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ACHA PEACE BULLETIN

http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ACHAPeaceBulletin

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A publication of Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA)

www.asiapeace.org & www.indiapakistanpeace.org

Editor: Pritam K. Rohila, PhD asiapeace@comcast.net

Subscription is free.

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Volume XII, No. 9: September 15, 2008, Next Issue, October 15, 2008

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CONTENTS

EDITORIAL

*We Shall Fight No More, Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D.

BOOKS

*Honour Killing: Dilemma, Ritual, Understanding, Amir Hamid Jafri

*The Ulama, Islamic Ethics and Courts Under the Mughals—Aurangzeb Revisited, M. L.

Bhatia

CONTESTS

*September 28 – October 5, Houston, Texas, USA: SPEECH, ESSAY & POSTER

EDUCATION & TRAINING

*October 3 & 4, Akron, OH, USA: CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SKILLS

*28 September - 20 December, Stadtschlaining, Austria: PEACE & CONFLICT RESO

EDUCATION & TRAINING RESOURCES

EVENTS

*September 17-21, Caboolture to Brisbane, Australia: GANDHI PEACE WALK

*September 26-October 2, Chandigarh, India: INDO-PAK STUDENTS PEACE CAMP

*October 4-7, Koach, Kerala, India: SPIRITUALITY AND ENVIRONMENT

*October 17, Dhaka, Bangladesh: WOMEN'S RIGHT TO LEADERSHIP

*November 29-30, Ambala Cantt, Haryana, India: WRITERS FESTIVAL

*December 3-9, 2009, Melbourne, Australia: Parliament of the World’s

Religions

FELLOWSHIPS FOR JOURNALISTS FROM ASIA AND USA

*March 15 - April 4, 2009: BRIDGING GAPS: USA & ASIAN MUSLIMS.

JOBS, INTERNSHIPS & VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS (FOR THE COMMON GOOD)

MEMBERS’ CORNER

PEACE & HARMONY NEWS FROM INDIA & PAKISTAN

PEACE & HARMONY NEWS FROM SOUTH ASIA

PEACE PETITIONS

UPDATE: KASHMIR

UPDATE: PAKISTAN

UPDATE: SRI LANKA

* Humanitarian organisations have key role to play, Jehan Perera

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EDITORIAL

*We Shall Fight No More, Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D.

“Be advised: We, the ordinary citizens of this Earth will no longer fight, support, or otherwise engage in war or mortal conflict of any sort.”

This is a petition for peace, which is being circulated by Neil Haddon. It is addressed to the world leaders and global organizations.

“For thousands of years it appears that mankind has been obsessed with war,” he writes. And the civilian, non-combatant casualties of war have increased from less than 5 percent in the First World War to 75 percent currently,

“Why does a species that has learned to sail the seas in ships of steel, fly through the air like birds, eradicate diseases, and beam sound and pictures around the planet, prove unable to master the simple art of peaceful co-existence?” he laments.

Currently, tension between the USA and Russia is increasing again, while many of the old conflicts continue to rage on. More and more nations are planning to develop deadlier weapons to aim at targets farther and farther away. The possibility of a nuclear holocaust is much higher than ever before. And as usual our sons and daughters, husbands and wives are “the inevitable victims of a handful of individuals who create the conditions of war” and still get away with what at other times would be indefensible.

“Isn’t it time” Mr. Haddon pleads, “to speak out for what the ordinary man or woman has come to know full well, but our ‘leaders’ seem incapable of understanding: war solves nothing?” But diplomacy, discussion, engagement to seek a win-win situation for the good of all is the only solution to disagreement.

We are masters of our own destiny, and another sound concept is, "If you are not happy with the way your life is, change!"

“Well, I'm not happy with the way our lives are at the moment,” Mr. Haddon declares. And therefore, to focus on the positive, he has established this Petition for Peace at

http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/21655.html

I urge you all to sign this petition, and persuade your friends to do the same. As Mr. Haddon suggests, “Every child, woman, and man will really benefit from your support…Moreover, I know your deeds and actions influence many brothers and sisters across the globe.”

If you wish to discuss the matter with Mr. Neil Haddon you can reach him at wayshower@gmail.com

BOOKS

*Honour Killing: Dilemma, Ritual, Understanding, Amir Hamid Jafri, Oxford University Press. Review “They kill women, don't they! by Khalid Hasan khasan2@cox.net, in The Friday Times.

Amir Hamid Jafri, whom I salute for spelling his last name in the simplest possible form, considering some very strange ways in which it is seen spelt, is truly a man of many parts. He trained as an engineer, played cricket for the Engineering University, Combined Universities, and Combined Services XI in Pakistan, joined the EME Corps of the Pakistan Army, left to travel the world, drove a cab in New York for over a decade while he studied theatre in the city's bohemian district, Greenwich Village and moved on for another gig at graduate school at the University of Oklahoma, where he completed his doctoral work in communication. Since then he has taught a variety of subjects under the rubric of rhetoric, communication, culture and gender.

Now, drawing from sacred texts and eminent philosophers and theorists from various traditions, and extending on his doctoral research, Jafri has written a scholarly book titled, Honour Killing: Dilemma, Ritual, Understanding, being published by Oxford University Press. Sensational as it is, the subject has been covered at length in popular national and international media, but this work is a first of its kind, a seminal research and systematic exploration of the gruesome practice in certain cultures where male agnates of a family kill their women in order to restore what they consider their family honour.

What propelled Jafri into the research was the cold blooded murder of 29-year-old Samia Sarwar on in Lahore April 6 1999 by her family in the offices of her lawyers, the admirable sisters, Asma and Hina Jilani. Samia had reluctantly agreed to a meeting with her mother and her attorney, Hina, Jafri recalls. Samia's mother, a Western-trained gynecologist, had brought with her a gunman who, in Jafri's words, accomplished the task without much fuss. Samia's father and her maternal uncle were also accomplices to the murder. Surprisingly, in spite of the relentless press attention, nobody was arrested. Even more surprisingly, people actually demonstrated on the street to arrest Asma and Hina as facilitators of besmirching the "family honour." It is important to note that at the time of the murder, Samia's father was president of his hometown chambre of commerce and a model citizen.

Samia was killed by her parents because she was said to have brought "shame to her family and tradition." A mother of two, Samia had been seeking a divorce from her husband Imran, a doctor, on grounds of domestic violence and his drug abuse. Since the family wanted no such thing, Samia had sought help from lawyers Hina and Asma. In various quarters of Pakistani culture, the killers were praised since they were said to have killed in accordance with their tradition, which exempted the killing from the realm of crime. Remarkably, Sen Ilyas Bilour, a senator from Samia's home province of NWFP, opposed an attempt on the Senate floor to pass even a condemnatory resolution, arguing that the resolution went against a hallowed custom specifying the place of women and the limits placed on them in their culture. He added, "We have fought for human rights and civil liberties all our lives but wonder what sort of human rights are being claimed by these girls in jeans."

In the several languages and dialects spoken in Pakistan, according to Jafri, the act of honour killing has historically been mentioned in ways that directly brand the victims of the act "black." In other words, it is the victim who is blamed. The whole notion is inextricably linked with the idea of male ghairat, or honour. In Pakistan, honour systems derive from tribal traditions that are often in conflict with other traditions of national life, such as religion and liberal democracy, similar to the interface between mythic and rational realms of consciousness. Jafri demonstrates that, since 9/11, the culture and society of Pakistan are in the throes of an unprecedented upheaval. Religious faith is flaunted and there is no tolerance for religious or ethnic differences. Radical violent groups have flourished with the connivance of the government under the exhilarating notion of jihad.

With meticulous interpretation of texts, data analysis and other evidence, Jafri proves that, as viewed in the West and claimed by certain "discourse communities" in Pakistan, honour killing is not an Islamic custom but one that has often been co-opted as a rallying point by the fundamentalists in their bid to rid Pakistan of "foreign ideological influences." Jafri writes that the inability of the enforcing agencies to arrest the audacious perpetrators and the paralysis of the national judicial system to enforce the law are powerful messages to fellow citizens and the world about the "true" identity of the state. While a segment of the population perceives the act as pure and simple murder, others view it as an honest and dutiful attempt at the re-ordination of the universe, a re-balancing of the cosmos that can only be made possible by purging a family of profanity and restoring its sacred nature.

For those who view it as their sacred duty, killing for the sake of individual and collective honour is not a crime but a heroic act because only under circumstances restored by such killings could an honourable life – the only life worth living – be possible. Honour killing is not a clandestine activity but a loud public proclamation in Pakistan. Men, who are arrested after their act, proudly display their handcuffs, declaring them to be marad kaa zaiwar - a man's adornment. They typically do not go about creating alibis to deny the act. On the contrary, they feel vindicated in living up to what was expected from their manliness as the man-members of the family.

Jafri notes that honour killing continues to some degree in certain Latin American and Mediterranean countries, but is more common in some Muslim countries. The few cases of honour killing in Europe too have occurred in Muslim immigrant families. Future research can explore the persistence of such crimes in Islamic societies in spite of clear injunctions in the sacred texts against all vigilante responses to real or perceived breaches of personal or collective honour. Jafri rightly points out that not only does the Quran make it clear that man and woman stand absolutely equal in the sight of God, but also that they are "members" and "protectors" of each other. In other words, the Quran does not create a hierarchy in which men are placed above women nor does it pit men against women in an adversary relationship. They are created as equal creatures of a universal, just and merciful God whose pleasure it is that they live in harmony and righteousness. The symbolic definition of masculinity drenched in violence and propagated by the bearers of the fundamentalist agenda in the political fray of Pakistan can be neutralised only from within, through the re-interpretations of the sacred texts.

Demonstrating the interruption of an oppressive and hegemonic discourse in Pakistan, among other evidence, Jafri reproduces Attiya Dawood's translation of the Sindhi poem about a young girl that says it all: What is there to my body?/Is it studded with diamonds or pearls?/My brother's eyes forever follow me./My father's gaze guards me all the time,/Stern, angry./Then why do they make me labour in the fields?/All day long, bear the heat and the sun,/Sweat and toil and we tremble all day long,/ Not knowing who may cast a look upon us./We stand accused, and condemned to be declared kari/ And murdered.

*The Ulama, Islamic Ethics and Courts Under the Mughals—Aurangzeb Revisited, M. L. Bhatia, Manak Publications, New Delhi, 2006, 255 Pages, ISBN: 81-7827-158-3, Rs. 650

Review by Yoginder Sikand ysikand@yahoo.com

Berated as a villain and a fiercely anti-Hindu fanatic by his Hindu critics and lauded as a champion of Islam by his Muslim admirers, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb was actually far more complex a person than either camp makes him out to be. In a refreshing attempt to humanise his image, this book seeks to discuss Aurangzeb's religious policies by setting them within a broader political framework. Rather than being solely guided by religious beliefs, the
book shows that Aurangzeb's religious policies were a result of a complex interplay of personal as well as political factors. In this way, the book provides a far more nuanced picture of the Emperor than what both his vehement critics and his passionate backers present.

Far from causing a radical break with Mughal precedent, Bhatia argues, Aurangzeb's religious policies, in particular his attitude towards the orthodox Sunni ulema, represent, in many
senses, a continuation of it. As before, under Aurangzeb, sections of the ulema received generous royal support, and they, in turn, proved to be a major ideological pillar for the regime. Although Aurangzeb was certainly more generous with his patronage of the ulema than several of
his predecessors, he did not allow them to dictate state policies.

Though they were given prestige, the ulema remained, in the final analysis, subservient to the state and lacked an effective independent voice to enforce their views. While Aurangzeb sometimes sought their advice on matters of the shariah, he often dispensed with their views
altogether, preferring his own opinions to theirs. As before, the shariah, in the sense of fiqh or historical Muslim jurisprudence, remained only one, although in some spheres major, source of law under Aurangzeb, and it was often supplemented, even supplanted, by imperial edicts and customary laws, some of which were directly in contravention of the shariah as the 'orthodox' Sunni ulema viewed it.

Bhatia supplies numerous instances to substantiate this argument. Aurangzeb's imprisonment of his own father and murder of his brothers, which brought him to power, were, of course, just two of these instances, but there were others as well. When the imperial qazi refused to read the khutba in his name, Aurangzeb had him summarily dismissed, and, later, when the Shaikh ul-Islam refused to supply him with a fatwa legitimising his plans to invade the Muslim kingdoms of the Deccan, he caused him to meet with the same fate.

Yet, at the same time, Bhatia acknowledges that Aurangzeb did take certain other steps that were, so he believes, calculated to win the approval the 'orthodox' ulema. One of his major
achievements in this regard was to commission the compilation of a code of Hanafi law, named after him as the Fatawa-e Alamgiri, the collective work of several ulema. Bhatia opines that in itself this did not represent a major development in Islamic law as it was simply a digest
of secondary sources by earlier ulema for the guidance of qazis or judges, and, despite it, qazis continued to hand out judgments according to their own understanding and interpretations of the shariah.

Other measures taken by Aurangzeb, viewed as either a result of his religious zeal or an effort to win crucial ulema support, included the selective destruction of Hindu temples, the
imposition of the jizya on Hindus, the resumption of some tax-free grants to Hindus, the curbing of certain rituals at Sufi shrines and so on, all of these passionately backed by leading sections of the court ulema. Bhatia argues that some of these measures were only half-heartedly introduced and implemented. Thus, typically, cases of temple destruction occurred not in times of peace but in regions that had been newly conquered or where Aurangzeb had sent his forces to put
down rebellions led by Hindu chieftains. At the same time as Aurangzeb forbade the construction of new temples, he is also said to have granted tax-free lands to some temple establishments and to have instructed his officials not to harass the priests who were in-charge
of old temples.

Likewise, Bhatia points out, it was only twenty-two years after his ascent to the throne that Aurangzeb decided to impose the jizya on the Hindus, and this may have actually been a response to the outbreak of rebellions of the Marathas, Sikhs, Jats and others. Certain classes of Hindus, including government officials, were exempted from the jizya, while, at the same time, Aurangzeb made arrangements for the zakat to be collected from Muslims. Bhatia writes that 'It is also stated that long before jizya was imposed, Aurangzeb had ordered the abolition of a number of unauthorised taxed which placed heavy burden on the Hindus' (p.52). He admits that one of the aims of imposing the jizya, as the court ulema saw it, was to degrade the Hindus, and this naturally caused considerable ill-will and resentment among them. That the financial aspect of the jizya was not seen by the ulema as equally important as its symbolism is reflected in the fact that the total collection from the jizya was only slightly more than the money spent on collecting it, with much of the money collected going into the pockets of corrupt officials. And
as for the resumption of tax-free land grants to Hindu priests and yogis, Bhatia writes that this was only a temporary measure in the wake of Hindu-led rebellions and that when these subsided the edict was allowed, for all practical purposes, to lapse.

Much of this book is devoted to a detailed discussion of the elaborate hierarchy of court ulema under Aurangzeb. Starting from the Shaikh ul-Islam and the chief imperial qazi in Delhi, this carried all the way down to the local level, including the vast chain of muhtasibs or censors of public morals. These ulema were, in effect, government employees, paid in cash as well as in the form of tax-free lands by the state. They manned the courts, acted as conduits for information to the Emperor and also served as an important source of legitimacy for the regime.

But was this elaborate hierarchy of religious specialists, trained in the shariah, truly able to function in the manner that is made out by pro-Aurangzeb propagandists? Bhatia opines
that the system was riddled with corruption and inefficiency. May qazis were indeed upright but many others were not, and some used their position to extort money from the public. The muhtasibs were charged with enforcing Islamic laws and morality, but were often unable to do
so, particularly when it came to local Muslim elites, many of who were given to a life of wanton luxury, including usury, drinking and music, which the 'orthodox' Sunni ulema condemned.

Bhatia writes that numerous Sufis protested against the harshness of the muhtasibs, particularly on the issue of banning music. Despite the ulema's insistence on the strict following of Islamic jurisprudence in matters related to revenue collection, the traditional revenue system remained intact. Likewise, local caste panchayats, even among local Muslim convert groups, continued to be allowed to function and decided disputes on lines that sometimes contravened the shariah as the court ulema understood it.

Despite stern opposition from the 'orthodox' ulema, partly for what these ulema saw as some of their unwarranted beliefs and practices but also because of jealousy owing to their mass support, popular Sufis, including those who preached the doctrine of wahdat al-wujud or the
'unity of existence' and sought to stress the oneness of Hindus, Muslims and others, continued to flourish. Furthermore, the 'orthodox' ulema, Bhatia writes, were unable to present a united front, often at odds with each other and riddled with internal jealousies and rivalries.

In other words, Bhatia argues—critiquing both those who demonise as well as eulogise Aurangzeb for his religious policies—in the face of the various political and other constraints
that Aurangzeb was confronted with, 'the idea of an Islamic state under Aurangzeb remains no more than a mere fiction' (x).

Clumsy grammar and frequent repetitions mar the book, as do unnecessarily long sections that could easily have been presented in a more concise fashion. Yet, this book excels as a rare,
balanced portrayal of a much-discussed but still little- understood figure.

CONTESTS

*September 28 – October 5, Houston, Texas, USA: SPEECH, ESSAY & POSTER CONTEST. To increase public awareness of Gandhi's philosophy and teachings, high-lighting the universal values of Truth, Non-Violence, Service and Love, and in recognition of the wisdom and effectiveness of Gandhian principles, the Mahatma Gandhi Library together with more than 50 organizations celebrate, like each year, is organizing a city wide speech, essay and poster contests.  The winners of the contest will be awarded their prizes by Mayor Bill White at "1000 Lights For Peace" on Sunday, October 5, 2008. 

Entry forms and more information available from www.gandhilibray.org, and Atul B. Kothari, Director of Public Relations, 713-785-3900, e-mail: akothari@gandhilibrary.org

EDUCATION & TRAINING

*October 3 & 4, Akron, OH, USA: CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SKILLS. Free two-day training on Conflict Management Skills will be offered for teacher educators by the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management (www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov) and University of Akron in the University’s Student Center Room 316. The participants will receive a 500-page Conflict Resolution Curriculum Resource Guide on CD-Rom. Register by September 26. More info from Sarah Wallis, Director of Education Programs, Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, 77 S. High St., 24th floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-6108, Phone: (614) 644-9275, Fax: (614) 752-9682, E-mail: Sarah.Wallis@cdr.state.oh.us Web site: www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov

*28 September - 20 December, Stadtschlaining, Austria: PEACE AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION STUDYat the European University Center for Peace Studies (EPU), Stadtschlaining, Austria (www.epu.ac.at, epu@epu.ac.at, Tel +43-3355-2498-515 mornings.

European University Center for Peace Studies (EPU), invite individuals to join a select group of 44 students from around the world in an intensive course in peace and conflict studies. All courses are taught in English, by leading specialist in their field from around the world.

The EPU program is designed to provide students with the intellectual competence to analyze conflicts and their underlying causes, with practical skills in conflict transformation and peacebuilding, and with the motivation to do everything in their capacity to help create a better world.

More info from www.epu.ac.at or Anita Flasch, Administrative Assistant epu@epu.ac.at, Tel +43-3355-2498-515 (Monday-Friday mornings) or Dr. Dietrich Fischer, Academic Director, Tel+43-3355-20726 anytime.

EDUCATION & TRAINING RESOURCES

http://www.psysr.org/about/committees/peace_education/

EVENTS

*September 17-21, Caboolture to Brisbane, Australia: GANDHI AWARENESS PEACE WALK, for creating an awareness about Mahatma Gandhi and his message is being organized

by an Australian Gandhian, Garwin Brown. The walk will start from Caboolture and end at Brisbane. The distance of 73 km will be covered in 5 days. In between, they will interact with school and college students and some media people. Their ‘walking song’ will be ‘Raghupati Raghav…’ People from different parts of the world will join the walk. Three Indians from Parijat Academy will also participate in the event.

Garwin Brown was born on 9^th May 1928 in New Zealand. At the young age, he was inspired by Gandhiji’s work for poor and under-privileged. Later, he read Louis Fischer’s ‘Gandhi, his life and message for world’ and dedicated his life in propagating Gandhian thoughts.

*September 26-October 2, Chandigarh, India: 3RD ANNUAL INDO-PAK STUDENTS PEACE CAMP, to promote peace between Pakistan and India, is being organized at Chandigarh, by CYDA, the Centre for Youth Development and Activities, Sadikabad, Pakistan (www.cydapakistan.org). Intended for youth of age 15-26, the program will include a number of mixed group activities and excursion trips in and around Chandigarh.

Registration must be completed by July 10. To request a registration application and additional info contact info@cydapakistan.org.  A welcome pack with more details will be sent to the applicants upon confirmation of their registration.

*October 4-7, Koach, Kerala, India: SPIRITUALITY AND ENVIRONMENT is theme of the World Fellowship of Inter-Religious Councils (WFIRC) Assembly 2008, at the Renewal Centre,Azad Road, Koach-682017 in Kerala, India. Registration fee is Rs. 500 to meet the expenses, in part, of boarding and lodging. More info from Justice P.K.Shamsuddin, President WFIRC, S.R.M.Road, Kochi-682018, Kerala, India, Tel. 0484- 02993/9446572993, pkshamsuddin@rediffmail.com, and Fr. Albert Nambiaparambil cmi, Secretary General, WFIRC, Upasana,Thodupuzha-685 584, Kerala, India, Tel 04862-223286/9446131173, upasanadr@dataone.in & Upasana_dr@satyam.net.in

*October 17, Dhaka, Bangladesh: WOMEN'S ECONOMICS, WOMEN'S RIGHT TO LEADERSHIP. The inauguration of the Asian University for Women (www.asian-university.org), which has been chartered to grant degrees to underserved women in Asia, will be celebratedat this symposium to be held 9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m., at Radisson Hotel.

Featured speakers at the October kick-off event include Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Muhammed Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank; the Honorable Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Advisor, Dr. Kamal Hossain, principal author of the Bangladesh Constitution; Reema Nanavaty, Director of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in India. Lubna has a travel change. Ms.Nanavaty is the Director of Economic and Rural Development and the leader of SEWA; and Iranian human rights advocate Mehrangiz Kar. More info from Patricia Maroni patricia.maroni@asian-university.org

*November 29-30, Ambala Cantt, Haryana, India: 4^TH INTERNATIONAL WRITERS FESTIVAL. Festival Details & Registration Form available at www.indianwriters.org
www.writersclubinternational.org More info from Dev Bhardwaj, Director, India Inter-Continental Cultural Association, and Editor, Kafla Inter-Continental, Chandigarh +91-98728-23437 & iicca@live.com

*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 FOR JOURNALISTS FROM ASIA AND USA

*March 15 - April 4, 2009: BRIDGING GAPS: USA & ASIAN MUSLIMS. “Bridging Gaps between USA & the Asian Muslim World’ is the theme for East-West Center’s 2009 Senior Journalists Seminar, for which it is now accepting applications.

The 6th Senior Journalists Seminar is a dialogue-and-travel program for journalists from the United States and from Asian countries with substantial Muslim populations. The seminar offers an opportunity for senior journalists to engage their peers on issues in the relationships between these Asian countries and the United States.  Participants will meet with government and business officials, community and religious leaders, educators and students, local journalists and others to gain insights on the many diverse perspectives among Americans and Asian Muslims.

Study Tour for Asian Journalists:  Washington, DC; Nashville, Tennessee; Los Angeles, California

Study Tour for American Journalists:  Islamabad, Pakistan; Singapore; Johor, Malaysia

The program opens and concludes with dialogue among all the participants at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Who Can Apply:  Working print, broadcast and online journalists with at least 10 years of experience from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States.

Application Deadline:  Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Funding:  Roundtrip airfare to travel destinations, all lodging and per diems are provided. Participants are responsible for their own visa fees and roundtrip airfare from their home city to Honolulu.

More information and applications from www.eastwestcenter.org/journalismfellowships, 1-808-944-7176, & journalismfellowships@eastwestcenter.org

The East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a public, nonprofit institution that promotes better relations and understanding between the United States and the nations of the Asia Pacific region through cooperative research, education and professional development programs.

JOBS, INTERNSHIPS & VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS (FOR THE COMMON GOOD)

http://www.graduationpledge.org/jobs.html

MEMBERS’ CORNER

*Dr. Syed Akhtar Ehtisham’s book, “Medical Doctor Examines Life on Three Continents Pakistani View,” will be published by Algora Publishing, this year.

The book has been described as a sweeping narrative, which sketches the political and economic realities of the past fifty years while tracing an eventful life from the turmoil following the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan to the present day. Discussing politics, government policies, and popular movements, in this book Dr. Ehtisham shows how nations as well as individual lives are shaped by historical events, economic changes, religious fundamentalism, class systems and racial divides. Through his own experience as a doctor and hospital director, he compares the advanced social safety net state of the post-war UK with regimes that are determined to see people "stand on their own two feet" — even when the economic system has already cut them off at the knees.

Dr. Ehtisham was born in India in 1939 and in 1951, when he was in the ninth grade, moved to the newly-formed Pakistan. There he completed his studies including university and medical school. Postgraduate work took him to the UK in 1965, then to Nova Scotia, and then to Bath, New York. In this work he contrasts health standards, economic well-being, race relations, and the political atmosphere on three continents during the socially-conscious 1960s and later under bare-knuckle capitalism. In the 1980s he returned to Pakistan to repay his debt to his country, building a hospital and encouraging international contacts to support professional development in the medical field. He also became involved in the international anti-nuclear war movement.

Anarchic conditions in Karachi drove him back to Bath, New York by 1991. He remains active in Indian–Pakistani physicians’ groups, human rights, and peace organizations.

More info about the book can be found at http://www.algora.com/258/book/details.html

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 PETITIONS

Dear World Leaders & Global Organizations:

Be advised: We, the ordinary citizens of this Earth will no longer fight, support, or otherwise engage in war or mortal conflict of any sort.

More info and signing at http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/21655.html

UPDATE: KASHMIR

*http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KashmirSolutionsForum/

UPDATE: PAKISTAN

*Beena Sarwar updates http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beena-issues/

*http://www.teeth.com.pk/blog/

UPDATE: SRI LANKA

* Humanitarian organisations have key role to play, Jehan Perera jehanpc@sltnet.lk (Executive Director, National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, Colombo), September 12, 2008

Sri Lanka is today facing a serious humanitarian crisis especially in the conflict zones in the northern Vanni region. This follows the escalation of military action by the government and LTTE and the government’s decision to order the immediate relocation of humanitarian workers in the area on the grounds that their safety can no longer be guaranteed.  The government’s decision to discuss this matter, demonstrate flexibility, and permit the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to remain in Kilinochchi is a positive step.  The National Peace Council urges the government to demonstrate the same flexibility with humanitarian aid agencies.

During previous phases of the armed conflict successive governments have obtained the assistance of both local and international humanitarian organisations to ensure that essential supplies reach the affected people. Humanitarian aid agencies in LTTE controlled territory have provided critical support to the government by dispensing aid to both displaced and local civilians living in those areas. The National Peace Council is concerned that withdrawal of the humanitarian organisations will create a vacuum that the government alone cannot fill. The humanitarian outlook will become extremely bleak for those displaced and local civilians left behind.

The primary duty of any democratic government is to ensure the security and sustenance of the people it governs. No section of the people, whether or not they are under rebel control, can be excluded from this democratic duty. If circumstances do not allow the government to fulfill this duty, it needs to permit others to do so. The government needs to treat international humanitarian agencies as its partners filling a void that it is unable to fulfil. Their work needs to be facilitated and not curtailed.

The National Peace Council calls on the government to ensure that specialist international agencies with a humanitarian mandate, such as the UNHCR and World Food Programme that are specially trained to work in conflict zones, are permitted to remain in the Vanni region where displaced and other war affected people are living. If these organisations are prepared to take the risk of continuing to work in war zones as part of their mandates, they need to be supported and encouraged in this action. This includes cooperative approaches to travel and visa applications and positive public messages of support for the efforts of the UN and other humanitarian agencies.

The National Peace Council also calls on the LTTE to create a supportive environment to assist humanitarian agencies to provide for the basic needs of displaced people, by not removing their assets and equipment and diverting humanitarian supplies. The LTTE also needs to ensure the safe and secure access of humanitarian workers so that they may fulfill their humanitarian mandate.

The government and LTTE must also exercise restraint and take all necessary precautions to ensure that civilians are not harmed as a result of their fighting. This is the crux of International Humanitarian Law. We call on both parties to cooperate with aid agencies to establish a humanitarian corridor so that civilians can move to safety and access humanitarian assistance. Safe movement should be guaranteed by the presence of independent and neutral observers such as the ICRC.