After Laxman Kadirgamer, it should be Gujaral

The recent successful conclusion of what has been called an "extra-ordinary" meeting of the senior officials of the SAARC countries which was held in Colombo between November 13 to 15 this month must have given a new lease of life to the staunch supporters and the advocators of the SAARC process who by time had already developed some negative ideas regarding the entire process of regional cooperation and even thinking on the lines that the SAARC process could die a premature death. However, this was not to happen and did not happen. The successful conclusion of the Colombo meet of the SAARC officials and the press release issued after the conclusion of the meet forces us to believe that all has not gone to the dogs and that all the members of the SAARC process still possess the same amount of love for "their own" organization which had been seen in them prior to the event that has bedeviled the entire process at the moment.

The Colombo meet has taken place at a time when the intellectuals of the region were given to understand that the whole process of the regional cooperation have remained the hostage of the never ending tussle of Indo-Pak rivalry and that it would be these two countries who might cause for the collapse of the whole process sooner or later. It might be true to some extent still, however, with the Colombo meet coming out with flying colors what could be guessed is that if the rest of the countries make it a point and jointly pressure the adamant partners of the SAARC process, the abruptly suspended eleventh SAARC Summit could be held. The problem here apparently is that who will lead the group or who could be more able to put pressures on the partner(s) who have forced the whole process to come to a grinding halt? Much will also depend upon the country or the countries being pressured on how it would reciprocate with the leader of the group. The daddy of them all is that whether the leader could dare to do so even he or she is equipped with the mandate of the rest of the smaller nations of this part of the world. For sure, we understand our capabilities and hence what could be suggested here is that Nepal could remain as tail-member and the head should go to some other diplomatically capable countries of the region. Without hoping for the worst, what could be suggested here is the sincere efforts of the smaller countries to come together and convince the partner(s) to help save the organization’s existence at least in the name of the people of the region who by all accounts have become very friendly with each other and wish the organization to continue. This suggestion is being forwarded here simply because the civil societies and the pressure groups of other sorts currently operating in SA region have not matured enough who could put required pressures on such matters. More so the country chapters of such societies possess political bias who say that "good or bad, my government". It is this bias which perhaps has delayed the establishment of a powerful South Asian organization which could house some of the top-notch of the region and embark on a path that at times could force the SAARC countries to act as per their suggestions which all go in favor of the people and the governments of the region. One such organization is already in our midst called the Citizen’s forum of South Asia headed by Inder Kumar Gujaral. The luminaries included are all known figures of the region and some way or the other have had offered their contributions for the promotion of the SAARC process while being in government in their respective countries. The Chairman of this forum is a friend of the region whose leadership will perhaps be put to test henceforth when he arrives Kathmandu to attend and chair the forum’s first meeting.

We remain confident in the resumption of the SAARC process with the same energy and vigor with which it had come in to being a decade and a halfback. Our confidence has doubled since we learnt that during the freshly concluded Colombo meet the Sri Lankan foreign minister said that "the future of SAARC, I would say, will not be in the hands of Governments. It will be in the hands of the people. And it is the people, I am confident, who are going to see to it, who are going to ensure, who are going to insist, that SAARC must be kept alive, functional and positive. It will happen, believe me." All that we need is Laxman Kadergamer’s courage to talk with such firm determination. All that we need is more such six Kadirgamers in the region who could put things in their right perspective. All that we need now is such similar statements from the members of the Citizen’s Forum of South Asia at their first Kathmandu meeting scheduled this December. It is also perhaps time that various civil societies, media organizations and the likes of South Asia join hands to

It is time that we the South Asians come together and press our governments so that the SAARC process continues as before.

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