Zimbabwe heads to Kangaroo district!

We all have been aware of the shenanigans of Mugabe and his coterie, manipulating the law of the land to suit their own ends. With the inflation reaching the stratosphere of common sense, the country and the common man suffered for long under Mugabe. With the current elections, they had decided more or less, to show Mugabe the door and that would have happened had the election commission released the results.
But with the court refusing to get into the mess and ordering the commission to release the results, it seems that Mugabe may just well manipulate the results and try to continue as the head of the government pushing Zimbabwe further into decline. It is high time that Mugabe realised that he cannot do what ever he wants to do and expect everyone else to stick it up. The whole world is watching the Zimbabwe crisis unfold with dismay and Mugabe should realise that they would be only too happy to step into the fray. One of the most common reasons for declaring a war these days is to enforce democracy. Some of the Zimbabweans may be with Mugabe but most of them are not and this may well be the premise for any nation to attack Mugabe and install the popular leader as the head of the government!

The United Nations threatens action over Darfur attacks!

The situation in Darfur is going from bad to worse these days just when we all thought that it cannot get any more worse than it already has. Now the Sudanese troops have taken to taking potshots at the U.N peacekeepers posted there to maintain peace and order.
It is one thing for the Sudan to feign ignorance over the attacks on the innocent civilians but totally another to say that they do not even know that the peacekeepers were attacked. It is one blatant lie that will not pass muster of any kind and it is high time that the Security council declared war on Sudan. Enough is enough, the whole world knows that the Sudanese government and the troops and the militias have one thing in their minds and that is none other than the total extermination of the refugees in Sudan. The Security council should take strong action regarding Darfur and halt the genocide that seems to be taking place in spite of the peace keepers that are posted there!

'Emergency is for your own good', says Musharraf!

At first there is the denial, then acceptance and then there is the outright demand for a crown... at least the Musharraf and the Pakistani saga seems to be fast heading in that direction. We have our ever loved dictator who of late seems to have taken 'general Zia' lessons and for those of you who can recall the past, Zia took command over the entire country with the same words, it is all for the good and benefit of Pakistan. The same thing here but those words will just no longer sail. The sad truth is that India and some of the other like minded countries with their respective think- tanks had already informed the west that all trends show that Musharraf will follow in Zia's footsteps and asked the west to take action to see that it does not happen.

But the west ignored India and ASEAN's warning and now it is too late. Even a school kid can tell you that Musharraf is playing the Americans for all they are worth and they just cannot bring themselves to the reality that Musharraf has indeed become a dictator at last. With the last vestiges of democracy stripped away from Pakistan with the dissolution of the Pakistani assembly on the 15th of November, the general has indeed stretched his hand all over the Pakistani plains. With Bhutto fast becoming the face of the opposition, will the Americans step in to make sense of the whole picture? Will they be able to rein in the rogue general who has made a dish out of the constitution of Pakistan? The common opinion is that even they cannot do much right now.

But Musharraf as much as he may like to think that he has absolute authority must realise by now that the people of Pakistan as well as the rest of the world will not be patient with him for long. The emergency has to go but Musharraf is biding his time to make sure that who ever comes to office does not prosecute him or hold him guilty for this emergency, in short Musharraf would preferably want a carte blanche'.
The Musharraf reign seems to get more bizarre by the day, he bought 2 television channels on air only to take two other ones off air, and he also managed to make the United kingdom government shut down Geo tv as well. Now we have this interview with the BBC which Musharraf gave on Saturday, in which he had indicated that he will probably have a very large say in who will get elected in the so called elections, that his emergency will in all probability get extended far beyond the elections, that he has nuclear weapons and may resort to nuclear blackmail should the need arise and last but not least, he knows what is good for everyone so they should stop objecting to his reign!
Need I say more?

Tags:Pakistan,Musharraf,India,Bhutto,election,emergency,

Bhutto versus Musharraf!

These days one does not need to go to a movie to get entertained, all he or she has to do is to see the daily soap on Pakistan, with things seesawing drastically from one end to the other, no one quite knows which end is up anymore. The differences between Bhutto and Musharraf is fast escalating into a war of words, but all said and done they both realise that they may still need each other, one to come into power and the other to retain absolute authority.
With Benazir becoming increasingly belligerent towards Musharraf, being the astute political leader that she is, is looking to push Musharraf towards the oblivion. Whether this would happen is any body's guess. But the Americans are getting increasingly anxious about Musharraf and the Nuclear weapons that Pakistan has, but of course they would rather eat a real crow than admit that much in public. As for the options that are facing the Americans and the rest of the world regarding Musharraf, there are not that many. It seems that Benazir Bhutto is fast becoming the most viable option for the Americans and the rest of the world. And to add to all this, the last vestiges of democracy were stripped away from Pakistan just an hour ago as the Parliament was dissolved! Goodbye democracy, hello general Zia, sorry I meant general Musharraf, but it really does not matter what you call them but they are all the same - Zia and Musharraf!

Technorati tags:Musharraf,Benazir Bhutto,Pakistan,United states,Democracy,

The President cracks the whip and Pakistan jumps the hoop!

The man behind the current turmoil in Pakistan is none other than the General A.K.A president Musharraf. He has not only promulgated an ordinance suspending the very constitution of Pakistan but he has also effectively gagged the rights of every single Individual there. The fourth estate is gagged and can only report according to Musharraf's views. In short, what he says goes, and if you are found to be breaking the law by just being yourself, even god cannot help you at the moment. Most of the top opposition leaders have all been arrested and placed under house arrest, thereby curtailing all of their movements ion and around Pakistan.

The Human rights commission of Pakistan stands suspended and most of its top members placed under arrest. The explanation that Musharraf gave the nation yesterday is really laughable. If he was so into protecting the stability of Pakistan, then why did he wait until now to do what he has done? The only logical explanation being that Musharraf wanted to hold on to the reins of power by any means possible.
It is at times like these that all political parties from the length and breadth of Pakistan unite together and fight literally for their freedom. After all, their ancestors did fight the British occupation of India[then both Indian and Pakistan], so if they could do it, there is no reason why the current politicians cannot fight Musharraf.

It is disgusting to see the way the the United states is pandering to the whims of their darling child, Musharraf, all because they consider him to be an important allay in their fight against terror. But I do not think that I have to remind anyone that this 'fight against terror' is all America's fight and there is no reason why democracy in Pakistan should be sacrificed just because Musharraf is helping the Americans out some of the time. Should not the ultimate goal be democracy and not just this 'war on terror' which by the way is not even our war to start with. Will democracy rise in Pakistan ever again?

Musharraf pips the Supreme court and declares Emergency!

Musharraf has gone the way that previous army generals have gone before him, that is the way of the Emergency and the imposition of the Martial law. It is sad to see democracy being given such short shrift in Pakistan and although this news is shocking in its very nature, it certainly comes as no surprise to any of us in the sense that we all expected this rouge general to do this quite a while back.
All the fundamental rights of all Pakistani citizens are hereby suspended, what is more the very constitution of Pakistan is hereby suspended by a new Provisional Constitutional Order, one which cannot be legally challenged in a court of law.

What started off Musharraf on this road to the emergency was the removal of the Supreme court chief justice Iftekhar Chaudhry and this started off Musharraf on a collision course with the judiciary. Soon the rest of Pakistan joined in to protest the rule of the general Musharraf. Under enormous pressure, Musharraf had reinstated Iftekhar Chaudhry as the chief justice of Pakistan but it seems that the plans to remove him were already in motion. The Supreme court of Pakistan was to announce its verdict on the 14th of November regarding the validity of the recently held presidential elections which Musharraf won by a huge margin. Had Musharraf waited until the 14th of November, his reelection may well have been declared invalid. So as to prevent that from happening and to remain in power, Musharraf pipped the judiciary in declaring this emergency.

The reasons put forth by Musharraf in declaring this emergency are manifold but one of the chief reasons was the recent surge in militancy and the attack on Ms. Bhutto's life. Of course, there are many who think that the attack was self contrived by the general and that it was all too convenient for him to get rid off his chief political rival. All said and done, Bhutto had emerged as the strongest political contender and had the bomb attack worked and Bhutto had died, then Musharraf would have got ridden off his main rival. Since he could not do much to Nawaz sheriff due to the Saudi royal family connection, he decided to deal with Bhutto and we all know how that attack went. Bhutto must have gotten an inkling of things to happen in Pakistan which is why she flew to Dubai under the pretext of seeing her children but the latest reports suggest that Benazir Bhutto is on her way back and is due to arrive in Karachi even as I write this post.

All fundamental rights are all suspended and there are to be no meetings of any kind and the army has moved into all corners of Pakistan with orders to fire at will. This is not the kind of behaviour that one expected from one of America's closet allies in the war on terror. Recently Condi rice had said that the current administration is totally against any imposition of any emergency or any martial law but it seems that is what is taking place in Pakistan as we speak.More to the fact, right now there is a high level meeting going on in the American embassy in Islamabad between the American officials to chalk out their position on the current emergency. Meanwhile, the army entered the Supreme court of Pakistan and told Iftekhar Chaudhry, that his services as the chief justice of the Supreme court of Pakistan is no longer required. This has all the hallmarks of being just a preview before the actual 'martial law' is imposed on Pakistan. At the moment, in Pakistan, all phone calls and mobile signals are halted as well as the airing of independent television channels. It is sad to see this happen to a neighbouring country and one that India values a great deal. What is puzzling me a little bit is both India and Pakistan have a common heritage and a similar constitution that upholds democratic values. Yet, in Pakistan, time and time again, the democratic values have been suspended and the army has taken the reins of power from an elected government. This has happened so many times that it seems that this imposition of the emergency since the time of General Zia ul haq has become an all to familiar story in Pakistan. It seems that even the coffee wallah no longer looks surprised as the army imposes emergency on his home nation and it has all the appearances of 'Business as usual'!

Tags:emergency,pakistan,Musharraf,United states,India,democracy,Benazir bhutto,Nawaz sherrif,

Myanmar security forces kills opposition dissident!

Things are not exactly cool in Myanmar right now especially as the people have got the news that one of the opposition dissidents seems to have been killed by the security forces during interrogation.this only bodes ill for the peace loving people of Myanmar.we have seen how the security people have attacked the unarmed Buddhist monks recently and this killing is only a manifestation of that.most of the World has rightly condemned what is going on in Myanmar right now.but the opinions of the Asian giants,the ones that really matter in Myanmar and the rest of east Asia,the opinions of both Indian and China has been rather muted.
What is more,both countries have been talking to each other and it seems that both the Asian giants as well as Russia will not only not back any moves to sanction Myanmar but will finalise their own policy as far as Myanmar goes.it is in this light that the soon to be held trilateral conference between India,China and Russia should be seen.all the three view Myanmar as their own neighbourhood and the west should well be aware that any move to recreate an Iraq like move will not just be countered with words but with military might of all of the three nations.by the way this is the second such trilateral conference between the three nations.it is not that all the three want the Military Junta to rule Myanmar,it is just that they want a peaceful resolution of matters and a stable handover of power to a democratically elected ruler.the end game is still on!

democracy,myanmar,india,china,russia,

Benazir to return to pakistan soon!

Having managed to get one of the former prime ministers exiled again,Musharraf now has to deal with another ex-prime minister of Pakistan,the ever so crafty Benazir bhutto.
Bhutto may prove to be an even more tough challenge for Musharraf.going by the current Internet poll in Pakistan,pretty much every one in Pakistan is more popular than the general himself.naturally no one likes a dictator and it is high time that this general got the message and relinquished power.but like all dictatorships,that is easier said than done.
With the Supreme court,the press,the lawyers and now Bhutto on one side,things are getting sticky for the general.the bugle for his retreat has been sounded and as to whether he hears it or not,that remains to be seen.'absolute power corrupts absolutely' and one only has to look at the reasons that this general gave out for usurping power.he had mentioned that he was doing it to protect democracy in Pakistan.we all know how that went.now democracy has gone to sleep and dictatorship is reigning supreme in Pakistan.but for how long,that is the question every one wants an answer to.but by my guess,not for long!

Why is Saudi Arabia helping out Musharraf??

To see Saudi Arabia helping out Musharraf by offering to take the exiled ex prime minister Nawaz shariff again only makes on think.what does Saudi Arabia have to gain out of all this?not much by any standards.they why,is the question on everyone's lips.i think that the United States wanted Musharraf to be there at the helm of things in Pakistan so that they could have better control over the matters there.whereas with Nawaz shariff and Bhutto,american control would cease.after all the United States is in the midst of its 'war on terror' and they obviously feel that Musharraf would be of better use to them than either of the ex prime ministers.with things shaping the way it has,it is not entirely unbelievable to surmise that Saudi Arabia is offering to take back Nawaz shariff only under american pressure.this way,the americans probably feel that they have taken Shariff out of the equation.but they should know that Pakistani's have always hated any dictator and this one is turning out to be just like one.sooner or later the people of Pakistan will speak in a single voice and that time is coming near.

George Bush to talk about the new Iraq Vision??

What a vision it has been for the rest of the world.this war was wrong to start off with.anyway now that Iraq is in the midst of the 'war on terror',with civilians and soldiers dying there day by day,is it any surprise to any of us that George Bush has a new vision on Iraq now?
But truth be told,there has to be some changes made to the current Iraq policy as it is now.especially with more deaths being reported from there day by day.and the U.S soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners certainly did not help matters any way whatsoever.so what can the new policy be all about?well,for one,total withdrawal out of the question as that would only result in Iraq getting into a civil war or worse into another 10 year war with Iran.but what the U.S can do now is to do some damage control and bring the United Nations into the picture and make the force that is currently based in Iraq more multinational and at the same time try to see what the Iraqi's really want.bottom line,every Iraqi man and woman,want peace and democracy but that should certainly not come at the price of terror!

iraq,iran,war,peace,george bush,

Musharraf ready to call quits from the army??

Well,even stranger things happen in real life than they do in 'reel' life.the deal between Benazir Bhutto and the wily general of Pakistan,Perez Musharraf have reached a deal of sorts.according to the deal,Bhutto will return to Pakistan soon and contest in the october elections.and before the election,Perez Musharraf will quit the army and Bhutto will support his election.so a deal of sorts has been reached in Pakistan.but will this be enough to control the turmoil,especially in the NWF provinces?maybe,maybe not.but all eyes are on Nawaz shariff who plans to return to Pakistan soon.the situation is in a flux right now and it still is not clear who is going to win the coming elections as it is not even clear who is going to be eligible to stand for these elections.

Sierra Leone-Test of fire!

Sierra Leone is heading for the polls today which will see if the conflict ravaged country can pick up the pieces and hold a democratic election.this country more than any other country has seen so many conflicts that if one were to talk about wars and Sierra Leone,one would have to ask 'which war'.most of these conflicts have been caused by the diamonds.the diamonds from Sierra Leone are known as 'blood diamonds' for a very good reason and they are banned from being sold world over.
Now that the U.N has taken charge,one can only hope that this will see the end of the conflicts and that the flag of democracy and reign of peace and prosperity will truly reign in Sierra Leone.it is sad that a country had to suffer so much in so little time but when you are at the bottom there is only one way to go and that's up all the way.Seven candidates are vying for the nation's top post, with 69-year-old Vice President Solomon Berewa the main front-runner. President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, 75, cannot run again because of term limits.
It is nice to see democracy work and to see all of them equally participating.good luck,Sierra Leone,you deserve it and we all wish you and all your citizens well!

sierra leone,war,united nations,diamond,

Thank god Nixon did not win!

Even today most of the Bangladeshi's are happy that the U.S did not get its way especially during the India-Pakistan war of 1971 which gave independence to Bangladesh from the Pakistani rulers.as foreign policies go by,1971 saw most of the well formed foreign policy plans of Nixon and Henry Kissinger go into the dumps.the Bangladeshi's were suffering under the control of their Pakistani rulers and there were protesting for their independence from their Pakistani rulers.East pakistan as Bangladesh was known then was biting at the reins and things were going from bad to worse with the Pakistani army taking affirmative action against the rebels.
India,being aware of all this wanted a dialogue to be started between the various parties with the hope that peace would prevail.but that proposal did not even get off the ground.in the meanwhile Pakistan which was allied with China was taking serious action against the rebels in East Pakistan,driving the rebels into the Indian territories.Indira[India's prime minister] seeing that India was becoming overcome by the wave of refugees decided to meet with Nixon prior to which she and India had signed an all weather friendship pact with Soviet union.the all too infamous meeting between Indira gandhi,Henry kissinger and Nixon took place in late 1971.the U.S and nixon in particular wanted India to back off East Pakistan so that no war interferes with the U.S plans vis a vis China.but that did not happen.the U.S and Nixon in particular undrestimated Indira gandhi's resolve and the rest is history.Bangladesh got her independence and both India and the Soviet Union can truly be credited for helping her achieve this.all that the U.S did at that time was to vehemently object to the idea of a free Bangladesh,also the U.S asked China to attack India and at the same time the U.S had also sent in one of her warships into the bay of bengal thinking that would be a deterrent to the creation of Bangladesh.of course as history would tel you,the U.S failed miserably in its foreign policy at that time because in one dumb decision by a paranoid president[Nixon] and an arrogant adviser[Kissinger] the U.S managed to rub off India the wrong way,the consequences of that decision still resonates ever so loudly in the sub continent.of course the parameters as well as the players have changed and probably the new generation may not remember much but India and Bangladesh both have a long memory and they are not going to forget what the U.S tried to do in 1971,sacrificing democracy so that the U.S foreign policy vis a vis China would be on track!the recently declassified documents sheds light especially on the Nixon-Indira meetings.

india,united states,pakistan,1971,war,nixon,bangladesh,