Saturday, April 23, 2005

Public Apology for Asia from Japan's Prime Minister

In the past couple weeks relations between China and Japan have plunged to a three-decade low, with massive anti-Japanese protests erupting in several Chinese cities over Tokyo's handling of its wartime atrocities in new junior high school textbooks and its bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. We have seen and heard this boiling tension between the two Asian powers, with demonstrations against Japan in China and the vandalism of Japanese property and interests in China. Both countries are outraged: China over Tokyo's approval of a textbook that many say denying history, beautifying aggression, and whitewashes Japan's wartime atrocities; and Japan over China's refusal to apologize for the current violent protests.

However, as reported by The Jakarta Post Online, Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologized during the opening of the two-day Asian-African Summit in Jakarta on Friday (April 22, 2005), echoing previous apologies by Japanese leaders, for his country's aggression during World War II, in an effort to ease tensions with China and win support for Japan's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council. [Read more....]

A day after this public apology, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met Chinese President Hu Jin Tao during talks in Jakarta and both agreed to rescue ties between their countries. [Read more...]. President Hu urged Japan to reflect on WWII aggression and to back up its recent apologies with action, pressing Beijing's relentless campaign for redress from Tokyo for its handling of wartime atrocities. [Read more...]

For some people this latest row has less to do with history textbooks but more to do with a long-term political and economic rivalry. [Read more...]


Following is Toronto ALPHA's call for action on the Japanese government to redress the wartime wrongdoings and injustices that had been inflicted on millions of innocent lives. Read Chinatown flexes its muscles in Globe and Mail online for this action.

Toronto ALPHA’s Position and Actions
in Response to the Recent Conducts of Japanese Government
(April 2005)


Position:
The mandate of Toronto ALPHA is to foster humanity education and racial harmony with its mission to promote public awareness, learning and preserving of the history of World War II in Asia. In light of the recent Japanese government’s authorization to revise history textbooks to distort truth and its attempt to exert international influence by bidding for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, we, as Toronto ALPHA, would like to declare our position on these Japanese government’s behaviours that have heightened tensions along the Asia-Pacific Rim, particularly between China and Japan.

Toronto ALPHA, which upholds the spirit of humanity, does not endorse group animosity of any kind, including anti-Japanese sentiments. However, we do stand firmly against the Japanese government’s continuous act to deny and dismiss the war atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Army on the soil of its neighbouring countries during WWII. In recent years, this act has been manifested by its approval of the revised history textbooks, and its continuing tributes paid to the shrine of convicted war criminals. Such blatant behaviours confirm our belief that no real peace and reconciliation can be forged among the Asian Pacific countries without:
  • the Japanese government openly admitting its wartime aggression and brutality against the civilians and prisoners of wars in the victimized countries;
  • the Japanese government offering its official apologies and compensations to war victims and survivors, which Germany has bravely done for a long time;
  • preserving and learning this seldom known history of WWII in Asia as an important human rights lesson and a strong reminder that such a holocaust should never be repeated.

Until all these issues are addressed, we remain vehemently opposed to Japan’s attempt to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.


Actions:
While we understand the strong sentiments among the people of war victimized countries as demonstrated in China and Korea in recent weeks, as an organization for humanity, Toronto ALPHA also wants to discourage any uncontrolled emotional outbursts that might lead to harmful attacks on innocent people. Neither do we think that indiscriminate boycotts of Japanese goods would be practical and effective in pressuring for change. Rather, we need to plan our responses and actions rationally and strategically in order to assure our voice and the truths be heard both emphatically and empathetically by the international community. Real impact can only be realized by exerting pressures at various strategic levels and with the support of different sectors of the broader community. The following are five important ways that we would like our community to endorse at this time.

  1. Petition our Canadian government to oppose Japan’s bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council unless the Japanese government admits its war crimes and offers formal apologies to WWII survivors in all victimized countries. A Canada-wide online signature campaign is being set up by Toronto ALPHA at www.asia-wwii.org. You are encouraged to cast your vote through our website, and all collected signatures will then be presented to Ottawa as a joint petition. The Global Alliance for Preserving the History of WWII in Asia has in the meantime posted a world-wide online petition (sign.sjwar.org), and for the past 8 weeks over 40 million signatures from more than 100 countries have been gathered. (Please join the Global Alliance online petition if you haven’t done so.)


  2. Place a full-page ad in the New York Times in late April/early May and in September to express our concerns and opposition to Japan’s UN Security Council bid unless full reparation is made by the Japanese government. The advertisement will be widely circulated to all UN member nations, U.S. Senators and House Representatives, as well as our Canada’s Members of Parliament.


  3. Call for a targeted boycott of commercial goods produced by Japanese corporations, e.g., Mitsubishi and its subsidiary companies*, that are known to have been directly involved in the WWII atrocities. Not only should such a targeted boycott be sustainable and effective, more importantly, it sends a clear message that this is not an anti-Japanese move, but a sign of public indignation, concerns and condemnation over the attitude of those perpetrators who still show no remorse and refuse to face up to their war crimes. The boycott action will remain until the corporation is willing to offer apologies and compensations to the forced labourers who were kidnapped and brutally treated during the war. A list of other Japanese companies which were not involved in the WWII but have been backing its government’s militarist stand will be served notices that warn them of being targeted for a possible second-round boycott if they continue their support for extremist groups.


  4. Educate the public and the younger generations about the WWII atrocities in Asia, which are rarely known in North America and most parts of the world. As global citizens regardless of country or culture, we have the responsibility to know the truth, to be the voice of the innocent victims, and to support their rights in the international community. Toronto ALPHA has been working closely with scholars and educators in promoting the teaching of this important, but largely hidden, history and human rights lesson in secondary schools.


  5. Raise $100,000 in order to carry out the above-mentioned tasks. Toronto ALPHA, being a grass-root voluntary organization (chaired by Dr. Joseph Wong), relies on the generous donations and volunteer help from the community to support its missions. Those who are willing to contribute financially can make cheques payable to Toronto ALPHA with the account #: 0532-5209-009, and deposit them at any TD-Canada Trust branch.

Your support in these five endeavours will be an effective and concrete way to help promote the cause and to collectively pressure the Japanese government to redress the wartime wrongdoings and injustices that had been inflicted on millions of innocent lives.

[Please share this announcement to any interested individuals and organizations for their support. Should there be further queries about Toronto ALPHA’s position and actions, please e-mail: info@asia-wwii.org.]

*Some of the products include Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsubishi Motor, Kirin Beer, Nikon Camera, Isuzu Motors, etc.


Other sources around this issue:
Posted by Bebeth at 12:57 p.m. 0 comments
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Thursday, April 21, 2005

Raden Ajeng Kartini, Are We Really Free?


Indonesians commemorate April 21 as Kartini Day (or, Hari Ibu Kartini). It’s the birthday of Raden Ajeng Kartini, a prominent heroine in women’s emancipation movement in Indonesia. The government declared RA* Kartini as a national hero by Presidential Decree No. 108 dated May 2, 1964. Kartini is now celebrated as one of Indonesia's feminists and nationalist icons. This day is usually marked by activities within women's groups. In Indonesian schools children compete in national dress competitions.

In Indonesia beauty salons are usually packed on Kartini Day with women who need help with their hair and makeup. Many schools oblige the students to wear traditional costumes and then sing Ibu Kita Kartini (Our Mother Kartini), a song dedicated to Ibu Kartini. Some companies also have their women-employees don similar attires. To be honest I didn’t really like to commemorate Kartini Day like this. It’s very hard to do something that’s against my will and I felt like a fool! I think I had worn enough traditional costumes for Kartini Day during my elementary school. At work, I dreaded the day when I had to go to the office wearing traditional costumes—thank God, I could usually find excuse to skip this inconvenient ‘office rules’! Some of my friends didn’t like it too but they had no choice. [Why didn't we do something creative? Teaching the street kids on that day, for example. Or, letting working moms enjoyed their times with their children at home or in their work places?]

Moreover, to highlight the Kartini Day celebration, contests are organized for best flower arrangements, cooking and Kartini look-alikes. Sometimes, males are encouraged to take part, for cooking at least, although the look-alike pageant is off-limits. Geez! Do we celebrate her feminity or her feminist spirit?

If Kartini really was a hero of women's emancipation, I thought, why couldn't we girls and women wear pants on that day like the boys? OK, not pants but clothes that we like and feel comfortable to wear. I believe we would be happier to wear something that allowed us to move freely instead of being bundled up in tight, constricting outfits.

We learned from our school textbook that because of Kartini Indonesia’s women could now go to school. We are told that because of her, there are women doctors, engineers and politicians. In short, we are told to be proud because today there is equality between men and women. Well, is there real equality between men and women in Indonesia? Then, why are there so few women legislators when women constitute more than half the country's population? I know there are a few exceptions, but it must also be conceded that many of those women, like in other parts of Asia, rode the coattails of their male relatives to prominence.

We should also face the fact - this is still a man's world. Patriarchy has been the root of society for ages and it is not easy to change. Many still regard women as objects to be exploited, evident in our tabloids full of steamy photos of women. The naysayers argue that the women look happy in the pictures, that they made the choice to be photographed. Well, of course they will grin and bare it all when sexuality and beauty are still keys for women to earn a living in this country.

I can understand why Kartini had to struggle in her own way. She obeyed her father to an arranged marriage while kept writing about independence and equality. She was aware of the conditions and situation of her time. That’s why, I think, her struggles worked well in a subtle and gentle way, through her 'door' as a woman. Her far-reaching vision and intelligence made her able to see and choose the way that enabled her to make her dream come true. She was a Moslem yet in her attitudes, words and ideals, I find common kind of faith and values. She showed her strong character ~ her independent way of thinking, her courage to go against the current and her pioneer spirit.

[Kartini was a ‘soft’ rebel. She was a good girl. I wonder though, if Kartini disobeyed her parents and went it alone, would she still be recognized as a national hero today? May be not. Maybe her birthday would not be celebrated as a benchmark in women's emancipation in the country; she would have been a troublemaker, going against the norm in a feudal society.]

Then… are we, the women of Indonesia today, really free? Perhaps for some of us. Yet, think again. Are we really free? Are we really free to speak our mind and heart? Are we safe from sexually explicit looks when we walk on the streets? Are we free to be ourselves and not the ones imposed to us by society? Are strong and outspoken women still labelled as bitches? Why women in the top positions are being scrutinized more than their male counterparts? Are we doing enough to teach our young generation and male counterparts about gender awareness, that there should not be female subordination or male supremacy?

I have a dream, and in my dream women are not treated as objects, women are judged by their thoughts, personalities and achievements instead of a beautiful face or voluptuous body. We still have a long, long way to go. But, we should keep on going, shouldn’t we?

This is a tribute to my mother and my grandmothers. Thank you to raise me and to provide me with examples to be true to myself, to stand strong against the current, and to be a woman comfortable in her own skin. [Once I had fist fight with a boy - who liked to treat girls badly - when I was in the fourth grade. He never ridiculed and bullied me anymore after that. Blame my mom for that. *smile*]

Last but not least, does anybody want to lead a project in Wikipedia about Indonesian Heroines or Influential Women, or at least Kartini? I couldn’t find it… and hardly find many good resources around this subject.


Who is Kartini?
RA* Kartini was born on 21 April 1879 in the village of Mayong in the municipality of Jepara in Central Java. She was the daughter of Raden Mas Adipati Aryo Sosroningrat, the Regent of Jepara. He had 12 children from several wives. Having grown up in an aristocratic family, Kartini was strongly influenced by Javanese customs. Fortunately, her father was a wise leader and had great insight. He used to take his children to visit kampongs and villages, to help and work with the people, who at that time were under Dutch colonisation. These experiences heightened Kartini's awareness of the struggles of ordinary people, with whom she also developed a close relationship.

At that time, according to traditional custom, girls received no formal education. They were kept at home, and trained to be good wives, learning many kinds of housework skills. The parents would arrange marriage at the right time. It was rare that a girl would even have met her husband before her marriage to him. Being of wider experience and opinions, Kartini's father sent all his children, including his daughters, to have Western-type education at a local Dutch school. She was lucky to receive a Dutch education. This was normally reserved for Dutch and children of royal families. In doing so, he had taken a courageous new step, never before taken by Javanese aristocrats. As a result, he was considered a rebel against the traditional customs of his country. However, in spite of her father's courage, by the age of 12 Kartini had to stay at home, just like other girls. Kartini had to stop her formal Western-type education at this age because of the old Javanese tradition of pingit, which meant she had to stay at home and wait for marriage. During her days at home she wrote to her many friends abroad. She was a rebel against the strong tradition of gender discrimination.

But after those six years of schooling, Kartini found that her Western education had undermined the hold of Javanese customs on her. She regarded her years at home as 'imprisonment', and it caused her to query the 'burden of Javanese etiquette', which she found both 'silly and terrible'. She also opposed the polygamy which was permitted under Islamic Law, but which made women suffer.

She survived this time 'in a box' only by voracious reading of as many books as she could lay her hands on, and by corresponding with her Dutch friends. Her concern about colonialism, modernity, social injustice and women's oppression and rights constantly appeared in her letters.

Besides expressing her ideals, criticisms and concerns, Kartini also organized education for girls in the area where she lived. She also supported the revival of woodcarving and other traditional crafts among the villagers, and she herself took charge of the marketing. Through all this, she was a good Moslem, and continually prayed and fasted so that her ideals might be achieved.

In 1903, at the age of 24, she obeyed her father and married the Regent of Rembang, Raden Adipati Joyodiningrat, who was 50 and already had three wives and dozens of children. Her husband was said to be a supporter of progressive social policies. She had a scholarship to study in Europe, but her hopes to study abroad were dashed. Instead she established a special school for local girls. She realised that she would have far greater influence within Javanese society if she married a Regent. Together with her husband, she continued the activities that she had begun before her marriage. She also collected traditional Javanese legends for publication. In 1904, four days after giving birth, Kartini died at the age of 25.

After her death, all her correspondence with her Dutch friends, for example to Stella Zeehandellar, Rosa, were collected, edited and compiled by Kartini's sponsor and friend, J. H. Abendanon, a prominent colonial official. It made its way into a book in their original Dutch under the title Door Duisternis Tot Licht (Dari Gelap Terbitlah Terang or From Darkness to Light). This book appeared in 1911, and, by 1920 when the English edition was published, it had been reprinted four times.
"But it was not voices alone which reached me from that distant, that bright, that newborn Europe, which made me long for change in existing conditions. Even in my childhood, the word 'emancipation' enchanted my ears... and awakened in me an ever-growing longing for freedom and independence - a longing to stand alone. onditions both in my surroundings and in those of others around me broke my heart, and made me long with a nameless sorrow for the awakening of my country..." (Kartini to Stella Zeehandellar)

This written inheritance has proved to be effective and has strongly influenced the following generations up until the present. When they first appeared, her writings opened the eyes of both sides: the Indonesians and the Dutch. For the Dutch, Kartini's letters were the sign of friendship that overcame the differences between the two countries, and brought a new awareness of the reality of life for the colonized. For the Indonesian people, her letters expressed their frustration, pleas and hopes, which they had screamed silently for so long. At the same time, Indonesian nationalists were encouraged to move forward in their struggle to bring about Independence. Kartini herself had written: "Nationalism is already present in the social order as a saturated solution, ready to crystallize at the first shock".

Note: *RA is an acronym for Raden Ajeng, a noble title for ladies in Javanese aristocratic family (or known as kaum priyayi).


On her letters and thought
Many people disputed the authenticity of Kartini’s letters and thought due to her close relationship with her Dutch friends and Abendanon’s idealism to seek reform in colonialised Indonesia. On the one hand was Abendanon ~ a Director of Education, Industry, and Religion in the Dutch East Indies who was also known as a reformist, seeking to widen access to education for Dutch colonial subjects, and the person who collected, edited and published Kartini’s letters. On the other hand was Kartini ~ a privileged woman who felt trapped in feudal and patriarchal Javanese culture at that time.

Her letters were originally published in a highly edited form by Abendanon as a means of encouraging the colonial “ethical policy” in which liberal elements of the Dutch the colonial establishment felt it’s their duty to enlighten their colonial subjects, to bring them out of the darkness of superstition and ignorance. While liberals such as Abendanon supported education for the Javanese, however, their ideas did not address many of the contradictions of colonialism, and were in many was patronizing. Some have felt that Kartini, in criticizing feudal Javanese culture so strongly, implicitly embraces much of the value system of colonialism. Joost Coté, a scholar, in contrast, argues that Kartini’s writings are distinctly nationalist in tone, and identifies two key elements in them, which support such a conclusion. Kartini, Coté argues, has a complex and inflected attitude to both Javanese and Dutch colonial culture. She rejects aristocratic Javanese court culture but reclaims popular Javanese tradition; in a similar manner she rejects colonialism but demands access to the culture and science of the Enlightenment.

Some self-claimed feminists In Indonesia have criticized Kartini for being too subtle and gentle in her struggles then. If she despised polygamy why she married Raden Adipati Joyodiningrat who already had three wives? I think we should put Kartini’s action and decision in context, as suggested by some scholars. The following are some of the examples.


I was told that I should not forget that I was a Javanese, not a European woman. I could adopt European values as long as these did not conflict with our adat. I have learned three things from Europeans – love, sympathy, and the concept of justice, and I want to live according to these—Kartini 20 November 1901

Europe will teach us truly to be free—Kartini 10 June 1902

Reform is the product of the times! – it is not brought into being by the will of a single person—Kartini 18 May 1903


In her paper Kukathas said that Kartini dreaded the prospect of marriage to the Regent of Rembang. She described her wedding garments as her ‘costume of disguise’, and Roekmini (her sister) called it her ‘burial cloth’. Marriage meant the shattering of her hopes and admission into a new cage.

Within a few months, however her feelings were very different. She quickly came to admire the Regent who, as it turned out, shared many of her ideals. The reason he had sought out her parents and proposed marriage was that she was, by reputation, an independent-minded and interesting woman with a passion for social reform. The Regent himself was a highly educated man who had traveled to Holland and Europe, and had read widely. He therefore encouraged Kartini’s intellectual interests, and helped her prepare to open the school she wanted to found. He admired her learning and encouraged her to write a book on Javanese myths and legends, which he proposed they work on together. He shared her disdain for frivolity, as well as her criticisms of the Dutch administration and her sense of the injustice of the conditions of natives in the Indies. According to Kartini, he enlarged her perspective on the world. Of the things she came to admire about him, one was his unwillingness to subordinate himself: ‘my husband dares to look everyone in the eye’. Tell my sisters, she said, ‘my husband is worthy of my love and respect, totally.’

Indeed Kartini's life was very short. But, after her death, we should keep her spirit and idealism alive in the Indonesian people, especially in the women. When we read the extracts from Kartini’s letters, we may want to ask ourselves what qualities she envisions a modern Indonesian woman should possess, and indeed her vision of the place of women within a distinctively Indonesian modernity.


Books
Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang (translated from Dutch to Indonesia by Armijn Pane)
Hari Kartini, yang diperingati setiap tanggal 21 April, selalu terekam kenangan tentang bagaimana hari tersebut diperingati. Lomba kebaya dan lagu "Ibu Kita Kartini", demikianlah kenangan itu. Di sekolah-sekolah dasar, sudah merupakan pemandangan tahunan jika peringatan ditandai dengan parade gadis-gadis kecil berkebaya bak potret atau gambar Kartini. [Read more...]

Panggil Aku Kartini Saja by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Buy book at Select Books Online


Some Contemporary Heroines of Indonesia
Cut Syamsurniati: In Aceh, a woman warrior fights against fear (from Time Asia)
You can deal with terror two ways: you can hunker down, retreat from the world and let paranoia rule you; or you can do what Cut Syamsurniati did—fight back and reclaim your life. In January 1999, when soldiers and police engaged separatist rebels around Cut's village of Pusong in Indonesia's war-torn Aceh province, security forces killed seven villagers and injured 30. The menfolk of her village dared not evacuate the victims for fear of being shot as suspected rebels. "When I saw the men so helpless," Syamsurniati recalls, "I thought, 'Why can't women do this?'" So she and other village women negotiated with the military and escorted the wounded to the nearby town of Lhokseumawe for treatment. [Read more…]


Ester Indahyani Jusuf: Diskriminasi Bukan Hukum Alam (from Gatra Online)
Ester Indahyani Yusuf (33) bersama Komite Pembela Hak-hak Sipil dan Anti-Diskriminasi, berjuang menghapus diskriminasi di negeri ini. "Kami ingin menggalang dukungan agar RUU Anti-Diskriminasi segera diberlakukan," kata perempuan yang terlahir dengan nama Siem Ai Ling (putri mungil nan jelita) itu. Melalui Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa (SNB) yang dipimpinnya, ia menyosialisasikan RUU ini ke daerah-daerah. [Read more...]


Saur "Butet" Marlina Manurung: Mengabdi di Jalan Sunyi (from Kompas Online)
Neng Butet! Bolehlah perempuan Batak bernama Saur Marlina Manurung itu, disapa demikian? Maklumlah, beberapa tahun ia sempat menetap di tatar Sunda, sebagai mahasiswa Universitas Padjadjaran, Jatinangor, sebelum memutuskan hidup di belantara hutan di kawasan Taman Nasional Bukit Dua Belas, Propinsi Jambi, sekitar 225 km dari Kota Jambi ke arah barat. [Read more…]


What They Did With Their Lives (from Time Asia)
Grandmother Satima and mother Saidah, according to Pramoedya Ananta Toer, made him who he is. Two women gave me life. Two women of one flesh and blood, but sundered by fate. Two women who then defied that fate. Two women who taught me that the individual matters, above anyone or anything else. Two women who are my heroes. [Read more…]


Other Interesting Papers about Kartini and Women’s Studies in Indonesia
Apa Hebatnya Kartini? (by Limantina Sihaloho in Kompas Online)
Apa sih hebatnya Kartini? Goenawan Mohamad (seorang feminis atau pendukung feminisme?) pada kata pengantarnya dalam Aku Mau... Feminisme dan Nasionalisme: Surat-surat Kartini kepada Stella Zeehandelaar 1899-1903, menuliskan bahwa ide Kartini bukan datang dari ide seperti pemikiran feminisme Indonesia akhir abad ke-20. [Read more…]

Indonesia Women’s Studies Bibliography from UC Berkely Library

Teaching Indonesian Girls in Java and Bali 1900-1942: Dutch Progressives, The Infatuation with ‘Oriental’ Refinement and ‘Western’ Ideas about Proper Womanhood by Frances Gouda in Women’s History Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1995 (Washington, USA).

Abstract: This article examines the Dutch ‘Orientalist’ romance that inspired the creation of a system of private schools for aristocratic Javanese girls in early twentieth-century Indonesia. By inventing and exalting a pattern of reciprocity that presumably characterized feudalism in both a European or Asian setting – noblesse oblige – Dutch progressives expected that the education of aristocratic daughters would naturally ‘trickle down’ to poor women in village communities. In the process, upper-class girls were incorporated into a social taxonomy that mirrored Western sensibilities about status and gracious manners, while peasant women and Eurasian girls, who lived on the other side of the colonial divide, were inscribed with ‘otherness’. [Read more… in PDF format]

The Dilemma of a Dutiful Daughter: Love and Freedom in the Thought of Kartini by Chandra Kukathas (Dept. of Political Science, Univ. of Utah), Feb. 2005. Read more in PDF format.


Links
Kartini International Inc.
Kartini International is a dynamic, award-wining firm that specializes in gender equality and adult education services. Incorporated in 1996 in Ontario, the firm is committed to the vision and principles embodied by Raden Ajeng Kartini, a 19th Century member of the Javanese royalty who was a passionate advocate for women’s education and rights. We actively seek to bring Kartini’s principles to the 21st century in a blend of corporate and non-profit structures and practices. Our firm’s business ethics are based on egalitarian principles that include both women and men. This includes a progressive management structure that allows different team members to take the lead on specific projects based on their individual strengths and experience with the overall accountability and leadership provided by the firm’s Director, Dana Peebles. Our core team members are strongly committed to working in a collaborative framework and their experience and background reflects the diversity of the populations we serve.

Kartini International won the 2000 Canadian International Award for Gender Equality Achievement for the work we did on the CIDA-funded Gender in APEC project. We work at both the domestic and international levels. [Read more…]


Kartini Network: Gender and Women’s Studies Institute in Asia
Kartini is a network of women’s learning institutions and women’s organizations based in Asia formed for mutual capability building by sharing resources and also to give an Asian voice in the global advocacy for gender parity and women’s equality and the development of the full humanity of women. [Read more…]
Posted by Bebeth at 8:25 p.m. 3 comments
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Friday, April 15, 2005

Tsunami Justice ~ Call for Endorsement


Tsunami Justice Working Group has successfully put a website for people to submit their endorsements for this cause. Thanks to Frank, Ethan, Ken, Nancy and TJWG's members to materialize this ongoing effort. I'd like to ask you to read on and give your endorsement for this good cause. Please distribute it to your communities, organizations, or any individuals that sympathize with the victims of tsunami last December 2004. We will bring the results to the attention of the Government of Canada. I really appreciate your civil involvement in this cause.


The Tsunami Justice Working Group of the
Asian Solidarity Network - Toronto

Statement of Principles and Call for Endorsement
To endorse this statement, please visit http://www.tsunamijustice.org/ and send your statement of endorsement to endorse@tsunamijustice.org.

The Tsunami Justice Working Group' emerged from a January 29th, 2005 Strategy Planning meeting convened by the Asian Solidarity Network of Toronto. In attendance were representatives from major labour, social justice and non-governmental organizations; from persons whose homelands are the tsunami-affected communities; and from concerned individuals.

The Statement of Principles reflects our commitment to an ongoing monitoring of developments in the tsunami-affected countries through the constant co-ordination with local organizations working at the grass roots level in the most devastated areas.

We, "The Tsunami Justice Working Group", strongly believe that your endorsation of this Statement of Principles will provide strength, energy and solidarity to the tsunami victims in their struggle for collective justice.

  1. All donor countries and donor agencies must give a full disclosure of the financial aid given to each government in the affected region and if and how any funds were spent directly by the donor agencies. As well, all recipients of aid in the affected region (governments and independent agencies) must disclose the details of the aid that they have received and how it was used.


  2. All donor countries and donor agencies must ensure that they do not become complicit in globalization agendas driven by the neo-liberal model, including but not restricted to (a) free trade regimes; (b) structural adjustment programs; and, (c) privatization and deregulation policies that increase the power of private capital at the expense of working people and their communities.


  3. Government and agencies must involve the local communities and their organizations in planning and implementing rehabilitation and reconstruction programs to ensure that they meet the needs of the communities, conform to their development goals and support or encourage local initiatives.


  4. Governments and agencies in tsunami-affected areas must not use the disaster as a pretext to displace fisher people off their land, thus jeopardizing their livelihood, their traditional economies and the significant role that fisher people play in fulfilling their country's food security needs.


  5. In those tsunami-affected countries where there are armed conflicts -e.g.,. Aceh (Indonesia) and Sri Lanka---we demand that all parties (both state militaries and armed militant groups) which are engaged in armed activities must commit to a "cessation of hostilities" because those armed conflicts are exacerbating the crisis by increasing human rights abuses and by compromising full, safe and fair humanitarian access.


  6. In countries where a 'state of emergency' exists, it should be lifted.


  7. Those donor countries which send their military forces to perform "emergency relief work" in affected countries must declare a time frame for withdrawal. Further, emergency efforts should be led by civilian agencies, whereas national and international military forces should only play a limited logistical support role.


  8. Reconstruction work conducted by governments and agencies should be done in ecologically sound ways so as to not repeat previous mistakes where, in the pursuit of profits, "development" was carried out in irresponsible ways that contributed to the devastating effects of the tsunami.


To get a PDF version of this statement, or see a list of others who have endorsed the statement already, please visit http://www.tsunamijustice.org/

Posted by Bebeth at 10:35 p.m. 0 comments
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