The Dreams of Lasting Peace in Zapatistas - Assignment Example

 This is with reference to the commissioning of the analytical study by United Nations Security Council on 23rd of August 2007, to Human Rights Watch (HRW), in its emergency session held at New York. As Director for Central and South Asia HRW committee assigned this assignment to the undersigned. I will attempt to outline briefly the modalities of the approach which were employed in preparation of this detailed memo. The primary area that I addressed was to take cognizance of and inform myself and gain a historical perspective of the country through various historical accounts. The historical research was conducted till the contemporary time, ending at decolonization. Then I undertook an extensive study of primary sources which include Newspapers, academic journals, Television documentaries, news reels and Fiction Literature including poetry. I have also directed my research towards the emergence of militant/extremist Islam in its International context. The List of all the sources is attached. This research was a precursor to field appraisal visits to Zapatistan. A total of six visits were undertaken often under hostile conditions. During the course of these visits I sought audience and conducted interviews with President Marcos, The leader of Islamist Reform Party Mr. Wasih Mehtazberam, The General Secretary of Christian Nationalist Front; Mr. Corazine Constantine and I also managed to secure a brief but very productive tête-à-tête with Imam Nasir Fazlullah, the elusive Guerilla Leader, in his secret stronghold in Tien Shan Mountains, bordering People’s Republic of China. Besides talking to these luminaries, I often held illuminating discussions with University Professors, Traders, Oilmen and the person on the street. It was difficult however to directly talk to women across the strict gender segregated divide, especially in Muslim quarters, but fortunately I had a lady colleague; Ms. Iona Wazir, who conducted these talks. Her report has been structured in this memo, however a separate report can be provided if required. I will now outline, albeit briefly the historical development of Zapatistan, so as to contextualize the present crisis. Zapatistan is a landlocked country and shares its borders with Russia to the North and West, PRC to the East, Iran and Afghanistan to the South and South East respectively. It has key geopolitical and economic importance. The primary income generating activity is agriculture, in which 76% of the population is involved. The farm work is managed by small family units, both men and women are agricultural labourers. The Market and trade in agriculture is dominated and controlled by middlemen. A major portion of agriculture produce is exported through state owned and controlled ‘Zapatistan Trading Corporation’. This dominance of middlemen and bureaucratic control of trade has been a major cause/contributor to rural poverty. There is a nascent textile and sugar industry but it is also state controlled, the minimum wage of industrial labour is less than 5$ per day, fomenting frequent trade union unrest and harsh reprisals by the regime. The country is rich in Minerals, primarily Oil and Natural Gas. Petrochemical Sale accounts for 90% of state earnings. The extraction and production of Oil is state controlled and is leased out to Shell and British Petroleum. The oil is shipped through a pipeline to Black Sea for The Shell International Refinery. The Muslim dominated Southern region is rich in oil; however the northern highlands also have sizeable oil deposits. The Oil revenues are controlled by the state and wealth has ‘trickeled down’ at least to the urban areas. The few major cities now reflect the oil boom and have been redesigned by best Urban Planning Firms in the world. The town squares are dominated by statues of the President and his family members. Zapatistan was colonized by Imperial Russia in 1756 and gained its independence in 1986 after the fall of Communism in Soviet Union. The Communist party of this ex-Soviet republic was dominated by Christian minority of Zapatistan. The state structure with its authoritarian quasi-legal basis was supplanted by the new regime, after gaining independence. Thus independence represented continuity rather then change. President Marcos was the General Secretary of Communist party and the armed forces were dominated by Christian minority which backed Mr. Marcos. After independence he took oath as the new President of the newly christened; Republic of Zapatistan. Ironically, in this ‘republic’, no elections were held till the recent UN Sponsored general elections of 2006. The state since its independence is being governed through a ‘Provincial Constitution Order, PCO, promulgated on 14th August 1986. This legal framework gave immense powers to the President and incorporated Praetorian elite, in the governance structure. The media is controlled through various legal instruments like Press and Publication Ordinance straitjacketing print media and a harsh regulatory body ZEMRA; Zapatistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, focusing on Electronic media. ZEMRA is headed by a close aide of Marcos, General Ainzer alias “Hangman”, due to his harsh treatment of Journalists. The state also has a notorious secret Police ‘KHAD’, which reports directly to the President and was headed by, General Khalid Rehmanov, nicknamed ‘Butcher of September. He is a Muslim form the South. In 1987, the state denationalized the oil industry and petro-dollars started to pour in. The country opened up to the International Community and International Business Interests. This in its wake brought liberal ideology, which hitherto was shunned as capitalist propaganda. The new government universalized free primary education and made special efforts for education of women. Public Sector is the largest employer in the state and women employment was encouraged through a quota-system. 33% of jobs in the public sector are reserved for women. Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRBI) was introduced in the country in 1990. Gender was mainstreamed in all the development policies and programmes of the state. Care Economy was documented and the results were incorporated in the Economic planning. Gender Desegregated database was established through foreign consultants and the results were reflected in the development schemes of the government. Women and child healthcare system was also revitalized and standardized. In 1997 UN HDI Report Zapatistan stood very high and continued to do so till the civil war. This pro-development policy framework however was not enough to contain the rising discontent particularly in the Muslim South. It is pertinent to examine the rise of militant Islam and the ensuing civil war. Reference will also be made to the scale and extent of Human Rights abuse, bordering almost on genocide from both sides. The genesis of militant Islam can be traced back to Afghan Conflict. The war in neighboring Afghanistan politicized the discontented Youth. They enlisted in large to participate in the ‘Holy War’, against the ‘Russian infidels’ and their cohorts. The repressive Marcos regime was viewed as a collaborator. Soviet Zapatistan troops fought in the war. This conflict spilled over in to Zapatistan, in the form of Guerilla war waged by Islamist militants. This war included suicide bombings. This was met with unrestrained reaction by the regime and the conflict finally erupted in to full scale civil war in the aftermath of Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. In fact civil war in Zapatistan was the first proxy war of Taliban regime. Civil War claimed 2million lives and immense damage to property. Civilian population was targeted by both combatants; even women and children were not spared. Conservative estimates show that 5000 children lost their lives. An ugly facet of this conflict was the use of toy bombs and landmines by both sides, which maimed and crippled thousands of children. Rape as an instrument of War was also practiced by both sides, creating irreparable psychological damage to the victims. The war however was mostly restricted to the South; the major cities of the North escaped any major damage. Sporadic suicide bombings by the Muslims damaged to limited degree the infrastructure of the urban centers of the North. UN Security Council brokered a ceasefire, which ended the hostilities (UNSC evoked, Articles 33-34-36-37 and 38 of UN Charter relating to pacific dispute settlement). The UN Special Envoy and the Special Peace Commission brought the two sides for negotiations after USA’s invasion of Afghanistan. General Elections were organized under UN auspices on universal adult franchise basis and Islamic militants, hastily organized in a political party, overwhelmingly won the elections. However the voting pattern was predominantly based on ethno-religious affiliations. CHRONICLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AND SOME RECOMMENDATIONS: The pre Civil War Human Rights abuses have been documented and a data base has been compiled (see Annexure A). Almost 100,000 persons have been in the missing list. The state secret police is responsible for these missing persons. These unaccounted for disappearances were the major cause of unrest. The majority of these missing persons belong to Muslim Community, but a sizeable number of them also profess the Christian faith. They are mostly, journalists, poets, writers and intellectuals, who dared to oppose the regime. The Civil War brought to fore these shadowy, secretive Human Rights abuses to the fore. The need to keep these crimes was not required in war time. The semblance of decency was forsaken and there was a total eclipse of Human values. Both sides used unrestrained force. The estimates are enormous. There is evidence that following articles of Universal Declaration of Human Rights were grossly abused and clearly violated initially by Marcos regime and later by the Muslim guerillas: 1. Article 3 (relating to life, liberty and security of person) 2. Article 5 (relating to torture, inhuman treatment etc.) 3. Article 8 (relating to right access to courts and justice) 4. Article 9 (relating to prohibition of arbitrary arrest) 5. Article 11 (relating to presumptive innocence before law etc.) (UN.org.2007) The case against Marcos regime is very strong for its two decades of Human Rights abuse record and similarly the case against Islamic militia is also very strong for conduct during the war. Both sides committed culpable crimes. However charging both the parties will be counterproductive as both the parties can claim legitimate support in their ethnic communities, as displayed in the elections. The Islamic justice Party has won the elections held under the supervision of UN and International Observers from US and EU. I would like to refer to Article 21 clause 1 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights; it states: “Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country directly or through freely chosen representatives”. This unalienable right of the Islamic party can not be forfeited; it would be against the tenets of International Law. If UNSC prevents the Islamic party to form a government it would lead to establishing precedence. However UN is also responsible for ensuring the rights of minorities. The professed manifesto of the Islamic party is to ‘subjugate, forcibly convert and oppress the Christian minority’, this obscurantist and dangerous manifestation can lead to a further crisis and further violations of Human Rights. I would like to refer to the “Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities”. The rights of minorities are protected under this International declaration. It is recommended that the Islamic Party may be invited to form the government. It shall be made incumbent upon the new government to constitute a new Constitution Making body which should include representatives of minorities. The constitution of the new republic should have following features. The new republic should have a bicameral legislature. The lower House should have representatives elected on Universal Adult Franchise. The upper House should be elected through an electoral college with fixed representation of Christian minorities, calculated in accordance with their population. Separate Electorate system may be introduced in the next elections, and this may be made the part of the new constitution (Muslims may elect from Muslim candidates and Christians may elect from amongst Christian candidates). This system will recognize the already existing religious division and will be instrumental in legitimizing it. This will also ensure adequate representation of the Christian in the legislature. Personal Law may be introduced in the legal system in the form of Christian Family Law and Muslim Family Law. The personal matters like marriage, divorce etc. may be settled under these separate legal frameworks. The jurists and The Bench may be trained in both. (Inayatullah.1988). Universal Human Rights can be incorporated as Preamble to the constitution These recommendations if incorporated during the constitutional engineering phase can create harmony between the antagonists and will facilitate a sustainable peace. The crisis of Zapatistan can also be viewed as an opportunity by the UNSC and by using instrumentalities outlined above; the dream of lasting peace in Zapatistan can be achieved. References & Bibliography: 1. Inayatullah,B. (1988), “Politics of Ethnicity and Separatism in South Asia”,Paper for the Conference on National Stability and Regional Security in South Asia,Islamabad 26-28 June 1988. 2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, accessed on 30th November 2007. http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html 3. Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities, Accessed on 30th November 2007. http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d_minori.htm Read More