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, Ph. D.
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ACHA PEACE
BULLETIN-Volume
VII, No. 8, August 4, 2004, Next Issue, September 1, 2004
Special Issue: India-Pakistan Peace
CONTENTS
Editorial
Peace between India and Pakistan, Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D.
Peace & Harmony News From & About
South Asia
Feature
C in
today’s Indo-Pak CBMs means culture, INDIAN
EXPRESS |, August 03,2004
Awards
IA Rehman & L. Ramdas of PIPFPD
Documentaries & Films
Peace One Day
Peace Events
August 14, Washington, D.C.,
USA: Peace
Rally & Peace March
August 15, Chicago, Il, USA: Building Birdges Of
Understanding
September 4, Houston, TX,
USA: Second
Annual Joint Indo-Pak Independence Day
REPORTS &
ANALYSES
(For a copy send
a blank email to pritamr@open.org with its subject as the UPPERCASE word in the article title. Please
limit your request to 3 articles. When requesting an article from an issue of
ACHA Peace Bulletin, other than the current one, please also mention date of
publication of that issue)
Bangladesh
Bangladesh braces for
POST-flood trauma, By Anis Ahmed, Reuters August 3, 2004
Bangladesh: An Alternative PARADIGM, Dr. Qazi K Ahmad, South Asian
Journal, 7 July 2004
GROWING Lawlessness in
Bangla Desh,
Neue Zürcjer Zeitung, Germany
Living With FLOODS And
Cyclones,
Afroza Begum, Dhaka, July 31, 2004
Communalism
The HOUR of the furnace :
From Godhra to Election 2004, such a long journey, Naqvi, Indian Express,
July 16, 2004
India
The State of the NATION, Pavan Nair
China's India CONNECTION, Nilova Roy Chowdhury, The
Statesman, July 20, 2004
Indians Go HOME, but Don't
Leave U.S. Behind, A Waldman, The New York Times, July 24,
Kashmir
A Kashmir SOLUTION, A.G. Noorani, The
Hindustan Times, 06.28.04
Labour in JAMMU and Kashmir, Sanjiv Pandita, KRRC News news@krrc.org, 12 Jul 2004
Indo-Pak peace process and
the principal PARTY, Hamid Bashani, Daily Times, July 17, 2004
A 'SINCERE' approach to
Kashmir,
Ayaz Amir, Dawn, June 11, 2004
KARGIL inquiry is a must, Shafqat Mahmood, Friday
Times, July 31, 2004
Kashmir: India's BASIC
position,
Kuldip Nayar, Dawn, July 31, 2004
Pakistan
Between ‘enlightened
moderation’ and jihadi fantasy, Suroosh Irfani, The Daily Times, August 3,
Pakistan–India
Pakistan,
India and REGIONAL Cooperation, Shahid J Burki, South Asian
Journal, 7 July 2004
Nawaz Sharif Speaks OUT, Raj Chengappa, India
Today, July 26, 2004
MAKING Weapons, Talking
Peace: Resolving Dilemma of Nuclear Negotiations, Zia Mian, A H Nayyar, M V
Ramana, The Economic and Political Weekly, July 17, 2004
Partition
COMMENT: Son of the soil and his Janam Bhoomi, Ishtiaq
AhmedDaily Times, 01 August 2004
Religion
Reforming Muslim Personal
Law in India: The FYZEE Formula, Yoginder Sikand, July 5, 2004
On TA'LIM-O-Tarbiyyat
(Upbringing) Of Muslim Children In India, Asghar Ali Engineer, Islam and Modern Age, July 04
'The GLORIES of India':
Indian Patriotism in Islamic Discourse, Yoginder Sikand
Sri Lanka
Peace and
Economic REFORMS, Dushni Weerakoon, South
Asian Journal, Issue 4, 7, July 2004
CONFRONTATION
to Accommodation, Jehan Perera, South Asian Journal , 14, April 2004
Terrorism
The Sources Of Terrorist CONDUCT, R L. Hutchings, University of Virginia, 19 March 2004
Women
Whither Gender PARITY? Ram Puniyani, Issues in
Secular Politics, July 2004
EDITORIAL
*Peace
between India and Pakistan, Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D.
Except for a few brief periods of lull, in the last
57 years, hostility and serious armed conflicts have characterized the
relationship between India and Pakistan. In this context, it is encouraging to
note that, in spite of past failures, once more, the Governments of India and
Pakistan have once again embarked upon the path of peace.
Many people-to-people attempts have been made to encourage and promote government-level efforts. Of them perhaps the most notable was the foundation in 1995 Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace & Democracy (PIPFPD).
Since then, it has held several conventions and has
organized local chapters in both countries. Every year, on August 14 and/or
August 15, PIPFPD
and its chapters hold special events such as peace marches and candlelight
vigils.
Also commendable is the work of other organizations.
Better known among them are Citizens’ Peace Committee (CPC), Friends of South
Asia (FOSA), International Centre for Peace Initiatives (ICPI), International
South Asia Forum (INSAF), Pakistan Peace Coalition, South Asians Against Nukes
(SAAN), South Asian Network for Secularism & Democracy (SANSAD), and
Women’s Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA).
In the United Sates, in 1993, the Association for
Communal Harmony in Asia, better known as ACHA, was founded at Beaverton,
Oregon, USA, to promote peace in South Asia and harmony among South Asians
everywhere. Since then ACHA has held many activities to bring the local Indian
and Pakistani communities together. These include
Pakistan-India Friendship
Day in Beaverton, Oregon,on August 13, 1994
At Salem and Portland,
Oregon, in 2001, talks entitled “Pakistan and India Under the Nuclear Shadow”
by Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, the prominent nuclear physicist at the Quaid-I-Azam
University at Islamabad.
India-Pakistan-Kashmir: A
Civic Dialog at Portland, Oregon, in 2002, and 2003
Last year, joint celebrations of Independence Days
of India and Pakistan were organized at several places in USA, including
Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Madison, and Palo Alto. Credit for these celebrations
goes to
Action group of Physicians of South Asia (APSA), the
Alliance for Secular and Democratic South Asia, Develop in Peace (DIP), Friends
of South Asia (FOSA), and South Asians for Unity.
This year, several events are being organized in
India, Pakistan, and USA. More details are available below in the Peace Events
section of this issue of ACHA Peace Bulletin.
As a tribute to these pioneering efforts and to
build upon the recent thaw in India-Pakistan relationships, this year, the
Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) has launched a worldwide
campaign. ACHA has invited peace activists to hold celebrations of
India-Pakistan Peace Day 2004 everywhere, between August 1 and October 31.
To support this initiative ACHA has set up www.indiapakistanpeace.org a new
web site dedicated entirely to this campaign.
PEACE & HARMONY NEWS FROM & ABOUT SOUTH ASIA
(Readers are
invited to submit similar information from other areas of South Asia to help us
broaden of our coverage. Please send the info to pritamr@open.org, a week
before the date of publication of the next issue
of ACHA Peace
Bulletin)
*Bangladesh
Human chain to protest
distortion of history
DHAKA: "Amra Muktijoddhar Santan" (we are
the wards of the freedom fighters) of Chittagong district unit formed a human
chain Tuesday titled "wall of resistance" on the local press club
premises protesting distortion of the country's liberation war history in the
"Muktijuddher Dalilpatra".
Around three hundred sons and daughters of freedom fighters took part in the
human chain for 30 minutes wearing masks and holding placards. They also burnt
the newly published "Muktijuddher Dalilpatra" and rejected the book saying
it has distorted the actual history of the liberation war. THE DAILY STAR | July 28,2004
*Bangladesh-India
Indo-Bangla border talks
start today
DHAKA: A four-day high-level border conference
between Bangladesh and India begins at the BDR sector headquarters in Comilla
today to settle frontier issues. DAILY
STAR August 02,2004
Khaleda, Manmohan discuss
bilateral issues
BANGKOK: On the sideline of the BIMSTEC summit in
Bangkok, Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh held bilateral talks, Saturday on issues such as permanent flood
control system, water management and security. NEW TODAY | August 01,2004
B'desh delegation seeks
Indian investment
NEW DELHI: Speaking at an interactive session with
the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at a hotel here, Board of Investment
(BoI) Executive Chairman Mahmudur Rahman informed the Indian investors that in
order to meet the major challenge emanating from China in the quota-free
international textile regime from January next, "We need a strategic
alliance and the private sectors of the two countries should play a lead role
in this." The Statesman July 14,2004
Indo-Bangla border fencing
on zero line
KOLKATA: The Indian government has agreed that the
fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border will pass along the zero line, West
Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said in the state assembly on
Thursday. Much of the fencing along the 1,600 km long border was, however,
already complete according to the earlier arrangement under which there had to
be a minimum distance of 150 metres between the border fence and the zero line
on the border. A lot of cultivable and grazing land had fallen in between,
creating problems for villagers. Times of
India, July 09,2004
*India
India, Naga rebels extend
truce by one year
BANGKOK: The government on Friday extended the
ceasefire with NSCN (IM) for another year following talks with the major
insurgent outfit in Chiangmei, about 500 km from here, and both sides agreed to
carry on talks to find a lasting and peaceful solution to the vexed Naga issue.
THE
HINDU | July 31,2004
India invokes Islam for
release of hostages
NEW DELHI: India on Sunday invoked the teachings of
Islam and its close ties with Iraq to renew its appeal for the release of three
of its nationals taken hostage by a terrorist group in that country.
"Islam teaches everybody to be just and fair and the people of India
expect that captors will also honours the Islamic way of thinking towards the
innocent," Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed said.
July 26,2004
Indian Girl’s Letter ‘Moves’ Musharraf
MANGALORE, Karnataka: After the last Indo-Pak
cricket series, Srishti Krishnamurthy, a 15-year-old female tenth-grade student
of Kendriya Vidyalaya, wrote a poem, “Symbiosis,” to Pakistani President
Musharraf. It touched the President’s heart so much that, in a letter to her,
he assured her to do his best to convert her dreams of cordial relations
between India and Pakistan into reality. India
West, July 16, 2004
Godhra: Lalu orders fresh inquiry http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/14guj.htm
Indian gift of sight for Pak boy
CHENNAI: Mohammad Ahmed, a 12-month old boy, who was
born blind because of a genetic disorder, received a successful transplant in
both eyes of cornea, donated by unnamed Indian families, at a Chennai hospital.
The boy is the fourth and last son of a bank employee in Karachi. India West July 9, 2004
'We have grown up
together; how can we desert them now?'
As word spread and groups like the BJP/Bajrang Dal/
VHP/ RSS got wind of the fact that Muslims had collected there, large mobs came
for them. Some of the mob leaders were personally known to Ishwarbhai. All of
them had only one demand – that Ishwarbhai turn the Muslims out. But Ishwarbhai
and his neighbours refused. They were adamant that they would not let anyone
touch the Muslims who had sought refuge there. "We have grown up together,
our families have known each other for the last 70-80 years. How can we desert
them now?" Ishwarbhai asked the Hindu mob leaders. Even as he tried
talking to persons in the mob and engage them in dialogue, other colony
residents were prepared to face and repulse the mobs if necessary. In the three
days that the Muslims took shelter there, on about a dozen occasions, mobs
grouped and re-grouped but Ishwarbhai and his neighbours remained firm.
Communalism Combat, June 2004 http://www.sabrang.com/cc/archive/2004/june04/cover2.html
*The
Maldives-Bhutan
Maldives, Bhutan marked 20
years of relations
MALE: In a letter to King Jigme Singye Wangchuk of
Bhutan, on the important occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the President
assured that the Maldives was keen to build on the existing close friendship
for the mutual benefit of the two peoples. Maldive_
Info.Gov July 14,2004
*Nepal
Peace secretariat 'in the
offing'
KATHMANDU: Speaking at a program in the capital
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Deep Kumar Upadhyaya Upadhyaya
said the government will set up peace secretariat, which would make it easier to handle its peace efforts. He
said: “The government has already started homework for peace talks with the
Maoists. The is being established as part of the coordinating these efforts.” NEPAL NEWS August 02,2004
Govt-Maoists talks soon:
Deputy PM
BIRATNAGAR: Addressing a
programme organised by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and
Industries (FNCCI) here, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance minister Bharat
Mohan Adhikari said, since the environment for peace talks with the Maoists is
improving, the talks are likely to be held within the coming one or two months.
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES |
July 25,2004
Parties ask govt to accord
priority to peace
KATHAMNDU: Leaders of the major political parties
today urged the government to meet the major challenges of holding
parliamentary and local elections and handing over power to the people’s
representatives by bringing the Maoists into the mainstream through
negotiations. THE HIMALAYAN TIMES | July 24,2004
PM offers talks to Maoists
KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba Sunday
said government is ready to talk to the Maoists on any political agenda with
maximum flexibility except on constitutional monarchy and multi-party
democracy. Kantipur Online July 12,2004
*Nepal-Bhutan
Nepal sees Bhutan ready
for refugee talks
KATHMANDU: Nepal's State minister for Foreign
Affairs Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat Sunday said Bhutan has agreed to hold talks to
start the repatriation process of Bhutani refugees languishing in seven camps
in Eastern Nepal. NEPAL NEWS | August 02,2004
*Nepal-India
First-ever Indian food
train leaves for Nepal
KOLKATA: Marking a first in India-Nepal relations,
an Indian train Monday chugged off from here for the Himalayan kingdom carrying
food material under the World Food Programme. Till now, goods trains went only
up to the Nepalese border from where the consignments were offloaded and
carried across. But a new stretch of tracks connecting Raxaul in India and
Birgunj in Nepal will now enable trains to travel directly. Times of India July
14,2004
India plans oil pipeline
to Nepal
NEW DELHI: State-run Indian Oil Corp has proposed to
lay a Rs 35 crore pipeline to Nepal for export of petroleum products, Rajya
Sabha was informed Tuesday. The Hindu,
July 07,2004
*Pakistan
Honor killing will be
treated as murder
Advisor to the Prime Minister for Women Development
and Social Welfare Nelofar Bakhtiyar tabled in the National Assembly the
Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2004 relating to honour killings. This bill
proposes that honor killing will be treated as willful murder and prescribes
enhanced punishment for this offense. The proposed bill also suggests, that
investigations for Zina, blasphemy and honour killing cases would be conducted
by a police officer of SP level, and that a women accused of Zina shall not be
arrested without the court’s permission. According to the bill, a female shall
not be given in marriage or other wise in badal-i-sulha. DAILY TIMES July 31,2004
*Pakistan-India
Indo-Pak talks to gather
pace from August 3
ISLAMABAD: The Indo-Pak composite dialogue process
would gather pace from Tuesday with top officials of the two countries holding
five meetings in New Delhi and Islamabad in quick succession to discuss key
issues like Siachen, Sir Creek and improvement in economic and trade ties. Indian
Express August 02,2004
PEMRA allows Indian songs
on FM
FAISALABAD: The Pakistan Electronic and Media
Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has given permission to the private radio channels
to broadcast Indian movie songs in Faisalabad, Lahore, Multan and at other FM
stations. THE
NATION | August 01,2004
Pakistan-India telecom
link at Wagah soon
BANGALORE: Pakistan and India will soon be connected
through the Wagah border with a 10-kilometre fibre-optic link to boost
communication and reduce user charges, Indian Communications and Information
Technology Minister Dayanidi Maran told reporters on Thursday.DAILY TIMES |July 30,2004
Indo-Pak coast guard
hotline soon
CHENNAI: A hot line between the Indian Coast Guard
and its Pakistani counterpart, Maritime Security Agency, would be established
very soon, Vice Admiral Suresh Mehta, Director General, Coast Guard, said
Wednesday. NEWS TODAY |
July 29,2004
India 'open' to pipeline
via Pakistan
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday
conveyed to visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi that he has an
‘‘open mind’’ on Iran’s proposal for an on-land gas pipeline between the two
countries through Pakistan. INDIAN
EXPRESS July 27,2004
Kasuri to visit India on
September 5
NEW DELHI: Indian External Affairs Minister K Natwar
Singh said on Sunday that his Pakistani counterpart, Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri,
would pay a two-day visit to India from September 5 to carry forward bilateral
composite dialogue on all issues, including Kashmir. DAILY TIMES July 26,2004
Indo-Pak FM talk frankly
on 'all' issues
ISLAMABAD: Any doubts over
the health of the India-Pakistan peace process, on the sidelines of the SAARC
ministerial meet, receded to the background Thursday with the foreign ministers
of both countries reaffirming their resolve and commitment to taking the
dialogue ahead. 
INDIAN
EXPRESS July 22,2004
Manmohan Singh's my guru: Pak PM-designate http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/22pak.htm
Natwar Singh, Pak PM discuss peace talks http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/21saarc1.htm
Pakistan, India trade
talks on Aug 10
ISLAMABAD: Addressing a news conference, Humayun
Akhtar Khan, the federal commerce minister, said Thursday that two-day trade
talks between commerce secretaries of Pakistan and India will start August 10
in Islamabad. Daily Times July 09, 2004
Pak cinemas to screen
Bollywood movies
LAHORE: Federal Additional Secretary for Culture
Zafar Ahmed said on Tuesday that Pakistani cinemas were likely to be given
permission to screen Indian films in three months. Daily Times July 07,2004
Indian FM to attend Pak
Saarc moot
ISLAMABAD: External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh is
expected to meet his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri for the
third time in two months when he travels to Islamabad for the two-day SAARC
Foreign Ministers' meeting from July 20. Indian
Express July 06,2004
Pak scouts attend Saarc camp in
Kashmir
GULMARG: In a crowd of over 700 scouts, a group of
15 from Pakistan, particularly three from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) was
the centre of attraction during the last two days of the SAARC integration camp
organised by Bharat Scouts and Guides here. The Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad
Sayeed, who was the chief guest at the closing ceremony said "this is a
small beginning but a big step." The
Hindu July 06,2004
Musharraf reiterates peace
vows
STOCKHOLM: “I spoke to (former) Prime Minister
Vajpayee and I gave him all the credit for initiating the peace process,” said
President Musharraf. “I rang him up (after India’s elections) to remind him of
this and tell him now that he is in opposition not to oppose the move but to
keep backing the move and may I say, he was gracious enough to accept that he
will back the peace initiative.
“We also know that the present government, especially Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, is very keen on resolving our differences in a peaceful manner,” he told
Reuters in an interview. “We want peace in the region. There is a thaw in
relations between India and Pakistan. A process has started now and we hope
that this continues. On our side both the prime ministers are very clear and
they will pursue the peace track,” he said. Daily
Times July 06,2004
*Sri Lanka
Oslo to host Sri Lanka
peace moot
OSLO: Road Maps to Peace in Sri Lanka is the topic
of a full-day conference being organized by the World Alliance for Peace in Sri
Lanka (WAPS) jointly with its Norwegian Counterpart R-Centre in Oslo, Norway on
August 20. The forum will present an in-depth analysis of consequences of
Norway’s policies in the Sri Lanka conflict and towards terrorism in general.. ASIAN
TRIBUNE | August 01,2004
Tigers release 34 child
soldiers
COLOMBO: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
have released Thursday 34 child soldiers, ages 14-17, to a UNICEF-administered
transit center in the rebels' northern heartland of Kilinochchi, the U.N.
children's agency UNICEF said Friday. LANKA ACADEMIC |
July 31,2004
Lanka agrees to discuss
LTTE demand
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan government took a key step
toward restarting stalled peace talks with Tamil rebels on Thursday when it
dropped a longstanding refusal to discuss the guerrillas’ self-rule proposal, a
day after a peace envoy warned new warfare could break out. DAILY TIMES | July 30,2004
200,000 out of 1.5 million
mines cleared
JAFFNA: Close to 200,000 mines of an estimated 1.5
million in the minefields of the North and East have been de-fused an Ethiopian
delegation visiting Sri Lanka from July 20 to 29 said. ISLAND
| July 30,2004
Sri Lanka leader in peace
gesture
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga
says she is willing and keen to restart the stalled peace talks with the Tamil
Tiger rebels. In a statement, she said
her government would resume negotiations on an interim authority within a
united state, as sought by the Tamil Tigers. BBC | July 28,2004
President invites
opposition to join her
COLOMBO: Issuing a statement, following here
Alliance’s resounding victory at Saturday's Provincial Council election, the
President Chandrika Kumaratunga invitated all Opposition political parties to
shed differences and join her United Peoples Freedom Alliance Government and
assist them to rebuild the country. Lanka
Academic July 12,2004
*Sri Lanka-
India
Kumaratunga briefs
Manmohan on peace talks
ISLAMABAD: Meeting the Indian Premier Manmohan Singh
for the first time, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga had
bilateral talks with the Indian Prime Ministers, soon after the conclusion of
the first BIMST EC summit at the Foreign Ministry here on Sunday. Daily News August 02,2004
Lanka plans industrial
zone to woo Indians
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will set up a separate industrial
zone for Indian investors following a request from the new Congress-led UPA
Government, Investment Promotion Minister Anura Bandaranaike said here today.
The Lankan minister said he had also agreed to a request from the Indian
Government to set up a separate desk at the Board of Investment here to facilitate
Indian firms interested in investing in the island.
Bandaranaike said he was considering a similar request from China, although the
quantum of investments. THE HINDU | July 31,2004
India to keep backing
peace in Sri Lanka
NEW DELHI: India has assured Norway it will continue
to back the Oslo-brokered peace process in Sri Lanka but made it clear that it
remains opposed to any break-up of the island nation.
New Kerala July 11,2004
Norway woos India on Sri
Lanka
NEW DELHI: Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen,
on a three-day visit that ends Wednesday, will discuss with Indian leaders the
deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka, diplomatic sources said Monday. New Kerala July 06,2004
FEATURE
*C in
today’s Indo-Pak CBMs means culture, INDIAN
EXPRESS |, August 03,2004
NEW DELHI: India may have ruled out handing over the
house in which Jinnah lived in Mumbai to Pakistan, but it is likely to propose
a series of initiatives to enhance cultural and people-to-people exchanges
between the two countries, including book fairs and religious travel.
After six years, the culture secretaries of the two countries will meet for a
two-day session beginning Tuesday in Delhi on ‘‘the promotion of friendly
exchanges’’. The talks are likely to also cover issues such as the welfare of
civilian prisoners in each other’s jails (there are about 500-600 each) and
easing visa restrictions for more categories of people.
The impression that the peace process is slowing down because of bureaucratic
apathy and internal political dynamics has been gaining ground. While Islamabad
says India’s new government is slowly settling down, New Delhi believes
Pakistan is also under pressure to be seen as ‘‘delivering’’ on the Kashmir
issue.
But there is also the realisation in both countries that the peace process is
being directed by ‘‘people’s movements’’, which will not look too kindly to
undue delays.
Certainly, the Pakistani side is keen to make ‘‘progress’’ on Kashmir and has
over the last few meetings, both in New Delhi and Islamabad—including on the
margins of the SAARC foreign ministerial meeting in Islamabad 10 days
ago—offered to discuss this in a more creative and flexible way.
The ‘‘impasse’’ over Kashmir, whether it is the lack of willingness on
Pakistan’s side to have ‘‘technical-level discussions’’ on the proposed
cross-LoC route from Srinagar to Muzaffarabad, or New Delhi’s insistence that
the ‘‘bilateral’’ brief must constitute the bedrock of discussions, will,
however, not be allowed to come in the way of the two-day culture talks.
Perhaps the bonhomie and understanding that both sides will evolve over these
discussions will help them sort out the more prickly issues on Siachen and Sir
Creek later this week.
Today’s meeting is scheduled to discuss how to enhance pilgrim travel to more
temples, mosques and gurdwaras in both countries, such as the Hazratganj Data
Sahib (a Sufi shrine in Lahore) and the Shardani Darbar (a Hindu temple in
Madhya Pradesh). Travel to an additional 10-12 shrines is also likely to be on
the agenda. As many as 7,000 Hindu and Sikh pilgrims currently visit shrines in
Pakistan, while around 1,300 Pakistanis go to Ajmersharif in Ajmer and the
Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi.
Additional visa categories for tourists, conferences and students’ study tours
are also likely to be proposed by the Indian side. Senior citizen visas and
those for children under 12 could be relaxed, by even allowing them to exit and
enter from different cities.
Moreover, New Delhi has shown willingness to allow journalists and artistes as
well as businessmen to travel across the border to get to know their counterparts
better. Art exhibitions are on the anvil, as are exchanges between journalism
institutes. The idea, official sources said, is to help keep the peace process
going.
The welfare of civilian prisoners is an area where Islamabad is particularly keen
on seeing progress. Both sides agree that most prisoners are innocent, having
wandered across the border in areas where there is no fence.
AWARDS
*IA Rehman
& L. Ramdas of PIPFPD share peace award
Leading journalist and human rights activist Ibn Abdur
Rehman, commonly known as IA Rehman, has won the 2004 Ramon Magsaysay Award for
peace and international understanding. An announcement by the Board of Trustees
of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, Manila on Monday said I A Rehman would
share the award with Laxminarayan Ramdas, a former chief of the Indian Navy.
Both are leading figures in the Pakistan-India
People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD). The citation said the two men
were being recognized for "reaching out across a hostile border to nurture
a citizen-based consensus for peace between Pakistan and India."
Rehman is one of the country’s top journalists and columnists. His columns on
political, human rights and other issues appear regularly in English newspapers
and journals. He is also associated with the Human Rights Commission of
Pakistan.
Established in 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia’s equivalent of the
Nobel Prize. It honours the memory and leadership of the third Philippines
president and is given yearly to individuals or organizations in Asia who
manifest the same sense of selfless service that ruled the life of the late and
beloved Filipino leader. THE
NEWS , August 03,2004
DOCUMENTARIES & FILMS
*Peace One Day, “documented and inspired the
establishment of the first ever day of global ceasefire and non-violence on the
United Nations International Day of Peace, now fixed in the calendar as
September 21 annually.” It will be screened
for its North American Premiere, on September 21, 2004, at Ziegfeld
Theatre, 141 W 54th St, Manhattan, New York, NY.
The World Premiere of this film will be at the
Edinburgh International Film Festival August 2004. Also the BBC will screen it at
the end of September.
More info fromwww.peaceoneday.org
and info@peaceoneday.org
PEACE EVENTS
*August 14, Washington, D.C., USA: PEACE
RALLY at Gandhi Statue in front of the Indian Embassy, and a PEACE MARCH from
there to the Pakistan Embassy, a presentation of Association for
India's Development, Develop in Peace, and DC Collective for South Asians,
AIMS, and Young India. More info from Priya Ranjan priya@aidindia.org
*August 15, Chicago, IL, USA: BUILDING
BIRDGES OF UNDERSTANDING, a float celebrating India’s freedom and diversity,
and sponsored by a coalition including
South Asian Progressive Action Collective (SAPAC -www.sapacchicago.org),
Indian Muslim Council-USA, Coalition for a Secular and Democratic India, South
Asians Gathered for Action and Reflection, and others. More info from www.bridgesofunderstanding.org
*September 4, Houston, TX, USA: SECOND ANNUAL
JOINT INDO-PAK INDEPENDENCE DAY, a presentation of the local chapters of the
Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA), American
Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), American Federation of
Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI), and Association for India’s Development (AID),
featuring documentaries, discussion forum, diner and entertainment, 5:00 p.m. –
Midnight, in Houston Room, UC, II Floor, at University of Houston. Admission by
invitation only. More info from Rizwan Naeem RXNAEEM@txccc.org