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The forthcoming SAARC conference slated to be held in Dhaka in mid-November this year will be the 13th such endeavour. Not a good number by any means from the astrological point of view unless the heavens intervene. Or may be it may prove to be lucky this time, as the other school of thought believes. In any case, all eyes will be set on how things move onwards till the conference is finally held on our soil or again deferred for some ostensible reason-good or bad. A large majority of people (including Sheikh Hasina), however, apprehend that the conference may not be held at all for one reason or the other. And the pessimism thus expressed by the common man in the street or even by the educated and well-off segment of the society is quite justified, because the vibes around the corner at the moment also do not indicate any positive signs either. In fact, the last time when the much-cherished SAARC conference was cancelled almost at the eleventh hour after having gone through the rigours of massive and elaborate preparations for the second time, after Tsunami had taken its own toll, we were almost left helpless in a state of 'semi-shock'! 'Semi' [or half], because citing of the prevailing Nepalese imbroglio as part of the argument for not attending the conference was to a large extent justified, but the other part, which pertained to Bangladesh's law and order scenario, indicating that things were out of control in Dhaka, was perhaps blown too much out of proportion. The situation might have been temporarily volatile at that point, but even an irresponsible and callous government as the present one would have, no doubt, gone all out to ensure that everything was fine and in order.
As a matter of fact, none of the SAARC countries can proclaim loudly today that their cities, townships or rural areas are all peaceful and completely terrorist free, with eternal peace and tranquillity prevailing in those places. They all know that anything might happen at any time and at any place, despite all the vigilance and the 'hi-fi' security net that they have thrown all around. Therefore passing on the buck to someone else's shoulders at a convenient moment is indeed morally and ethically unfair or rather an anti-thesis of diplomatic refinement and civility. Obviously, with India backing out almost abruptly, others were just left lurking under the open sky, because the SAARC charter, as we all know, does not allow any mega conference to be held anywhere with even a single abstention. And ironically, the Nepalese scenario today is no better either with any remarkable improvement, compared to what it was when the last SAARC conference was deferred. Maoist guerrillas spread almost all over the hilly terrain and even in towns and cities are constantly locked with government troops in bloody skirmishes round the clock, while the militant anti-government (or anti-monarchy) demonstrations and protests are gaining ground as each day passes.
Similarly, with a major Presidential election round the corner in Sri Lanka, which will in effect transfer real power from a strong hand to God knows whom, the situation in that country is also quite 'fluid', if I am permitted to use that word. The Tamil Tigers or the 'LTTE' has not given up any of their demands or postures by any means and the internal security remains as tight as ever, especially after the recent assassination of their foreign minister. With all the good intentions of the incumbent President to make an air-dash to Dhaka, it may still be a bit too risky affair to leave the fort unattended. And what does SAARC gain even if the present Sri Lankan President attends the Dhaka conference? She would be finally making a way out under all circumstances, with the mantle falling soon on someone else's head that may be a leader with an entirely different mindset. Even the attending SAARC heads of State or government would not get to know the incoming 'supremo' of that Island state and therefore for all intents and purposes, a mere formality would be observed even if Kumaratunga eventually makes it.
And in Pakistan, President Musharraf, seems to be all set to face a warm political winter this time after the holy month of Ramadan, as various news sources indicate about the turbulent days ahead for the strong man. This conjecture obviously stems from the common notion that both Musharraf's political adversaries and the hiding Islamic militants towards whom the General has been quite ruthless so far, would once again try to give him a tough time in the near future by assimilating themselves deftly with the opposition forces already in the field against the President and his government. Naturally to leave behind all the trouble-shooters even for a few hours at home (for all the VVIPs of whom I have mentioned above) is quite a bit of risky job no doubt. A slight indication from their respective intelligence agencies to cancel the trip to Dhaka would be given more credence and importance by them than taking into account Dhaka's predicament, if someone backs out at the very last moment this time also.
But coming back to our moot point of discussion, the pertinent question that recurs time and again is: What has been SAARC's real achievement so far, notwithstanding its tremendous potentialities? To which I would simply say: nothing extraordinary. SAARC, which was launched 20 years ago with high hopes and great vision as the brainchild of late President Ziaur Rahman, ultimately seems to have fizzled out into a replica of pure 'Elite Gossiping Club'. Curiously enough, some dim-witted people even try to compare it with the grand success story called 'ASEAN' and then realise at a later stage the great folly that they tend to commit by doing so.
'ASEAN', except for Malaysia's proud posture (which is quite justified due to the great success that it has achieved over the years), really does not suffer from any 'big-brotherly' threats in any form and at any time as we do. There are no columns of large armies standing at daggers drawn or any land-locked country waiting anxiously for the mercy of its big neighbour. The 'ASEAN' partners talk with confidence and hardly ever meddle into anyone else's internal affairs. Their booming complimentary economies are further boosted by the mutual trust and the sea of goodwill that exists throughout their territories. Even the slightest ambition in terms of combined armed aggression against the smaller partner or lust for other's territories is by all means absent in their minds.
And the conglomeration called the European Union is a totally unique and different story altogether as we all know---at least three times more advanced than the 'ASEAN' grouping. Odious comparisons should therefore be avoided at all costs and we should boldly face the existing reality without any qualms. What was so fondly expected from the association of the sub-continental countries could not be achieved even to a barest minimum. In fact, what we can actually do now, ought to be our immediate goal and nothing else.
But once again, before we make any new advancement in that direction, the SAARC charter itself has to be suitably amended, because what was justified in the mid '80s when it was formally launched is hardly pertinent today. The suffering public on the other hand had justifiably expected that with the formation of SAARC, the Visa regime at least would be liberalised to a great extent. In fact the opposite has happened. If India issues thousands of visas everyday for the Bangladeshis visitors, the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi or the Deputy High Commission in Calcutta simply make life miserable for everyone--without any distinction whatsoever between Muslims or non-Muslims---by their indifferent and non-courteous attitude. It is sheer harassment all the way to say the least, yet we swear by the SAARC spirit day in and day out.
What we suggest therefore is: Visa formalities between the SAARC countries should be genuinely liberalised, like no visa requirements for those wishing to stay for less than 10 days or may be alternately 'Visa-on-Arrival' system can be introduced without any further delay. Conversely, special package tours and discounts should be allowed in all modes of transports for the genuine tourists, the aged, students and the sick or the ailing, from the region.
All hotels and motels should have special discounts for the SAARC visitors along with the restaurants serving food items. More and more cultural exchange programmes should be encouraged and students seeking admission in various educational institutions should be provided with all facilities and incentives. Businessmen should get preferential treatment and all the SAARC countries should endeavour towards assisting medium or large-scale projects that smack of joint collaboration. Even the anti-terrorists operations should be fully coordinated so that we may have safer streets to walk on and even safer places to relax with our families.
In fact slogans of cooperation in any form should not be just allowed to hang on the billboards only but should be put into real action, to be felt. And let us not forget. The remarkable improvement in the Indo-Pakistani ties during the recent times is by no means a SAARC effort. Kudos should first of all go to the general public of the two countries who have boldly defied all formalities, biding good-bye to lingering animosities and have crossed all barriers to set a new example of enduring friendship. Indeed it should also go to President Musharraf of Pakistan for his courageous initiatives; to Sri Atal Behari Vajpayee the great statesman of our times and former Indian Prime Minister for his consistently positive role that he played during his tenure despite the presence of BJP hawks in his own house. And now the incumbent Premier, Mr. Manmohan Singh and the Indian Congress supremo, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi deserve all the praise for their ceaseless and untiring efforts in improving the overall relations between the two nuclear powers or at least in bringing it to a level of sanity and acceptability by keeping the peace process alive.
It is quite heartening to note that bilateral efforts have indeed paid more dividends than SAARC's combined efforts so far. What is the sense in pampering the white elephant any further then?
But again 'hope' is such a blessed word (and also a state of mind) on which the whole life literally hangs and which makes one feel that at some stage may be, with sincerity of purpose all around and with the present friendly mood of the common man prevailing in all the countries of the SAARC, a bright future may automatically emerge, unless we ourselves say 'QUITs' in sheer desperation or out of frustration. Nevertheless, if we are still thinking in terms of an effective, vibrant and positive SAARC, then the pious thoughts and the lofty words which we utter so frequently would have to be put into real action or else 'SAARC' would continue to remain just a paper tiger -- useless and a total waste -- and nothing else!
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