António Vieira da Cruz

O artigo em baixo foi inicialmente publicado na revista Think South Asia nº11, número de Dezembro, disponível aqui:  http://sadf.eu/home/2013/12/15/think-south-asia-11/ . Entretanto as eleições deram-se no dia 5 de Janeiro, com o boicote do principal partido da oposição (BNP), que apelou à não-participação nas eleições. O partido do governo (Awami League) ganhou assim as eleições, elegendo dois terços dos deputados. Os extremistas do Jamaat-e-Islami, aliados eleitorais do BNP, preferiram influenciar as eleições através do terror, provocando mais de 20 mortes no dia das eleições e continuando os atentados até hoje, principalmente perseguindo as minorias religiosas (em especial os hindus, os cristãos e os budistas) e muçulmanos moderados. No fundo, os alvos do costume. The Situation in Bangladesh – November/December 2013 I could have been killed last time I was in Dhaka. Anyone could. In fact, around 30 innocent people died in street bombings and shootings during the 3 rd ...

Hizb ut-Tahrir poster inciting to violence in Dhaka, Bangladesh The streets of Dhaka are filled with orange and black posters from Hizb ut-Tahrir . The main purpose of this poster is to call Military to take the power in Bangladesh and establish "Khilafat" (the caliphate). This pan-Islamic political organisation is legally banned in Bangladesh since 2009, yet they continue to spend fortunes in promoting extremism throughout propaganda and schemes to take over the elected powers, as it occurred for example in 2011 . In their most recent press release, Hizb ut-Tahrir states that during current strike 25 people were killed and then they conclude that "Democracy = Death to People". Of course what they do not understand is that democracy is not causing these deaths: extremism is. With their hate speeches and incite to violence, Hizb ut-Tharir and other powerful extremist organisations like Jamaat-e-Islami are contributing to the confrontational climate in Bangl...

Bangladesh is in an extremely sensitive pre-electoral situation. I arrived today to Dhaka and despite the impressive reports we receive every day in our countries, they are not being completely able to picture how the climate is tense over here. People are afraid. The Police and the Military are on the streets. National strikes are being organized by the opposition parties. In the streets of Dhaka small bombs and explosives like “cocktail molotov” are being dropped. Different neighborhoods of the city are being affected and from while to while we can hear gun shots in places  that used to be safe and secure. In 2012 I was in Bangladesh for 11 days and now this is my 2 nd time here. Since I arrived I noticed that some things have changed. Some infrastructures are new since then and many roads and buildings are being built. In what concerns to construction we can see real progress. I first thought that the lack of the usually omnipresent traffic jams were the consequence of the ...

Bangladesh is the 8 th most populated country in the world with around 160 million inhabitants and its capital Dhaka is a megacity with more than 15 million people. Today I had a direct flight from Istanbul to Dhaka, which was complete, but even in Istanbul Atatürk Airport we can see the lack of importance given to Bangladesh, reserving for it the very last gate of the airport. This could be a trivial example of how Bangladesh is forgotten internationally, too trivial perhaps. But did you know that in 1971, during 9 months of terror, in Bangladesh 3 million people were killed and around 4 hundred thousand women were raped? “Operation Searchlight” was planned and carried out by the Pakistani Army, with the help of local agents, and besides many indiscriminate killing it systematically targeted Bengali dissidents and religious and ethnic minorities. These hideous genocide and genocidal rape were part of a plan to subjugate people with a different language, culture and who were will...

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 Ca...

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...

“Arthashastra” This is a book of surprises. A classic of the Indian literature and thinking, “Arthashastra” was written by the Chief Adviser of two Mauryan Emperors. It could be seen as a treatise about the arts of war and economic policy, but it is much more than that. “Arthashastra” is about ethics and the duties each person is obliged to incorporate depending on its role in society. I leave you with one of his most famous passages, which is about corruption vices and solutions: Each department shall be officered by several temporary heads. Just as it is impossible not to taste the honey or the poison that finds itself at the tip of the tongue, so it is impossible for a government servant not to eat up, at least, a bit of the king's revenue. Just as fish moving under water cannot possibly be found out either as drinking or not drinking water, so government servants employed in the government work cannot be found out (while) taking money (for themselves). I...

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 a...

Editorial que escrevi no quinto número da revista Think South Asia, que edito com o apoio do South Asia Democratic Forum, apresentando a Índia como um país de oportunidades e futuro: ---   Imagine the overall population of Europe and the Americas, all put together. Have you imagined that already? Well believe it or not South Asia, as a region, has even more people than that, which is reason enough to pay attention to its development and potentials. The western countries seem to be obsessed with the financial and economic crisis, but on the other side of the world there is a new land of opportunities asking for support and economic cooperation. Five hundred years after Vasco da Gama and seven hundred years after Marco Polo, we must peacefully rediscover the Indian Ocean and the trade opportunities within the SAARC countries that could help us in leaving the crisis behind. This time, the focus of Think South Asia is on India. It seems paradoxical to put the focus on s...

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 Na...

Em baixo o artigo que escrevi no quarto número da revista Think South Asia (19 de Novembro), que edito com o apoio do South Asia Democratic Forum. Principais países em destaque: Sri Lanka e Paquistão. Neste número fala-se também da educação como forma de combater o extremismo e o terrorismo, e temos ainda a honra de contar com Vytautas Landsbergis, o primeiro Presidente da Lituânia após o comunismo. ---   Por mares nunca de antes navegados, Passaram ainda além da Taprobana* Luís Vaz de Camões, in “Os Lusíadas” – Canto I   In this edition of Think South Asia we put the focus on Sri Lanka. With a long history and a very distinctive identity formed by a great profusion of different ethnicities and a meeting point of religions, Sri Lanka has a incredibly rich culture. Its privileged geography puts Sri Lanka in a very central and strategic situation in the Indian Ocean. As in the first stanza of his opus magum “Os Lusíadas”, the Portuguese poet C...

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 Asi...

Editorial que escrevi no segundo número da revista Think South Asia, que edito com o apoio do South Asia Democratic Forum, assinalando os 11 anos do 11 de Setembro: ---   Most people remember exactly where they were when two planes crashed against the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre (WTC) in New York City, USA. I personally was on vacation and after I had heard a plane had crashed into the WTC, I saw live on television the second plane hitting the WTC, the third one hitting the Pentagon and of course news of the fourth plane crashing into the Pennsylvania countryside. I saw humanity falling down driven by greed, hate and extreme fanaticism. Today we pin the date 9/11, eleven years after the tragedy. Back in 2001, training camps of Al-Qaeda were mainly in Afghanistan and the Taliban regime harboured these terrorists and all their facilities, while they ruled the Afghani people (and women in an oppressive special way) with tyranny. Western societies felt no opt...