COLOMBO, Aug 2: South Asian leaders on Saturday called for a collective fight to defeat a wave of terrorism which was threatening to engulf the region.
Addressing the inaugural session of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation’s two-day summit, the heads of states and governments pinpointed growing food shortages, rising fuel prices and climate as a major cause of concern for them. They also called for making Saarc relevant to the people and increasing interaction between inhabitants of the world’s sixth most populous region.
The focus of the deliberations, however, was on terrorism because five of the Saarc member states — Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and Afghanistan — were among those countries hardest hit by terrorism.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who delivered a hard-hitting speech on the issue of terrorism, warned that terrorism was now getting “institutional nourishment which posed a sinister threat to the future of the region”.
He said terrorism was the result of pursuit of narrow-minded geo-political interests, which would not pay off in the long run.
Accusing Pakistan of not having done enough to rein in terrorists, he said the “terrorism and terrorist sanctuaries were gaining greater ground there”.
Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, who did not respond to allegations levelled by Mr Karzai, said that extremism and terrorism not only challenged the country’s value system, but also impacted socio-economic development.
He emphasized that it was the joint responsibility of all countries of the region to get rid of this scourge.
“We need to fight terrorism individually as well as collectively.”
He expressed the hope that forthcoming meetings of Saarc police chiefs and interior ministers in Islamabad later this year would focus on strengthening regional cooperation against terrorism.
The prime minister also welcomed the finalization of the text of the Saarc Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, which he believed could help in fighting terrorism.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while condemning terrorism, said it had continued to rear its ugly head in the region, and called for acting jointly and with determination to fight it. He warned against any let-up in this fight.
“We cannot afford to lose the battle against ideologies of hatred, fanaticism and against all those who seek to destroy our social fabric.”
In a cautionary note, Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed said: “The deadly fangs of terrorism are spreading across the region. They threaten to disrupt peace and stability.”
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said that no country in the Saarc region had been spared of terrorism plague. His remarks came as Colombo adopted unprecedented security measures with nearly 22,000 police and troops deployed to guard 400 delegates from member states and observer countries.
FOOD SHORTAGES: Mentioning the severe food shortages and rising fuel prices, Mr Rajapakse said such a crisis had never been witnessed before.
“Today, as never before, we are confronted with global issues of food and energy insecurity and climate change. Food prices in international markets have increased by 54 per cent in the past year alone. World oil prices have increased by 300 per cent over the past four years. These are statistics of near despair,” he said, and called for converting this challenge into opportunity.
Prime Minister Gilani, while sharing the concern about the food shortages, said that despite having fertile lands and developed irrigation systems, the agrarian societies of South Asia, which exported food to the rest of the world, were now sadly confronted with a situation where they had to look to the rest of the world for its food security.
He called for addressing this issue on priority basis and underscored the need for Saarc countries to develop a comprehensive regional strategy to ensure food security.
Bangladesh Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed asked for making food security a corner-stone of poverty alleviation initiatives.
“Ensuring self-sufficiency in cereal production and attaining food security would require greater attention to agricultural productivity and should be the critical element in poverty-reduction strategy.”
Prime Minister Singh warned that unprecedented increase in oil and food prices risked jeopardizing the developmental gains made by the region.
He asked Saarc to make its voice heard in the councils of the world for an effective global response that protected interests of oil consuming countries. He also demanded pooling regional resources to tap renewable sources such as solar energy, hydropower and wind energy.
Almost all leaders supported the call for early ratification of establishment and operationalising of the proposed food bank for regional preparedness to meet food shortages through development of strategic buffer stocks of staple foods.
President Karzai offered his country’s role in transfer of energy from Central Asia to the region, saying his country offered the cheapest and shortest route to energy reserves of Central Asia.
CLIMATE CHANGE: Bangladesh Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin, while voicing concern about the climate change, said it had become a major cause of concern for the region.
“South Asia is acutely vulnerable to global warming and climate change. The melting of Himalayan glaciers, rising sea levels, drought and desertification, increasing salinity in our rivers are most visible manifestations of the changing climate. In South Asia, global warming is rendering natural disasters frequent and more intense, causing greater damages and devastation to lives and livelihood.”
Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom told the South Asian leaders that no challenge had greater capacity for calamity than global climate change.
“One can not overemphasize the adverse effects that climate change is having on fundamental human rights such as the right to life, shelter and a sustainable livelihood,” said Gayoom.
He said that global climate change policies were still driven more by economic rationale rather than human security.
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