List of articles and abstracts

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Afghanistan: A Forgotten Cold War Tragedy 

Rasul Bakhsh Rais
  

Abstract

This article argues that there is no alternative to a peace process and some elements of the same, like the six plus two and regional initiatives, are already there. The lack of progress cannot be attributed to the Taliban alone. The security, economic and political interests of some of the regional powers are in conflict over the future of Afghanistan. Some of them have a vested interest in keeping Afghanistan unstable and in conditions of war. Others have found an easy scapegoat in the Taliban because of their hostile international image. Afghanistan's northern neighbours are shifting world attention from their own domestic failures to the Taliban by attributing to them qualities of threat that they do not possess. Washington and Moscow have transformed themselves from deadly rivals to co-operative partners in Afghanistan. Both of them, for different reasons, want to see the end of the Taliban regime and have worked together through the UN to isolate Afghanistan and impose sanctions. The recent move by the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo against the Taliban alone is not only unjust and unfair but also a recipe for prolonging the conflict. This may raise the expectations of the northern warlords and prevent them from seeking a negotiated solution.

Conflict Resolution and Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka: International Experiences and Applications

Colleen McGinn

"Transitional justice" how a state emerging from a period of conflict or repression confronts human rights violations committed under previous regimes is a risky business indeed. Stakes are high and challenges higher, policies must navigate ethical, legal, and political considerations with intensely contesting interests on all sides. The transitional justice literature trends to focus on transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, or post-genocidal contexts. The author has sought to explore applications of transitional justice mechanisms for resolution of protracted ethnic conflicts that have to descended into genocide, particularly Sri Lanka. Although the overall record of truth commissions is mixed at best, the South African example may hold key lessons in that it transcended an official fact-finding mission into a vehicle to humanise all sides of the conflict and served as a public ritual to seek reconciliation.

Subverting Patriarchy? Leadership and Participation of Women in Politics
in South Asia

Vidyamali Samarasinghe

Ideology of gender as evolved in the South Asian realm puts women firmly in the domestic sphere, with primary responsibility of rearing and caring for children and in housekeeping. Male dominance is pervasive. In this study we argue that women in South Asia have used the existing system of patriarchy to break into the public sphere of politics. Using India and Sri Lanka as the case studies we demonstrate that at different levels of political participation and leadership, ranging from the national level to the local levels, women have demonstrated that they have the ability to use the patriarchal system to gain political visibility. Furthermore, the issues that emanate in the reproductive sphere, which is the designated sphere for women within patriarchal cultures, are carried into the public sphere as political issues that demand public articulation.

"Consciously or unconsciously, every woman I think feels that if Indira Gandhi could be Prime Minister of her country, then we all have opportunities."

Ela Bhatt founder member of SEWA.

Trajectories of the Filipino Diaspora

E San Juan Jr

Unlike the historic diasporas of the past, the worldwide dispersal of Filipino bodies is a product of transnational or globalised capitalism. Peripheralised by the colonial legacies of 300 years of Spanish rule and half-a-century of direct colonial domination by the United States, the Philippines now occupies the position of one of the main suppliers of cheap migrant labour for the entire planet. Nonetheless, despite this subalternity and marginalisation, the Filipino people have developed a rich and durable revolutionary tradition that informs their everyday acts of resistance and survival. This article explores both the structures and experiences of diasporic life shaped by the contradictions between the commodifying pressures of finance capitalism and the anti-imperialist, nationalist struggles of the Filipino masses.

Book Review 

Conflict and Violence in South Asia: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
edited by K M de Silva

Alfred K David

Conflict and Violence in South Asia: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka is a recent publication of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) edited by its Executive Director K M de Silva, Professor Emeritus of the University of Peradeniya. The chapters in this volume examine a variety of protracted conflicts involving issues common to four of the main states of South Asia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. In most of the separatist struggles reviewed in the volume, there are complications caused by external forces. Other conflicts stem from some of the most divisive issues in the region. The conflicts have been classified into three categories; namely those based on religious strife, those on social conflicts and on separatism. All the chapters written by specialists contain fresh insights and new data.