July 22, 2008	Tuesday	Rajab 18, 1429

COLOMBO, July 21: A three-day gathering of people of South Asian countries has called for creating a People’s Union of South Asia and urged the governments of the member countries to stop militarisation, sign no-war pacts and ensure visa-free movement.

A declaration adopted by members of social movements, labour unions, women’s groups and civil society organisations blamed government policies for inflation, food insecurity, rising burden of debt and its negative impacts and neglect of marginalised people all over the region.

It called for a people’s response to meet these challenges which have become more diabolic due to government policies often based on expediency.

As the Sri Lankan security apparatus was busy in ‘securing’ the vicinity for the upcoming Saarc summit, the declaration emphasised: “We must take a collective stand against all structures of oppression, discrimination and violence facing the people of the region and ensure that those who have been traditionally marginalised from political processes, such as dalits, women, indigenous peoples and religious minorities, will be in the forefront of this political project.”

The declaration called for “creating a discourse on democratic and participatory political processes which respect national and local priorities and take into consideration the very real inequalities between the different states in the region”.

After discussions and debates for three days in plenary sessions and over 30 workshops, the participants stressed the need for building a South Asian identity based on ‘our diversities and common histories’. They pledged to work towards ensuring that hatred between countries was not propagated through media and education.

The declaration also emphasised that “South Asian countries commit to a no-war pact and declare the region as nuclear-free. This also involves the drastic reduction of defence budgets and de-militarisation of the region”.