What’s
Going On in Asia?
AUSTRALIA
Protest
Against ‘Pre-deployment’ of Troops to Iraq
The Australian
Catholic Social Justice Council has questioned the so-called
‘pre-deployment’ of Australian forces to
the Middle East. On 9 January, Acting Prime Minister
John Anderson confirmed that Special Forces personnel
had been placed on standby. By 23 January a larger
contingent of forces had been sent to the Gulf.
Bishop William
Morris, Chairman of the ACSJC said, “The
decision to join the U.S. military build up in the
Persian Gulf seems to contradict strong community
sentiment and runs the risk of undermining United
Nations processes which provide the best means of
resolving tensions in the Middle East without
recourse to war.”
“The
Government maintains it has not yet made a decision
to go to war. However, this deployment reveals how
Australia’s preparations for war have been
allowed to run far in advance of any informed public
debate on the matter. There is a real risk that this
situation will promote a state of mind in our
community that war is inevitable. Such a consensus
cannot be allowed to develop at a time when no world
leader or authority has made a convincing case that
would justify war ...
“... the ACSJC
considers this commitment to be premature when the
diplomatic processes of the United Nations have yet
to run their full course, and have by no means been
exhausted.
“We urge great
restraint at this most delicate time and welcome the
role of the United Nations in Iraq. We recognise the
United Nations as the legitimate authority in these
matters and call upon our political leaders to do all
in their power to build peace and avoid war. We
continue to pray that the United Nations process will
be regarded by all nations as offering a real and
effective alternative to war and a sign of hope for
the future.”
At an ecumenical
service at Parliament House, Auxilliary Bishop of
Canberra-Goulbourn, Pat Power confronted the Prime
Minister about his support for US war efforts and an
angry exchange is said to have followed. Bishop Power
is one of only two Australian Catholic Bishops who
are of Lebanese descent.
HONG
KONG
Article 23
Following a period
of consultation on proposals to enact national
security measures under Article 23 of the Basic Law,
the Security Bureau has compiled submissions made by
the public and categorised them as being either for
the proposals, against them, or unclear. A number of
prominent critics of the proposals are outraged that
their views have not been included in the government
list of submissions, or have been categorized as
being ‘unclear’ when they had definitely
oppossed the proposals.
The government has
announced some changes to the proposals but no draft
legislation has been released to the public for
consultation.
Interfaith
Peace Action
The Justice and
Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Diocese joined with
representatives of various religious communities to
share their concerns about the crisis in Iraq. They
share the same commitment to peace and the
affirmation of life and have decided to work together
as interreligious peacemakers. The group has invited
members of various religions in Hong Kong to hold the
people of Iraq in prayer on the weekend of Feb. 14 to
16, 2003, during their worship services and religious
activities on these days. This is the group’s
shared affirmation:
“As people of
faith of various religious communities in Hong Kong,
we Muslims, Taoists, Buddhists, Catholics and
Protestants jointly express our deep concern for the
current increasing momentum for war against Iraq that
will have grave consequences for the lives of the
people of the country.
We want to
underline that we make this affirmation of faith for
peace based, not on any political stance toward any
particular country, but rather on the values of our
faith traditions which compel us to speak out for
peace and the preservation of life. In war, the
civilian population suffers disproportionately. We
fear that tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians will
perish in any conflict. We, therefore, cannot support
war in Iraq, for we believe that there are
alternative ways to resolve the current crisis in a
peaceful manner. It depends upon whether the
international community has the political will to do
so. Furthermore, unilateral action by one country, or
a few countries, should not replace the role of the
international community.
We thus call upon
the international community to use non-violent means
to settle the outstanding issues in Iraq for the
lives of all people of all nations are sacred.
One reason, we
believe, for social instability and violence between
and within countries is political, social, economic,
and cultural injustice. Interreligious dialogue and
cooperation contribute to resolving injustice in a
peaceful manner, and thus, we pledge ourselves to
continue to work together for peace and justice
within countries and between countries."
INDIA
Bishops
Concerned about Threat of War
India’s
Bishops have warned that an attack on Iraq, a nation
already devastated by malnutrition, poverty and
economic sanctions, would trigger a colossal tragedy.
In a press
statement of 4 February, the Catholic Bishops'
Conference of India (CBCI) expressed its anxiety over
the "clouds of war" hovering over West Asia.
The bishops were
equally concerned "over the firm stand taken on
behalf of some countries that are avowed to put an
end to the production of weapons of mass destruction
as it has worsened the atmosphere."
"Every effort
must, therefore, be made by the international
community to avert such human made tragedy, and seek
other paths to find lasting solutions to the problem
of proliferation of arms," said Bishop Percival
Fernandez, CBCI secretary-general.
In their statement,
the bishops condemn "all forms of terrorism,"
saying that "terrorism, under any circumstances,
cannot be accepted as it does not uphold the basic
human right to live a free and fearless life."
The CBCI also
expressed its fear that "a remedy for putting an
end to such terrorist activities and organizations
could cause a full-scale armed conflict."
Source: ZE03020407
INDONESIA
Ambon
Religious Leaders’ Peace Plea
The Crisis Center
of the Diocese of Amboina reports that, responding to
the threat war being waged on Iraq, the religious
leaders of Muslims, Protestants and Catholics in the
Moluccas sent out the following appeal to world
leaders:
“Social
strife, together with grueling events of criminality
and savagery towards human beings have tormented our
region for four years. It was generally the common,
innocent people that had to bear its horrible
consequences of agony and utmost suffering. In the
wake of this terrible experience we, the religious
leaders of the Moluccas, most honestly want to
proffer our standpoint and concern in relation to the
latest development in the Persian Gulf area:
- God Almighty
made man as his supreme and most precious
creature, providing him a rich array of
possibilities and capacities. Thus man is
called to accommodate himself one to another,
acknowledging equality and living in harmony.
- Existing
differences are not meant to effectuate the
determination to wipe out one another, but,
on the contrary, to establish contact and
dialogue with one another and mutually
beneficial cooperation.
- Every nation
on this earth has the right to live in peace
and welfare, thus must not be played down
becoming victim of any other nation’s
aspirations for whatever reason.
- Civilized
nations solve any internal or external crisis
by way of dialogue and not by choosing the
way of war and violence.
- Any war and
any acts of violence gravely damage humanity,
milieu, and civilization. All of this will
have its impact not only on those that are
directly involved in the strife, but will
seriously harm global harmony and stability.
Based on this
perception, we send out this appeal to the Government
of the United States of America with its Allies, and
to the Iraqi Government:
One To stop without
delay any effort which is aimed at war and violence.
Two To enhance
renewed efforts to come to sincere dialogue as the
only decent and befitting way to come to a solution.
Three To
acknowledge everybody’s basic human rights as
God’s most precious creatures.
Four To prefer
love, peace and justice to any political, economic
and military considerations.
Five To entrust it
wholly to the United Nations as the representation of
all nations to find a just and peaceable solution.
May the Almighty
God, who is the source of all grace and blessing,
bestow His prudence and wisdom on all involved
parties to reflect on this our appeal for peace.”
This statement of 4
Feb was signed by the leaders of the Majelis Ulama
Indonesia (the Presiding Board of (Muslim) Spiritual
Leaders (Ulama) in Indonesia) and Badan Immarah
Muslim Maluku (the Directive Board of Moluccan
Muslims, an organisation established for the Moluccas
in the conflict situation, to be able to speak as a
united Muslim community); the Catholic Diocese of
Amboina; the Moluccas Protestant Church / Synod
Secretariate.
West Paupa
The 5th of February
marks the anniversary of the commencement of the
Protestant Mission in Papua in 1855. Since last year
it has been proclaimed a public holiday in the
Province of Papua. During the celebration an
ecumenical gathering was held in the sports hall of
Jayapura. It was attended by leading government
people, including the governor, the head of the
parliament, and the rector of the university; the
minister for development cooperation in East
Indonesia represented the Central Government;
religious leaders in attendance included the Bishop
of Jayapura, the Chair of the Synod of the Protestant
Church, the Chair of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (Muslim
community), the Chair of the Buddhist Community, the
Chair of the Hindu Community, and a large number of
other local religious leaders from Papua and East
Indonesia. A large number of prominent figures in the
local community also attended and in all, two
thousand people filled the sports-hall.
Mgr. Leo Laba
Ladjar OFM Bishop of Jayapura, gave the key-note
reflection. He addressed the situation in Papua,
drawing attention to the potential sources of
conflict (economical disparity, difference of
political aspirations, questionable security actions,
tension among ethnic groups, tension among religious
groups, the lack of justice done in several cases of
gross human rights violations, conflicting central
government policies including the recently issued
Inpres 1/2003 concerning the division of the Papua
Province, and factionalism in provincial government
circles). However he also underlined the basic will
of the Papuan community to have their problems
handled in a peaceful and democatric way.
After the bishop’s
reflection, the leaders of the five main religions in
Papua (Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist and
Hindu) took the floor to express in a simple but very
strong way their common commitment to build Papua
Tanah Damai (Papua, Land of Peace). The five
religious leaders, while united by a ribbon and
holding their hands high, briefly expressed verbally
their commitment, while a traditional dancing group
and an impressive choir underlined the commitment
with their song and movements. The audience received
the commitment with enthusiastic applause.
After the
celebration, a statement by the five religious
leaders addressed to President Megawati was handed
over to the leading government figures present.
Source: SKP
Jayapura
KOREA
Concern
About SOFA Conveyed to Rumsfeld
According to a
report by Zenit [ZE03011726 ], the Chairman of the U.S.
Bishops' Committee on International Policy, Bishop
John Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, has written to
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, forwarding
the concerns of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of
Korea that the Korean Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA),
despite recent revisions, contains elements "which
are still unequal, unjust and infringe on the
sovereignty of the Korean people."
Koreans’
perception of unequal treatment in the SOFA is "provoking
new and widespread anti-USA sentiment among the
Korean people, who in fact feel that their national
pride and sovereignty have been undermined and
trampled underfoot," said a letter from
Archbishop Andrew Choi Chang-mou of Kwangju,
president of the Korean Bishops' Conference.
SOFA is the
agreement that governs the presence of U.S. military
personnel, civilian support staff, and their
dependents in South Korea. Its provisions include the
way in which criminal activity by Americans stationed
in Korea is handled.
MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE
& BRUNEI
Bishops
Urge All Bishops to Speak Against War
The Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and
Brunei issued a statement rejecting war on Iraq and
calling on other Bishops’ Conferneces to speak
out.
The statement,
signed by Conference President Archbishop Anthony
Soter Fernandez, says that “the Catholic
Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei
agrees with the Holy See and Bishops from the U.S.A.
and Middle East that resorting to war against Iraq
under current circumstances would not meet the strict
conditions in Catholic teaching for over-riding the
presumptions against the use of military force. We
also join others in urging Iraq to comply fully with
the latest United Nations Security Council's
resolutions.
We urge other
Bishops' Conferences all over the world to join their
voices in solidarity to call upon all involved to
abide by the principles of international law.
We join and urge
peoples of all faiths and goodwill to pray fervently
that all involved will act to ensure that this action
of the United Nations will not simply be a prelude to
war but a way to peace and justice."
Source: UCAN
Stop the
War Coalition
The Stop The War
Coalition, Malaysia, was launched on Jan 24 at a
forum in Penang organised by the Penang Office for
Human Development (POHD) in association with the
Penang Justice and Peace Commission, Jamaah Islah
Malaysia (JIM), Kumpulan Kemajuan Masyarakat (KKM),
Women's Centre for Change (WCC), Aliran Kesedaran
Negara (ALIRAN), Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) and
Penang Diocese Youth Network (PDYN).
So far, 45
organisations and NGOs have joined this broad-based,
multi-ethnic, multi-religious anti-war coalition.
They have sent the following message to United
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
“We, the undersigned members of the Stop the War
Coalition, Malaysia, are opposed to any military
attack on Iraq by the United States and its allies.
We urge the United Nations to work resolutely towards
a peaceful solution to this crisis.
Although we do not
condone the human rights abuses and the dictatorial
regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, we believe
that a war on Iraq would lead to untold suffering,
misery and deaths among innocent Iraqi civilians. It
could also lead to a wider conflict that might engulf
the entire Middle East region and spread to the rest
of the world.
We oppose the
possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) not
only in Iraq, but also in the major nuclear powers
such as the United States, Russia, China, France,
United Kingdom, Israel, Pakistan, India and North
Korea. We urge the United Nations to work peacefully
and tirelessly towards a world free of all weapons of
mass destruction.
We join hands with
other anti-war activists and groups around the world
to oppose the war on Iraq. In this respect, we
express our solidarity with the Asian Peace Alliance
and wholeheartedly endorse the views contained in its
memorandum, which has received the support of key
groups across Asia.”
PAKISTAN
Action
Against Religious Intolerance
In a public
statement on 9 January, the Chairperson of the
National Commission for Justice and Peace Most
Reverend Lawrence J Saldanha, Archbishop of Lahore
and Executive Secretary Peter Jacob expressed their
deep concern over hate speech and the provocation of
religious frenzy against non-Muslims. They said,
“ The practice has continued for past many
decades in public rallies, sermons, text-books, print
and electronic media, with out a check. Civil society’s
demand for the repeal of laws that promote religious
discrimination and implant social conflicts has been
falling on deaf ears.”
They demanded that
the government should fulfill its promise of
compensation to those who lost lives and limbs in the
Daska church attack, and urged the government to take
necessary action to curb the crime of hate speech.
They condemned authorities who failed to take timely
action, hiding behind the excuse of the involvement
of an ‘external hand’.
The NCJP is
demanding that the government checks one-sided
propagation of self-righteousness and says that the
right to expression should made be exercisable
equally and fairly for all groups in a society. They
urge the people of Pakistan to keep watch on the
elements known for promoting religious turmoil,
analyze the local and international events with
rationality and discourage exploitation in the name
of religions.
Again, on 2
February, the NCJP demanded an end to state patronage
of religion, and urged adoption of the principle of
uniform respect for all the beliefs to rid the
country of religious extremism and prejudice.
The demand was
voiced through a unanimous resolution, adopted at the
one-day National Consultative Meeting on Religious
Extremism: Causes and Remedies held in Lahore.
Archbishop Lawrence
Sildana, Fr Emanuel Joseph, Lt-Col John Morris (Salvation
Army) Aftab Alexander Moghal and Group Captain Cecil
Chaudhry (retired) briefed the media about the
proceedings of the meeting.
They said that the
participants in the meeting were of the view that the
country could not progress without the eradication of
religious extremism and the adoption of a policy
aimed at conciliation between the followers of all
the religions by discontinuation of the state
patronage of any single religion.
They also stressed
the need for a review of internal and external
policies in the greater national interest and the
abolition of all laws discriminating among the
citizens on the basis of religion and gender. They
called for equal respect to be given to all citizens
irrespective of their class, gender and creed.
The participants
also demanded that all the lessons, words and ideas
causing heartburn among the minorities be expunged
from the curricula in the educational institutions.
Bishops
Reject War on Iraq
Archbishop Lawrence
Saldhana joined other Christian leaders in Pakistan
to make an appeal for avoidance of a war with Iraq.
In the joint pastoral letter of 16 January they say:
"As the
calamity of war in Iraq looms on the horizon, we
recognize that this conflict will have far-reaching
and disastrous consequences for all our region.
"We share the
concern of our Muslim brethren and all people of good
will in expressing their total condemnation of this
pre-emptive strike.
"We call upon
President George W. Bush and Prime Minster Tony Blair
to reverse their decision to wage war and, instead,
to use other means to force Iraq to comply with the U.N.
resolutions for disarmament of weapons of mass
destruction.
"We also call
upon Iraqi leaders and other world leaders to play
their part in an all-out effort to avoid war and
prevent untold sufferings for millions of innocent
people who will be affected by a war."
Source:ZE03012121
PHILIPPINES
Cardinal
calls on President not to Back war Effort
Cardinal Jaime Sin
of Manila issued a pastoral letter calling for
prayers against a possible war against Iraq and
urging President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo not to
support "unjust war efforts."
In the 30 January
statement "Blessed Are the Peacemakers," he
said that the crisis with Iraq cannot be solved
"by recourse to terrorism or armed conflict as
if military victory is the only solution." He
called on the President to be a peacemaker and not to
support the USA’s war efforts. The Cardinal
expresed the view that "A strategy of security
that recognizes preventive war is in opposition to
Catholic doctrine and to international law."
THAILAND
Human
Rights Education
'It is too
difficult to convince police to treat a suspect as an
innocent or to respect the suspect's human rights?
To achieve that you must teach school children now.”
That is what a
trainer told the Catholic school teachers at a recent
human rights education workshop organised by the
Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) -
Thailand.
CCJP together with
prominent lawyers, school administrators and
academics have formed a Committee to concretise the
workshop for school teachers under the 'Human Rights
Education' project. Several workshops have been
organised since the project started in 1999.
The latest
workshop, in January 2003, was organised for teachers
of three subjects: social science, morals and culture.
It was attended by 30 teachers from thirteen Catholic
schools.
On the first day
participants learned about human rights in general,
for example, who has rights, what are human rights,
what does ‘human rights violation’ mean,
what is discrimination, and what are children rights.
On the second day,
a team of experienced academic personnel helped the
teachers to understand how to integrate human rights
concepts into subjects taught in school. After
that the teachers worked as a group to draft teaching
modules for their subjects.
A discussion and
critique of the drafts was made on the third day.
It was expected that the draft modules could be used
directly when the teachers returned to their classes.
The workshop helps
to educate teachers on a topic which is close to
them, but sometimes far from their consciousness -
human rights. Hopefully, human rights will be
known to more and more people, especially school
children, through all the subjects that they have
learned at school.
Prior to begining
the Human Rights Education project, the CCJP produced
a draft handbook for teachers to use in schools.
Throughout the series of training workshops, CCJP
asked for feedback from teachers. Using the
experience of giving training to several schools,
CCJP has now revised the handbook, called "Human
Rights and Peace Education", and issued a new
edition called "Way to Human Rights Education".
United for
Peace Coalition
In Thailand various
groups, including the CCJP, have formed the United
for Peace Coalition. Other members of the coalition
include the Coalition of Inter-Religious Groups,
Center of Muslim Communities in Thailand, a Buddhist
monk from Sekhiya Dhamma, Asia Forum, Artists Network
for Peace and several groups from local NGOs.
In January the
group planned to gather in front of the UN office in
Bangkok and present a letter demanding that the UN
lead the world to peace and oppose the possible war
on Iraq and to produce a ‘Live Poster’
entitled Disarm America (a live poster is one that is
produced at a public rally, providing people watching
or passing by an opportunity to participate and share
their concerns). A silk screen was also to be at hand
to print the poster immediately onto people's t-shirts,
paper, etc. They also planned to present a letter to
the Thai Government and the Speaker of the Parliament.
On going plans
include: day to day campaigns around university
campuses as well as community parks in Bangkok; the
Artists for Peace task force will continue it's free
T-shirt and poster printing; the website www.carefor.org,
from which people can download posters as well as
other public website interventions; and groups of
street musicians and performing groups who will take
to the streets around Bangkok for several weekends
beginning the first weekend of February.