The Way To Bring About Change Is By All Manner Of Exchange

New York Philharmonic performed in Pyongyang yesterday and this event is interesting from quite a few perspectives. First of all, this is the first exchange that has happened between US and North Korea for a long time. Since the time Madeline Albright gifted Kim Jong Il a basketball during the Clinton administration, nothing but acrimony has happened between the two countries. North Korea in recent years decided to pursue nuclear weapons and US came down, and rightly so, hard on it. 6 party talks followed and now North Korea has somewhat agreed to abandon its nuclear program.

So what does it all mean? These kind of exchanges have a very interesting effect on the overall tone of conversation. I remember when India and Pakistan decided to start cross border movement in Kashmir and Punjab regions. There were a lot of sceptics but then there was a story about how a Pakistani kid's life was saved because she could get a heart surgery in Bangalore. The problem with diplomacy is that it too often involves decision making at the top without creating the settings which would make the agreements acceptable on the ground. Think about what happened at Camp David. All the people at the table: Ehud Barak, Bill Clinton and Yasir Arafat were truly in a position to solve a problem that the world has faced for a long long time...the problem on Jerusalem...who gets what part of this interesting piece of land that is important for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike. The problem with the summit was that Yasir Arafat never felt that he would be able to go back with a solution and sell it to his own people. Generations of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians had left too much mistrust amongst people on the ground. Oslo agreement in 1992 was the first right step but 6 years of relative peace was not enough. A whole generation had been brought up baying for the blood of the other side. Same is the case with India and Pakistan and you can very well say the same with US viz-a viz North Korea, Iran and Cuba. What India and Pakistan have done rightly is to let the healing happen. I don't think the healing has happened to the level where India and Pakistan are ready to sit down at a table and discuss Kashmir but it is happening. Probably 5 years down the line would be a good time to revisit things.

So this exchange between US and North Korea is definitely a right step. Same could be done between US and Iran. In fact, within US, there is a huge Persian population and that could be used as a bridge for starting some of the exchange activities...ditto with Cuba and the huge Cuban American contingent in Florida. Any agreement at the top has to be preceded by building up trust amongst people who would experience the effect of the agreement and this trip by New York Philharmonic is a good example of how to bring change using all manner of exchange.