|
|
Letter from The
SEACSN Regional Coordinator
Welcome to a new year with the SEACSN.
Once again we are in the midst of challenging times on
a global scale. As I write, the war in Iraq has commenced
and our newspapers and television screens are once more
filled with heart breaking pictures showing the results
of war. Again, the innocent suffer. These images should
cause us to have an increased desire to see peace in
our midst. It is an ever present reminder to us of the
importance of a network such as this – to research
and implement peace, and resolve conflict in a peaceful
manner, wherever possible.
Malaysia is a land of peace despite its great diversity – in
terms of ethnicity, religion and culture. However, in
recent times it has also faced challenges, both internally
and externally. This issue of the Bulletin focuses on
two such challenges. Firstly, the issue of Islamic militancy
and secondly the issue of relations with Singapore. We
have also included the executive summary from our National
Workshop held in January “Peace Education: Towards
Promoting Peaceful Values and Positive Peace in Malaysia”.
We had the honor of Datuk Ronald McCoy joining us at
this workshop. He is President of Malaysian Physicians
for the Prevention of Nuclear War and has been involved
in the Peace movement for many years.
Sadly, two long running conflicts – in Aceh and
Mindanao, remain unresolved within Southeast Asia. I
had the privilege to join an International Peace Monitoring
team in Mindanao recently. I have included two reports
from this time – the monitors report and a personal
viewpoint of the trip. I hope you find these of interest.
We hope that you learn from and enjoy this Bulletin.
"ZAM"
Kamarulzaman Askandar
Content
|
