Re: Musharaf - Pro-american? think again
Robert: No doubt President Musharraf is not only bold but man with independent mind and committed to Pakistan and Muslim world. I am sure that it will take lot of salt for many misguided religious retards to accept and digest that. I know that many Pakistanis do not have enough mind of their own to think and follow blindly what their political leaders (or religiously retard leaders) tell them. I also know that most would not like reading or understanding anything or listen to anyone, but would live on propaganda and ignorance, and thus would not even care to read the speech of President Musharraf that he gave in UN couple of month after 9/11.
Nevertheless, for those who have enough intelligence and patience to read President speech two month after 9/11 in UN standing on American soil, that understand and analyse that, I am putting down his speech (actually, most of his speeches since he came to power in 1999, are such that I am thinking to make a library of that … not because I like the way Musharraf is giving governance to Pakistan but because most of his speeches are really gem).
What politicians say in country can be considered as for public consumption and may not represent what that politician really is, but what Military dictator says in foreign country and from the platform of UN in New York, not for own country’s consumption (as most may not even have read his speech), really shows what that dictator is. Criticizing World policies regarding Kashmir as well as Palestine (that is mostly USA policy) standing on American soil, just after America has threatened Pakistan few month ago, is not a joke (Note: 10th November 2001 was two month after 9th September 2001 New York Bombing).
[Note: It was first time that anyone raised the issue and causes of terrorisms in details around the world, especially amongst Muslims, that includes blaming Palestinian of terrorism on UN forum, and justifying that terrorism blaming the cause. It must have been a shock for USA, just 2 month after 9/11, when Musharraf on UN platform was saying that what USA got on 9/11 was because of injustices world is doing to Muslim world causing such behaviour as reaction. It was also first time that any head of state raised question of ill gotten money to be returned to the country.]
Address By General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan at the Fifty-Sixth Session of the United Nations General Assembly, New York November 10, 2001
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to extend to you, Mr. President, my felicitations on your election. I also wish to congratulate your predecessor Mr. Harry Holkeri for his stewardship of the ‘Millennium Session’ of the General Assembly. Deep appreciation is also due to the Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan for his untiring efforts to translate the vision of the “Millennium Declaration” into policies and actions by the World Community. Mr. Secretary General, please also accept my heartiest congratulations on the award of the centenary ‘Nobel Peace Prize’ conferred upon you and your organization and your election for a second term to your prestigious office.
Ladies and Gentlemen!
Last year, at the ‘Millennium Summit’, all of us were looking forward to a renaissance in the new millennium, a renaissance in the hearts and minds of people, for a better world, where peace and justice would prevail. Unfortunately, today we gather against the somber backdrop of the terrorist outrage that the world witnessed in shock and horror on that fateful day of 11Hi September. In seconds, images of fire and death reached all of us.
Thousands of innocent lives were lost in minutes. Eighty nations lost some of their brightest and their best. Pakistan, like the rest of the world, mourned over the colossal loss of innocent lives. The map of the world changed and the entire globe descended into a deep crisis. At a time of such a great turmoil, when there is indeed a need for clear thought and firm action, I come from Pakistan with a message of determination and resolve as well as a message of peace for all peoples. The General Assembly, this year, meets under the shadow of horrendous act .against the people the United States, an act for which no grievance or, cause can ever be justified, an act that must be condemned unambiguously and in the strongest words. This was an attack on humanity itself and we all must, therefore, unite to fight this scourge.
Mr. President,
Now that the world has bonded itself to fight against terrorism, it is time for introspection. We owe it to posterity that in this dark hour we shed light on some dangerous and growing trends, misconceptions and misperceptions, which, if not cleared, may lead the world into even greater disorder and disharmony. The religion of Islam, and Muslims in various parts of the world, are being held responsible for the trials the world is facing. This point of view is totally misplaced. Just as all religions teach peace and love for fellow beings, so does Islam. It places upon its adherents, the obligation to do well, to be generous, merciful, kind and just too fellow beings. The Muslim greeting Assalam-o-Allaikum meaning “Peace be upon you” symbolizes the very essence of Islamic faith. Islam is a religion of peace, compassion and tolerance.
Terrorism is not a Christian, Buddhist, Jewish or a Muslim belief. It is to be condemned no matter who the perpetrator is, be it an individual, a group or a state. We need to ask ourselves what really causes these extreme acts around the world. To my mind these are the unresolved political disputes the world over, disputes in Bosnia, Kosovo, Palestine, Kashmir and other places. Unfortunately, all these disputes involve Muslims, and more sadly the Muslims happen to be the victims in all, which tends to give a religious tinge to these otherwise political disputes. The lack of progress in resolution of these disputes has created in them a sense of deprivation, hopelessness and powerlessness. The frustration gets even worse when such disputes like Kashmir and Palestine remain unsettled, for decades, despite the United Nations Security Council’s Resolutions. The question then is, whether it is the people asking for their rights in accordance with UN resolutions who are to be called terrorists or whether it is the countries refusing to implement the UN resolutions, who are the perpetrators of state terrorism. In Kashmir, Indian occupation forces have killed over 75,000 Kashmiris, attributing these killings to foreign terrorists. It is time India must stop such deceit. UN Security Council’s Resolutions on Kashmir must be implemented.
Ladies and Gentlemen!
Media images of the Palestinian child Muhammad Al Durrah were etched on the hearts and minds of people all over the world. It is perverse to regard the rape of Kashmiri women as a punishment inflicted in the course of war The images of that moment when the ‘World Trade Centre Tower’ came down, will remain definitive for all the agony, disbelief and loss that people suffer from acts of terror all over the world. All forms of terror must be condemned, prevented and fought against but in doing so, the world must not trample upon the genuine rights, aspirations and urges of the people who are fighting for their liberation and are subjected to state terrorism.
To fight the extremist, deprive him of his motivation. The extremist survives in an environment where millions suffer injustice and indignity. Deprive him of his support by giving the world peace, security, justice and dignity for all peoples, regardless of faith, religion or creed. A just and honorable solution for the people of Kashmir, an end to the miseries of the people of Palestine are the major burning issues that have to be addressed vigorously, boldly, imaginatively and urgently. Unless we go to the root-causes, cosmetics will only make matters worse.
Consider the analogy of a tree. Terrorists are like so many leaves, you take out some, there will be plenty more and an unending growth. **Terrorist networks are branches, you prune a few and there will be others and more growth. The only way to go is to go for the roots. Eliminate the roots and there will be no tree.**** The roots, Mr. President, are the causes, which need to be addressed, tackled and eliminated, fairly, justly and honorably. Give people back their dignity, self-respect and honour.** In essence, therefore, to tackle the issue of terrorism in its entirety, we need to follow a three-pronged strategy of going for individual terrorists, moving against terrorist organizations and addressing disputes around the world in a just manner. After the events of 11th September, Pakistan took a deliberate principled decision to join the “World Coalition” in its fight against terrorism. This decision has catapulted us, once again, as a front line, state in the battle against terrorism. While the people of Pakistan have accepted this new reality, they still suffer from a sense of betrayal and abandonment, when they were left in lurch in 1989 after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. Then also, we were a front line state and what we got in return were three million refugees, a shattered economy, drugs and Kalashnikov culture, to be faced single-handedly through our limited resources. Pakistan only hopes that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated and Pakistan’s legitimate concerns will be addressed. Our economy again faces a crisis of a fall out of the operations in Afghanistan. We need financial and commercial support on an urgent basis and hope that this will be forthcoming.
Mr. President,
After 11 September Pakistan had been trying its utmost with the Afghan government ever since Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda became an international issue, till the last moment, to avert military action in Afghanistan. Regrettably, we did not meet with success and the coalition operation against terrorists in Afghanistan continues with no immediate end in sight. Sadly enough, the civilian casualties in this action are getting projected more as an open war against the already poor, suffering and innocent people of Afghanistan. The world in general and Pakistan in particular mourns over the loss of these innocent lives and sympathizes with the bereaved. It is desirable that the military operation be as short and accurately targeted as possible. It is also essential that a fall-back political strategy be evolved which could attain the same objective as being sought through military application. In its entirety, dealing with Afghanistan involves a three pronged strategy — the military, political and humanitarian-rehabilitation strategies. It must remain the effort of the coalition to prevent a vacuum leading to anarchy, after achieving military objectives, through immediate application of political and rehabilitation strategies. In our view, the political setup in Afghanistan must be home-grown and not imposed, ensuring the unity and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, with a broad-based, multi-ethnic dispensation, representative of the demographic composition of the country. The people of Afghanistan have been suffering the ravages and devastation of conflicts for over two decades. It is the moral obligation of the ‘World Community’ to support them, generously. Assistance to Afghanistan should be in two forms. Firstly, the ongoing humanitarian assistance and secondly, the post-military operations, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.
To offset the ill-effects of the ongoing military operation, it is imperative that we launch a more coordinated and concerted humanitarian relief effort inside and outside Afghanistan with a more generous funding. This will go a long way to alleviate the sufferings of the common Afghan.
It is equally important that concurrently we formulate a post-operation rehabilitation programme, once peace returns to Afghanistan. This effort would entail, at the minimum, restoration of water management system, reviving agriculture through land development, reconstruction of physical infrastructure (roads, buildings & utilities) and establishment of institutions. A stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in the vital interest of the region and in particular of Pakistan. Conditions must be created for more than three million refugees in Pakistan to return to their country. We propose the establishment of an “Afghan Trust Fund” under UN auspices for the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.
Mr. President,
I would now like to focus on the harsh realities in the developing countries which have a relationship with extremism of all forms. Poverty and deprivation lead to frustration, making the masses vulnerable to exploitation by extremist organizations. It is the collective, moral responsibility of the developed world to address this issue squarely, through substantive economic uplift, poverty alleviation and ‘Social Action Programmes’ in the developing countries. Economic imbalances have to be removed for a just, equitable and harmonious “World Order”. A major step in this direction would be to reduce, if not eliminate, the debt burden, hanging like a millstone around the necks of the poor and the underdeveloped. The bigger tragedy of the third world is that their rulers, together with their minions, plunder the country’s wealth and are afforded easy access and safe havens to stash away the loot in the First World. Since long, restrictions have been imposed on laundering of drug money and recently money for terrorists is being choked. Why can similar restrictions not be imposed on loot money laundering?
I appeal through this forum to all the developed countries to legislate against deposits of ill gotten money, to assist in investigation against the looters and to ensure the early return of the plundered wealth to the countries of their origin. In fact, I would not be far off the mark if I stated that with the return of this looted money, many of the developing countries may be able to pay back their debts and revive their economies.
Mr. President
Pakistan is deeply conscious of the nuclear dimension of the security environment of our region, the danger it poses and the responsibility it places on nuclear weapon States, particularly, the two nuclear states in the South Asia. We are ready to discuss how Pakistan and India can create a stable South Asian security mechanism through a peaceful resolution of disputes, preservation of nuclear and conventional balance confidence building measures and non-use of force prescribed by the UN Charter. In this context, we are ready to discuss nuclear and missile restraints as well as nuclear risk reduction measures with India in a structured, comprehensive and integrated dialogue. Pakistan is fully alive to the responsibilities of its nuclear status.
We have declared a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. Pakistan was not the first to initiate nuclear tests and will not be the first to resume them. We are ready to formalize a bilateral treaty with India for mutual test ban. We have strengthened our export controls and have established multilayered custodial controls on our nuclear assets. Let me assure you all that our strategic assets are well guarded and in very safe hands. We have constantly upgraded our command and control measures and instituted an elaborate nuclear command control mechanism for iron-clad custodial controls to ensure the safety and security of all our assets. Pakistan is opposed to an arms race in South Asia, be it nuclear or conventional. We will maintain deterrence at the minimum level. We want to live in the region with honour and dignity.
Mr. President,
I would now like to very briefly cover the internal developments in Pakistan. Over the past two years the focus has been on our economic revival, poverty alleviation, improving governance, political restructuring and introducing genuine democracy in the country. We have successfully put in place a sound democratic structure, based on empowerment of the people at the grass-root levels. A revolutionary step has been taken by providing l/3’ of the seats to women at district level governing councils.
I want to put on record in this august gathering that Pakistan is proud of this representation and empowerment of women, which is a unique feature in the world. Our resolve to hold elections to the Provincial and National Assemblies and the Senate in October 2002, in accordance with the roadmap announced last August, will remain unchanged, in spite of the prevailing environment in the region.
Mr. President,
In conclusion and in keeping with this time of enormous trials and tribulations we are going through, I wish to make an appeal, an appeal for the sake of mankind, and our future generations and for a better world. Let justice prevail, let no people be wronged, let sufferings be eliminated, let discontentment be addressed, let humanity rise as one nation to eliminate subjugation of the weak, and let there be peace.
Thank you.