Em baixo publico o artigo que escrevi no terceiro número da revista Think South Asia (9 de Outubro), que edito com o apoio do South Asia Democratic Forum. Principais países em destaque: Maldivas, Bangladesh e Sri Lanka. Mas também há notícias do resto da Ásia do Sul: Índia, Paquistão, Nepal, Butão e Afeganistão. E, ainda, a China e o Myanmar, a antiga Birmânia.
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In this edition of Think South Asia you will find
plenty of details on what we are proud to present as the biggest and most
important conference ever held on the topic of South Asia in Brussels, under
the title, “The Merits of Regional Cooperation: The Case of South Asia” (part
II). This important event will take place next 11th of October in the Hotel
Sofitel Brussels at Place Jourdan, marking the legislative year of the European
Institutions. This will present an amazing opportunity to discuss - with worldwide
academic and political experts - and understand some of the most important
issues in South Asia, such as Peace and Stability, Economic Cooperation, and
Development.
Perhaps one of the main expectations of this
conference will be the presentation of a study on Education in Bangladesh
conducted by Professor N. M. Sajjadul Hoque, from the University of Chittagong.
His study is titled, “Reviewing the Education Policy of Bangladesh” and he
tries to answer the question, “Is the Present Education Policy Adequate for
Countering Terrorism and Religious and Ethnic Intolerance?”. As per his
findings, nine out of ten people in Bangladesh believe that Education is an
important means to face the challenges of terrorism and religious and ethnic
intolerance in Bangladesh, and the overwhelming majority (85%) feel that it is
important to incorporate these issues in the New Education Policy of
Bangladesh, as well as the educational curriculum and text books/syllabuses “as
a matter of priority”. In the end, Professor Hoque outlines some important
recommendations for Bangladeshi civil society, the Bangladeshi Government, the
International Community in general and the European Union in particular.
Yet concerning Bangladesh, we must condemn
vehemently the burning of at 10 Buddhist temples and around 2,100 homes last
29th and 30th of September by extremists in Southern Bangladesh. These
demonstrations are a reaction to an allegedly insulting image of the Quran
posted on Facebook and could be explained when we see the elections coming. In
the same vein, we saw also on the 21st of September the burning of a Christian
Church in Mardan, Pakistan, by a large mob of extremist Muslims. This happened
as a response to the now infamous anti-Islam movie, even if the Christians of
Mardan have nothing to do with this film. We must be worried about this
phenomena of manipulating mobs to practice violent acts against innocent people
who, because of their religion, are treated as scapegoats.
As a reflex of this reality, the Blasphemy Law of
Pakistan is still in vigour and there are yet no signs of its end: Rimsha
Masih, a Christian girl of 11 years old with Down's Syndrome is being held in
prison since the 11th of August 2012, accused of burning pages from a booklet
used to teach Arabic and the Quran. Under the Pakistan Penal Code, she could
receive life in prison. Rimsha joins Asia Bibi and many others that are in
prison because of this unjust law, and most of the convicted are Muslim.
Some intriguing news is also coming in from the
Maldives, where after the coup d’état of March 2012 some turbulent riots took
place, culminating in the most recent happenings: on the 2nd of October the
Member of Parliament and well-known member of the opposition Mr Afrasheem Ali
was stabbed to death near his house; on the 8th of October the former President
Mohamed Nasheed was detained and arrested. In addition, four months before the
coup d’état, China opened a new embassy in the Maldives. Perhaps it is just a
coincidence, perhaps not. It is publicly known that China is carrying out major
infrastructure projects in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Several
authors say this is part of a Chinese strategy to encircle India and influence
its neighbours. But back to the Maldives, although the current government and
some reports don’t recognise there was really a coup d’état, what else can we
conclude from these occurrences? Nevertheless, if we want to understand what is
going on in these islands, there is nothing better than reading Djan
Sauerborn’s country profile about the Maldives in this number of Think South
Asia.
Very shortly, we will follow carefully the
developments of the Free Trade Agreement negotiations between India and the
European Union, where we can see the most recent point of tension is the retail
market. The entrance of big European retail companies into the Indian market
could lower retail prices in India even more but, on the other hand,
traditional commerce and small shops would be forced to close in a medium/long
run. It will be very interesting to see what develops.
Back to Brussels, the former Prime Minister of
Nepal, Mr Puspa Kamal Dahal, known as “Prachanda”, will visit the European
Parliament in Brussels next 15th of October. Former guerrilla leader and
chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Prachanda was
invited by MEPs Nirj Deva and Jean Lambert. Mrs Jean Lambert is the Chair of
the Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia within the
European Parliament and honours us with an interview in this edition, where she
speaks of the reconciliation process with the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
In the next edition of Think South Asia, we will
report the main conclusions of our conference, “The Merits of Regional
Cooperation: The Case of South Asia”. If you do not want to wait so long and
would instead like to attend, please register and take one of the last seats
available by sending us an email to events@sadf.eu
or by consulting our website at www.sadf.eu.
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