Pax Romana ICMICA welcomes the historic meeting between Pope John Paul II of the Holy See and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia that will take place on June 7, 2002. We eagerly await the outcome of this historic meeting.

The meeting is historic as Malaysia does not have any diplomatic ties with the Holy See. The Pope has been able to visit neighbouring countries like Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia but has yet to receive an invitation from Malaysia for a visit here. We hope this will not only pave the way for the Pope's visit but also visits by other religious leaders to Malaysia in the future.

In anticipation of the meaningful visit, it is worthwhile to recall the words of the Pope during the Day of Peace in Assisi with world religious leaders on Jan 24, 2002, in which he strongly reiterated "the two 'pillars' upon which peace rests: commitment to justice and readiness to forgive".

The Pope also further declares that "Justice, first of all, because there can be no true peace without respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, respect for the rights and duties of each person and respect for an equal distribution of benefits and burdens between individuals and in society as a whole. It can never be forgotten that situations of oppression and exclusion are often at the source of violence and terrorism."

Pax Romana ICMICA Asia-Pacific calls upon Pope John Paul II to bring up the essence of human dignity which he emphasised during the Day of Peace in Assisi at the meeting with Mahathir. This is necessary as under the present government, there are many prisoners jailed under the infamous Internal Security Act which detains people without trial in Malaysia. The reverence for the dignity of a person must be invoked in appealing to the leader of Malaysia.

On the issue of terrorism, it must be reiterated that using the 'terrorism card' as a political tool for oppression must be stopped by all. In Malaysia, many Muslims are detained without trial on suspicion of being militant, yet no proof for the detention has been put before the public. Human dignity goes hand-in-hand with the respect for human rights. We therefore appeal to both parties to include a human rights perspective in all the issues which will be discussed at the meeting.

The Israel-Palestinian conflict must also be seen from a human rights point of view. This may take the conflict away from the purely Islam-Jew religious paradigm. The right to self-determination, which is at the heart of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, is embedded in all United Nations International Bills. It is also the very foundation of human dignity. The struggle of the Palestinian people must be resolved with urgency and sincerity. We anticipate that the meeting will produce positive results.

Malaysia, being a multi-religious country, has much to offer as a model for inter-religious dialogue. True inter-religious dialogue can work remarkably when only the right to religious freedom is honoured and promoted in any country. Malaysia must adhere to this in spirit and in action.

The politicisation of religions for political ends makes a mockery of religions and instill fear as well as suspicions among the peoples of Malaysia. This is evident when Mahathir recently announced that Malaysia is an Islamic state, when the country has always been, since independence, a secular state.

This jostling for the 'true Islam' between Umno (the ruling Malay party) and PAS (the leading Islamic opposition party) makes efforts in promoting inter-religious dialogues more difficult. The state has also not made efforts in giving equal opportunity and space to all religions in terms of religious education in schools, access to national media for religious programmes, availability of land for burials, the approval of buildings of churches and temples, etc.

While many religious groups are trying to convert the Orang Asli (the indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia), the government of Malaysia has an official Islamisation policy for the indigenous peoples which puts tremendous pressure on their traditional practices and way of life.

The policy also limits them from accessing opportunities to develop. We certainly hope that these issues, within the context of the protection of rights of all religions in Malaysia, be addressed at the meeting in the Vatican.

Pax Romana ICMICA reaffirms its belief that inter-religious dialogue is the way of life in Malaysia and must be enhanced. We encourage meetings such as this in the future. This first step must pave the way for greater respect for pluralism — irrespective of religion, culture, political or ideological beliefs.