http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/blog/2007/12/pakistan_the_li.html
Pakistan: "The Liberal Dictator"
BY Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Length: 3:19
From left, Afia Zia and Nazish Brohi, founding members of
the "People's Resistance" group at their weekly candlelight vigil
outside the Karachi Press Club.
Editor's Note: When President Pervez Musharraf declared emergency
rule in early November, fired his entire Supreme Court and arrested
hundreds of judges and lawyers, mass protests followed, and the
country was thrown into political turmoil. To take the current mood
of the country, we asked our long-time correspondent in Pakistan,
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, to write a series of diary dispatches in the
run up to the elections Musharraf says will take place on January 8.
In her first diary entry, Obaid-Chinoy reports from Karachi, where,
she says, the city is alive with political activity for the first
time in 20 years.
I landed in Karachi to find a city galvanized by politics. It's been
more than two decades since civil society has made any effort to
engage in the political process. In fact, my generation, those in
their 20s and 30s, has never seen such fervor in the streets. These
are exhilarating times for Pakistan, both for those who oppose
President Musharraf and for those who support him. Debates once held
over dinner tables inside people's homes are now being heard
everywhere, from the pages of Facebook to blogs and radio shows.
On the first evening back in my hometown, I was invited to a meeting
of individuals calling themselves the "People's Resistance." They
came together soon after President Musharraf imposed the state of
emergency on November 3, and their members are doctors, lawyers,
women's rights activists and journalists from this middle class
neighborhood. During the past month, they had been organizing flash
protests, candlelight vigils and demonstrations, often using graffiti
to get their message across. "One coup per dictator" and "Go
Musharraf Go" are two of their most used slogans.
I couldn't help thinking that inadvertently President Musharraf's
emergency decree had been good for Pakistan. It had stirred up the
dormant middle and upper classes, which seldom took part in the
electoral process or even bothered to vote.The agenda that evening
was simple: Should the People's Resistance boycott the upcoming
elections or not? The 20 or so members present launched into a lively
debate, where the women were far more vocal in opposing Musharraf
than the men. In the end, they unanimously voted to boycott the
upcoming elections if the ousted [Supreme Court] judges were not
reinstated and current conditions persisted. [During the first week
in December, Musharraf renewed his pledge to end the state of
emergency on December 16 in preparation for the January 8 elections.]
I couldn't help thinking that inadvertently President Musharraf's
emergency decree had been good for Pakistan. It had stirred up the
dormant middle and upper classes, which seldom took part in the
electoral process or even bothered to vote. Now they were asking
tough questions of the state.
"Look, we have no romantic illusions about the political parties --
we know they are corrupt and nepotistic," Nazish Brohi, a social
policy researcher and founder of the group, told me after the
meeting. "We just want the system to work. Judges can't be thrown out
at the whim of one man. If we allow the system to work, then it will
produce leaders who we can elect in the future."
When I asked her if democracy could work in Pakistan, she responded
with certainty: Yes, it could.
"I want to debunk the myth that an illiterate population will not be
able to elect good leaders," she said. "Education is not a
prerequisite for intelligent voting."
Activist Tarzia Mohuddin with her teenage daughters Michelle and
Ghanwa at the vigil.
Another woman at the meeting, sociologist and columnist Afia Zia,
acknowledged that Musharraf had advanced the cause of women in
Pakistan. "It's been funny because General Musharraf has been a
liberal dictator," she said. "He's given us a lot of rights." But she
insisted that the military and Musharraf must "get out of politics"
for democracy to have a chance.
Outside, I spoke to a young man who was closing his shop for the
evening. Adil Khawar had heard the chants "Go Musharraf Go" coming
from the meeting across the street. When I asked him about the
current state of the country and the upcoming elections, he looked at
me with a wry smile. "I don't know what democracy is because I
haven't really experienced it, but I do feel a sense of freedom," he
said, adding, "I feel for President Musharraf -- he is up against a
lot, and I know that he means well for this country." Then, pausing,
he said, "Maybe we don't deserve him."
Later, while surfing through Facebook, where many young Pakistanis
gather to talk about the political future of their country, I found
at least as many groups for Musharraf as against him. Students as
young as 14 were sharing their opinions under headings such as "We
choose Musharraf but oppose emergency in Pakistan" and "A Turnip
would make a better Head of State than Musharraf."
A young musician called Imran Qadir told me that a number of his
friends were joining rallies and protesting, but he supported
Musharraf because he'd given many freedoms to Pakistanis.A young
musician called Imran Qadir told me that a number of his friends were
joining rallies and protesting, but he supported President Musharraf
because he'd given many freedoms to Pakistanis. "You know, when I was
14, you couldn't wear jeans on television. Nawaz Sharif's government
was so anti-Westernization that if I wanted my music video aired on
state-run television, I would have to heavily censor it. But in the
last eight years, we have over 40 television channels; I can say what
I want; I can wear what I want and will not be censored." But Qadir
said he was considering moving away from Pakistan because of the
uncertainty: "I don't want [former prime ministers] Benazir Bhutto or
Nawaz Sharif to come into power, because they are not democratic in
any way. They are despots, who are power hungry and will do anything
to get what they want. In fact, I won't be surprised if they turn
back the clock for our generation."
The debate has polarized Pakistan's urban professional classes, many
of whom sympathize with President Musharraf and have nothing but
disdain for their democratic choices.Another young woman, Sabina
Ahmed, told me that she had never felt so passionate about politics
in her life: "President Musharraf is a dictator. He may be liberal,
but he is as power hungry as the rest. He has ruined this country's
judiciary and removed our best judges from power. It is going to take
the country at least a decade to recover."
The debate has polarized Pakistan's urban professional classes, many
of whom sympathize with President Musharraf and have nothing but
disdain for their democratic choices. They credit the president with
holding economic growth at 7.5 percent and for attracting billions of
dollars in foreign investment to the country. But they also feel that
he has crossed the line by removing the judiciary and silencing the
media.
At a candlelight vigil the next evening, many expressed that they
wanted the president to resign immediately. Tarzia Mohuddin had
brought along her teenage daughters. Holding a sign that
read, "Freedom of Thought and Expression," she told me that Musharraf
had disappointed her. "He started out so well," she said. "But now he
has destroyed everything he claimed he stood for. How can there be
democracy when he has destroyed the very institutions that could
uphold it?"
Video Credits:
Camera: Mahera Omar, Sohail Ahmed
From Our Files
Pakistan: Disappeared
Amina Masood Janjua was an ordinary Pakistani housewife, proud of her
country and loyal to its military. But all that changed in July 2005,
when her husband never came home. FRONTLINE/World correspondent David
Montero reports on how her campaign to find her husband sparked
national protests challenging Pakistan's feared intelligence agency,
the ISI, and led to events that would severely test Musharraf's power.
Pakistan: On a Razor's Edge
Follow FRONTLINE/World reporter and producer Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy to
her native Pakistan as she investigates the clashes between President
Musharraf, a key U.S. ally, and the increasingly powerful Islamic
fundamentalists who oppose him. Extensive background and links are
included with the story, as is a series of short interviews with some
of Pakistan's leading voices.
Pakistan: Student Resistance
Following Pakistan's state of emergency, FRONTLINE/World reporter Joe
Rubin talked via web cam to a student in Lahore whose campus was the
first to protest Musharraf's crackdown.
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