Confronting violence, impunity in Asia

State-sponsored systematic violence and the inability or refusal of governments to bring to justice perpetrators are rising facts of life in various parts of Asia, which, ecumenical leaders say, the Christian
Conference of Asia and its member churches must confront head on.
Members of the Assembly forum on violence and impunity on Sunday cited the cases of East Timor, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Nepal and other Asian countries.

In East Timor, where almost 200,000 people were killed during the armed conflict from 1975-1999, the official Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been harping on reconciliation “but there has
been no prosecution,” said a Timor Leste delegate.

He added that a militia commander, who was reported to have been involved in a massacre during the armed conflict, was released shortly after he was arrested last year because of pressures from the Indonesian government.

Pastor Berlin Guerrero of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines shared how his country, through its counterinsurgency
and anti-terrorism policies, has justified extra-judicial killings and illegal arrests of activists and church workers advocating for human rights and justice.

He lamented that no perpetrator has been prosecuted or punished.
Nepal has the same situation. “Impunity is the biggest problem in Nepal and this is due to the criminalisation of politics and corruption in the courts and the police,” said Dr. Kali Bahadur Rokaya, secretary
general of the National Council of Churches there. He was referring
to “political parties full of criminals or protecting criminals” or criminals elected into office.

The forum members have yet to reflect on how the CCA and the churches could possibly respond to this rising institutionalised violence and impunity for lack of time yesterday. But in an interview, Rev. Guerrero said other churches could learn lessons from his church. He cited the “creativity and capacity” of the UCCP in
mobilising international support when he was arrested and detained
without charges in 2007.

“Through their creativity, my church (UCCP), the National Council of
Churches in the Philippines and human rights groups were creative
enough in bringing my case to international arenas like the UN Human
Rights Commission and the US Senate,” he said.

The international church community also immediately responded to
Guerrero’s case mainly because “my church and the churches overseas have reached an equal level of partnership in mission or in journeying together rather than one based simply on donor-beneficiary relationship,” he added.

Maurice Malanes

~ Berita Terkini CCA 2010 April 19