Sunday, January 18, 2004
I certainly hope this is an in-apt comparison, but it is the one that springs immediately to mind. Is Musharraf leaving power a bit too soon? Is he correct in trusting whoever he's sacrificing his power to, or will he, like Lear, be betrayed having given up power too soon? It strikes me that a man who siezes power by force will live and die by the same. It is a profound wish to imagine, as Musharraf seems to be, that he can give up the base of his power - his military rank - and peacefully transition into the seat of democratic ruler. This incident shows to me that he is about to have a difficult time with it, as at least a good core of the people he needs respect from - the civil leaders - aren't having him. So is it possible he will have given up his military rank, never to get it back and be shunned by the civilian leadership as he is a person of name, but no real position or way to hold it, and thus, like Lear, find himself alone in the wilderness?
And once Musharraf is gone and shunned, which of his "daughters" will take his place? Once his power is sacrificed, he will have but little ability to influence events.
Boston.com / News / World / Pakistani leader faces heckling
The noisy disruption highlighted deep-seated resentment at the military's persistent involvement in politics and blunted Musharraf's efforts to portray himself as a legitimate ruler since the general seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999.
Opposition members chanted "friends of dictators are traitors" throughout his 40-minute, nationally televised speech. Musharraf supporters countered by thumping tables in applause, at times making it difficult to hear him.
Meanwhile, two domestic flights were diverted, preventing at least three opposition legislators from attending the speech. Officials gave conflicting reasons for the diversions.
Security was extremely tight at Parliament, with armored personnel carriers patrolling, after the two attempts on the president's life last month. The two bombings were attributed to Islamic militants who despise the president for allying Pakistan to the United States in the war on terror.
In his speech, Musharraf spoke of the needs to crush terrorism, to keep Pakistan's nuclear weapons secure, and to prevent proliferation of atomic arms. He also urged a resolution of the longstanding conflict with India over the divided territory of Kashmir.
"A few people are committing the curse of extremism in our society . . . who want to impose their narrow-minded ideas on others," Musharraf told the special joint session of Parliament...
