Thursday, September 20, 2007
By Nora O. Gamolo Senior Deskperson
The Manila Times (The Philippines)
The Asia-Pacific region may be emerging as the economic power center of the world, but it is also where repressive measures are increasingly being used by governments to control their citizenry and keep themselves in power.
The United States-led war on terror is also one of the main tools used by some Asian governments to legitimize their control measures.
These are the main contentions of leading international pro-democracy leaders and activists who are now meeting in Manila to ask their respective governments to stop their repressive activities and promote democracy instead.
Holding the three-day Second World for Democratization in Asia (WFDA), the participants will also commemorate in the country the International Day of Peace, which falls on September 21.
On this day, the Philippines is also commemorating the 35th anniversary of the declaration of martial law in the country.
This was noted by Jesus Dureza, Philippine adviser for the peace process, who gave the keynote address yesterday, the first day of the Congress by stressing on what people can do to restore democracy.
“The government can only do so much to strengthen democracy, we sorted all things and restored democracy, not so much through government intervention, but through the power of the people themselves,” said Dureza.
The Philippine experience in struggling against 14 years of martial rule will be one of the highlights of the forum.
Human rights lawyer Alexander Padilla, also one of the undersecretaries of the health department and chair of the Initiatives for International Dialogue that organized the forum, said the participants are converging in Manila “to assert, broaden and consolidate democracy.”
During the forum, participants are expected to share their country’s lessons in promoting democratic transitions. Padilla stressed that one key lesson in restoring democracy is that political freedoms have to be promoted, and a viable economic perspective has to be adopted for democracy to work out.
Sam Rainsy, leader of the oppositionist Cambodian political party Sam Rainsy Party, said that democrats in government and opposition parties should take the lead in the campaign to preserve newfound democracies in the region.
He held that the three main criteria for true democracy are a vibrant, genuine opposition who can constantly pose challenges to government; an independent judiciary; and elections that are transparent and reflecting the will of the people.
The forum, he said, will showcase solidarity among Asian peoples, especially in countries like Burma and Vietnam where there is no open political opposition.
Irene Fernandez, director and co-founder of the Malaysian nongovernment organization Teenaganita, decried that the US-led war on terror has become “an international network with no base and no nation.”
“What happens to the security of the rest of the world becomes irrelevant. Today, those labeled as terrorists are those that protect the welfare of the minority. This is a contradiction to democracy,” said Fernandez.
Subodh Raj Pyakurel, chair of the Informal Sector Service Center and the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, said that politics is “asserting the alternative solution to the problem.”
Other expected speakers in the forum are Anwar Ibrahim, former Malaysian deputy prime minister; Sam Rainsy, former Cambodian finance minister; Fernando Lasam de Araujo, president of the national parliament of Timor Leste; and Dr. Deng-ker Lee, adviser of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
The United States-led war on terror is also one of the main tools used by some Asian governments to legitimize their control measures.
These are the main contentions of leading international pro-democracy leaders and activists who are now meeting in Manila to ask their respective governments to stop their repressive activities and promote democracy instead.
Holding the three-day Second World for Democratization in Asia (WFDA), the participants will also commemorate in the country the International Day of Peace, which falls on September 21.
On this day, the Philippines is also commemorating the 35th anniversary of the declaration of martial law in the country.
This was noted by Jesus Dureza, Philippine adviser for the peace process, who gave the keynote address yesterday, the first day of the Congress by stressing on what people can do to restore democracy.
“The government can only do so much to strengthen democracy, we sorted all things and restored democracy, not so much through government intervention, but through the power of the people themselves,” said Dureza.
The Philippine experience in struggling against 14 years of martial rule will be one of the highlights of the forum.
Human rights lawyer Alexander Padilla, also one of the undersecretaries of the health department and chair of the Initiatives for International Dialogue that organized the forum, said the participants are converging in Manila “to assert, broaden and consolidate democracy.”
During the forum, participants are expected to share their country’s lessons in promoting democratic transitions. Padilla stressed that one key lesson in restoring democracy is that political freedoms have to be promoted, and a viable economic perspective has to be adopted for democracy to work out.
Sam Rainsy, leader of the oppositionist Cambodian political party Sam Rainsy Party, said that democrats in government and opposition parties should take the lead in the campaign to preserve newfound democracies in the region.
He held that the three main criteria for true democracy are a vibrant, genuine opposition who can constantly pose challenges to government; an independent judiciary; and elections that are transparent and reflecting the will of the people.
The forum, he said, will showcase solidarity among Asian peoples, especially in countries like Burma and Vietnam where there is no open political opposition.
Irene Fernandez, director and co-founder of the Malaysian nongovernment organization Teenaganita, decried that the US-led war on terror has become “an international network with no base and no nation.”
“What happens to the security of the rest of the world becomes irrelevant. Today, those labeled as terrorists are those that protect the welfare of the minority. This is a contradiction to democracy,” said Fernandez.
Subodh Raj Pyakurel, chair of the Informal Sector Service Center and the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, said that politics is “asserting the alternative solution to the problem.”
Other expected speakers in the forum are Anwar Ibrahim, former Malaysian deputy prime minister; Sam Rainsy, former Cambodian finance minister; Fernando Lasam de Araujo, president of the national parliament of Timor Leste; and Dr. Deng-ker Lee, adviser of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
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