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RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN RIGHTS

E-Newsletter
Vol.3 No.27
July 3, 2001


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Religious Perspectives on Human Rights is now available online at: http://www.rghr.net

Religious Perspectives on Human Rights is a weekly e-newsletter issued by Buddhist, Muslim, Catholic and Christian Groups on Human Rights, initiated by the Asian Human Rights Commission.

1) HIGH COMMISSIONER APPOINTEE RESPONSIBLE FOR ATROCITIES
2) THE GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST CASTE: JULY 3 - A message from Basil Fernando
3) EU/DUTCH SUPPORT FOR CASTE IN WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM
4) POPE JOHN PAUL II BRANDS MASS TOURISM THE NEW FORM OF EXPLOITATION
5) LEADERS CONSIDER WAYS TO COMBAT FEMALE FETICIDE
6) NEWS IN BRIEF
7) AHRC HOME NEWS

1) AHRC MEDIA RELEASE: HIGH COMMISSIONER APPOINTEE RESPONSIBLE FOR ATROCITIES - Former detainee under General Perera speaks out AHRC has issued an eyewitness account of extreme physical and psychological torture, overcrowding and hundreds of disappearances/extrajudicial killings at an illegal military detention camp (in Wehera, Kurunegala district, 25 miles from Kandy) run by the man being appointed Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia, Major General Janaka Perera.

Tim Gill, spokesperson for AHRC, said today, "We are releasing the harrowing account of the eyewitness not to encourage a witch-hunt of the appointed High Commissioner, but to show the scale of the atrocities committed in Sri Lanka between 1988 and 1992, and to call for those responsible to be brought to justice."

In the statement, the detainee recalls the extreme overcrowding and shackling in the cells and halls; the removal of the detainees when humanitarian agencies came to inspect the camp; the 'disappearance' of literally hundreds of fellow detainees; the sadistic forms of torture used on him and on others; and the psychologically impact of having to watch fellow detainees be tortured daily in front of you.

"Obviously such a record is sufficient for Mr. Downer to take the extraordinary step of rejecting the appointment to High Commissioner. The impunity Major General Perera enjoys in Sri Lanka (along with many others involved in the disappearances) should not qualify him for international positions. But the rejection would not make up for the impunity, and Australia should take further steps to address this."

AHRC has known the eyewitness since the early 1990's and has studied the case carefully. AHRC has also independently verified the relevant facts related to this case. Further, the story of the detainee is completely consistent with the details of the detention camps kept during this period according to the official reports published by government appointed commissions.

AHRC has also released a summary of the Crime Against Humanity constituted by the systematic disappearances between 1988 and 1992, as many outside Sri Lanka are still ignorant of this atrocity. This is despite the fact that a UN Working Group has rated it as the 2nd highest number of disappearances committed in the world. These disappearances were not part of the Sinhala-Tamil conflict. Following is an extract from the AHRC summary:

"These disappearances occurred mainly in the southern part of Sri Lanka and the victims were largely Sinhala youth. The disappearances were not a campaign by a hostile foreign enemy, nor were they part of a bloody civil war or revolution. It was a campaign by a democratically elected government [UNP] to remove an opposition... Many of the victims were outside the insurgency movement; some victims were simply members of legally recognized opposition parties. Many were just children."

The eyewitness account and more detailed information can be found at www.disappearances.org under "Disappearances related news."

2) THE GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST CASTE: JULY 3, 2001

A Message from Basil Fernando

There many debates about Dalits and all these debates are very necessary. However, for the final resolution of this problem, it is necessary to understand one social reality and that is Brahminism. Without understanding Brahminism as the formidable barrier for development of democracy in South Asia, very little will be achieved by way of substantial change to the way of life in South Asia in general and India in particular. Here lies the importance of the study of the works of B.R. Ambedkar on this issue. The crux of his contribution was to show that eradication of Brahminism and eradication of caste are one and the same.

Brahminism is a collection of social doctrines which created the worlds most comprehensive system of repression, by which a small percentage of the population were able to gain total control of a vast majority, both as a group and as individuals. Brahminism was able to create extreme self-contempt among the larger part of the population and extreme self-confidence among the smaller group, called the Brahmins. The collection of millions of tricks that were developed to achieve this, when put together, is called Brahminism. Such tricks include religious rituals- no religious ritual is as mundane and hypocritical as that of Brahmins-, prescriptions about eating, sitting, drinking of water, use of toilets, marriage, love making, reading, dress and everything that is possible for a human being to do. For a larger list this you may read Law of Manu. In short, a Brahmin may be called a Man of a Million Tricks when it comes to the way that they take personal advantage of others. Brahmins are incapable of following any other interest or ideal except their own survival. Again, Ambedkar's books Riddles of Hinduism is essential reading for understanding of this form of repression.

Thus, for those who have been suffering under this oppression, the way out consists of a self-liberation process. It can never be a concession wining process. The Brahmin mind of modern times is a creation of thousands of years of living by tricks. It simply cannot change. The self-liberation needs to be one of getting away from the influence of all these tricks. A child who sees through a magician's tricks makes a joke of the magician. This must be done to the Brahmin. However, it will not be easy. One important lesson can help in the process of liberation: Never trust a Brahmin. It will take a few centuries before the Brahmins can change their mindset that is so used to tricks, and become capable of genuine thought or feeling. Those who want to help the liberation of Dalits and other minorities from the yoke of Brahminism must concentrate on assisting in the self-liberation processes, and not waste time in trying to change Brahmins.

During the last century, the anti-Brahmin movement became a great and formidable movement in the world. The success was due to the realization that self-liberation is the way out. When self-confidence is regained by the so-called low caste, they will reclaim the world. The lesson gained from all these experiences is this: The only way to civilize a Brahmin is to ignore him. This is a lesson worth recalling on this INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY FOR THE DALITS.

3) EU/DUTCH SUPPORT FOR CASTE IN WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM

The Dutch government has taken a clear stand on the issue of caste-discrimination in the WCAR. In response to a letter from Dutch NGOs (Justitia et Pax, Cordaid, ICCI, Hivos, CMC, Churches in Action, CEDAR and India Committee of the Netherlands) they wrote:

"As decided by the CERD (Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination) committee, the problem of caste definitely comes under discrimination on the basis of descent (Article 1 CERD). The Netherlands and the European Union are of the opinion that the framework within which the Political Declaration and the Programme of Action ought to be formulated is the CERD Treaty. It is thereby ensured that the problem of caste is part of the Political Declaration and the Programme of Action and thereby the agenda of the World Conference Against Racism. Besides, the draft Programme of Action contains a paragraph that specifically relates to the issue of caste. Within the European Union (EU), the Netherlands, together with some other countries, has strongly urged that the EU does its utmost to preserve the specific reference to this category of persons, who also experience problems in other countries besides India."

The Human Rights Report of the European Parliament contains the following paragraph on the caste issue: [The European Parliament] ''Calls upon the EU to investigate to what extent its policies contribute to the abolition of caste discrimination and the practice of untouchability in India''.

- Gerard Oonk, India Committee of the Netherlands

4) POPE JOHN PAUL II BRANDS MASS TOURISM THE NEW FORM OF EXPLOITATION

The most widely traveled pontiff in history dismissed tourist villages as places where people seek superficial exoticism and lack "any real contact with the culture of the place." The globetrotting Pope, who next month departs for his summer holidays in the mountains near France, said a certain type of tourism can transform "culture, religious ceremonies and ethnic festivities into consumer goods".

- BBC on line

5) INDIA: LEADERS CONSIDER WAYS TO COMBAT FEMALE FETICIDE

Indian government officials and religious leaders met on June 22 in New Delhi to discuss ways to stop discrimination against girls and stem the dramatic increase in abortions of female fetuses by parents who retain the society's traditional preference for boys (Nirmala George, Associated Press/Nando Times, 23 Jun). The meeting was organized by UNICEF, the National Commission for Women and the Indian Medical Association. The national convention of religious leaders, the first of its kind, condemned the practice of female feticide as "shameful and inhuman" and said the practice has no sanctity within any faith. (Press Trust of India, 24 Jun).

Indian families often prefer having boys, in part because families are faced with providing dowries for their daughters when they marry. Erma Manoncourt of UNICEF said it is necessary "to change people's mindsets" in order to halt such discrimination. Some groups also say providing educational and employment opportunities for girls would help restructure societal attitudes.

Initial findings from India's 2001 census show that the number of girls born in most regions of the country have dropped to alarming levels, while a recent UN report on women in India showed there are fewer than 933 females for every 1,000 males, compared to the statistical norm of 1,050 women for every 1,000 men (George, AP/Nando Times). Satish Agnihotri, a professor at Calcutta University, said that the problem is even more stark in wealthier areas of the country. "What is disturbing is that the drop in the number of girls is sharper in India's prosperous states, like Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana," he said. "Female infanticide can't be blamed on poverty. The blame rests squarely on how the Indian society undervalues women."

Part of the problem is the fact that prenatal sex determination has become increasingly available in the country, even in the most remote villages. The test costs and abortions costs , while the average annual per capita income is 0 (George, AP/Nando Times).

Manoncourt said the outcome of the meeting will be conveyed to the UN special session on children in September (Channel News Asia, 25 Jun).

- UN Wire

6) NEWS IN BRIEF

6.1) WOMEN WRAP UP ESCAP CONFERENCE

A four-day UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific summit of women in local government closed on June 22 in Phitsanulok, Thailand, with the signing of a declaration calling for campaign spending caps, gender quotas, election reforms and a goal of reaching equal numbers of men and women in the region's local governments. Participants at the conference, organized by ESCAP and partner agencies, discussed the high cost of campaigning, harassment of women in politics, entrenched cultural and social norms and unequal division of household responsibilities as barriers to women's representation (ESCAP release, 22 Jun).

- UN Wire

6.2) BANGLADESH: WORLD FOOD PROGRAM TARGETS VERY POOR

The UN World Food Program will at the end of the year begin a special program for Bangladesh's very poor, particularly women and children, a WFP official told the Financial Express newspaper. According to WFP statistics, there are 30 million extremely poor in Bangladesh, with little access to food. The WFP has provided food assistance to Bangladesh since 1974 (Financial Express/Xinhua News Agency, 25 Jun).

- UN Wire

6.3) WOMEN OF BURMA DAY AT SAFE AREA

Around 500 students in Maneeloy Safe Area in Ratchburi celebrated Women of Burma Day and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday (19 June). Messages of solidarity to the women of Burma were read by the different organizations in the safe are, including various ethnic groups. The celebration was capped with a prayer and lighting of candles. This activity was organized by the Women's Affairs of the Burmese Students Association.

There are about 1000 students at the Maneeloy Safe Area awaiting third country resettlement.

- ALTSEAN BURMA (Alternative Asean Network on Burma)

7) AHRC HOME NEWS

7.1) Urgent Appeal issued - UPDATE: Summons issued to seven Jesuit priests on criminal charges - 28.6.2001
7.2) Statement issued - Australia: High Commissioner Appointee responsible for atrocities - 28.6.2001 (see above)