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RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN RIGHTS
E-Newsletter
Vol.3 No.4
January 22, 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)
CHINESE NEW YEAR : ASPIRATION FOR PEACE AND HAPPINESS a
reflection by WONG Kai Shing
According to the Chinese calendar, the Chinese New Year of
this year starts on 24 January 2001. The Chinese New Year is the
most important annual festival of the Chinese community. It is
also called the Spring Festival as it starts the beginning
of Spring. Each year is named after one of the twelve animals.
The order is first the Rat, then the Ox, the Tiger, Rabbit,
Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. This
year is the year of snake. There are several stories about the
origin of Chinese celebration of Chinese New Year. A popular one
is about the story of a monster called "Nian" in
Chinese. In Chinese words, "Nian" also means
"year" as in English. The story says that long time
ago, the monster "Nian" came out on the eve of a new
year and preyed on people. So people were very afraid of
"Nian" on the eve of a new year. One day, an old man
came to their rescue. He convinced "Nian" to swallow
the other beasts of prey on earth instead of people. Then
the old man disappeared riding on "Nian." As
"Nian" was gone and the other beasts of prey were also
scared away, people began to enjoy a peaceful life. Since then,
the celebration of Chinese New Year became a tradition to observe
the conquest of "Nian." Although this is a legend, it
shows that the celebration of Chinese New year represents the
aspiration of Chinese people for peace and happiness at the
beginning of a new year.
In preparing for the Chinese New Year, Chinese people usually
clean up their houses to sweep away bad luck. The doors, windows
and walls are put up red paper cuts and couplets with themes such
as happiness, wealth and longevity printed on them. The Chinese
New Year is very important for Chinese people in terms of family
union. This is shown by the custom of Chinese people to have a
family union dinner, usually on the eve of the Chinese New Year.
Many Chinese people return to their hometowns to union with their
families during the Chinese New Year. Almost all shops and
businesses stop to operate in the first three days of the Chinese
New Year to allow people to stay with their families.
On the first day of the Chinese New Year, many Chinese
families will eat vegetarian dishes to show respect to Buddha.
Then people will pay visits to their relatives and friends with
gifts. This provides opportunities for people to make
reconciliation with others. For children, one of the happiest
things during the Chinese New Year is to receive Hong Bao,
meaning red packet, with money inside. This custom involves
married couples giving children and unmarried adults money in red
envelopes. The Chinese New Year ends with the Festival of
Lanterns on its 15th day with singing, dancing and lantern shows.
As a whole, the Chinese New Year is a time for peace, happiness,
family union and reconciliation. People wish that a good
beginning of the year would bring peace and happiness in the
coming year. During the Chinese New Year, let us wish peace and
happiness to all particularly to those that suffer and commit
ourselves to their realisation.
Happy Chinese New Year!
2)
A SUMMARY OF SOME IDEAS AND CONCLUSIONS WHICH EMERGED DURING THE
TRAINING PROGRAM IN EAST TIMOR(15-20 Jan 2001)
Though the number of participants at this training program has
been very few and attendance not very regular, there was still an
intense discussion that gives some indication of the basic
concerns of people in East Timor regarding human rights. Some of
these issues are outlined below.
(1) A feeling that there is no justice in East Timor, even
after the formation of UNTAET, seems to be one of the major
preoccupations among human rights activists, which may also be a
reflection of a general feeling among the people in East Timor.
Justice is a foundation for human rights. Any attempt to promote
the protection of human rights can be based only on the
restoration of people's faith in justice. Thus, a major task
facing those who try to work for the improvement of human rights
in East Timor is to address this seemingly colossal loss of faith
in obtaining justice in East Timor.
(2) In the discussions, it appeared that even for ordinary
crimes, such as murder, rape, etc., it seems almost impossible to
obtain justice. Many cases in East Timor were discussed during
this training program. Almost all of the incidents show that,
while there have been gross human rights abuses, there has not
been any form of redress that has satisfied the people.
(3) Many cases were discussed which occurred before UNTAET
came into existence in East Timor. During this time, Indonesia
occupied East Timor. When complaints are brought about the
violations that took place during this time, the participants
stated that the general reply by CivPol is that they have no
jurisdiction to inquire into these cases. Thus, a question arises
as to whether the victims of crimes during these times have any
redress. It seems to be quite a common problem that upsets the
Timorese people and one to which no answer of any sort has been
found thus far. Until this problem is addressed, the progress of
the development of institutions of justice in East Timor will
face serious problems.
(4) One of the participants spoke of the need for people
themselves to take responsibility for justice. This concept is of
extreme importance in relation to the development of common
notions of justice among the people. Justice cannot develop from
the top down. It is the people's sense of justice that the State
must recognise. The promotion of justice must remain the primary
responsibility of the community. In order to expose injustice and
to extend solidarity to gain justice for everyone, community
activists must constantly be vigilant. It is only when the flame
of justice is alive in the community that the State and its
institutions will be compelled to recognise its duty to deal with
injustice and its obligations to ensure the proper administration
of justice.
(5) The lack of justice for women, both by the State as well
as by civil society, was another issue that kept being raised
during most of the discussion. There seems to be a deeply felt
sense of woundedness among the people. The demand for equal
treatment is clearly surfacing among women in East Timor.
(6) Civil society needs to address the issue of security and
freedom in Dili and in other parts of East Timor. This requires
the community to take responsibility to deal with social and
economic issues. In the post-conflict social and economic context
of East Timor, unemployment, a lack of structural channels to
express and process the frustration and trauma of the
post-conflict period and the weakness of implementing laws
regarding women's rights all combine to create a situation where
there is a strong feeling of insecurity, especially for women, to
move freely about the capital of Dili.
(7) During the discussion on children's rights, the following
problems were highlighted: (1) street children and homeless
children throughout the country, (2) the trafficking of girls
from East Timor to Malaysia and Indonesia and (3) the kidnapping
of children by the Indonesian military, which then takes them to
Indonesia to
indoctrinate them in the beliefs of Islam for the purpose of
later bringing them back to East Timor to create internal
conflicts. To address these issues, efforts should be made to
investigate in detail the situation and to create thorough
reports that can be used to raise international awareness and to
get action within East Timor.
It was also pointed out that malnutrition is increasing among
children. Moreover, because of economic pressures, children are
sent to work at an early age, and there is a deterioration of the
appreciation of the value of education because of this
deprivation.
In addition, due to the destruction of the buildings used as
schools, there is a serious lack of basic facilities for the
education of children, such as chairs and desks. This causes
children to carry their chairs to school every day and back home
at night.
(8) The participants of this seminar expressed a great desire
to be educated in human rights. They expressed that the type of
education that is needed is one that will help them to address
the problems faced by their people. It is obvious that all
training must be directed towards enabling the East Timorese
themselves to undertake
all aspects of leadership in the human rights movement in East
Timor. Their sensitivity on this matter and their frustration
regarding some of the trainings that have taken place in East
Timor in the past should be listened to.
3) NEWS IN BRIEF
3-1) MOLUCCAS : CHILDRENS' PRAYER MEETING ?At the suggestion
of the Governor of the Moluccas, a prayer meeting for one
thousand elementary school children (500 muslim / 500 christian)
was organized by the Chief Police Commander Mr. Firman Gani on
January 17. The children performed their Qasidahs, Vocal Groups,
Duets and Solos in an attractive way before their thousand
amigoes and several government and religious leaders. Everybody
was very satisfied and ?like one spokesman said ?their
parents should feel ashamed. Why cannot they make peace where the
children have already - A report from Crisis Centre
3-2) SRI LANKA: WAR CONTINUES DESPITE LTTE CEASE-FIRE OFFER -
JRS
Intense warfare continues in north Sri Lanka as the Sri Lankan
Army (SLA) consolidates its gains in northern Jaffna. Last month,
the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) declared a
unilateral cease-fire, which the government failed to
reciprocate. Instead, the army commander of Jaffna reiterated the
army will press ahead with the war. Sources report:
"Increased fire power, supplied by many countries, appears
to have given the army renewed confidence. Meanwhile, far
left Sinhala groups in Sri Lanka continue to resist the
Norwegian peace initiative. This does not come as a surprise to
many neutral observers. In a country where war and hatred have
become a corporate venture of huge profit, an influential section
does not want the war to end. Sri Lanka may be one of the few
countries in the world where the arms mafia also owns the
newspapers."
3-3) NEPAL/BHUTAN: JOINT VERIFICATION OF REFUGEES TO TAKE
PLACE
Nepal and Bhutan have agreed to a joint verification of the
Bhutanese refugees in Nepal at the tenth round of joint
ministerial level talks (JMLT). The move breaks the stalemate
which for years had stalled bilateral talks about the future of
the refugees. "The refugees waited with great hope for the
outcome of talks, which began on Christmas day and ended on 27
December," said JRS Nepal director, PS Amalraj SJ. "We
believe the agreement reached has cleared the first stumbling
block towards ultimate repatriation. Courtesy JRS
Posted on 2001-01-22
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