By HEATHER BELLAMY ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — There was dancing in the streets. Wealthy Begums passed around boxes of ludoo and gulab jaman (sugar-soaked donuts) and posed for local television cameras, Pakistan T.V, televised nationwide, the interviews of average everyday workers pledging to spill their life’s blood to protect and serve their country. What was all the hoopla about we wondered? It didn’t take long to hear from the first CNN broadcast that Pakistan was celebrat- _ ing their coming of age — the Nuclear Age. Indis retaliated with tests of their own. Pakistan again flooded the airwaves with the thetoric of war and aggression as they took a week to decide whether to continue with two "more tests. They did. - As a Canadian coming from a country of peaceful border, I didn’t feel much like celebrating, I thought immediately of the simple folk who have never had the opportunity to learn to add, . Hever mind understand quantum physics. How could they understand the dangerous game their leaders were playing, as they celebrated this new ‘‘success’’ as they would a soccer match against India? ~ . [ felt sick as I contemplated this wonderful E land devastated by bombs tested at four times "the power of the one dropped on Hiroshima. OF politics I confess ] know little, The present Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, is pushing through commendable reforms. ! thought immediately of the simple folk who have never had the opportunity to fearn to add, never mind understand Quantum Physics. How could they under- stand the dangerous game their leaders were playing, as they celebrated this new “success” as they would a soccer match against India? ahh raitiaiiaa Just last week, my roommate and I cruised at normal speed down a newly finished highway and exited off an efficient cloverleaf onto the famous Grand Trunk Highway, We hooted and laughed in celebration at a job so quickly and well done. Unusual in this | land ‘ment, - But of the people, I think I’ve learned some- - thing... Of jolly, rotund Rafiq, our gate guard. I know of his commitment to his growing family of five and of his,dream to one day have enough money to buy bricks to build a small house of his own, - ‘Te will take him years to put aside enough - from bis monthly salary of $120.00. ~"Of the nomadic Pashai girls who come beg- ging at our pate, I know their main concerns are are plagued with dysentry. Life for them is a daily struggle of picking through the garbage of ‘‘wealthy’’ urban dwellers for scraps of cloth or BY TOM MOLLOY The Nisga’a final agreement has generated tremendous interest and well it should, for it is an extremely important document for all British Columbians and Canadians. The agreement . reached on July 15, 1998 represents a major ‘step towards creating the first modern-day treaty in the province. It signifies our willing- ‘ness a8 a society to reconcile major historical and cultural differences through negotiations ‘and compromise. ‘However, the importance of the Nisga’a final _agreement goes beyond what il says about our sense of fairness and civility. It is important for _ British Columbians because it sets out in detail how the Nisga’ a people and their government ‘will function in partnership with others, under the Canadian constitution. ' The agreement is complex and lengthy. With ‘appendices it comprises over S00 pages. ‘Nevertheless, | would like to provide some ‘clarity and some context to a couple of issues that have gamered particular attention. The first of these has to do with the value of - the agrecinent. It is difficult to come up with a precise figure for the agreement because some values can only be estimated at this time. The $480 million figure that is currently in the pub- ‘He domain is not far off the mark. Although this is a significant amount, reactions to it should be tempered by a number of considerations. First, it should be understood that this amount does not represent cash in hand fo the Nisga’a. In fact, less than half of this will be a direct finan- - cial transfer. Moreover, the majority of that will ‘be paid out over 15 years. It must also be pointed out that the agreement is nota one-way street, In it, the Nisga‘a take on significant responsibilities that will, over time, provide real offsets against the financial contri- the first aboriginal group in British Columbia to gree to pay taxes. Further, the Nisga’a have agreed that their own revenue will be offset against future government transfers, It is. estimated that after 15 years Nisga’a contribu- tlons will total 25 per cent of the initial govern. ment transfers to support Nisga’a government, and this amount will continue to grow over ‘time, These elements of the agreement clearly of corrupt companies ahd" ‘Iéthargié é"acvelop:” how to keep their frail babies alive when they - butions made by govemments. The Nisga’a are - - TERRACE MISSIONARY, Heather Sel- . lamy, helps unpack relief supplies at the Keeping hope alive A Terrace missionary prays for peace in a land seduced by nuclear power Rastaq relief centre in Pakistan. Betlamy is there on behalf of the Samaritan's Purse, paper to sell to recyclers. Our own Afghan refugee students wish more than anything to retum to their beloved ~ homeland and against all current odds, a remodernization of Afghanistan from ils present Dark Age. They’ve been hoping now for over 13 years. © Unwelcome guests in Pakistan that have never gone home. These are the dear faces and hopes that spring to mind when politicians speak of war. It strikes me as cruel injustice that the boy’s club that fights over power in the global sand- box, most affects those too marginalized to have ever had the priviledge of playing in it. Blessed are the peacemakers — not a quality much admired in this part of the world. It is the blocd-lust of revenge that has kept the tribal territories and much of Afghanistan at war for centuries, A man takes his place in his society when he can uphold his honor and that of his family. So what about forgiveness, going the extra _tmile to bring about reconciliation? It is virtually non-existent at even the most basic family levei. Feuding siblings will remain. alienated a lifetime. Angry, bitter matriarchs have been known to set afire a new daughter-in-law if household politics get ugly. A father will hunt down and shoot a young man who has com- promised his , ‘Maughter, by just speaking wilh her secreily. Friendships remain by-in-large, within the 'ex- tended family group. Some of these cases are extreme. But of hu- man nature, we all have experience of times when we ourselves have run from peacemaking into hellish messes of our own. So, I ask myself, what of the future of this land and its people. I believe the U.N. envoy to Iraq, Kofi Anan, summed it up powerfully when he said to the watching world, ‘‘Never un- derestimate the power of prayer.”’ There is a God who is waiting to work through those who are willing to stand up for peace anid justice, Pakistan is a long way off from our beautiful home of Terrace and of course there’s always point out the intent of the Nisga’a to distance themselves from dependency on federal and provincial government funds. The value of the trealy also needs to be viewed in light of the altemative. In the absence of the certainty that the Nisga’a treaty will bring to the ownership and access to land and resources, economic activity cannot reach its full potential, + I would also like to address the concern of some that the final agreement creates a race- based government. The reality is that the treaty . will finally allow the Nisga’a to participale fully in Canadian society, not opt out of it. The agree- . Ment contains provisions that will enable the Nisga’a to make laws that are integral to their culture, internal to their community, and essen- lial for the operation of their government. How- ever, everyone living on Nisga’a land will con- tinue under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Criminal Code of Canada, among other laws. The trealy therefore harmonizes the opera- tion of federal, provincial and aboriginal laws. Finally, the treaty ensures that the Nisga’a government will be politically and financially _ accountable to its cilizens. . There has also been much commentary that the final agreement adverscly affects the rights ‘of non-Nisga’a people that live within the boundaries of Nisga'a lands. This will not be the case. These individuals will be able to par- Ucipate in Nisga’a Institutions that conduct ac- "tivities that affect them, such as school and “health boards. I would also like to set the record straight on -the nolion that the final agreement leads to taxa- tion without representation. The Nisga’a government has the power to tax only Nisga’a citizeus on Nisga’a lands, Other citizens will continue to pay their taxes to the various levels of government to which they clect officials, A number of critics of the Final Agreement have questioned why residents of the area who are . ‘non-Nisga’a cannot vote for the Nisga’a government itself. The answer to this is that a primary purpose of treaties is to provide long- .» lasting protection for the culture and berilage of the First Nations of Canada, If non-natives were . to vote for First Nation’s government, this pro- the feeling that I can’t do anything about the probleins ‘‘over there,’’ But there is something you can do for my little Pashai friends, Mr. Rafiq and millions of other innocents like them, aud that is to pray. Pray that cooler heads would prevail and that the leaders of these two lands would learn to live in peace, HEATHER BELLAMY visits a student's house in Pakistan in March. Nisga’a treaty is the right solution teclion could disappear as the interests of the majority population prevail. Some claim that the Nisga’a treaty will be an amendment to the Canadian Constitution and » therefore trigger a referendum under legislation -in effect in British Columbia, Is this meant to suggest that other provinces would be dictating to British Columbians on the acceptability of these treatics? Section 8 of the General Provi- sions Chapter states, ‘This Agreement does not aller the Constitution of Canada, including the ‘distribution of powers between Canada and British Columbia.,..’” Nor docs the agreement create a third order of government. The rights contained in it, including the governance rights of the Nisga’a, will be protected by section 35 provision of the Constitution Act, 1982, but the trealy itself will nol be entrenched in the con- stitution. Further, referenda restrict voters to a simple yes or no answer covering literally bundreds of issues. Some people argue that since the Nisga’a will have a vote on their trealy so should they. This is misleading, The Nisga’a are obliged to vote because their legal aboriginal rights are being dealt with and therefore the treaty cannot become legally binding until it is approved by the Nisga’a. This is not tbe case for other citizens, who have governments that are fully empowered to negotiate and approve trealies. The appropriate democratic tool for ensuring citizen participation in the development of a treaty is consultation. This is precisely what has occurred in the Nisga’a negoliations. And the process is not over yet. In both Victoria and Ot- tawa the final agreement will be going into the Icgislature and parliament respectively, for fur- ther debate, Giving life to the Nisga’a final agreement will move British Columbians and Canadians for- ward Into a new cra in which First Nations people can proudly stand side by side with other citizens, confident that their heritage can thrive, and with the capacily to participate effectively in a modern, dynamic economy, Let us take this step forward. It can only enrich ws all. Tom Molloy is the Chief. Federal Negotiator fort the Nisga’ a treaty, The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 26, 1998 - A5 CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag Treaty for all time requires a referendum Dear Sir: If the Nisga’a treaty were the only one to be settled, that would be one thing. But some 50 additional treaties remain to be negotiated, and the premier has slated that the Nisga’a settlement will provide a “template,”’ or pattera, for the others. Presumably, therefore, the others will also include Jand transfers. This necessarily raises the question of whether the NDP owns the crown land of the province, To ask the question is to answer it; clearly it does not. The crown land belongs to all the people of B.C., in- chiding the natives. And it is a fundamental principle of law that one cannot lawfully give away something that does not belong to them. It is essential that the consent of the rightful owners be obtained. The NDP was elected to govern the pro- vince for a limited period of time. It was not enpowered to give away the store. The NDP is trying to claim that it represents the people of B.C. in making such land transfers. This position is patently absurd. More people voted against the NDP in the last election than voted for it. The Lib- eral Party alone gamered more votes than the NDP. The level of popular support for the NDP at the pres- ent time is less than 25 per cent. Jf an election were held today, it would almost certainly be out of office, Simply dumping money on people in an effort to compensate for wrongs done by their ancestors can perpetrate new wrongs on people living today, who were not even bom when the original wrongs were committed, and are in no way responsible for them. And the concept of creating a plethora of essentially sovereign, race-based sccicties throughout the pro- vince, each with its own laws and enforcement me- chanisms, will provide an unending source of conten- tion, division and litigation. To attempt to present the Nisga’a — or any future treaty — asa fait accompli, without first providing the public with complete information regarding its provi- sions, is to invite suspicion, resentment and opposition. For an agreement intended to bind all future gencra- tions for all time, a referendum is not an option. It is an imperative. Howard T, Ennis, Jr. Hazelton, B.C. Treaty vote would let. racism, ignorance rule Dear Sir: I stand beside Premier Glen Clark in opposing any sort of referendum on the Nisga’a treaty. Those who continue to urge for referendum tend to be leaning toward bigotry and small-mindedness. Why? As the Charlottetown Accord has taught us, when package deals can only be decided on a ‘‘yes”” or “0” option, opposition to the smallest of phrases sinks the entire deal. Those who call for referendum al- ready know how decisive what they are demanding is. It takes any leadership away from our democratically elected officials and allows the most angry, uninformed person to make important decisions, even though their knowledge of the issue may be a 30-second television news clip, The Reform Party of Canada, the Reform Party of. B.C. and the Liberal Party of B.C. know that referendum is the easiest way to give racism and bigotry political legitimacy, because everyone, even I, can find one small reason to reject the entire impor- tance of the Nisga’a treaty. And that one small detail would probably be enough for many, many British Columbians to reject the entire deal, without cver realizing what compromises they had sacrificed, By giving each British Columbian a vote on the Nisga'a treaty, by sheer populaton, downtown Van- couver would decide the future of Skeena’s backyard. In a time When British Columbians are worried most about their jobs and families, and least about politics, referendum preys on political apathy and allows the most angry, zealous and extreme segment of society to take a disproportionate amount of control. These are the sad and scary realities of referendum. Kent Glowinski Prince Rupert, B.C. Criticism of MP flawed Dear Sir: Isaac Soboi (Mail Bag, August 12, 1998) is outraged that Skeena MP MIke Scott did not appear at the in- itialling of the Nisga’a treaty in New Aiyansh, inferring from Mr. Scott's absence that Mr, Scott is not willing to represent all of his constituents. He does not accept Mr. Scott’s comment that his presence at the treaty signing would be an indication that he supports the agreement, or Mr. Scott’s assertion that he received the invitation too late to cancel another engagenicut he had made previously, My question to Mr. Sabo! is this: Where were you when Mr. Helmut Giesbrecht made exactly the same excuse last year with regard to the mecting in Terrace at which Kari Simpson spoke? Although I did not at- tend the meeting my recollection of the event is that Mrs. Simpson was speaking about the homosexual agenda and how it is impacting our school curriculum. Mr. Giesbrecht had substantially the same reasons for not appearing at the Kari Slmpson meeting that Mr. Scott had for staying away from the Nisga’a signing: “E have a previous engagement, but even if I could come I would not because I do not agree with what is being said/done at the meeting.’' To paraphrase Mr. Sobol’s wards, did Mr. Giesbrecht really think tbat his appearance at that mecting would or could be construed as approbation? Obviously, the answer is ‘‘yes.”? Without commenting on the merits of elther meeting, I would just like to know what Mr. Sobol thinks of Mr. Giesbrecht’s refusal to attend a meeting to which he was invited by his constituents, After all, if the MP's. absence is an insult to the Nisga’a, was not the MLA's absence an insult to the constituents who organized and attended the Kari Simpson meeting last year? Is It okay to insuli some constituents bul not olhers? 1s it possible that Mr. Sobol is using a double stan- dard here? Monna Manhas * Terrace, B.C.