o meu último editorial na revista Think South Asia

Deixo aqui o último editorial que escrevi na revista Think South Asia enquanto Editor. As próximas edições da revista ficam muito bem entregues ao alemão Djan Sauerborn, da Universidade de Heidelberg:

---

Think South Asia #09

As this is a summer special edition of Think South Asia, we suggest a travel by some of the South Asian countries, as the Maldives, India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. As I am moving to new projects, this is also my last edition as editor but, before I get there, let me call your attention for the contents you can find in the next pages: an article about the rising religious extremism in the Maldives by the future editor of Think South Asia, Mr Djan Sauerborn; a very good business profile of the Indian building market, by the civil engineer Mr Pedro Baptista Pinto; and an informative update of the situation in Nepal, by Mr Narayan Guimire.

Then, we have an outstanding article about the 1971 genocide in Bangladesh “Our conscience in an Iron Cage” and its consequences, from our esteemed adviser, Dr M. A. Hasan from Bangladesh. You should not miss his article for several reasons: Dr Hasan is well-known as a fighter for independence, as a physician, as a scientist, as a philosopher, as a poet, as a human rights activist and much more. From Afghanistan we received and publish a very important article about “eliminating prejudices in school curricula and materials”, by our well known Doctor Massouda Jalal, who is a former Minister of Women’ Affairs in Afghanistan and currently working on women rights as Head of the Jalal Foundation.

Last but not least, we interviewed the Executive Director of the South Asia Democratic Forum, Mr Paulo Casaca. He made some very important statements we should write on the rock for future memories:

• “We are now in a global era with much more powerful destruction devices than the ones we had some decades ago.”

• “In order to prevent a catastrophic scenario it is absolutely imperative to stop terrorism, especially the export of terrorism.”

• “Europe learned the hard way that cooperation is the only way to succeed.”

• “The full respect of cultures, languages and histories within Southern Asia and the full understanding of the values of co-operation, respect and tolerance is the only way to overcome existing conflicts rooted in the region.”

• “The European Union should stop to appease totalitarian ideologies.”

Malala Yousafzai, @United Nations HQ, New York - USA

Mr Paulo Casaca also makes some questions and recommendations, and remembers the young 16 years old Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai, who on the 12th of July made a remarkable speech in the United Nations. She quoted Mohamed, Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Gandhi, Bacha Khan and Mother Teresa. She quoted them to ask for the right of every child, boys and girls, to education. As Malala said, “education is the only solution.” We fully support this idea that you can see developed in Doctor Jalal’s above mentioned article.

Finally, I must say it is with mixed feelings of nostalgia and confidence that I write my last Editorial here. On one hand, there is nostalgia for this fantastic year of 2012/2013, which was the beginning of this beautiful project called Think South Asia. Wonderful moments of discovery and big debates happened in this platform between very important politicians, distinguished diplomats, eminent academics and representatives of NGO’s. This fruitful debate constantly informed all those who read and make this magazine each month: policy makers in Europe, North-America and South Asia, our dear general readers all over the world, esteemed authors and, of course, myself. I learned a lot with you about South Asia, Europe, politics, business and culture. I was also able to receive lots of congratulation notes and critics for the quality of this magazine, but in fact the credits are all to be shared between the guest contributors who made from this magazine a successful reference among the periodic publications about South Asia, and you, dear reader, because as you know, this magazine is specially made for you. My deep thanks to all the guests who wrote, were interviewed or contributed in other ways for the success of this magazine. But I must personally thank to Mr Paulo Casaca from the South Asia Democratic Forum (www.sadf.eu) for all the invaluable support and expertise he gave to this project; and also to Mr Hugo Almeida and Mr Diogo Alves from Popular Jump (www.popularjump.com), who were the responsible for this fantastic design you are used to see here.

On the other hand, I would like to leave here a word of trust and confidence. I am very much confident than my successor as Editor will keep improving the Think South Asia magazine and letting it reach more and more people. I hereby present to you Mr Djan Sauerborn, who is writing here for the second time about the situation in the Maldives (for his first article, please check the October 2012 edition). Mr Sauerborn is an expert on South Asia from the University of Heidelberg, and so he is the right captain to take this ship into deeper waters and discover new horizons. The Think South Asia magazine is in very good hands and I whish all the best to Mr Djan Sauerborn in this endeavour. I am sure we will keep and develop this contact and cooperation, so that we can always Think (in, about and with) South Asia.

Thank you very much!

And feel free to contact me:

antvcruz@gmail.com

olhando para o Butão e outros assuntos da Ásia do Sul

Editorial que escrevi no oitavo número da revista Think South Asia:

---

The King of Bhutan - Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

It is now time for us to look at Bhutan. Bhutan is a mountainous country comparable to the size of Switzerland, but with around 730 thousand inhabitants and landlocked between India and Tibet, which as we know is ruled by the Chinese. On the date of this edition we are between 2 rounds of parliamentary elections in Bhutan, being a special moment to analyse this fascinating country. Also another issue for which Bhutan is well known is the Gross National Happiness index (GNH), and we are thinking about it as well.

In this issue of Think South Asia magazine we have very prestigious contributions indeed. First of all, a detailed country profile of Bhutan done by the South Asia Democratic Forum fellow Mr Marian Gallenkamp, who is a knowledgeable expert on this country. Dr Siegfried O. Wolf from the University of Heidelberg dedicates his usual column to an analysis of the Bhutanese elections. The EU Delegate of The Family Watch, Mr Antoine Mellado, writes about development and the Gross National Happiness Index of Bhutan and its parameters. Then, 3 promising and talented ladies from Bangladesh honour us with their inputs: Ms Sheikh Nishat Nazmi is a Social Psychology Counsellor and brings to us a very interesting picture of the Families in South Asia in general, Bangladesh in particular; Mst Sabikun Naher from the University of Dhaka writes about the Bangladesh-Bhutan commercial relations and comparative advantages of both countries; and last but not least, Ms Janina Islam Abir also from the University of Dhaka tell us about the Shahbag Movement, making a very comprehensive and deep analysis of this historical phenomena occurring nowadays in Bangladesh, which we should know better and follow closely.

BNG Ambassador - Ismat Jahan

Now I am privileged to present: 2 interviews, 2 Ambassadors, 2 good friends of South Asia: Her Excellency Mrs Ismat Jahan from Bangladesh, and His Excellency Mr Jan Deboutte from Belgium. Both perspectives – South Asian and European – should be appreciated attentively, so that no drop of wisdom escapes from our readings. Without any previous agreement, both ambassadors showed to be fantastic builders of cultural bridges: while Mr Ambassador Deboutte finds a link between the Bhutanese Gross National Happiness and the Greek classical philosophy, Mrs Ambassador Jahan quotes the first non European Nobel Prize of Literature winner, the Bengali Rabindranath Tagore (1913), proving that his poetry and art could be an inspiration to South Asians, Europeans and everybody in this planet.

Regarding the peace prospects in Kashmir, we have an attention call article from the Executive Director of South Asia Democratic Forum. Mr Paulo Casaca writes about the murder of Mr Arif Shahid, one of the most important figures of Pakistan’s Kashmiri independence movement, and its worrying consequences to the peace in Kashmir.

On the 14^th of May there were also elections in Pakistan, where the people expressed the will to have Mr Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister for the 3^rd time in the country’s History. The South Asia Institute of the University of Heidelberg and the South Asia Democratic Forum organised a conference to discuss these elections and in the European Parliament of Brussels. This event resulted in a high-level briefing done by a prestigious set of experts to European policy-makers. You can check their conclusions in the end of the magazine. From the Think South Asia editorial side, I would like to wish to President Sharif all the success, hoping that peace, stability and better living conditions can be achieved in Pakistan with respect to Human Rights and the Rule of Law.

From Bangladesh we received sad news on the last 24^th of April, when the Rana Plaza complex collapsed provoking the death of 1129 people. This makes us ask: In a country where the perpetrators of the 1971 genocide (which killed more than 3 million people) were not brought to justice and several other public crimes occurred, like the assassination of President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, how can we expect that people have care while planning a building? This is why it was important to welcome in Brussels the Bangladeshi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Doctor Dipu Moni. Mrs Moni said that in Bangladesh “the culture of impunity is ending” and the government will do its best to ensure labour safety and rights in the country. We must applaud her courageous statement and support the Bangladeshi authorities in the reinforcement of security and the rule of law.

After some Chinese troops crossed the line of control in Ladakh (Kashmir) in April, I was surprised to see the European Parliament discussing on the 23^rd of May the February execution of Mohammad Afzal Guru in Delhi. As I said the Think South Asia 6^th edition in February, I personally am against death penalty, but this does not mean supporting impunity. Mr Guru was proven to be associated with the terrorist groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, and participated in the 2001 attack against the Indian Parliament, killing 7 people and injuring 15. Of course the European Parliament could make the case of banning death penalty in the world... but this case of Mr Guru is far from being the best flag to pick, not to say that it probably sends a wrong message to the international community, as if the EU is supporting impunity for terrorists. I think this is not the case, or at least it shouldn’t.

Two days after this debate in Strasbourg, on the Saturday the 25^th of May another terrorist attack happened in the State of Chhattisgarh in India, this time organised by the Naxalite-Maoists. The attackers killed 27 people, amongst them some senior political leaders mainly from the Indian National Congress party. The Naxalite-Maoist insurgency killed already approximately 12 thousand people since its start in 1980 and the Indian police believes it has ties with the above mentioned Lashkar-e-Taiba, as well as with the ISI (intelligence agency also from Pakistan), and their training camps are mainly located in Pakistan, China and Burma.

Finally some good news from Afghanistan. As you can see in the latest document of Reporters Without Frontiers, no journalists were killed in 2012 and arrests of media workers declined. Nevertheless, violence against journalists did not disappear completely. Also, since NATO will withdraw most of the troops from Afghanistan next year and Taliban are expected to return to the country, there are legitimate doubts if this betterment of conditions for the media in Afghanistan is not precarious.

The Taktshang Monastery, in Bhutan

Bhutan also gives us positive news. Bhutan ranks 1^st among the South Asian countries for freedom of the press, and the 82^nd in the World Press Freedom Index. More concerns should be raised to the situation in the Maldives and in Sri Lanka. Although still preserving an orange colour on the map, the Maldives fell 30 positions in the index due to violence and threats against journalists after the coup d’état in March 2012. Regarding Sri Lanka, it still is the last one of South Asia on the list, ranking number 162^nd in the world, three positions below Pakistan (159^th).

South Asia as a whole got worse for journalists in 2012, and something should be done about this. However these are sad news, we should put them in perspective. South Asian countries scored considerably better than its neighbour countries:

• Tajikistan and Burma appear in a red colour with a “difficult situation” for journalists
• Uzbekistan, China, Iran and Turkmenistan in black with a “very serious situation”

To sum up, reasons are not scarce to give a careful look to this edition of the Think South Asia magazine, because in the next editions there will be some changes and surprises. Meanwhile, any articles for submission, comments or critics are very much welcome in: antonio@sadf.eu

---
Publicado no site do South Asia Democratic Forum: www.sadf.eu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthAsiaDemocraticForum

Para fazer o download da revista Think South Asia 08: http://sadf.eu/home/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/thinksouthasia08.pdf

situação no Nepal e o interesse da Turquia no Bangladesh

Editorial que escrevi no sexto número da revista Think South Asia, que edito com o apoio do South Asia Democratic Forum:

---

Nepal is the country we chose to focus on this time. With about 27 million people and landlocked between India and China, Nepal has in Kathmandu its capital and also the headquarters of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, also known by the acronym SAARC. It is interesting indeed to see Nepal´s recent societal changes, in the common people as in the political elites. After a very good country profile by S. M. Hasan, Dr Siegfried Wolf from Heidelberg tells us more about the possible role of Nepal in regional cooperation, making reference to a very useful survey report South Asia Democratic Forum conducted in Nepal in 2011, in partnership with Gallup Europe. As Mr Malik Saqib Ali says in his article about economic integration, South Asia has 23% of the people in the world, 5% of its soil mass, and only 3% of the world’s total GDP. But as the Chair of SADF’s Board of Advisors, Professor Subrata Mitra, told us in the previous edition of Think South Asia, in 1b.C. 

India was responsible for 33% of the GNP of the whole World. So, there is no doubt South Asia is nowadays the prototype of the land of opportunities. In this number of Think South Asia we publish the 2nd part of the interview, and no one should miss this reading. To read the 1st, part you have to read last December’s edition of Think South Asia: http://sadf.eu/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/thinksouthasia05.pdf

But back to South Asia, by what we can see, it is of major importance to empower an organisation such as SAARC. Nepal can play a role here, but we shall wait for their constitutional elections this Spring in order to 

analyse what we can expect from Nepal in the next years. You can find SADF’s report on Nepal in our website, here: http://sadf.eu/home/2012/04/insightssouth-asia-nepal-survey-2011-results/

As South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF) could not miss the chance to highlight the genocide of Bangladesh in the 70’s, in January we promoted a conference in the French Senate in Paris hosted by Mrs Senator MarieNoëlle Lienemann. Some of the texts about that tragedy are very well presented in this magazine by Mr Paulo Casaca and Mr Modfidul Hoque from the Liberation War Museum of Bangladesh. I must add that on the 23rd of December the President of Turkey Mr Abdullah Gül wrote a letter to the President of Bangladesh Mr Zillur Rahman, asking for clemency to the accused under trial in the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh for the “sake of peace in the society”. This trial begun in order to bring to justice the victims of the biggest genocide that happened after the Holocaust, causing more than 3 million deaths. I personally am against death penalty in each and every case, but this curious intromission of the President of Turkey on behalf of the war criminal Ghulam Azam is something that we must take note and be aware of further developments.

Finally, I should give a last word of gratitude to Benedict XVI, who will resign as Pope in the end of this month. Thanks to this Pope, the symbolic case of Asia Bibi got universal dimension of human rights pressure against the blasphemy law in Pakistan. So, for that as for many other things, I must leave here my deepest thanks for everything His Holiness has done for South Asia on behalf of the Christian communities in particular and for the religious freedom in general.

---

Publicado no site do South Asia Democratic Forum: www.sadf.eu

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthAsiaDemocraticForum

Para fazer o download da revista Think South Asia 06: http://sadf.eu/home/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/thinksouthasia06.pdf

um breve perfil da Índia

Artigo sobre a Índia publicado com o apoio do South Asia Democratic Forum no último número do Think South Asia, aqui.

---

The Republic of India is a country with 3.287.590 square kilometres of area and an estimated population of 1,24 billion people. Its borders are with Pakistan to the northwest, Tibet (under the Chinese administration), Nepal and Bhutan to the north, and Bangladesh and Burma to the northeast. On the Indian Ocean, India’s neighbours are the Maldives to the southwest and Sri Lanka to the southeast.

These numbers mean that India has a larger population than Europe (all countries together), or the Americas (North and South), or Africa. We can find an Indian identity, or at least a harmonic set of similar identities within India, making of it the most populous liberal democracy in the world. And, with a birth rate bigger than China, India is set to overtake its neighbour country as the world’s most populous nation by 2030, according to the latest United Nations projections.

With a GDP per capita of approximately 1.345,50 EURO and the Economy growing around 6,5% each year, India is strengthening its industrial and services power. On the same hand, India’s middle class is increasing rapidly, giving to millions the purchase power that is attracting the attention of many foreign investors and businesses. Culturally, we can say that India main religious influence is Hinduism (approximately 80,5% of the Indians are Hindu) but also Buddhism (born in the region of Bihar, India), Islam (through the Mughal Empire) and Christianity (through the Portuguese and the English) were important influences to its unique cultural blend of different ingredients.

Politically, India is a federation composed by 28 states and 7 union territories, each of it with very characteristic issues, problems and challenges. As Editor of this magazine, I would like to stop here this very short country profile of such a big and complex reality and leave for the soonest future a deeper analysis done by experts, state by state.

Generally, I would just reinforce the idea that India is a liberal democracy which respects the rule of law. Of course India has its problems to be solved, as other countries in the region have, but what makes of India a different country is the democratic tools they have to make Human Rights be respected within its borders.

This should be regarded as a hope for the western countries who want to engage in South Asia, as well as for SAARC countries to follow India’s example and find their own path to have stable democracies across the region.

os méritos da cooperação - caso da Ásia do Sul

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.

---

 

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.

---

Publicado no site do South Asia Democratic Forum: www.sadf.eu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthAsiaDemocraticForum

Para fazer o download da revista Think South Asia 03: http://sadf.eu/docs/thinksouthasia03.pdf