Report on the WSCF-AP Human Rights
and Solidarity Workshop 2001
“HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGION”
17-23 SEPTEMBER, 2001
DHAKA, BANGLADESH
Introduction:
Religious
fundamentalism has re-emerged as a potent force in the last few decades of the 20th
century. It is a growing trend within the various religions of the world.
Currently the Asia-Pacific region is experiencing and witnessing intensified
religious conflicts, which are causing massive human rights violations and
disintegration of communities. Religious Fundamentalism, whether in Hinduism,
Islam, Sikhism or even Christianity, or any other religion, poses a great
danger to many Asian communities.
It is a fact
that none of the societies in Asia is homogeneous or monolithic. By their very
nature, Asian societies are highly pluralistic in terms of culture, religion,
ethnicity, language, caste, class, etc. But the religious conflicts that arise,
resulting from religious fundamentalism that sometimes lead to fanaticism, are
too often used by sections of society as a tool either for gaining political
and economic power or for staying in power. Nevertheless, whether for purely
religious reasons, or for religiously-coated socio-political agendas,
religious-cultural conflicts have resulted in more human rights violations and
disintegration of societies in the Asia-Pacific region. Sadly, it is often the
minorities of the society who suffer the most from human rights violations.
There is a
great need for Asians to understand the true teachings of their different
traditions. Understanding them better may help us free ourselves from blind
adherence to any kind of fundamentalism in religion that only puts us in
opposition to Asians of other faiths. Understanding them better may also help
us understand better the truth behind many religious conflicts: the
socio-economic and political agendas of some sections of society. Furthermore,
understanding all these dynamics better may help us in the WSCF-AP region to
respond more appropriately to the trends and causes of religious conflicts and
their related human rights violations. One urgent response is to initiate
inter-faith dialogue to promote the works of human rights, justice and peace
for communities in Asia, right in their cultural and religious diversity.
In order to
consider issues arising from the above preamble, the World Student Christian
Federation-Asia Pacific Region (WSCF-AP) initiated the Human Rights and
Solidarity Workshop (HRSW). The theme was “Human Rights and
Religion”. This workshop was organized in Dhaka, Bangladesh from
September 17-23, 2001. The participants came from seven member SCMs from South
Asia and South East Asia. A total of thirteen participants were present in the
activity. Three (3) of the delegates were from Bangladesh. The other delegates
were from Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and India.
There were also one WSCF-AP staff member and one member of the WSCF AP Standing
Committee.
The Objectives
of the Workshop are as follows:
General Summary
of the Workshop:
The
Programme commenced with an opening worship and reflection led by Rev. Paul
Shishir Sarker, a Senior Friend of BDSCM. Rev Sarker is the Principal of Bishop
Blair Theological College in Dhaka.
The Keynote
address was given by Father RW Timm CSC.
The
participants broke into 2 groups for exposure trips. One group went to Dinajpur
to meet with indigenous peoples, and one group stayed in Dhaka.
A Country
Report was presented by each of the participants.
A bible
study and reflection was also part of the programme.
There was
also an input and discussion on the situation of the inter-faith dialogue in
Bangladesh by Bro. J D Souza.
Before the workshop
ended, all the participants were able to come up with concrete plan of action
in the local, national, regional, and international levels.
The keynote
address was given by Rev R.W Timm CSC, a Catholic priest originally from the
United States, who has been living in Bangladesh since 1952. Father Timm shared
some of his experiences in Bangladesh, including from his time doing relief
work on Manpura Island after a cyclone devastated that island in November 1970.
During this time he made some observations about the power structure of the
village, and he observed that a small elite (being the big landowners and
businessmen) controlled the destiny of the vast majority of the people. His
experiences on Manpura Island encouraged him to work full time in human rights
work in Bangladesh, working in War Time Rehabilitation after the Liberation War
of 1971.
Father Timm,
through his Commission for Justice and Peace (which he was Executive Secretary
of for 23 years) encouraged development agencies to join in a common campaign
for establishing human rights. This group comprised people from several
religious backgrounds who all followed a common understanding of love, justice,
peace, mercy, non-violence etc. In more recent times Father Timm has focussed
on supporting groups from civil society, in order to promote democratisation of
structures.
Father Timm
observed that one of the main phenomena he has observed in the past several
years is the rise of fundamentalism, accompanied by gross violations of human
rights, in several countries in Asia. He observed that whilst Christianity had
modernised in the last century (by replacing literalism with literary form
scepticism) that Islam had never modernised its interpretation of the Quran. He
felt this was for several reasons: that the imams were not taught any modern
physical, biological or social sciences; and that there is no central authority
in Islam to give binding religious interpretation and hence the sects with the
greatest power and influence can impose their views on the majority e.g. the
Taliban in Afghanistan. He felt that there was a far more tolerant situation in
Asian Countries regarding religious harmony 25 years ago. Bangladesh, he felt,
began a turn towards fundamentalism with the adoption of the 8th Amendment to
the Constitution in 1988, which established Islam as the state religion in
Bangladesh. Father Timm told us about the Vested Property Act which was born
out of the Liberation War, and allowed the property of fleeing Hindus to be
taken by the government. Christians writers have also been prevented from
publishing certain books about atrocities against minorities
He also
spoke of trends towards fundamentalism in other predominantly Muslim countries
in the region, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also
told us that there are no religion based Muslim NGOs working in the field of
human rights in Bangladesh, and that this is one of the areas lacking in the training
of imams in mosques here.
Father Timm
was heartened by the fact that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is
strongly anti fundamentalist, and that civil society has arisen against
religious fundamentalists. He was also positive about opportunities he had had
in doing some training for imams of mosques at Dhaka University Law School.
Finally Father Timm concluded that the predominant way of advocating for human
rights and supporting the victims of injustice and oppression is solidarity,
which he defined as oneness with the oppressed and with each other in the
support group.
The Exposure
Trips:
The
participants were divided into 2 groups for their exposure trips. One travelled
350 kms North to Dinajpur to meet with Tribal Groups from Daudpur and Satnipara
Villages (Group B). The other group stayed in Dhaka and did exposure trips to
organisations working with oppressed people in Dhaka (Group A).
Group A:
On the 1st
day of the exposure Group A went to Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK), which is a Law
and Mediation Centre in Dhaka. The Objective of this Group is to raise
awareness; legal issues and make society proactive to establish Human Rights.
There are 11 Units at ASK: One is a training unit, another is a
children’s unit and then there are 9 drop in centres.
They also
went to the Acid Survivors Foundation in Dhaka (ASF). The ASF exists to prevent
further acid attacks; and ensure survivors have better access to medical care,
criminal justice system and rehabilitation. Acid Attacks occur for a variety of
reasons, which include problems with Love Relationships, Land Disputes and
Family Disputes. 75% of victims are women and 25% are men The group felt that
this kind of behaviour occurred because of women being seen as inferior in
Muslim culture; because of the free selling of acid; and the lax implementation
of law regarding acid throwing.
On the 2nd
Day of the Exposure, Group A went to the Salvation Army Knitting Factory in
Dhaka. This Factory provides training for poor, separated and divorced women,
including sex workers. These women are paid 85 TK per week and work 8 hours a
day. They produce goods of export quality. They then went to the Salvation Army
Counselling and Development Centre, whose objective is to help sex workers by
training them, giving them better choices, and conducting literacy programmes
for them.
On the
question of an action plan arising from these Exposures, Group A recommended as
follows:
Group B:
On the First
Day Group B visited the village of Daudpur in Dinajpur District. 30 Tribal
families lived in this village and 27 were Christian. After an impressive
welcoming dance, Group B entered the Church and had discussions with the
villagers for 2 hours. Some of the questions asked were concerning: marriage
system, education, problems they face, health problems, relationships with
other religion groups, their lifestyle, their customs, clothing and income.
They identified their main problems as education, poverty and nutrition and
their lands being taken over by others. Within this community there was
religious harmony and the women were not subject to dowry. The villagers
reported that they had “embraced Christ but have not abandoned their
culture”. Group B then had a cultural programme in the evening with the
Villagers of Daudpur.
On the
Second Day Group B visited Satnipara village. There were 27 families in this
village, who were a variety of Christians, Buddhists and indigenous religion
followers. After a welcoming ceremony, which included our feet being washed by
the village women, we commenced discussions with the villagers. Some of the
questions Group B asked were about: marriage, dowry, education, health, sports,
religious harmony, the hopes of the people, relationships with other religions
and festivals. We met a boy from this village who had done his Standard 12
exams. The village was very proud of this boy. Dowry was a problem in this
village for the women. In the past there had been no dowry but in the last 3
years, because of influence from Islam, dowry had commenced. The amount of
dowry varied from 5000-10000 TK. An average daily wage was 20Tk. There were
health problems in this village such as TB, polio, and malaria. They had
problems getting doctors to treat them, because they are tribals. Group B was
impressed by the justice system in this village. Problems were brought to the
Chief, who would make a decision after consulting all in the village.
Punishment was generally a fine, and the money would then be used for a feast.
The offender would (also) be invited to this feast (also).
Group B
analysed the problems of these communities as follows:
National
Reports:
Each
participant was asked to share and report their respective country situation
relating to religious fundamentalism and human rights violation.
Thailand: Report Presented by Santi Wong San Sern
Thailand has a population of 60 million, of which 94.56% are Buddhist, 4.64% are Muslim and 0.7% Christian, with the remainder following indigenous religions. Thailand does not have problems with regard to religious fundamentalism.
Indonesia: Report Presented by Athriyana (Irina) Pattiwael
Irina, from Ambon Island, presented a paper about the current dire situation in Ambon. She presented a spreadsheet of problems which have occurred on that island from January 1999 until now. Traditionally Christian and Muslim lived together on Ambon quite peacefully, under the principle of “Pela Gandong”. However, largely because of legislative changes, socio-economic problems, and political problems recently this balance has been disturbed, and Christians on that island have been targeted for violence and massacres lately as Mollucans increasingly define themselves according to their religion. Irina pointed out that the Ambon conflict has its seeds long ago, and is not a spontaneous conflict. She concluded by calling for a return to paradise for all the Moluccas, based on the relationship and cooperation of religion.
Bangladesh: Report Presented by Prince
Prince outlined the history of colonisation in Bangladesh, from the 1400s when the Mughals ruled, to through the British period (1757-1947), and then through the period of being East Pakistan ( 1947-1971). During all these periods human rights abuses were visited upon the Bangladesh people. Prince went into detail about the human rights abuses committed during the war of liberation, when 3 million Bangla people died, and the ensuing political instability. BDSCM was engaged in the war of Liberation.
There are 4 major religions in Bangladesh: Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian (in descending order). Historically these groups interacted well. This was in part due to the positive attitude of previous Mughal leaders such as Emperor Akbar. This broke down in the late 17th Century to early 18th century with the arrival of British colonialism, who used divide and rule tactics to maintain control. This culminated in the disastrous effects of dividing the subcontinent into Hindu India and Muslim East and West Pakistan. In this arrangement East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was subjugated by West Pakistan, leading to the War Of Liberation.
Current human rights problems which are prominent in Bangladesh are: murder; rape; dowry victims, acid throwing, fatwa, suicidal murder, kidnapping, other killings. These problems are deteriorating. These human rights issues are largely being addressed by NGOS, rather than the churches.
Sri Lanka: Report Presented by Samuel Jeyakuma Ponniah
Sri Lanka is 74% Sinhalese, 18.2% Tamil, 7.1% Muslim, and 0.7% Eurasian. The Christian Community comes from the Sinhalese, Tamil and Eurasian Groups. 69.3% of the population is Buddhist, 15.5% Hindu, 7.6% Muslim, 7.5% Christian and 0.1% other religions. In Sri Lanka there is a notion that ethnicity and religion goes together: i.e. that all Sinhalese are Buddhist; all Tamils are Hindus; and that Christians are influenced by the West. The conflict in Sri Lanka has historically been ethnically based but increasingly it is becoming religion based. To combat this work needs to be done at a grass roots level, and SCM has a big role to play as it is neither fundamentalist nor exclusive in its working methods. Another strength of SCM is that Sinhalese and Tamils can be found in SCM, and its programmes bring ethnic groups and people from different parts of the country together.
None of these religions have their origin in Sri Lanka and have been brought from elsewhere. Sri Lanka’s colonial history went from 1505 until 1948. During this period the Christian denominations now found in Sri Lanka were established. Buddhism and Hinduism have been inclusive in Sri Lanka’s history, and Sri Lankans believe in ‘Saha Jivanaya’ i.e. the concept of living together in unity even though they are from different backgrounds and traditions.
The Christian community in Sri Lanka has been subjected however to churches being burnt down, Christian workers being threatened or assaulted. This can be seen to be a gross violations of Sri Lankan Christian’s human rights. There are some fundamentalists and extremists who are trying to bring disharmony among the different communities.
In Sri Lanka there is a multi racial and religious community called “Molkawa”, where people of different traditions live in harmony and put Saha Jivanaya into practice. A new denomination came to this village and wanted to set themselves up. A decision was made by the villagers of all religions that there was no need for a new church in that village.
Philippines: Report Presented by Bayani Alonzo II
The Philippines boasts of being the only Christian nation in Asia: 86% of the population is Roman Catholic; 2% are Protestant. There is also 4% of the population which is Muslim (Moro), and these people are concentrated on the Southern islands of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. The remaining 2% follow indigenous religions.
Pre Hispanic Philippines’ belief system consisted of various animistic gods and spirits that focused on streams, fields, trees, mountains, forests etc. Once the Spanish arrived the Muslim population was dispersed and Christianization began. However dominance over the Muslims on Mindanao and Sulu was not achieved and since independence there has been resistance by large segments of the Muslim population to national integration. Many Muslims feel that integration amounts to cultural and psychological genocide, and for ten years the Moro National Liberation Front has been waging a war of secession.
The Spanish won converts to Christianity mainly by impressive displays of pomp and circumstance, clerical garb, images, prayers and liturgy rather than military force. To protect the population from Muslim slave raiders people were resettled from dispersed hamlets and into Spanish organized ‘pueblos’ where a parish priest would be the dominant power. The church was the focus of the town.
When the Philippines was colonized by the United States early last century the justification was to Christianize and democratized, and that this could be done by mass education. This led to many Protestant teachers going to the Philippines, and the influence of Protestantism exerted a strong influence during this time. Muslims were discriminated against during the American colonial period, with their land being confiscated and given to Christian farmers. This led to a rift between Christians and Muslims.
Various Muslim groups have emerged in recent years, including the Moro Liberation Front and the Islamic fundamentalist group Abu Sayyaf. Many of Abu Sayyaf’s practices are unIslamic e.g. beheading, kidnapping of Christian priests, hostage taking etc. Various Philippine governments have used this as a convenient excuse to declare an all out war policy in Mindanao and many innocent civilians have been displaced, hurt or tortured. The root of the problem can actually be seen to be the extreme poverty plaguing the Filipino people of Mindanao, which leads to discontent. Military solutions cannot achieve peace in Mindanao.
The SCM has been quick to respond to the ‘religious war’ between Christian and Moro. The National Executive immediately directed all SCM chapters to launch a campaign in schools and churches, and a discussion guide followed. Regular prayer meetings were held; a signature drive was held; and the SCMP condemned the budget allocated by the government to the war against the Moro. SCMP has also joined in fact finding missions; and launched ‘Oplan Lingap’ a relief operation program for the victims of human rights abuses in Mindanao.
India: Report Presented by Jasaswi Kuma Prem
India was a British colony for about 2 centuries, and got its independence in 1947. 85% are Hindu; with the remainder being Muslim; Christian; Sikh and Buddhist. Discrimination based on religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth is prohibited under the Indian Constitution.
‘Untouchability’ was also abolished under the Constitution, however for the Dalit community (which is the contemporary term) oppression remains a reality of everyday life. Education has become a focus for the Dalit community in order to move forward. The Caste system, which places Dalits at the bottom was sanctioned by Scriptures and came to be accepted by the Dalits themselves. It has been in place for over 3000 years. Dalits constitute 25% of the population but the land held by them is marginal. This is also the case with ownership of factories, processing units, shops, buildings and vehicles. There are also frequent Caste clashes. Not a day goes by without a major incident or atrocity on Dalits in the country. Conviction rates of the perpetrators of this violence are very poor.
Most Dalits have been deprived of electricity and sanitation facilities. In many rural areas Dalits are still forced to have separate wells. 50% of Dalits live below the poverty line, and only 1/3 of the population is literate.
Physical violence against minorities is increasing e.g. attacks on Mosques; the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his 2 sons; bomb attacks in various states. Christians often remain silent as they are committed to peace. The state has failed in its obligation to provide protection to the religious minorities of India.
Dalits Christians are also missing out on the benefits extended to Scheduled Castes and Races. This is because as converts to Christianity they are legally deemed to not be a Scheduled Caste. Parliament has amended this law by including Sikh and Buddhist Dalits, but not Christian Dalits. SCMI feels this law should be amended to enable Dalit Christians to be recognized as Scheduled Castes. SCMI also demands that ‘Dalit Rights are Human Rights’.
Myanmar/Burma: Report Presented by Mahn Palmerston
Myanmar has been independent since 1947. There are 5 minority ethnic groups: the Chin; Kachin; Shan; Keyeh and Karen, with the Myanmar group being the majority. During the colonial period the British favoured minority groups, and propagated their rule by sending in missionaries first and then the military.
The population is 90% Buddhist, 6% Christian, Muslims & Hindus are 1% and 2% are indigenous religions. There are not major problems between these religious groups in Myanmar.
The main problem in Myanmar is with the military dictatorship, which has been in power since 1962. There are big problems between the people and the military: there are only 2 military run television stations, and one newspaper also run by the military. Other big issues for Myanmar are unemployment; AIDS and drug problems.
The universities have been closed for over 8 years. This is a sensitive issue for SCM. Educated people are being suppressed by uneducated people in Myanmar.
The Second
Afternoon Session:
The Second
Afternoon Session was led by Brother De Souza. Brother De Souza was from the
Bangladesh Inter Religious Council for Peace and Justice (BICPJA). This
organization was founded by 4 Muslims and 3 Christians.
Their main
activities are as follows:
Brother de
Souza advised is that doctrines of religions are not discussed at BICPJA. The
focus of the organization is lobbying and largely problems are not solved.
Inter faith
dialogue in Bangladesh:
Brother de Souza then went
on to discuss Inter Faith dialogue in Bangladesh. A summary of the points made
by him is as follows:
Action Plan:
The
participants were divided into 2 sub-regional groups: A. South East Asia and B.
the Sub-Continent. These subgroups then discussed the following questions:
Causes of conflict:
Economic: Poor people
Political: Powerful people
Social: Understanding relationship
The conflicts are in different levels in the different
countries.
What can be done
at the national level:
What can be done
at sub national level:
What can be done
at the AP and IRO level:
Causes of
conflict:
What can be done
at the national level:
What can be done
at the sub regional level:
What can be done
at the AP region and IRO level: