Justice & Peace Workers' Bulletin

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Jan-May 2010, No. 1

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A Silent Moment

What’s Going On in Asia?
INDIA	JPC-Mumbai’s Initiatives for Community-Building
JAPAN	Annual National Meeting of the JCCJP
PAKISTAN	New NCJP Regional Office in Lahore
PHILIPPINES	Church’s Concerns and Response on the Upcoming Election
SRI LANKA	Reviving Christian Doctrine of Liberation
	The International Women's Day 2010
	The 25^th Anniversary of Fr. Mary Bastian’s Martyrdom
THAILAND	Love Each Other; Stop being Divided by Politics

Issues of Concern/Events

Japanese Bishops Call for Total Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
Vedanta’s Mining Project in Orissa
Political Reform in Hong Kong
MOGC’s Reflection on Ecological Crisis

Justice and Peace Resources

AI’s Report on Migrant Workers in Malaysia
Right to Food Education Kits
Gwangju Asian Human Rights Folk School 2010
English Page of JCCJP’s Website

JPW Exchange Corner

Challenges to Human Rights Work
Update on JPW Meeting 2010 in Cambodia
ACPP’s JPIC Gathering

A Silent Moment

Prayers of Solidarity

Outcast God
Born into poverty in an occupied land,
Living alongside the marginalised and the oppressed.

Dying between criminals to the jeers of the crowd,

Open our eyes,
that we who seek to follow you may recognise your face in the faces of those who are reviled.

Open our ears,
that we who seek to hear your word, may recognise your love in the stories which are often drowned out.

Open our hearts,
that we who seek your way of life may be bold in witnessing to your longing for justice and peace.

Amen

Source: Courtesy of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Justice and Peace Centre

What’s Going on in Asia

India

JPC-Mumbai’s Initiatives for Community-Building

The Monitoring and Evaluation Procedure for CCOs

The Justice and Peace Commission–Mumbai (JPC-Mumbai) has been entrusted with monitoring and evaluation procedure (M&E) for the Centres for Community Organizations (CCOs) which is initiated by about 80 centres from the parishes in Mumbai diocese. With completion of the survey a Position Paper will be presented at the next priests’ Synod in 2011. So far a questionnaire has been finalized and the field study in Thane Deanery has commenced.

Force Field Analysis Workshop

JPC-Mumbai conducted 2-day workshops for local groups at Jagruti Kendra Jeri Meri and heads of non-government organizations in Bhayander deanery, using the Force Field Analysis (FFA). The local groups and participants commented that the exercises were very beneficial.

Deepening Understanding on CST

Not realizing the Catholic Social Teaching (CST) as the essential part of Catholic faith, many Catholics call it Church’s "best kept secrets".

To deepen Catholics’ understanding on the CST, JPC-Mumbai introduced Pope Benedict XVI's latest encyclical, “Caritas in Veritate”, by highlighting issues and developing a nine-day novena structure for the parish feasts. The churches in the Archdiocese of Mumbai were encouraged to make use of this novena structure.

Source: Justice and Peace Commission - Mumbai

Japan

Annual National Meeting of the JCCJP

The Annual National Meeting of the Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace (JCCJP) was held on 5-7 February 2010 at the secretariat building of the Bishops’ Conference in Shiomi, Tokyo. Along with the chair of the JCCJP, Bp. Goro Matsuura, and general director, Fr. Kazuyoshi Ohkura, 21 representatives from 12 dioceses and 23 members of 20 religious institutes were gathered to review their work in the past year, to identify the key social issues in the current situation and to plan the future actions of the JCCJP.

The 3-day meeting started with a theological reflection on “Justice” and a review of the Catholic Social Teachings from “Rerum Novarum” in 1891 to “Caritas in Veritate” in 2009.

On the second day of the meeting, representatives reported the work in their dioceses, mainly related to the preservation of Article 9, gender equality, nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, repression of Ainu aboriginals, etc. During the National Meeting, the Justice and Peace National Convention, another major meeting for justice and peace work organized by the JCCJP, was also discussed. The previous one held in 2009 in Saitama was evaluated and the one to be held in September 2010 in Sapporo was confirmed.

The JCCJP in 2010 will focus on the abolition of nuclear weapons and a critical review of nuclear power plants, as both are major threats to a just and peaceful world wherein creation should be protected.

Source: CICM, Japan, Japan Catholic Council for Jutice and Peace (JCCJP)

Pakistan

New NCJP Regional Office in Lahore

The Episcopal National Commission of Justice and Peace-Pakistan (NCJP-Pakistan) has started a new regional office in Karachi Diocese, on 18 March 2010. Fr. Saleh Diego oversees the work as Diocesan Director, with support of 2 programme staff.

Source: NCJP National Office-Lahore 

Philippines

Concerns and Church Preparation on the Upcoming Election

Months before the national and local elections on 10 May 2010, there have been much anxiety and concerns, from the on-going electoral violence (refer to ‘Justice for the Victims of Maguindanao Massacre’, JPW Bulletin 2009 No.4) to the lack of transparency and practical guidelines of the newly launched automated election system. Civil society was unable to provide voters education as the machines were not yet ready for the demonstration at schools and villages, 3 months before the election.

With 9 candidates running for President, it was worrying that the country would be in chaos if none of them get majority vote to declare a winner. More violence surrounding the election was an imminent concern. Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) has already started on 10 April 2010 for registered Filipino voters based overseas – a recent constitutionally guaranteed right for Filipino migrants to vote overseas.

Concerns on the Election process

In early April, the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) wrote an Easter message [http://www.tfdp.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=156:amrsp-calls-for-friday-prayer-and-fasting-vigilance-and-commitment-amidst-growing-threat-of-failure-of-election-&catid=12:general-campaigns&Itemid=19] concerning the upcoming elections. They encouraged communities to undertake fasting and prayer for the upcoming election, especially since recent “suspicious” issues, such as President Arroyo naming the Supreme Court Chief Justice before her term ends, which is against the constitution, and her running for congress, apparently pointing that the President would cling to power at all cost. AMRSP were also appalled by the attitude of the Commission of Election (COMELEC) officials about the glitches in the Automated Election System. In the light of these events, they feard the possibility of: failed elections due to various technical causes; failure of proclamation of national candidates; massive undetectable electronic cheating, and martial law.

A statement by De La Salle Brothers [http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/announcements/Restore-faith-COMELEC.pdf], published on 7 April 2010, also observed that the right to suffrage was in grave danger. This echoed the concerns, fears and legitimate criticisms raised by various local and regional groups, such as the AMRSP, Joint Congressional Oversight Committee, Automated Election System Watch 2010 and the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), and other credible bodies, that the COMELEC has failed to put in place the needed safeguards to ensure credibility of the upcoming political exercise.

Some concerns about the credibility of the election process include: the removal of vital security safeguards of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines; the apparent lack of transparency regarding the inventory of the PCOS machines; the high prossibility of disenfranchisement of voters due to the clustering of precincts, inadequacy of voters’ eduation activities, and failure of the COMELEC to truly conduct an end-to-end simulation of the automated election process; and the absence of officially publicized mechanism for settling and addressing protests related to the election. The La Salle Brothers therefore suggested specific practical actions for the COMELEC to fulfill its commitment on clean elections by addressing the concerns.

Effort of Local Civil Society

As a light of hope, much effort was undertaken by the local civil society. Some Church effort included formation of circles of discernment by different Church groups to call on raising the Church’s prophetic voice near the election time, series of forum organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Radio Veritas, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) with the candidates, “Jericho March” (an inter-faith rally to call for “PROPHETIC VOICE” and “COMMUNAL ACTION”). The AMRSP also had an assembly for scenario-building regarding elections, in case of failure of elections and massive cheating, etc.

Sources: AMRSP, Philippine Daily Inquirer, local sources

Sri Lanka

Reviving Christian Doctrine of Liberation

In the Negombo Town hall (Negombo, seashore area in north of Colombo), a programme was organized, on 16 January 2010, to appreciate and honour the priests, religious and laity who continue to struggle and even give their lives in solidarity with the oppressed, contributing themselves to the solid ground of the Christian doctrine of liberation.

The programme started with a ceremony lighting lamps to pay tribute to those who gave their lives. Documentary film and a book “They Revived Christian Doctrine of Liberation!” was presented in the programme.

Source: local source

The International Women's Day 2010

The International Women's Day was celebrated by the Human Rights Office-Kandy (HRO) in collaboration with the women’s organizations in Ampitiya Parish on 7 March 2010, with the theme of “Right of Women to Freely Move". Mrs. Shamalie Ranaraja, attorney-at-law, explained the legal background that there are enough legal provisions for women to seek justice if they are harassed in public transportation. Fr. Nandana Manatunga, director of HRO, explained that in most cases women do not speak out and that there is a traditional culture of silent endurance which has to be broken.

In order to promote the "Right of Women to Freely Move", a campaign of posting stickers in buses was launched the next day and there was a very positive response from the public.

Source: Human Rights Office-Kandy

The 25^th Anniversary of Fr. Mary Bastian’s Martyrdom

The 25^th anniversary of Fr. Mary Bastian’s Martyrdom was celebrated on 6 January 2010 in Vankalai in Mannar, north of Sri Lanka. Fr. Mary Bastian, the parish priest of Vankalai Church, was believed to be killed in the mission house 25 years ago and his body has not been found until now. Recalling the night of his disappearance, Ms. Livintha, shared that her family had been told by Fr. Bastian to hide inside the church before the soldiers arrived, she heard gun shots and screams, then saw soldiers carrying Fr. Bastian’s body away.

In the anniversary, an open-air Mass was celebrated, with participation of more than 100 priests and sisters, the whole village of Vankalai and Fr. Mary Bastian’s family who travelled from United States and United Kingdom. There was also a memorial ceremony in which the statue of Fr. Mary Bastian was garlanded and songs and poems in memory of “Basti” were sung.

Afterwards, the book on Fr. Mary Bastian was released. In one of his famous letters to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka in 1982, Fr. Mary Bastian questioned what the Church had been doing “when my people are suffering, [being] oppressed and living on concessions” and he had honestly expressed his frustration, saying “[I am] ashamed to be a Catholic priest” and “we priests just can’t remain saying Masses for the dead.”

Fr. Mary Bastian is amongst the priestly martyrs from the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, including Fr. Jim Brown, Fr. Pakiaranjith, Fr. Karunaratnam, Fr. Francis Joseph, Fr. Sarathjeevan, Fr. Bastian, Fr. Chandra Fernando, Fr. Herbiert, Fr. Selvarajah, Fr. Wenceslaus, Fr. Michael Rodrigo and Fr. Srilal Amaratunga. Even though they have been killed or simply gone missing, they will always live in the hearts of those they sought to protect. Their spirit of serving selflessly continues to inspire people in Sri Lanka and friends overseas.

Source: local source

Thailand

Love Each Other; Don’t be Divided by Politics

The “Red Shirts” demonstration, supported by the former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has occupied the commercial district in Bangkok since mid of March, demanding the Democratic Party’s government, led by Abhisit Vejjajiva, to dissolve the parliament and to hold a snap election.

During the political turbulence, Thai Bishops called on Catholics to remain neutral in this political conflict. “The Church shouldn’t take any side and judge who is correct or wrong as this will create more conflict,” said Fr. Pipat Rungruangkanokkul, the deputy secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand.

While Christians should not remain silent to injustices, Fr. Vichai Phoktavi reminded that “being involved in this current situation does not mean we have to take sides. It does mean we distinguish between what is right and wrong. Besides [that,] we need to provide correct information and understanding of the current situation.”

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported the human rights violence committed by both Red Shirts and the government. According to HRW, during the clash on 10 April, United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) leader, Nathawut, has publicly urged protestors to loot and destroy high-end shopping malls in the demonstration area. HRW welcomed Abhisit’s promise to wage a prompt, effective and impartial investigation in to the violence and abuses committed by all sides.

On the other hand, HRW expressed concern on the immunity provision in the Emergency Decree Public Administration, in which section 17 stated that anyone holding official power to carry out emergency powers is not subject to civil, criminal, or disciplinary liabilities if the act is performed in good faith, is non-discriminatory, and is not unreasonable in the circumstances. The Decree has breached Thailand's international obligations, including those under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to investigate all the human rights violations regardless of circumstances, and hold perpetrators to account. Thai government has been reported her interruption on media freedom and freedom of expression when Deputy Prime Minister Suthep used emergency powers to close 36 websites and censor radio and television stations, accusing them of spreading misinformation and inciting uprising

On 16 May 2010, Prime Minister Abhisit deployed military to evacuate the area where the “Red Shirts” camped, after several failed negotiation about the snap election and dispersment, which included military shooting and threats of cutting electricity and water supply and mobile phone signals in the protest area. Although most of the “Red Shrits” leaders surrendered on 19 May, some protesters remained defiant and continued to burn nearby buildings and banks. As of the time of writing, there were approximately 6 recorded to be killed and 58 wounded in the most recent clash.

Union of Catholic Asian News reported that Bp. Bunluen Mansap, the former Chairperson of Justice and Peace Commission, and the Venerable Paisan Visalo, a Buddhist Monk, made a fresh call to both government and the Red Shirts brigade to resume dialogue. Bp. Mansap added, “What endangers the country now is not civil war, but anger and hatred……All people have the potential to love each other, but they are divided by politics.”

Sources: Asia Times, Human Rights Watch, UCA News, AsiaNews, Sunday Examiner

Issues of Concern/Events

The following articles are excerpts from various sources and information channelled to ACPP-Hotline Asia, on topics of concern identified by the network at the recent JPW Meetings.

Japanese Bishops Call for Total Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

Archbishop Mitsuaki Takami of Nagasaki and Bishop Atsumi Misue of Hiroshima, issued a statement, “Take a Courageous Step towards the Total Abolition of Nuclear Weapons”, on 26 February 2010, to appeal to the President of Unites States (US), the Japanese government and leaders of other countries, to make utmost efforts to abolish nuclear weapons. Over one hundred thousand people’s lives have been deprived by nuclear war since the Second World War and survivors of atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki continue to suffer physically and spiritually until now.

The statement demands:

· the US president to limit the purpose (or the “Sole Purpose”) of retaining nuclear weapons to deterring others from using such weapons, “AS A FIRST STEP” towards total elimination of nuclear weapons;

· the Japanese government not to only rely on US nuclear arms reduction policy, but to demonstrate and implement what Japan itself can actually do towards total abolition of nuclear weapons; and

· to the other world leaders to make a choice, not to wage wars as they are in the position capable of making great contributions to peace.

All countries will be affected, if any country uses nuclear weapons; and all countries, even those which do not store nuclear weapons, are responsible, especially if they keep waging wars throughout their history. There is a need to reduce the 20,000 nuclear weapons in the world, and the bishops hope that world leaders will reach an agreement towards abolition of nuclear weapons at the Nuclear Security Summit in April and the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in May 2010.

The call of the bishops echoes the Manta and Montecristi Declaration made in Ecuador, which calls on the world governments to take concrete steps towards the abolition of nuclear weapons and the strengthening of international mechanisms for arms control, non-proliferation and the disarmament of ALL weapons. The Declaration also urges governments to adopt pacifist clauses in their countries’ constitutions, similar to those adopted by Ecuador and Japan, and encourages the adoption of a United Nations’ resolution which recognizes the role of peace constitutions in the promotion of global security and disarmament for development.

The Declaration was made at the International Peace Constitutions Conference for Nuclear and Foreign Military Base Abolition that took place on 5-6 November 2009. The Conference focused on the concrete functions and outcomes of peace constitutions, especially Article 416 of Ecuador’s Constitution and Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution.

Full statement of the Bishops can be found at the JCCJP web site:

<http://web.me.com/jccjp/justice_and_peace/English.html > or at:

<http://web.me.com/jccjp/justice_and_peace/English_files/100226engAbolNucWeapon.pdf>.

Sources: Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace, AsiaNews, Global Article 9 Campaign to Abolish War

Vedanta’s Mining Project in Orissa

The Dongria Kondh tribe, Adivasi (indigenous people) living in Niyamgiri Hills, Lanjigarh of Orissa, India, has been suffering from the bauxite mining and alumina refinery project, carried out by Sterlite Industries India Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, a UK-based company, and the state government-owned Orissa Mining Corporation.

Due to the pollutants from the project sites, the environment was contaminated and the tribe’s living standard was seriously affected, according to Amnesty International (AI)’s report, released on 4 February 2010. The accusation was enhanced by the report of India's Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), released on 12 March 2010, which warned that the disruption of the habitat and the way of life of this Primitive Tribal Group (PTG) cannot be remediated nor compensated, and may lead to the destruction of the Dongria Kondh as a PTG. The report also revealed that the state authorities never established any procedure to seek the informed consent from the Dongria Kondh for the bauxite mining project nor ensured their rights guaranteed as per India’s forest laws. The minister of MoEF, Jairam Ramesh, has submitted the case to Supreme Court in March 2010. If it succeeds, it will be the first case on environmental issues so far that the Supreme Court overruled the decision of its own body, the Centrally Empowered Committee, which approved the Vedanta’s project earlier.

Meanwhile, the impact of mining project on the tribe has raised international attention. On 5 February 2010, the Church of England sold off Vedanta’s shares, worth 3.75 million pounds, due to the company’s poor human rights record.

Denying the widespread criticism, Vedanta expressed disappointment on the decision of the Church of England, saying “all our projects are conducted in compliance with the law and international best practice” and alleged that AI’s report was based on outdated information.

Nyamgiri is a sacred mountain to the Dongria Kondh community. Their story has been documented into a short film, “The Real Avatar: Mine-Story of a Sacred Mountain”. Please visit at

<http://www.youtube.com/user/survivalintl?feature=pyv&ad=4590156105&kw=vedanta&gclid=CKO7p7_plKECFQ5segodSijLxg#p/u/0/R4tuTFZ3wXQ >

ACPP has issued UA040316(5) March 2004 in support of the people’s struggle against the mining companies.

Sources: Amnesty International, Times News Network and Agencies, Daily News and Analysis, Hindustan Times, Indo-Asian News Service

Political Reform in Hong Kong

The democratic development of Hong Kong has come to a critical moment when the proposal for the political reform was released in November 2009. A similar proposal had been vetoed by legislators of the pan-democrats in 2005. Lina Chan, executive secretary of Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese criticized the new proposal, which retained an unjust electoral system, as a rehash of the previous one.

The repeated proposals have shown the authorities’ lack of willingness to promote a genuine universal suffrage for chief executive and all seats of the Legislative Council. Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-Kiun, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, expressed that the proposal provided neither a road map for universal suffrage nor any direction.

The functional constituencies and the 800-member election committees for chief executive have long been criticized for being biased to big business groups. “Tycoon and big business have received many benefits [from the current political system], but there is a lack of a level playing field and the average person-in-the-street has no voice in the legislative body”, said Joseph Cheng, chairperson of Public and Social Administration of the City University.

“Hong Kong is well qualified for universal suffrage by 2012. The question is whether the government is demanding it from the Central Government,” Cheng continued.

To manifest people’s voice on the democratic development, the Civic Party and the League of Social Democrats initiated the “de facto” referendum by filing resignation of 5 law makers from their parties, one from each district, to initiate a by-election, so that all the Hong Kong people can vote to express their position on the plot of universal suffrage. As a tactic firstly used in Hong Kong to advocate for the universal suffrage, the plot of the “de facto” referendum has raised controversy and criticism.

The “de facto” referendum, eventually held on 16 May 2010, resulted in around 570,000 votes with about 90% for the resigned legislators, i.e. their cause for universal suffrage. However, Hong Kong people’s struggle for abolition of functional constituency is still going on, facing the unwillingness of Hong Kong and the Central government.

Sources: Sunday Examiner, South China Morning Post

MOGC’s Reflection on Ecological Crisis

In her reflection on ecological responsibility, Maryknoll Office of Global Concern (MOGC) emphasized ecological crisis as a moral challenge, which calls for sharing the goods of the earth and living in harmony with God’s creation. The worldview of Catholic tradition has been unveiled by many theologians and practitioners that God is the center of the whole creation in which we find God’s love through loving the nature and creating things through it.

With a new sense of worldview of global interdependence, a sustainable economic policy is needed to achieve an authentic development, and hence, a universal common good. In practice, individuals are encouraged to change their lifestyle to live with less material gain and consumption and to use what we own to serve the common good because private property carries a social mortgage.

At the national level, individual nations must measure their own self-interest against the greater common good and contribute equitably to global solutions. Moreover, action to mitigate global climate change must be built upon a foundation of social and economic justice that does not put the poor at greater risk or place unfair burden on poor nations.

To conclude, in line with the Catholic tradition of the principle of subsidiarity, the stronger and richer nation must have a sense of moral responsibility, so that a real international system based on the equality of all peoples can be established to address the ecological challenge.

Source: MOGC NewsNotes, March-April 2010,Vol. 35, No. 2

Justice and Peace Resources

AI’s Report on Migrant Workers in Malaysia

The Amnesty International (AI) released a report “Trapped: The Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Malaysia” on 24 March 2010, which documents widespread abuses against migrant workers from eight South Asian and Southeast Asian countries who were lured to Malaysia by promise of jobs but ended up being trafficked into forced labour or being exploited in other ways.

According to Michael Bochenek, director of policy at AI, although migrant workers are critical to Malaysia’s economy; they systematically receive less legal protection than other workers, and become easy prey for unscrupulous recruitment agents, employers and corrupt police.

The report includes stories of the hazardous and exploitative situation in which foreign migrants work, including lower than promised wages, unsafe working conditions, arbitrary arrests and extortion.

At the same time, while Malaysia has a comprehensive legal framework to protect forced labour in their country, the labour laws are not effectively enforced, taking months or years to resolve cases. Domestic workers who are not covered by most labour laws, cannot even recourse to the courts.

The report concludes that many workers are victims of human trafficking and while the Malaysian government has the responsibility to prevent such abuses, it instead facilitates trafficking through its lose regulation of recruitment agencies and through laws and policies that fail to protect workers. It calls on the Malaysian government to reform its labour laws and promptly investigate abuses in the workplace and by police, taking more effective use of its Anti-trafficking in Persons Act to persecute individuals who recruit, transport or receive workers through fraud or deception.

Organizations or individuals who are working on migrant workers may find this a good resource to see the government obligations and various recommendations which may also be useful reference for other countries’ conditions.

The report can be found at the AI’s web site at:

<http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA28/002/2010/en>

or a full report in PDF version at:

<http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA28/002/2010/en/114eba25-6af5-4975-9ea3-02c22f6bdc5a/asa280022010en.pdf>

or a Summary of the report at:

<http://www.jsmp.minihub.org/English/webpage/reso/Malaysia%20MW%20executive%20summary%20english.pdf>

Source: Amnesty International

English Page of JCCJP’s Website

The website of the Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace (JCCJP) has recently established the English page. It will be a useful resource to understand more about JP activities in Japan. From the Japanese website < http://web.mac.com/jccjp/justice_and_peace/home.html>, we can just click the “English” page button in the right column, then we can go to the English resources page.

The original JCCJP website English Page

Source: JCCJP

Right to Food (RTF) Caritas Australia

Food is a basic necessity for human life, but the rising food prices in 2007 and 2008 have dragged a further 100 million people into extreme poverty. Caritas in Australia has published a trainers’ kit as part of its campaign to educate people on their right to food. The trainers’ kit include trainers’ manual, resources, background information and reports about the topic, in addition to an interactive food quiz Power Point and activities suggested for primary and secondary students.

For more information, please visit < www.caritas.org.au > where you can download the kit.

Source: Caritas Australia, www.sswactivity.org.au

Gwangju Asian Human Rights Folk School 2010

To contribute to the development of democracy and human rights throughout Asia, the “May 18 Memorial Foundation” organized the Gwangju Asian Human Rights Folk School Programme for workers of human rights and peace-building organizations in their countries in Asia. The Folk School will introduce the Korean History and various movements struggling for democracy, including the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, through theoretical and practical activities, such as seminars, discussions, presentations, workshops and field trips to the sites of democracy movements in Korea and Asia.

Applicants with endorsement of their organizations will be prioritized. Active participants of the Folk School will have opportunity to be endorsed for scholarship at Sungkonghoe University’s Master of Arts in Inter-Asia Non-government organization (NGO) Studies.

The organizer will cover airfare to Korea, transportation within Korea, visa fee and accommodation expenses during the programme period, 9 to 27 August 2010.

Application deadline is 31 May 2010. For details, please visit <www.518.org/eng>.

Source: May 18 Memorial Foundation

JPW Exchange Corner

Challenges to Human Rights Work

At the seminar of the Don Bosco Network in Delhi, India, on 11 November 2009, Mr. Ravi Nair shared on challenges to human rights work, with the theme of “Global Efforts to Counteract Human Rights Violations in History”.

Although human rights is increasingly being accepted as an international standard, Mr. Ravi stated that individuals and groups working for human rights still face various challenges. The “government organized non-governmental organizations” (GONGOs) and different control mechanism, such as the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act in India, are being used to restrict human rights work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as the Church. However, this is not the most worrying challenge to the advancement of human rights.

Mr. Ravi observed that human rights work is becoming funder-oriented, rather than needs-oriented. In other words, in order to secure funding, donor-organized NGOs (DONGOs) exercised self-censorship and avoid addressing areas and issues which generally needed to be tackled that would also expose the problem of society, and hence tarnish the image of the government.

Although the mission and financial needs are not easy to balance, Mr. Ravi reminded the spirit of voluntarism demonstrated by “the first Christian human rights activist”, Daniel, who went into the difficult situation and confronted the authorities. Mr. Ravi suggested two books, “The Lords of Poverty” by Graham Hancock and “The Debt Boomerang” by Susan George, as resources to look into the “DONGOs” phenomenon.

Finally, there is a mindset undermining human rights work that, if one is countering terrorist or offensive force, then whatever he/ she does is unquestionable. Taking United States’ anti-terrorist operation as an example, people always focused on the human rights violations committed by the terrorists but neglect those violations committed by the US. To curb the Taliban’s movement, the US Army bombed the whole village at the cost of civilians’ lives. Every approach without humanitarian concern cannot really resolve the problem, “for every innocent person you kill, you’re getting an X number of recruits for the other cause,” said Mr. Ravi. “There can be good people in the left, as well as terrible people and there can be good people in the right and terrible people too. I think it’s best to deal with people than with ‘isms’,” he added.

Although human rights is universal for all the human kind, in reality, it is common to have an attitude that “I only help my brother.” Mr. Ravi reiterated that “human rights means doing human rights work also for the people you disagree with, not just for people you agree with.” Taking India as an example, human rights are constitutionally recognized but when the human rights issues came to the marginalized, such as Dalits, tribals, people living in Kashmir, the standard will be suddenly neglected by the majority and the government. Therefore, “all our presumptions need to be questioned at a very basic level.”

In conclusion, “democracy does not die in a country if democratic institutions in every walk of life are strong” and human rights is not only the theory of international standard but something “ultimately within you - in the family, in your community, in your organizations”, which echoed with the mission of Church to build inclusiveness, tolerance and understanding with others.

Source: Ravi Nair’s Speech at the National Seminar on “Promoting Young People’s Human Rights: New Challenge for the Don Bosco Network-India.”

Update on JPW 2010 meeting in Cambodia

The 8^th Justice and Peace Workers (JPW) Networking Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Network will be held in Cambodia on 6-10 September 2010. This year, the theme will be “Network-building to Overcome Violence” and it will be hosted by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Cambodia. Around 35 participants from the region are expected to share, present and analyze different experiences of violence in the society, as well as their responses. The regional meeting’s role is to provide addtional support to the justice and peace work being undertaken at the local level through looking at interconnections of the issues; and to identify causes that need to be most urgently addressed at the regional or international levels.

Beginning with exposure to Cambodia’s issues for an explicit solidarity and as a starting point for each participant to share about own countries, the discussion will critique on each participant’s current activities, provide integrative human rights analysis and reflection towards common root causes between different expressions of violence. It is hoped that common solidarity actions would emerge through this process and strengthen the JPWs’ capacity and their work within their countries and with others in the Asia-Pacific region.

In view of the importance of continuity of the regular gathering and the strengthening of JPW network’s efforts, it is hoped that more new participants and new countries will participate and fully immerse themselves in all activities and experience, such as possible overnight exposure visits, shared accommodation in remote areas, theological reflection and spiritual activities in order to strengthen the bond among the network with these experiences.

The Co-organizing Team of the meeting is currently preparing and raising funds for the programme. JPWs or those who are interested to participate can contact their respective country representatives or any of the Co-Team members from relevant sub-regions.

East Asia:

Augustine – siufu@hkccla.org.hk

South Asia:

Fr. Nandana – nandmana@sltnet.lk

Southeast Asia:

Samydorai – samysd@pacific.net.sg

Pacific:

David – missiodei.dt@gmail.com

Other/ Regional organizations:

Linda – hotline@acpp.org

The process of fund-raising is on-going, and we still need help to raise funds for airfares for participants coming from some countries in need. This year, we are encouraging all participants to raise some or all of their airfares to Cambodia as part of their contribution to the meeting. For information about the meeting and how to contribute, please contact the “JPW 2010 Co-Team” through email <hotline@acpp.org>.

Source: JPW 2010 Co-Team

ACPP’s JPIC Gathering

Realizing the importance of analyzing injustices with a comprehensive perspective and learning from experience from the other countries, ACPP initiated the JPIC Gathering as a venue for friends in Hong Kong to discuss social issues in Asia. As a few Asian countries are having elections this year, the JPIC Gathering will evolve around the theme of “Democratic Development in Asia”.

In January, participants had a discussion on the political reform in Hong Kong. At the beginning, we shared our experience on democratic participation. The June 4^th Massacre in 1989 and July 1^st Demonstration in 2005 were found to have the most impact among the participants. While participants hoped for a fairer political system, there were different opinions on the “de facto” referendum (to be held on 16 May 2010) as a strategy to pressure the authorities for universal suffrage. Although there was no consensus, participants enjoyed a relaxing and trustful environment to share their opinion and to brainstorm ideas.

In April, we invited Mr. Alex Aquino, an economist with concern on the political situation in the Philippines, to share his reflection on the democratic development of his own country. From the history of the Philippines, Mr. Aquino illustrated that a genuine democracy was yet to be practiced in the country, due to manipulation of clan dynasty and their obsessive control on land. Recognizing the benefits of democracy cannot be drawn only from the system of election, but more importantly from the participation of people in different aspect of the public sphere, Mr. Alex suggested empowerment of civil society and community-building as main strategies to expand the democratic space in the Philippines. The struggle of the Philippines is an important reminder to Hong Kong participants who are focusing on a universal suffrage now.

To see the related article in Sunday Examiner, Pleast visit www.acpp.org/pages/News0502-10AquinoElection.doc

Friends from the Philippines working in Hong Kong shared their worries on the coming election on 10 May, such as the election-related violence and the first automated election in the country.

Through the sharing and information exchange, it is hoped that ACPP’s JPIC Gatherings will be a platform to enhance participants’ understanding on Asian issues and to sustain the regional solidarity.

Source: ACPP