Meditation Focus #28
POTENTIAL FOR PEACE IN KASHMIRR
Web posted on December 8 for the 2 consecutive weeks
beginning Sunday December 10, 2000
Hello
What follows is the 28th Meditation Focus suggested by the Global Meditation Focus Group for the 2 consecutive weeks beginning Sunday December 10, 2000.
POTENTIAL FOR PEACE IN KASHMIR
1. Summary
2. Meditation times
3. More information on this week's Focus
1. SUMMARY
A conflict that began 53 years ago between India and Pakistan over the control of the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir may once again gradually edge towards a peaceful resolution, something which both countries acknowledge is the only way out of this bitter and very long simmering war. India has decided to declare a unilateral cease-fire 2 weeks ago for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Pakistan indicated that it would become permanent only if tripartite talks opened after the Ramadan ends in late December. But India has made a continuation of the cease-fire dependent on Pakistan curbing its alleged help to militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. Pakistan denies sponsoring the 11-year-old rebellion against Indian rule in Kashmir, which has claimed more than 30,000 lives, and says it provides only moral and diplomatic support to the local people's struggle for self-determination. Most of the 12 militant groups fighting New Delhi's rule in Jammu and Kashmir have rejected the temporary cease-fire vowing to press on with their struggle against Indian rule. There are two weeks left before the end of the Ramadan to break the deadlock that has prevented true direct negociations so far between India and Pakistan to begin and lead to a meaningful and positive settlement that would bring peace to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and dissipate the atmosphere of distrust and confrontation between these 2 nuclear-armed countries.
Please dedicate your prayers and meditations, as guided by Spirit, in the coming two weeks to help create in the hearts and minds of the political leaders of both India and Pakistan the genuine desire to undertake the necessary steps to end the cycle of violence and create a new era of peaceful relationships and mutual understanding in this area of the world. May peace prevail in Kashmir and between India and Pakistan, for the Highest Good of All.
2. MEDITATION TIMES
i) Global Meditation Day: Sunday at 16:00 Universal Time (GMT) or at noon local time. Suggested duration: 30 minutes.
ii) Golden Moment of At-Onement: Daily, at the top of any hour, or whenever it better suits you.
These times below are currently corresponding to 16:00 Universal Time/GMT:
Honolulu 6:00 AM -- Anchorage 7:00 AM -- Los Angeles 8:00 AM -- Denver 9:00 AM -- San Salvador, Mexico City, Houston & Chicago 10:00 AM -- New York, Toronto & Montreal 11:00 AM -- Halifax, Santo Domingo, La Paz & Caracas 12:00 PM -- Montevideo, Asuncion * & Santiago * 1:00 PM -- Rio de Janeiro * 2:00 PM -- London, Dublin, Lisbon, Reykjavik & Casablanca 4:00 PM -- Lagos, Algiers, Geneva, Rome, Berlin, Paris & Madrid 5:00 PM -- Ankara, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Athens, Helsinki & Istanbul 6:00 PM -- Baghdad, Moscow & Nairobi 7:00 PM -- Tehran 7:30 PM -- Islamabad 9:00 PM -- Calcutta & New Delhi 9:30 PM -- Dhaka 10:00 PM -- Rangoon 10:30 PM -- Hanoi, Bangkok & Jakarta 11:00 PM -- Hong Kong, Perth, Beijing & Kuala Lumpur +12:00 AM -- Seoul & Tokyo +1:00 AM -- Brisbane, Canberra & Melbourne +2:00 AM -- Wellington * +5:00 AM
+ means the place is one day ahead of Universal Time/Greenwich Mean Time.
* means the place is observing daylight saving time(DST) at the moment
3. MORE INFORMATION ON THIS WEEK'S FOCUS
This section is for those who wish to understand in more detail the situation of this week's Meditation Focus. For those who wish to read on, we would encourage you to view the following information from a positive perspective, and not allow the details to tinge the positive vision you wish to hold in meditation. Since what we focus on grows, the more positive our mindset, the more successful we will be in manifesting a vision of healing. We provide the details below because we recognise that the knowledge of what needs healing can assist us to structure our awareness to maximise our healing effect.
You may begin by reviewing our previous Meditation Focus on this topic entitled "Preparations for Peace Talks in Kashmir continue despite a wave of violence" and available at
http://www.aei.ca/~cep/MeditationFocus14.htm
One of the best places to find all that is related to this issue is at http://www.kashmirnews.com/
You will also find the following at http://www.kashmirnews.com/?t=kashmir/sections/history.txt
Historical Perspective: South Asia's Nuclear Cold War
(Friday, December 8, 2000)
A bitter cleaving of British India and the unresolved status of the strategic Himalayan valley of Kashmir have stoked the embers of mistrust between India and Pakistan since the two nations simultaneously gained independence in 1947.
CLIP - fast forwarding to today...
Since 1989, an Islamic-led insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir has claimed more than
26,000 lives. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of arming and training the guerrillas, a charge Pakistan
has repeatedly denied.
Despite a few tentative overtures aimed at improving relations in recent years, political instability and the continuing tensions in Kashmir have kept the two nations apart. After a series of short-lived governments in India, the newly elected Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party vowed in March 1998 to ``exercise'' India's nuclear option. Two months later, India did just that by conducting a round of nuclear tests. The tests were answered in a few weeks by a similar demonstration of nuclear might in Pakistan.
Within a year of the nuclear muscle-flexing, the two countries were once again on the brink of full-scale war over Kashmir. In May 1999 Pakistan-backed insurgents occupied a chain of remote Himalayan peaks on India's side of the Kashmir cease-fire line. India claimed regular Pakistani troops were among the infiltrators.
Weeks of artillery duels, airstrikes and hand-to-hand combat, cost hundreds of lives before India succeeded in pushing back most of the invaders before the remainder withdrew. The incident was seen as a major embarrassment to Pakistan's government, led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and by October, the unpopular leader had been ousted in a military coup. With nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them, analysts now consider South Asia the most likely venue for a nuclear conflict.
From: http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/342/nation/Leader_tries_to_bridge_Kashmir_divide+.shtml
Leader tries to bridge Kashmir divide
By Pamela Constable Washington Post, 12/7/2000
SLAMABAD, Pakistan - After 53 years of living in separate sectors ruled by India and Pakistan, the people of Kashmir have grown largely isolated from each other, nursing myths and fears fanned by government propaganda on both sides. Their fears have only been reinforced by two wars and constant skirmishes between India and Pakistan - and an 11-year rebellion, backed by Pakistan, in Indian-ruled Kashmir.
CLIP
A unilateral ceasefire offer in July from the Hizbul Mujahideen, Kashmir's most powerful armed separatist group, collapsed after two weeks when India refused its demand for three-way dialogue. India said it was ready to talk to the Kashmiri representatives but not Pakistan, which it blames for fostering "terrorism" on its side of the divided Himalayan state.
From: http://www.voila.co.uk/News/afp/int/001206131005.o9dejim0.html
Pakistan awaits India's next move on Kashmir
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Fresh peace efforts on both sides of Kashmir's disputed border hung in the balance as Pakistan pushed India to accept dialogue and violence continued in the troubled valley. Just over a week after India began its unprecedented ceasefire with Muslim militant groups during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, no party to the festering dispute looked closer to making real concessions for peace.
CLIP
From: http://www.nzz.ch/english/editorials/ed_ab001205kashmir.html
Pipes of Peace in Kashmir
(5 December 2000)
India has declared a unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir for the duration of Ramadan. Pakistan and the many political and parliamentary groups in the region are talking about compromise and "positive signals." After so many false dawns, is there anything to suggest that these signs of peace will actually come to anything? Possibly. Delhi, tired of tying up huge military resources in Kashmir and aware that force alone will never prevail, seems ready for a solution. The generals in Pakistan are under great pressure from abroad and from domestic opponents, and could score valuable points by achieving a settlement over the disputed region. Finally, many Kashmiri activists are beginning to realize that the greater self-determination promoted by India, while not as attractive as secession, is at least better than the status quo. However, the basic problems remain. Only when India talks directly to Pakistan without preconditions, and only when Pakistan abandons its clandestine military operations, can a peaceful future be forged. There are few signs of movement on these points in either Delhi or Islamabad.
From: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001206/wl/pakistan_india_dc_8.html
Pakistan Says Still Wants Kashmir Peace Talks
(Wednesday December 6)
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday played down India's refusal to discuss Kashmir with Islamabad, saying he still hoped for agreement from Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
But a senior official later said Pakistan was disappointed by Delhi's response after Islamabad pledged ``maximum restraint'' on a dividing line in the disputed Himalayan region to help a one-month truce India has called with separatist guerrillas.
CLIP
From: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001207/wl/kashmir_talks_dc_1.html
Kashmir Group Says India Must Talk to Pakistan (Reuters)
A key leader of Kashmir's main separatist alliance on Thursday said there was little chance of progress toward peace in the disputed Himalayan territory until India agreed to talks with Pakistan.
``They don't want to talk to Pakistan and they don't let the Hurriyat Conference talk to Pakistan and the mujahideen (holy warriors). So how will we move ahead over Kashmir?'' said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a leader with the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference.
CLIP
More than 30 people have died since the cease-fire began on November 28, including over a dozen Indian security personnel. India controls 45 per cent of the Himalayan territory, Pakistan a third and China the rest.
From: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001205/wl/india_pakistan_dc.html
India Sets Pakistan Conditions for Peace Talks (Tuesday December 5)
From: http://in.news.yahoo.com/001205/2/don2.html
Indian Muslim asks Pakistan to push for Kashmir peace - Dec 05 2000
See also...
From: http://in.news.yahoo.com/001205/52/doa0.html
Another suicide attack foiled in Kashmir - Dec 05 2000
From: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/World/Asia_China/2000-12/kashmir051200.shtml
Eight months after massacre, Kashmir demands answers - The Independent (UK) - Dec 05 2000
From: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001205/wl/pakistan_india_dc_7.html
Pakistan Says Lasting Kashmir Ceasefire Needs Talks - Reuters - Dec 05 2000
FULL COVERAGE AT http://dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/World/Kashmir_Dispute
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