Focus 79 – Sri Lanka looks back to India
Abstract
Geopolitical competition is increasing everywhere, and the Indian Ocean is no exception. One of the most significant causes of this phenomenon is the Chinese-driven Belt- and Road Initiative (BRI). In its quest to challenge the economic, political, and military supremacy of Western liberal democracies and their like-minded partners in...
FOCUS 78 – Saving the United Nations from the Shadow of The Great Hall...
Abstract
The future of global security, peace, and power balance is presently being shaped by conflicts and cooperation among major powers. China's rise on the international stage, as well as its growing dominance in the United Nations, poses a threat to US hegemony. The brief explores the evolution of the...
COMMENT 226 – Bangladesh in 2022: Revisiting Ancestral Secularism and Promoting Religious Pluralism
Recently, Bangladesh celebrated its half-century of independence and victory, the Golden Jubilee, with great ceremony and circumstance. The birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of Bangladesh, was also celebrated with due dignity. On this crucial double occasion, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has administered oaths simultaneously all...
Comment 225 – Gwadar protests and the peculiar role of Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan
For nearly a month, the coastal town of Gwadar has been witnessing the emergence of a protest movement called the Gwadar Ko Huqooq Do Tehreek (Give Rights to Gwadar Movement), ‘considered one of the largest in Baluchistan’s history’. The movement is led by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). Baluchistan’s General Secretary and...
Comment 224 – Recognition and trial of the 1971 genocide against Bengalis
The United Nations declared 9 December as the International Genocide Day. Sixty-seven years after the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, in 2015 it was decided to globally observe the International Day of Genocide remembrance. It commemorates the victims of genocide in different parts of the world and suggests a global...
Comment 223 – On the UN Genocide Remembrance Day
Seventy-three years ago, the United Nations (2020) approved its first human-rights treaty – also known as the Genocide convention, because it mainly concerns the crime of genocide. The 9th of December, the day of its original approval, has been celebrated since 2015 as ‘the International Day of Commemoration and...
COMMENT 222 – Remember Mumbai! – Europe must not appease the sponsorship of terrorism
On November 26, 2008, terrorists belonging to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) conducted coordinated terrorist attacks against multiple targets in Mumbai. The three-day carnage in India’s financial and economic centre, principal port city and second-most populous urban area in the country led to the killing of around 165 people and...
Conference – Rethinking Afghanistan
On November 3, 2021, the South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF) hosted a conference by Nazifullah Salarzai, H. E. Ambassador of Afghanistan to the Kingdom of Belgium, EU, and NATO. His excellency shared his deep insights on the current political and economic situation of the country as well as the...
Focus 77 – Technology Transfer in Bangladesh to Accelerate Energy Transition
Abstract
Retail manufacturing is an industry that puts high demand on energy resources. Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest garment exporters; its ready-made garment sector (RMG) accounts for 84% its exports. Nevertheless, in 2020, Bangladesh ranked only 87 out of 115 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Energy Transition...
Comment 220 – After Kabul – What next for Pakistan?
After the takeover of Kabul by the Pakistan-sponsored Taliban, one can speculate regarding which role will Islamabad play in Afghanistan’s future. This will depend of course on Islamabad’s ties with the wider Taliban in general and with the factions traditionally close to Pakistan in particular, namely the Haqqani Network....