIDAD DE LA DEMOCRACIA Y La Sociedad Venezolana de la Florida Central

Lo invitan a participar a la presentación "A traves de una Ventana" Representada por JUAN FERNANDEZ Presidente de la "Asociación Civil Gente del Petróleo" y José Manuel Boccardo, Alberto Parra y Fanny Guédez Propulsores de un nuevo modelo de la democracia en nuestro país.

Fecha: Sabado 5 de Abril Hora: 10:00 AM Lugar: Salón Cristal - Hotel Hilton 350 S. North Lake Blvd, Altamonte Springs,Florida 32715 Confirme su asistencia al Telf: (407) 228-4404

E-mail: angelini1992@c...! sp; E-mail: aselo@v...

Capacidad Limitada Tu donación a la Asociación Civil Gente del Petróleo será bien recibida.

INVITA A TUS AMIGOS Y TRAE TU BANDERA

Acompañanos a construir la Venezuela que todos soñamos.

Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 3:25 PM

Como saben estando desde aqui vemos con mucha atencion lo que nos ocurre en Venezuela, y recibimos muchas notas en donde nos preguntan como estamos, que hacemos, etc, y la necesidad de indicarles que estamos haciendo por estos lares. En este sentido, les anexo una segunda cronica de lo que estamos haciendo. Seguimos en contacto y NI UN PASO ATRAS.

JUAN FERNANDEZ

Miami, 02-04-2003

Crónicas de un Viaje II

Estimados todos;

Como continuación a nuestra primera nota, de Crónicas de un Viaje, les vuelvo a escribir para contarles que estamos haciendo, como nos sentimos, y las perspectivas de solución vistas desde la distancia. Espero con el favor de Dios todos se encuentren bien, a pesar de las grandes dificultades.

En primer lugar, estamos efectuando reuniones con grupos de opinión, medios de comunicación y naturalmente con venezolanos. Por otro lado, estamos estableciendo contacto para sostener reuniones con congregantes de la Florida. Todo con el propósito de llevarles de una manera mas directa nuestro mensaje, que como saben tienen dos fases, la primera la salida constitucional y la segunda de reconstrucción y crecimiento para tener la Venezuela Siglo XXI, una Venezuela de futuro para todos.

Ahora bien, en estos días puedo caminar por las calles libremente; sin embargo, siento un peso, una angustia, por la falta de Justicia, falta de Democracia, la cual sigue presente en Venezuela. Siempre tengo la pregunta de si es preferible estar preso sin garantía del funcionamiento de la justicia o estar en la lucha por todos los medios posibles. Por otro lado, la incertidumbre me pone todo el tiempo a pensar como podemos garantizarnos la solución política para la salida de este gobierno; es indispensable contar con fecha cierta del referéndum, sus recursos, y su transparencia. Por lo tanto, insisto en la necesidad de concentrarnos en esta primera fase, ya que de ella depende todo lo demás, el futuro del país.

Algunas ideas que nos pueden ayudar son las siguientes; es importante, construir la visión compartida de país, esto llevara a la unidad necesaria para pensar en el país y no en la individualidad. Luego, todos los mecanismos que permitan a los ciudadanos, ejercer su derecho, el deber del voto, y su actuación como defensores del referéndum revocatorio. No dejar de ultimo, prepararnos para el escenario en el cual el gobierno no permite el ejercicio de este derecho. Todo lo anterior, implica que solo los ciudadanos somos los responsables de construir nuestro destino. Debemos organizarnos, debemos exigir. Es decir, no esperar que alguien haga algo por nosotros sino nosotros hacer sin esperar.

En estos días, he venido pensando con mucho detenimiento sobre la situación de los venezolanos y de mis compañeros petroleros. Llegue al convencimiento, que la respuesta para tener la industria petrolera exitosa generadora de valor, con sentido de pertenencia por parte de los verdaderos accionistas, los venezolanos, es tener una solución política, en la cual haya también la participación de los petroleros. Pues primero somos venezolanos y luego trabajadores. Se que en estos días se están haciendo muchos análisis entre nosotros para definir la mejor forma de actuar. En mi caso en particular, para continuar siendo un aporte a la solución, con un grupo de compañeros hemos decidido ampliar nuestro campo de acción, para tener aun mayor presencia en el país, y nosotros mismos ser generadores activos de soluciones y cambios. En estos momentos estamos trabajando, analizando la forma mas efectiva, eficiente, para alcanzar los logros y objetivos con éxito, tal como siempre hemos actuado, les informaremos, les consultaremos, con la transparencia y honestidad que nos caracteriza.

Continuaremos dando charlas en el estado de la Florida sobre la presentación “ Mirando a través de una Ventana”. Este nombre se debe a la ventana de mi oficina en la Campiña, con vista al cerro el Ávila, donde reflexione debíamos hacer algo y me llevo a la conclusión que Venezuela es una ventana de oportunidades.

Saludos a todos, Juan Fernández