The assassination of Benazir Bhutto surprised me, although I can't think why that would be the case. The terrorists dominating the Northwest Province in Pakistan have been promising to kill her for a long time.
What al Qaida may have done, instead of eliminating a political enemy, is to create an invincible foe. A dead person can't say something stupid. A dead person can't make political miscalculations. A dead person can't get caught stealing or cheating. Benazir Bhutto has become a flawless symbol of the desire for democracy.
What Pakistan is looking at now is the unifying effect of Bhutto's assassination on the entire country. Knowing this, the purpose of postponing elections would be the hope that time would erode some of this effect. Let's hope they don't. It would be better to forge a new government when some unity can be fashioned out of this terrible event.
5 comments:
Remember how Bush had the nation pretty much united behind him, and how he totally fucked that up? Lets hope that whoever gets elected in Pakistan is not as dumb.
Happy New Year!
This is such a classic case of where being assinated completely whitewashes what a horrible candidate/person you were. All I could think is that this would matyr an awful person.
OK, she might have had some issues with corruption, but why was she so terrible?
And another thing, do you notice all these photos of Bhutto all over the news sites? She strikes a meaningful pose in most of them. It's like she's looking at the viewer and saying, "Remember me!" or "I told you so!" or "Avenge me!" or "Don't let them win!"
I realized after reading the last comment that I was being very typically American and reading only U.S. sources of news, something this blog is dedicated to combat.
So in reading The Nation, an editorial referred to the assassination of Ms. Bhutto as "one of the gravest tragedies befalling the country". (see all links below)
In neighboring India, The Hindu, weekly Sunday magazine, had this to say: "The loss of Bhutto as one of the most important, vocal and courageous political figures on the Pakistani, and indeed, global, scene, will be irreplaceable. Whatever one thought of Bhutto’s politics, and there were many who did not agree with it, there were few who denied her the recognition which she deservedly received. She will be sorely missed for her public presence and for her pivotal role in Pakistani politics over the last three decades."
In The News from Pakistan, an editorial states "It is only fitting to begin this page by paying tribute to Benazir Bhutto. In her tragic and untimely death, Benazir has transcended her father's legacy."
And "No other politician has the political courage to say that we need desperately to bring an end to this senseless violence, not for America's sake, but for our own sake and for the sake of Islam."
"A sympathy vote banks on the immortalization of a martyr, but history treats reformers far more kindly."
So it seems in death, sins can be whitewashed. I've always held that the death of JFK always meant more than the life of JFK.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=90555
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/jan-2008/11/editorials1.php
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/01/06/stories/2008010650010100.htm
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=90555
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