卡梅倫企盼提升英印關係 Cameron looks to free UK India ties

David Cameron admitted yesterday that Britain’s relationship with India had for too long been “imprisoned by the past”, as he tried to forge a new trading relationship with Narendra Modi, his Indian counterpart.

英國首相戴維慍蕓倫(David Cameron)昨日坦言，太長時間以來，英國和印度的關係一直“被過去所囚禁”，他試圖與印度總理納倫德拉莫迪(Narendra Modi)建立兩國間的新型貿易關係。

Speaking alongside Mr Modi on the first day of his two-day visit to London, Mr Cameron said British relations with India were “not realising their true potential”, but insisted that would change.

在莫迪對英國爲期兩天的訪問的第一天，卡梅倫在莫迪旁邊發表了講話，他表示兩國關係“沒有挖掘出真正的潛力”，但他堅稱這種狀態會發生改變。

The British prime minister claimed 9bn of deals would be signed during the visit, including a promise that India would use London as an important centre for raising funds, including for state-owned Indian Railways.

卡梅倫聲稱，在莫迪訪英期間，兩國會簽署價值90億英鎊的合約，包括一項印度將把倫敦作爲重要募資中心的承諾，包括爲國有的印度鐵路公司(Indian Railways)進行募資。

As the two men held a joint press conference in the grandeur of the Foreign Office’s Locarno Suite, a crowd gathered in Parliament Square claiming Mr Modi was a killer and a terrorist.

兩人在英國外交部(Foreign Office)富麗堂皇的羅加諾廳(Locarno Suite)舉行聯合記者會的時候，一羣人聚集在國會廣場(Parliament Square)，聲稱莫迪是一個殺手和恐怖主義者。

Many of the demonstrators were Kashmiri Muslims seeking independence for their homeland, whose historic Himalayan territory is controlled by India, China and Pakistan.

其中很多示威者是克什米爾地區的穆斯林，他們試圖爲自己的故土爭取獨立，他們在喜馬拉雅山脈的歷史居住地被印度、中國和巴基斯坦控制。

But Mr Cameron was determined to move on from previous British criticism of Mr Modi’s human rights record, notably over his alleged role in the massacre of Muslims in 2002 in the state of Gujarat, where he was chief minister.

但卡梅倫決心告別此前英國對莫迪的人權記錄的批評，尤其是莫迪在2002年古吉拉特邦(Gujarat)穆斯林遭遇大屠殺事件中扮演的角色，當時莫迪任古吉拉特邦首席部長。

He said Mr Modi had won “an enormous mandate from the people of India” and that while Britain had protested at the time he wanted to speak about “the future partnership between Britain and India”.

卡梅倫表示，莫迪贏得了“印度人民極大的授權”，同時儘管英國曾在上述大屠殺發生後提出抗議，但他希望談一談“英國和印度未來的合作關係”。

Mr Modi insisted that “Britain never stopped me from coming here” after the massacre. The reason he had not come to the UK for years was perhaps down to “my time constraints”, he said.

莫迪堅稱，大屠殺發生後，“英國從未阻止我入境”。莫迪表示，他多年沒有到訪英國的原因可能要歸咎於“我的時間限制”。

It is understood Mr Modi was never the subject of a formal British visa ban, although the UK authorities were unable to guarantee him immunity from arrest had he travelled.

據瞭解，英國從未正式對莫迪實施簽證禁令，儘管英國當局無法保證莫迪在旅行期間不會遭到逮捕。