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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. 5: May 15, 2008, Next Issue, June 15, 2008
______________________________________________________________________________
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
*Peace and Development, Pritam K. Rohila, Ph. D.
BOOKS
*Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st Century, D.
Christie, et al
*Great Peacemakers, Ken Beller and Heather Chase
*Four Crises and a Peace Process: American Engagement in South Asia, P. R. Chari et al
*Chasing a
Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, Tarek Fatah
*Crossed Swords: Pakistan, its Army and the War Within, Shuja
Nawaz
EDUCATION & TRAINING
*Seventh South
Asian Orientation Course in Human Rights and Peace Studies, 2008
EVENT REPORTS
*Remembering Didi Nirmala Deshpande, APA Press Release, May 10, 2008
EVENTS
*May 11, Islamabad, Pakistan: NO TO NUCLEAR
ARMAMENT!
*May 11-28, Sindh, Pakistan: BREAD, NOT BOMB
*May 24 & 25, Peshawar, Pakistan: 8TH JOINT
CONVENTION OF PIPFPD
*May 25, Brampton, Ontario, Canada: REMEMBERING SAHIR LUDHANVI
*July 5 & 6, New York, NY, NON RESIDENT
PAKISTAN (NRP) SUMMIT 2008
*October 4-7, Koach, Kerala, India: SPIRITUALITY AND ENVIRONMENT
*December
3-9, 2009, Melbourne, Australia: Parliament of World’s Religions
MOVIES
*Ramchand Pakistani
PEACE
& HARMONY NEWS FROM INDIA & PAKISTAN
PEACE
& HARMONY NEWS FROM SOUTH ASIA
TRIBUTES
*Shanti,
Nirmala Didi!, Beena Sarwar, Dawn, May 3, 2008
UPDATE:
KASHMIR
UPDATE:
NEPAL
UPDATE: PAKISTAN
UPDATE: SRI LANKA
*The
Govt’s winning formula in east and eslwhere, Jehan Perera May 12, 2008
_____________________________________________________________________________
EDITORIAL
*Peace and Development, Pritam K. Rohila, Ph. D.
Some people argue that peace is not possible without development. They would rather focus their efforts on addressing human development issues and to improve living conditions of people.
Others believe that peace is essential for development. They think that peace can lead to diversion of national resources dedicated for war (or defense against war) to human development. Also peace can make it easier for underutilized human resources to be used for productive purposes.
We think that peace and development are not mutually exclusive. In fact peace means not only prevention of war, conflict and violence but also promotion of equitable relationships among people, nations, and the environment.
It is best for us to work for peace as well as development.
BOOKS
*Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st Century, Dan
Christie, Dick Wagner, & Deborah Winter.
The book is now now available for downloading at no cost at
http://academic.marion.ohio-state.edu/dchristie/Peace%20Psychology%20Book.html
*Great Peacemakers, Ken Beller and Heather Chase, LTS Press, $21.95
http://www.amazon.com/Great-Peacemakers-Stories-Around-World/dp/0980138205/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204212197&sr=1-1
The book summarizes the work of 20 people from around the world including
famous peacemakers like Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther
King, Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu, Thich Nhat Hanh, The Dalai Lama, Albert
Schweitzer, and Oscar Arias, but also people you might not expect like Colman
McCarthy, Riane Eisler, Rachel Carson, and Jane Goodall, as well as people
you've probably never heard of like Wangari Maathai and Astrid Lindren. In
describing these peacemakers, it also describes the wide range of social issues
these peacemakers have tackled.
The book appears to have been written
primarily to bring the stories and ideas of these peacemakers to students, so
accompanying the book are free (downloadable) study guides oriented towards
middle- and high school classes and college and university classes as well as
study guides for faith-based groups, book clubs, and service clubs, plus a
companion journal for those reading the book alone. The guide for middle- and
high school classes apparently meets national standards and guidelines in
thirteen content areas.
These six comprehensive study guides seem like
they would be quite useful for teachers and study group facilitators. They encourage
students to research a peacemaker, think about their own peacefulness, consider
their role in supporting/challenging injustice in the world, write to a
decision-maker about a problem or injustice, engage in community service, set
up a Junior Peace Corps, hold a truth and reconciliation hearing, and carry out
a nonviolent demonstration.
"Great Peacemakers won the 2007
International PeaceWriting Award from the Peace and Justice Studies Association
and the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology. The book is also endorsed
by three heads of state and three Nobel Peace Prize recipients, including Dr.
Oscar Arias, president of Costa Rica and Nobel Laureate, who said: 'Powerful,
well-researched and, above all, timely, Great Peacemakers should be required
reading for the youth of the world.' "
More information about the book
and study guides is available at http://www.GreatPeacemakers.com
*Four Crises and a Peace
Process: American Engagement in South Asia, P. R. Chari, Pervaiz Iqbal
Cheema and Stephen P. Cohen, Brookings Institution Press, 2007.
A professor in New Delhi, a
fellow of the Brookings Institute and the president of the Islamabad Policy
Research Institute team up in this book about four conflicts in South Asia, the
“Brasstacks” crisis of 1986-87, the Compound Crisis of 1990, the Kargil
Conflict of 1999, and the Border Confrontation Crisis of 2001-02, according to
a release. The authors explore the causes an effects of the crises, as well as
the subsequent peace processes, with an eye to discussing the policy
implications of each conflict, especially for the role of the U.S. in South
Asia. The authors also evaluate the prospects for lasting peace in South Asia.
EDUCATION
& TRAINING
*Seventh South Asian Orientation Course in Human Rights and
Peace Studies, 2008
Applications are
invited for the Seventh South Asian Orientation Course in Human Rights and
Peace Studies. The last date for receiving applications is 31 May 2008.
Application form can be downloaded from – wwww.safhr.org.
The course will have a
three months long distance learning beginning between 1 July 2008 and 30
September 2008; and, a two-week long Direct Orientation in November 2008 in
Kathmandu, Nepal.
The distance-learning
will be conducted on SAFHR's secure e-learning platform. Participants will also
receive the course material on CDs. However, familiarity with e-learning skills
and proficiency in the English language are essential.
Between twenty to
twenty-five participants, preferably between ages 25 and 45, will be selected
on the basis of the nature and the quality of their involvement with the issues
of human rights, peace, democracy and development in the region. Each applicant
has to send a filled in application form, mentioning where he or she has seen
the course advertisement, with two references, and a 1000-word essay explaining
the relation of the applicant's work to human rights and peace studies and
reasons for applying for the course. The selection will be guided by the
necessity to have a balanced representation of participants from all the
countries in the region, women activists, refugee activists, media
practitioners, members of minority groups, researchers, academics, policy
makers, leaders of non-governmental organizations and government officials. A
maximum of three participants from outside South Asia will be selected.
For the direct
orientation, the participants will have to find their own funding to travel.
SAFHR will provide boarding and lodging. A limited number of fellowship
for travel is available. This will be granted on the basis of separate
application by selected candidates.
The selected
participants from South Asia will have to deposit a registration fee of US $
100 by June 30, 2008. Participants from outside South Asia have to pay US $
400. The enrollment of the participants will be confirmed only after that.
For further
information on the course structure, content and methodologies, read the fifth
course report at http://www.safhr.org/pdf/Peace%20studies%20report5.pdf . Electronic, facsimile and postal submissions are
acceptable. Those sending the applications by post or courier should do so to
the SAFHR at the following address: South
Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR), 3/23 Shree Durbar Tole, Patan
Dhoka, Lalitpur, G. P. O. Box; 12855, Kathmandu, Nepal, Tel: 00977 1 5541026
Fax: 00977 1 5527852, E-mail: peacestudies@safhr.org, Website: www.safhr.org
EVENT REPORTS
*Remembering Didi Nirmala Deshpande, APA Press Release, May 10, 2008
In a meeting arranged by Association of People
of Asia (APA) on 09th May 2008, at Jinnah Medical
& Dental College, Remembering Didi Nirmala Deshpande, interfaith prayers were offered by Hafiz Siddiq Memon
representing Muslim community, Prof. Nag Pal representing Hindu community,
Sardar Kirshin Singh, representing Sikh community, Father Thomas Gulfam,
representing Christian community and Mr. Riaz Ahmad Sheerazi, representing the
Bahai community. Besides interfaith leaders, representatives and office bearers
of HRCP, SAP-PK, PIPFPD
Karachi
Chapter, Sindh Democratic Forum (SDF), Tehrik-e-Niswan, SAWFCO, Irtiqa
Institute of Social Sciences, Network
for Women Rights (NWR), CARITAS, PILER, National Organisation of Working
Communities, Takhleeq Foundation, PWC Sindh, Jeay Sindh Mahaz, People’s Labour
Bureau,, under the leadership of Acharya Kirpala National Workers Party,
Mazdoor Kissan Party, and Mutahida Quami Movement (MQM) paid homage and
highlighted Didi’s contribution.
Dr. Tipu Sultan presided over the meeting which
was attended by people from different walks of life who paid homage to Didi
Nirmala Deshpande. Speakers on the occasion said that she was an icon of peace
who desired everlasting peace in
Prominent among the Speakers were Dr.Farooq Sattar, Syed Khadim Ali Shah, Mr. Manzoor Badayuni, Aslam Khwaja, Abdulkhaliq Junejo, Mr.Rochi Ram, Zulfiqar Halepoto, Mr. Asad Iqbal Butt and Mr. Suleman Abro, while Mr. Fatehyab Ali Khan, Yousuf Masti Khan, Usman Baloch, Prominent Columnist Mr. Irfan Hussain, Mr. M.B.Naqvi, Mr.Abdul Hayee, Kunwar Khalid Younis former MNA and Mr. Iqbal Alvi were present among others.
The speakers emphasized the characteristics of
her grand personality which was an epitome of humility and greatness. Her stature
was such that she could not be substituted for a long time to come and the void
she has left can never be filled.
The participants discussed her love for
the people of South Asia and particularly the people of Pakistan and India.
They were unanimous that Didi’s mission of peace should be carried forward and
all peace loving people should work for furthering her mission of fraternity
and brotherhood among the wide spectrum of believers of different faiths and
religions.
They also discussed the immersion of
Didi’s ashes, brought from India by Mr. Karamat Ali and Mr. B.M. Kutty, in
river
EVENTS
*May 11 & 28, Islamabad, Pakistan: NO TO NUCLEAR
ARMAMENT! YES TO HEALTH, EDUCATION & POVERTY REDUCTION! is the theme of a
citizens protest against nuclear arms race
in South Asia being organized by Citizens Peace Committee (CPC), at 5-6 p. m.
at Abpara Chowk. More info from Amjad Nazeer aimal@sdpi.org
*May 11-28, Sindh,
Pakistan: BREAD, NOT BOMB is the theme of a people’s mobilization campaign
to be launched all over the province of Sindh by Pakistan Peace Coalition (PPC),
a group of different civil society organizations, trade unions, peasants and
farmers’ organizations, human rights activists and individual professionals and
activists, against ‘Arms’ Race’ in South Asia. The campaign will start on May
11, the day of India’s atomic explosion, which was followed by Pakistan’s atomic
explosion on May 28. During the deliberation participants will focus on
resources spent on weapons and wars instead of food, especially in the time
when reports are being received on food crises all over the world including
South Asia.
Schedule
May 11: Seminar
at 4.00 p. m. in PMA House, Garden Road, Karachi. Ms. Zahida Hina, Dr. Tipu
Sultan, Dr. S. Jaffer Ahmad and Mr. Karamat Ali will be the key speakers.
May 13-16: Painting
competition for students of primary schools in Union Council Layari of District Khairpur
May 17: Peace
Conference at 11:00 a.m. in Khairpur. Also paintings will be exhibited in the
conference and winner students will be given awards. In the evening sufi music gathering will be
held at the Dargah of Sachal Sarmast at Daraza Sharif.
May 22: Peace
March in Khipro, followed by Sufi Music at the Dargah of Manthar Faqeer Rajar
May 27: Peace March and Street Theatre will be held in Shahdadkot at 11.00 a.m.
The same day, at 5:00 p.m. Candle Light March will be held in Hyderabad from
Hyder Chowk to Press Club.
May 28: PPC and
Sindh Democratic Forum will organize the Peace conference in Hyderabad.
More info from Adam Malik adamkhan_2000@yahoo.com
*May 24 &
25, Peshawar, Pakistan: 8TH
JOINT CONVENTION OF PAKISTAN INDIA PEOPLES FORUM FOR PEACE AND DEMOCRACY
*May 25,
Brampton, Ontario, Canada:
REMEMBERING SAHIR LUDHANVI featuring songs by eminent singers of India ,
Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as political commentary and visual arts, at 6:00
p.m., in Cyril Clark Theatre, 20 Loafers Lake Lane, Heart Lake. More info from Meera Sharma 416-471-1047 or Barrister
Hamid Bashani Khan 416-399-7602 bashani2000@yahoo.com
*July 5 & 6,
New York, NY, NON RESIDENT PAKISTAN (NRP) SUMMIT 2008 to be held at the
Hilton Hotel. Established to develop the strategic insight to forge future
growth and peaceful progress in Pakistan among NRPs and others interested in
Pakistan's growth, it will serve as a platform where all those interested in
doing business with Pakistan and in enhancing its growth and progress will meet
to identify such opportunities. Register online at www.nrpsummit.org More info from 1-212-685-6243 or info@nrpsummit.org
*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
*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:
More info from http://www.parliamentofreligions2009.org/home.php
MOVIES
*Ramchand Pakistani (www.ramchandpakistani.com)
Directed by a young Pakistani
woman director, Mehreen Jabbar (mj@mehreenjabbar.com), this full-length feature film
is a human interest story set in South Asia but with universal appeal about a
family that is at the bottom of social, religious and economic hierarchies,
both by virtue of being non-Muslims in a pre-dominantly Muslim society, and by
being from the “untouchable” Dalit (Kohli) caste in the Hindu faith. Yet, the
film’s theme and story promote secular, non-sectarian values.
Adapted from actual events,
“Ramchand Pakistani” depicts how an accidental crossing of the Pakistan-Indian
border at a time of war-like tension (2002) dramatically changes the lives of a
poor Pakistani Hindu “untouchable” peasant family comprising a little boy, his
father and his mother. The narrative unfolds on two parallel tracks on either
side of the border — until they eventually intersect.
This is also a story of a
woman’s struggle for emotional security and survival in the face of great
adversity — and a child’s coming of age well before time.
While the film is indigenous to
Pakistan, it also represents a rare example of creative and constructive
co-operation between Pakistan and India on a non-official level. With the
consent of the Government of Pakistan, one of India’s reputed actresses Nandita
Das has played a lead role in the film as a Pakistani Hindu woman. One of
India’s leading music directors, Debajyoti Mishra, has composed the background
music and four background songs, three of which also feature the voice of one
of the leading Indian woman singers, Ms Shubha Mudgal.
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
TRIBUTES
*Shanti, Nirmala Didi!, Beena Sarwar, Dawn, May 3,
2008 http://www.dawn.com/2008/05/03/op.htm#2
DURING the World Social Forum in
Mumbai, or Bombay as some of the lefties still prefer to call it, Jan 17-21,
2004, a loudspeaker announcement in Hindi was often heard over the din of the
crowd, the beating of drums and other assorted noises that formed the backdrop of
the event: "Will any Pakistanis at this forum kindly come to such-and-such
corner, Nirmala Didi wants to meet them."
Those who paid heed to this
announcement and made their way through the international throngs to the grassy
tree-lined nook around the corner from a line of stalls along the dusty path
(including Kishwar Naheed's Hawwa Associates with its embroidered kurtas) found
Dr
Nirmala Deshpande seated there, her diminutive, smiling, bespectacled sari-clad
figure crowned by her short-cropped hair hennaed a cheerful orange. Didi, as
she was widely known, wanted to personally welcome the Pakistani delegates,
many of whom were visiting India for the first time.
Her warmth and down-to-earth
manner belied her position as one of India's senior-most politicians and a
twice-nominated member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of parliament).
Among the numerous voluntary offices
she held was that of chairperson of the India-Pakistan Forum of Parliamentarians.
A record number of Pakistanis,
some 600, had been granted visas for the WSF. Although a fraction of the 5,000
originally envisaged they still formed probably the largest ever Pakistani
delegation to India. As a bonus, they had 'non-police reporting' visas,
allowing them to
skip the normal procedure that requires Indians and Pakistanis visiting each
other's countries to report to the police within 24 hours of arrival and
departure. Since the closure of its consulate in
Karachi, the Indian Embassy in Islamabad has been the sole visa-granting
authority here, just as the Pakistan Embassy in New Delhi is the only
visa-granting authority in India since the closure of the Bombay consulate.
Nirmala Didi had long fought
against such restrictions. Her very personal welcome to the Pakistani delegates
at the WSF in 2004 was just one of the many ways she struggled for peace
between India and Pakistan. She was involved in the largest people-to-people
peace
initiative between the two countries, the Pakistan-India People's Forum for
Peace and Democracy launched in February 1995, besides being a founding trustee
of Women's Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA) and active with South
Asians for Human Rights (SAHR).
Many remembered her from her
leading role in initiating the historic Women's Peace Bus to Lahore from Delhi
in March 2000, cutting through the tension that marked the post-Kargil months
since that misadventure of 1999. The peace bus involved several women's groups
under the umbrella of the newly formed WIPSA. The women "proved more eager
for peace, less worried about government positions and policies", as
Didi's friend and colleague in the peace movement, Asma Jahangir, commented at
the time, having been on the phone with her several times during the planning
stages.
Tensions between India and
Pakistan ran so high at the time that the Pakistani side initially planned to
quietly ferry the Indians from the Wagah border to the historic Falettis Hotel
where they would be staying. The decision later to make a public event out of
the arrival in order to make a statement about the people's demands for peace
was a courageous one in that tense atmosphere.
Asma Jahangir led the welcome delegation that greeted the Indian women on their
arrival at Falettis with flower garlands and music. They also exchanged
bangles, traditionally seen as symbols of weakness, subverting the negative
connotations to positive by using them as symbols of peace. The colourful
reception got a fair amount of media attention. Given how high the
nationalistic fervour ran in those days, not all of it was positive (some
reporters called it 'un-Islamic' and 'anti-Pakistan').
Always a visionary, in April
2008, Nirmala Deshpande had called for setting up a South Asian Union on the
lines of the European Union, which she believed would lead to more peace in the
region. "If the countries in Europe which were fighting with one another
on various issues can come together to form a European Union with a common currency,
why can't we have a South Asian Union with a common currency?" she asked.
As a long-time champion of
workers' rights, Didi may have appreciated the symbolism of passing away on
Labour Day, May 1. She had not been keeping well for the past few days and died
in her sleep, aged 79, depriving the peace lobby of one of its most vocal and
influential
spokespersons. It says much for the wide acceptance she inspired that she was
also the recipient of some of India's highest awards, and a nominee for the
Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister
Dr Manmohan Singh and opposition leader L.K. Advani were present at the
mourning ceremony where they laid wreaths and paid homage to this eminent
Gandhian who had in her youth taken a vow to remain single in order to devote
her life to social
work.
Nirmala Deshpande headed the Indo-Pak Soldiers' Initiative for Peace (IPSI), an
organisation she had helped form, leading a delegation to Pakistan in 2001. The
joint convention of IPSI's India and Pakistan chapters will be held on May
10-12 in Mumbai this year as scheduled "as Didi would have liked it that
way," wrote IPSI general secretary Virendra Sahai Verma in an email
informing friends of her passing away. She will also be sorely missed at the
upcoming PIPFPD
convention scheduled later this month in Peshawar.
The
writer is a freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in
Karachi. beena.sarwar@gmail.com
UPDATE: KASHMIR
*http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KashmirSolutionsForum/
*http://www.KashmirForum.org
UPDATE: NEPAL
*Election
Results: http://www.nepalnews.com/election/vote.php#1
*http://www.sajaforum.org/2008/02/nepal-time-asia.html
UPDATE:
PAKISTAN
*Beena Sarwar updates http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beena-issues/
*http://www.teeth.com.pk/blog/
UPDATE: SRI LANKA
*The
Govt’s winning formula in east and eslwhere, Jehan Perera jehanpc@sltnet.lk, May 12, 08
On May 10, the LTTE launched three major
attacks in the east. They sank a naval cargo ship within the highly
defended Trincomalee harbour. In addition they launched a series of
mortar attack in Damana, a Sinhalese-inhabited part of the Ampara district and
exploded a bomb in a restaurant in the middle of the Sinhalese-inhabited Ampara
town killing over a dozen civilians and injuring many more. These
incidents appear to have been timed by the LTTE to cast a pall of fear and
apprehension over the voters as they prepared to vote at the decisive Eastern
Provincial elections set for that same day.
The LTTE, of course, was not a direct participant in those elections that both
the government and opposition had turned into a virtual referendum on the
future of politics in the war torn North and East of the country.
Although the LTTE have registered a political party with the Election
Commissioner’s Department it has gone into long hibernation. The LTTE’s inability
to develop a viable political party indicates a continuing preference for
reliance upon military rather than political means of conflict resolution. The
TNA, which is the political party that is closest to the LTTE, and which is
believed to be subservient to the LTTE’s political decisions, also did not
contest the elections.
The TNA claimed that its decision not to contest the Eastern Provincial Council
election was due to their objection to the de-merger of the Eastern Province
from the North-East Province as decided by the Supreme Court. It is also
likely that potential TNA candidates would have felt vulnerable to
assassination by the TMVP, the breakaway LTTE group in the east, who have
retained many of their LTTE characteristics. If they had contested the
provincial election, the TNA, which swept the Tamil vote at the last
Parliamentary election in 2004, could have made a big difference to the balance
between the government and opposition.
The LTTE’s multi-pronged attacks on government and civilian targets in the east
on the day of the elections would have reminded the people in the east of the
LTTE’s continued presence and destructive power in the east. It would
have served to confirm the worst fears of the non-Tamil majority in the east,
comprising Muslims and Sinhalese, that the LTTE continues to be an organization
that is willing to engage in terror attacks against them, as they have done in
the past. While some would have seen in this the need for the government
to engage in political negotiations with the LTTE, others would have seen the
need to militarily eliminate them on the lines that the government has been
proposing.
Disadvantaged Opposition
There were doubts about the possibility of the government winning the eastern
elections. About 80 percent of the eastern population is equally divided
between the Tamil and Muslim communities. As the present government is
closely associated with the forces of Sinhalese nationalism, there seemed to be
every likelihood of the Tamil and Muslim vote going in large measure to the
opposition. A defeat for the government would have indicated that the
ethnic minorities disapproved of the government’s strategy and actions in the
war-torn North and East.
However, the results of the election have shown otherwise. A majority of
the Tamil and Muslim voters appear to have supported the government. The
implications of this are significant. It would legitimize the
government’s argument that the Tamil and Muslim population in the east is prepared
to support, or at least acquiesce, in its strategy of military elimination of
the LTTE to be followed by reconstruction and a restoration of the electoral
process.
Critics of the government, including election monitoring groups, have argued
that the opposition parties were disadvantaged from the outset of the election
campaign, and that conditions of free and fair elections did not prevail during
the entire course of the election campaign and poll. The free and
fairness of an election cannot be determined solely by considering what occurs
on election day, as there are a number of other factors which can affect
citizens and political parties' ability to effectively participate in the
democratic process.
The period of the election campaign was marked by undercurrents of intimidation
although there was low overt violence during the campaign itself. As a
result, campaigning was carried out under a security environment not conducive
to a free and fair election. One of the most controversial features of the
elections was that the TMVP, which is a former militant group, continued to
retain its arms on the grounds of self defence. The basic requirement for
a free and fair election were not met. One of the contesting parties was armed
and in a position to intimidate both their political rivals as well as voters
and election officials.
Adding to this problem was the fact that the TMVP was contesting in alliance
with the government, which put the system of checks and balances on electoral
malpractice into jeopardy. There were numerous complaints from contesting
parties of police and administrative inaction in the face of their complaints
that a significant level of intimidation had obstructed their electoral
campaigns. There were allegations that the TMVP had been intimidating its
political rivals. The very low level of campaigning by rival parties in some
parts of the east was independently verified by election monitors and the
media.
An idea of the situation that prevailed during the period of the elections can
be gleaned from the following excerpt of a PAFFREL election monitoring report.
“A fear psychosis had spread all over the Eastern Province. (especially in
Batticaloa District); The presence in the area of an armed group, the
TMVP, which had associated itself with the government in liberating the Eastern
Province from the LTTE control, their activities with a special authority, and
the fact that they were also contesting the polls; Unduly influencing
public opinion by the government by starting new economic development
programmes which should not be done during a period of an election and against
the election laws; Having radio broadcasting and television programmes
targeted to the Eastern Province by using primarily the state media;
Eruption of various conflicts due to a large number of leaders and activists of
various political parties going to the Eastern Province from Colombo and other
areas, residing there temporarily and engaging in electioneering activities
with their supporters; Obstruction to the performance of duties by police
and other administrative authorities due to ruling politicians interfering in
activities in connection with the election; Due to various obstructions
including intimidation, some political parties could not deploy polling agents at
some of the polling stations.”
Same Calling
In the aftermath of the eastern election there is a need for re-thinking on the
part of those who oppose the government and its strategy of conflict
resolution. Whether the easterners who voted in favour of the government
at these flawed elections were a majority or not, it is clear that a
significant proportion of the Tamil and Muslim voters in the east did cast
their votes in favour of the government. This means that they do not see
a viable alternative to the government, or that they support the government’s
policies, or both.
It appears that the government’s success is based on a winning formula that
incorporates at least three factors, these being patronage, strong arm tactics
and the LTTE. The legitimacy of the strong arm tactics used by the
government is intertwined with the presence of the LTTE and its seemingly
unending appetite to engage in violence. The TMVP has retained its arms
on the basis that they will be killed off by the LTTE if they are
disarmed. But as a result of being an armed group, the TMVP was able to
intimidate and threaten the electorate at the elections. As the TMVP was
the electoral partner of the government, the security forces found themselves
disempowered in fulfilling their legitimate duties by the people. The
vast majority of complaints on election day were against the TMVP.
The government’s willingness to use patronage was another factor that was
obvious at these elections. Virtually the entire cabinet, along with deputy
ministers, numbering over a hundred were reported to be present campaigning on
the ground. Another feature of these elections that detracted from the
standard of free and fair elections was the misuse of state property to take
forward the government’s election campaign. State vehicles and buildings,
including schools and rest houses belonging to various government departments
were blatantly utilized for the election campaign. The ministers swarmed around
like busy bees inaugurating dozens of economic development projects during the
election period.
The government’s campaign strategy may be
costing the country dearly in terms of economic logic and political
morality. But it shows results that matter most to politicians, which is
the vote of the electorate. It also appears from public opinion polls
that the majority of people are prepared to go on bearing the terrible cost of
the war for the sake of defeating the LTTE once and for all, as promised by the
government. It is ironic that the LTTE should provide the justification
to the government in regard to its prioritization of a military solution at any
cost. Until the LTTE is influenced to change course, the dynamic of war,
propaganda and sacrifice is likely to continue into the foreseeable future.
Those who believe that the government’s high cost strategy is not viable in the
longer term nevertheless face an uphill task in the present time. Their
stance that conflict resolution requires respect for human rights and a
political solution that is offered in negotiations to the LTTE are not being
supported by the outcomes of the electoral process. This situation will
be especially discouraging to the opposition political parties that have been
dealt yet another defeat. They will need to rethink their strategy to
capture political power. But for those whose vocation is peace and human
rights, and not political power, their calling remains the same.