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| May 20, 2005 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1426 |
S. Asian MPs seek shared security, more press freedom
BHURBAN (Murree Hills), May 19: South Asian parliamentarians urged their governments at a conference on Thursday to evolve mechanisms for security cooperation among them—ranging from nuclear restraint to water management—and allow more press freedom in their countries.
The issues of “cooperative security in South Asia” and the “right to know and independence of media” were discussed at two sessions at Bhurban, near the Murree hill resort, on the fifth day of the first-ever South Asian parliamentary conference organised by a regional organisation of journalists.
The conference will conclude on Friday with the adoption of a declaration containing its positions on various issues discussed since Sunday, including economic cooperation, a proposal to create a regional parliament and a human rights code, and other recommendations to member countries of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).
In the debate on security cooperation, parliament members from both the ruling and opposition parties from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka spoke about perceived dangers from within and outside the region, including terrorism, domination, water disputes, and natural disasters such as last December’s tsunami, and called for building trust and resolution of their disputes through dialogue.
The discussion centred on two papers by a professor at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, C. Raja Mohan, and a Pakistani journalist, Ejaz Haider, both of whom later formulated consensus points to be included in the declaration of the conference hosted by the South Asian Free Media Association (Safma). Some of these are: - Current India-Pakistan peace progress welcomed but need stressed for the implementation of joint declarations of the two countries in letter and spirit. - While a nuclear missile confrontation between India and Pakistan could affect the whole region, there was need to establish a comprehensive mechanism to eliminate all dangers of a nuclear war between them. - Since both India and Pakistan are willing to cooperate with them, the other five nuclear powers should engage the new nuclear powers on nuclear issues. - Armament modernisation by one country should not endanger another. - As being done by India and Pakistan, all other countries of the region should engage in “sustained composite dialogues” to settle bilateral disputes.
Other consensus points include multiple cooperation for regional security such as intelligence-sharing by security agencies, greater interaction between military establishments, an integrated management of water resources to safeguard rights of both upper and lower riparian countries, and cooperation with other regional groupings on trans-regional security issues.
Minister of State for Interior Shahzad Wasim referred to what he called a lot of progress made in the India-Pakistan peace process but said more confidence-building measures were needed such as respect for each other’s ideology and addressing concerns of people in the region such as those of “our people” about water issues with India.
PRESS PROBLEMS: A lively debate on press freedom followed two papers presented by veteran Pakistani journalist and human rights activist I.A. Rehman and Safma secretary-general Imtiaz Alam about what was generally perceived to be an unsatisfactory state of affairs in the region.
Among the participants was Minister of State Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli who told the conference that the present government was prepared to improve press laws in consultation with opposition parties and media, which, she said, already enjoyed freedom not seen in the past. She assured opposition PPP member Sherry Rehman, whose one private bill about press freedom was rejected by the treasury benches, that she could expect support from the treasury benches in any similar move in the future if she consulted them in advance.
Mr Rehman, who cited instances of good or bad press laws in the Saarc member countries, said one of the features of governance common to South Asian countries was a “dogged resistance to efforts at burying the colonial legacy of secrecy”.
“Despite increased rhetoric about transparency in public affairs, no state in the region has been able to wholeheartedly appreciate the demands for an adequate law on the people’s right to know.”
Mr Alam, on behalf of Safma, urged the parliamentarians to reiterate their commitment to the right to know and freedom of expression as recognised by the United Nations, recognise the imperatives of the information revolution and make a commitment to change media laws in their respective countries that curtail press freedom and prohibit the right to know and to speak. He also proposed to them to form committees in their respective parliaments to lobby for the review of press laws.
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