Boasting the biggest war budget since World War II (the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have now passed the $1 trillion mark, with Congress recently approving an additional $37 billion in war funding), Obama’s war machine is wreaking havoc far and wide on communities and families devastated by mounting military and civilian casualties, on the already faltering economy, and on America’s once-noble standing in the world. Even the recent disclosure of more than 90,000 secret military files documenting a failing Afghanistan war riddled by undocumented civilian casualties has not managed to slow Obama’s steadfast march to war.

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Of the various proposals made so far on how one could coax the military junta in Myanmar to heed the voice of the people, the most feasible is perhaps the one that seeks to convene a conference of heads of Asian governments to be held under the auspices of the United Nations. The conference which will be attended by all ASEAN member states, China, India and Japan, would have as its immediate objective, the commencement of a serious dialogue between the junta and Myanmar?s popular and respected dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi.

The dialogue would seek to achieve the following goals:-

1) The immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi herself.

2) Agreement on a transition plan which would witness the sharing of power for a period of time between the junta, on the one hand, and Suu Kyi, her National League for Democracy (NLD) and other citizens? representatives, on the other, leading eventually to a full-fledged democratic system.

3) The legitimization of all political parties and political party activities.

4) The determination of a date for holding free and fair elections to a national legislature.

5) A pledge from the armed forces of Myanmar and all other groups and parties that they will accept the electoral verdict and respect the people?s choice.

No one should expect the junta to agree to a dialogue with the above aims? unless it is compelled to do so. . Myanmar?s fellow ASEAN members and China, India and Japan are in a position to force Myanmar to act. They do not have to resort to conventional trade or investment sanctions which from all accounts are not effective.

What they should do is:-

1) Freeze the bank accounts of the senior members of the junta and their families which according to some reports are still being maintained in leading banks in certain Asian cities.

2) Stop the sales of military equipment to the junta.

3) Stop the sales of communication equipment which may be used for the junta?s surveillance of protesters and dissidents.

The question we have to ask is whether Myanmar?s Asian neighbours are prepared to take any of the measures outlined here. Is there the political will to act? Or, are monetary and economic considerations more important than human lives and human dignity?

Dr. Chandra Muzaffar,

President,

International Movement for a Just World (JUST)

Malaysia

Violent Muslim, Christian and Jewish extremists invoke the same rhetoric of “good” and “evil” and the best way to fight them is to tackle the problems that drive people to extremism, according to a report obtained by Reuters.

It said extremists from each of the three faiths often have tangible grievances — social, economic or political — but they invoke religion to recruit followers and to justify breaking the law, including killing civilians and members of their own faith.

The report was commissioned by security think tank EastWest Institute ahead of a conference on Thursday in New York titled “Towards a Common Response: New Thinking Against Violent Extremism and Radicalization.” The report will be updated and published after the conference.

The authors compared ideologies, recruitment tactics and responses to violent religious extremists in three places — Muslims in Britain, Jews in Israel and Christians in the United States.

“What is striking … is the similarity of the worldview and the rationale for violence,” the report said.

It said that while Muslims were often perceived by the West as “the principal perpetrators of terrorist activity,” there are violent extremists of other faiths. Always focusing on Muslim extremists alienates mainstream Muslims, it said.

The report said it was important to examine the root causes of violence by those of different faiths, without prejudice.

“It is, in each situation, a case of ‘us’ versus ‘them,’” it said. “That God did not intend for civilization to take its current shape; and that the state had failed the righteous and genuine members of that nation, and therefore God’s law supersedes man’s law.”

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