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| December 26, 2007 | Wednesday | Zilhaj 15, 1428 |
Nepal’s road to democracy
Quiet, please
OTHER VOICES - European Press
IT is not for the first time that President Pervez Musharraf has emphasised the need for Pakistan to have continuity in policies and also a vision. His article in China Daily contains views which he has previously aired and which have often given the impression that he links continuity to his own stay in power. However, a ‘vision’, with due respect to the president, is a rather odd, if not misplaced, concept in the Pakistani context. A vision is more suited to people struggling for freedom, or to nascent and newly liberated nations needing an ideal to consolidate their independence and start the process of reconstruction. We have the examples of quite a few Afro-Asian leaders who rid their countries of colonialism and gave their people a vision to inspire them to higher economic and cultural achievements so as to bring their countries on a par with the developed world. Pakistan has long passed that stage. Iqbal gave us the vision of a separate Muslim homeland, and Jinnah turned it into a reality. Today the country is 60 years old, and we know the utter mess created by ‘saviours’ who gave us their version of a vision. That vision might have inspired a few well-meaning people here and there, but the masses on the whole remained utterly indifferent to them because poverty, hunger and illiteracy had rendered them incapable of understanding the vision, much less responding to it.
That Pakistan, like any other country, needs continuity in policies goes without saying. However, continuity also risks stagnation, and a change — even a sudden one — can sometimes be beneficial. We know now how this government made a U-turn in its policy towards the Taliban in the wake of 9/11 and how it agreed to become part of the US-led war on terror, without letting itself be constrained by the need for continuity. But certain aspects of the way the war on terror has been conducted have become controversial over the years and the policy towards the militants in Fata and Swat lacks a national consensus. Not only the clerics but even the liberal sections of society have serious reservations about certain aspects of the government’s policy, more so because it has failed to produce results. The situation would have been far better if the regime’s policies had the nation’s consensus behind it. In other words, a continuation of policies by regimes lacking a mandate from the people can prove counterproductive and stand in danger of being repudiated when there is a regime change.
More than a vision, Pakistan needs a leadership that can instil confidence in the people regarding their leaders’ honesty and sincerity of purpose, and inspire them to work hard to achieve comprehensible, well-defined and practical goals which are in the larger good of all sections of the people of Pakistan. The president is right when he says that “self-serving politicians” should not be allowed to disrupt the consensus on the war on terror. But regrettably no consensus was sought to be developed by the regime. The continuity the president has in mind is possible only if a genuine and honest democratic process is allowed to run its course.
THE days of the Nepalese monarchy appear to be numbered. In a world where hereditary rulers are now regarded as a rarity — if they exist as a legacy of the past they exercise real powers in only a few states — King Gyanendra has become something of an anomaly. Besides, his political activism was bound to annoy his subjects. In Feb 2005, he fired the prime minister and seized total control until he was forced to climb down 14 months later when political parties joined by the Maoist rebels launched massive protests. Now even his nominal presence is under attack. Given the king’s performance in the last few years and the transition to democracy that is being attempted by the ruling coalition, radical measures can be expected. After all, the monarchy does not enjoy the confidence of many political leaders, including Nepal’s largest party the Nepali Congress. As for the Maoists, their antagonism towards the king is not only ideological, it is also historical. For a decade, the Maoist rebels spearheaded an insurgency in the Nepalese countryside that destabilised the Himalayan kingdom and earned them the king’s ire. Their decision to enter mainstream politics in Nov 2006 after a landmark peace agreement with the government gave rise to the hope that a transition would be effected smoothly.
But that has not happened because the political parties have set their sights on the future set-up with each trying to consolidate its political prospects. This was apparent from the course politics has taken in Kathmandu even at a time when the monarchy was sidelined. The elections which will lead to a constituent assembly have been postponed thrice and in September the Maoists stormed out of the government accusing the other parties of denying them equal participation in the peace process that has been hit by a resurgence of violence in the country. It is against this backdrop that Sunday’s accord by the ultra-leftists to rejoin the interim government must be seen. It stipulates that the country will be declared a republic after the elections usher in a new assembly. The polls now scheduled for April 2008 will be held under a partly reformed electoral system and should, if all goes well, pave the way for a democratic system acceptable to all sections of Nepalese society.
PESHAWAR, an area that was once hailed as the region’s seat of much valour, culture and colour, has virtually become an arid wasteland of suppression. The spanking new feather in its sanctimonious cap comes in the form of yet another gag on its women. In the forthcoming polls, the city and its adjoining areas are gearing up for partial democracy, as close to half of its population, that is women, are expected to stay away from polling stations. Contrary to the lead-up to elections in the past, when NGOs arranged and conducted regular training programmes to encourage and guide women to cast their votes, this year has seen no NGO presence in the area. The explanation is simple; such an oppressive environment and rising violence can hardly be conducive to maximum participation.
Today, all attempts to educate the ‘second sex’ about its constitutional rights and to provide it with an independent voice have come to a grinding halt. Indeed, the tool to keep these forces of emancipation at bay is fear, and the ‘pious’ wield it well. Their indoctrination of terror began with incidents such as bonfires of music cassettes and videos, which included footage of cricket matches with glimpses of girls without veils. Then, they moved on to set CD shops ablaze, close cinema houses and co-education schools, issuing open warnings to parents to remove their children from NGO-run institutions. Meanwhile, billboards with disfigured female faces dotted the city as constant reminders of looming doom. However, NGO representatives see their expulsion as a way of the fanatics to retain communal control. Women exercising choice through the ballot is seen as a direct threat to authority, and can lead to defiance. But the NGOs cannot be blamed for staying away. It is up to the Election Commission to ensure that there is ample participation by women in the area, to make their disenfranchisement the responsibility of the EC and to declare their mass absence as an irregularity.
There is little ground for such gloom
PEOPLE appear to be very pessimistic about the economy’s prospects in 2008. The latest Eurobarometre survey found that only 11 per cent of Cypriots believed the economy would be in better shape next year, while the majority (55 per cent) thought things would take a turn for the worse…. Of the 27 EU members, only the Hungarians were more pessimistic than Cypriots …Is this gloominess justified considering we have had such a good year? The economy has recorded a growth rate in excess of 4 per cent, there is an unprecedented construction boom, the unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the EU, and banks are offering easy credit….So why is the majority of the population pessimistic? We can only guess that Cypriots who are conservative people are apprehensive about the adoption of the euro. All the hysteria … about the profiteering that would allegedly take place when Cyprus converts to the euro on January 1 has frightened people….
These fears may appear to have been reinforced when it was announced that bread prices would rise by 28 per cent … but the rise is caused by the increase in the world price of grain…. In a way, people’s fears are understandable considering that the media and the politicians have focused exclusively on the possible negative consequences…. Nobody has mentioned the positives of adopting the euro, such as a stable currency, the elimination of currency conversion costs and lower interest rates….
The pessimism, to a large degree, has been cultivated by politicians … and the media, which constantly peddle stories about rising prices…. The Eurobarometre found that the majority of Cypriots (43 per cent) believed employment prospects would worsen in 2008. How could this happen in a country which employs tens of thousands of foreign workers and still has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the EU? … — (Dec 23)
True meaning of Christmas
THE event we commemorate on Christmas Day, the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, marks a turning point in the history of humanity…. Christianisation, on the one hand, and dechristianisation, on the other, seem to be entwined together in an unending dialectical struggle….
Christianisation has been going on for the last two millenniums. It was a slow and painful enterprise carried on mainly by the Church’s missionary activity but its fruits are visible and plentiful.
With the cooperation of the Catholic laity, this movement has enhanced almost every aspect of human life including the family, education, culture and the social order…. dechristianisation stuck to the heels of these achievements … a grim reality that has been evolving since the Enlightenment in several areas of Europe and the US….
One cannot fail to see in this profound change of mentality, the intensifying duel between the powers of light and the powers of darkness. This had been foreseen and foretold by the Evangelist, who had written, referring to Christ, “in him was life and the life was the light of men; and the light shineth in darkness and the darkness did not comprehend.” …
In today’s world, no one may stay aloof or remain neutral; everyone has to take sides, for or against light, for or against life.
Light and life is what Baby Jesus is offering to human beings…. Christmas-tide is perhaps the best time of the year to clear up one’s thoughts and intentions, so as to see exactly where one stands.
It would be a pity to squander this golden opportunity of letting this light shine in one’s heart, in families, and in society as a whole.
The light of Christ, after all, is strong enough to drive away all one’s evil ways and illusions. —(Dec 24)