[sacw] SACW Dispatch | 23 Nov. 00

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch
23 November 2000
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex)

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#1. Peace Activists Pin Hopes on India-Pakistan Trade

#2. A Workable Peace Plan For Kashmir 

#3. Bangladesh: Tribute to Our Women in the [1971] War

#4. Urgent Sign-on Letter re the Sardar Sarovar Dam Project

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#1.

PEACE ACTIVISTS PIN HOPES ON INDIA-PAKISTAN TRADE

EDITOR'S NOTE: Continued fighting between India and Pakistan -- both
with nuclear arms capability -- over the disputed region of Kashmir is
an ongoing source of concern in the region. One small source of hope is
the desire for trade on both sides, though there is some question about
how bright a candle that might be. PNS commentator Muddassir Rizvi is
a Pakistani journalist specializing in development issues whose work
appears in several weekly and monthly publications.

BY MUDDASSIR RIZVI, PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE

ISLAMABAD -- As guns spit fire along the Line of Control between India
and Pakistan in the disputed Valley of Kashmir, the two neighbors
recently signed a sugar trade contract. The nascent peace movement in
South Asia was happy to see a train carrying 1,500 tons of Indian sugar
roll into the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. "The train brought not
only sugar but hopes that the leadership of the two nuclear countries
would not let politics stand in the way of economic common sense,"
commented one peace activist here. But some critics believe peace with
India will only be possible if the issue of Kashmir -- which the two
countries have fought three wars over since 1947 -- is resolved. The
sugar was purchased by the Pakistani government's Trading Corporation,
which accepted an Indian offer in response to an advertisement it had
placed in the international media. There is an acute shortage of sugar
here. The deal came after weeks of heavy fire along the border in
Kashmir and after the prime ministers of both countries refused to meet
even though they were both in New York to attend the UN General
Assembly session. It is a clear indication that Islamabad wants to
improve its ties with New Delhi, which have been at an all-time low
since the military takeover in Pakistan last year. India has refused to
enter into talks unless Pakistan commits itself to halting cross-border
terrorism and withholds support to groups fighting India in Kashmir.
Pakistan denies both charges.

Many observers saw the sugar deal as a move to break the ice -- not
that trade will bring lasting peace, but that the two countries will
make peace so they can trade. "We believe that trade and business
should be given a chance to flourish in the subcontinent. This would
also provide an enabling environment to talk about peace and amity,"
said the Peshawar Frontier Post newspaper. Pakistan's government,
despite calls from the business community, has always insisted that
trade with India would only be possible when the Kashmir issue is
resolved.

"We must convince our governments to remove obstacles in the expansion
of bilateral trade and investment," said S.M. Naseem, president of the
Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. His view is shared by his
counterparts in other major cities in Pakistan and India, especially
now when foreign multinationals are coming to tap the South Asian
markets. This view is shared by some liberal politicians who believe
trade with India is essential to a tension-free South Asia. The
religious right, however, is opposed to any trade relations with India,
on the grounds that India will completely capture the small Pakistani
economy once free trade is allowed. But these parties never express
concern over Pakistan trade with China or the United States, which have
far bigger economies than India. "Trade is not the real issue- - we
want India to vacate Kashmir and return it to Pakistan," commented one
leader of the right-wing Jamaat-i-Islami. When the military government
suggested granting Most Favored Nation Status (MFN) to India, the
reaction was so harsh the suggestion was withdrawn.

India awarded MFN status to Pakistan in 1995 under its World Trade
Organization's obligations, but Pakistan has not followed suit.
Commerce Ministry figures show that between them, India and Pakistan
import and export about 600 items worth $35 million every year. The
Economic Survey of Pakistan gives a much higher figure of $250
million. Independent studies, however, put the bilateral trade at
between $1 and $2 billion -- most of which involves smuggling. Smuggled
videotapes of Indian films, artificial jewelry and cosmetics are
popular in Pakistan. Videotapes of Pakistani television plays and dry
fruit are smuggled into India.

Pakistan loses an estimated $500 million annually in custom duties to
smugglers. But Pakistan still imports wheat from the distant United
States, which it could buy from India, and costly medicines and farm
fertilizers from third nations even though they are much cheaper from
India.

And in early September, the military rulers rejected a proposal to sell
surplus electricity to energy-deficient India, even though the producer
offered to give half the profit from the sale to the Pakistani
government. Peace groups see trade as the only hope for normalizing
relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. For them, each
trainload of sugar brings more hope, but others continue to question
whether this is enough to sweeten the bitter ties between the two foes.

______

#2. 

International Herald Tribune
Wednesday, November 22, 2000
Op-ed

A WORKABLE PEACE PLAN FOR KASHMIR

By Mansoor Ijaz <mansoorijaz@h...>
The writer is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and chairman
of Crescent Investment Management in New York. He contributed this
comment to the International Herald Tribune.

NEW YORK -- India's weekend decision to unilaterally cease military
operations against Mujahedeen groups in the disputed Himalayan enclave
of Kashmir during Ramadan, Islam's holy month, is a welcome gesture.
Islamic militants should now rejoin in search of an earnest peace.

With 347 civilians murdered, 712 militants killed and over 2,100 men,
women and children injured in skirmishes since an August cease-fire fell
apart, few rational alternatives exist to ending the bleeding ground war
that is consuming Kashmir.

In an effort to stop the carnage, earlier this year I proposed a
framework for dialogue to General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military
leader, and Atal Behari Vajpayee, India's prime minister, that
envisioned empowering ordinary Kashmiris -- civilian and militant alike
-- as the central partners for peace. The initiative had backing from
President Bill Clinton as an effective means for preventing the internal
implosion of Pakistan at the hands of its Islamic zealots.

Most importantly, it was supported by Sayed Salahuddin, leader of Hizbul
Mujahedeen, Kashmir's largest indigenous group of "freedom fighters"
Then Pakistan's Islamic fundamentalists got wind of the proposal. The
mere thought of slowing down or stopping their well-financed "jihad"
was heresy.

In September, after learning that I had delivered a letter from Mr.
Salahuddin to Mr. Clinton in which he sought verification of the
president’s direct backing of our peace initiative, religious extremists
threatened to replace the Hizbul leader and issued "fatwas" (death
warrants) against me.

When I met General Musharraf in late May of this year, I counseled him
that Pakistan was in danger of losing the moral authority it once held
in Kashmir by allowing, indeed encouraging, increasingly indiscriminate
violent behavior by Islamic radicals fighting there. During our almost
three hours of meetings, I told him that every civilian I met in Kashmir
earlier that month had tired as much of the incessant violence imparted
by Pakistan’s militia forces as they had from that of India's security
forces over the past decade.

I implored him to do what no one expected of him "to persuade the
Mujahedeen under his control to opt for non-violent means as a platform
for ending the conflict", to basically put the onus for peace back in
New Delhi’s court. I could only do this knowing how India would react
"with an immediate and unconditional acceptance" of an offer to cease
hostilities and negotiate a permanent Kashmiri solution.

But as with many things General Musharraf has done since assuming power,
he got cold feet when the July cease-fire he initiated with Mr.
Salahuddin was portrayed in Pakistan's fundamentalist circles as a
"sell out"’ Mr. Vajpayee also fell prey to fundamentalist Hindus and
pulled out of the cease-fire at that time.

Not to be undone by extremists, we resurrected in August our framework
to resume the peace with Mr. Salahuddin's blessing. We proposed
centering it around his call to widen the cease-fire net so it would
include all militant groups operating in the Kashmir Valley. We would
trade Indian intransigence on structural issues that derailed the late
July cease-fire to essentially give all parties to the conflict a role
in making peace.

Pakistan would be brought to the negotiating table at the outset of
political discussions after the cease-fire had taken hold, first
bilaterally and then at the Kashmiris’ request, trilaterally. India's
adamancy to not talk to Pakistan unless cross-border "terrorism"
stopped would disappear in the Valley-wide cease-fire call from Mr.
Salahuddin. He would receive critical support from General Musharraf to
bring unruly Islamists on board and General Musharraf would in turn get
a wink from Washington along with some much needed International
Monetary Fund aid.

India would agree to a significant, verifiable and permanent reduction
of its forces in the Valley in exchange for a verifiable withdrawal of
Pakistani militants. In the process, the Mujahedeen voice would be
strengthened and unified and Pakistan could take credit for having
tangibly supported peace through its military advocacy of the Kashmiri
cause.

This framework to resurrect meaningful dialogue aimed at stable and
permanent peace was agreed to by the Indians and, conditioned on
Pakistani intelligence accepting it, by Mr. Salahuddin in late August.
With virtually all of Islamabad's demands met and a historic opportunity
to find a permanent solution, why has Pakistan not yet embraced it?

The world has a right to know what was possible to prevent the now
almost inevitable escalation of hostilities in Kashmir. Until General
Musharraf finds the courage to stare down his religious extremists as
the real enemies of Pakistani and Kashmiri welfare, violence and
bloodshed will continue.

Islamabad's "bleed India" policy is a recipe for disaster that dooms
every ordinary Pakistani to permanent poverty. New Delhi's "we can
bleed forever" retort exposes India's economic renewal to the perpetual
threat of religious extremism. General Musharraf, Mr. Vajpayee and the
Islamic extremists fueling Kashmir's bloodshed need to muster the
courage for employing a reasoned framework that provides each party with
a face saving exit and brings finality to one of history's most
dangerous conflicts.

The writer is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and chairman
of Crescent Investment Management in New York. He contributed this
comment to the International Herald Tribune.

Copyright 2000, International Herald Tribune

______

#3.

Dailystar (Dhaka) 
19 November 2000

TRIBUTE TO OUR WOMEN IN THE WAR
Video documentary by Tareque and Catherine Masud tells the traumatic story
of women who were battered by the Liberation

By Tawfique Ali

No one paid a bigger price in our War of Liberation as our women did. And
their trauma only began there. They subsequently lost a place in society and
suffered, in most cases for the rest of their lives. And the sad truth is
that very few people attempt to document their pain and express it, so that
the new generation can try and understand what we all went through in 1971. 
However once in a while a few people do come up with the initiative to
depict the contribution of these women, and all others in our war. Women &
War, premiered in the city on Thursday, is one of those few. 
The screening of the video documentary on the role of women in 1971
Liberation War was organised by Ain O Salish Kendro a legal aid forum,at the
British Council Auditorium on Nov.16. Tareque and Catherine Masud two noted
short filmmakers, directed the film. These two film makers have already
earned a name for themselves following the making of "Muktir Gaan" and
"Muktir Katha" two documentaries made on the theme and events of the War of
Independence. Ain O Salish Kendro also demands due kudis for their role in
the making of this film. The documentary Narir Katha or Women and War is a
joint production of ASK and Audiovision. 
The documentary has been designed to project upon the valiant role played by
Bangladeshi women during the country's bloody struggle for independence in
1971. To enlighten the magnanimity of the sacrifice they mad for the
country; the violation and humiliation they had to undergo; and their
ultimate fate in the post-liberation period have been the concerns dwelt
upon in the film. Men's victory in the war has been sung and glorified but
women's participation in the quest of freedom; their supreme sacrifice; and
the havoc they survived has not been recognised in the way it should have
been. Women's dishonour for the cause of country's freedom was later treated
as shame instead of glory. As such society failed to nourish those valiant
women to whom we all are indebted as to their male co-warriors. Women's
contribution, either direct or indirect, has to be brought to the forefront
to at least recognise them if not to compensate them. 
A number of case studies compiled up in the documentary tell the tale of
millions others unknown, undiscovered and lost in oblivion. 
The screening of the documentary was preceded by a brief discussion by the
project Director of ASK case study on women freedom fighter Mrs. Suraia and
Catherine Masud. 
Suraia said that women had taken part in liberation war in different ways.
Their part in the nine-month long struggle had been recorded to some extent
but was not wholly compiled in any way as compared to the rest of the
historical records we find of others in the war. This has rightfully caused
resentment in them. 
"At one stage we felt an urge to come forward to uphold women's contribution
in any field of the society," she said. According to her, women's loss is of
a wide range. If a woman is assaulted; if she loses her husband or her son
in the war, her loss is irreparable. Women may be affected in many ways,
even emotionally. 
"We are planning to raise the issue of their loss at the international war
tribunal," she said. 
Nineteen case studies were conducted and the reports have been compiled in a
book that is going to be launched soon. Suraia remarked that conducting
these case studies was in itself a painful experience since to only hear
what these neglected women have gone through and what injustice has been
done to them was simply unbearable. These women still shrink in shame while
recollecting the humiliation and violation of their womanhood in the hands
of the barbaric Pak army and their collaborators. 
Suraia also said that there are different dimensions to war and many facts
and history are still undiscovered. This documentary film is an outcome of a
part of the research work on the liberation war being conducted by ASK. 
Catherine Masud, while speaking on the occasion, said, "this documentary is
a compilation of women's experience that they encountered in the '71
liberation war. It's a comprehensive representation of war experience of the
women who survived the violence and trauma of the war." 
The title of the film Narir Katha, is an opt one in the sense that it not
only speaks of the women but it lets women speak also. In the film sculptor
Ferdousi, an adivasi (tribal) woman and a group of rural people tell the
stories of their independence struggle against the Pakistan occupation
force. They reproduce how dearly women paid for the country's freedom. One
village woman, who was mute with the shock at the loss of her husband in the
war, speaks more than any one else. Though she is dumb her helpless signs
tell the stories enough to move any human heart and tell them more than
others. 
The screening followed another brief discussion in which Tareque Masud and
Manjare Hassin took part. 
Manjare Hassin emphatically made a point that making such a documentary has
a global dimension since war crime is a crime against humanity. Through
recording of such historical facts we mean to establish human values. 
Tareque Masud said, "collective efforts are to be made in making documentary
films. It has to be free of any political party affiliation to enhance their
credibility." 
A panel discussion followed the screening. The discussants comprised of Dr
Nawsheba Sharafi, Mufidul Hoque and Meghna Guha Thakurta. Nawsheba Sharafi
told a story of women repression during the liberation war recollecting from
her memory. Mufidul Hoque said that the issue of war criminals trial is
often talked about in the present day world. "Like the Nuremburg trial and
Tokyo trial we must demand an international trial of the genocide in
Bangladesh in the International War Tribunal. 
Meghna highlighted elaborately about the possibility of holding a trial
against the brutal Pakistani war criminals in the ICC. 
The event ended with an open discussion and exchange of views on the
documentary. 

______

#4.

URGENT! URGENT! URGENT!
***please circulate***

DEMAND WORLD BANK ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR SARDAR SAROVAR PROJECT
Endorsements Needed by Friday - December 1, 2000!

We urge you to endorse the letter below demanding that the World Bank 
assume responsibility for its role in the destructive Sardar Sarovar 
Project in India. This project will displace at least 320,000 people and 
destroy the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands more. On October 
18, the Indian Supreme Court authorized renewed construction on the project 
despite the fact that there is no land available for resettlement and no 
resettlement plans or comprehensive environmental impact assessments have 
been completed.

Although the World Bank withdrew from the project in 1993, the Bank is 
still legally obligated to make sure the Indian government complies with 
the conditions of the original loan agreements. These conditions require 
that a proper resettlement plan and environmental impact assessment are 
carried out. The Bank approved the project in 1985 despite glaring 
violations of its own guidelines and dispersed $280 million before 
cancelling its loan.

Please send your endorsement **BY FRIDAY, DEC. 1** to swong@i... We 
encourage you to circulate this letter to your friends and colleagues for 
their endorsement.

Best wishes,

Susanne Wong
International Rivers Network

LETTER CALLING ON WORLD BANK TO ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR SARDAR SAROVAR 
PROJECT

November 20, 2000

Mr. James Wolfensohn
President
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433

Subject: World Bank's Responsibility for Sardar Sarovar Project

Dear Mr. Wolfensohn,

We, the undersigned organizations, are writing to point out the continuing 
plight of people affected by the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) and to call 
on the Bank to assume its responsibility to the people of the Narmada 
valley. The World Bank has failed to ensure that the Indian government has 
met its obligations under its loan agreement for SSP. Therefore, we demand 
that the Bank suspend all further disbursements and approvals for new loans 
for the Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra state governments until the 
Bank has ensured that the conditions of the loan have been met. As a first 
step, we urge the Bank to initiate consultations with the Narmada Bachao 
Andolan (Save the Narmada Movement), as promised in your meeting with 
people from the Narmada Valley in Delhi on November 13.

As you are aware, the Indian Supreme Court recently authorized continued 
construction of SSP despite major unresolved issues on resettlement, the 
environment and the project's costs and benefits.

The Government of India is still legally obligated to meet the terms and 
conditions in its loan and credit agreements with the Bank on SSP despite 
the Bank's withdrawal from the project in 1993 (refer to Memo from Ibrahim 
F.I. Shihata to D.J. Wood, March 30, 1993). These obligations were 
reiterated in India Country Director Edwin R. Lim's November 19, 1999 
letter to Both Ends and International Rivers Network where he stated that 
"the Bank has in the past and will continue to urge the Government of India 
to meet its obligations regarding the people affected by the Sardar Sarovar 
Project."

The problems that plagued the project before the cancellation of the Bank's 
loan remain unresolved. The Bank approved its $450 million loan for the 
project in 1985 despite glaring violations of its own guidelines concerning 
resettlement and the environment. According to the Bank-sponsored Morse 
Report, "In 1985, when the credit and loan agreement were signed, no basis 
for designing, implementing, and assessing resettlement and rehabilitation 
was in place." The Bank approved the loan without knowing how many people 
would be displaced or consulting affected people. Even to this day, no 
credible resettlement plan exists and no survey has been completed for 
villages affected by the reservoir's backwaters.

To make matters worse, government officials, including the Chief Minister 
of Madhya Pradesh, have stated that there is no land available for 
resettlement in Madhya Pradesh or Maharashtra. Villages that have been 
resettled have been scattered among different resettlement sites in blatant 
violation of the 1979 Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal Award and the Bank's 
loan and credit agreements.

The rights of people affected by the project for reasons other than 
submergence continue to be violated and ignored by project authorities. 
People who will lose land or livelihood due to the project's irrigation 
canal, compensatory afforestation, wildlife sanctuary, construction colony 
and other dam-related infrastructure are not currently entitled to 
rehabilitation. People affected by the construction colony have yet to be 
resettled even though the need to resettle them was recognized in the 
Bank's 1985 Staff Appraisal Report. Canal-affected people have not received 
proper compensation packages as stipulated in Bank conditions issued after 
the Morse report was published.

Furthermore, no environmental impact assessment has ever been produced for 
SSP. The Bank approved its credit and loan for SSP despite the lack of a 
comprehensive environmental assessment and the fact that the environmental 
clearance required under Indian law had not been granted.

Further construction of the Sardar Sarovar Project will have grave 
consequences. The Bank has already accepted its responsibility to ensure 
that its loan agreements are complied with. We call on the World Bank to 
turn its words into action and ensure that the Government of India meets 
its obligations to the people affected by the Sardar Sarovar Project. The 
Bank should begin this process by immediately initiating consultations with 
the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Until these conditions have been met, the Bank 
should suspend all further disbursements and approvals of new loans for 
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Sincerely,

NAME, GROUP, COUNTRY

______________________________________________
SACW dispatch is an informal, independent & non-profit 
citizens wire service run by South Asia Citizens Web 
(http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since 1996. 
Dispatch archive from 1998 can be accessed
at http://www.egroups.com/messages/act/
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