[sacw] sacw dispatch #1 (28 Oct.99)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch #1.
28 October 1999
________________________
#1. 27 Oct.: Day of Protest & Reflection in Kashmir
#2. Human Rights Groups Appeal to Indian President & TN Governer
#3. [Fwd: H-ASIA: Pakistan Coup d'Etat]
________________________
#1.
Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party
"Nations Are Built From the Bottom Up"
Head Office: 150 Rawalpora Colony, Sanatnagar
Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir

October 27th: A Day of Protest, A Day of Reflection

A MESSAGE FROM SHABIR SHAH

The Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party is holding a protest today to
signify October 27 as a Black Day since 52 years ago today the
up-until-then independent and sovereign state of Jammu & Kashmir became
divided and occupied by India and Pakistan. In fact, October 27, 1947 was
the tragic culmination of weeks of foreign interference and conspiracy
against the people of Jammu & Kashmir that catalyzed the occupation and
division of Jammu & Kashmir, just two months after India and Pakistan had
achieved their own independence. Ever since 1947, we, the people of Jammu &
Kashmir have remained deprived of our birth right as a people to decide our
own destiny-despite clear and specific promises in this regards by the
founding fathers of India and Pakistan, which was and still is backed by
international opinion.

October 27 is not only a Black Day for the people of Jammu & Kashmir it is
also a tragic day for the people of India and Pakistan, who have seen three
wars over Kashmir in 52 years. This conflict has kept the entire region
consumed by fear, hatred, and uncertainty for too long. The human and
economic development of both countries remains seriously stunted because of
the substantial military spending to maintain military might in Kashmir.
And now, the introduction of nuclear weapons has heightened the
repercussions for this conflict to catastrophic levels. Indeed, the recent
Kargil battles brought the two countries to all out war.

The struggle for freedom in Jammu & Kashmir is truly a struggle for a safe
and just South Asia. As such I would request that the masses of India and
Pakistan show solidarity on this day by exerting pressure on their
respective governments to come to the negotiation table with the
representatives of the people of Jammu & Kashmir and solve this problem in
accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people.

A solution can be readily found by convincing the present leaders of India
and Pakistan to fulfill the promises already given to the people of Jammu &
Kashmir. Immediately, both countries should commit to a dialogue on Kashmir
in which the people of Kashmir are the primary party. A cease-fire on all
sides must come into place simultaneously. It is our hope that we can step
into the 21st century on such a bright note-though it seems the next
century is to inherit this vexing problam and threat to world peace and
justice.

October 27 is as much a day to call upon the leaders of India and Pakistan
to solve the Kashmir dispute as it is a day for the people of Jammu &
Kashmir to take pause and reflect upon the last 52 years of oppression and
the matching 52 years of colossal sacrifice in the struggle for freedom and
justice. Indeed, such a reflection of the sacrifice of our people leaves
one awe-struck at how brave, steadfast, and dedicated our people are
towards the dream of a free, re-united, peaceful, and just Jammu & Kashmir.
JKDFP has a deep faith that in the end there is no keeping the people of
Jammu & Kashmir away from this destined goal.

Shabir Ahmad Shah President, JKDFP

(This statement was prepared from Rajbagh Jail, Srinagar before Shah was
tranfered to the Central Jail, Jammu yesterday)
________________
#2
26 October 1999
PRESS RELEASE

OPEN APPEAL TO THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA AND GOVERNOR OF TAMIL NADU

We, the undersigned beseech you to exercise the noble power of compassion
reposed by the people in you to prevent the extinguishing of four human
lives. The TADA Designated Court has issued the death warrants and fixed 5
November 1999 as the date for the execution of Nalini, Murugan (husband of
Nalini), Santhan and Perarivalan in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
The ever present possibility of human error becomes fatal in the case of
capital punishment. The TADA Designated Court had convicted and sentenced
26 persons to death in the case. The Supreme Court acquitted nineteen of
them from the charges of conspiracy to murder Rajiv Gandhi. On the same
evidence, nineteen human beings innocent of murder were to be sent to the
gallows as per the trial judge The fallibility of human judgement cannot be
more clearly demonstrated. The award of death penalty in the case brings
out the arbitrariness in the taking of a human life. Out of the three
judges of the apex court, the presiding judge, Mr. Justice Thomas commuted
the capital punishment of Nalini to life imprisonment on the ground that
her child would be orphaned as the death sentence of Murgan, the father of
the child, had been confirmed. This factor did not weigh with the other two
judges. The totally subjective nature of the factors which colour the
decision to award life or death make capital punishment inherently
discriminatory. The global trend is towards the abolition of death penalty
on the ground that it is a cruel and inhuman punishment violative of human
rights as well as the dignity and sanctity of human life. The calculated
and cold-blooded execution of the persons convicted will not serve any
social, constitutional or penological purpose. The Supreme Court has
acquitted all the accused of the charges under TADA. However, the draconian
procedure under TADA was followed and the convictions are based on
confessions of the accused to the police. Each of the "voluntary
confessors" swore before the court that the confessions had been obtained
by coercion. Several days of illegal detention of the accused and the
suspicious death of accused Shanmugan also raise doubts about the methods
used by the investigating agency. These factors in themselves are
sufficient to commute the sentence to life imprisonment. We appeal to you
as the highest constitutional authorities to be generous in the exercise of
gentle compassion and commute the sentence of death imposed on Nalini,
Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan to life imprisonment.

[Signed By]

Harish Dhawan, Secretary, People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)
N.D. Pancholi, Vice President, Citizens For Democracy (CFD)
Aurobindo Ghosh, General Secretary, People's Rights Organisation (PRO)
Y.P. Chibber, General Secretary, Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Tejinder Ahuja, Human Rights Trust (HRT)
Justice Mehrotra, People's Union for Civil Liberties, Delhi Unit
_________________
#3.
[From: H-ASIA List 27 October 1999]

Posting by: Yvette C. Rosser

The coup in Pakistan has caused more consternation and raised more eyebrows
and objections in Washington, Brussels, and Tokyo than among scholars and
journalists in Pakistan who, since the military take-over, have acquiesced,
offering "wait and see" responses. These circumspect and hopeful analyses
of General Musharraf's actions reflect the relief felt by most Pakistani
citizens to be rid of an autocratic and highly corrupt regime. The military
coup may have been a surprise but the radical change in government was
welcomed by almost everyone except perhaps Sharif's immediate family.

(For relevant articles from the Pakistani Press, see an article by Pervez
Hoodbhoy, "Why a civilian set-up won't work" from the _Dawn_, Oct. 16 @
http://151.196.230.144/thenews/index.html; for the two post-coup editorials
by Najam Sethi in _The Friday Times_:-Oct. 15 & 22 editions, see:
http://www.thefridaytimes.com/front.html; also see in this week's _Friday
Times_ "Treason case against Nawaz" describing Sharif's attempts to prevent
Musharraf from landing at the Karachi airport, the catalyst for the coup @
http://www.thefridaytimes.com/news3.htm=8A the last, very strange paragraph
of which is excerpted at the end of this message.)

Last summer I was in Pakistan on a dissertation fellowship from the
American Institute of Pakistan Studies. The backdrop of the "war-like
situation" in Kargil colored most of the interviews I had with scholars
about the writing of history in Pakistan. After Nawaz Sharif's unpopular
July 4th jaunt to Washington I asked the educators and historians whom I
met if they felt a coup was imminent. The climate seemed ripe for the
cyclical return to military rule: the infrastructure was crumbling under
political mismanageme nt and corruption-the standard justification when the
Pakistani Army steps in and "saves the nation from certain ruin."

My friends and colleagues in Pakistan assured me that the army would not,
could not take over again. I was told that "There are too many
insurmountable problems in the country's economy and if the army took over
it would be blamed." "The army gets whatever it wants from the civilian
government, why meddle?" "The army is already actually running the country
and needs the veneer of democracy." "It is in their interest that the
wealthy industrialist/feudal class remain in power." There was fear that if
another massive MRD (Movement to Restore Democracy-during Zia's time)
consolidated among the many frustrated groups in Pakistan, "the army would
step back and allow a Taliban led coup which then could be blamed on the
clerics when things went from bad to worse. Under the Taliban, the Pak army
would seem like a progressive element."

Most of the Pakistanis I interviewed expressed feelings of resignation
about the state of their nation. Though many longed for a change of
government, no one agreed with me that the signals were all there for a
military coup. Most people expressed confidence that civil society was now
ingrained in Pakistan and the polity would never accept another military
government. They tried to convinced me that there was more to fear from the
Taliban than the army. They hadn't anticipated how foolishly Nawaz Sharif
would play his cards.

That my coup prediction seemed to be coming true was foreshadowed by
Clinton's rather inane statements a few weeks ago warning about political
stability and extra-constitutional changes of government in Pakistan.
Clinton's advisors *must* have told him that American support for an
unpopular government would fan the flames and increase the likelihood of
the fall of the PML. On July 4th, had Clinton secretly promised Sharif some
political security in exchange for his cooperation? Was it a bluff? Did
Sharif really think Clinton's support made him invincible? In fact, it made
him more of a target and a laughing stock in his own country. He was
unpopular with the progressives, the centrists, and the fundamentalists.

If rule of law and precedence are what make legal traditions, then an army
take over is part of the letter of the law in Pakistan. The people have
grown to accept that. Even school textbooks praise the generals who staged
earlier coups, explaining that they had no other choice but to take things
in hand when democratic means were not functioning properly.

General Zia-ul-Haq, who overthrew a democratic but unpopular regime in
1977, is eulogized in Pakistani social studies textbooks as someone who,
"took concrete steps in the direction of Islamization." Though Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto is generally criticized in the textbooks, General Zia escapes
criticism though he usurped the political process, initially promising to
reestablish democratic rule after ninety day and then refused for over
eleven years to return civilian rule to Pakistan. Textbooks in Pakistan,
such as -Pakistani Studies- by Dr. Md. Sarwar (Lahore: 1997) describe
periods of martial law and military intervention as inevitable, stimulated
by the rise of unIslamic forces and corrupt bureaucrats. As for example,
when Sarwar explains why General Ayub Khan took over the government, "The
political leadership did not come up to the expectations and lacked
commitment to Islamic objectives. [=8A ] Bureaucratic elite had Western
orientation with secular approach to all national issues. [=8A ] the result
was political instability and chaos paving the way for the intervention of
military and the imposition of Martial Law."

In the next paragraph, however, Ayub Khan is accused of imposing unIslamic
laws, especially family laws, and the author claims that it was Ayub's
secular outlook which ultimately brought about his decline. General Zia, on
the other hand, is usually portrayed positively in textbooks, for example,
"During the period under Zia's regime, social life developed a leaning
towards simplicity. Due respect and reverence to religious people was
accorded. The government patronized the religious institutions and
liberally donated funds."

-Pakistan Studies- textbooks are full of inherent contradictions. On one
page the book brags about the modern banking system in Pakistan, and on
another page complains that interest is unIslamic. There is also a certain
amount of self-loathing written into the -Pakistan Studies- textbooks,
where politicians are depicted as inept and corrupt and industrialists
described as pursuing "personal benefit even at the cost of national
interest."

Bouncing between conspiracy theories and threats from within, the textbooks
portray Pakistan as a victim of Western ideological hegemony, threatened by
the perpetual Machiavellian intentions of India's military and espionage
machine, together with the internal failure of its politicians to
effectively govern the country coupled with the fact that the economy is in
the hands of a totally corrupt class of elite business interests who have
only enriched themselves at the cost of the development of the nation. All
of these failures and conspiracies could, according to the rhetoric in the
textbooks, be countered by the application of more strictly Islamic
practices. Several well placed individuals told me that they would welcome
a Taliban type government in Pakistan so that the country could finally
achieve its birth right as a truly Islamic nation. Though this is certainly
not a majority opinion, there is a segment of society who thinks along this
line.

Perhaps the choice of this alternative Taliban vision for Pakistan is also
a result of those feelings of helplessness. Perhaps between the
conspiracies and corruption, people see no alternatives, the army would
seem the lesser of evils.

After two months in Pakistan, I returned to Dhaka where on July 31, I
presented a paper, "The Pakistani Historian and the Bangladesh War of
Liberation," sponsored by the Centre for Development Research, Bangladesh
(CDRB). Besides the official Pakistani version of the breakup the country
in 1971, the paper discussed the profound feelings of disillusionment and
resignation shared by many of the intellectuals, educators, social
activists, and government officials whom I had interviewed earlier that
summer.

My talk in Dhaka was part travelogue describing my trip to Pakistan and
partly a discussion of data collected from textbooks and interviews. I had
arrived in Pakistan in June amid the height of the Kargil crisis on the now
famous Delhi-Lahore diplomacy bus. The rhetorical and ideological distance
at the Wagh boarder crossing between India and Pakistan was like traveling
a million miles and one hundred and eighty degrees in less than fifty
meters. It was certainly an interesting time to be crossing that boarder.
While I was in Pakistan, I felt as if I were experiencing history in the
making. In my conversations with educators and historians it soon became
quite obvious that there was a collective feeling of disheartened
despondency among them. Friends whom I respect for their insightfulness,
honesty and sincere love of Pakistani culture reported to me that they are
depressed about their country, more depressed and disillusioned than they
had even been before. There was certainly a shared experience of
disappointment and dissatisfaction among the populace that had only
increased since the restoration of democracy in 1988.

This intellectual fatalism and depression about the state of affairs is not
something new, as can be seen in the book, -Breaking the Curfew, A
Political Journey Through Pakistan- published in 1989 by a British
journalist, Emma Duncan, where she wrote, "[M]any Pakistanis I talked to
seemed disappointed. It was not just the disappointment that they were not
as rich as they should be or that their children were finding it difficult
to get jobs; it was a wider sense of betrayal, of having been cheated on a
grant scale. [=8A .] More than anywhere I have been-much more than India-its
people worry about the state of their country. They wonder what went wrong;
they fear for the future. They condemn it; they pray for it. They are
involved in the nation's public life as passionately as in their small
private dilemmas. .."

In the ten years since this observation was written, the passion that the
people in Pakistan have for their country has not abated, but the shared
feelings of betrayal and disappointment have increased exponentially.
Almost all of the intellectuals with whom I spoke told me that they were
overwhelmed by feelings of failure and depression when they think of their
beloved nation. Many scholars at the university level expressed resentment
that research was discouraged and intellectuals were often seen as a threat
by the establishment. They complained that mediocrity was encouraged and
original research impeded. Surrounded by a completely corrupt system, which
they felt powerless to change, many of these caring and brilliant
individuals spoke about their hopelessness.

Intrigued by this shared expression of depression, I interviewed a
psychiatrist from the Civil Hospital in Karachi and asked him about this
phenomenon. He first pointed out that this national depression was a
tangible reality and could be quantified by the huge increase in the number
of suicides in Pakistan in the last few years. He said that there are 20 to
30 suicides per day in Pakistan which occur primarily among the youth
between the ages of fifteen and thirty, mostly upper-class urbanized
females and newly educated rural or newly urbanized lower middle class
males. Dr. Inayat explained that most of these suicides are the result of
"a loss of hope for the future." But he also pointed out that the "dramatic
rise in clinical depression" which he has observed even among citizens with
ample economic opportunities can be partly attributed to the fact that
"although democracy has been practiced now for over ten years, there has
been a decline in the development of civil society, a death of collective
vision, of enthusiasm to change the system from within, a certain
resignation."

During the time of General Zia-ul-Haq's Martial Law, the intellectuals and
socially conscious scholars, along with large segments of the common
people, had something to fight against, a mission and a purpose to rid
their country of authoritarian rule. Dr. Inayat pointed out that "this
struggle against the military government and the hope for democracy united
the people with a vision which kept them enthusiastic about the future
potential of their country." Once democracy was restored, "the level of
corruption certainly did not decrease, the practice of fomenting
regionalism which was practiced by General Zia increased, promises of a
better future rapidly died as the political parties fought a propaganda war
for their ascendancy instead working for the good of the country." The
often disenfranchised polity was once again dismayed and depressed by the
inability of their officials to focus on the needs and priorities of
Pakistan. Dr. Inayat added, "now that there is no military government to
rebel against, they can only blame themselves for the lack of leadership
and since they are powerless to create other alternatives, they are
disheartened.. depressed." I am eager to talk to Dr. Inayat again when I
return to Pakistan next month.

A few hours after the coup I called a friend in Islamabad who told me that
he and his wife had gone out for a drive on Wednesday afternoon "to see
what a coup d'etat looked like". He said there was "moderate traffic,
things seemed just slightly more calm than usual". They drove past PTV
surrounded by swarms of reporters from the BBC and CNN. There was a
pro-coup crowd chanting slogans around PTV, but as my friend Javed
commented, "It is easy to find a crowd in Pakistan to shout slogans." He
said that he and his wife felt they were "on a movie set watching the
enactment of an international drama. It was surreal, almost comic-a
non-event." Driving by the very opulent newly constructed neo-Mughal style
Prime Minister's office they laughed at the irony of the situation. "It's
business as usual in Pakistan," he said, "See you next month!"

Pakistan's new savior, General Pervez Musharraf issued a seven point
radical reform agenda on October 17 which was very well received, if
incredibly ambitious: (1) Rebuild national confidence and morale (2)
trengthen the federation by removing inter-provincial disharmony and
restore national cohesion (3) Revive the economy and restore investors'
confidence (4) Ensure law and order and dispense speedy justice (5)
Depoliticise state institutions (6) Devolve power to the grass roots level
(7) Hold across-the-board accountability.

=46ew in Pakistan are raising voices to protest the military intervention,
relieved to at least temporarily to have a choice between the devil and the
deep blue sea. Outspoken intellectuals and journalists such as Pervez
Hoodbhoy and Najam Sethi have given a tentative initial and very expectant
nod to Musharraf. They may be hedging their bets hoping to be allowed to
keep publishing or teaching in the coming transitional period; but why
start hedging bets and pandering now, after decades of standing up and
speaking out? Perhaps they are so fed up with the corruption of the
democratically elected leaders and cynical about the election process that
these progressive intellectuals and defenders of democracy have welcomed
extra-constitutional militaristic solutions. It is the same analysis that
has excused the army time and again for leaping into the political
maelstrom and seizing control of the state. Many Pakistani people have told
me that the army is the last place in Pakistan that is not corrupted. They
cry for the army to save them when the politicians are too overtly corrupt.
But who will save Pakistan from the Army?

Everyday the news from Pakistan generates more speculation. In an
environment where very few pronouncements are being made and decisions
about who will sit on the "National Think Tank" have been slow in coming,
there was considerable criticism about yesterday's announcement that
General Pervez Musharraf is leaving for a three day visit to Saudi Arabia
and UAE. This does not bode well with observers withholding judgement about
the new military leader, waiting with anticipation for some new
developments, assuming the new leadership is working to find
corruption-free officials to advise them. Many are critical of Musharraf's
decision to visit Saudi, just as official documents have disclosed that
about Rs/ 15 crore were spent from the tax-payers money for Nawaz Sharif's
six Umra trips. Does this mean more Umra at public expense once again in?!

Here is that amazing final paragraph excerpted from the article, "Treason
case against Nawaz" in the Oct. 22 -Friday Times:- "According to reports,
military investigators have searched the former prime minister's house in
Islamabad. 'The articles recovered from the bedroom of the prime minister
include medicines which are usually used by psychosomatic patients, video
films about Nazi leader Adolph Hitler, books on the life of Iraqi President
Saddam Hussain, Indian films and a harmonium', say sources. These reports
add that a 'large amount of aphrodisiacs was also recovered from [the]
bedroom[of] deposed Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif,' according to the
investigators."

As my friends there are wont to say, "God Bless Pakistan!"
Yvette Claire Rosser
Department of Curriculum and Instruction The University of Texas at Austin

____________________________________________
SOUTH ASIA CITIZENS WEB DISPATCH is an informal, independent &
non-profit citizens wire service run by South Asia Citizens Web
(http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since1996.