PEACE MAKER
As of this writing, tensions between Russia and the United States and its NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)allies are rapidly escalating, following reports of a massive Russian military build-up in the Russia-Ukraine border and fears that Russia would invade Ukraine.
Ukraine, an Eastern European country which became an independent republic following the fall of the United Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991, has become the major flashpoint between Russia and the Western countries.
We are hopeful that despite the disturbing military movements and acrimonious threats, diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis are still ongoing. When parties to a conflict sit in the negotiating table, tensions are immediately and significantly defused and a win-win solution is eventually arrived at.
We believe neither Russia nor NATO want war, knowing its far-reaching catastrophic consequences, especially since global military powers are involved.
Over the years, in the course of our modest initiatives to promote political cooperation, economic diplomacy, and parliamentary relations in the international community, we have had the privilege of conferring with numerous top Russian and Ukrainian officials.
Russia’s ruling political party, United Russia, sits in the governing council of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), where we serve as chairman. The United Russia and other major political parties of Russia have been supporting ICAPP’s efforts in promoting dialogue, understanding and cooperation among countries and peoples in Asia and the international community through the network of political parties.
We last visited Russia in 2018, when its ruling party hosted the 10th general assembly of ICAPP in Moscow, where President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev addressed our conference.
As Speaker of the House of Representatives, we led a congressional delegation to Kyivin 2005 and conferred with then Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko and other senior political leaders of Ukraine.
We exchanged views with President Yushchenko on the Christian-Muslim interfaith dialogue to help advance the cause of global peace, which, as we wrote in our earlier columns, we initiated and was approved by the UN in December 2005. We also explored ways and means of economic, political and parliamentary relations between the Philippines and Ukraine, which the then Ukrainian president supported.
On a more personal note, our late brother, Oscar de Venecia, a businessman and civic leader, served as honorary consul general of Ukraine in the Philippines. He was conferred the distinguished service award by the Ukraine government for his remarkable contributions in strengthening diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Ukraine. Our younger brother Roberto de Venecia serves as chairman of the Philippines-Russia Business Council.
We have always believed that we should all contribute, even in a small way, in advancing the cause of peace as the alternative, which is war, is immeasurably more costly and makes all of us losers.
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Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s earlier plan to transfer his country’s capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, hundreds of miles northeast of Jakarta across the Java Sea, has been approved by the Indonesian parliament. The country’s new capital is Nusantara.
President Widodo explained earlier that the relocation would ease the burden on Jakarta, the nation’s current capital, citing its immensely dense population, excruciating traffic jams, and air pollution. He also cited the need to jump-start the economy in other parts of the country.
The Indonesian President also said East Kalimantan was chosen for several reasons, among which is that the risk of natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, and mudslides in the area is minimal.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, is not the first country in Asia, indeed in the world, to relocate its capital. In recent years, Myanmar and Kazakhstan have both transferred their capitals.
In 2005, Myanmar moved its capital to Nay Pyi Taw, some 200 miles or about 320 kilometers north of its former capital Yangon.
In 1997, the oil-rich Central Asian country Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world, shifted its capital from Almaty to Astana, which is about 1,200 kilometers north of Almaty. Astana has since been renamed Nur-Sultan.
On our part, the Philippines, we commend the relocation of some government offices to the 9,450-hectare New Clark City in Pampanga, a move that will not only decongest traffic and population in Metro Manila, but also make government transactions faster and more efficient.
Our Southeast Asian neighbor Malaysia transferred in 1999 its government offices to the new city, Putrajaya, which helped ease overpopulation and traffic congestion in the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.
Even South Korea has been shifting government offices to Sejong, some 75 miles southeast of capital Seoul,for reasons similar to those of the countries which either transferred their capital or relocated their government offices.