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. 8: August 15, 2009, Next Issue
September 15, 2009
_____________________________
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
*For Peace and Prosperity in South Asia, Pritam K. Rohila, Ph. D.
GUEST EDITORIAL
*Neighbours in peace -- or pieces?
Beena Sarwar, Hard News, August 10, 2009
ARTICLES OF THE MONTH
*Hate Not Last Word in Partition: Nandy, Ashfaque Swapan, India West, March 13, 09
*Time for South Asia to act,
Rajmohan Gandhi, Dawn, 22 Apr, 2009
*Neighbours in peace -- or pieces?
Beena Sarwar, Hard News, August 10, 2009
ANNOUNCEMENTS
*Opportunity for South Asian think
tanks THE HINDU | July 31, 2009
EVENTS
*August 9-21, Lucknow, Kolkata, and Pune, India: AUGUST KRANTI DAY 2009
*August 16, Rockville, MD, USA: MUSHAIRA-KAVI SAMMELAN
*September
27-October 1, Chandigarh, Punjab, India: STUDENTS
PEACE FESTIVAL
*October 2, New Zealand to
Argentina: WORLD
MARCH
*October 2-8, Pune, Maharashtra,
India: 4th INDO-PAK STUDENTS PEACE CAMP *October
16-18, Islamabad, Pakistan: NATIONAL INTEGRATION YOUTH CAMP *October 21-22, Delhi, India: VISA-FREE
& PEACEFUL SOUTH ASIA CONVENTIO *December
3-9, 2009, Melbourne, Australia: the World’s Religions
EVENT REPORTS
*July 18, Islamabad, Pakistan: COMMON WORD CONVENTION
*August 6 & 9, Hyderabad, India: THE SAMBANDH 2009
*August 8, Gojra, Punjab, Pakistan: CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM PEACE SOLIDARITY
FELLOWSHIPS
*Asia
Pacific Future 100
JOBS, INTERNSHIPS
& VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS (FOR THE COMMON GOOD)
MEMBERS’ CORNER
PEACE & HARMONY NEWS FROM
INDIA & PAKISTAN
PEACE & HARMONY NEWS FROM
SOUTH ASIA
PEACE & HARMONY SONGS
*No
Saazish, No Jang, by Shavar Khan
*Gul karo bhai gul karo,
by Arshed Bhatti
PEACE RESEARCH
*Peace, Sustainability, and
warmongering, William A. McChonochie, Peace Psychology,
UPDATE: KASHMIR
UPDATE: NEPAL
UPDATE: PAKISTAN
UPDATE: SRILANKA
*Implications of the Northern
Election Verdict, Jehan Perera, NPC, August 10, 2009
EDITORIAL
*For Peace and Prosperity in South Asia, Pritam K. Rohila, Ph. D.
Atrocities against minorities in
South Asia are not uncommon. But atrocities, which are inspired by national laws,
deserve special concern.
Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law 295-C
provides for mandatory death sentence for defaming Prophet Mohammed and life
imprisonment for desecrating the Holy Quran.
According to the August 6 report
in the Dawn, 500 people have been charged under this law since 1990.
Beena Sarwar, a reputed
Pakistani journalist, recently pointed out that the law has been used to
“settle scores, including financial rivalries, as umpteen fact-finding missions
have recorded, much as the Zina laws have been used for revenge.”
It appears that usually a false
rumor is started against a minority individual. A mob is gathered. Without
bothering to involve the local police or courts, they take it upon themselves
to determine the appropriate punishment and administer it to the victim.
Punishment typically results in
the death or serious injury to the victim, and destruction of the victim’s
property. The authorities are frequently unwilling or unable to effectively
intervene.
Recently, the Christian
community was targeted at Gojra and Koriyan, in the Toba Tek Singh District of
Punjab.
According to reliable sources,
seven individuals, including some women and children were killed. More than 70
homes and two churches were set to fire, looted and/or ransacked. The whole
Christian community was terrorized.
The carnage has elicited
widespread condemnation from people in several countries including Pakistan,
India, U.K., and USA. Protesters have demanded due compensation to the victims
and their families and appropriate punishment of the perpetrators.
Also, some demands have been
made for repealing of the Blasphemy Law, which is easy to invoke, but difficult
to judiciously implement. Worse, it has inspired untold cruelty against the
minorities.
According to Human Rights Commission
of Pakistan (HRCP) Co-chairman Iqbal Haider, “It’s an arbitrary law, which has
been badly misused by extremists and influentials and should be abolished.”
“There is no option but to
abolish this law. More than that, the government should revive the secular
nature of the state as our founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah envisaged, otherwise it
will aggravate religious unrest,” he said.
We cannot enjoy the full benefit
of peace between countries, unless
there is also peace and harmony within
the concerned countries.
There can be no peace or prosperity
in a country where minorities are not protected and are victims of the
majoritarian intolerance and violence.
Draconian laws which discriminate
against them must be abolished.
Law enforcement officials should
be sensitized for appropriate dealings with minorities.
Schools and colleges should
offer special courses to train their wards in principles and practices of
conflict resolution and peaceful coexistence, especially in regard to those who
are different from us.
As
a starting point, we urge all those who agree with us to please sign ACHA
Pledge of Peace & Harmony petition at
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ACHA_PEACE/
GUEST EDITORIAL
*Neighbours
in peace -- or pieces? Beena Sarwar, Hard News, August 10, 2009
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2009/07/3122
The auditorium was full of women from far-flung, poor localities of Karachi.
One of them plonked herself next tome in the second row along with her
daughters, a toddler and a six-year old. A gigantic banner featuring a photo of
the late activist Nirmala Deshpande formed the backdrop to an array of speakers
from India and Pakistan seated behind a long table on the platform. `PROMOTING
PEACE IN SOUTH ASIA AND REMEMBERING NIRMALA DIDI DESHPANDE' it read.
Mumtaz, the young Pahstun mother next to me, had studied up till the eighth
grade, unlike most of the other women present. The toddler nuzzled against her
to breastfeed from time to time.
The speakers included prominent Urdu writer Zahida Hina, peace activist and
educationist from Lahore Syed Diep, parliamentarians from the PPP and MQM and
Indian activist Sandeep Pandey from Lucknow, journalist Jatin Desai from
Mumbai, and Kavita Srivastava of the Peoples Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL)
from Jaipur. Two other Indians weren't given `clearance' from Islamabad in time
for the visit, meant to further the aims of a jointsignature campaign for peace
launched earlier this year.
Mumtaz and the other women, mostly wives of daily wage labourers, had been
brought there by various `bajis', women activists working in their areas.
"I don't understand everything they're saying," Mumtaz told me,
"But I know they are talking about the need for peace between India and
Pakistan. That is what we all want."
Her immediate concern was to feed her family. "Maybe if these two
countries stop fighting, our lot will improve," she said optimistically.
"Let the people meet, all other matters will sort out," a cyclist
told Sandeep Pandey and other peace marchers who went from Delhi to Multan in
2005, demanding that the governments of India and Pakistan resolve all matters
of dispute through dialogue.
Such basic wisdom is at odds with the justifications for continued animosity
presented by `intellectuals' on either side of the border. "India/Pakistan
wants to destroy us"; "Stop appeasing India/Pakistan";
"There is no point in talking to them".
If we listen to this babble of voices whose sole aim seems to be to present
their own country's case as better than the other's, we'll never get anywhere.
There is an old saying in our part of the world, `Taali donoN haathoN se bajti
hai' – it takes two hands to clap.
Let's stop
these blame games and accept that there are problems on either side – of
varying degrees and natures, and try and understand the complexities of the
problems.
Those with access to the Internet have increased the potential for such
understanding. But because we're not used to talking to each other, the
un-moderated exchanges posted on blogs are often crass and offensive. Direct
interaction involving basic civility and an open mind is more meaningful.
Some time back, a Mumbaikar emailed saying, "Frankly, with Pakistan itself
is in such a mess (Lal Masjid, Swat valley, Taliban, regular suicide attacks
and of course the numerous Muslim organisations ranting about Jehad), do you
really feel safe in your own country? And the most amusing thing is when Pakistan
tells that India is its enemy number one. Wait for a few more years, am sure
the Taliban will take over Pakistan. And what pains us, is what did we do to
Pakistan. Kargil was Musharaf's misadventure."I replied, yes, Pakistan is
in a mess, due largely to the continual disruption of the political process,
with no democratically elected government being allowed to complete its terms.
"This is the biggest difference between India and us, and what I most envy
about your country".
Still, women do get around here too, carry on with their work and their lives.
And at least elements within Pakistan's establishment no longer consider India
as enemy number one.
Kargil was indeed Musharraf's misadventure. Many of us spoke out against it
(were labelled as Indian agents). Pakistan's military must be accountable and
answerable to elected civilian governments. This will only happen if the
political process is allowed to continue.
Rocky as politics in Pakistan currently are, with a floundering democratic
process, it is only more democracy on a sustained and continuous level that
will in the long run yield positive results.
ARTICLES OF THE MONTH
*Hate Not Last Word in Partition: Nandy, Ashfaque Swapan, India West, March 13, 2009
http://www.indiawest.com/readmore.aspx?id=999&Sid=1
*Time for South
Asia to act, Rajmohan Gandhi, Dawn, 22 Apr, 2009
*A will
without a way, M.J. Akbar, August 2, 2009
http://www.mjakbar.org/mjblog.htm
ANNOUNCEMENTS
*Opportunity for South Asian think
tanks THE HINDU | July 31, 2009
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=598364&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
NEW
DELHI: The Think Tank Initiative has announced opportunities for multi-year
core funding for South Asian think tanks to aid training and technical support.
Funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre, The William and
Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the
Initiative aims to support locally created development policies and drive change.
Think tanks in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka can apply.
The Initiative supports independent policy think tanks in developing countries,
enabling them to provide research that informs and influences national-level
social and economic policy, mainly in the areas of growth, equity, and poverty
reduction. The aim is to help local think tanks produce quality research that
will improve policies and develop more equitable and prosperous societies.
EVENTS
*August 9-21, Lucknow, Kolkata, and Pune, India: AUGUST KRANTI DAY 2009
9th - Receive and reception of Pakistani Delegates (P.D.) at Lucknow, they will attend August Kranti Divas at Lucknow organised by B.B.P.P.F. Reception of delegates at Jawhar foundation, Aminabad.
10th – Interaction with Student and various groups will be held at Lucknow University and Islamia College.
11th - Sightseeing program for foreign delegates.
12th - Reception of Bangladeshi delegates at Howrah Station. In the afternoon, interaction program with youths organized by All India youth League.
13th - Delegates will visit Murshidabad, the Capital of the independent Nawab Siraj Ud Doullah of Bengal Bihar and Orissa in 1757.
14th - Joint independent day is proposed to be observed at ’0’ hour in suitably place as sanctioned by Kolkata Police.
15th - Road show in Kolkata
16th – An interactive seminar on “Two nation-one vision” at Indian Association Hall, Kolkata. Pakistan Delegates and part of Bangladesh Delegates leave for Pune.
17th - In Train
18th – 20th program at Pune and in adjoining areas.
21st - Delegates depart for Delhi on their way to Pakistan and Bangladesh.
More info from Manik Samajdar m_samajdar@yahoo.co.in
*August 16, Rockville, MD, USA: MUSHAIRA-KAVI
SAMMELAN to be organized by the Aligarh Alumni Association of Metropolitan
Washington (AAA) in collaboration with the Metropolitan Washington Chapter
of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), to celebrate
independence of the Indian subcontinent, starting at 3:00 p.m., at the
Executive Building, 1, Monroe Street. Following Urdu and Hindi poets are
participating A. Abdullah, Abulhasan Naghmi, Akram
Mahmood, Astha Naval,
Aziz Qureshi, Baqar Zaidi, Dhanajay Kumar, Gulshan Madhur, Habib Bajwa, Madhu Maheshwari, Mohammad Anwar, Narendr Tandon, Naseem Farogh, Noor Memon,
Qamar Kazmi, Rahman Siddiqi, Rakesh Khandelwal, Razi
Raziuddin, Rekha Maitra, Saroj Joshi, Satyapal Anand,
Shakeel Azad, Suman Shukla, Tahira Rida, V. Thaker, Yusuf
Rahat and Zaheer Parvez.
In addition to poetry recitation, the program will includes presentation of articles on contribution of Ganga-Jamuni culture to the independence movement.
More information from Zafar Iqbal, Ph.D., Coordinator (301-540-POEM or aabta.india@gmail.com), Rafat Husain, Ph.D., President, AAA (301-869-8780), or Renuka Misra, Ph.D., President, GOPIO (301-330-5098).
*September 27-October 1, Chandigarh, Punjab, India: 4th INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS PEACE FESTIVAL. To
promote peace, equality and living in harmony with nature.the Festival (including a Peace Parade, Carnival games, Make
and take crafts, Multi-cultural performances, Peace Talks & Peace Stalls, Magic
Shows & Face Painting, Film Shows & Music to UNITE, Nature trails &
discussions of Environmental issues, Clowning & Fancy Dress Cat-walk, One
Sky One World kite fly) will be organized by Yuv Satta, in association with
COVA, and other organizations. Student community across the world is invited to
participate.
The last date for registration is 30th July 2009. To register mail to yuvsatta@gmail.com your brief profile with age, gender and a comment on why you want to participate
All logistics support in Chandigarh http://chandigarh.nic.in/ (including boarding, lodging, food, refreshments, sight-seeing, travel) will be provided by the organizers. The participants have to arrange for their travel to and from Chandiarg at their own expense.
More
information from Parmod Sharma, Coordinator, Yuvsatta, R. No. 12, 16, Karuna
Sadan, Sector 11, Chandigarh, India - 160 011, Cell: 91-9872609816 e-mail: yuvsatta@gmail.com, Website: www.yuvsatta.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.
*October 2-8, Pune, Maharashtra, India: 4th INDO-PAK STUDENTS PEACE CAMP, at JP Naik Centre. To promote the spirit of peace, non-violence, tolerance, forgiveness and brotherhood, CYDA, in collaboration with CYDA-India, intends to organize for students and/or youth of 17-25 years. A number of mixed group activities shall take place; no lengthy and boring lectures would be made. Last date for registration is July 30, 2009.
Detailed information will be available on the CYDA website (www.cydapakistan.org). For more info send an email to info@cydapakistan.org and cydapakistan@gmail.com
*October 16-18, Islamabad, Pakistan: NATIONAL INTEGRATION YOUTH CAMP 2009. CYDA will organize this 3-day residential seminar-cum-workshop to promote peace and harmony between the youth of Pakistan irrespective of their gender, religion, location or province.
Detailed information
will be available on the CYDA website (www.cydapakistan.org). For more
info send an email to info@cydapakistan.org and cydapakistan@gmail.com
*October
21-22, Delhi, India: 3RD VISA-FREE & PEACEFUL SOUTH ASIA CONVENTION
You are encouraged to confirm your participation to Rajeshwar Ojha at rajeshwar.ojha@gmail.com (91 9654176271), by August 15,
2009. More information from him, and Irfan Ahmed (91 9971140647) Faisal Khan
(91 9313106745, 91 9968828230), Monica Wahi (91 9873332637), Ramneek Mohan (91
9729471398), Sandeep Pandey (91 522 2347365), Saeeda Diep (92 300-844-5072 ),
Karamat Ali (92-21-6351145- 46-47)
*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
EVENT REPORTS
*July 18, Islamabad, Pakistan: COMMON WORD CONVENTION was
organized by Universal Interfaith Peace Mission. The speakers stressed the need
for interfaith harmony and tolerance as a tool for fighting militancy and urged
political and religious parties to play a proactive role to meet the global
challenges through meaningful dialogue among Islam, Judaism and Christianity. (Pakistan Minorities Concern, Issue 41,
August 2009)
*August 6 & 9, Hyderabad, India: THE SAMBANDH 2009 was organized by COVA in association with Gandhi Smriti, Darshan Samiti, Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), in commemoration of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki nuclear holocaust. About 450 school and college students took part in the 7th Annual Event of Inter-School and Inter-Collegiate Competitions in f peace, nuclear disarmament, non-violence and the life of Mahatma Gandhi essay writing, elocution, slogan and poster writing, painting, one act play and quiz on the themes.
About 2000 students from 57 colleges,
social activists, and peace-loving citizens in the city marched from Azad
Maidan to Hutatma Chowk today on Hiroshima Day. Peace march was organized by
Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal and NSS Units to mark the anniversary of the
devastation of Hiroshima with a deadly atomic attack by America during World
War II & to join hands with the people of the world to make a nuclear-free
world.
Peace Rally
was led by the students carrying the banner depicting the condition of the
earth before & after the nuclear war. Students from various colleges
were also carrying play-cards and banners depicting slogans like “No More Hiroshima”,
and “We want bread, education and job; Not bombs”. Peace rally was started from
Azad Maidan and concluded at Hutatma Chowk where a Pledge was taken by more
than 2000 students to work for peace & a nuclear-free world. Prof. Arun
Salunke, NSS Co-ordinator, University of Mumbai, administrated the Pledge.
Poster
Exhibition about the devastation and screening of the film ‘A Mother’s Prayer’
on Hiroshima in various colleges of Mumbai were organized before 6th August to make
the students aware of the devastating effects of nuclear bomb.
*August 8, Gojra, Punjab, Pakistan: CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM PEACE SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE was organized by the Harmony Foundation and Toba Tek Singh CC, along with other civil society groups, in the Gojra Courts Bar Association Hall, in the wake of the recent religiously-motivated violence against Christians at Koriyan and Gojra in Pakistan.
More than 150 people from Muslim and Christian communities participated. Among the participants were Mufti Addul Moeed Asad, Pir Israr-ul-Haq Bahar, Prvincial Assembly Members Mian Mohammad Rafiq and Joel Amir Sahotra, Pakistan Muslim League’s District President Ch. Amjad Ali Javed, Bishop of the Faisalabad Diocese of the Church of Pakistan John Samuel, Advocate Saif Ullah Cheema, Gojra Bar Association President Mohammad Shafique Akram, District Social Welfare Officer Mohammad Irfan, Harmony Foundation Executive Director Atif Jamil Pagaan, Association for Communal Harmony Member Ashfaq Fateh, and many other religious, political and social leaders.
More than twenty speakers and twelve
participants from both the communities spoke. Conflicting opinions were
expressed, and harsh words were exchanged, as some participants voiced their
complaints. But all the speakers expressed their desire for peace in
the area and vowed to play their role in this regard. At the end the
participants unanimously passed a resolution.
The resolution sympathized with the
Christian community for their heavy losses and stressed the need for providing
justice to the victims. It emphasized the importance of including the Christian
community in the area’s social, economic and political processes. It pointed
out that the social, religious and political leaders should assume
responsibility for starting reconciliation process to bring the peace back in
the area.
Originally planned for one and half hours, the program continued for
more than three hours.
Pictures can be viewed at
http://picasaweb.google.com/ashfaq.fateh/ChristianMuslimPeaceSolidarityConference#
Organizers have decided to hold the
reconciliation dialogue with the area’s youth, traders and teacher in the
coming days.
FELLOWSHIPS
*Asia Pacific Future 100.
Applications are invited for 100 one- year fellowships by social entrepreneurs
and change-makers in Asia under the age of 30 years, before August 31, 2009.
The annual Asia Pacific Future 100 program is a regional youth entrepreneurship
campaign to provide young and inspirational entrepreneurs from Asia as role
models to youth in Asia Pacific (Mongolia, China, Japan, Laos, Cambodia,
Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan,
Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Myanmar).
Application forms and further information from www.fyse.org
JOBS, INTERNSHIPS & VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS (FOR THE COMMON
GOOD) *http://www.graduationpledge.org/jobs.html
MEMBERS’ CORNER
*”Hiroshima, 6th of August, 1945,” a play produced by ACHA Member Vithal Rajan, was staged in Hyderabad, AP, India, by the Little Theatre of Hyderabad.
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 & HARMONY SONGS
*No
Saazish, No Jang, by Shavar Khan
ACHA member, Shavar
Khan has recorded this song, in which he has endeavored to develop a Peace
Anthem with allusions to religious bigotry/extremism &
terrorism, neo/western imperialism – impending problems that plague
all South Asia – with ‘regionalism’ as a proposed solution to this turmoil. In
the song, he has also appropriated and weaved words from speeches of various
South Asian and global popular/democratic leaders like Gandhi Ji, Jinnah sb.,
Benazir Bhutto and Obama to drive home the point that ‘relatively speaking’ all
have emphasized the need and hope for Peace. In other words, ‘People desire
Peace’ (vis-à-vis the ‘establishment’ that have other ulterior motives). The
idea of using these leaders as ‘spokespersons for Peace’ is to also ‘connect’
with the populace of India, Pakistan and NRIs/Ps – the South Asian Diaspora.
The song can be downloaded from http://www.shahvaralikhan.com
*Gul karo bhai gul karo, by Arshed Bhatti
The song titled “Gul karo bhai gul karo” is in Punjabi
and has been written and sung by Arshad Bhatti, another ACHA Member, and activist
for India-Pakistan peace, along with Arieb, a high-profile singer-cum-activist,
who has composed the music for the catchy number.
Arifa Mazhar, a member of the Pakistan-India People’s Forum
for Peace and Democracy, provides the female voice in the song, which says
there is “no problem, no quarrel that is too difficult to talk about or to
which a solution is not possible,” and urges talks for a resolution to “all
problems, our problems.”
The objective behind this song, Mr. Bhatti said, was “to
project the voice of the dispossessed,” as only peace between the two countries
could ensure a better life for them.
“What we want is more fluent conversations, and the free flow
of ideas, people and mangoes across the border,” said Mr. Bhatti, a former
civil servant whose other claim to fame is his much-written-about, politically
themed restaurant Civil Junction here.
A News story about the song can be seen at http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/15/stories/2009071559951000.htm
Also you can listen to the song by clicking the first link at the Hindu article.
PEACE RESEARCH
*Peace,
Sustainability, and warmongering, William A. McChonochie, Peace Psychology,
Spring/Summer 2009, p. 31
The
author’s studies show that persons who endorse sustainability and protection of
the environment tend not to endorse warmongering, feeling socially alienated,
military dictatorship government, and religious fundamentalism. Rather, they
endorse government serving the common good, a positive foreign policy, human
rights, and kindly religious beliefs.
More
information from http://www.politicalpsychologyresearch.com/ResearchHighlights.htm
Dr. McChonochie would like to replicate his
studies with Asians. Please contact him at tstmastr@rio.com if you can help.
UPDATE: KASHMIR
*http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KashmirSolutionsForum/
*www.drshabirchoudhry.blogspot.com
*http://kashmirforumorg.blogspot.com/
UPDATE: NEPAL
*http://www.nepalasiacenter.com/
UPDATE: PAKISTAN
UPDATE: SRILANKA
*Implications of the Northern Election
Verdict, Jehan Perera, NPC, August 10, 2009
The just completed local government elections in Jaffna and
Vavuniya were the first in a long while to take place in those northern
towns. The last occasion on which
municipal elections were held in Jaffna was in 1999, while in Vavuniya it was
even further back in 1994. At that time
the LTTE was active and the elections were conducted in an environment fraught
with tension and potential for violence.
By way of contrast, the elections on August 8, 2009 were conducted in a
peaceful manner that evoked memories of a bygone era before the armed Tamil
militancy took the upper hand in the North.
The Northern elections defied expectations by being virtually
incident free. Initially there was an
expectation that these elections could follow the pattern of the elections in
the East in 2007. At those elections the
LTTE’s breakaway Karuna group renamed TMVP was liberal in its use of violence,
intimidating candidates, voters and election officials alike. The government’s security forces rarely
intervened to enforce the law. But at
the recently concluded Northern elections the situation was different. Perhaps
this reflects the aberrant nature of the LTTE period, which held an entire
society in the thrall of violence.
Some of the contesting Tamil political parties retained
paramilitary forces to protect themselves from the LTTE, but also had a
reputation for using their weapons to intimidate and coerce the civilian
population. Credit must be given to the
leaders of these parties for ensuring that their cadre who retained their arms
restrained themselves to practice non-violent politics. Perhaps they had the political sense to
realize that they could not aspire to be mainstream leaders of the Tamil people
if they continued to engage in intimidation and coercion. As a result the verdict at the polls is
likely to reflect the sentiments of the Northern electorate at this point of
time, despite shortcomings.
One such shortcoming at the Jaffna elections was the
utilization of an electoral register that had not been properly updated. As a result although the electoral register
led to the issuance of 100,747 polling cards, only 54,000 of them could be
delivered. It is likely that the balance
is not living any longer in Jaffna. The
bloated figure in the electoral register also gives rise to the impression of a
lower participation rate in the election than is actually warranted. The 18 percent participation figure was based
on a non-existent electorate of a 100,000 when in reality the amount of voters
was half of that. This would
approximately double the effective voter participation rate.
Identity Politics
Even at the Vavuniya elections the turnout was 49 percent
which is low by Sri Lankan standards and suggests that northern voters felt a
considerable alienation from the electoral process. It could mean that they did not believe that
voting would make a difference to their lives, or they were not impressed by
the choice of parties and candidates before them. The election results themselves suggest that
Tamil identity politics remains a potent force that the government will need to
address by consensual political means rather than by arbitrary imposition. Ironically the very day the northern election
results were announced, the media carried a story that the government was
planning to ban political parties that espoused ethnic or religious causes.
The election results should warn the government that it needs
to repair its relations with the Tamil people.
In Vavuniya, the government got less than 25 percent of the vote from an
electorate that included Sinhalese voters as well. Most of the balance went to Tamil parties
that espoused Tamil rights-based causes, with the TNA which the government
projected as an LTTE proxy coming first.
In Jaffna, the government got slightly more than 50 percent of the vote,
but it must be remembered that the government alliance was spearheaded by
Douglas Devananda who made it clear that he wanted to contest under his own
party banner of the EPDP. It was the
government’s arm twisting that caused him to contest under the government’s
umbrella.
In an initial comment after the elections, Mr Devananda was
quoted by the Island as having regretted the government alliance’s failure to
win in Vavuniya “despite having implemented a range of measures to alleviate
the sufferings of the people in the districts.
The TNA had done absolutely nothing for them, he said, adding that
people should have been grateful to the UPFA for liberating them from the
LTTE. He expressed surprise that the
people backed the TNA, despite it being partly responsible for causing them
untold misery.”
As a minister in the central government, Mr Devananda has had
to be deferential to government policy.
But as a leader of the Northern people he will be under pressure to
reflect Tamil aspirations. In fact he
has consistently, and over a long period of time, stood for more devolution of
power to the Northern and Eastern provinces.
As a minister of the government, Mr Devananda has sought to focus on the
provision of economic development and social welfare benefits to his
constituencies. But now that his party
has been successful in delivering electoral victory to the government in the
key opinion forming town of Jaffna, he may be better positioned to push his
case for greater devolution of power and earn more respect from the people.
Contrary Patterns
During this local government election there was a subtle
message and implied threat that economic and social benefits currently obtained
from the government, such as keeping the seas open for fishing, might be lost
unless the government won the elections in Jaffna. The opening up of the northern seas to
fishing after many years of tight restrictions has been a boon that few in
Jaffna would be willing to lose. In addition,
there have been new infrastructure development projects that have brought
employment opportunities to many. The
government’s victory in Jaffna could encourage more efforts in this direction,
which would be a boon to the war weary people, and could help to nudge them
away from a costly course of confrontation with the government.
On the other hand, the relatively strong performance by the
TNA suggests that the focus on economic development by itself will be
insufficient to satisfy the Tamil electorate.
As a party that was identified as an LTTE proxy, the TNA campaigned at great
risk to themselves. During the period of
the war, three TNA parliamentarians were assassinated. The TNA did not contest the local and
provincial elections in the East in 2007 for fear of their lives. This time too there was doubt whether they
would contest the northern elections. By
contesting they proved that they continue to be a force to reckon with, coming
first in Vavuniya and second in Jaffna on a platform of Tamil identity, rights
and autonomy.
It is worth noting that the government’s poor performance in
Vavuniya occurred in the context of nearly 300,000 Tamil civilians being
incarcerated in welfare camps behind barbed wire fences that are guarded by the
Sri Lankan army. The contrast between
the government’s electoral performance in the North and South is also
instructive. In the Uva Provincial
Council election held on the same day, the government secured a massive victory
and obtained over 70 percent of the vote from a predominantly Sinhalese electorate.
Therefore it can be seen that the ethnically different electorates in the North
and South have responded in a contrary manner to the government.
Those who believe in the power of economic development and
legislation to ban the use of ethnic and religious party names to overcome ethnic
sentiments may be making a mistake. When an entire ethnic community feels
itself to be unfairly treated, no amount of economic development is going to
diminish their sense of nationalism. The
message from the northern elections is that victory in war, and economic
development after the war, is not sufficient to politically unite the country.
Neither is legislation or empty rhetoric that does away with minority labels
going to make a difference. There needs to be a political solution, and the
Tamil position reflected in the outcome of the Northern elections is that there
should be the devolution of power.