The Hindu : SAARC far from its goals?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 18, 2002

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SAARC far from its goals?

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI Aug. 17. What is common among Rajiv Gandhi, Bir Bikram Shah Dev and Mohammad Zia ul-Haq? All three South Asian leaders were signatories to the founding charter of the South Asian Regional Association of the SAARC. All three of them were assassinated.

Of the seven leaders who signed the SAARC charter on December 8, 1985, three met with violent deaths. Only one — Junius Richard Jayewardene died a natural death. Two of the original seven — King Jigme Singye Wangchuk of Bhutan and Maumoon Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives — remain at the helm of affairs. The last, Hussain Mohammad Ershad, heads the Jatiya Party in Bangladesh.

As Kathmandu prepares for the 23rd session of the SAARC Council of Ministers on August 21-22, the efficacy of the association remains an open question. The seven Foreign Secretaries hold a prior session on August 19-20.

Even as the SAARC expressly excludes interference in the internal affairs of member-nations, the violent backdrop to South Asian politics is not hidden from anyone.

Whether it was a democratically-elected (former) Prime Minister, a hereditary King or a military dictator, all three of them met the same end. As the SAARC grapples with its future, the violent nature of politics in South Asia and the India-Pakistan dynamics continue to cloud its future.

The opening lines of the SAARC Charter make it clear the member-nations wanted to promote ``peace, amity and progress'' in the region through ``strict adherence'' to the principles of the U.N. Charter and Non-alignment.

They committed themselves to sovereign equality, territorial integrity, national independence, non-use of force and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and peaceful settlement of all disputes.

All decisions, the seven nations agreed, were to be taken unanimously, and bilateral and contentious issues could not be taken up.

The SAARC is far from achieving any of the lofty goals it set for itself; differences between India and Pakistan have stunted its growth and the fact that the association has muddled along will be seen as an achievement by some.

South Asia is home to the poorest of the poor — yet the Governments have been unable to deliver to its residents the basics in terms of food, shelter, education or even access to clean drinking water.

As the SAARC has excluded bilateral issues, it is clear that politics in one nation often has a direct bearing in another country. The Sri Lanka-based Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, for instance, plotted and executed the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) operates camps in Bhutan, and both New Delhi and Thimpu are cooperating in trying to deal with this problem.

The Kargil incursion by Pakistan demonstrated that Pakistan had little faith in adhering to the ``peaceful settlement'' of disputes between member nations.

At a time when regional blocs have shown enormous clout and economic advantage, the SAARC's inability to invent itself as a viable regional grouping has been evident.

If one were to look east, the relative success of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in generating economic interest in that part of the world is evident. Even as many see the ASEAN in a ``sunset'' mode, its success as a regional grouping is far greater than the SAARC.

Is the SAARC up to the challenge? Or will the only ``media interest'' relate to whether Pakistan raises Kashmir or not at a forum where bilateral issues are excluded? Or whether Indian and Pakistani leaders will meet on the sidelines or not?

It is up to the seven leaders of the seven nations. The ``core'' concerns of the seven peoples of SAARC remain the same — will their Governments address the basic issues or not?

The record, so far, is far from impressive notwithstanding the large number of points contained in the joint declarations issued periodically by the Heads of State/Government.

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