BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

A two-day International Conference on Human Security Approach to Counter Extremism in South Asia: Relevance of Japanese Culture was held at BIISS Auditorium from 24 November 2009 to 24 November 2009. The Conference was organised by BIISS with the support of the Japan Foundation. Major General Sheikh Md Monirul Islam, ndc, psc, Director General, BIISS delivered the welcome address. Advocate Shahara Khatun, MP, Hon'ble Minister for Home Affairs Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh was the Chief Guest at the Inaugural Session of the Conference. H. E. Mr. Tamotsu Shinotsuka, Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh was present as Special Guest at the Inaugural Session . Major General Muhammed Firdaus Mian, psc, Chairman, Board of Governors, BIISS, chaired the session. Beside Bangladesh the scholars from India, Japan Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka presented papers in the conference. In the First Working Session papers were presented by Dr. Moonis Ahmar, Professor and Chairman, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, Pakistan on State of Human Security in South Asia and Prof. Sahadevan Ponmoni, Chairperson, Centre for South, Central, South East Asia & South West Pacific Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India on Mapping Extremism in South Asia. The discussants were Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and Brigadier General Shahedul Anam Khan, ndc, psc, (Retd.), Editor, Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star, Bangladesh respectively. Major General Sheikh Md. Monirul Islam, ndc, psc, Director General, BIISS chaired the session. In the Second Working Session presentations were made by Prof. Gamini Keerawella, Head, Department of History University of Pearadeniya, Kandy, Sri Lanka on Human Security and Extremism in Sri Lanka: Synergy and Conflict, Dr. Anindya Jyoti Majumdar, Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India on Human Security and Extremism in India: Synergy and Conflict and Dr. Abul Kalam Azad, Research Director, BIISS on Human Security and Extremism in Bangladesh: Synergy and Conflict. The discussants included Mr. A.K.M. Abdus Sabur, Research Director, BIISS, Dr. A T Salahuddin Ahmed, Senior Research Fellow, BIISS and Dr. M. Enamul Hoque, Former Inspector General of Police, and Member, Law Commission, Bangladesh. The session was chaired by Ambassador M. Maroof Zaman, Additional Foreign Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh. Major General Muhammad Firdaus Mian, psc, Chairman, BOG, BIISS chaired the Third Working Session. Papers were presented by Prof. Dr. Bishnu Hari Nepal, Former Ambassador of Nepal to Japan on Human Security and Extremism in Nepal: Synergy and Conflict , Dr. Shaheen Akhtar, Research Fellow, Regional Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan on Human Security and Extremism in Pakistan: Synergy and Conflict and Mr. Osamu Miyata, Associate Professor, University of Shizuoka, Japan on Human Security as a Policy Tool in Japan. The discussants were Dr. Abdur Rob Khan, Associate Professor, North South University, Dhaka, Air Cdre Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury, ndc, psc, (Retd), Registrar, The University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka and Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed, Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka respectively. In the Fourth and Concluding Session Mr. Katsuhisa Furukawa, Fellow, Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Tokyo, Japan and Dr. Shaheen Afroze, Research Director, BIISS presented papers on Japan and its Culture of Peace: Relevance for South Asia and A Comparative Study of the Solutions and their Practicability respectively. Ambassador Jamil Majid, Former Principal, Foreign Service Academy and Former Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan and Prof. Syed Anwar Husain, Department of History, University of Dhaka were the designated discussants. Prof. Muzaffer Ahmad, Former Chairman, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and Member, Board of Governors of BIISS was present as Chief Guest at the Concluding Session . Major General Sheikh Md. Monirul Islam, ndc, psc, Director General, BIISS chaired the Concluding Session . In the Open Discussion of the sessions of two-day conference there were lively participation by academia, media, government officials, business circles, representatives from the civil society and NGOs as well as other concerned professionals.