Update from Pakistan… please sign the petition

Good news from Pakistan — opposition parties pledged to restore civilian democracy won the elections for which we campaigned.¹ But outrageously, President Musharraf has hinted he may try to “get rid of” the new government if it challenges him.² After imposing martial law last year and dismissing the judiciary to lock in his power, his survival in the presidency now rests on backing from Western powers like the US and the UK, along with Pakistan’s army.

As the horse-trading begins, tensions are high — and Musharraf has not yet convened Parliament. The Pakistani people have cast an undeniable vote for change and they must not be betrayed. Let’s give them our own vote of global support with big advertisements in Pakistan’s The News, a respected broadsheet read by politicians, ambassadors and generals alike, calling on all parties- the US and the UK in particular- to support not undermine the people’s vote. We need to raise $10,632 for this — so click here to view and endorse the ad, then please give a donation if you can:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/pakistan_has_spoken/6.php

Already last year, over 83,000 of us called on the international community to condemn General Musharraf’s crackdown and press for constitutional rule and free and fair elections. Avaaz campaigners delivered that message privately to high-level contacts in the US Congress and the British government, key supporters of the General who have since begun to shift. The election and polls suggest that 75% of the population want President Musharraf to go³ — but the Bush administration and other elements are still propping him up.

This is a golden moment, in which Pakistan’s voters have overcome widespread vote-rigging to set a course for civilian democracy. Now opposition leaders face the challenge of reinstating the free media and independent judiciary, undoing martial laws, and building the institutions and legitimacy that are essential for any lasting security in Pakistan.

Pakistan needs the international community to pledge greater help for this democratic effort, not to bully and meddle. So let’s send a ringing global message to the leaders, generals and ambassadors now politicking in Islamabad, and make sure they don’t bungle the transition that citizens of Pakistan, and of the world, demand. View the ad and give it your support at this link:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/pakistan_has_spoken/6.php

noam chomsky: distorted morality

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4054523048548733881

we watched this chomsky lecture filmed at harvard last night. The man really does his research! Check it out

State of Pakistan

Dear friends,

Pakistan is on the brink: unpopular president General Pervez Musharraf has imposed a state of emergency, sacked the Supreme Court, shut down the media and basic freedoms, and imprisoned democratic opposition leaders. The general blames his actions on an imagined coalition of terrorists and independent-minded judges — but his real fear may be losing absolute power.Elections are planned for January 2008 — they must not be postponed. But martial law and the imprisonment of democratic opposition leaders don’t make for a free and fair vote either. So we’re calling on the international community — particularly the US Congress, which has voted Musharraf billions of dollars in military aid over the last six years — to use all its leverage for swift elections and restoring constitutional protections. Click below to sign our petition immediately, then tell your friends so they can do the same –http://www.avaaz.org/en/emergency_pakistanWe just received this email from Asma Jahangir, head of the Pakistani Human Rights Commission and the UN’s Special Rapporteur for freedom of religion worldwide. Now under house arrest in Lahore, she’s one of many Pakistanis urgently asking the world community to raise our voice:

There is a strong crackdown on the press and lawyers… The Chief Justice is under house arrest (unofficially). The President of the Supreme Court Bar (Aitzaz Ahsan) and 2 former presidents, Mr. Muneer Malik and Tariq Mahmood have been imprisoned for one month under the Preventive Detention laws…There are other scores political leaders who have also been arrested. Yesterday I was house arrested for 90 days… the President (who has lost his marbles) said that he had to clamp down on the press and the judiciary to curb terrorism. Those he has arrested are progressive, secular minded people, while the terrorists are offered negotiations and ceasefires.Lawyers and civil society will challenge the government and the scene is likely to get uglier. We want friends of Pakistan to urge the US administration to stop all support of the instable dictator, as his lust for power is bringing the country close to a worse form of civil strife… –Asma JahangirLahore, Pakistan

General Musharraf claims that martial law is necessary to combat extremist terror. But it just doesn’t add up. Musharraf retains strong links with the Pakistani Taliban (see PS below). His emergency powers are being directed only against the democratic opposition, free press and judiciary – just days before a scheduled ruling on whether Musharraf could run for president while remaining army chief. In an August poll, too, Pakistanis rated “ensuring an independent judiciary, free press and free elections” as their top priority.Right now, leaders around the world are deciding how to respond. The General is dressing up his crackdown in the rhetoric of “anti-terrorism” because Musharraf and his military supporters depend on foreign military aid and international recognition to maintain their legitimacy. That’s why we have to speak out now.The world can’t ignore the threat of chaos in Pakistan, or the voices of our fellow democrats there. Let’s come together as we did on Burma, and move our governments to act. In these crucial early days, the voice of the world’s people has tremendous power. Let’s use it. Sign the petition and tell your friends today -http://www.avaaz.org/en/emergency_pakistan