Role of SAARC in combating terrorism, ensuring regional peacea

Dr. Ruwantissa ABEYRATNE

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in opening the 15th Session of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Colombo on August 2, 2008 called upon member States to redouble efforts for collective action to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, remembering that it is the element of interdependence which is crucial for a durable peace and the protection of democratic values in the region.

He also stated that there was a compelling need for strengthening of regional mechanisms and intensifying intelligence sharing, in order to secure the region's collective prosperity, peace and stability, in combating terrorism. He strongly suggested that in-depth studies are carried out to understand the social impact of the menace of terrorism citing Sri Lanka as an example where there has been tangible evidence of such cooperation in combating the terrorism in the country which gave the people the hope of eradicating it sooner than many once expected.

President Rajapaksa reiterated this call for regional cooperation in eradicating terrorism from the region, in the immediate aftermath of the recent terrorist attacks on Mumbai. Implicit in this call was a deeper message which he gave at his opening address at the SAARC Summit when he said, recalling the 14th Session of the Summit held in India : "The Delhi Summit launched SAARC as a Partnership for Prosperity, for the Prosperity of Our People, identifying the importance of connectivity as a powerful engine of growth. Continuity, consistency and coordination are all vital to have the desired practical effect towards our goal of regional economic integration.

people-centred

However, we must ensure that SAARC becomes more meaningful to all our people. Therefore, throughout the ensuing year we have to give SAARC a truly people-centred focus through all its programmes and mechanisms. It is then that SAARC can become the robust Partnership for Growth for all our people".

The eradication of terrorism should indeed be the foremost goal of SAARC if there were to be a robust partnership for growth of all the people in the region. However, even more important is that this be achieved in an environment of peace. Peace, in this context should not be a mere absence of war, but should transcend political and diplomatic tension between SAARC member States.

Inasmuch as there would be no peace if normality in daily human interaction were not restored, it is incontrovertible that there will be no lasting peace if the attendant discord that goes into human conflict is not eradicated and obviated. In this context, the classic meaning of the word "obviate" ( which is to make unnecessary) is intended.

Inherent in any process of national disagreement and suspicion is a certain intellectual abdication of the values instilled in a society, through a democratic process, encompassing legal, philosophical and epistemological principles. Also endemic to the breakdown of political and diplomatic relations from a national perspective, is the pre-eminent collective role played by regional bodies such as SAARC.

It is therefore imperative that a peaceful society brings to bear an irrevocable resurgence calculated to apprehend clear and imminent danger for nations of the region Above all, the issue must as of necessity be addressed with an openness to unforeseen questions which may divide nationalities and races and estrange them from their foundational bases.

In the ultimate analysis, what is needed to secure peace is wisdom and discreetness. Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University and a former professor at Harvard, states in his book, "Where shall Wisdom be Found", that there are three criteria that impel him to go on reading and teaching: aesthetic splendour, intellectual power and wisdom. Of these, the last is perhaps the most useful for survival.

Wisdom is the ability to make correct judgments and decisions, and remains an intangible quality gained through experience Often, society tends to attribute wisdom to an action or decision that is determined in a pragmatic sense by its popularity. Some criteria in judging wisdom are traditionalism and how long it has been around, and its ability to predict against future events. Wisdom connotes an enlightened perspective.

concept of peace

A person's conception of "peace" is often the product of culture and upbringing, as is a nation's concept of peace is essentially influenced by the cultural ethos of its people . People of different cultures sometimes disagree about the meaning of the word, and so do people within any given culture. Peace is not a symbol, peace is a mindset.

The maintenance of longstanding peace between nations ranks among the few great successes of the United Nations. Peace can be voluntary, where potential agitators choose to abstain from disturbance, or it can be enforced, by suppressing those who might otherwise cause such disturbance.

One of the most significant and wise initiatives of the United Nations was in 1997, when the UN adopted General Assembly Resolution A/52/13 which alludes to a culture of peace that should permeate values, attitudes and conduct and impel the parties concerned to reject violence and attempt to solve problems through consultation, negotiation and consensus. The UN has gone further, in adopting Assembly Resolution 53/243, which is aimed at ensuring for the children of the world a peace culture through an "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non Violence"

A culture of peace would entail different features for different nations, depending on their own cultural history and attitudes of racial, religious and gender tolerance. However, there are some basics that would incontrovertibly apply to any given situation. or instance.

Firstly, the issue would be to what extent are people educated and sensitized to perceive themselves as part of a peaceful society who would follow rules of conduct leading to dialogue and negotiation instead of taking to the use of force. Peace education should bring to bear the compelling need for a tolerance and non-violence based culture.

democracy

Some issues that would bear on a culture of peace would be: To what extent are women given equality and a say in governance as well as in day to day living ? To what extent are children and their nurturance valued?; what roles do understanding, tolerance, solidarity and mutual obligation play in a given society ?

How far does a State adhere to democratic participation and how much credence and reliance is placed on open communication, transparency and accountability?.

The international obligations of a Government and its society also play a significant part in the culture of peace in a country.

As defined by the United Nations, the culture of peace is a set of values, attitudes, modes of behaviour and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals, groups and nations.

Firstly, a culture of peace requires revising the educational curricula to promote qualitative values, attitudes and behaviours of a culture of peace, including peaceful conflict-resolution, dialogue, consensus-building and active non-violence. Such an educational approach should be geared also to promote sustainable economic and social development by reducing economic and social inequalities, by eradicating poverty and by assuring sustainable food security , social justice, durable solutions to debt problems, empowerment of women, special measures for groups with special needs, and environmental sustainability.

strife

Therefore, the Pre-eminent concern of SAARC must be, at this defining moment of history to demonstrate an intellectual openness to questions that may arise from the debilitation of discrimination felt by a society of people and to meditate on such extremities as war and civil strife so as to avoid them.

In this context one of the considerations of all SAARC members should be that the juridical apprehension ingrained in a democratic system, admitting of "freedom of speech" has to be given cautious consideration so that safeguards are entrenched in a legislative structure in a "post peace" social setting that would prevent the use of indiscriminate dissemination of information.

The law must essentially distinguish between the classic dichotomy between speech and conduct, in order to arrogate a definitive place to speech that would tantamount to conduct based on the injury that the speech causes.

Principles of causation must be identified in order to ensure that boundaries between speech and conduct are not obfuscated and purveyors of hate speech are not exonerated of their overall responsibilities to society.

Social consciousness must transcend parochial considerations of legal dogma and embrace the compelling need to recognize and envision "clear and imminent danger" that indiscriminate information may cause.

A certain curative logic based on imputation must be ingrained in the legislative minds of the 21st Century. In a sense, this approach can analogically be likened to the preventive reasoning of risk management that is capable of conceptualising possible harm to national harmony.

It is clear that an important facet of a culture of peace is freedom of information and communication and the sharing of information and knowledge.

The UN concludes that the gains in human security and disarmament in recent years, including nuclear weapons treaties and the treaty banning land mines, should encourage us to increase our efforts in negotiation of peaceful settlements, elimination of production and traffic of arms and weapons, humanitarian solutions in conflict situations, and post-conflict initiatives. SAARC could well be the mini United Nations for its region.