June 2012
Vol 12, No.06
AN ASEAN-CHINA FORUM FOR THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
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o one will believe that the standoff between the Philippines and China over a disputed island in the South China Sea is a straightforward bilateral issue. It has serious implications not only for regional politics but also for the changing pattern of global power. This is why it is imperative that a clear basis be established for the resolution of the dispute without any further delay. Both the Philippines and China have adopted what appear to be rigid positions on the ownership of the uninhabitable rock and the waters around it which the former calls Scarborough Shoal and the latter calls Huangyan Island. The Philippines claims that Scarborough Shoal which is 135 nautical miles from Luzon comes within its 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone. China, on the other hand, argues that historically Huangyan has been part of her territory and is mentioned in a 13th century Chinese map.
By Chandra Muzaffar
The Philippines wants the stand-off resolved through international law, on the basis of the Law of the Seas. China is totally opposed to this and insists that it be settled through bilateral talks. Though both sides will not budge they are determined to avoid a military confrontation. This gives us some hope. What sort of peaceful resolution will satisfy both parties? There are counter-arguments against both positions. If the Shoal is part of the Philippines — Chinese commentators point out — why didn’t the Treaty of Paris of 1898 which gave the United States sovereignty over the Philippines recognise it as such? On the other side, there are Filipino analysts who have reminded China that for hundreds of years before the 13th century, the ancestors of present-day Filipinos, Indonesians, and Malaysians, known for their superb maritime skills, were in fact the masters of the seas in the entire region, including what is now known as the South China Sea.
This is where ASEAN may have a role to play. ASEAN could propose the establishment of an ASEANChina Forum which will serve as a platform for continuous discussions and negotiations on the Shoal/ Huangyan dispute and other related conflicts pertaining to the South China Sea. After all, three other ASEAN states, apart from the Philippines— Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia— have also staked claims to parts of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The opposing claimant in all these cases is China which maintains that it has sovereign rights over most of the Turn to next page
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ON PALESTINE BY SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS .................................P 2
.US STEPS UP DRONE WAR ON PAKISTAN BY BILL VAN AUKEN ............................................P 4 .APOCALYPSE FAIRLY SOON: THE MOMENT
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South China Sea and the islands in it. One of those islands— the Paracels— is also claimed by Vietnam. Since four ASEAN states are involved, it makes sense for the regional entity to approach the various disputes over sovereignty vis-a-vis China on a collective basis. The proposed ASEAN-China Forum should not involve any other state or institution outside the contending parties. In the past, China has not been keen on this collective approach. It must be persuaded to accept it. A collective approach may serve the larger interests of both ASEAN and China for two other reasons. One, the South China Sea is reputed to contain huge deposits of oil and gas. Though estimates vary, the area is regarded as one of the major sources of mineral wealth of the future. It is undoubtedly one of the factors behind the intense interest in the South China Sea not only among the claimants but also
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other powers outside the region. Why shouldn’t ASEAN and China jointly harness the wealth of the South China Sea for the well-being of their people? Malaysia has set a good example in this. In February 1979 it came to an agreement with Thailand to set aside a boundary dispute with the latter in the Gulf of Thailand by joining hands with Thailand to explore oil and gas in a 7250 square kilometre area in the Gulf. The agreement has been working well. The Joint Development Authority which manages the exploration had by the end of 2007 discovered approximately 8.5 trillion standard cubic feet of gas reserves from 22 fields in the area. With such a track record, Malaysia should perhaps take the lead and push for an ASEAN-China Forum on the South China Sea. Two, ASEAN and China are acutely aware that if the Shoal/Huangyan dispute drags on, and other similar disputes erupt in the near future, a military superpower which has already declared its interest in the
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South China Sea will not hesitate to enter the fray as a direct player. Its involvement will almost certainly aggravate the situation since the ASEAN claimant that is being backed by the United States may be emboldened to adopt an even more belligerent posture than it would otherwise do. China is bound to retaliate since it regards the South China Sea as “its core interest.” A military conflict between China and the US could have devastating consequences for ASEAN as a whole. This is why China and ASEAN whose economic ties have deepened and broadened as never before in the last decade, should now elevate their relationship through a forum which will address that one most contentious issue that could tear them asunder. 28 May, 2012 Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST).
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We carry below the ‘action plan’ adopted by the participants of the ‘Muslim- Christian Solidarity on Palestine Seminar’ held on 14th and 15th May 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, with the hope that you, the reader, will share and discuss its content with others in your community. — Editor
Background The seminar on Muslim-Christian Solidarity on Palestine held in Kuala Lumpur on 14 and 15 May 2012 brought together nearly 80 participants from Malaysia and various other countries. It was organized by the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) in collaboration with Peace for Life (PFL). The seminar sought to explore forms of collective action that Muslims and Christians could undertake to
demonstrate their solidarity with the Palestinians. Context The Palestinian struggle is one of the longest struggles for selfdetermination in the contemporary world. Israel has strengthened its stranglehold over Palestinians by usurping land and resources and reducing Palestinian territories to mere ‘Bantustans’. This deadly occupation, marked by harsh and inhuman measures, has remained one to which the international community
has been indifferent. The USA and other western powers have ensured that Israel’s flagrant disregard for international human rights law, and international humanitarian standards and practices, and relevant institutions is ignored and, thus, allow Israeli crimes to go unimpeded and with impunity. Powerful Zionist lobbies go all out to protect Israel’s intransigence and arrogance. While the prospects for peace keep shrinking, Palestinians remain steadfast in their struggle believing that justice will come. Yet, the international community is under continued next page
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obligation to do its part in pressuring governments around the world and organizing people at the grassroots to act decisively and boldly in supporting the Palestinians through actions that will hasten the end of the occupation and will bring the Palestinians justice and freedom. Actionable Proposals & Recommendations The seminar in Kuala Lumpur agreed on the following actions and strategies as immediate steps to be taken in pursuance of their deliberations: 1. Convene a seminar of Muslim and Christian theologians, academics, and activists for a deeper reflection and dialogue on Kairos and, thus, develop sustained and stronger collective responses to the emerging situation at the global level and in strategic national contexts. The goal is to craft a Muslim-Christian Charter for Peace with Justice in Palestine. At the same time, more Muslims, in particular, should be persuaded to endorse the statement entitled An Islamic Response to Kairos. 2. Initiate a BDS campaign with the following strategies: a. Target a popular consumer product to boycott with the twin aims of creating public consciousness about the Israeli occupation as well as changing consumer attitudes to Israeli products. b. Coordinate such actions with Kairos Palestine and the BDS National Committee to identify companies that they consider are
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vulnerable to an international campaign. c. Request relevant groups to monitor origins of cultural troupes planning to perform in Israel and campaign for boycotts. d. Request relevant Palestinian groups to monitor universities with whom Israel organizes exchange programmes and lobby for academic boycotts against Israel. e. Demand that all governments, inter-governmental agencies, and regional groupings review their economic, financial, cultural, and educational ties with the apartheid regime in Israel with the aim of reinforcing the global BDS campaign. 3. Adopt the “Come and See’ call from Kairos Palestine and Alternative Tourism Group (ATG)/Palestinian Initiative for Responsible Tourism (PIRT) and, thus, actively promote alternative pilgrimages/tour programmes through which travellers to The Holy Land are able to encounter people living under occupation and the political-economicsocial-cultural reality of Palestinians as opposed to abstract pilgrimages which end up being merely sentimental journeys into The Holy Land. 4. Promote Muslim-ChristianJewish teams on speaking tours of countries where houses of worship are open to listening to the Palestinian narrative and to the nature of interreligious cooperation between Muslims, Christians and Jews. The purpose of this will be to break the stereotypes about the state of inter-
A R T I C L E S religious relations in The Holy Land. 5. Encourage different religious communities – Muslims, Jews and Christians - to develop a more critical self understanding of how their faith can enhance the struggle for the liberation of Palestine. 6. Embark upon a global campaign to uphold the right of Muslims and Christians in the Holy Land to practice freedom of worship in the holy sites of Jerusalem without restrictions. Such a campaign should work towards the adoption of a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in 2013. 7. Encourage the continuing commitment to non-violent resistance to Israeli occupation through newer forms of struggle especially civil disobedience. 8. Monitor and counter the trends towards Islamophobia and all other forms of prejudice and discrimination which inhibit the growth of a more profound understanding of the Palestinian cause. 9. Oppose the hegemonic designs and agenda of the centres of power in the West in which political Zionism and Israel have played a pivotal role. 10. Harness new information technologies to the hilt in the service of the Palestinian cause as the infrastructure for strengthening a global network of solidarity against hegemony and anti-life ideologies which subvert justice and human dignity. 16 May, 2012
This Action Plan is also available online at www.just-international.org. Peace for Life (PfL), Philippines can be contacted at secretariat@peaceforlife.org
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By Bill Van Auken US drone attacks in northwest Pakistan killed at least 14 people in little more than 24 hours, including 10 who died in a Thursday morning missile strike on a mosque. The escalation of the US drone war comes in the wake of the NATO summit in Chicago, where the Obama administration and the Pakistan Peoples Party government of President Asif Ali Zardari failed to reach an agreement on the reopening of a supply route for US-NATO occupation troops in Afghanistan, The route, which goes from the port of Karachi to the Afghan border, was closed by Islamabad in protest over US air strikes that killed two dozen Pakistani soldiers last November. The new drone strikes are the most lethal manifestations of Washington’s displeasure at Pakistan’s failure to rapidly bow to US demands. The aftermath of the summit has also seen threats in Congress to cut off aid to Pakistan and a hysterical political and media campaign over a Pakistani court’s sentencing of a CIA informant who helped prepare the Navy Seal raid that ended in the assassination of Osama bin Laden. Thursday’s missile strike by a pilotless US drone demolished a mosque in Mir Ai Bazar, a village in the North Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan. Local officials reported that the unmanned plane fired two missiles demolishing the building and leaving 10 dead and several others wounded. “Fear prevailed in the area as almost five drones were seen flying in the air after the incident,” local sources told the Pakistani daily Nation. The threat that the aircraft would fire more missiles prevented villagers from trying to rescue people from the rubble.
complicating the attempts of the Zardari government and the Obama administration to reach a deal on reopening the Pakistan supply route.
“The drone fired two missiles and hit the village mosque where a number of people were offering Fajr (morning) prayer,” Roashan Din, a local tribal leader, told NBC News. He confirmed that 10 bodies had been pulled from the wreckage of the mosque. While US officials described the target of the attack as a “compound,” multiple Pakistani sources have confirmed that the building hit was a mosque. Doctors at the Mir Ali hospital reported that six wounded had been admitted, with one dying there and four others remaining in critical condition. The missile strike follows another attack on Wednesday in which four people were killed and several others injured. As in all such attacks, the victims were described as “suspected militants.” Wednesday’s strike targeted a house near Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan. These drone attacks are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, where it is estimated that they have killed as many as 3,000 people, most of them civilians. The report of the destruction of a mosque and more civilian casualties will no doubt fan growing anti-American sentiments, further
Pakistan’s Foreign Office condemned the latest drone strikes, describing them as a “total violation” of Pakistani territory and sovereignty. Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Khan characterized the US attacks as “illegal violations of international law and unacceptable.” Asked by a reporter why Pakistan did not bring the matter to the United Nations, Moazzam stressed that Islamabad wants “to resolve the issue bilaterally.” He described USPakistani ties as “an important relationship” and stressed that there is “a mutual desire” to reach an agreement between the two countries. While the Zardari government has long issued public condemnations of the drone strikes, it had previously offered its tacit collaboration, going so far as to allow the Central Intelligence Agency to launch the pilotless aircraft from a landing strip inside Pakistan. Following last November’s strike on the Pakistani border posts, it forced the closure of this facility. Further complicating US-Pakistani relations was the sentencing Wednesday of Shakil Afridi to 33 years in prison. Afridi, a Pakistani government doctor, was found guilty of treason for aiding the CIA in preparing the unilateral raid that sent Navy Seals deep into Pakistani territory to kill Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden last year. The raid was seen in Pakistan as a gross violation of the country’s sovereignty and a humiliation of the government and the military. continued next page
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Afridi organized a fake vaccination campaign in the Pakistani military garrison town of Abbottabad, where bin Laden was living, in an attempt to obtain DNA samples from family members and thereby confirm his identity. Having risen to the position of surgeon general in Khyber Agency, a tribal area along the Afghan border, Afridi had reportedly served as a paid CIA informant for several years. The charges brought against Afridi included conspiring “to wage war against Pakistan or depriving it of its sovereignty,” “concealing existence of a plan to wage war against Pakistan” and “condemnation of the creation of the state and advocacy of abolition of its sovereignty.” He was tried under the Frontier Crimes Regulation, a legal system created under British colonialism to maintain control in the rebellious tribal areas. This legal code does not allow defendants to have a lawyer. Under a recent amendment of the old British code, however, they do now have the right of appeal. The sentencing drew shrill protests from Washington and the US mass media, which characterized Afridi as a “hero” and a “patriot.” Senators Carl Levin and John McCain, the chairman and top Republican on the Senate armed services committee, issued a joint statement calling the conviction “shocking and outrageous” and demanding that Islamabad pardon and release the CIA informant immediately. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Wednesday that there was “no basis” for jailing Afridi.
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The Pakistani Foreign Office said that Afridi had been convicted “in accordance with Pakistani laws and by Pakistani courts” and affirmed that Washington and Islamabad “need to respect each other ’s legal processes.” The Foreign Office did not raise the case of Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, a US citizen of Pakistani origin and former
executive director of the Kashmiri American Council, who last March was sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy for having worked for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency. Washington’s characterizations of Afridi as a “hero” are not shared by the vast majority of Pakistanis, who see him as a traitor, nor for that matter by fellow health professionals, who see his actions as having done potentially catastrophic damage to efforts to eradicate polio and other diseases in Pakistan. Afridi’s theft of World Health Organization cooler boxes for use in a fake CIA orchestrated vaccination campaign has cast a cloud over all public health campaigns, raising
A R T I C L E S suspicions that they could be fronts for US intelligence and state terror operations. Among the most immediately affected is Save the Children, the largest international aid agency in Pakistan. According to Pakistani officials, Afridi told his interrogators that he was put in touch with the CIA by Save the Children operatives. Save the Children denies the claim, but its operations have been largely hindered, with employees denied visas, supplies stopped and senior officials forbidden from leaving Pakistan. David Wright, the country manager for Save the Children, denounced the use of a public health professional for US intelligence operations. “The CIA needs to answer for this,” he told the New York Times. “And they need to stop it.” In a further indication of the continuing downward spiral of relations between the US and Pakistan, a Senate panel Tuesday passed a foreign aid budget that would slash US assistance to Pakistan by more than half. The Senate appropriations subcommittee on foreign aid voted to cut fiscal 2013 aid to Pakistan by 58 percent, while allowing for still further cuts if the supply route to Afghanistan is not reopened. There are growing demands in Congress for a complete aid cut-off. Pakistan has received some $20 billion in US aid since 2001. 25 May, 2012 Bill Van Auken is politician and activist for the Social Equality Party and a fulltime reporter for World Socialist Web Site Source: WSWS.org
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APOCALYPSE FAIRLY SOON: THE MOMENT By Paul Krugman
Suddenly, it has become easy to see how the euro - that grand, flawed experiment in monetary union without political union - could come apart at the seams. We’re not talking about a distant prospect, either. Things could fall apart with stunning speed, in a matter of months, not years. And the costs - both economic and, arguably even more important, political - could be huge. This doesn’t have to happen; the euro (or at least most of it) could still be saved. But this will require that European leaders, especially in Germany and at the European Central Bank, start acting very differently from the way they’ve acted these past few years. They need to stop moralizing and deal with reality; they need to stop temporizing and, for once, get ahead of the curve. I wish I could say that I was optimistic. The story so far: When the euro came into existence, there was a great wave of optimism in Europe - and that, it turned out, was the worst thing that could have happened. Money poured into Spain and other nations, which were now seen as safe investments; this flood of capital fueled huge housing bubbles and huge trade deficits. Then, with the financial crisis of 2008, the flood dried up, causing severe slumps in the very nations that had boomed before. At that point, Europe’s lack of political union became a severe liability. Florida and Spain both had housing bubbles, but when Florida’s bubble burst, retirees could still count on getting their Social Security and Medicare checks from Washington. Spain receives no comparable support. So the burst bubble turned into a fiscal crisis, too. Europe’s answer has been austerity: savage spending cuts in an attempt to reassure bond markets. Yet as any sensible economist could have told you
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(and we did, we did), these cuts deepened the depression in Europe’s troubled economies, which both further undermined investor confidence and led to growing political instability. And now comes the moment of truth. Greece is, for the moment, the focal point. Voters who are understandably angry at policies that have produced 22 percent unemployment - more than 50 percent among the young - turned on the parties enforcing those policies. And because the entire Greek political establishment was, in effect, bullied into endorsing a doomed economic orthodoxy, the result of voter revulsion has been rising power for extremists. Even if the polls are wrong and the governing coalition somehow ekes out a majority in the next round of voting, this game is basically up: Greece won’t, can’t pursue the policies that Germany and the European Central Bank are demanding. So now what? Right now, Greece is experiencing what’s being called a “bank jog” — a somewhat slow-motion bank run, as more and more depositors pull out their cash in anticipation of a possible Greek exit from the euro. Europe’s central bank is, in effect, financing this bank run by lending Greece the necessary euros; if and (probably) when the central bank decides it can lend no more, Greece will be forced to abandon the euro and issue its own currency again. This demonstration that the euro is, in fact, reversible would lead, in turn, to runs on Spanish and Italian banks. Once again the European Central Bank would have to choose whether to provide open-ended financing; if it were to say no, the euro as a whole would blow up. Yet financing isn’t enough. Italy and, in particular, Spain must be offered hope — an economic environment in
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which they have some reasonable prospect of emerging from austerity and depression. Realistically, the only way to provide such an environment would be for the central bank to drop its obsession with price stability, to accept and indeed encourage several years of 3 percent or 4 percent inflation in Europe (and more than that in Germany). Both the central bankers and the Germans hate this idea, but it’s the only plausible way the euro might be saved. For the past two-and-a-half years, European leaders have responded to crisis with half-measures that buy time, yet they have made no use of that time. Now time has run out. So will Europe finally rise to the occasion? Let’s hope so — and not just because a euro breakup would have negative ripple effects throughout the world. For the biggest costs of European policy failure would probably be political. Think of it this way: Failure of the euro would amount to a huge defeat for the broader European project, the attempt to bring peace, prosperity and democracy to a continent with a terrible history. It would also have much the same effect that the failure of austerity is having in Greece, discrediting the political mainstream and empowering extremists. All of us, then, have a big stake in European success — yet it’s up to the Europeans themselves to deliver that success. The whole world is waiting to see whether they’re up to the task. 18 May, 2012 Paul Krugman is professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University and a regular columnist for The New York Times. Krugman was the 2008 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics. Source: The New York Times
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CHINA’S STABILITY GAMBIT By Stephen Roach
The first principle that I learned when I started focusing on China in the late 1990’s is that nothing is more important to the Chinese than stability – whether economic, social, or political. Given centuries of turmoil in China, today’s leaders will do everything in their power to preserve stability. Whenever I have doubts about a potential Chinese policy shift, I examine the options through the stability lens. It has worked like a charm. Stability was on everyone’s mind at the annual China Development Forum (CDF) held March 17-20 in Beijing. Hosted by Premier Wen Jiabao, with many ministers of the State Council in attendance, the CDF is China’s most important international conference. Yet, literally two days before this year’s CDF began, the controversial Bo Xilai was removed as Party Secretary of Chongqing. As a strong candidate to join the Standing Committee of the Politburo, China’s inner circle of leadership, Bo’s sudden demise was stunning. There was a palpable buzz in the air as we convened in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. The formal sessions played out predictably, placing great emphasis on the coming structural transformation of China’s growth model – a colossal shift from the all-powerful export- and investment-led growth of the past 32 years to a more consumer-led dynamic. There is now broad consensus among China’s senior leadership in favor of such a rebalancing. As one participant put it, “The debate has shifted from what to do to how and when to do it.” Many of the other themes flowed from this general conclusion. A shift to services-led growth and an innovations-based development
strategy were highlighted. At the same time, there was considerable concern about the recent resurgence of stateowned enterprises, which has tilted the distribution of national income from labor to capital – a major impediment to China’s proconsumption rebalancing. The World Bank and the China Development Research Center (the CDF’s host) had just released a comprehensive report that addressed many aspects of this critical issue. But the CDF’s formal proceedings never even hinted at the elephant in the chambers of Diaoyutai. There was no mention of Bo Xilai and what his dismissal meant for China’s domestic politics in this critical year of leadership transition. While it is easy to get caught up in the swirling tales of palace intrigue that have followed, I suspect that Bo’s removal holds a far deeper meaning. Chinese officials faced the risk of a dangerous interplay of political and economic instability. Hit by a second external demand shock in three years – first, America’s subprime crisis, and now Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis – any outbreak of internal political instability would pose a far greater threat than might otherwise be the case. Bo personified that risk. He embodied the so-called “Chongqing model” of state capitalism that has been ascendant in China in recent years – government-directed urbanization and economic development that concentrates power in the hands of regional leaders and state-owned enterprises. I spent some time in Chongqing – a vast metropolitan area of more than 34 million people – last summer. I left astonished at the scope of the city’s plans. Orchestrated by Chongqing Mayor Huang Qifan, the principal
architect of the spectacular Pudong development project in Shanghai, the goal is to transform the Liangjiang area of Chongqing into China’s first inland urban development zone. That would put Liangjiang on a par with coastal China’s two earlier showcase projects – Pudong and the Binhai area of Tianjin. Yet this is the same state-dominated development model that came under heavy criticism at this year’s CDF – and that stands in sharp contrast to the more market-driven alternative that has gained broad consensus among senior Chinese leaders. In other words, Bo was perceived not only as a threat to political stability, but also as the leading representative of a model of economic instability. By dismissing Bo so abruptly, the central government has, in effect, underscored its unwavering commitment to stability. This fits with yet another curious piece of the Chinese puzzle. Five years ago, Wen famously warned of a Chinese economy that was in danger of becoming “unstable, unbalanced, uncoordinated, and unsustainable.” I have repeatedly stressed the critical role that Wen’s “Four Uns” have played in shaping the pro-consumption strategy of the “Next China.” Wen’s critique paved the way for China to face its rebalancing imperatives head on. But, in their formal remarks to the CDF this year, China’s senior leadership – including Premierdesignate Li Keqiang – dropped all explicit references to the risks of an “unstable” Chinese economy. In short, the Four Uns have now become three. In China, such changes in language are no accident. The most likely interpretation is that those at the top continued next page
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no longer want to concede anything when it comes to stability. By addressing economic instability through pro-consumption rebalancing, and political instability by removing Bo, stability has gone from a risk factor to an ironclad commitment. There can be no mistaking the Chinese leadership’s core message
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nowadays. They are the first to concede that their growth and development strategy is at a critical juncture. They worry that the “reforms and opening up” of Deng Xiaoping are in danger of losing momentum. By addressing the interplay between economic and political risks to stability, the government is clearing the way for the next phase of China’s
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By Salma Yusuf The Context As Sri Lanka makes its way from a phase of post-war to post-conflict, the potential, the challenges and the successes are worthy of reflection. The time is fitting not only because it is exactly three years since the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) but also because considerable events, circumstances and eventualities of significance have transpired for this nation in transition. The aim of this article is to highlight key progress that has been made within the country, irrespective of the actors involved, but rather from the perspective of the hope that has dawned for the future of both the nation and its peoples. The challenges that remain to be addressed, the lacunae that beg to be filled and more importantly the sustainability and consolidation of the dividends that come with the ending of a three-decade conflict are highlighted constructively, with the objective of fostering both national and international discourse on Sri Lanka, to inform processes of governance, provide direction and inspire action for rebuilding the country – a country that yearns for a stable future with the full realization of potential for all its peoples. I. CONSOLIDATING PEACE AND ENSURING SUSTAINABILITY OF ITS DIVIDENDS The engagement of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil National Alliance, the main Tamil political party, in talks at arriving at a political settlement commenced with considerable interest on both sides,
while awakening hope in the citizenry of a new era of peace to be beckoned. However, the talks have reached a stalemate. There is a need at present requiring the casting aside of political rivalries on both sides, to ensure that a framework of peace and understanding for both the majority Sinhalese community and the Tamil and Muslim minorities are guaranteed, through the speedy resumption of talks. The Government of Sri Lanka appointed a Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) following the conclusion of the war, which has completed its term issuing recommendations for a peaceful and sustainable era to be ushered into the country. The LLRC report calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to, among others, arrive at a political solution. The home grown mechanism, that was developed to reflect upon and recommend action, drew on solicited and unsolicited submissions from the public in all areas of the country and hence has been hailed for its credibility and transparency. The final report has been tabled in Parliament and remains to be implemented. Pursuant to its pledges at the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, the Government of Sri Lanka embarked on drafting a National Human Rights Action Plan in 2009. The Action Plan has sought to address the objective of improving the human rights protection and promotion in all aspects, with targets to be achieved in five years. The Action Plan has subsequently been adopted by the Cabinet. The time for
implementing the Action Plan has arrived, with repeated calls for same by all concerned for the future of the country. The role of human rights protection and promotion in both peace-building and nation-building cannot be overstated. While upholding civil and political rights help to create in the citizenry a sense of security and belonging to the nation, the fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights ensures that opportunities are generated through which a connection is felt towards the newly rebuilt state. Such an endeavour is not only beneficial for the citizenry but also for the state as it improves the relationship between the two, strengthening the social contract, and hence contributes to a new culture, structure and system of governance. Furthermore, a draft National Reconciliation Policy has been prepared by the Office of the Presidential Advisor on Reconciliation which clearly addresses the aspect of consolidating peace in the interests of genuine healing and reconciliation, both comprehensively and convincingly. The Draft Policy has been circulated amongst all political parties and Members of Parliament following which consultation with civil society and the public is envisaged before being taken through the adoption process in Parliament. The three landmark initiatives discussed above, while being key to the nation building enterprise in terms of consolidating peace, have not been the only such of its kind. The following continued next page
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sections discuss other aspects that have been engaged. Before proceeding, however, it is critical to mention, that one of the key challenges to the successful realization of such national mechanisms has been the lack of subsequent implementation, both in terms of machinery and administrative and political will. The lack of implementation has not been due to a lack of local expertise or experience by nationals and interested parties. Rather, what is required is the need to garner the required will and corporate ambition for implementation of such measures, whilst strengthening the machinery of implementation, if national mechanisms are to reach fruition. Since the end of the armed struggle in May 2009, both organized and natural processes of reconciliation are taking place in Sri Lanka. Experts have opined that that the path to moderation, tolerance and coexistence must be paved as prerequisites for any endeavour to usher in a new chapter for the country based on reconciliation amongst all communities. In particular, it must be emphasized that there exists the need for an organized process of reconciliation so as to prevent a relapse or resurgence of past animosities that initially led to hostilities. Accordingly, a four pronged strategy can be proposed: The first, second and third have already been completed with the rehabilitation of 11,500 LTTE-rs, the reintegration of 280,000 displaced and the reconstruction of the north and east particularly the Wanni. It is now time for the various sectors to actively initiate programmes on reconciliation highlighting its role in realizing the fourth aspect, namely, the building of relationships between and within communities. It must be highlighted that the nature of the conflict in Sri Lanka has been one where the Tamil community sought to restructure the State with a view to removing features discriminatory of the minorities as opposed to what has been usually described as a struggle between the Sinhala majority community and Tamil minority
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community per se. While the Government of Sri Lanka’s efforts in the Northern and Eastern rehabilitation and resettlement processes have been commendable, it is imperative that the important next step is taken, namely, reaching out to the Tamil community to address their concerns and grievances. The Muslim community has oft been caught in the cross-fires and hence need to be taken seriously and made stakeholders in any endeavour to move the country forward to lasting peace and stability. Accordingly, the minority communities too must be urged to reposition themselves – by not only demanding equality but also conducting themselves as equals. One way of doing this is for the minority communities not to speak on issues affecting their respective communities only but also to participate in national issues and lead national campaigns. II. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BASED ON EQUITABLE PRINCIPLES AND CONFLICT SENSITIVITY Since the end of the war much has been done in terms of infrastructure development, restoring commerce and reestablishing administrative structures. While progress has been remarkable, the sustaining of such initiatives as meaningful have not always been evident, what with a lack of proper planning and administrative efficiency. There has begun a national momentum in Sri Lanka to raise awareness on the development of the social conscience of the private sector, following the conclusion of the three-decade war. It is possible to identify four key aspects for engagement of the business community in the processes of national reconciliation and peace-building. First, livelihood and income generation activities; second, infrastructure development in the North and other conflict-affected areas; thirdly a need for the business community to engage directly with individuals and communities in war-affected regions of the country and finally, to ensure that all endeavours undertaken embrace the vision of preventing economic stagnation which has been at the root of most political conflicts.
A R T I C L E S There needs to be awareness raised of the existing investment opportunities present in former conflict zones such as Jaffna, where there is an availability of rich natural resources in the region such as limestone, land, groundwater, sea salt, fisheries and agriculture that could be tapped into, in order to create industries, income generation and livelihood opportunities. Additionally, the market demand for produce and jobs is increasing with the return of formerly displaced persons to their original habitats. Thirdly, there exists potential for the development of tourism-related infrastructure as Jaffna is gaining increasing currency as a tourist destination, both by locals and foreigners. The conflict between the north and south of Sri Lanka has been largely due to the lack of economic opportunities. Furthermore, there are considerations that need to be made when decisions to invest in the north and the east are taken, namely, that income generation activities must be undertaken in a conflict-sensitive manner ensuring that all communities are given opportunities to participate in the planning of and benefit from the projects. The business community is well placed for developing capacity of potential entrepreneurs by playing a major role in skill building. Recognition of such a role for the private sector and business community is beginning to emerge in the country. Such recognition needs to be developed further and translated into concrete strategies and action plans by the business community for contributing to the enterprise of nation building. Although engagement of the business community has been acknowledged as essential for peacebuilding by both the World Bank and the United Nations, a system of rewards to lure early private sector entry has yet to be devised, at the international and national levels. Further, it is recommended that involving the private sector in the larger work of continued next page
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formulating the post-war recovery strategy in Sri Lanka will help generate ownership of the process, and in turn sustainability of outcomes. This would require innovative thinking by both the public and private sectors. The challenge therefore lies in finding new means to make such engagement attractive by establishing appropriate economic and non-economic incentives for investment. Despite their having been private sector investment since the ending of the war in May 2009, it has been with much hesitation and furthermore, chiefly by the large and successful blue-chip companies operating in the country. The identification of the benefits of early involvement for private businesses in post-war, uncertain and fragile contexts need to be brought to the forefront in any discourse on the role of the business community in reconciliation and peace-building. First, it is a test of the resilience of the sector’s ability to navigate adverse conditions and establish suitable conditions for economic proclivity. Second, it can play a crucial selfserving role in shaping of the market for decades to come by securing preferential rights for early entrants and contributing to developing the legal and regulatory framework in which they will have to operate. Such need to be highlighted to the private sector in Sri Lanka who are still weary of potential fallouts associated with investing in the war-affected regions of the country; and are only now being sensitized to the critical role that they can play in re-building the nation and fostering durable peace. Sri Lanka’s strategy of building and strengthening a public-private sector partnership to create economic growth in north and east is visionary. That said, much remains to be done in the north and east of the country. At present, the approach has been one of a charitable orientation. There is an urgent need to integrate such investments into the paradigm of the agenda, goal and vision of the private sector and business community, so that they begin to see themselves as one of the stakeholders
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in bringing the country to economic prosperity and sustainable peace. Although a growing number of companies throughout the world are involved at the early stage of war-topeace transitions, few will be able to sustain their involvement, absent extraordinary profits, unless initiation of the rule of law and institutions practicing good governance soon follow. For this reason there is a business interest in promotion of the rule of law and the development of open markets as a means for creating an environment conducive to doing business. The challenge now is to promote awareness on how the notions of social justice and peace could in fact be profitable which would in turn lead to it becoming a priority in the business agenda. This would involve minimizing the risk associated with entry of businesses in war-torn areas with uncertain futures. Under these circumstances, there appears a proclivity today to venture forth where a decade ago business would have feared to tread. A potential nexus that needs to be highlighted as crucial to the development of sustainable peace and reconciliation is the need for economic prosperity in post-war contexts and the role of the businesses in such a national endeavour. In Sri Lanka, the need for economic prosperity or at least movement away from abject poverty and economic hopelessness is pivotal to moving towards reconciliation and peace building if the spirit of peace is to not falter and be extinguished. It is the private sector that can provide in the long-term for economic growth opportunities, jobs and wealth creation. The second challenge then is how to induce the entry of the business sector at the early years following the end of terrorism in Sri Lanka, being only three years since the armed combat ended. Possible ways of stimulating such an inducement would be to develop commitment within the international private sector to envision that investment abroad would also be an investment in social change. Closely related to this is the need to cultivate a
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positive attitude towards state structures, administrative structures, public service and international institutions. Hence, these two considerations ought to be integral to Sri Lanka’s foreign policy strategy, which would necessarily involve both direct bilateral and multi-lateral engagement with relevant foreign powers and world bodies. III. THE RULE OF LAW, HEALING AND RECONCILIATION The key purpose of reconciliation is to address the underlying suspicion, mistrust and discrimination that has been manifest and symptomatic of the three-decade conflict that existed in Sri Lanka. Creating a sense of interdependence between all communities is crucial if minority communities are to feel a connection to the newly rebuilt nation. In this connection, two positive developments in the current political context are worthy of note – increasing acceptance that the conflict requires a political settlement as opposed to the view that it is only a terrorist problem; and rather than operating through a topdown approach of political patronage and proxies there is now a recognition of the need to engage elected representatives of the Tamil community in the nation building endeavour. The recognition of a need for reconciliation in post-war Sri Lanka has been reflected by the appointment of a Presidential Advisor on Reconciliation. Prof Rajiva Wijesinha assumed duties last year and, inter alia, has been involved in setting up District Reconciliation Committees in the former conflict regions of the country while leading the formulation of a Draft National Policy on Reconciliation which has been released in March 2012, and continued next page
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is set to be taken through a process of consultation with political parties and civil society, with the aim of leading up to a formal national adoption process. Acknowledgement of the need for a collaborative effort for successful and genuine reconciliation has been reflected in the inauguration of a series of national conferences on reconciliation convened by the Lakshman Kadirgamar Centre for International and Strategic Studies, Sri Lanka’s national think tank. The series of specialist seminars on the various aspects of reconciliation engages the several stakeholders to the process, creating awareness, sensitization and space for networking and future collaborative efforts on reconciliation. Furthermore, there have been a range of civil society initiatives and dialogue forums on reconciliation engaging the various dimensions, including, accountability, justice, peace, the spiritual perspectives, the military perspectives, the political perspectives, the economic perspectives and the devising of national historical narratives of the conflict as a tool for conflict resolution. While both natural and organized reconciliation are underway, it must be remembered that reconciliation is both a process and a goal. Hence, it will necessarily require time and space to bear fruit. Reconciliation cannot be imposed or forced on a nation as an event. It requires both a strategy and a systematized response mechanism by the state and other stakeholders to deal with the likely obstacles that will emerge along the way. Another aspect of nation-building that requires immediate attention in Sri Lanka is the promotion and protection of the rule of law. The rule of law should be considered as the the bedrock for achieving a democratic and economically developed society. Where States are viewed as having open transparent laws and economic markets, the likelihood of receiving outside investment and increased economic growth is high. This, in turn,
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boosts investment and sustainable development. That said, more than having the laws in place is needed. The political will has to be garnered or else the efforts will be hindered. The rule of law ought to be promoted as the method by which development, democratisation and good governance is to be achieved due to the links which institutions and advocates bring into its definitional scope. By addressing the mechanisms and infrastructure which prevents equality and civilian participation in the political and economic process, Sri Lanka could potentially become both democratic and developed. CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS Sri Lanka has undoubtedly been through a difficult and devastating period in its history. That said, the need to cultivate and capitalize on the crucial aspect that unites all its peoples – the common identity of being Sri Lankan – is imperative in the ultimate analysis for moving the nation forward to a sustainable and durable peace and prosperity. It is time to celebrate similarities and preserve the differences that in turn contribute to strengthening the national identity of being Sri Lankan. It makes one realize that it is in fact the different cultures, religions and ethnicities that converge into a ‘melting pot’ and is what indeed makes for a Sri Lankan. The notion of Sri Lankan is then not an identity separate from each of the differences. Rather, it is an identity that has resulted from the combination and cohabitation of the various identities. If each citizen sees that being Sri Lankan does not necessitate the need to give up their own identity or multiple identities but rather that the notion of being Sri Lankan subsumes all such identities, we will then reconcile our differences more easily. For what affects the individual and separate identities will in turn affect the common identity of all. The approach to healing and reconciliation as echoed by scholars such as Martha Minow has been that of adopting a path of moderation. As
A R T I C L E S such she declares the wisdom in adopting an approach that is ‘Between Vengeance and Forgiveness…’ as the path to achieving lasting healing and reconciliation. As any model for healing and reconciliation based on revenge would only foster more evil and hatred descending into a spiral of further divisiveness, any model based purely on a blank check of forgiveness is believed to promote further impunity coupled with invalidating feelings of loss and suffering and having the reverse of restoring dignity on victims. While justice, accountability, and political solutions are imperative for the nation building strategy, they must be Lankan-led to ensure local ownership and buy-in to the process which will contribute significantly to sustainability of outcomes. Any country recovering from decades of conflict must put a strategy in place to prevent the relapse into violence. No country should take peace and security for granted. The stabilization strategy should seek to influence the general population where the very conflict emerged. Moreover, it is important for all sectors of society – and, in particular, minority groups –to be able to feel a connection to the newly rebuilt nation. In the absence of such a sense of belonging, it is inevitable that civil unrest will return. If human rights are able to help citizens and other peoples within the nation to feel safe and secure in their environment, then civil unrest is much less likely to occur. For this reason, human rights should be considered to be an important part of the nationbuilding process and imperative to sustaining the dividends of peace. Ultimately, it is a home gown political process addressing the economic social and political grievances and aspirations, acceptable to all sections of society, that will address the critical aspects of nation building – a nation that yearns to metamorphose into one that sees its strength in multiculturalism and diversity. 5 May, 2012 Salma Yusuf is a lawyer in Sri Lanka. She is also a member of JUST. Comments are welcome at salmayusuf@gmail.com
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The International Movement for a Just World is a nonprofit international citizens’ organisation which seeks to create public awareness about injustices within the existing global system. It also attempts to develop a deeper understanding of the struggle for social justice and human dignity at the global level, guided by universal spiritual and moral values. In furtherance of these objectives, JUST has undertaken a number of activities including conducting research, publishing books and monographs, organising conferences and seminars, networking with groups and individuals and participating in public campaigns. JUST has friends and supporters in more than 130 countries and cooperates actively with other organisations which are committed to similar objectives in different parts of the world.
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