“It was miraculous to watch two countries wounded by war, come together in peace” – Tilo Klinner, German consul general
A seminar on the legendary Elyse treaty was held at IBA on September 13th, 2013. The seminar was particularly special to IBAians as it was the first to be held in the Alumni Student Centre. The guest panel consisted of The Consul General of Germany; Mr. Tilo Klinner, The Consul General of France; Mr. Christian Ramage , and a distinguished authority on German foreign affairs and an economist; Dr. Klaus Dielmann. Graciously receiving them at IBA were Dr. Ishrat Husain, Dr. Framjee Minwalla, and Dr. Noman ul Haque.
The Conference room at the Student Centre was filled with students long before the seminar started, depicting clearly how the Treaty Seminar was a much anticipated event. Sadia Godil of the Social Sciences club came on the stage first, giving a brief introduction of the seminar. She invited Dr. Ishrat and Dr. Noman Ul Haque for a foreword in which they thanked the respected guests and appreciated the students’ interest in the seminar. Finally, Dr. Framjee handed over the stage to the two general consuls.
The journey into the lush and passionate history of the two countries was emanates from 1870; the first Franco-German war. Mr. Klinner and Mr. Ramage took turns narrating to us the ebbs and flows of the France-Germany relations that led to the treaty. They emphasized how a document transcended into something so strong that could bind the two countries into one nation. Several highlights of the treaty were presented to us including a France-Germany Youth Office which enabled large exchange of students between France and Germany, spreading the feeling of unity amongst the masses. Those present were also shown the common history course book of both the countries, to emphasize the importance of harboring friendly emotions into the students. Mr. Ramage told us the economic stability twinning cities brought, along with termination of any leftover enmity. The light and casual dialogue kept the students keen and interested as the consuls would throw in a joke every now and then.
The most beautiful detail of the Elysee treaty, the March at Champs Elysees made the deepest impression on the audience. The French and the German army marched side by side as a powerful depiction of their friendship in 1994 on the same land on which the German had once marched to humiliate France. Dr Dielmann hoped that one day, Pakistan and India would have a good enough relationship to have their armies march side by side, without any grudge. Mr. Ramage admitted that although the relationship and policies of Indo-Pak are different from the Franco-German condition, it’s important that a common ground be reached and the threat of war be finished for good.
The Social Sciences Club deserves praise on painting the event into such a thought provoking and captivating picture. However, Dr Noman did feel that there was a lack of finesse in the refreshments part of the event. Apart from that, the guests and the hosts were all praise: “The Q&A session was very impressive”, this was the exact sentence Dr Noman Ul Haque, Dr Dielmann and Mr. Ramage replied with when asked to comment on their experience at IBA. “It was good to see two weeks of so much hard work and so many sleepless nights come together so perfectly at the seminar” said Nabeel Shafique, the organizing head of the seminar. The students and the guests agreed on the seminar being a success and said they look forward to be a part of similar future ventures.
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