What’s
Going On in Asia?
Australia
Abolition
of Aboriginal Commission
Prime Minister John Howard announced plans
on 15 April 2004 to abolish Australia's top
Aboriginal organization, the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), for allegedly
failing to administer aboriginal affairs. Legislation
is expected to be introduced in May to scrap it with
immediate effect.
Run by officials elected by indigenous peoples to
give control over their own affairs, ATSIC was
established in 1990 to deliver services to Aboriginal
communities. As an opposition MP then, Howard had
attacked the plan to set it up, saying it would
divide Australia on the basis of race.
Although the Commission has been plagued by
allegations of corruption, mismanagement and
nepotism, and many had called for its reform, the
announcement of abolition was shocking to the
Aboriginal population. A commissioner remarked that
the move took away their self-determination and self-empowerment.
It is expected that the ATSIC will be replaced by a
group of appointed indigenous advisers, and
indigenous affairs will be mainstreamed. However, no
plans were revealed for addressing the crisis in
Indigenous communities.
Aboriginal leaders deplored the move as a massive
retrograde step. Acting Commission Chairman said the
mainstreaming of Indigenous affairs would not resolve
chronic health, employment and housing problems of
Aboriginal commuities.
According to the source, the main problem identified
is actually the lack of a rigorous monitoring
framework to hold the government accountable for its
commitments and for mainstream service delivery.
The latest Social Justice Report to the federal
Parliament identifies the current situation faced by
Indigenous peoples as a crisis. It reveals a
government approach that is failing and identifies an
agenda for change to turn this situation around.
This agenda identifies increased Indigenous
participation and control as a central feature of
improved government service delivery and to move
Indigenous people from dependency on government
services. It also identifies the need to reform ATSIC
to ensure that it is capable of interacting with
governments while also being representative of and
accountable back to Indigenous communities and people.
The Social Justice Report 2003 and Native Title
Report 2003 are available online at:
http://www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/sjreport03/index.html
and http://www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/ntreport03/index.htm
Sources:
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission,
International Herald Tribune and South China Morning
Post
Bangladesh
Development
Workers at Risk of Torture
PROSHIKA (A Centre for Human Development) is
one of the largest non-governmental organization (NGO)
in Bangladesh, involved in poverty alleviation,
education and promotes sustainable development.
According to Amnesty International, it has recently
been the target of harassment for its alleged
involvement in political activity. In recent weeks,
the authorities have reportedly accused PROSHIKA of
taking an anti-government political line during an
opposition campaign of general strikes to unseat the
government.
Dr Qazi Faruque Ahmed, President, and David William
Biswas, vice-President of PROSHIKA were arrested on
22 May. They are held incommunicado and are at grave
risk of torture. According to local sources, Mr.
Biswas' family is very worried as he has diabetes and
high blood pressure and is half paralysed. All
petitions for bail and remand, as well as special
care for health condition, have been rejected.
Source:
Amnesty International AI Index: ASA 13/010/2004
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA130102004
Hong
Kong
June 4th
Activities
The Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong
Kong Catholic Diocese (HKJP), is organizing a series
of prayer gatherings and masses, starting 23 May, to
commemortate the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen
Massacre (4 June 1989). Among this, a prayer
gathering will be held before the candle light vigil,
the main activity, on 4 June 2004, to pray for
democracy in China.
Source:
Justice and Peace Commission web site www.hkjp.org (in Chinese)
India
News from
the NCJPD
The National Commission for Justice, Peace
and Development (NCJPD) has been involved in two
major initiatives in the past months: the All India
lawyers forum for Justice and Peace, and Peace Clubs
in schools.
ALL INDIA LAWYERS FORUM FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE
This forum is an initiative of the NCJPD, in response
to the growing need for a coordinated effort by
lawyers on issues of injustice, human rights
violations and conflicts in the society. In September
2003, a gathering of lawyers was held to inaugurate
the All India Lawyers Forum for Justice and Peace.
Follow-up consultations were held on 6 February and
25 March to evolve newer strategies and action plans
in the current situation where strife,
discrimination, injustice and human rights violations
take newer and uglier forms.
The NCJPD will soon publish a directory with the
profiles of the 700 lawyers in the list. These
lawyers will be devoting themselves to the cause of
Justice and Peace by being part of the diocesan legal
cells and provide free legal aid. They will also
assist in settling disputes outside the court through
arbitration and litigation, aiming for litigation
free parishes. There will also be Lawyers team at the
State, regional and national levels.
Plan of action include: requesting for a list of
human rights violations and conflicts of each region,
training people on human rights education, justice
and Church teachings, and networking with peace
committees of the dioceses. The regional legal cell
will cater to the training of the laity and religious
in legal aid and human rights education in the local
language.
PEACE CLUBS IN SCHOOLS
To respond to the need to counter violent culture,
from media and audio visuals, in the society that sow
seeds of violence and hatred in the hearts and minds
of children, the CJPD has taken up the responsibility
of giving a culture of peace to the children in
schools through Peace Clubs. The heads of many
educational institutions in Delhi have welcomed the
idea and will be sending teachers to be formed as
peace animators while the volunteering children will
be peace messengers. For this matter, the JPDC has
planned for peace manuals, peace magazines and peace
conventions.
Source: National Commission for Justice, Peace and
Development
Workers' Day Commemorated
The Women Networking group supported by Documentation
Research and Training Centre (DRTC), organised a
meeting to commemorate Workers' Day on 1 May 2004.
Fourteen organisations and many interested
individuals paticipated.
The programme started with the Workers' International
song saluting the workers of the world to raise their
voice against oppression and exploitation. After the
initial introductions and briefing about the
significance of the day, Mr Ramesh Kadam of "Aakaar
Mumbai" affirmed that only an organised struggle
will bring change.
The meeting focused on honouring six women workers
from the unorganised sector. They shared briefly
their life struggles in the various occupations,
expressing their struggles against the system, police
harassment and personal difficulties as women. These
struggles were overcome by becoming organized,
joining a union, hard work in order to raise their
children and even working as volunteers to help other
women in the community.
There was also a book release of a study conducted by
Ms Damayanti Battacharya on women workers titled
"Invisible Hands." Several groups also gave
fitting messages in songs appropriate to the day. The
meeting was concluded with songs of struggle.
Source:
News from Justice and Peace Commission
(Full text available at: http://www.jpc-drtcmumbai.org/news.htm )
Japan
International
Anti-War Action Day
An estimated 130,000 people all over Japan
took to the streets on the International Anti-war
Action Day (20 March) to demonstrate their renewed
anti-war resolve. It was the first anniversary of the
U.S. invasion of Iraq. Peace action was held in 120
places across the country by citizens, peace group
coalitions, NGOs, labor unions, and others.
In Tokyo, 30,000 people gathered at Hibiya Park,
including the coalition of broad citizens' groups,
land, maritime trade unions and communist party-supportive
trade union federations. They were vibrant with
speeches and songs, in demanding that the foreign
occupation of Iraq be terminated, that the occupation
forces be withdrawn, and that the Japanese Self-Defense
Force troops already dispatched there be immediately
withdrawn, and additional forces not be sent. Another
strong concern of the demonstrators was the
aggressive attempt by the conservative political
groups to delete the war-renouncing and non-armament
clause of the Constitution (Article 9). They marched
through Tokyo's main streets chanting and dancing
with banners and slogan placards.
The other parts of Japan filled with peaceful anti-war
activities included Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe Wakayama,
Shinga, Hiroshima, Okayama, Hokkaido (from where the
great bulk of the Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers
sent to Iraq, come from), and Nagoya.
Source:
Asia Peace Alliance (APA) Japan
Email: ppsg@jca.apc.org
URL: http://www.jca.apc.org/ppsg/
Statement on the Humanitarian Activits
Captured in Iraq
The Justice and Peace Commission of Japan supported a
statement issued by the Asia Peace Alliance (APA) on
the presence of Japan's Self Defense Forces (SDF) and
the recent abduction of Japanese peace activists. It
is believed that the activists were abducted as an
expression of resistance against the military
presence of SDF and released on 15 April due to the
Japanese people's protest.
In the statement, APA claimed that the three Japanese
peace and humanitarian activists captured in Iraq by
an Iraqi resistance group, were released despite all
the actions taken by the Japanese government which
worked only to jeopardize their lives. It is believed
that they were released because of the international
solidarity of the people protesting and resisting the
renewed war against the Iraqi people. As such, APA is
grateful to friends who have sent letters to the
Japanese government urging it to withdraw the
Japanese troops from Iraq.
The statement also expressed the following sentiments:
"We wish to express our chagrin, and to send our
apologies to the Iraqi people, for the fact that we
have not been able to prevent this aggression. We are
mobilizing to step up our struggle… by
militarily eliminating the legitimate resistance of
the Iraqi people, and to force the Japanese
government to delink from the U.S. imperial coalition."
As a conclusion, the Alliance expressed the wish to
"further strengthen anti-war solidarity networks
in Asia and beyond, and further to crumble the
already crumbling ambitions of the empire and to let
another world emerge."
A full version of the statement is available upon
request.
Source:
Asia Peace Alliance (APA) Japan
Pakistan
Consultation
for the Rights of Sanitary Workers
The Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) of
Multan organized a consultation on "Local Bodies
System and Rights of the Sanitary Workers" on 16
April 2004. The participants urged the government to
take serious measures towards solving the problems
faced by the sanitary workers.
According to the participants of the consultation,
sanitary workers have become accountable to more
authorities than before, adding to their burden: they
have been given union nazims (chairmen) who have
further placed them under the charge of the local
councilors who overload them with pressure. Further,
they were treated by their local councilors as
personal servants. The workers are reportedly not
paid their salaries until the councilors, under whom
they work, and the nazim of the union council sign
the papers for their pay.
At the conclusion, the consultation demanded that the
councilors should find solutions to the problems of
the sanitary workers rather then create more problems
for them. It specifically demanded the labor
councilors to give special focus to the problems of
the workers, as they are their prime responsibility.
Another demand is that the workers should be
regularized on a permanent basis.
Observing that sanitary workers are undergoing a
difficult situation in the country, being a more
vulnerable section of society, Aftab Mughal,
executive secretary of the JPC said that their issues
should be given special treatment. It is the
responsibility of the Labor Ministry to consider
their problems and adopt necessary measures to bring
favorable changes for these workers.
Source:
Justice and Peace Commission
Major Superiors Leadership Conference of Pakistan
NCJP Demands for Repeal of "Biased"
Laws
A national consultation: "A Vision for a Better
Pakistan" was organized by the National
Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) on 10 May to
demand for the repeal of discriminatory laws,
protection of minority and women's rights and an end
to religious biases in the curriculum, in order to
improve the human rights situation in the country.
The consultation was arranged on the occasion of the
sixth anniversary of Bishop John Joseph's martyrdom
in 1998 against the unjust verdict created by the
Blasphemy Laws.
The following demands and recommendations were made:
- On
discriminatory laws: laws that proclaim Islam
as a state religion (Constitution Art. 2
& 2A) and the Blasphemy Laws (Pakistan
Penal Code 295-B&C, 298A, B&C) should
be repealed, and uniform employment policy
for non-Muslims on all posts should be
promoted according to the Constitution (Art.
36);
- On protection
of minorities: steps should be taken to
protect minorities and to bring the culprits
involved in violence against minorities to
justice immediately;
- On religious
biases in the curriculum of schools: academic
syllabus should be free from all kinds of
discrimination (religious, gender or ethnic),
and religious studies should be an optional
subject;
- On political
participation and democratic development: the
Election Commission should ensure a joint
electorate at all levels; and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights should
be ratified.
- On women's
rights: the government should accede to the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) without
reservations.
These are also the
issues where NCJP is continuously struggling for
justice.
Source:
National Commission for Justice and Peace
Taiwan
Election
from the Perspective of the Gospel
At a time when many countries are having
presidential elections, Christians are called to
become even more aware of the demands of responsible
citizenship and radical discipleship. As elections
draw near, it is necessary to actively engage our
citizenship and discipleship as part of our
discernment for choice of candidate
The Justice and Peace group of the Regional
Associations of Major Religious Superiors of Men and
of Women in Taiwan (AMRSMW) held a seminar to discern
on Taiwan's presidential elections and reflect on it
from the standpoint of the gospel.
On 21 February the AMRSMW, with a small gathering of
interested people, reflected on 3 major areas of
Jesus' ministry as points for discernment: His "open
table," Jesus and the children, and the healing
of the Gerasene demoniac.
At Jesus' "open table" ALL are welcome;
there is no pride of place and all are equally
accepted and loved. Theological reflection asks:
"does Taiwan have an "open table?" Are
there memories - both personal and national - that
need to be faced and healed so that there can be new
growth from the soil? Which candidate can best foster
this healing, this newness, which is a sign of the
Reign of God among us?"
In Jesus' love for the children (Mk 10: 13-16), the
children represent the "nobodies" of our
society - the voiceless, the powerless, the
marginalized - the ones to whom the Reign of God is
specifically addressed. Theological reflection asks:
"who are the "nobodies" in Taiwan
society today? Those from Taiwan's various ethnic
groups, foreign workers, foreign brides, etc.? Which
candidate is most aware of these "nobodies"
and their needs; which candidate can best address
these issues and concerns?"
In Jesus' healing of the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5: 1-20),
Jesus sent the demons into the swine (meant to be
food of the Roman oppressors) which then rush to the
sea and drowned themselves. The people are terrified
and beg Jesus to leave their territory. Here, Jesus
does not shy away from controversy and boldly
confronts demons. Theological reflection dares to ask:
"is there something or someone "possessing"
our minds, hearts, and thoughts - do we have a demon
that needs to be driven out so that the needs of the
nation and the leaders needed at this time of history
are seen more clearly?"
As the elections drew closer the participants were
asked to listen to how St. Paul addressed his
situation and reflected on it in the light of Jesus
Christ (1 Corinthians 1: 20-31). They were encouraged
to continue to talk, discern and pray about the
election and not be afraid to face the issues and let
the light of Jesus Christ and the Reign of God shine
in and among them.
Source: One
Spirit, March 2004