The
theme chosen for this year was "Development, Traditional Values and
Christian Responsibility in the Asia/Pacific context". The group of 23
persons sponsored by national movements and fraternal organizations assembled
in the Centre for Society and Religion, Negombo - a
fishing village 25 miles from
The
Program was "formally" inaugurated on the morning of March 1 by Mr. Ainsley Samarajivia, former
Chairperson of the Sri Lanka SCM. The inaugural talk was not a speech, which
laid down expectations from a group of young people, but a meaningful personal
reflection of a person who has been with the SCM for over three decades. He
chose the Gospel text of Luke 4:18 to explain his personal involvement in the
struggles for justice and how the SCM in the past helped people like him to
grasp the situation in their country. Soon after, the group adopted a
Resolution moved by the Korean participant, Choe Hyndok, expressing solidarity with the March First Movement
in Korea and proceeded to draft a declaration in memory of this Movement.
NATIONAL MOVEMENTS:
The
representatives from the national movements presented their reports for the
next four days. Each participant was allotted a slot of time where he / she was expected to present a brief overview of their national
situation and activities of their movements. All participants later conceded
that preparations for presenting this brief but cohesive
report was in itself an education process. Heated arguments and
discussions that followed the presentation concentrated mainly on the priorities
and strategies engaged in their respective movements.
LECTURES
AND DISCUSSIONS:
Following
the national reports were the theoretical input from
one of our resource speakers Samuel Ho, Executive Secretary, Asia Forum on
Human Rights. His lectures, spread over three days were on "the Concept of
Modernization and Traditional Values", "The Politics of Modernization
and Development", and "The Bureaucratic State and the Rights of the
People." His papers posed a challenge to the common understanding of
certain concepts of the participants and identified in very deal terms the role
semi-feudalism, bureaucratic capitalism and neo-colonialism plays in the
obstruction of genuine development with people as subjects of their own
history. An afternoon session was devoted to enable participants to identify
violations of human rights in their countries.
Sri
Lanka, fast moving into the grips of neo-colonial process, is officially
following a policy of developing on the Singapore pattern. This is
euphemistically referred to as the 'Singapore Model' in academic circles. The
opening of the Free Trade Zone and the tourism 'industry' are just two examples
of how a government has willfully by official acts of parliament, sold the
country to the hands of foreign investors. Centuries of tradition and culture
is forced to give way to the earning of a few dollars. A country which is
agro-based is quenching to be 'industrialized' at the expense of its vast
majority of people. Workers and peasants have no longer the rights they enjoyed
and power is being centralized in the person of the President of the Republic.
This is the reality of Sri Lanka as exposed to us by various speakers from Sri
Lanka. Mr. Bernard de Soysa, Secretary General of the
Lanka Sama Samaj Party
talked on the Worders situations; Prof. Celun Kadiragamar,
Professor of History at the University of Jaffna,
talked on 'The Christian Community'; Ms. Sunila Abhayasekara, a research scholar, on the "Womens' Situation", Dr. Mano
singham of the Univeristy
of Colombo on the 'Student Situation' and Mr. Newton Gunasinghe,
a Social Scientist, on the 'Peasant Situation.'
This
elaborate session on Sri Lanka was afforded to point out the harsh realities in
our Region where the rulers, by deliberate economic planning marginalize the
people to mere objects of development.
The
Theological Sessions were led by Rt. Rev. Dr. Paulose
Mar Paulose, Bishop of the Chaldean
Church of the East, Kerala. Reflecting on the theme,
"Development, Traditional Values and Christian Responsibility," the
Bishop stressed that unless, we as Christians, shed our minority consciousness
in pluralistic societies like Asia, we will not be able to work for a genuine
transformation of the society where all peoples matter. Quoting Numbers 13:33,
he urged the group to get out of the "grasshopper neurosis" and forge
ahead to take the risk, because it is only the taking of risks that ultimately
forms the major part of the peoples' struggles. His lectures spread over three
sessions were interspersed with group discussion.
Mr.
Michael Tharakan, Research Associate at the Centre
for Development Studies ,
in India led three sessions on "Theoretical Premises of development,"
"Development as Human Development" and “Critical Analysis of
Development models in Asia”.
Ms.
Teresa Chong, Faculty member of the De La Salle
University, Philippines spoke on the Asian Political Scene.
BIBLE
STUDIES AND WORSHIP
One
Bible Study Session was led by Sevaka Yohan Devananda on the theme
"Birth-pangs of the New Age" based on Mathew 24:8. Eight worship
sessions were conducted by the participants themselves. Emphasis was laid on
experimental forms of worship and some of the participants led the Biblical
reflections at these sessions. Folk songs and other art forms were widely used
in the worship sessions.
WORKSHOPS:
Apart
from group discussions that followed every presentation, the participants were
divided into three workshop sessions for three days towards the end. The
Workshops were an attempt to synthesize and crystalize
certain key issues raised in the lectures and group discussions earlier, and to
suggest follow-up actions. The workshops were on:
1.
Structures of Domination and Peoples Struggles.
2.
Church, Faith and social Justice.
3.
Peoples' Struggle for Justice - A Student Christian Response.
The
Groups, after having spent long hours in deliberation have been able to bring
out specific recommendations for the WSCF.
The
Working Group dealing with "Structures of Domination and Peoples
Struggles" declared that, "we need to see the difference between a
struggle for civil and democratic rights and the struggle for human rights. The
struggle for human rights is one which involves the questioning of the structures
of domination and calls for a radical reorganization of society." It also
clarifies that as Christians, our task is to seek an alliance with all the
forces that are working towards change, and also recognizes the limitations
that a student body like the SCM has, in being in the leadership of a
liberation movement. Hence, it urges all student groups to be an integral part
of the struggles for liberation recognizing the fact that it is the masses -
the workers, the peasants, the urban poor and the cultural minorities - that
has to lead the liberation struggles.
Looking
at the question of "Church, Faith and Social Justice," the working
group expressed concern over the attitude of the churches in Asia towards
liberation struggles and stated that "the church should shed its minority
complex and join hands with all oppressed peoples - that the church must be a
living and dynamic body of people sensitive to the aspirations of the
masses". Addressing itself to the question of Faith and Social Justice,
the Working Group stated that "Faith is our response to God's action in this
world....... our response is manifested as continuation of Jesus' mission:
creation of the conditions both material and spiritual to attain the
"wholeness" of persons to become their best. We must situate our
self-understanding within the context of the people struggle for a just and
humane society.
A
concrete recommendation that was made from the working group on "Peoples
Struggle for Justice - A Student Christian Response" was to engage in
theological reflections and to develop a theology that is relevant to the lives
of the people. The group also reiterated the role of the SCMs to be a prophetic
voice within the church challenging the church to be prophetic itself in its
action.