ACHA PEACE BULLETIN
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ACHAPeaceBulletin
A
publication of Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA)
www.asiapeace.org & www.indiapakistanpeace.org
Editor: Pritam K.
Rohila, PhD asiapeace@comcast.net
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Volume
XIII, No. 4: April 15, 2009, Next Issue May 15, 2009
_____________________________
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
*Raising children for a peaceful South Asia, Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D.
GUJARAT RIOTS: TWO REPORTS
*NGOs,
Teesta spiced up Gujarat riot incidents: SIT, Dhananjay
Mahapatra
*Teesta's Rebuttal to Times of India report, Teesta Setalvad, April 14, 2009
BOOKS
*The Ugly Kashmiri, Arvind Gigoo
EVENTS
*April 16-17, New Delhi, India: TESTIMONIAL THERAPY
*October
2, New Zealand to Argentina: WORLD
MARCH
*December
3-9, 2009, Melbourne, Australia: Parliament of Religions
FELLOWSHIPS & SCHOLARSHIPS
*Rotary Centers for
International Studies in peace and conflict resolution
JOBS, INTERNSHIPS
& VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS (FOR THE COMMON GOOD)
MEMBERS’ CORNER
*Dr. Lenin Raguvanshi
*Rukhsana Khadam
*Azra Roohi
*Sadaqat Sardar
PEACE & HARMONY NEWS FROM
INDIA & PAKISTAN
PEACE & HARMONY NEWS FROM
SOUTH ASIA
PEACE EDUCATION
*Graduate training in peace psychology
PEACE EDUCATION RESOURCES
*Peace, Conflict, and Violence:
Peace Psychology for the 21st Century
PETITIONS
*Petition
of Apology to Victims of India’s Partition in 1947
*Virtual
Memorial for Victims of India’s Partition in 1947
UPDATE: KASHMIR
UPDATE: NEPAL
UPDATE: PAKISTAN
UPDATE: SRILANKA
*Implications
Of Government’s New Year Pause , Jehan Perera, April 13, 2009
EDITORIAL
*Raising children for a peaceful South Asia, Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D.
India and Pakistan, face far greater danger from within than from outside their borders.
The danger stems from the rapidly growing extremism, intolerance and violence. These menaces seriously threaten the security of these nations and wellbeing of their citizens.
In this context, creating a culture of peace in India and Pakistan is very important. Promotion of tolerance, coexistence, harmony and peace in our families and neighborhoods is essential.
We will have to start with children and youth, who will determine the future of India and Pakistan. We will need to teach them, how to live in harmony with those who are different from them; how to disagree with others without being disagreeable; and how to resolve conflicts through dialog, discussion, and empathy. We will have to show them how to be responsible members of their families, schools, and neighborhoods. We should involve them in action-oriented and practical conflict-resolution and peacemaking activities, which they can incorporate their daily life.
More importantly, we need to inculcate in our children and youth a hope for a happy, prosperous and peaceful future for themselves and for their nations. Without hope, our children and youth become easy fodder for the machines of extremism, intolerance and violence, and our nations lose their future.
With these objectives in mind, we, at the Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA), have initiated planning for a pilot project to be implemented in a couple of schools in Pakistan. Based on our experiences in these schools, we will gradually expand the project to other schools in Pakistan as well as India.
Some ACHA members in Pakistan have agreed to work on the pilot project. One member will spearhead the effort to design suitable curriculum. Another member has agreed to explore the possibility of involving a progressive theater group to design and stage short-duration plays for school children. We will also seek help from other ACHA members in Pakistan, who have received formal training in conflict resolution and peacemaking, as well those who have skills and experience in designing peace and harmony activities in schools.
Further, we have sought guidance from some members of the Peace Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association in designing suitable curriculum for this project.
And, we will definitely need financial support and help of volunteers to successfully implement this project. Please direct your suggestions, and offers of help to me at asiapeace@comcast.net.
ACHA is a small, U.S.-based, non-profit organization, which is dedicated to promote peace in South Asia and harmony among South Asians everywhere. More information about us can be found at our two websites www.asiapeace.org and www.indiapakistanpeace.org
GUJARAT RIOTS: TWO REPORTS
*NGOs, Teesta spiced up Gujarat
riot incidents: SIT, Dhananjay
Mahapatra, TNN, 14 Apr 2009
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4396986.cms
NEW DELHI: The
Special Investigation Team responsible for the arrests of those accused in
Gujarat riots
has severely censured NGOs and social activist Teesta Setalvad who campaigned
for the riot victims.
In a
significant development, the SIT led by former CBI director R K Raghavan told
the Supreme Court
on Monday that the celebrated rights activist cooked up macabre tales of wanton
killings.
Many incidents of killings and violence were cooked up, false charges were
levelled against then police chief P C Pandey and false witnesses were tutored
to give evidence about imaginary incidents, the SIT said in a report submitted
before a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat, P Sathasivam and Aftab Alam.
The SIT said it had been alleged in the Gulbarg Society case that Pandey,
instead of taking measures to protect people facing the wrath of rioteers, was
helping the mob. The truth was that he was helping with hospitalisation of riot
victims and making arrangements for police bandobast, Gujarat counsel, senior
advocate Mukul Rohtagi, said quoting from the SIT report.
Rohtagi also said that 22 witnesses, who had submitted identical affidavits before various courts relating
to riot incidents, were questioned by the SIT which found that they had been
tutored and handed over the affidavits by Setalvad and that they had not
actually witnessed the riot incidents.
The SIT also found no truth in the following incidents widely publicised by the
NGOs:
-A pregnant Muslim woman Kausar Banu was gangraped by a mob, who then gouged
out the foetus with sharp weapons
-Dumping of dead bodies into a well by rioteers at Naroda Patiya
- Police botching up investigation into the killing of British nationals, who
were on a visit to Gujarat and unfortunately got caught in the riots
Rohtagi said: "On a reading of the report, it is clear that horrendous
allegations made by the NGOs were false. Stereotyped affidavits were supplied
by a social activist and the allegations made in them were found untrue."
Obviously happy with the fresh findings of the SIT which was responsible for
the recent arrests of former Gujarat minister Maya Kodanani and VHP leader
Jaideep Patel, Rohtagi tried to spruce up the image of the Modi administration,
which was castigated in the Best Bakery case by the apex court as "modern
day Neros". He was swiftly told by the Bench that but for the SIT, many
more accused, who are freshly added, would not have been brought to book.
The Bench said there was no room for allegations and counter-allegations at
this late stage. "In riot cases, the more the delay, there is likelihood
of falsity creeping in. So, there should be a designated court to fast track
the trials. Riot cases should be given priority because feelings run high
having a cascading effect," it said and asked for suggestions from the
Gujarat government, Centre, NGOs and amicus curiae Harish Salve, who said the
time had come for the apex court to lift the stay on trials into several
post-Godhra riot cases.
While additional solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam
agreed with the court that public prosecutors should be selected in
consultation with Raghavan, counsel Indira Jaising said there should be a
complete regime for protection of witnesses as the same government, which was
accused of engineering the riots, was in power now.
Salve said that he would consult Raghavan and let the court know about a
witness protection system for post-Godhra riot cases. The court asked the
parties to submit their suggestions within a week.
dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com
*Teesta's
Rebuttal to Times of India report, Ram Puniyani, April 14, 2009
The report in the The Times of India, Mumbai edition dated April 14, 2009
and reportedly published prominently in all the newspapers editions
titled “NGOS, Teesta spiced up Gujarat riots cases: SIT” is clear example of
manipulative reportage. It is also a report aimed to deliberately distort and
damage the reputation of a citizens’ legal rights group working assiduously to
ensure legal support to victims of the Gujarat carnage of 2002, ( as also the
victims of bomb blasts of 2006, 2009 and the Kandhmals victims).
The allegations imputed by reporter Dhananjay Mahapatra who was present
in the Supreme Court in the first para of his report to the Special
Investigative Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court are in fact extracted
from a four page note circulated by Ms Hemantika Wahi for the Gujarat
Government, a copy of which is annexed here. It is not a note prepared by the
Special Investigation Team led by RK Raghavan. Shri Raghavan was not present in
the Supreme Court, yet there is a deliberate attempt by Mahapatra to impute
that Raghavan was present in the court and that he as chairperson of SIT, himself,
in person, or in writing made these allegations. This is a clever distortion of
the proceedings in the Supreme Court aimed to create a public perception that
Setalvad and the CJP misled the apex court.
The detailed report of SIT submitted to the Supreme Court on March 6,
2007 has not been available for study either to National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC), the petitioners in this case, or the Citizens for Justice
and Peace (CJP) who have intervened in this critical matter or to any in the media.
In its written note that the Gujarat state circulated in court yesterday, the
state has given its brief comments on the SIT report. In para four of this note
the Gujarat government note refers to alleged statements made by some witnesses
in the Gulberg case before SIT that name accused other than those named by them
in the written statements that were (according to the state of Gujarat) given
to them by Teesta Setalvad and advocates. This is the version of the Gujarat
state. Besides this, Mukhul Rohatgi tried to make a populaist speech in court
saying that incidents like the Kauser Bano case etc never happened. Justice
Pasiath intervened stating that they were not interested in personal
allegations and only ensuring that, like in the course of the Zahira Shaikh
case, the trials are fair, the truth comes out and the course of justice is
served.
It appears that the reporter spoke to Rohatgi outside the court himself
and spiced up the story.
The result is a
report that especially promotes the case made by the Gujarat government itself,
It may have been pertinent for the court reporter of a responsible publication
to point out to its readers that:
The arrests of minister Dr Maya Kodnani and Dr Jaideep Patel in the past
weeks were on the basis of SIT re-investigations. Twelve FIRs filed by
witnesses naming these accused in 2002 had been clubbed into a magnum FIR by
the Ahmedabad crime branch that had dropped the names of these powerful
accused;
The arrests of investigating officer KG Erda in the Gulberg case and of other
policemen in the other cases over the past months has meant the claims of
witness survivors and legal rights groups, prima facie, are valid;
That this was one of the issues why the apex court has chosen to appoint SIT,
the full scale subversion of the process of justice, from the removal of names
of accused who’s names appeared in earlier statements simply because they
enjoyed political patronage; the appointment of prosecutors with allegiances to
the BJP and VHP which meant instead of promoting fair trial they sided with the
politically powerful and protected accused;
More pertinently the tragic slaying of pregnant Kauser Bano at Naroda Patiya
after slitting her womb was reported in Deccan Herald,(April 17, 2004) and
The Indian Express, (March 23,2005) among others apart from finding place in
innumerable reports including the one authored by the Concerned Citizens
Tribunal-Crimes Against Humanity 2002 headed by two Supreme Court judges,
Justices Krishna Iyer and PB Sawant. Similarly the British national case was
similarly documented apart from being covered in The Pioneer, March 3, 2002 and
The Hindu, April 23, 2002.
Besides several reports on the Gujarat genocide of 2002 showed the high
level of state complicity in the violence including the “We Have No Orders
To Save You”--State Participation and Complicity in Communal Violence in
Gujarat (http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/india/)
Identical allegations were made about Teesta Setalvad and the CJP during
the course of the Best Bakery Trial following which Setalvad’s
application to the apex court for a full fledged inquiry led to a Registrar’s
investigation that exonerated Setalvad and the CJP triumphantly;
In the interests of fair reportage and to ensure that the reputation of a
citizens group committed to equity and justice is not deliberately vitiated
before the trials commence, the newspaper should carry this rebuttal in full. A
failure to do so will result in the columns of a national newspaper being used
to distort facts, shape public perception and seek to influence the outcome of
due process of law and justice to the victims of mass murder.
Citizens for Justice and Peace
BOOKS
*The
Ugly Kashmiri, Arvind Gigoo, Allied Publishers, New Delhi, 2006, Pages 186,
Rs 250
(ISBN
8184240368 (81-8424-036-8)
Review
“Cartoons in words,” by Dr Kalpna Rajput, Rising Kashmir, March 23, 2009
http://www.risingkashmir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11245&Itemid=72
There is bitter truth in Author’s anger and ridicule against
the decay of an ethos.
The Ugly Kashmiri ( Camoes in exile) written
by Arvind Gigoo is a unique book because one hundred and eighty cameos (short
literary sketches) describe in condensed brevity the history, politics,
sociology of the Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits. It is for the first
time in Indian English writing that such a literary experiment has been carried
out. What is remarkable about the book is that the Author unravels the
mind of the Kashmiri Muslims, Kashmiri Pandits, Politicians, Security Forces
and Intellectuals with utmost objectivity and detachment.
During the
political turmoil in early nineties, the convictions of all the Kashmiris
crumbled to dust. That is why the book is dedicated to ‘Ahmad the Blacksmith’
who despite all the odds stuck to his honesty. We learn that the young
generations of Kashmiri Pandits were in ferment, that the old Pandits were
suffering from the pain of uprootedness in exile and that the Kashmiri Muslims
cry for a clam and peaceful Kashmir. The Author wants that all the Kashmir
should change from ugliness to beauty.
The cameos are used in the book in metaphorical sense and have layers of meaning. They abound in ambiguity, pun, allusions to historical and political happenings, satire, irony wit and black humour. The Author has not spared even Gandhi, Nehru, Sheikh Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. He is critical of Nehru’s policy on Kashmir and Gandhi’s ray of hope that he saw in Kashmir in 1947. The Author also talks about Jinnah and Zia-ul-Haq. He exposes the leaders and politicians who played with the sentiments of the Kashmiris. He makes fun of the vacillating political attitude of the Kashmiri Muslims, and has revealed the psyche of the militants. Arvind Gigoo, who is himself a Kashmiri Pandit, is critical even of Kashmiri Pandits. They too are a victim of his sarcasm and laughter. He laughs at Panun Kashmir, rituals of Pandits, the temples they erected in exile and their hypocrisy. Some cameos describe the love-hate relationship of Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits and their sense of humour. Some cameos are about Jagmohan who was the Governor of the J&K state twice and about the attitudes of the Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits towards him. The Author has sharp observation, acute psychological insight with a tacit observation about history and politics of the region. But some of the cameos are puzzling and mind boggling. The notes at the end of the book explain the hidden meanings of the cameos. There should have been notes on all the 180 cameos. The ugly Kashmiri (Cameos in exile) is a book of meaty aphorisms and short reflections of a person who is capable of observing historical, political and social milieu of the time without any bias or prejudice. He aims his arrows at his targets mercilessly and fearlessly. In cryptic and enigmatic style he is eloquent about events that are, and were, revolting in Kashmir and outside. However there are certain cameos that are dark and lurid, while as other are full of compassion and pathos. There is bitter truth in author’s anger and ridicule against the decay of an ethos. Gigoo sees the ugliness through which Kashmir has been disfigured and mocks at the persons responsible for all the misdeeds. But in the crisp Preface the Author confesses that the source of his cameos is his love for all Kashmiris. His observations sting and disturb. He is critical of the politics of hypocrisy, duplicity and falsehood. He has used language to bite. The book is meant for the well-read and the educated. As an important political and social document it is a collection of pithy observations, cynical about capacities of men, skeptical of their motives, remorselessly critical of all. These literary cameos are brilliant because of his compression and precision of expression. They present the essence of sophisticated disillusionment, cynicism, wit and unpalatable truth.
EVENTS
*April 16-17, New Delhi, India: TESTIMONIAL THERAPY. Peoples'
Vigilance Committee on Human Right (PVCHR), Varanasi with the joint endeavor of
Rehabilitation and Research Center for Torture Victims (RCT),Cpenhagen is organizing
national consultation, 16th – 17th April, 09, at Vishwya
Yuvak Kendra, Circular Road, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021 on the
theme "Testimonial therapy: to
improve psychological well being among survivors of torture and organized
violence in India."
More info from pvchr@pvchr.org
*October 2,
New Zealand to Argentina: WORLD
MARCH beginning in New Zealand on October 2, 2009, the anniversary of
Gandhi’s birth, declared the “International Day of Nonviolence” by the United
Nations, will conclude in the Andes
Mountains (Punta de Vacas, Aconcagua, Argentina) on January 2, 2010. This 90-day
March will pass through many countries having all climates and seasons, from
the hot summer of the tropics and the deserts, to the winter of Siberia. A
permanent base of a hundred people of different nationalities will complete the
journey.
*December
3-9, 2009, Melbourne, Australia: The 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions, will bring together the world’s religious and spiritual communities,
their leaders and their followers to a gathering where peace, diversity and
sustainability are discussed and explored in the context of interreligious
understanding and cooperation.
Parliament
participants will work with others and within their own traditions to craft
faithful responses to indigenous reconciliation, global poverty and global
warming, environmental care and degradation, education of the young and the
challenges of social disengagement, voluntary and forced migration, artistic expression
and spirituality, the value of sports, ethnic and religious tensions. More
info from http://www.parliamentofreligions2009.org/home.php
FELLOWSHIPS & SCHOLARSHIPS
*Rotary Centers for
International Studies in peace and conflict resolution http://www.rotary.org/en/StudentsAndYouth/EducationalPrograms/RotaryCentersForInternationStudies/Pages/ridefault.aspx
Rotary
World Peace Fellows are leaders promoting national and international
cooperation, peace, and the successful resolution of conflict throughout their
lives, in their careers, and through service activities. Fellows can earn
either a master’s degree in international relations, public administration,
sustainable development, peace studies, conflict resolution, or a related
field, or a professional development certificate in peace and conflict
resolution.
Each year, up to 110 Rotary World Peace
Fellowships (60 master’s degree fellowships and 50 professional development
certificate fellowships) are offered on a competitive basis at seven Rotary
Centers, which operate in partnership with eight leading universities (centers
offer master’s degree unless noted otherwise):
Fellows are chosen from countries and cultures around the
globe based on their ability to have a significant, positive impact on world
peace and conflict resolution during their careers. Learn more about program eligibility and deadlines .
To
find out more about the Rotary Centers program, contact your local Rotary club or the Rotary
Centers Department at The Rotary Foundation.
Get
to know program alumni and read more about the centers that are transforming the world. (PDF)
Download
the application:
JOBS, INTERNSHIPS
& VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS (FOR THE COMMON GOOD) *http://www.graduationpledge.org/jobs.html
MEMBERS’ CORNER
*Dr. Lenin Raguvanshi & his wife Shruti were featured in the “Mobilise and empower” story in Times of India’s April 14 issue for their work to “amplify the voice of the marginalised in national and international forums like the Peoples’ SAARC”. India Today Magazine published an article recognizing the work of Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi and Ms Shruti Nagvanshi in its latest edition published in April, 2009 under "Spirit of India: Youth Special."
More details at
*Rukhsana Khadam
is the President of the Association for Peace
and Prosperity, which is dedicated to working for health, education, peace, human
rights, and development of children and women in three Districts in Pakistani
Punjab.
*Azra Roohi is an elected member of District Assembly, and
works as a social activist to promote peace-building and interfaith harmony. Trained
as peace promoter by Christian Study Centre at Rawalpindi, Pakistan, she has
participated in the SARRAC conference in Sri Lanka as minority and women
representative. Recently she coordinated the recent Joint Signature Campaign by Citizens of India and Pakistan against Terrorism
and War and to Promote Cooperation and Peace in Districts of Toba Tek
Singh, Faisalabad, Jhang and Pakpattan of Pakistani province of Punjab,
and collected more than 500 signatures from the citizens of all faiths.
*Dr. Stephen
Gill was recently honored with Doctor of Humanities degree by 11CM
International Bible College, headquartered in Florida, USA, “for serving the
cause of peace through his writings, particularly Poetry.” Also the South Asian
Bible Church of Canada honored him with Lifetime Achievement Award “in
recognition of outstanding achievements as a poet of peace” at its Eleventh
International Symposium of Poets, held in Toronto on March 28th
2009.
*Sadaqat
Sardar, who received training in peace and conflict management at the Eastern Mennonite
University (USA), is working as coordinator of Animation Program, Caritas
Pakistan Faisalabad, in the Diocese of Faisalabad. He coordinates a
cluster of Christian Muslim NGO's for promotion of interfaith harmony.
PEACE & HARMONY NEWS FROM
INDIA & PAKISTAN
*http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndiaPakistanPeaceDay/
PEACE & HARMONY NEWS FROM
SOUTH ASIA
*http://groups.google.com/group/peace--harmony-news-from-south-asia
PEACE EDUCATION
*Graduate
training in peace psychology
Ph.D. Programs are available at
1.
The Psychology Department at the University of Massachusetts
at Amherst offers a Ph.D. with concentration
in the Psychology of Peace and the Prevention of Violence (more information HERE).
2.
Clark University offers a Ph.D. in social psychology with a
specialization in peace psychology (contact Dr. Joe DeRivera at JDeRivera@clarku.edu).
3.
Social Psychology Ph.D. students can also specialize in peace
psychology at the University of California at Santa Cruz (contact Phillip
Hammack at hammock@ucsc.edu).
4.
Boston University does not have a peace psychology program, but
Kathie Malley-Morrison is interested in working with graduate students who wish
to pursue peace psychology (contact her at kkmalley@comcast.net).
5.
Various Ph.D. and M.A. programs are offered by the Kroc
Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame. For example, it is
possible to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology and peace studies through a
cooperative program between the Psychology Department at the University of
Notre Dame and the Kroc Institute. Contact kroc-admissions.1@nd.edu.
6.
Teachers College at Columbia University offers courses and
practicum on negotiation, mediation, conflict theories, intercultural
communication, etc. that may be applied towards relevant Masters and Doctoral
degrees at Columbia (contact Mekayla Castro at Castro@exchange.tc.columbia.edu).
7.
Teachers College at Columbia also offers a concentration in
peace education at the masters and doctoral levels (contact Monisha Bajaj at bajaj@exchange.tc.columbia.edu).
8.
At Cornell University, doctoral students may choose to minor
in peace studies after acceptance into a traditional disciplinary field. The
University of Cincinnati offers the Ph.D. in Peace Education.
9.
George Mason University offers M.S. and Ph.D. programs in
Conflict Resolution, and Nova Southeastern University in Florida offers M.S.
and Ph.D. programs in Conflict Analysis and Resolution in both residential and
online formats.
Masters Degree Programs
1.
Georgetown University offers an M.A. in Conflict Resolution
(contact Fathali Moghaddam at moghaddf@georgetown.edu).
2.
The University of Massachusetts at Boston offers a Graduate
Certificate and an M.A. in Dispute Resolution (more information HERE).
3.
Eastern Mennonite University has an M.A. program in Conflict
Transformation (contact Janelle Myers-Benner at ctprogram@emu.edu).
4.
Brandeis University offers an M.A. in Coexistence and
Conflict (contact Anne Gudaitis at gudaitis@brandeis.edu).
5.
Lesley College in Cambridge offers a specialty in Conflict
Resolution and Peaceable Schools within their Master of Education program in
Curriculum and Instruction.
6.
American University
has a dual Masters Degree program in Secondary Education and International
Peace and Conflict Resolution.
7.
The University for Peace in Costa Rica offers a masters
degree in Peace Education (contact Dr. Abelardo Brenes (abrenes@upeace.org).
8.
The Rotary Centers for International Studies in Peace and
Conflict Resolution (www.rotary.org/en/StudentsAndYouth/EducationalPrograms/RotaryCentersForInternationalStudies/) partners with
ten universities to sponsor fellowships for M.A. programs in peace studies. The
Program on Forced Migration and Health is an M.P.H. degree program offered by
the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University that emphasizes
psychosocial interventions in humanitarian settings (contact Lindsay Stark at ls2302@columbia.edu).
There
are also lists and descriptions of graduate peace studies and conflict
resolution programs with links to them HERE and HERE.
PEACE EDUCATION RESOURCES
*Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st
Century, Daniel Christie, Richard
Wagner, and Deborah Winter (Eds.), 2001, 483 Pages
The
authors have made the book available online for downloading at no cost to
encourage course and program development in peace psychology worldwide.
For a pdf file of the book, you can google “peace psychology book christie
wagner winter” or use the following link:
http://academic.marion.ohio-state.edu/dchristie/Peace%20Psychology%20Book.html
Please send
your inquiries to reprint_service01@hotmail.com
PETITIONS
*Petition of
Apology to Victims of India’s Partition in 1947
http://indiapakistanpeace.org/petition_2007.html
*Virtual Memorial
for Victims of India’s Partition in 1947
http://noosphere.typepad.com/virtual_memorial/
UPDATE: KASHMIR
*http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KashmirSolutionsForum/
*www.drshabirchoudhry.blogspot.com
*http://kashmirforumorg.blogspot.com/2009/02/night-in-hell-and-not-gun-in-sight.html
UPDATE: NEPAL
*http://www.nepalasiacenter.com/
*http://www.nepalasiacenter.com/bulletin.html
UPDATE: PAKISTAN
UPDATE: SRILANKA
*Implications Of Government’s New Year Pause
, Jehan Perera npc@sltnet.lk , April 13, 2009
The rearguard action being fought out of
Sri Lanka and in the Tamil diaspora to halt the further advance of the Sri
Lankan military into the last remaining pocket of LTTE-controlled territory,
designated as a civilian safety zone by the Sri Lankan government, appears to
have yielded a result. President Mahinda
Rajapaksa announced a government decision to observe a no-fire period on the
eve of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year which is a symbol of cultural ties that
bind the two communities. It is customary for people to spend this time with
their families, even travelling hundreds of kilometers to do so. The President’s statement also made note that
it was “timely for the LTTE to acknowledge its military defeat and lay down its
weapons and surrender. The LTTE must also renounce terrorism and violence
permanently.”
The President’s responsiveness to
humanitarian concerns and to international pressure needs to be welcomed. It also needs to be noted that those who fail
to call on the LTTE to refrain from firing from within the safety zones have
been criticizing the government on that very same score and failing to see
their double standards. Over the past
several weeks there have been large scale demonstrations by members of the
Tamil diaspora in foreign cities, and many statements have been issued calling
on the Sri Lankan government to call a ceasefire to safeguard the civilian
population living in the LTTE-controlled safety zone. Few if any of these diaspora Tamil-led
demonstrations and statements have denounced or even mentioned the LTTE’s role
in keeping the civilians in the safety zones trapped there.
In designating a part of its territory as a
no-fire safety zone the Sri Lankan government expressed its commitment to the
protection of civilians. Unfortunately,
this very zone became the LTTE’s chosen battlefield when they chose to move
into it with their heavy weaponry. It is
in this context that those who have taken up a more even handed approach,
especially in the international community, have been calling on both the
government and LTTE to declare a humanitarian pause in the fighting to permit
the evacuation of the civilians still remaining in the safety zone. As the LTTE has very clearly been holding
back the civilians any mass movement of civilians out of the safety zone will
require LTTE consent, which implies a need for negotiations with them.
Tamil Nationalism
The Sri Lankan government is presently
situated advantageously in relation to the LTTE, its long term nemesis. The government forces now completely surround
the safety zone in which the last concentration of LTTE fighters and its top
rung leadership including LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran are believed to be
present in the midst of large numbers of tens of thousands of civilians. In the past week the government announced that
several hundred of the LTTE’s most battle hardened cadre and renowned field
commanders had been killed in the fighting.
With the government poised to capture the safety zone, the war for
territory appears to be at an end, with the government the victor. So far the government’s terms to the LTTE
have been unconditional surrender or death in fighting.
Tamil nationalism that sought equality for
the Tamil people in the country and relied upon the fighting ability of the
LTTE to shore up their bargaining power, now needs to come up with an
alternative in the face of the loss of the LTTE’s military strength. A justification for the resort to arms was
the belief that the LTTE’s guns gave the Tamil people as a whole more
bargaining leverage than their numbers alone gave them. With the government making it known that it
will hold elections in the north soon, leader of the EPDP, Douglas Devananda,
has argued that the resort to arms is not the only way in which to increase
Tamil bargaining power. His own answer
has been to join the government rather than to fight against it and to seek the
Chief Minister’s position in the Northern Province whereby he can better
extract resources for his constituents from the government.
According to the EPDP leader the argument
about the need for arms for bargaining strength is only valid in the context of
armed struggle. The LTTE missed the
opportunity to convert its military strength into political strength on several
occasions with no less than five governments that sought to negotiate with
it. The two biggest opportunities that
the LTTE missed came in the Indo Lanka Accord period in 1987-88 when India was
directly involved in the design of the political solution and again in 2002-03
when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe risked his political future by taking
a principled stand that avoided military action in dealing with the LTTE. All the supporters of the LTTE, both active
and passive, in Sri Lanka and in the diaspora, who failed to advise the LTTE
correctly, need to take responsibility for these squandered opportunities.
Way Out
Some of the diaspora groups are now
proposing a deal under which the LTTE may lay down arms. One proposal is that the laying down of arms
should be accompanied by an agreement by the government to hold an
internationally supervised referendum on the future of the northern and eastern
provinces in those two provinces in the near future. Another proposal is that the international
community should guarantee a political solution to the ethnic conflict in the
manner that the US government prepared a roadmap on peace for the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A third
proposal is that the UN be given control over the safety zone to oversee the
handing in of arms. At the present time these are simply proposals of sections
of the Tamil diaspora on which there is no consensus either in the diaspora or
in Sri Lanka, with many supporters of the LTTE refusing to even admit military
defeat let alone a laying down of arms.
None of these proposals are unlikely to be
considered by the Sri Lankan government, which sees itself as victorious and is
demanding unconditional surrender. On
the other hand, they indicate a growing realization that the LTTE ought to lay
down their arms and cease fighting rather than take themselves and thousands of
civilians to their death to no purpose by fighting to the last in the safety
zone. The government too needs to
consider amending its demand for unconditional surrender to one in which the
terms of laying down of arms is negotiated and an honorable exit is given for
the LTTE and its leaders. President
Mahinda Rajapaksa’s decision to offer a New Year pause to the fighting on
account of the civilians may be an indication of his own concern for the future
of reconciliation in the country that is based on peace with dignity.
There is a tragedy in any kind of end that
involves the death of so many, even if they largely be LTTE cadre and Tamil
civilians who stayed or were forced to stay with them. The words of a former civil servant Somapala
Gunadheera have been widely quoted in this connection for drawing upon the
traditional Sinhala value system. He has
written, “Whatever his faults, limitations and mistakes may have been,
Prabakaran stood up for his people as much as Keppetipola, Gongalegoda Banda
and Veera Puran Appu stood up for the Sinhalese in their hour of need…Their
orientation or their ultimate defeat is besides the point.” The point is that the need of the future is
reconciliation, which alone will sustain a political solution, and this will
not come by demanding that one side should either reject or the other side
should condemn to death those who fought for a cause.