You have to stand guard over the development and maintenance of democracy, social justice and the equality of mankind in your own native soil. [Mohammed Ali Jinnah]

Friday, November 9, 2007

Not just about emergency or martial law!!

By S.N.

It is important to note that the Pakistani community is not only opposing emergency, but also the new judiciary that Musharraf is reinstating. Musharraf is on record saying that he is not bothered about these protests because they are against the emergency which is temporary anyway.

The protest is about a lot more than just the emergency. It is against autocracy. It is against the one-man show where Musharraf makes his own rules, his own Parliament and now his own judiciary.

The audacity of his actions does not cease to surpirse me. He saw the uprising when the Chief Justice was suspended in early March. He admitted on public TV that he had made a mistake. Now I realize that the 'mistake' he was referring to was not the suspension, but the freedom of media that he had not clamped down on. That is why this time around he has aimed to 'correct' his mistake by declaring emergency, shutting down news channels, and taking away people's rights by force.

The Pakistani community realizes that this emergency is temporary and has only been imposed to put the new judiciary in place. Musharraf plans on getting a ruling in his favor, (where his Presidency is declared legitimate) and then he will proceed to lift the emergency.

It is important to stress that the Pakistanis DO NOT accept his actions. We do not accept the new judiciary. We do not accept Musharraf's rule. We do not want him as a President, whether in uniform or not. He has gone too far and has proven TIME AND AGAIN that he cannot be trusted to handle power responsibly.

No comments: