From rxpgnews.com
'Peoples' summit' sets out an agenda for SAARC
By IANS,
Apr 2, 2007 - 6:16:26 PM
New Delhi, April 2 - It was a summit with a difference. The sixth South Asian Peoples' Summit, which concluded its three-day meeting Monday, ahead of the SAARC summit, listed a set of demands ranging from 10 percent reduction in defence spending to freer movement of the people in the region.
The summit, which discussed a wide range of issues, is intended to provide a 'platform to act on peoples agenda and help civil society to engage with national governments and regional institutions'.
Referring to the Kashmir issue, the participants stressed that, 'certain bilateral issues have to be put on the SAARC agenda. Otherwise, it becomes an exclusive club', Anil Singh, secretary general of the South Asian Network for Social and Agricultural Development - which organized the summit in the capital, told reporters.
Supporting him, Bushra Gohar from Pakistan said: 'We should try to influence the agenda of SAARC. In this regard we are meeting leaders from SAARC nations and have also held a meeting with the SAARC secretary general. We don't want SAARC to be merely confined to car rallies or other such events.'
Referring to the confrontation between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan armed forces in the island republic, Padma Ratnayake from that country said: 'It is time that efforts are made to bring both parties to the table and ensure that peace is restored.'
Dwelling on the subject of terrorism, Maldives representative Latif was vocal accusing his country's government of indulging in 'state terrorism with 8 percent of GDP being allocated for putting down those opposed to the government'.
The summit, which was inaugurated by former prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral, focused on strengthening people-centred regional unification to overcome the problems of social backwardness and lop-sided development.
Talking about terrorism, an issue on top of the two-day SAARC summit's agenda, Anil Singh said: 'Terrorism was discussed under the head of militarism and it was felt that economic factor was one of the reasons for this.'
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