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SAARC panel discusses draft declaration

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD DEC. 29. An additional protocol on the Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism, a mechanism for informal political consultations for resolution of conflicts and involvement of NGOs in monitoring of the social charter are among the three key elements of the Islamabad draft declaration proposed by Pakistan.

The draft declaration along with several other items was taken up for discussion on the opening day of the SAARC programming committee here. Member-states are believed to have expressed their views on the draft for consideration at the level of the Standing Committee consisting of Foreign Secretaries and later Foreign Ministers.

Observers believe all the three new proposals mooted by Pakistan as part of the declaration are sensitive and would involve a great deal of behind-the-scene negotiations for a consensus. On the additional protocol for terrorism, the problem was one of definition of the very term as India and Pakistan have diametrically opposite views on the subject.

The proposal of a mechanism for informal political consultations among member countries for resolution of conflicts is a watered-down version of the longstanding Pakistani demand for amending the SAARC charter to provide for resolution of bilateral conflicts.

Diplomats believe that the latest proposal by Pakistan does not amount to much as retreat of the heads of the state on the second day of the summit is essentially meant to provide an opportunity for a free and frank exchange of views on subjects, which do not come under the purview of the charter.

On the involvement of NGOs for monitoring the social charter, there could be a problem in view of suspicions that member states could make use of it for partisan ends, particularly on the human rights front.

The regional convention on terrorism came into force in 1988 following its ratification by the SAARC member-states.

On a proposal made by Sri Lanka after 9/11, the member-states had decided that an additional protocol would be included in the convention on suppression of terrorism. A draft of the protocol was prepared by Sri Lanka in May 2002. While there was a general agreement on it, an impasse was created as Pakistan and India called for certain modifications in its preamble.

Pakistan proposed that the language of the protocol be changed and suggested that the formulation approved by the 13th Non-Aligned Movement summit in February 2003 be adopted instead.

The NAM summit of the 116 member countries had concluded that attempts made to equate legitimate freedom struggles by people under alien occupation or foreign domination should be avoided.

India, on the other hand, proposed that in the additional protocol, the member-states shall take certain steps and make amendments to domestic legislation, if required, to ensure that criminal acts by terrorists were not justified by domestic, political, ideological or religious considerations.

In November, India proposed that a meeting be convened to discuss the matter between the representatives of the interior ministries. Sources said such a meeting was under consideration.

The convention provides for a regional focus on many of the well-established principles of international law in respect of terrorist offences. Under the convention, the member-states have to make necessary arrangements for extradition or prosecution of alleged offenders and sharing of information, intelligence and freezing of assets of designated terrorist outfits. At the Kathmandu summit in January 2002, all South Asian leaders had assailed terrorism but differed on its definition. While all backed the international coalition against terrorism, some called for a careful review of its root causes.

The Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, accused "some countries" of not taking action to implement the convention.

"We in South Asia have to recognise that our cooperative future will be significantly influenced by the way in which we can tackle terrorism together," he had said.

The President, Pervez Musharraf, said Pakistan was fully committed to the convention but argued: "A concerted campaign against terrorism must also identify and examine the causes that breed terrorism, that drive people to hopelessness and desperation."

He emphasised the need for maintaining a distinction between acts of legitimate resistance and freedom struggles on the one hand and acts of terrorism on the other.

The Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, called for a more "honest" approach to deal with terrorism. She said it was not enough to say that terrorists would be hunted down without an understanding of the causes.

"We must attempt to understand the deep-rooted cause of this most unnatural, de-humanising phenomenon very specific to the 20th century, that is terrorism," Ms. Kumaratunga stated.

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