INSIGHT: Interfaith dialogue: The need to tackle some thorny issues

Bahtiar Effendy, The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA | Sat, 03/14/2009 10:24 AM  

Nobody knows exactly when and if the United Nations will eventually declare this year the start of a decade of interfaith dialogue. The idea of making it this year has been considered by those who are actively engaged in religious dialogue and cooperation of people of different faiths. Indeed, interfaith dialogue has become fashionable in the last few years. Even world leaders are now beginning to realize and take into account the importance of dialogue among people of different faiths. 

It is an irony, but Samuel Huntington deserves part of the credit. The recent surge in religious dialogue has been made possible in part by his provocative observation on the clash of civilizations. Certainly, the dreadful attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) on Sept. 11, 2001 solidified the importance of interfaith dialogue. 

But interest in religious dialogue is by no means a novel issue. Long before, the importance of religious dialogue had been raised by several institutions such as the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP) as well as the Asian Conference on Religion and Peace (ACRP). Countries that became members of these organizations developed their own organizations with the same interest. 

Indonesia is no exception. A home to nearly 240 million people, it not only comprises multi-ethnic groups, but also different religious denominations with Islam being the religion of the majority. Without proper management, these ethno-religious cleavages could be a nightmare for whoever controls the state as they may well serve as a source of tension.

So, concern over religious harmony has been part of the government policy. Historically, tensions involving the existing religious denominations had occurred in pre-independent Indonesia. They were not necessarily religious in nature, but often related to politics. The struggle for political authority in Java in the 15th century, for instance, had involved peoples with different religious beliefs. This sorry phenomenon continued well after independence. The debate over national ideology, on what sort of ideology the Indonesian state should be based (i.e. Islam or Pancasila) had created tension between Muslims and non-Muslims. This politically motivated tension reached its height in the ‘50s. 

Although such tension subsided in the 1960s, partly because of President Sukarno’s decision to bring the debate to a halt, different forms of religious tension began to develop. Most of the time, these religious conflicts involved proselytization activities, building places of worship (mosques and churches in particular) and overseas donations. Once in a while, tension among different religious adherents heightened because of different interests in legal arrangements. Because of this, many are of the opinion that religious tension has become an imminent issue.

This has made the government take necessary measures to prevent or minimize conflict. In this regard, at least three major measures have been taken. First, recognizing the existing religions; previously, recognition was given only to Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Only recently has Confucianism also been recognized. Second, establishing inter-religious forums. Third, encouraging and sponsoring dialogue.

Unfortunately, this has been the concern of primarily the Ministry of Religious Affairs. It had never been the concern of any other Ministries until a few years ago, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarded interfaith dialogue as part of its public diplomacy. Working with its counterparts in Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines, the Netherlands, the Vatican, Canada and Italy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has regularly conducted interfaith dialogue meetings.

But it is actually the NGOs that have a far deeper concern over the imminent nature of religious tension and conflict. Many socio-religious organizations such as the Muhammadiyah, the Nahdlatul Ulama, the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), the Indonesian Council of Bishops (KWI), the Indonesia Confucianism High Assembly (Matakin), the Indonesian Buddhist Association (Walubi), etc. are actively involved in interfaith dialogue.

Their main concern has been to encourage dialogue among different religious denominations so that they can arrive at a common platform that regulates their activities. They believe through dialogue they can understand the issues and problems better. It opens up a window of opportunity to reach a common understanding that is instrumental in solving whatever problems they are facing. Through dialogue, it is hoped that religious conflict can be avoided.

There are many issues being addressed by those who are engaged in the campaign for interfaith dialogue. These include religious freedom, human rights, religious cooperation, respect for others’ beliefs, disarmament, globalization and so on and so forth.

Unfortunately, they often fail to tackle some thorny and burning issues that may well have served as sources of tension and conflict. These issues usually do not concern theological or philosophical matters in religions, but practical ones. Cases in point are, as mentioned earlier, building places of worship, religious proselytization activities, burial, or overseas donations. Because of that, they fall short of taking the necessary steps to solve the above practical problems.

It is comforting to know that interest in religious dialogues is on the rise. Yet at the same time, religious leaders are confronted with the question of the sustainability of a dialogue. Often, a dialogue is not conducted at regular intervals, so then different people are involved. They are inclined to start from scratch, which has hampered the further development of a dialogue.

Unless some kind of permanent working group is set up, and thorny issues are being discussed, interfaith dialogue will have no significant impact in our effort to create a peaceful coexistence among people of different religious beliefs. 

The writer is a professor of political science at the State Islamic University (UIN), Jakarta.

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Bank secrecy moves may force wealthy back onshore

By Lisa Jucca - Analysis, Reuters, Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:49pm EDT

BERNE (Reuters) - Wealthy people who have stashed cash in undeclared accounts in Switzerland and other offshore centers may now seek ways to legitimize their money after Berne and other tax haven governments relaxed bank secrecy laws.

In landmark statements, bank secrecy strongholds Switzerland, Luxembourg and Austria offered on Friday more cooperation on tax evasion than ever before to avoid being blacklisted by G20 countries as unco-operative tax havens.

The decision, which comes on the heels of similar moves in other offshore centers, will not eliminate the principles of banking secrecy that have allowed the $7-trillion offshore industry to thrive, and the countries will offer help only on limited cases of suspected tax evasion.

"It is not an open door policy. It is an easing of access to information in respect to tax crime," Swiss President and Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz said on Friday.

But Berne is already looking for a transitory solution to help its client come onshore, and did not rule out the option of negotiating tax amnesties with other jurisdictions.

"This is not a fantasy. It is more than appropriate to talk about amnesties," Merz told a news conference.

Liechtenstein, a tiny Alpine tax haven that also committed to more tax transparency on Thursday, has said it wants a legal solution to help its clients bring undeclared money onshore to stem the massive client withdrawals its banks have been suffering since a tax spat with Germany.

"Tax amnesties are the most attractive solution for banks and bank clients to get out of a problem," said Dirk Hoffmann-Becking, an analyst with Bernstein Research, who says the changes on the tax arena are coming at a faster pace that the industry originally anticipated.

"But it's not in Switzerland's hands to determine them."

NO OVERNIGHT CHANGE

Industry analysts do not expect Switzerland to lose its role of leadership in wealth management since the move toward tax transparency is affecting all offshore centers at the same time.

Switzerland, which manages an estimated $2 trillion of offshore wealth out of $7 trillion, fears that rising financial star Singapore may steal the limelight in wealth management -- although the city state also said it is willing to embrace more information exchange on tax transparency this month.

Also, the changes on tax cooperation will not be introduced overnight and are not as radical as some expected as foreign authorities would still need to give evidence of suspected tax evasion to Switzerland and others to be able to access bank account information.

"We don't anticipate that this announcement will significantly impact the private banking industry, as foreign tax authorities will be unable to make blanket requests for information on all accounts, as was feared," said Jean Schaffner, a tax partner at Allen & Owery.

But the trend toward moving money onshore will continue, Schnaffer said, noting that past tax amnesties in Belgium and other countries helped banks bring clients onshore without losing them.

"This is definitely a tendency. There are a lot of people who have inherited undeclared money from their parents," he added. "The younger generations wants to use the money and they cannot do it if the money is not clean."

Swiss tax lawyers say it has become more and more difficult for holders of undeclared accounts to benefit from these as the money cannot be moved and can only be spent in Switzerland.

"This is dead money. It is money that burns under your fingers," said a tax lawyer who declined to be named.
(Editing by Andrew Callus)

Palestine thanks

The Jakarta Post   |   Fri, 03/13/2009 4:19 PM  
 

  Members of Palestinian Parliament, Speaker Ahmad Bahar (second right), and members of Hamas faction Marwan Ros (second left) and Zuhairi (right), walk with House of Representative member Hilman Rosyad (left) after expressing their gratitude to the Indonesian people for the support to Palestinian people in Jakarta on Friday. Ahmas said in the occasion that Hamas was willing to reach agreement during talks in Cairo and to form a united government with Fatah. JP/J Adiguna

The "Flying Dutchman" of Climate Change

By BRYAN WALSH , Time/CNN, Thursday, Mar. 12, 2009
 

Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), gestures as he answers questions during a press conference at Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on February 13, 2009. Toru Yamanaka / AFP / Getty
 

His colleagues call him the Flying Dutchman because of all the time Yvo de Boer spends in the air, traveling from one world capital to another as he tries to stitch together a global deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions — and possible save the world. As the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), de Boer is the U.N.'s point man for the ongoing global effort to plan a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. (See pictures of our fragile planet.) 

The deadline for a new treaty is coming up fast — at the U.N. climate summit that will be held in Copenhagen at the end of the year. Though a much more climate-friendly Administration has just taken power in Washington, the main conflicts that have held up talks in the past — including the division of responsibility between China and the U.S., the two biggest carbon emitters in the world — remain deep. De Boer spoke to TIME in New York City, just a few hours before he was back in the air: 

You were just down in Washington. Can you give me a sense of what the new Administration and Congress are expecting on climate negotiations this year?

What struck me across the board was this huge enthusiasm to get moving on the topic. It's very clear that it's very near the top of the political agenda, if not at the top. The Obama Administration is committed to putting an ambitious domestic policy package in place. The new President has asked Congress and the Senate to come up with cap and trade legislation. They want to show leadership at the national level, engage in the international process, work towards an agreement in Copenhagen and reach out to developing countries to ensure they engage as well. 

The conventional wisdom is that, with everything else on the government's plate, we're unlikely to see carbon cap and trade legislation passed in Congress before the Copenhagen summit at the end of the year. How important is it that something is in place by then?

I'd agree that legislation is not going to be passed by Copenhagen, but it will be well advanced by then. The international community is keenly interested in seeing what steps America is making at home to get its emissions under control, but it also wants to se what the Administration says it will do. If the Administration in Copenhagen commits to a target that is good enough for the international community, that will work. It's up to the U.S. see how the target will be implemented nationally. 

Do you worry about a repeat of the Kyoto Protocol, where U.S. negotiators signed onto ambitious carbon cut targets, only to be repudiated by the Senate at home?

I don't see that happening again. At that time there was almost a complete disconnect between the Administration and the Senate. This time around, I don't know if Sen. [John] Kerry and Secretary of State [Hillary] Clinton are on the phone with each other every day, but I have the impression they work together very closely and that Kerry is going to help make sure that whatever is agreed to at Copenhagen can get through the Senate. 

Is Copenhagen still an "all or nothing" deadline? Or is there still wiggle room if the world fails to agree on a new treaty?

You have to do it in Copenhagen. There is tremendous political momentum internationally to come to an agreement, and if you let that slip the momentum and enthusiasm will gradually dissipate and things will become more difficult. But having said that, I'm not under the illusion that every final little detail of how the agreement will work in practice will be finalized in Copenhagen. A certain amount of engineering has to be done. 

Has that momentum been dented by the ongoing global recession?

I don't think the enthusiasm has been dented. In fact, a lot of countries including this one are mainstreaming climate and energy in their recovery packages. Obama does that in improving the electrical grid to put more renewable energy in place, and by helping Detroit build the hybrids of tomorrow rather than the relics of yesteryear. But clearly this is a difficult time to mobilize the financial resources for international cooperation, and that poses a challenge. 

How are you managing the expectations for Copenhagen? Do you worry that if expectations remain low, nations could go into the meeting willing to accept low emissions targets, or even failure?

Yes, I think that it's dangerous to hold onto the prospect that you can go into overtime and postpone an agreement. I think that's dangerous because it's not true. It's not true in the sense that things will be a lot more difficult after Copenhagen than before Copenhagen. 

What's your life like now, as you prepare the way for Copenhagen?

I don't think I've got a life! I do an incredible amount of traveling, about three quarters of my life. The rest of the time I'm back at the OK Corral [at UNFCCC headquarters in Bonn] to make sure I know what the hell is going on, and that we're all working in the same direction. 

There are those who say that climate change is primarily a question of technology — that we need to change the way we use energy, and only research and development will do that, not UN mandates. Why is the UNFCCC process important?

It's important because you have to drive change. Automakers will only begin to look for low emissions technology if they think the government is likely to regulate toward low emissions technology. There has to be a sense of urgency out there. We still live in a world where the cost of pollution is not yet part of the price, where you can as a factory emit unlimited greenhouse gases, without having to pay for the environmental consequences. Unless we begin to change that, there is no incentive to switch to more renewable energy and energy efficiency. Technology doesn't happen by itself. 

You're closer to these negotiations than anyone else. Do you remain optimistic about the ability of the world to come to grips with climate change?

Yes, because I see a political willingness to support the Copenhagen process, and a growing public concern that is driving that political momentum. That makes me confident things will happen. Hopefully quickly.

Leaders say religious harmony a blessing

The Jakarta Post, Tue, 03/10/2009 2:44 PM  

Philip Kun-tjoro Widaja, secretary-general of the Indonesian Buddhist Association (Walubi): 

Indonesia's diversity is something we have to cherish. I think different religious groups have intensified communications between each other in search of understanding in the past few years. They have shared tolerance so that they understand the purpose of a ritual or the way of thinking of other religious followers. Tolerance is something extraordinary and the foundation of harmony. 

It's impossible to gather everybody to talk about religious harmony. The role of religious leaders is therefore important to disseminate new developments, thoughts and anything related to efforts to uphold unity in diversity to the grassroots. The responsibility is not exclusively handed to religious leaders, but is also the obligation of anyone involved in interfaith dialogues. 

The conference represented acknowledgement of Indonesia's achievements in nurturing dialogues among different faith groups. Such a dialogue will find its relevance now that the West is taking on the issue of immigrants who bring along with them their cultures and religions. The world is moving toward that course. The West is witnessing the fast-growing development of Islam, often considered unfriendly. 

Indonesia happens to be the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. The way the Muslim majority gets along with other faith groups will serve as a benchmark for religious harmony in the world. 

Markus Solo, Holy See official in charge of interfaith dialogue in Asia: 

People in Indonesia in fact experience religious harmony and the government protects freedom of religion. There may be challenges facing the harmony, which the West sees as politicization of religion for personal gain or political interests. 

We in the West have heard about the extremist groups that cause trouble. Amnesty International has also reported human rights violations there. Those are challenges for the majority group in Indonesia to prove that the country is a peaceful and comfortable place to live in. 

The Holy See will send a delegation to Indonesia in November to learn more about the country and to observe and feel how harmony prevails in such a diverse society and how people there tackle the challenges. The Italian foreign ministry has precisely referred to Indonesia as a model for religious harmony, given the fact that Italy is now taking on challenges related to immigrants. Dialogue with the Muslim world is of great relevance today. 

What we may lack is probably a transparent and orderly mechanism to make sure the message of the dialogue can reach out to people at the grass roots. We all know that those people are the most vulnerable to the problems. The message from the top may sound wonderful, but it may not transpire at a practical level. We need a joint commission on crisis management where we can discuss and cope with common challenges or other humanitarian problems such as natural disasters. 

Bachtiar Effendy, Muhammadiyah director of political affairs: 

The principle of unity and diversity remains honored and upheld, but the reality does not always work in tandem, as a number of ethnic and religious conflicts have shown. 

There are many issues being addressed by those who are engaged in interfaith dialogues. The issues include religious freedom, human rights, respect for others' beliefs, disarmament, globalization and so forth. Unfortunately, many organizations often fail to tackle some thorny issues that may well have served as sources of conflict. Cases in point include building places of worship, religious proselytization, burials and donations from overseas. 

While no one can deny the importance of dialogue, it is equally pressing that practical problems need to be overcome. Undoubtedly, interfaith dialogue has reduced tension or conflict, but often those talks fall short of practical steps to solve the problems, which need a more direct and blunt way of settlement. 

Interfaith dialogue has intensified in the last few years, yet religious leaders are confronted with the question of sustainability of the dialogue. The talks may bring fresh and new ideas, but they have the tendency to start from scratch. 

Therefore it's important to form a permanent working group, both at national and international levels. This would allow serious issues to be discussed continuously until a workable solution is reached.7

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Global Economy to Shrink First Time Since WWII, World Bank Says

By Christopher Swann, Bloomberg  

March 9 (Bloomberg) -- The global economy is likely to shrink for the first time since World War II, and trade will decline by the most in 80 years, the World Bank said. 

The World Bank’s assessment is more pessimistic than an International Monetary Fund report in January predicting 0.5 percent global growth this year. The Washington-based World Bank didn’t provide a specific estimate in its report yesterday. 

World growth will be 5 percent below its potential, the bank said. Developing nations will bear the brunt of the contraction. They will face a shortfall of between $270 billion and $700 billion to pay for imports and service debts, the bank said. 

“We need to react in real time to a growing crisis that is hurting people in developing countries,” said World Bank President Robert Zoellick in a statement. Action is needed by governments and multilateral lenders “to avoid social and political unrest.” 

East Asia will be hit the hardest by the decline in global commerce, the bank said. Global industrial production is expected to be as much as 15 percent lower than in 2008. 

The World Bank said that a surge of debt issuance by rich nations risks “crowding out many developing country borrowers, both private and public.” Emerging nations that can access capital markets will be forced to pay higher rates of interest. 

The report said that 94 out of 116 developing countries had experienced a slowdown in economic growth, with poverty increasing in 43. The economic crisis will swell the ranks of the poor by 46 million this year, the report says. The result would be growing dependence on foreign aid. 

‘Bigger Bang’ 

Justin Lin, the bank’s chief economist, said that developed nations should funnel part of their stimulus spending to poorer countries where it would be more effective at boosting demand. Channeling infrastructure investment to the developing world can have a “bigger bang for the buck,” he said. 

Developing nations will be hurt by tighter credit, withdrawals of foreign direct investment, and a decline in the amount of money sent home by workers overseas, the report said. The decline in such remittances will have the biggest impact in countries including Honduras, Lebanon and Tajikistan. 

Maturing debt is another major risk for many emerging nations, the report said, estimating that more than $1 trillion of corporate debt and as much as $3 trillion on government debt will come due this year. 

To contact the reporters on this story: Christopher Swann in Washington at cswann1@bloomberg.net

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Brown does a U-turn on tax havens with blacklist

Guardian.co.uk, Nick Mathiason, The Observer, Sunday 8 March 2009 

Gordon Brown is preparing to unveil a blacklist of harmful tax havens to be published before the crucial London G20 meeting next month. 

The list is expected to include offshore centres linked to Britain, including the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. 

The move will be seen as a radical departure from the prime minister's historic position of protecting the pre-eminence of Britain's financial services industry. Crucially, it will also attempt to counter growing criticism from France and Germany that the UK, like Switzerland, is an obstacle to a transparent financial system. 

It is understood that the government has accepted the need for global regulation of so-called secrecy jurisdictions and acknowledges the current system of bilateral exchange of information between tax havens and individual countries hasn't brought financial stability. 

Brown's move comes as last week US treasury secretary Tim Geithner confirmed that President Obama will back the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, which will come before Congress soon. Germany is planning similar legislation. 

Brown has been criticised in the past for his opposition to measures that would help identify the beneficiaries of trusts through the EU who are withholding tax. 

But last week he stated in the US congress that he wanted to regulate them. 

As preparations for the G20 meeting gather pace, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development is also poised to produce its own blacklist of secrecy jurisdictions, where many structured investment vehicles and collateralised debt obligations have been based.

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NASA's planet hunter blasts off into space

CTV.ca, The Associated Press, Fri. Mar. 6 2009 10:57 PM ET

This artist rendition shows the Kepler space telescope. (AP / NASA)
 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's planet-hunting spacecraft Kepler has blasted off aboard a rocket from Cape Canaveral. 

The Kepler telescope rocketed into the night sky late Friday on a historic voyage to track down other Earths in a faraway patch of the Milky Way galaxy. 

The $600-million mission will last at least 3 1/2 years. 

Once it's settled into an orbit around the sun, Kepler will stare non-stop at 100,000 stars. 

The telescope will watch for any dimming, or winks, in the stellar brightness that might be caused by orbiting planets. 

It's the first NASA mission capable of detecting Earth-size planets around stars like our sun. 

Kepler is named after a German 17th-century astrophysicist.

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Indonesia opens wider opportunity for cooperation with Iran

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government will open wider opportunity for cooperation with Iran in the field of culture, tourism, social, as well as economy, Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said here on Tuesday. 

"We are so serious to open our cooperation relation through cultural bridge with Iran. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has visited Iran, and it was reciprocated by his Iranian counterpart Ahmadinejad to visit Indonesia later. Now is time for me at ministerial level to improve the two countries cooperation relations in various fields," Jero Wacik told the press after opening "Iran Cultural Week" at National Museum. 

According to the minister, on of the examples of good cooperation between the two countries was the activity of cultural exchange which has just been dedicated. 

"Last year I brought Indonesian cultural mission to Iran and this year Iran comes to Indonesia to introduce its art and culture, and it is an important effort to cultivate mutual understanding between the two countries," Jero Wacik said. 

Meanwhile, Iranian presidential adviser and the chairman of the Organization of Iranian Islamic Cultural Relation Dr Mehdi Mostafavi said art and cultural cooperation was an instrument to unite the two countries in economic, and educational relation. 

Jero Wacik said the cooperation between the two countries was marked with a direct flight between Jakarta and Tehran which is to start on March 18 this year. 

He said the direct flight between the two capital cities was expected to increase the number of Iranian tourists visiting Indonesia. 

"Then, after the direct flight between Jakarta and Tehran is successful and nothing intervenes, we will continue with direct flight from Tehran to Denpasar, Bali," Jero Wacik said. 

He said the Iranian Cultural Week at National Museum would last from March 3-10 and the visitors were expected to enjoy Iranian traditional music performance, contemporary paintings and miniature, calligraphy, film, and books on Iranian history, art and culture.

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Clinton pledging $300 million in aid for Gaza

The Jakarta Post, Robert Burns, The Associated Press, Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt| Mon, 03/02/2009 6:00 PM 

 

 Face to face: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left talks to the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Saud Al Faysal upon their arrival at the opening session of the Gaza reconstruction conference in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, Monday. Clinton, on her first foray into Middle East politics as U.S. secretary of state, arrived at an international donors conference Monday with a U.S. pledge of about $300 million in humanitarian aid for the war-torn Gaza Strip. AP/Nasser Nasser
 

Hillary Rodham Clinton, on her first foray into Middle East politics as U.S. secretary of state, arrived at an international donors conference Monday with a U.S. pledge of about $300 million in humanitarian aid for the war-torn Gaza Strip. 

She also was to announce about $600 million in assistance to the Palestinian Authority. 

The Obama administration is casting its contributions as a calculated effort to ensure that the money does not reach Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza and is viewed by Washington as a terrorist organization and not a legitimate governing body. 

"We have worked with the Palestinian Authority to install safeguards that will ensure our funding is only used where and for whom it is intended and does not end up in the wrong hands," Clinton told the conference, according to excerpts of her prepared remarks provided in advance by the State Department. 

Clinton stressed that the Obama administration is taking a wide-angle view of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza following weeks of attacks by Israel in response to Hamas rockets fired into southern Israel. 

"Our response to today's crisis in Gaza cannot be separated from our broader efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace," she said. 

"By providing humanitarian aid to Gaza we also aim to foster conditions in which a Palestinian state can be fully realized, a state that is a responsible partner, is at peace with Israel and its Arab neighbors and is accountable to its people," she added. 

Clinton scheduled one-on-one meetings with several of her Mideast counterparts, including Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and foreign ministers from Morocco, Algerian, Libya and Tunisia. She also was to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. After the daylong conference she was flying to Jerusalem. 

Clinton also planned to attend a meeting at Sharm el-Sheik of the so-called Quartet of international mediating nations - the U.S., the European Union, the United Nations and Russia - seeking to forge progress toward peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. 

Obama administration officials had indicated last week that the U.S. was preparing to pledge $900 million in assistance for Gaza, but Wood's description of the plan Sunday indicated that the only portion going directly to Gaza was $300 million. 

State Department spokesman Robert A. Wood said Sunday that while all of the money is subject to approval by Congress, the intent is to provide about $200 million to help the Palestinian Authority shore up a budget shortfall and another $400 million to assist Palestinian institutional reforms and economic development. Wood said some of the $400 million might wind up aiding Gaza, but he said that would depend on the Palestinian Authority. 

The key, Wood said, is that none of the money is to benefit Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza and does not recognize Israel's right to exist. 

Some portion of the $900 million total U.S. pledge had already been budgeted for 2009, Wood said, adding that he could not immediately provide a breakdown. 

Getting U.S. humanitarian aid quickly to Gaza is complicated by the U.S. refusal to funnel it through the Hamas, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization. Wood said the U.S. aid that does not go directly to the Palestinian Authority would be funneled to Gaza through international organizations and agencies. 

On her trip, Clinton also carried hopes of finding a path toward an Israeli-Palestinian peace and a strengthening of the shaky cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. 

After consulting with Israeli officials on Tuesday she was to meet with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. 

Donors at the Sharm el-Sheik conference will be asked to fund a $2.8 billion reconstruction and recovery plan put together by Abbas' prime minister, Salam Fayyad, an internationally respected economist. Hamas was not invited. 

Fayyad wants most of the money funneled through his West Bank-based government. He already administers huge sums of foreign aid - $7.7 billion for 2008-2010 - and has been sending $120 million to Gaza each month for welfare and salaries of Abbas' former civil servants. Other aid, such as for rebuilding homes, would go directly to the bank accounts of Gazans. 

Hamas prepared its own 86-page Gaza reconstruction plan and sent copies to the Arab League. But even if bypassed by the donors, as is likely, Hamas would benefit from any aid that eases pressure on it to help the needy. 

Israel's offensive to halt Hamas rocket fire from Gaza ended with a cease-fire Jan. 18.

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Muslim nations seek closer ties in economic crisis

The Jakarta Post, Zakki Hakim ,  The Associated Press ,  Jakarta  |  Mon, 03/02/2009 3:36 PM 
 

 Economic brotherhood: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (center with black cap) joins other Islamic leaders at the opening of the fifth World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Jakarta on Monday. The other leaders are (from left to right) WIEF chairman Tun Musa Hitam, United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Sheik Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, (Yudhoyono), Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Qatar Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Organization of Islamic (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and the fifth WIEF organizing committee chairman Sofyan Djalil. JP/R. Berto Wedhatama

Muslim nations need to forge closer ties to meet challenges posed by the global financial crisis, Indonesia's president said Monday at the opening of the annual World Islamic Economic Forum in Jakarta. 

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono proposed creating a Muslim support fund, noting that Islamic nations account for nearly half of the 50 leas-developed and heavily indebted countries in the world. 

He also said oil-exporting countries should help cushion the economic blow for developing countries by investing more in their agricultural sectors. 

"Muslim countries with vast reserves but without a real agricultural sector can come to the rescue," he told the delegates. "And since they are food importers, they will also be securing their own food supply needs." 

Yudhoyono said the financial crisis also opened up new opportunities for Islamic banks in oil-exporting countries, noting that they have not been as severely affected as their Western counterparts because they did not invest in "toxic" assets or in leveraged funds. 

Yudhoyono also touched on climate change, energy security and food shortages. 

This is the fifth meeting of the World Islamic Economic Forum. This year nearly 1,600 participants from 36 countries - including the leaders of Malaysia and Morocco, as well as senior government ministers and corporate leaders - are attending the three-day event.

Bangladesh charges 1,000 guards in mutiny massacre

The Jakarta Post, Parveen Ahmed, The Associated Press, Dhaka | Sun, 03/01/2009
  

Bangladeshi police charged more than 1,000 border guards with murder and arson Sunday after a bloody mutiny in the capital left as many as 148 people dead or missing, most of them army officers. 

The government announced plans to form a special tribunal to try the guards who organized the mutiny. 

Of a total of 181 officers, only 33 are known to have survived the uprising at the Bangladesh Rifles border force headquarters in Dhaka, said army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mahmud Hossain. 

Teams continued searching the compound and nearby sewers Sunday for more bodies, including 71 people still unaccounted for. Most of the missing were presumed dead, according to Sheikh Mohammad Shajalal, a firefighter overseeing the search. 

Dhaka metropolitan police official Nobojyoti Khisa said authorities filed murder and arson cases Sunday against more than 1,000 border guards. It was unclear whether those guards would face the special tribunal or other courts. 

The insurrection apparently erupted over the border guards' long-standing complaints that their pay has not kept pace with the salaries of soldiers in the army. 

The crisis has raised questions about the stability of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's two-month-old government in the South Asian country, which has seen nearly two dozen successful and failed military coups in its 38-year history. 

Hasina ended the two-day standoff by persuading the guards to surrender with promises of an amnesty coupled with threats of military force - tanks rolled into Dhaka's streets before the insurrection ended on Thursday. 

Later, the government said those directly responsible for the mutiny and massacre would not fall under the amnesty. 

Hundreds of guards began reporting back to their headquarters on Sunday - all claiming they had no part in the mutiny - after the Home Ministry gave them a 24-hour ultimatum to return to their posts, report to police stations or face disciplinary action. 

The guards waited outside as officials checked their credentials. Some said they were on leave or off duty during the mutiny, while others claimed they fled the compound after the violence started. 

"Why should I be afraid of returning to work? I was not involved in the incident. I left to go to my family outside after the shooting began," said one guard, who refused to give his name. 

The government decided on the tribunal at a Cabinet meeting late Saturday, ruling party spokesman Syed Ashraful Islam said. He said initial evidence suggested the mutinous guards may have had outside assistance, but he did not elaborate.

Hasina on Sunday addressed a gathering of army officers inside military headquarters. Details of the meeting were not immediately available. 

On Friday, army chief Gen. Moeen U. Ahmed met with Hasina and reassured her of the military's support for her government. 

But on Saturday, Hossain, the army spokesman, said that soldiers angered by the carnage were demeaning swift justice for the deaths of their officers. By law, the border force's leadership is made up of army officers. 

Police said earlier that about 200 fleeing guards were arrested in and around the capital over the weekend, while those still inside the compound after the mutiny were being kept at a hospital on the premises. 

Maj. Ishtiaq, who was part of the army leadership for the border force, told reporters that a border guard helped him escape the uprising. 

"When the firing began he said, 'Sir, they will kill you, please come with me.' It was like doomsday for me. I then went with him to his residence amid shooting all around. He gave me his clothes to hide my identity," said Ishtiaq, who only uses one name. 

"It was unbelievable when the killers rejoiced after killing the officers," he said. 

Bangladesh returned to democracy after elections in late December 2008, nearly two years after an army-backed interim government took over amid street protests demanding electoral reforms.

Hungary warns of new European economic 'Iron Curtain'

The Jakarta Post, Constant Brand, The Associated Press, Brussels | Sun, 03/01/2009 8:21 PM 

 

Euro ideas: Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek waits for EU leaders during arrivals for an EU summit in Brussels, Sunday. With their economies tanking and finances fraying, EU leaders meet Sunday keen to show that they will stick together and work on ideas of how to put the recession behind them. AP/Geert Vanden Wijngaert
 

Hungary warned the European Union not to let a new economic "Iron Curtain" divide the continent and urged the 27 EU leaders meeting Sunday to act so the bloc's weakest members don't go under in the global economic crisis. 

Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said the credit crunch is hitting poorer, eastern member states the hardest. The Hungarian leader called for a special EU fund of up to euro190 billion ($241 billion) to help restore trust and solvency in eastern EU members' financial markets. 

"We should not allow that a new Iron Curtain should be set up and divide Europe," Gyurcsany told reporters. "In the beginning of the nineties we reunified Europe, now the challenge is whether we will be able to reunify Europe financially." 

EU nations are all grappling with a worsening recession, compounded by a severe credit crunch that has left many EU countries looking ever more inward to protect jobs and companies from international competition. Those policies are now undermining the open market cornerstone on which the EU is founded. 

Ahead of the summit, the leaders of nine countries - Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania and the three Baltic states - forged a common stand to pressure richer members to back up vague pledges of support with action. 

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the nine leaders called for "a spirit against protectionism and egoism." 

Hungary, Poland and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania also want the EU to fast-track their bids to join the euro-currency, which could offer them a stable financial anchor. Latvia's government has already collapsed amid the economic fallout. 

Other EU members, like Sweden, want to coordinate a Europe-wide bailout plan for car producers. 

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU presidency, has called on his counterparts to act together. 

A draft summit conclusion centered on the need to reconfirm their commitment to "make the maximum possible use" of the EU's cherished free market "as the engine for recovery." 

Topolanek said the EU does "not want any new dividing lines. We do not want a Europe divided along a North-South or an East-West line, pursuing a beggar-thy-neighbour policy is unacceptable." 

The crisis has sorely tested solidarity among EU nations. 

The Czech Republic has accused France of trying to protect its local car plants at the expense of foreign subsidiaries, while Germany, the EU's economic powerhouse, has rejected calls to help bail out economies in Ireland, Greece and Portugal. 

Sunday's talks are meant to restore a unified purpose and help prepare for the April 2 Group of 20 nations summit in London. 

Once-booming east European economies have been hit hard by the economic downturn. As cheap credit dried up their export markets shrank, causing eastern currencies to sink and triggering more financial turmoil. 

Gyurcsany said eastern EU countries could need up to euro300 billion ($380 billion), or 30 percent of the region's gross domestic production this year. 

He warned that failure to offer bigger bailouts "could lead to massive contractions" in their economies and lead to "large-scale defaults" that would affect Europe as a whole. It could also trigger political unrest and immigration pressures as jobless rates soar, he said. 

EU governments have already spent euro300 billion ($380 billion) in bank recapitalizations and put up euro2.5 trillion ($3.18 trillion) to guarantee loans of many banks in the EU and neighboring states. 

On Friday, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank said they will jointly provide euro24.5 billion ($31.1 billion) in emergency aid to shore up the battered finances of eastern European nations.

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UN chief meets displaced people in Congo

The Jakarta Post, The Associated Press  |  Sun, 03/01/2009 6:22 PM  
 

Camp life: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (center) and his wife Yoo Soon-taek (left) listen to a Congolese woman, describing the difficulties of life in a camp for people displaced by fighting, at Kibati, outside Goma, eastern Congo Sunday, March 1, 2009. The UN chief on Saturday called for close collaboration between Congo's government and the U.N.'s beleaguered peacekeeping mission there, but said its mandate is to support, not substitute for, action by Congolese authorities. AP/MONUC, Marie Frechon, HO

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