Bhutto’s eulogy, in her own words
I’ve been a bit at a loss for something worthwhile to say about Benazir Bhutto’s assassination yesterday. I’ve long been worried about the future of Pakistan and its position in global politics, which is perplexing and complex. The only comment I had upon hearing the news was a short expletive that means nothing and says everything.
So perhaps her own words are the most fitting tribute:
The sanctity of the political process must not be allowed to be destroyed by the terrorists. Democracy and moderation must be restored to Pakistan, and the way to do that is through free and fair elections establishing a legitimate government with a popular mandate–leaders supported by the people. Intimidation by murdering cowards will not be allowed to derail Pakistan’s transition to democracy.
Far less encouraging is what she told the Wall Street Journal on a previous occasion: “The military regime needs the threat of al Qaeda and the militants to justify military rule, to justify the derailment of democracy … and also because it brings the money in. You see, if there is no threat, there is no money.”
If this is true — and there’s reason to believe it is — then Pakistan has not only lost a beloved political leader and agent for peaceful change, but also a real opportunity at ridding itself of the violence and destabilisation that Islamists and their terrorist cohorts inflict upon ordinary Pakistanis. Not to mention the nuclear threat they could pose, if they succeed. In its political analysis, the Journal calls Bhutto the Islamists’ biggest scalp since Anwar Sadat in 1981.
Don’t get me wrong. Benazir Bhutto was no saint. But one does not have to approve of a politician, or agree with all their politics and all their past actions, to mourn their loss to democracy. South Africans remember Chris Hani and the real fears of civil war and reprisal that followed his murder. Hani was no saint, but like Bhutto, he was a powerful force for peace and democratic change. My reaction to hearing of his death was, verbatim, the same as my reaction to Bhutto’s murder. At the risk of extending the comparison too far, I’d wager Americans remember JFK or MLK with similar sentiments.
Political assassinations are extremely painful, disturbing and unjust, no matter who the target is and what they stand for. I truly hope Pakistan will find peace and freedom through the crucible of their pain and grief.
Good article at the National Review: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTExNmE0MzY3YjBlYWEwZDkzOThkMWJiM2JmZGQ2NDE
Unfortunately a democratized and peaceful Pakistan would also be a Pakistan most susceptible to an Islamist take-over through legitimate means. I think it’s no secret that the bulk of the population, in their hearts, are Islamists before anything else and the prospect of a nuclear-armed Jihadist regime is an apocalyptic image.
That’s a depressing analysis of harsh realities, but I’m not sure I buy all of it. I do agree that the free world will probably have to kill, in literal terms, the Islamofascists. Especially if they get anywhere near nuclear weapons, as they threaten to do in Pakistan.
I also agree that it is fair and reasonable to hold a nation’s citizens accountable for the politicians they elect. When Palestinians elected Hamas, they became collectively responsible for the actions of Hamas.
However, those people deserve a chance to express that choice before being held responsible.
Even if a poll by a foreign media organisation in Pakistan could be considered reliable and representative, on which I’m not prepared to rely, Bhutto’s own popularity was even higher than the mere plurality claimed by the National Review article for Osama Bin Laden. Moreover, as she explicitly stated: “[Radicals and militants] are not enough to tilt an election. But they are enough to unleash against the population, to rig an election, to kidnap police, to kill the army, and therefore to make it possible to take over the state.”
So I’m not prepared to accept the validity of Andrew McCarthy’s position without either having seen the Islamofascists overthrow (or co-opt) the existing state, or win a democratic election. And only if the latter happens, will the Pakistani people — like the Palestinians in Gaza — be unable to claim a moral right to be spared the consequences.
Benazir Bhutto had degrees from Harvard and Oxford. She spoke fluent and unaccented English. Her looks were patrician and she came out as a liberal humanist in a rabidly anti-feminist Pakistan. In other words, Mrs. Bhutto was the only real challenge and alternative to both President Musharraf and the fundamentalist Right Wing. She may have won the upcoming elections in Pakistan. It’s very sad that she had been killed by some cruel deveil. She has left a spce which would not be filled by anyone. She was a legend.