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Letter from The
SEACSN Regional Coordinator
Welcome again to the SEACSN Bulletin. The Network has
successfully organised the SEACSN Conference 2004 on “Issues
and Challenges for Peace and Conflict Resolution in Southeast
Asia” between 12-15 January 2004, in Penang, Malaysia.
The Conference was attended by about 200 participants
from all over Southeast Asia as well as from countries
like Sweden, the United States, and Japan. About 130
papers were presented on topics ranging from terrorism
to reconciliation. The Network is now in the process
of compiling these papers for publication and they should
be out shortly. The keynote address was given by former
Indonesian president Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid. He talked
about the need for peaceful resolution of conflicts and
also about his experiences in dealing with conflict situations
in Indonesia during his presidency. Photos from the conference
are in pages 14 and 15 in this Bulletin. A more complete
gallery of photos is in the website: www.seacsn.net The
next conference is scheduled for 2006 and we hope to
emulate the success of the 2004 Conference.
This issue of the Bulletin focuses on the issue of terrorism
in Southeast Asia. A couple of articles from the conference
were selected and summarised for this issue. Ashok Swain
talks about the role of ASEAN in combating terrorism,
while Banyu Perwita looks at this issue from the Indonesian
perspective, focusing on the Islamic connection in the
country. The third article by Abhoud Lingga looks at
the position of the Muslim minority in the Philippines.
All three articles point out the fact that this issue
needs to be investigated further. There is a need to
understand the true causes of terror and not simply making
references to religion as a source of terrorist activities.
We hope that these articles will shed some light into
the discussion and will stimulate more such discussion
in the future.
Lastly, the Network organised a workshop in Bangkok between
20-22 May to discuss our future. Three representatives
each from the member countries were present, including
observers from the funding agency and the Asian Political
and International Studies Association (APISA). Research
proposals for the second phase were discussed during
this workshop. More importantly, this workshop resulted
in the SEACSN Constitution which was endorsed by the
participants of the workshop. This Constitution is presented
on page 23 of this Bulletin. SEACSN activities will be
decreased this year, given that this is a transitional
stage and plans are being made for the second phase of
the Network which will be from 2005 to 2007. We hope
to be able to continue our normal activities such as
the Research and Exchange Program and the various National
Workshops starting early next year. More research related
activities are also being proposed and we hope to be
able to carry them out too next year. The second phase
will have more concentration on research activities as
we feel that more information is needed on various peace
and conflict resolution related issues. In the meantime,
I hope you enjoy this issue of the Bulletin and please
get in touch with us if you any questions and comments.
Salam and best wishes.
"ZAM"
Kamarulzaman Askandar
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