by David Steven | Nov 3, 2007 | North America, South Asia
According to the BBC, the long-awaited state of emergency in Pakistan has finally arrived:
Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf has declared emergency rule and suspended the country’s constitution.
Troops have been deployed inside state-run TV and radio stations, while independent channels have gone off air.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who condemned the moves, has reportedly been sacked and is being confined to the Supreme Court with 10 other judges.
It comes as the court was due to rule on the legality of Gen Musharraf’s re-election victory in October.
Alex’s colleague at New York University, Barney Rubin is live-blogging the coup:
So far it looks like the Army has kept the politicians out of Islamabad by arranging for PIA to go on strike on Friday, when they are all in their constituencies. So far it is calm. I’ll report as I can.
Key question is how the US administration will react. If you listen to John Bolton, you get the impression that at least some of his old colleagues will be quite relieved:
Musharraf is rightly faulted for many things, especially inadequately purging the army of Islamic militants and a listless pursuit of al Qaeda, but does anyone seriously argue that politicians will better harness Pakistan’s military?
With a nuclear arsenal up for grabs, the stakes in Pakistan are high. Bolstered by the Bush administration’s evident support, the politicians continue to try to force Musharraf out, which likely will be hailed as a triumph of democracy.
That may be, but I am far from certain that elected civilians running Islamabad will make us safer from a loss of command-and-control over those nuclear weapons, or from the danger that they will come into terrorist hands. This is a risky way to experiment with democratic theory.
Update: Benazir is in Dubai. Will she head back to Pakistan? No, says Zubeir Bashir, a spokesman for her party:
She can’t go back to Pakistan now due to the state of emergency. If she goes back they would arrest her.
Yes, says her husband:
“(She’s flying back) tonight, yes of course,” Bhutto’s husband Asif Ali Zardari told Reuters by telephone from Dubai, saying she was already on the plane.
Update II: Text of the proclamation of emergency is here. Radicals and judges get equal blame:
WHEREAS there is visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, IED explosions, rocket firing and bomb explosions and the banding together of some militant groups have taken such activities to an unprecedented level of violent intensity posing a grave threat to the life and property of the citizens of Pakistan;
WHEREAS there has also been a spate of attacks on State infrastructure and on law enforcement agencies;
WHEREAS some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive and legislature in the fight against terrorism and extremism thereby weakening the Government and the nation’s resolve and diluting the efficacy of its actions to control this menace…
by Mark Weston | Oct 26, 2007 | Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa
Most commentators on the Congressional resolution commemorating the Armenian genocide have adopted a US-centric view. Andrew Sullivan describes the move as “foolish in the extreme” because it will antagonize a key US ally. The University of San Francisco’s Stephen Zunes supports the decision because it is vital for the US to uphold its “longstanding principles.” But it’s not all about America – Turkey has some questions of its own to answer.
The row over the Armenian genocide and the threatened incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan are two sides of the same kuru? for Turkey. Ninety years after the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, Turks still inhabit a foreign policy realist world, where all your neighbours want a chunk of your territory and the criticisms of far-off superpowers mask their real goals of gaining influence within your borders and weakening your global standing. (more…)
by David Steven | Oct 22, 2007 | South Asia
How many other developing country opposition leaders can take to the FT when they need to rally support?
I did not come this far in life to be intimidated by suicide bombers. There is a battle raging in Pakistan for the hearts and minds of a new generation. It is a battle for the future of Pakistan as a democratic nation.
The new generation will choose moderation or extremism; it will choose education or illiteracy; it will choose dictatorship or democracy; it will choose tolerance or bigotry; and it will choose peace or war. I returned to Pakistan this week to lead the fight for democracy. With the blood of my supporters on the streets and on our clothes, I reaffirm my commitment to these values.
by Alex Evans | Oct 15, 2007 | East Asia and Pacific
Tomorrow’s New York Times has a helpful and comprehensive summary of goings-on during day one of the 17th Communist Party Congress in Beijing. Among the highlights of Hu Jintao’s two and a half hour speech:
He called the international situation favorable to China, saying a “trend toward a multipolar world is irreversible.” He offered to hold peace talks with Taiwan, the self-governing island China claims as its territory, as long as the island’s leadership sets aside independence goals.
In defining “scientific development,” Mr. Hu discussed the growing gap between rich and poor. He said the economy relies too much on investment and not enough on consumption, and that the leadership should do more to protect the environment.
“We must adopt an enlightened approach to development that results in expanded production, a better life and sound ecological and environmental conditions,” he said.
Mr. Hu repeatedly used the word democracy and said the party should become more responsive to the public. He also called for “intra-party democracy,” or allowing more party officials to participate in decision making.
Corruption, he said, poses a threat to the party’s survival, a particularly resonant issue after the leadership purged the former Shanghai Party boss, Chen Liangyu, in one of the highest-level corruption scandals in its history.
by David Steven | Oct 13, 2007 | Global system, Influence and networks, Middle East and North Africa
Washington Post:
More than two dozen Iranian American and human rights groups have launched an appeal to Congress to reduce or eliminate new financial support of up to $75 million aimed at promoting democracy inside Iran.
The U.S. program, launched in 2006, backfired in its first year, undermining democracy efforts in Iran and leading to wider repression against activists as foreign agents or traitors, the groups said. Among those detained were four Iranian Americans, all charged with “crimes against national security” linked to the U.S. program. A second year of funding will further endanger democracy efforts, the groups added.
