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ACHA PEACE BULLETIN
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http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ACHAPeaceBulletin
A publication of
Association for Communal Harmony in
www.asiapeace.org & www.indiapakistanpeace.org
Editor: Pritam K. Rohila, PhD pritam@open.org
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Volume X, No. 7,
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
*India-Pakistan Peace Day 2006, Dr. Pritam K. Rohila
PEACE & HARMONY NEWS
LETTERS
*The ordeals of Indo-Pakistani couples,
R. Alamsha,
PEACE CAMPIGNS
*“SUPPORT THE TROOPS, END THE WAR, BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME, NOW!”
PEACE EVENTS
*July 15,
OF
LIFE BURNING & REJECT VIOLENCE
*August 6-9,
CONVENTION.
*September 21: PEACE ONE DAY
*September 23.
*October 02-06,
________________________________________________________________________
EDITORIAL
*India-Pakistan Peace Day 2006, Dr. Pritam K. Rohila
Peace between
Escalation of terrorism, armed
insurgencies and separatist movements, as well as and continuing communal
tensions make the need for peace and communal harmony efforts in
Recent happenings in
But we cannot afford to leave
work for this noble and important goal to the bureaucratic wrangles of our
short-sighted governments. We must snatch the initiative from them and launch a
people’s movement in all the streets and public squares of
To this end, in 2004, the Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) started a campaign urging people to organize India-Pakistan Peace Day everywhere any day between August 1 and October 31.
ACHA Board of Director has
selected “Peace for Prosperity in
We invite you to join us in this campaign. With your friends and neighbors please organize a celebration at your work, in your neighborhood, or in your town.
Won’t you at least put an “India-Pakistan Peace Day 2006” sign at your desk, in your car, and/or at your home?
Don’t forget to tell us what you plan to do or have done. Send your messages to us at pritamr@open.org
PEACE & HARMONY NEWS
*Blasts won't hurt peace process:
Muslims in areas near the blasts helped injured Hindus to hospitals and gave
cups of tea to relatives.
Indian sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik gives finishing touches to a sand sculpture of Tuesday's Mumbai train blasts
*Lanka seeks LTTE's
proposal on devolution COLOMBOPAGE |
*SAARC agrees on SDF framework THE HIMALAYAN TIMES |
*100,000 Afgans return home from
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=308920&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
"Seeing skilled Afghans return home in large numbers helps to keep the
hope of nation-building alive for
"This shows a vote of confidence by Afghans in their government and in the
efforts of the international community engaged in rebuilding a country out of
rubble. Returnees have a strong sense of obligation to be part of that
reconstruction," he said.
Started in 2002, the UNHCR operation has helped over 2.84 million Afghans
return home after the fall of the Taliban regime in
*Lankan President offers maximum devolution Daily Mirror |
*
http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jul/11look.htm
Pakistan High Commissioner Aziz Ahmad Khan and Foreign Secretary of India Shyam Saran after they signed a Memorandum of Understanding in New Delhi on July 11, 2006, to help Pakistan with $25 million for the victims of the October earthquake.
*72 women released from
MULTAN/SHEIKHUPURA/
|
|
|
|
|
|
Women prisoners celebrate after
they were released from a jail in
*Trade with
*
DHAKA: India has suggested that
Bangladesh develop its Mangla port and link it with Haldia port in West Bengal to accelerate trade and reduce
the trade gap between the two countries. Speaking at the inauguration on Sunday
of a three-day 'Indian Cotton Yarn & Fabric Show -2006', Indian High
Commissioner Veena Sikri Sikri stressed on the need for direct rail, road and water
links to increase trade and overall interaction, an issue that has been
discussed from time to time but is making slow progress.
*
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=308330&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
*Indian to resume
J&K dialogue process, Deccan Herald,
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=308379&category=Frontend&Country=INDIA
*
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=308304&category=Frontend&Country=BHUTAN
*Devolution
proposal: Undivided Lanka DAILY MIRROR |Saturday,
COLOMBO: The new
devolution proposals due to be put forward by the government in a bid to end
the ethnic crisis, are likely to avoid the controversial words “unitary” or
“united” and instead use a compromise word “undivided Sri Lanka.” Presidential
sources said that the matter was being seriously considered since all the
stakeholders were of the view that any devolution of power should be done
within an “undivided” country.
*Indo-Bangla talks end successfully THE HINDU |Friday,
AGARTALA:
The meeting of the joint working group on trade between
*No Military action to end conflict: Lanka Govt DAILY MIRROR |,
*Lanka looks at foreign power-sharing models ZEE NEWS |Thursday,
Policy Planning Minister Keheliya Rambukwella
told reporters today that President Rajapakse
appointed a 12-member committee to advise him on a new power-sharing
constitution for the country to address Tamil demands for greater power.
*SAFTA:
*SAARC working group on tourism promotion ASIAN TRIBUNE |Tuesday,
*'Nepal Maoists firm on peace process' THE HINDU |Tuesday,
*
*
*Cross-religion kidney-swap,
Times of India/India West,
MUMBAI: the Bhanushali and
Mohammed families first met in the dialysis room of a hospital. They first
swapped stories and then kidneys in what is probably
On June 8m Dayal Bhanushali, a businessman, received a kidney from Nay employee Sayeed Mohammed - but with a friendly rider that his wife Dhamyanti would donate one of her kidneys to Mohammed’s wife Shameem.
This Hindu-Muslim swap story is
The four operations - two retrievals and two transplants -
took place at
“I have never felt better,” said Bhanushali
*Thousands gather at Chambilyal mela THE HINDU |Friday, June 23,2006 http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=304176&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
CHAMBLIYAL
(India-Pak International Border) : The man-made
boundary between
Thousands gathered
on each side to participate in the mela celebrated
for the 317th time in history. The rush at the fair, which is an annual affair,
reflected the popular urge for peace on both sides. As is the tradition, the Pakistan
Rangers led by Commandant Najib reached the Indian
side with few civilians to collect shakar (soil). It
is known to have medicinal value and it is believed that the soil is holy and
can cure skin diseases.
The scheduled half
an hour ceremony went on for an hour. It was Punjabi diplomacy all the way as
commanders of the Border Security Forces and the Pakistan Rangers struck an
immediate rapport. Instead of Urdu or Hindustani, Punjabi was the lingua franca
of the two commanders as they exchanged greetings. At
Many Pakistani
civilians accompanied the
Mohammad Akram, a 24-year-old student, had come all the way from
"My uncle who
is a Wing commander in the Pakistan Rangers invited me to join the mela. I think the love and affection I received from this
side has touched me. The visit was worth it," he said.
The fact that
officers of
Braving heat,
people in the Pakistani
Soil and water
handed over by BSF men to Pakistan Rangers of the
*
*
DHAKA: Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat,
Bangladesh yesterday in a news release thanked the government for its 'stern'
and 'positive' role in resisting the attempt by Khatme
Nabuwat activists to lay siege of the Ahmadiyya mosque, as a part of their campaign to force the
government to declare Hazrat Mohammad (pbuh) as the last prophet in the ongoing parliament
session.
|
|
|
Secretary for Water and Power Ashfaq Mehmood receives his Indian counterpart J. Hari Narayan prior to their
talks. |
*India-Pak talks on Wullar Barrage TIMES OF
INDIA |
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=304174&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
*Singh, Hasina discuss bilateral ties ZEE NEWS |Friday,
NEW DELHI: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina tonight met Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and is understood of have discussed a gamut of bilateral issues…Sheikh Hasina also offered prayers at the famous shrine of Khwaja Moinuddhin Chishti in Ajmer district of
Rajasthan today. She offered a velvet "chaadar"
at the shrine and also offered "akidat ke phool" (flowers) at the
tomb of the sufi saint.
*
http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jun/22min.htm
The Union Cabinet on Thursday
approved a new 15-point programme to prevent and
control communal incidents and take care of minorities' welfare. The revised programme is also aimed at taking care of prevention of
communal riots, prosecution of communal offences and rehabilitation of riot
victims.
*
http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jun/22nepal1.htm
*Guns silent on LoC
for 32 months, Rediff.com,
http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jun/21loc.htm
"Indo-Pak
ceasefire, which commenced on
*
*UN support pledged for Lanka peace BBC |
*
|
|
|
Afghan
nationals freed from Pakistani jails stand in queue to cross into |
*1000
Afghan,
Most of them were arrested for not having valid documents for stay in
*Govt, Maoists sign historic accord THE HIMALAYAN TIMES Saturday, June 17, http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=302464&category=Frontend&Country=NEPAL&pro=0
KATHMANDU:
The Government and the Maoists today agreed on an eight-point agenda which has,
among others, agreed to frame an interim statute, an interim government,
declare the date for an election to a constituent assembly and dissolve the
revived House of Representatives and the Maoists’ People’s Governments based on
mutual understanding. The agreement was reached at a meeting between the
leaders of the seven-party alliance and the Maoists at the prime minister’s residence.Both sides agreed to request the United Nations
for management and monitoring of the armed forces of both sides to ensure a
free and fair election to a constituent assembly.
*Messages
of peace from
LAHORE: All great
Punjabi poets have promoted people’s welfare, friendship and tolerance, said
Punjab Governor Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool
at a symposium on ‘Punjabi Literature and Unity’ at Dayal
Singh Library on Saturday. The governor said the works of such poets should be
promoted to prevent destruction on the basis of religion, language and race.
President Musharraf had sent his message to the world that the
objective of all religions and civilisations was to
promote peace and security, he said, adding, “Pakistanis should be proud of
being Muslims, and it is an obligatory part of our religion to respect other
religions.”
LETTERS
*The ordeals of Indo-Pakistani couples, R. Alamsha,
First, let me congratulate you for observing the India-Pakistan Peace Day and launching a web site. I have been looking for this kind of initiative for a long time.
As I am Indian and my wife is
Pakistani, I can understand how these innocent Indo-Pak couples are caught in
between and go through the inexplicable ordeal. We are married for 15 years and
living in
But, the Indian consulate is
deliberately ignoring this issue and is not giving any clear guidelines. This
must be the same with the Pakistani consulate also. I can understand that it is
not possible to solve all the political problems in one go. I wish the respective
foreign offices understand our difficulties and can provide a solution for
these Indo-Pak couples to live peacefully in their country of choice, at least
for the wife to settle in her husband's home country.
I propose the theme for this year
should be: "Indo-Pak couples - The peace makers"
May I also request you to launch
an exclusive web site called Indo-Pak couples?.
I wish you good luck and wish you
a great success on your noble endeavour.
PEACE CAMPIGNS
*United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) has teamed up with the creative activists at BringThemHomeNow.com to raise money for its “SUPPORT THE TROOPS, END THE WAR – BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME, NOW!” campaign by putting a peace sign emblazoned with a yellow ribbon on a real 39 cent stamp. The stamps can be purchased at www.goodstorm.com/click/155311/11
PEACE EVENTS
*July 15, New Delhi, India: THE VIGIL FOR PEACE:TO KEEP THE FLAME OF LIFE BURNING & REJECT VIOLENCE, at 4:00 p.m. at India Gate, being organized by Aman Ekta Manch, “In the wake of the highly condemnable dastardly acts of serial bomb blasts in Mumbai and Srinagar” to “demonstrate solidarity with the victims and to salute the undying spirit of those who are living under the shadow one or another kind of violence and yet ,have not lost their humanity. This is a citizens' vigil for peace, an expression of our total rejection of all kinds of violence , be it in the name of safeguarding state, nation, religion, culture, purity of clan, community or blood. Let us take this opportunity to say that violence breeds violence and cannot be justified, is unacceptable.”
*August 6-9,
*August-October: INDIA-PAKISTAN PEACE DAY 2006. The Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) pritamr@open.org invites suggestions regarding this year’s theme and core project for this year’s celebrations. More info at www.indiapakistanpeace.org
*September 21: PEACE ONE DAY. This year, for the first time in
the history, Peace One Day will attempt to manifest commitments for its
celebration in all 191 member-states of the United Nations. Also
people are urged to join the global effort to observe a minute of silence for
peace at 12-noon on 21 September. More
info from www.peaceoneday.org, or
Jeremy Gilley Founder, Peace One Day, Block D, The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick
Lane, London E1 6QL, Tel: +44 (0) 207 456 9180, Fax: +44 (0) 207 375 2007,
Email: info@peaceoneday.org
*September 23.
*October 02-06,
Youth
“to promote
peace particularly between
of Education, Sector 36-B. A number of mixed group activities shall take place; no
lengthy and boring lectures would be made. Excursion trips would be arranged, possibly
also to Solan (Hill
Station). Register before
from Pramod
Sharma yuvsatta@yahoo.com or in