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INTERNATIONAL

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Aman ki Asha has long been campaigning for clemency towards cross-border prisoners - young boys who stray across by mistake or in search of Bollywood, fishermen who cross the maritime border, families who have committed minor transgressions, long-term prisoners incarcerated for years on either side. See articles compiled at the link In humanitys name, on the website www.amankiasha.com
Since April 4, when Aman ki Asha took up Dr Khaleel Chishtys case following an appeal from his family, the struggle to release the ailing professor has gained momentum in India
oted film director Mahesh Bhatt and veteran journalist and former M.P. Kuldip Nayyar met Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil in Chandigarh on April 25, and pleaded for the release of the 80year-old ailing retired professor on humanitarian grounds who was sentenced to life earlier this year. Governor Patil assured us that he will sympathetically consider the case, but only after going through its details, Nayyar and Bhatt told reporters later, according to the Press Trust of India. Patil is also the officiating governor of Rajasthan. We told the Governor that India and Pakistan have been exchanging lists of prisoners held in each others prisons and have been making good progress in their repatriation, Bhatt said. He highlighted the case of Gopal Dass, an Indian citizen who had been languishing in Pakistani jails for 27 years and was released recently on humanitarian grounds. Though the Governor did not give any definite time frame to us, he assured that it would take at least a month before he will be able to go through the case files... The Constitution of India gives the Governor powers under Article 161 to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment, as well as the power to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of the people convicted. We have appealed to the Governor to exercise this power in the name of humanity, mercy and reciprocity to release Dr Chishty, Nayyar said. Bhatt said that people both in India and Pakistan want better relations. It is time we should stop de-humanising each other. When the dialogue process between the two countries broke down post Mumbai terror attacks, it is the Civil society on both sides that has been working to ensure that humanitarian causes are taken PUCL Dr. Radha Kant Saxena, a national expert on jails, met P . K. Deb, Home Secretary, Government of Rajasthan, and presented him a memo urging him to request the Chief Minister of Rajasthan and his cabinet of Ministers to advise the Governor of Rajasthan to invoke his powers under Article 161 of the Constituown. He can barely use a walker, states the PUCL memo. ...Dr. Chishty is a fit case for granting of pardon and or remission of sentence. He is a person of impeccable character. We urge you to note his advanced age and his illness and... to use your good offices and request the Chief Minister of Rajasthan and his cabinet

Appeal in the name of humanity: Mahesh Bhatt and Kuldip Nayar address a press conference at Chandigarh Press Club. Photo courtesy: Yuvsatta up, Bhatt added. Bhatt said: Patil was very considerate and he already knew about this matter. He said that he will try to solve this issue at the earliest on the basis of its merits. Besides our own memorandum, we have also submitted an appeal that was sent by Amna Chishty, Khaleels daughter, from Canada. Nayar and Bhatt had also met union Home Minis. Chidambaram Sunday to dister P cuss the matter, adds IANS. UCL delegation meets Rajasthan Home Secretary: On April 20, a delegation of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) led by Vice President tion of India and see that Dr Chishty returns to his home in Pakistan alive and as soon as possible. He (Dr Chishty) is presently suffering from multiple ailments, including a cardiac ailment, since he suffered a major stroke in 2008 and then in 2010, when he was on the operation table undergoing a hip operation to join his hip bones which had fractured... His condition is obvious from the fact that after the conviction he was carried by two people to the court and also brought into the Ajmer jail with similar support. His hip joint is completely immobile and therefore he cannot walk on his of Ministers to advise the Governor of Rajasthan to invoke his powers under Article 161 of the Constitution of India and see that Dr. Chishty returns to his home in Pakistan alive and as soon as possible. In an email updating Dr Chistys family and those working for his release, PUCL General Secretary Kavita Srivastava wrote that Rajasthans Home Secretary was very cooperative and agreed to aid the process to facilitate Dr Chishtys release. Finally, however, it will be up to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to agree to send the prisoner across. For this purpose, PUCL is also trying to obtain an appointment with Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao. aka

ans Morgenthau in his epic Politics among Nations (Publisher: Knopf, Publication Date: 1985) distinctively stipulated that the pivotal factor governing the conduct of states in the international arena is power. As one of the founding fathers of realism in International Relations he emphasised that states view the supremacy of their interest as paramount and value it above any other consideration. Like all other interpretations of global interaction this view has also been diluted by the emergence of an unavoidable connection between the tangible and non-tangible attributes of state power. We can see the viability of

by using the religious card in shape of getting a Polish Cardinal elected as the Pope who blessed the mutinous Solidarity in Gdansk to overthrow the communist hold in Poland. This breakthrough encouraged theorists and practitioners of diplomacy to elaborate upon this attempt that gradually emerged in shape of multi-track or Track-2 diplomacy. The concept initially based the formation of Track-2 diplomacy on attempts by professionals at conflict resolution, efforts of the business community to expand trade links, civil society endeavours to cultivate personal relationships, and media campaigns that gradually expanded into the fields of research,

Aman ki Asha:
M. Siddiqi

the real Trackthe concept of power with China establishing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to keep an eye on any untoward danger emanating from perceived designs of encirclement by the USA, despite being its largest trading partner. The burgeoning influence of multinational corporations (MNCs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is also viewed as substantial check on adopting policies based exclusively on power principle. This dilution of exclusivity is the major offshoot of the Cold War that compelled major international forces to co-opt influential non-state factors in mitigating the impact of conflicts and devising means for their solution. It also signalled the realisation that the staid clich-ridden official governmentto-government interactions were not very effective methods of settling disputes and achieving the required levels of international cooperation. It is often mentioned that the decisive campaign to dismantle the Soviet Union was launched

education and philanthropy. The essential elements of Track-2 diplomacy consist of open-minded, optimistic analysis of a given situation, non-partisan approach and welfare orientation. Since it has to operate along with narrow confines of interest of states supported by untrammelled coercive power at their disposal, it is usually aimed at invoking the inherent reasonableness and goodwill of humankind. Track-2 diplomacy is usually inhibited by the perception of political spectrum of states that is often motivated by tangible factors of power at its disposal. At times is quite impervious to human considerations, as is evident from the current political crisis in Libya. This syndrome can also be witnessed in relations between Pakistan and India where imperatives governing state policies are quite opposite to the perceptions of a fairly large segment of their respective populations.

Track-2 diplomacy is constrained to act in tandem with the state, which is an unavoidable constant in the broader scheme of international relations. Fortunately the contemporary state apparatus appears less apprehensive in accommodating the role of Track-2 actors although it still assigns priority to its own form of diplomacy. Track-2 diplomacy, on the other hand, has the veritable potential of being more effective once it is employed as an integral connection of the entire diplomatic process. Late Ambassador Niaz Naik was the pioneer of Track2 diplomacy in Pakistan followed by the Musharraf confidante Tariq Aziz. They also both represented the official circles, although their endeavours were widely reported by the media. But there was no evidence of Track-2 in the important fields of business, education, culture and most importantly people-to-people contact. Aman ki Asha is the real Track-2, catering to all required fields of cooperation. The best part is that the interaction held under its auspices is practical in nature, whether it be in the field of trade, IT development or welfare projects. The social interaction it has initiated appears to be unstoppable, reminiscent of a similar phase in Europe after two decades of Napoleonic wars. Consider that the recent Aman ki Asha Strategic Seminar in Karachi included the former heads of the arch protagonists of hardline state policies, ISI and RAW - which would have been an unimaginable prospect few years ago. One earnestly hopes that someone is formally bringing details of the parleys and recommendations of such important exchanges to the notice of the relevant government agencies. My experience is that governments run on files and not on newspaper reports. The writer is a former officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Pritam K. Rohila

or many years, peace activists have focused their efforts on peace between India and Pakistan. But it appears that attention must also be directed to peace within India and peace within Pakistan. Peace within each of the two nations will also help foster peace between them. We, at the Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA), initiated concrete steps in pursuit of this goal, earlier this year. We defined peace as a dynamic, multidimensional state of interpersonal relationships within and among individuals and groups, and with the environment, which leads to optimal benefit to all concerned. Viewed in this way, peace is not limited only to inter-national peace, but also includes personal peace, interpersonal peace, and universal peace. Thus by raising individuals who are at peace within themselves and with others around them, and who engage in environment-friendly practices, can lead to peace within each nation. Having conceptualised peace in this way, in January and February 2011, we conducted five two-day peace camps three in India at .), (U.P Varanasi Chandna Village (Gujarat), and Chandigarh (Union Territory), and two in Pakistan at Karachi (Sindh), and Toba Tek Singh (Punjab). One hundred and eighteen men and women, youth and adult completed these camps. They ranged in age from 17 through 48, and in education from 9th grade through Masters degree. We taught them ways to relax; deal with their worries; develop selfconfidence; think independently and logically; develop empathy; communicate with others; inculcate healthy ways of relating with people, handle their own emotions as well as

India and Pakistan


Notes on a series of workshops defining peace as a dynamic, multidimensional state of interpersonal relationships within and among individuals and groups
We conducted the camps in cooperation with our local partners, who assumed responsibility for selecting participants, securing venues, providing meals, and arranging housing for out-of-town participants. According to the feedback received from some participants, they felt inspired by what they had learnt to bring about positive changes in themselves, and to promote peace and tolerance in their family and country. One young man wrote, I would like to tell you that the best thing about visiting the youth camp had changed my life completely. Whatever I think or do it is done with a positive effect and I am more sensible than I should be at this age. Although we could not use more sophisticated techniques, we are encouraged by the response of the participants. We hope better next time. Meanwhile we will try to improve our curriculum and techniques, which move us from We wish we could to Yes, we can. Also we will keep looking for more people-centric and culture-transformative opportunities to pursue our mission of promoting peace in South Asia and harmony among South Asians.

Peace building in, and within,

ACHAs peace initiatives: Youth Peace Camp held in Toba Tek Singh, Pakistan; (below) Training for peace: Seminar in Chandigarh, India

insults, bullying, and abuse by others; and respect and protect environment. We drew upon our own skills and experiences to develop and impart the curriculum. Also, with the help of local volunteers, we used parts of Choices and Self-esteem: Learning to Respect Yourself, a workbook authored by Dr. Deri Joy Ronis, which we got translated for India in Hindi, and for Pakistan in Urdu. Be-

I will treat my sisters and daughters with at least as much love and respect as I treat my brothers and sons; I will treat all my neighbours as deserving of my respect, regardless of their class, caste, sect, or religion; and I will engage in environsides, we utilised a few Indian ment-friendly practices in my movie songs and the song Ive daily life. got peace in my fingers, by Susan Salidor. Each camp ended with disDr. Rohila is the Executive Director of the Association for tribution of certificates of parCommunal Harmony in Asia (www.asiapeace.org); ticipation and the following email: asiapeace@comcast.net. ACHA partners in this ACHA Pledge of Peace and venture were: in India - Peoples Vigilance Committee for Harmony taken by the particiHuman Rights (PVCHR), Varanasi; National Alliance of pants: Peoples Movements (NAPM); and Yuvasatta, I will not intentionally use Chandigarh; in Pakistan - Pakistan Institute of Labour my hands or my words to harm Education and Research (PILER), Karachi; anyone; and Ravi Foundation, Toba Tek Singh. A peace initiative whose time has come... Destination Peace: A commitment by the Jang Group, Geo and The Times of India Group to create an enabling environment that brings the people of Pakistan and India closer together, contributing to genuine and durable peace with honour between our countries.

THE FIRST STEP LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK


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