What’s
Going On in Asia?
Hong
Kong
HKJP's
Current Activities
The Justice and Peace Commission of HK
Catholic Diocese (HKJP) held a prayer gathering with
Bishop Joseph Zen of Hong Kong, on 4 June, before
joining the candlelight vigil with other local
organizations to commemorate the 16th Anniversary of
the June Forth Massacre. The theme of the prayer
gathering called for insisting the truth and not to
be afraid to declare it aloud. After 16 years, the
Chinese government has still not yet admitted any
mishandling of the military crackdown on the pro-democracy
movement in 1989, violently suppressing and killing
hundreds of unarmed students and civilians at
Tiananmen Square.
Another prayer gathering will be held on 1 July 2005,
before the July 1st mass demonstration in the streets
of Hong Kong. This year the main message is "Fight
for Universal Suffrage, oppose collusion with
business sectors". The July 1st rallies started
in 2003 against the proposal of National Security
Legislation (or popularly known as the implementation
of "Article 23" of the HK Basic Law).
On HKJP's programs that call for solidarity, the
campaign on safety in Chinese coal mines will
continue, as well as the Tiananmen Mothers' campaign.
On local issues, HKJP is currently joining local
organizations to discuss with the government on the
issue of the cut in social security for single
parents, without provision of corresponding
facilities and mechanisms to support them.
Justice
& Peace Commission of HK Catholic Diocese
Involvement in WTO
In preparation for the 6th Ministerial Meeting of the
World Trade Organization (WTO) to be held in Hong
Kong on 13-18 December, the HKJP is also involved
with 3 initiatives to prepare the people in
understanding issues relating to WTO: 1) the local
Hong Kong People's Alliance targetting the general
local HK people, 2) the Christian alliance group
concerned with globalization which mainly targets
Christians; and 3) a conference organized by a group
of Church-based/ecumenical organizations Hong Kong,
targetting the participation of like-minded groups in
the Asian regional level.
With the Christian alliance, there is a series of
activities planned like the seminar on "free
trade vs fair trade" held on 13 April; seminar
on consumers' freedom and monopolization in June;
followed by film showing on globalizaton in July, and
workshop on Disneyland in August which will focus on
environment, culture of consumption and labour issues.
The group of Church-based or ecumenically-initiated
organizations will organize a conference on "Globalizing
Economic Justice and Social Sustainability" on 9-10
December and join the HKPA's rally on 11 December.
The focus will be on reflection of the Church's role
and alternative response to the issues of WTO. Among
the JPW network, HKJP and ACPP have joined the group
to assist in the preparation of the conference which
is hoped to give a Christian voice on the issues
related to WTO and to identify alternative actions.
Justice & Peace Commmission of HK Catholic
Diocese
ACPP sources
India
Progress in
NCJPD's Programs
During the meeting with the Standing
Committee of Bishops (top decision making body of the
Church in India) on 29 April 2005, the Catholic
Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) Commission for
Justice and Peace (NCJPD) presented its various
activities and the recent progress.
In the national level initiatives, the Peace Clubs in
schools, aimed at fostering culture of peace in the
society starting with children and teachers, have
attracted non-Christian schools to join and a team of
experts is preparing guidelines on incorporating
Peace Education in Standards VI to VIII. On the All
India Lawyers Forum, initiated to motivate Chritian
lawyers to work for justice and peace, the Supreme
Court lawyers have also collaborated with NCJPD and
their service is expected to be channelled to the
poor. The NCJPD has also made partnership with
Franciscans International, an NGO with ECOSOC
Consultative status, as another channel to address
local issues in the international level. The
Commission also collaborated with the JP Commission
of Netherlands on a consultation regarding the
campaign for the International Criminal Court (ICC).
On initiatives with organizations outside India,
NCJPD is organizing a 3-day symposium on the Social
Doctrine of the Church in December, to discuss about
how the Compendium can be adapted to the local
situation. NCJPD has also been collaborating with the
Pakistan counterpart since January 2004 to organize
children-based peace initaitves, peace pilgrimages,
medical helps, in an attempt to create cross border
peace. Hotline India-Delhi, a joint project with the
ACPP is engaged with social advocacy work and
mobilizing international solidarity for local issues,
especially through Urgent Appeals.
The Commission has also identified 2 specific areas
to focus on: addressing the problems of human
trafficking and child labour in the Northern region;
and strenghtening the secular network in the face of
anti-Christian Campaign.
Japan
Japanese Cardinal's Message on Local History
Issues
During the month of April and May, several voices
were raised in various cities, mainly in China and
Korea, protesting against the Japanese government's
recent attitude upon the history issue. The 60th
anniversary of the end of Second World War (World War
II) has been celebrated in many ways throughout
Europe. Cardinal Shirayanagi, Archbishop Emeritus of
Tokyo, who could not attend the Ecumenical ceremony
and symposium on this issue in Netherlands, sent Fr.
Francis Fukamizu to deliver his message.
The following are the main points of the message
which was well publicized by several Dutch newspapers
in the Netherlands:
1. The Cardinal valued the small but personally
committed ordinary Japanese people's efforts in
various places in Asia, Oceania and Europe, to face
the facts of history and make true friendship with
the victims of the war crimes. Since 1997, the
Cardinal himself has personally become good friends
with the Dutch victims of the Japanese concentration
camps in Indonesia.
2. The Cardinal, on the other hand, criticized
strongly the attitude of the Japanese government, in
particular, the Prime Minister Koizumi, who, in an
apparent attempt to mend fences, expressed "deep
remorse" and a "heartfelt apology" to
Asian nations that suffered during Japan's
colonization and wartime aggression. At his speech
made at the Asia-Africa Conference which marks the 50th
anniversary of the Bandung Meeting, he claimed that
Japan has resolutely maintained consistently since
the end of World War II, to never turn into a
military power, but an economic power, and its
principle of resolving all matters by peaceful means
without recourse to use of force (Article 9 of the
Japanese Constitution). However, the Cardinal pointed
out that this economic power was actually the changed
form of invasion, continued in various forms to the
neighbouring nations.
3. The Cardinal appealed once again to return to the
spirit of the declaration "Resolution for Peace"
of the Japan Catholic Bishops Conference (JCBC) and
Justice and Peace in the year 1995, to commemorate
the 50th anniversary of World War II.
4. Having admitted the Catholic Church's War
Responsibility under the Emperor System and
Nationalism, the declaration "Resolution for
Peace" pointed out the anti-Gospel elements
behind Japan's economic growth. Japan continues to
invade Asia-Pacific in another form through:
bulldozers and chain saws destroying the forests,
instead of weapons and tanks; merchant ships instead
of war ships; make people of Asia Pacific region work
for low wages and objects of sexual exploitation,
instead of soldiers in battlefields and comfort women.
In such ways they have allowed economic invasion to
replace the war agression, and the overseas
deployment of the Self-Defense Forces in the name of
international peace cooperation.
While Cardinal Shirayanagi's messages were publicized
in the Netherlands, JCBC is preparing a peace message
focusing on the past ten years' development in the
world.
The main issue for Japan is currently the Article 9
of the Constitution. The government and Liberal
Democratic Party have been concentrating all their
efforts in order to change Article 9 which is "the
principle of resolving all matters by peaceful means
without recourse to use of force". Against this
tremendous political and social pressure, the
Catholic Church has been struggling to defend and
maintain this principle in solidarity with all the
democratic forces in Japan society.
Japan
Catholic Council for Justice & Peace (JCCJP)
Pakistan
NCJP Pakistan's recent Programs
The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP)
Pakistan has been busy with the following activities
during March - May 2005:
In March, a training workshop on peace building and a
seminar on "Pakistan-India relations: hurdles
and solutions" were organized in Lahore; there
were celebrations on the International Women's Day (8
March) in Faisalabad and Hyderabad.
Press statements were also organized in April for
ending arms race in South Asia, and for the 7th death
anniversary of Bishop John Joseph in May.
During the 3-month period, more than 900 participants
attended the 12 seminars for Democratic Education
organized by NCJP in 17 districts of Punjab.
National
Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) Pakistan
Seventh
Death Anniversary of Bishop John Joseph
 |
Below is
an article published in Dailytimes on 2005 on
the death anniversary of Bishop John 6 May
Joseph.
Seventh anniversary of Bishop Joseph's
suicideSacrifice a source of inspiration,
says NCJP
:By Waqar Gillani
|
LAHOREall
human rights activists," said Peter Jacob,
National : "His death is a source of inspiration
for Commission for Justice and Peace secretary, on
the eve of the death anniversary of (NCJP) executive
Bishop John Joseph who shot himself in the head in
front of the Sahiwal local sessions court on May 6,
1998, to protest the death sentence given to an
alleged Christian blasphemer.
Dr Joseph was the Faisalabad bishop, chairperson of
the NCJP, and a noted human rights activist commonly
known as the 'Awami Bishop'.
The sessions court sentenced Ayub Masih to death on
April 27, 1998. Later, he appealed to superior courts
and though the Lahore High Court rejected his appeal,
the Supreme Court acquitted him in August 2002.
Before committing suicide, Dr Joseph had arranged
special prayers in Sahiwal church, kept a fast and
delivered a sermonaddress at a symposium in Rome on
May 5, 1998, . He was supposed to deliver an but he
sent a message to the organisers saying he would not
be able to attend it. On May 5, 1998, he wrote a
letter titled 'The final step against official paper
of the Faisalabad Catholic Diocese, to 295 C', an
local newspapers, mentioning the efforts of civil
society, media, parliamentarians, and foreign
embassies to abolish such discriminatory laws.
The letter concluded with the following wordsC is the
greatest block in the good and harmonious : "295
ties between Muslims and the religious minorities of
Pakistan. In order to achieve national harmony, let
us give a mighty push to this immense boulder before
it crushes us all. Once this obstacle is overcome,
each Pakistani will be able to live and work in peace
for the prosperity of our beloved Pakistan. Let us
pray continuously, for it, publicly and in private,
throughout the country. Amen."
According to Fr Arnold Heredia, a former executive
secretary of the Idara-e-Amn-o-Insaf (Justice and
Peace Commissioncases, the desecration of minority
worship places, ), the growing number of rape
bulldozing of graveyards and settlements and trumped
up blasphemy charges against villagers were issues
that Dr Joseph was concerned about.
He said that the murder of Manzoor Masih, accused of
making blasphemous remarks against the Prophet (on
April 4, 1994, impacted the late bishop. After the
Peace be upon him) by an extremist Muslim group
incident, he resolved to offer a great sacrifice to
repeal the controversial blasphemy laws.
Peter Jacob paid tribute to Dr Joseph's unforgettable
and unprecedented sacrifice against discriminatory
lawssacrifice had forced people to take the blasphemy
issue and minority . He said that the late bishop's
rights more seriously.
Jacob said that the Christian community would
continue their struggle in light of the bishop's
sacrifice. He said that human rights activists would
remember the sacrifice forever.
Born in a village named Khush Pur Tehsil Suumandari,
Faisalabad district, on November 15, (51 GB) in 1932ordained
as priest in 1960 and nominated bishop in 1980. He
became a , the late Dr Joseph was full bishop in
appointed chairperson of the NCJP and the Commission
for Inter-religious 1984. He was Dialogue by the
Catholic bishops of Pakistan. He was a strong
believer of inter-religious harmony.
National
Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) Pakistan
Column for
Religion in the Passport
The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP)
issued a statement on 23 March 2005, to bring
attention to the injustice and potential
discrimination on the issue of putting a column for
religion in Pakistani passports.
According to the statement, the NCJP strongly
condemned the Cabinet Committee's decision regarding
inclusion of a column for religion in the passport.
Archbishop Lawrence J. Saldanha, Chairperson, and
Peter Jacob, Executive Secretary, have termed this
move a symbolic turn around from the claims of
moderation and enlightened fundamentalism.
The statement said, "Contrary to the
expectations of taking concrete steps towards
addressing the issues concerning well being of the
masses of Pakistan, the Cabinet once again chose to
play around the non-issues. The decision rather
reflects that the government is not acting on
principles but rather yielding to pressure from the
extremist forces. It is sad to note that the
religious minorities in the country were neither
consulted nor their concerns on the issues were taken
into account."
The statement further said that NCJP urges all the
enlightened and moderate Pakistanis including
political parties to resist this move, as the
consequences of accepting extremists' agenda has
already damaged the interest of the people of
Pakistan. Where governments fail to address the
rights issues, the civil society has a moral
responsibility to assert the rights of the people at
all forums.
National
Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) Pakistan
Marathon
Race for Civil Liberties
In March 2005, the provincial government of
Punjab organized a mixed (male and female) Marathon
race in Lahore and Gujranwala city, where many
participated. However, the Islamic fundamentalists
reportedly attacked the participants in Gujranwala to
stop the event, arguing that it was un-Islamic.
In Lahore, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
for (HRCP) and the Joint Action Committee (JAC)
people's rights, organized a Marathon race on 14 May
2005, as a symbol of resisting conservative agenda
and to focus on the violation of women's rights in
Pakistan. As people gathered, the police started
dispersing them. The police reportedly tortured the
women and arrested about 25 human rights activists
including, Ms. Hina Jilani, UN Special Rapporteur of
the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders, Ms.
Asma Jahangir, HRCP Chairperson and UN Special
Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion and Belief, and
one staff member of NCJP. The police detained them
for more than three hours.
In the response to the police's action, the HRCP and
JAC rein -organized the Marathon on 21 May 2005
Lahore. This time, it was organized to highlight the
lack of Civil Liberties; international media was also
present.
NCJP staff played an active role in organizing the
Marathon and helping in the strategy committee.
National
Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) Pakistan
Philippines
JPICC-AMRSP 25th Anniversary Celebrations
The Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation
Commission of the Association of Major Religious
Superiors in the Philippines (JPICC-AMRSP) has held
its 25th Anniversary One Week Celebration on 12-18
June 2005. The theme is: "Isabuhay ang Tawag ng
Hubileyo: Baliktanaw sa Kasaysayan, Hamon sa
Kasalukuyang Panahon!" or "Live the Jubilee
Call: Looking Back at History, Facing the Signs of
the Times!" Activities included Eucharistic
celebration, Situationer, Testimony, and Biblico-Theologial
Reflections (BTR) on the Jubilee 5 R's, and gathering
of JPIC workers.
The Jubilee 5 R's refer to:
- Return the
Land,
- Recall the
Debt,
- Reclaim the
Feminist Principle,
- Release the
Slaves, and
- Rest the Earth.
Source: JPICC-AMRSP
Singapore
Calling for Moratorium on Death Penalty
Think Centre has been actively invoved, together with
the family members and lawyers, in the petition
against the death sentence of Mr. Shanmugam Murugesu
who was charged under the mandatory death sentence
for drug offences. Although the petitions and
pressures, including those from international
community, failed to make the President change his
mind on this case, the Think Centre continues to call
for moratorium on death penalty, with an online
petition addressed to the government of Singapore.
The petition can be found at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/TCAction/petition.html
Mr. Murugesu was hanged in the early morning of 13
May 2005. There are reportedly 8 more people on death
row in Singapore. More information on the case and
the actions of Think Centre, can be found at: http://www.thinkcentre.org
