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Opinion Across The Fence Bhutto fought, died for democracy I was saddened last Thursday morning when I woke to immediately learn that Benazir Bhutto had been assassinated.
The news came as a shock, but no huge surprise; the Pakistan opposition leader's life had been threatened before. Indeed, the legacy she inherited and the one she leaves behind are both bathed in blood and shrouded in violence. Her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, sent her to study politics and government at Harvard and then Oxford. He founded the populist Pakistan People's Party, became president and later prime minister before a military coup in 1977 removed him from power. A year later he was convicted of engineering the murder of a political opponent and in 1979 was executed by the government of Gen. Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq. Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in 1986, after a two-year self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom, determined to carry on her father's work. However, it wasn't until Zia's death in a mysterious plane crash in 1988 that the door opened for her to galvanize support. The charismatic, western-educated, former leader of the prestigious debating society known as the Oxford Union used all of her skills to lead her party to victory. First woman to lead a Muslim nation She became the first woman to lead a modern Muslim nation. The achievement cannot be denied, nor can her dedication to democratic principles and her love of Pakistan and its people. But her time in office was not unblemished. Her first administration was dismissed less than two years after it began, marred by allegations of corruption and continuing conflict with Pakistan's powerful military leadership. She was re-elected in 1993, but again blood, betrayals and corruption took their toll. Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, was charged with her brother's murder after Murtaza Bhutto died in a shootout with police. The charges against Zardari were eventually dismissed, but not before he spent eight years behind bars. Benazir Bhutto accused President Farooq Leghari of involvement in Murtaza's death, and he dismissed her second government under another cloud of accusations that she had misused her office. In 1999 she left Pakistan before a court convicted her of corruption and banned her from politics. The verdict eventually was quashed, but she stayed away until current Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf granted her amnesty. Was Musharraf involved in her murder? Musharraf's role in Bhutto's death is certain to be a question on the minds of Bhutto's supporters in Pakistan, and among others around the world. Although he's had the support of western leaders, Musharraf's motives and actions fail to indicate his commitment to democracy in his country. He gained power in a coup d'etat that ousted Nawaz Sharif, the elected prime minister, in 1999. He appointed himself president in 2001. When his re-election was challenged on constitutional grounds last year, he responded by suspending the constitution, jailing several justices and lawyers of the nation's Supreme Court, arresting political dissidents and human rights activists, and shutting down all private television channels. He has voiced his determination to stay in office for another five years. Just hours before Bhutto's death, Musharraf's backers clashed with supporters of Sharif, who had also returned from exile to participate in the national elections scheduled for Jan. 8. Leaders of nations around the world, including the United States, voice concern about stability in Pakistan and the surrounding region. There certainly is worry about Pakistan's possession and ability to use nuclear weapons. President George W. Bush has curried favor with Musharraf, relying on his leadership not only to maintain some semblance of order in the region, but also as an ally in the battle against the Taliban and the current U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. What price are we willing to pay? But what price are we willing to pay for the support of a leader who is more concerned about retaining power than advancing the true concerns of democracy among his own people? After a failed assassination attempt upon her return to Pakistan in October killed more than 100 people, Bhutto responded by throwing herself more fervently into campaigning for the upcoming elections. Now, the boiling pot of grief and misery may spill over to such a degree that those elections are postponed. Will they be canceled? Bhutto's brutal demise is not only a cause for mourning in her homeland, but also around the globe. It is also a reason for each one of us to look at the direction in which our country is moving and to fully evaluate its course. Our own elections are approaching, and the case for change can easily be made. But without our involvement and active participation, democratic principles in America may also be in grave danger. Benazir Bhutto may not have been perfect, but her dedication to the poor and middle-class people of Pakistan was clear. She was willing to speak out, to fight — and to die — in the effort to re-establish democratic principles in Pakistan. What price are you willing to pay to ensure the continuation of our democratic government? Kathie Greer is a freelance writer, columnist and consultant. Contact her at 331-5066 or kathie@amarilloindy.com. Your letters, comments, questions or responses are welcome. E-mail
comments about this story Posted: January 3, 2008
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