Eliminating poverty ‘a sacred duty’ — JDV

Asia’s ruling and opposition political parties have declared eliminating poverty a "sacred duty" of countries and parties and endorsed debt-relief strategies, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said yesterday.

De Venecia said 83 parties from 35 countries adopted by acclamation the 12-point "Beijing Declaration" during the final plenary session of the three-day third International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) that called for development, expanded cooperation and exchanges, regional peace and stability and diversified measures to alleviate poverty.

He also expressed ICAPP’s "condemnation in the strongest possible terms" of the Chechen militants’ use of school children in southern Russia as hostages to press their demand for Chechnya’s independence, and the tragic loss of lives resulting from the extremists’ action.

De Venecia, one of the founders of the biennial ICAPP, was elected to a third two-year term as standing committee chairman.

In his closing speech, De Venecia challenged the political parties to "become catalysts of change and instruments of development" and create Asia’s middle class, following China’s mass emancipation of about 400 million of its people from poverty.

He said a bill has been filed in the Philippine Congress seeking some form of state financing for political parties "to reduce corruption and money politics" and shift elections from being a platform for individual ambitions to alternative national policies.

He also proposed an expanded debt-relief plan for "poor and middle nations" facing fiscal crises because of their ballooning external and internal debt.

To fight terrorism and end ethnic strife in hot spots in Asia, Europe and Africa, De Venecia urged political parties to launch the beginnings of a global dialogue among the great religions and civilizations.

"Only through this dialogue can we achieve multicultural understanding, which is the only basis for the long-term security of the global community," he told the 350 ICAPP delegates.

De Venecia also batted for broader modes of security cooperation and for political parties to engage in "preventive diplomacy and conflict reduction initiatives" through party-to-party contacts.

"This agreement should transform potential flashpoints of Asian conflict into centers of cooperative endeavor," he said.

He cited the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, where he said China, the Philippines and other claimant-countries could begin a joint survey of the area’s marine resources and oil and natural gas reserves.

De Venecia led the delegates in expressing gratitude to the Communist Party of China and Chinese President Hu Jintao, Vice President Zeng Qinghong and Liu Yunshan, president of the Organizing Committee, for the "brilliant success" of third ICAPP conference.

Expanding on the theme of "exchange, cooperation and development," the delegates advocated the use of dialogue and negotiation to resolve differences and sought increased regional exchanges and cooperation to promote common development.

"We advocate gradually reforming the inequitable and unjust aspects of the current international order through mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation, energetically carrying forward the process of democratization in international relations and cooperatively promoting Asia’s peace, stability, harmony and prosperity," the Beijing Declaration said.

The declaration said although Asia has been generally peaceful, the "question of how to ensure long-term peace and stability in Asia is a major issue that all Asian political parties should ponder deeply."

"We advocate strengthening cooperation among sovereign countries and between regional organizations against terrorism," the delegates said in the declaration, "taking steps to eliminate the root causes of terrorism while giving full play to the role of the United Nations and its Security Council."

The declaration applauded efforts of Asian countries and political parties toward peacefully resolving regional conflicts and crises, and advocated "turning areas of disputes into areas of cooperation."

The delegates also said Asian nations should use opportunities to increase economic cooperation, progressively open up markets to each other, resolve trade disputes through negotiation and promote the sound development of a multilateral trade system.

The declaration also asked Asian political parties to promote clean and efficient government "and the sound and stable development of state-to-state relations through positive contacts and cooperation."

ICAPP delegates signed a peace banner at Beijing’s Temple of Heaven to express the Asian peoples’ aspiration for peace and development.