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ACHA PEACE BULLETIN
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http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ACHAPeaceBulletin
A publication of Association for Communal Harmony in
Asia (ACHA) www.asiapeace.org
Editors:
David Campion, PhD campion@lclark.edu
Pritam K. Rohila, PhD pritam@open.org
Subscription is free.
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Volume IX, No. 12, December 15, 2005; Next Issue,
January 15, 2006
CONTENTS
PEACE &
HARMONY NEWS FROM & ABOUT SOUTH ASIA
South
Asia
- SAARC vows free trade deal by January 1
Pakistan
- Musharraf stamps USK Model: Seeks formal proposal from Mirwaiz,
Greater Kashmir
- Golden palanquin presented at Nankana Sahib
Pakistan-India
- Hurriyat softliners to meet Pandit leaders in January
- Third round of Indian-Pakistani dialogue in January
- Go-ahead for Amritsar-Lahore bus
- Pakistan and Indi agree to open ports
- Second Pakistan-India train trial this month
- APHC keen to discuss options on Kashmir
- Indian movies at Pakistan
festival
- Indian dishes win Pakistan
hearts
- India, Pakistan agree on Banks
- Civilians cross Kashmiri divide
India-Bhutan
Indians
Abroad
- Eid Milan dinner at Indian embassy in Washington
Sri Lanka
- New Sri Lanka
leader offers talks
Nepal
- UN urges Nepal
king to join truce
Bangladesh
- Chittagong agreement is reached
PEACE EVENTS
- Peace marches in India and Pakistan
- Indian and Pakistani
soldiers once again rise to the call of occasion
(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 the ACHA Peace Bulletin)
PEACE
& HARMONY NEWS FROM & ABOUT SOUTH ASIA
* South Asia
SAARC Vows Free Trade Deal
by January 1
Dhaka, India West, November 18
The leaders of seven South Asian countries –Bangladesh, Bhutan,
India, the Maldives, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka
– signed a declaration to agreeing to meet a January 1 deadline to establish a
South Asia Free Trade Area. Also they signed agreements on double taxation,
customs cooperation, and arbitration council. Besides they agreed to accept Afghanistan as a new member and to work out
logistics of giving China
and Japan
observer status at the forum.
* Pakistan
Musharraf stamps USK Model:
Seeks formal proposal from Mirwaiz, Greater Kashmir
Srinagar, by Riyaz Masroor, December 14
Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf has sought formal proposal about
the concept of “United States of Kashmir” (USK) from Mirwaiz Umar Farooq during
an exclusive session on the sidelines of the OIC’s two-day Summit that concluded
in Makkah Thursday, highly placed sources disclosed to Greater Kashmir.
They revealed that during his about one hour meeting with Mirwaiz Umar, heading
a faction of Hurriyat Conference here, and Prime Minister of Pakistani
administered Kashmir (PaK), General Musharraf also agreed to the concept of an
all-party meet comprising the political leadership from either side of the Line
of Control (LoC) wherein the USK model including those broached by the
President himself would be debated over.
The meeting has been long sought in the name of intra-Kashmir conference
by various political quarters including Hurriyat Conference.
“General Musharraf may not be favoring the terminology of United States of
Kashmir however he has agreed to the concept of an autonomous federal structure
governed by the people of those regions with their own constitutional framework
and a feel of sovereignty,” a source privy to the meeting said, adding that
Pakistani President asked Mirwaiz Umar to submit his proposal about USK formally
to both Indian and Pakistani governments. On his arrival from Jeddah, Mirwaiz
is understood to give final touches to his Kashmir
roadmap during a crucial meeting of Hurriyat Executive next week before he
leads a relief team to PaK.
The sources further revealed that track two players are again active so that another
round of talks between Hurriyat Conference and New Delhi took place in the earnest. “Hurriyat
will present its roadmap to Dr. Manmohan Singh and other Indian leaders
following its trip to PaK wherefrom it may travel at least up to Rawalpindi to
submit the formal proposal about USK to the President Musharraf,” confided a
source witness to the developments in Makkah.
Earlier, Mirwaiz had spelt out the contours of his roadmap by proposing the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) supervision to demilitarize J&K
followed by the cessation of armed resistance, all party meeting between all
shades of opinion in J&K and then the final talks, which he had asserted,
would be spearheaded by the Hurriyat itself. In a newspaper article Mirwaiz had
thrown up the idea of laying out the ground for the final resolution saying
that NATO could help resolve the conflict in Kashmir like did in Bosnia
and Kosovo.
Musharraf’s self-rule formula has also triggered a debate across the political
divide here. By supporting the demilitarization and self-rule in J&K
mainstream politicians, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti are also playing up to
the galleries. New Delhi
has cautiously reacted to the televised proposal of self-rule by asserting that
J&K “already enjoyed autonomy under Indian constitution.”
Full
story: http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?ItemID=12994&cat=1
Golden palanquin presented
at Nankana Sahib, Pakistan
Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, by Ashwani K Anand
Rediff.com, November 30
A golden palki (palanquin) carrying Sikhism’s holy text Guru Grantha Sahib was Wednesday brought to the
birth place of first Sikh Guru Nanak in Nankana Sahib and the gold plate of two
of its pillars presented at the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine at the end of a
procession, the first to cross borders since partition. Since the
palanquin, made of 15 kg of gold by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management
Committee, could not be taken out of the decorated bus, two of its pillars were
removed and presented at the sanctum sanctorum of Gurdwara Janamstanth by
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his counterpart from Pakistan’s Punjab
province Pervaiz Elahi. Both chief ministers paid obeisance inside
the gurdwara before presenting the pillars.
The Guru Granth Sahib would
remain under the historic marble palki whereas the gold palki will be
dismantled and reassembled at the shrine in the next two days. Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee president Mastan Singh
said that a sarbat khalsa (congregation of Sikhs) would be organized soon and a
decision would be taken as per the wishes of the people. The event, considered to be historic by the Sikhs, has not been
without controversy as several Sikh organizations had opposed the
“installation” of the golden palki in Pakistan. DSGMC president Paramjit Singh Sarna, who spearheaded the Nagar
Kirtan that commenced from New Delhi’s
Bangla Sahib gurudwara on Sunday, said they have handed over the palanquin to
the PSGPC and it was up to them where they wanted to place it. “We have brought the palki from Delhi in the form of a religious procession
with great reverence,” he said.
Full story: http://specials.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/30sikh1.htm
* India-Pakistan
Hurriyat softliners to meet
Pandit leaders in January
Srinagar, Rediff.com,
December 12
The Hurriyat’s moderate faction is
planning another meeting in January with the Pandit leadership on the issue of
return of migrants to the Kashmir
Valley. “After the successful parleys between
Kashmiri Pandit leaders and the Hurriyat in Srinagar in July, we have now
decided to have another meeting with migrant community representatives in
Jammu,” its interlocutor Syed Salim Gilani told reporters in Jammu Monday. He said the Hurriyat Conference moderate
faction had also decided to facilitate meetings between the the Pandits and
Muslims in various districts of the Valley.
The parleys would “help bring the communities together and pave the way
for the migrants’ return to their native places,” Gilani, who has been asked to
coordinate the meetings with migrant leaders and organizations in Jammu, said. All Parties Hurriyat Conference is making its
all out efforts for honorable return of displaced migrants to their places in
Valley, he said adding, that is why the Huuriyat Conference has started
interactions with leadership of the Pandit community.
Full story: http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/12hurriyat.htm
Third round of Indian-Pakistani
dialogue in January
New Delhi, Daily Times, December 9
India and Pakistan have agreed to start the
third round of composite dialogue when the foreign secretaries of the two
countries meet in January 2006. Minister
of State for External Affairs E Ahamed told the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) on
Thursday that India and Pakistan
have successfully completed two rounds of dialogue, and the third will commence
next year. Ahamed said that India
had proposed increasing the number of pilgrims and pilgrimage centers in both
countries. The visit of pilgrims between
India and Pakistan is covered under the
Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, 1974.
Full
story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=256455&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
Go-ahead for Amritsar-Lahore
bus
New
Delhi, BBC South Asia,
December 9
The trial run of the Amritsar-Lahore bus service linking India and Pakistan
will begin on Sunday, India
says. An Indian-owned bus will be the
first to travel the route, followed by a Pakistani bus on Tuesday, India
says. The trial run was due to take
place in October but was delayed because of the South Asian earthquake, an
Indian government press release said. The
trial service is the latest confidence building measure between the two
countries.
Full
story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=256428&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
Pakistan and India
agree to open ports
Karachi, Daily Times, December 9
Shipping experts from Pakistan
and India
have agreed to allow shipping companies under flags of these two countries to
transport cargo to any third country using each other’s port facilities. They also endorsed that seafarers from either
side should be employed in each other’s shipping lines. This is expected to mainly benefit Pakistan,
which has more than 20,000 seafarers searching for jobs. Head of the Pakistani negotiating team and
Shipping Ministry Joint Secretary Hassan Zaidi told reporters that Indian
experts welcomed their proposals which would become part of an accord soon.
“Now our seafarers can sign in and off in each other’s country,” he said. Susheel Kumar, the Indian Ministry of Shipping
joint secretary, who is leading his team, said that the meeting had decided to
repeal articles of the Pak-India Shipping Protocol-1975 to match the current
needs of regional and international markets. “We want to open ourselves for 3rd
flag carriers,” he said, adding this would bring more business to both
countries. He said an experts’ meeting
would finalize the contents of the revised protocol which would be formally
signed by the two governments after approval by their cabinets. Mr. Kumar said that there had been no viable
plan yet to start a ferry service between both countries.
Full
story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=256396&category=frontend&Country=main&pro=0
Second Pakistan-India
train trial this month
Lahore, InterNews, December 9
The completion of replacement of the meter gauge track with broad
gauge on the Khokhrapar-Monabao section may enable Pakistan
and India
to open new rail link ahead of schedule, it is learnt. A three-member delegation of the Pakistan
Railways will now be leaving for New
Delhi on December 11 to finalize modalities for
resuming the Khokhrapar-Monabao rail link, official sources said. An officer working on the rail link’s
up-gradation plan said: “Presently, fitting of the 135km track is in full swing
and is likely to be completed within a week or so. In the last week of this
month, we’ll be conducting trial of the new track by running a train on it.”
“There are 135 bridges on the section, and work on 85 of them, including six
main bridges, is in final stages. The construction of 32 box culvert and 54
pipe bridges is also near completion,” he added. The officer was optimistic the new track
would be opened to the traffic ahead of schedule. Work was simultaneously
started from the both ends of the track, Khokhrapar and Mirpurkhas, in mid-May
this year, he said.
From Mirpurkhas to Jamaro, some 8.64km track would remain both meter and broad
gauge so that meter-gauge trains continue to carry passengers and goods to
Pithoro via Jhudo and back, he said. The
resumption of the Khokhrapar-Monabao rail link will minimise the journey
between India and Pakistan
to five hours. Presently, people from this region have to travel via Lahore.
Full story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=255471&category=frontend&Country=main&pro=0
APHC keen to
discuss options on Kashmir
Jammu, The Tribune, December 5
Notwithstanding their support to the idea
of self rule, to be preceded by demilitarisation, for resolving the Kashmir
issue, leaders of All-Party Hurriyat Conference wish to make it clear that the
“idea is not our baby.” According to the
former APHC chairman, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, the “plan has been floated by
people who matter in the subcontinent and in some foreign countries.” In reply to a question, Prof Bhat told The
Tribune today that “yes the self-rule idea could be one of the plausible
solutions to the Kashmir issue provided the plan is implemented after a mutual
agreement between Delhi, Islamabad and those representatives of people of
Kashmir who have been talking to the governments in India and Pakistan.”
The APHC leader said if the self-rule plan was accepted by India and Pakistan
it had to be established not only in Kashmir but in “Azad” Kashmir
too. And in both states the armies should be sent to the barracks with the
police taking charge. Prof Bhat
explained that self rule “does not mean granting of greater autonomy. What is
needed is that the stage for the self rule has to be set by first withdrawing
the troops to be followed by political and economic package to the two states
by Delhi and Islamabad”.
“Once the process is completed, the states should have their own election
commission, supreme court, and other constitutional bodies which can be
followed by the poll process through which people will choose their
representatives for forming the government,” he said. He added that during the exercise for
establishment of self-rule and after that “there should be least interference
in our day-to-day activities by Delhi and Islamabad.” Another APHC leader, Molvi Abbas Ansari,
said: “Choosing peoples’ representatives for forming the government under the
supervision of the Indian Election Commission is not acceptable to us.
The two leaders said joint management of defence, currency and other external
affairs by India and Pakistan
could be a tenable arrangement for making the borders soft thus facilitating
hassle-free people-to-people contact and for promoting tourism, trade and commerce
between the two states. Prof Bhat said:
“We have not been apprised of the plan even by those who have floated it. “It is in this connection that the APHC
chairman, Molvi Umar Farooq, plans to discuss it with Pakistan President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, when
the two meet in Saudi Arabia,”
he said. He stated that “the APHC
leaders need to be involved whenever Delhi and Islamabad discuss the
plan.” “And we wish to discuss it
whenever Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invites us for another round of talks,”
he said. The APHC leader said many other
solutions “can be debated provided we are allowed to visit Pakistan and also allowed to have
series of meetings with Mr Manmohan Singh.”
He said the Andorra-type arrangement “can also be discussed for
resolving the Kashmir issue.”
Full story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=255449&category=Frontend&Country=INDIA
Indian movies
at Pakistan
festival
Karachi,
DNA India,
December 5
It’s creating history of sorts. Last evening, Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara was showcased as one, Iqbal was the other of the opening films
at the Kara Film Festival in Karachi.
Though the movie doesn’t deal directly
with Gandhian ideals, it is a fictionalized account of a man accused of
murdering the Mahatma.
While the film’s actor-producer Anupam Kher was unavailable for comment as he
is already in Karachi,
Urmila Matondkar, who plays a significant role in the movie, says, “I am very
excited. I wish I could go too but work commitments have kept me back. The film
genuinely deserves to be there, as it portrays Indian values and culture very
well.” Also, the festival will honour
Subhash Ghai. Apart from Iqbal, Ghai’s Pardes, Kisna, Khalnayak and Taal will also be
screened. The other Bollywood films that
are being shown are Sudhir Mishra’s Hazaron
Khwahishe Aisi and a curtain raiser of Pooja Bhatt’s Holiday on December 9.
Incidentally, Pooja had promised the film’s hero Dino Morea that she would
premiere the film on his birthday, which also falls on December 9. Both Dino and Pooja are in Karachi, along with Sudhir Mishra, Mahesh
Bhatt, Emraan Hashmi and Irrfan Khan. The
festival, which ends on December 11, will showcase over 150 features, short
films and documentaries from 35 countries
Full story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=255413&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
Indian dishes
win Pakistani hearts
Amritsar, WebIndia, December 5
Be it meeting with people of similar
cultural background or sharing a tale of one’s forefathers, all this is making
the ongoing four-day India-Pakistan trade fair in Amritsar a success of a different kind. The
people of Punjab have put in their best
efforts to make the Pakistani visitors relish the spicy Punjabi food and feel
loved. For hundreds of Pakistanis, Amritsar has felt like a home
away from home these days. “Makki di Roti te Sarson da Saag”, delightful
combination of mustard leaves curry served steaming hot with a generous helping
of white butter and Indian corn pan cake, a favorite winter meal across north India,
have won the hearts of scores of Pakistani visitors in the ongoing trade fair.
Food stalls at the fair are brimming with Pakistani traders, trying to sample
as many of the mouth-watering Punjabi dishes as possible. A Pakistani visitor
said she was looking forward to her next trip to relish all dishes he had
missed this time. “I tasted the Indian specialty of Makki di roti te Sarson da
saag. It was awesome. The Curry (a dish of curd and flour) was also very good,”
said Shazia Iqbal. Hundreds of traders
from India and Pakistan
are participating in the fair that aims to boost trade between the two
neighbors. But the flavor of the fair seemed more towards developing a genuine
sense of bonhomie between the hosts and guests than anything else. “Trade is a secondary thing for us right now
but this opening up of the route and allowing people from both the countries to
move freely is very important. Friendship is growing each day and such fairs
should be held at regular intervals,” says Muzzaffar Naqvi, a Pakistani trader.
It is estimated that bilateral trade between India
and Pakistan
was around 380 million dollars (218 million pounds) in 2004. But barriers to
commerce, cemented by more than half a century of hostility, is still serve a
major roadblock in establishing good relations.
Many companies carry on trade after costly detours via third countries
such as Afghanistan or the United Arab Emirates, to reach their markets, hugely
slashing profits and hence the investor interest. These indirect shipments are
said to have been worth around 1 billion dollars in 2004. In addition, there is
a flourishing smuggling racket across the border.
But in recent months the two nations have been pitching for "common prosperity"
through closer economic ties, a move they say will thaw their frosty ties. The four-day fair commenced on Thursday
(December 1) and Pakistani handicrafts have especially been a hit with Indian
visitors. India
and Pakistan
are also bound by a regional agreement to ease trade. (ANI)
Full
story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=255424&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
India,
Pakistan
agree on Banks
Mumbai, India West, November 18
India and Pakistan
have agreed to allow their banks to open branches in each other’s territory,
the Reserve Bank of India,
said last week. The move is part of the ongoing efforts by the two countries to
improve economic ties and resolve political differences to end decades-old
hostilities. The banking ties were
snapped after India and Pakistan
fought a war in 1965.
Civilians cross Kashmiri
divide
Srinagar,
BBC South Asia, 19 November
India has allowed a
group of 24 civilians to cross over into Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
It is the first such crossing since the
8 October earthquake. Some said they were hoping to be reunited with relatives
after decades of separation. Pakistani
President Pervez Musharraf has said both countries should seize the moment to
resolve their long-running dispute over Kashmir.
The two sides say progress is being made
on border related security issues. “I
feel as if I were going on the Haj pilgrimage”, 80-year-old Begum Jan said
before crossing over into Pakistan-administered Kashmir
from the Teethwal sector on the Indian side. She had to be helped across a suspension
bridge built by Pakistani engineers. Eight other women were in the group, most
of whom were elderly, the BBC’s Altaf Hussein reports. One man, Haji Abdul Rehman Malik, said he was
visiting Pakistan-ruled Kashmir for the first time since the partition of India
in 1947.
“I want to see my
brother and nephews. I have no idea whether they are alive. I am worried.” A middle-aged woman, Rafila Begum said: “I am
going to mourn the death of my relatives.” She believes that six of her close relatives
were killed in the earthquake. One man,
Anwar Sadiq, 35, said the earthquake had brought down political barriers for
Kashmiri people. “I could never think of
visiting that village across the [de facto Kashmir
border] before”, he said. India and Pakistan
agreed last month to open five crossing points along the United Nations
designated Line of Control that divides Kashmir.
Goods have already been transported
across, but there have been repeated delays in granting permission for
civilians to cross as the two sides had agreed. One group of civilians from the Indian side
who had crossed before the earthquake was stranded there after the disaster. They finally returned to the Indian side on
Thursday. President Musharraf has called
on India to end its
differences with Pakistan
over Kashmir. He told donors at an earthquake relief
conference in Islamabad that that would be India’s
“donation” to the relief effort.
India’s representative at the conference, junior foreign minister E
Ahmad, said that India was “prepared
to resolve all issues between India
and Pakistan, including the
issue of Jammu and Kashmir,
dialogue... in an atmosphere free from terrorism and violence”. Away from Kashmir,
India and Pakistan said they have made
significant headway in improving relations along those parts of their border
areas which are not under dispute. After
three days of talks in the Indian city of Chandigarh,
the two sides agreed on increasing coordinated patrols along the border. They also agreed on more frequent meetings
between local area commandants and sector commanders to resolve problems. Both delegation leaders said important progress
has been made on simplifying procedures around the repatriation of civilians
who inadvertently cross the often poorly marked border.
Full
story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4452326.stm
* India-Bhutan
A friendship
in motion
Tsirang,
Kuensel Online, December 9
In a week of focused bilateral activity, the roots and dimensions
of Bhutan-India relations were portrayed through a photographic exhibition,
documentary film, and a seminar initiated by the Bhutan India Friendship
Association, a week highlighted by the presence in New Delhi of Bhutan’s Crown
Prince, His Royal Highness Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. According to the
Indian minister of state for external affairs, Mr. Rao Inderjit Singh, the two
countries continued to seek cooperation with “tangible benefits” and reach out
to new horizons. An array of photographs of interaction between leaders of the
two countries was a vivid reminder of this unique bilateral friendship. The photographic exhibition, on December 1,
recorded the evolution of Bhutan-India friendship since the Indian prime
minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, made his historic trip to Bhutan over the Himalayan ranges,
marking what the exhibition called a “friendship trail”.
On the same day the government of India released a book on the
exhibition with sections on the land and people, political bonds, economic
cooperation, and cultural ties. The ministry of external affairs released a
film called “A bridge so near.” On
December 3 Indian and Bhutanese scholars took part in a seminar on Bhutan,
with speakers covering topics from politics to the economy to religion and
culture. Discussing the strengths in the relationship as well as the problems,
security was emphasized as a key issue with speakers pointing out the
sensitivities along a 700-kilometre border and the Maoist problem that could
have greater implications in the region.
Professor S. D. Muni of Jawaharlal
Nehru University
pointed out that Bhutan’s
advantages were a stable internal situation and a confidence that had enabled
the country to view India
as an opportunity and not as an adversary.
“The two countries have vital stakes in each other’s well being,” said
the Indian foreign secretary, Shyam Saran, who added that Indo-Bhutan
cooperation was guided largely by priorities that were defined by the Bhutanese
government. The Bhutanese ambassador to India,
Lyonpo Dago Tshering, defined Indo-Bhutan friendship in four pillars:
geographic location; respect for each other’s sensitivity; mutually beneficial
cooperation; trust and confidence at the government and people’s level.
While many of the participants at the seminar were former Indian ambassadors to
Bhutan, with nostalgic memories of their roles as the relationship evolved,
several speakers pointed out that the strength of the friendship was the
ability to express differences between the two countries with both sides being
ready to discuss problems and doubts at all times.
Full
story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=256412&category=Frontend&Country=BHUTAN
* Indians Abroad
Eid Milan Dinner at the
Indian Embassy
Washington DC,
India
Abroad, December 2
Noted poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar was the featured guest at a belated though
well-attended Eid Milan hosted by Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen at his residence
on November 20. This is part of Sen’s effort to continue the tradition
instituted by his predecessor ambassador Lalit Mansingh to celebrate all of India’s
religious festivals in concert with the local Indian American community.
Akhtar in brief remarks to the more than 100 guests at the celebration
organized by Anil Gupta, minister community affairs, said, “Every time I visit
the US, I notice renewed patriotism in the Indian community here and I find
that our people in the US are more and more proud of their motherland, its rich
and ancient civilization and its diversity… I am very happy that I got an
opportunity to participate in this Eid Milan dinner.”
Sen in his welcoming remarks while apologizing for the tardiness in hosting the
Eid celebration, spoke of the arrival of Islam in India
soon after its inception in Arabia and said its advent in India was by peaceful means and
spread widely due to the inner strength of its philosophy and teaching. He said that over the centuries Islam
integrated in the Indian society and strengthened in a variety of ways. “Whichever
walk of life in India
you look at, you find that Muslims have made a tremendous contribution to the
country, be it architecture or literature or culture or science or music or
food.”
Sen said that unlike the clash of civilizations that Samuel Huntington has
theorized in regard to Islam, in India over the centuries no serious
conflict occurred. The Indian and Islamic civilizations amalgamated
peacefully and strengthened the pluralist Indian society, he said. Sen
also said that the word tolerance in describing the plurality and secularism in
India
is an inappropriate word. “I find it patronizing because in India
it is not toleration of one group or the other or one religion or the other, it
is mutual respect that we have for one another.” He also paid rich
tributes to the diverse Indian American community for their enterprise and said
as much as unity amidst diversity was the strength of India, the various groups
among the Indian American community too could be a force to be reckoned with if
they unified among themselves and showed their plurality and secularism that
was the hallmark of their motherland.
Kaleem Kawaja, president of the Association of Indian Muslims of America, in
his remarks said, “When I was growing up in India, I found Eid not only a
Muslim festival but as a national Indian festival like Diwali – an occasion for
me to strengthen my friendship with my Hindu friends. This year Eid and
Diwali occurred in the same week, just three days apart and it appears that the
celestial forces are reminding us of the inherent closeness of Muslims with
Hindus and other Indians. In these troubled times when Muslims are being
stereotyped, the Indian Muslims with their uniquely broad-based pluralistic
background can be the bridge between Muslims and others,” he said. Kawaja also recited a short poem written in
1920 by Iqbal, the illustrious Muslim poet of India. The poem entitled, “A
New Temple of Harmony”, exhorts Indians to strengthen the multi-religious
edifice of the nation by focusing on the ancient Indian motto of peaceful
strength.
The program began with Imam Ghulam Jeelani, imam of the Prince Georges Muslim
association mosque in Lanham,
MD, reciting a few verses from
the Koran and speaking of the significance of the month of Ramadan that
precedes the Eidul Fitar festival. He emphasized that it was not simply a
matter of fasting but of cleansing one’s soul, of looking within oneself, and
making sure to take care of the less fortunate.
*Sri
Lanka
New Sri Lanka leader offers talks
Colombo,
BBC South Asia, November 19
Sri Lanka’s Mahinda Rajapakse has struck a balance between
tough words and an offer to continue peace talks in his first speech as
president. He said he was “dedicated” to
upholding a fragile ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels, but said voters had rejected
any efforts to divide the island. Former prime minister Mr Rajapakse, 60, was speaking in a
national address after taking his oath in Colombo. Mr Rajapakse won just over fifty percent of
the vote in Thursday's election. During
the election campaign he took a hard line on talks with the Tamil Tigers, which
he softened slightly in his inaugural address.
“War is not my method,” he said.
“I would like to reiterate my desire to engage in direct talks” with the
Tamil Tigers, he said. Tamil rebels fought
a 30-year campaign against the government in which 60,000 people were killed
before a ceasefire in 2002. He said his
government would uphold the truce, but added “I am also ready to review the
ceasefire agreement”.
Mr Rajapakse edged out his main rival, Ranil Wickramasinghe, by
less than 200,000 votes out of 9.7 million cast. Almost no Tamils voted in areas under the
control or influence of the Tamil Tiger rebels.
The United States
said that was the result of “intimidation” by the rebels. “The United
States condemns this interference in the democratic
process,” the US State Department said, adding that it meant “a significant
portion of Sri Lanka’s
people” were unable to express their views.
The lower Tamil turn out benefited Mr Rajapakse. Election officials rejected calls by Mr
Wickramasinghe’s camp for the poll to be re-run in areas controlled by the
Tigers. Peace talks between the
government and rebels have been deadlocked for more than two years. “Difficult”
times ahead Norway,
which has mediated between the rebels and the government, said it was willing
to continue doing so. But the country’s
international development minister Erik Solheim said he feared for the peace
process. “The situation is now very
difficult,” Mr Solheim told NRK public radio.
Mr Rajapakse was sworn in by Sri
Lanka’s top judge, Sarath Silva, at a ceremony
overlooking the Indian Ocean. The BBC’s Sinhala service editor Priyath
Liyanage says Mr Rajapakse’s main challenge now will be to hold together his
coalition, which includes Communists, nationalists and Buddhists. He is later expected to name a prime minister
and new cabinet. A socialist, the new
president has vowed to reject the “neo-liberal” economy and reverse privatizations. That would bring him into conflict with the
World Bank – a serious matter for a country which relies heavily on foreign
aid, our correspondent says. Tiger warning Mr Rajapakse is a
populist whose heartland is the countryside in the Sinhala-Buddhist-dominated
south. In pre-poll deals with Marxist
and Buddhist parties he pledged a hard line in peace talks, including a
renegotiation of the ceasefire agreement.
The Tamil Tigers warned Mr
Rajapakse not to use his victory to adopt “military means to occupy our land or
wage a conflict”. SP Thamilselvan, a
leader of the Tigers’ political wing, told the BBC such actions would have “negative
implications for the other side and we hope that they will understand the reality”.
Full
story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4451430.stm
*Nepal
UN urges Nepal
king to join truce
Kathmandu, BBC
South Asia, December 1
The UN says armed conflict could resume in Nepal if the government does not
join the unilateral ceasefire declared by the Maoist rebels. The UN’s human rights chief, Louise Arbour,
voiced her concern on Thursday, a day before the three-month-old rebel
ceasefire is due to expire. Nepal’s
King Gyanendra is scheduled to return from a foreign tour on Friday. About 12,000 people have died in Nepal’s
10-year insurgency which is aimed at replacing the monarchy. National and international pressure has been
mounting on the Maoists to extend the truce and on the government to
reciprocate, says the BBC’s Sushil Sharma in the capital Kathmandu.
In a statement,
Ms Arbour said: “I am seriously concerned about the very real possibility that
full-scale armed conflict could resume.” Our correspondent says that fears of renewed
violence have been heightened by the recent robbing by rebels of a group of
journalists in the eastern hill district of Taplejung, followed by the killing
of two senior rebel leaders by government troops in the western district of
Rolpa. Following these incidents the top
rebel leader, Prachanda, accused the government of provoking the rebels into
breaking the truce. The government has
refused to reciprocate the ceasefire saying the rebels are using this time to
rearm and regroup. Our correspondent
says there has been persistent international pressure – from countries like India, UK, and US along with the UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan – to end the violence. If the Maoists extend their truce, there will
be added pressure on the government to clear the way for a negotiated
settlement to the decade-long conflict, analysts say. The monarchy in Nepal has lost much of its
popularity after the king seized direct powers in February this year. Recently, the rebels and a coalition of seven
opposition parties agreed on a program designed to end direct rule by King
Gyanendra and restore democracy.
Full
story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4489948.stm
*Bangladesh
Chittagong Agreement is approved
Dhaka, BBC South Asia,
15 December
The Bangladeshi government and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have
agreed to invest $50 mllion in the south-eastern Chittagong Hill Tracts. Rebel
groups there have been fighting for autonomy for over 20 years. Government officials say the project will
help the implementation of a 1997 peace deal with rebels of the Jana Shangati
Samity (JSS) group. The project aims at
strengthening the local economy. The UNDP will invest money until 2009,
officials say. The project, the
Promotion of Development and Confidence
Building in the Chittagong
Hill Tracts (CHT), aims at reducing poverty and strengthening local
institutions to function more effectively, says the UNDP. “The common goal of this project is to build
confidence and to turn peace initiatives into development realities that will
reduce poverty and benefit the people,” said Jorgen Lissner, UNDP’s resident
representative in Bangladesh.
The BBC’s Shahriar Karim in Dhaka says the troubled area regularly sees clashes not
only between the two factions of the rebel group but also between the rebels
and the security forces. A JSS rebel
leader, Santu Larma, said the project might help bring in some development to
the area but it would not guarantee long-term peace. “The government is not sincere enough to
implement the accord. These projects will not help until we can establish
democratic rule in CHT,” he told the BBC. Our correspondent says that after the peace
accord in 1997 many donors agreed to finance developmental projects in the area
but the abduction of three foreign professionals in 2001 reversed the whole
process.
Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4533034.stm
PEACE EVENTS
Peace
Marches in India
and Pakistan
Alka
Roy, December 12
India and Pakistan Chapters of Pakistan-India
Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) have organised a peace march
from Jodhpur to Munabao in Rajasthan and
parallel Peace March from Hyderabad (Sindh) to
Khokrapar in Pakistan
from December 17 to 23. There will be meetings, street plays, and mushairas
(poetry recitals), on the way to Munabao.
On the evening of December 23, there will be Aman (peace) Melas at
Munabao on Indian side and at Khokrapar (Eastern border check-post of Sindh, Pakistan).
PIPFPD intends to hold joint candlelight vigil of people from both the
side at Zero point after the border. It is intended that they will meet at
the border, exchange greetings and get a chance to light the symbolic candles
of peace.
Thousands of people are desperately waiting to see,
meet their relatives on the other side of the border. Trains used to run
on Munabao-Khokrapar route, before they were stopped on the eve of the1965
Indo-Pak war. People residing in Rajasthan and Sindh are demanding train service
to continue. In fact, local residents from Munabao and Khokrapar areas are organizing
marches regularly demanding resumption of train services. The scenario, in a
limited sense, is similar to Kashmir.
Thousands of families are divided. They are finding it difficult to meet each
other as getting visas is not easy and for that one needs to go to either Delhi or Islamabad.
Crossing the border is not easy either. One needs to go all the way to Wagah
border. Thus, people living few miles away have to travel minimum of 1,750 km.
Most of the people living in these desert areas of both countries are not rich
enough to afford long travel.
As a confidence building measure (CBM) both governments have
announced new dates of resumption of train service between two countries.
Earlier, it was to commence from October 2, 2005. Now it has been rescheduled
to January 1, 2006. To build up the tempo and to hasten the Indo-Pak peace
process, it is necessary that common people of both the countries travel each
others country extensively. It will automatically remove misconceptions about
each other. To make this possible, visa regime needs to be liberalized, more
consulates needs to be opened. Apart from this, as both the countries share a
long border more places needs to be opened up to cross the border. Visa on
arrival should be made available to the people, at least to the senior
citizens.
Indian and Pakistani
Soldiers once again rises to the call of occasion,
Col Virendra Sahai Verma, Gen Secy, India
Pakistan Soldiers Initiative
for Peace (India),
December 8