My OperaBlack flag week in Pakistan
Monday, March 10, 2008 7:25:00 PM
http://revolutionredux.wordpress.com/2008/03/02/pakistan-constitutions-and-the-rule-of-law/
It is often said that - allright, it's not, but I'll say it here - that to change a society based on tribalistic structures, where religion is integrated tightly to everyday life, the emergence of rule of law is essential. I do not share that view. What I believe is that establishing open courts, a justice system based on principle and public discourse with few holy cows, is essential when approaching internal affairs in a country.
Because for all intents and purposes, the link between nations are based on that sphere of public discourse - without it, we would not have the possibility to generate pressure or alliances worth following.
Something that is perfectly illustrated with the recent Bhutto- tragedy (maysherestinpeace..). Simply because to meddle in Pakistan on the level we (the west) has done, is counterproductive. Glaringly so.
This, however, is different. Supporting the efforts in this case, on the underlying qualification that if the rule of law is perverted, the support and contact in general will vanish, is the only way.
Next week, March 9-15, is Black Flag Week in Pakistan. The lawyers in Pakistan will carry black flags. And they will probably march, as they have done since November, for the reinstatement of the judiciary, for the rule of law, and for the return to the Constitution and democracy in Pakistan. The head of the lawyers, Aitzaz Ahsan, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, has been knocking heads with the government over the rule of law during multiple dictatorships going back to Zia ul Haq and Ayub Khan. Pakistan has not had a steady democracy, but rather military dictatorships alternating with often corrupt democratic rule, for most of its history.
Brief History of the Lawyers Protests(...)
It is often said that - allright, it's not, but I'll say it here - that to change a society based on tribalistic structures, where religion is integrated tightly to everyday life, the emergence of rule of law is essential. I do not share that view. What I believe is that establishing open courts, a justice system based on principle and public discourse with few holy cows, is essential when approaching internal affairs in a country.
Because for all intents and purposes, the link between nations are based on that sphere of public discourse - without it, we would not have the possibility to generate pressure or alliances worth following.
Something that is perfectly illustrated with the recent Bhutto- tragedy (maysherestinpeace..). Simply because to meddle in Pakistan on the level we (the west) has done, is counterproductive. Glaringly so.
This, however, is different. Supporting the efforts in this case, on the underlying qualification that if the rule of law is perverted, the support and contact in general will vanish, is the only way.
