The 7th study meeting(Summary)

Discussion Papers and Interim Report

Nakanishi:

I have a basic question. In Japan, once we issue research papers, we can't place the same contents in other magazines. We need to consider this and decide on how to deal with discussion papers.

Sato:

How about making minor changes?

Nakanishi:

Some academic conferences require something really new.

Sakurai:

If we assemble materials into a book by ourselves, there will be no problem.

Nakanishi:

We need to change a manuscript for submission, depending on whether we turn it into a book. The issue is to decide on what the outcome of our cooperation will be. I personally think we should issue a book.

Sato:

If we make discussion papers or booklets, those will be helpful when turning them into a book.

Nakanishi:

When we release a book, we will need to negotiate with publishers in a concrete manner.

Sato:

I haven't negotiated with publishers yet.

Nakanishi:

We can't produce a book without a publisher. When we can't find a publisher, it will also be meaningful to show achievements with something like booklets.

Nakanishi:

We should submit an interim report by around next May at the latest. Considering the 4-year plan, we should decide on a deadline of manuscript submissions.

Sakurai:

Isn't it required to hand in an interim report?

Sato:

It isn't required.

Nakanishi:

Since we use public money, we had better submit an interim report from the viewpoint of accountability.

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Sato:

Everyone needs to hand in at least one discussion paper within this fiscal year.

Futamura:

Are you going to collect them and make them into an interim report?

Sato:

Yes.

Futamura:

It sounds time-consuming.

Sato:

I will wrap up an interim report and make something like a general statement. About discussion papers, I'm thinking my paper will be the first number.

Sakurai:

What to write should be decided by each individual.

Sato:

Well then, in terms of relations with academic conferences, it is up to your own decision. We would like to make use of discussion papers where young researchers will be able to show their achievements or the study group members will also post their writing and refine their work by getting other researchers' input.

Research Issues

Sato:

I would like to confirm research issues. Mr. Otsubo is analyzing economic causes of conflict and his title is "The Economic Causes and Consequences of Conflict and Their Implications for Development Governance."

Mr. Sakurai's theme is “Research on Conflict from the Viewpoint of Cultural Anthropology / Folklore.”

Sakurai:

There are three major parts to my research. The first is the case study of ethnic conflict of minorities in China. The second is common law. The third is cultural heritage and its peaceful utilization.

Regarding the ethnic conflict of minorities, I've been working on Hsinchiang Uighur in 2002, Mongolian in 2003, and Korean this year.

Although I haven't started the common law part, it seems I will be able to take up the research, particularly, the issue of natural resource management, since I should be able to obtain the materials this year.

I would like to consider how to manage the conflict and how common law is applied as prevention, settlement, and a method for problem solving after restoration. I would also like to think about the existence of a mediator, such as what is called "Big-man" in the South Pacific.

Sato:

That sounds very interesting to me. I am also interested in dispute settlement by law and also in how common law functions. This is not an issue that can be solved merely by modern law. Please use cases in China.

Mr. Nakanishi's theme is "Afghan Refugees in Iran: with special reference to the UNHCR's repatriation program."

Mr. Yamamoto's is "Humanitarian Relief and Peace Building."

Mr. Ohira's is "The Subsequence of Japan's Peace Building Support in Bosnia and Herzegovina" and "The Development of the Conflict Analysis Method in UNDP"

I have two themes: "The Theoretical Study of Human Security and Peace Building and The Educational Method for Human Resources Development in International Peace Cooperation" and "The Case Study of Peace Building in Sri Lanka.” The first one, the theoretical study is something like a general statement of peace building theory. The second one is a case study. I would like to position these two themes as our common denominators which will be the core of our overall research.

Sri Lanka is regarded as one of the pilot programs in Japan’s peace building efforts and this program is in progress. However, there are few professionals currently involved. There could be a comparison with each specialty. It will also be possible to produce different ideas when other researchers get involved in this issue.

Futamura:

My theme is "The Peace Process for Conflict Resolution in Colombia The Progress under the Uribe Administration." I would like to mainly focus on peace negotiations between the government and the guerilla and right-wing quasi- militant organization.

Booklets

Hida:

If we issue booklets three times within this fiscal year, only a suggested schedule will be possible. I need to know the themes and authors.

Sato:

The booklets should contain more like general contents than academic papers.

Hida:

However, if the total number of pages is just 50, the print costs will only be about 110,000 yen for 300 copies.

Sato:

We can write them like a field study. Not analytical, but narrative reports will be fine. I would like to weave together the report of the trip to Sri Lanka and the peace building process.

Sakurai:

How about checking with transcriptions from tape- recordings at meetings open to the public, etc.?

Yamamoto (Sato):

We haven't recorded the meetings so far.

Sakurai:

Then, we will record the meetings from now on.

The Report of Business Trip to Sri Lanka

Sato:

I went to Sri Lanka for a week on June 9th. The aim of this trip was "to survey Sri Lankan peace building and peaceful conflict resolution and to identify research collaborators." Sri Lankan students at Nagoya University helped me as assistants.

I will explain the background in brief. The general ethnic composition includes Tamil, Sinhalese, and Muslim. In general, the Tamil lives in the north, whereas the Sinhalese in the south. The Sinhalese are the majority and hold power. Each ethnic group speaks a completely different language. In terms of religion, the Tamil believe in Hindu and the Sinhalese in Buddhism. Like other British colonies, both ethnic groups have a history where the Sinhalese were suppressed by the policies which treated the minority, Tamil preferentially. In the beginning, both the Tamil and the Sinhalese cooperated with each other and fought against the British reign. Afterwards, however, conflict arose between the two sides, and the Tamil started the independence movement. The armed group, Tamil Tiger has begun operations since 1983 and continuously killed the moderates of the Tamil. In spite of India's mediation, Gandhi was killed by suicide bombing.

In February 2002, when the cease-fire was agreed, 600,000 domestic refugees were produced. Villages at the front were attacked by both sides. The worst case includes the example where children were abducted as child soldiers and were forced to carry out suicide bombing. Half of the victims were civilians.

The reason why the Tamil Tigers agreed to the cease-fire is probably correlated with a world-wide alliance against terror after 2001. However, it seems they do not want to reach a final agreement. The Tamil Tigers claim that their administrative structure should be recognized as valid first. However, their opinion differs from the government and the negotiations are not getting anywhere. The Tamil Tigers did not attend the meeting which was held in Tokyo.

About 400,000 refugees have returned and there has been undergoing restoration where they receive support from overseas. The aid agencies and government are cautious about igniting a conflict caused by direct support. I've heard that some people purchased weapons from overseas, against the cease-fire agreement, and the people were captured.

In addition to an ethnic conflict, there is an issue of social discrimination. Buddhism has a hierarchy. It also has discrimination which can be seen in their labeling of the "mountain people" and "sea people." Landowners are Sinhalese. Labors are Tamil who came from southern India. These Tamil are ranked as the undermost classes and are working like so-called "slaves." There is also an economic issue of extreme poverty in the east and the south. In this way, the issues are considerably complex.

Whether peace building gets underway or not depends on how to take a step after a cease-fire agreement. This is not a regional issue. The relationships with India should also be considered. The case of Sri Lanka indicates the various factors of conflicts.

Since released child soldiers cannot be incorporated in society, training is conducted at an occupational center. A large amount of support will cause a problem in the current situation. However, there are not enough human resources for the Tamil. Human resource development has been implemented, which is combined with job creation. Human resource development takes time, which should be addressed early on.

I visited two camps, Anuradhapure and Vavuniya, and conducted interviews. Refugees have no property after their return. However, as the reconstruction moves on, people who have manual skills come to gain an income.

We can't enter in the east as it is still dangerous. In order to do research actually, we need to take a risk.

Futamura:

In Colombia, it is impossible to go to the real disputed area.

Sakurai:

Is there any Japanese company?

Sugimoto:

The Japanese company A has become successful in Sri Lanka. Speaking of business, Nagoya is closely linked to Sri Lanka.

Sato:

Someone said economy would drive out ideology. The conflicts, which broke out in Sri Lanka, were localized conflicts and there has been no major conflict at least for the past 2 years. This is significant.

Sakurai:

Probably, the Muslims have many companions in foreign countries too. For instance, are people like the Taliban entering the country?

Sato:

I haven't heard of this at all. The people are basically moderates.

Sakurai:

Seems like the Tamil have been conducting suicide bombing. How about the Sinhalese?

Sato:

In the Sinhalese, there are Marxists called JDT who commit terrorism. There used to be a conflict no one can win in terrorists' battles.

Sakurai:

Are the Tamil supported by India?

Sato:

Indira Gandhi was taking actions in order to protect the immigrant Tamil. Although his son tried to stop him and to resolve the conflict through PKO, Gandhi was killed by terrorists.

Sakurai:

Are the Sinhalese so-called "the indigenous people"?

Sato:

It is difficult to identify the native people, but I assume there used to be a lot of different ethnic groups originally. The British colonization has become a major factor in the conflict.
How about Mr. Sakurai's Tibet case?

Sakurai:

In Tibet, opinions between the Dalai Lama and young monks are divided. The Dalai Lama seeks a peaceful resolution, rather than independence, trying to increase the status of Tibet in China and negotiate a compromise with China. However, the young monks do not agree on this.

Although a conflict is caused by various factors, psychologically speaking, people become aggressive when forced into a fear where they don't know when they might be killed. Psychologists need to be involved and care for the people in the process.

Sato:

I used the example of child soldiers. There are more volunteers than abductees. As background, the soldiers should belong to either one or the other at the battlefront. Since these children are militias, they don't have the knowledge or discipline of international law. It is many brainwashed children that carry out suicide bombing.

Junior Research Group

Yamamoto:

In order to functionally look into peace building activities, the junior research group has been investigating how the peace building activities are organized in the missions led by the United Nations so far. Currently, each person in charge has been designated.

Sato:

I expect this research will be conducted by responsible people as openly as possible.

Future Schedule

Sato:

The next meeting will be held on September 17th. The presenters will be Ms. Mari Kawamura from the research center at UNHCR and Mr. Kurosawa, a chairperson at the Peace Building Workshop at JICA.