Imran warns parties against ‘cheating’ electorate

LAHORE, Feb 24: Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan on Sunday warned political parties of a tough fight in case they tried to pull a fast one on the deposed judges being sought to be restored at the earliest.

“The political parties would err in thinking that they could support Musharraf and cast aside the restoration of the deposed judges,” the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf chief told protesters gathered in front of the Zaman Park residence of the detained Supreme Court Bar Association president Atizaz Ahsan. “Let me assure you the independence of the judiciary is closely linked to a bright future and prosperity (of the country),” he said.

To a query about a possibility of an understanding between the Pakistan People’s Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, he said the MQM was a `terrorist’ organisation and any understanding with it would mean betrayal of the cause of the democracy and the independence of judiciary.

Mr Khan had arrived at Zaman Park to participate in the rally the Concerned Citizens of Pakistan (CCP) held every Sunday to make people aware of the importance of having an independent judiciary.

People from different walks of life, including lawyers, Student Action Committee (SAC) members and representatives of NGOs, came together to condemn curbs on the judiciary, the media and the civil society.

They also set on fire a copy of the PEMRA Ordinance under which the media was barred from airing live transmission.

Police barricaded both entrances leading to Aitzaz’s residence to preclude his contact with either the protesters or the press. In a recent protest, ignoring the police, several lawyers had entered Mr Ahsan’s residence and brought him out on their shoulders.

Though Mr Ahsan was not present because of restrictions on his freedom of movement, his wife Bushra echoed his views. “We know the independence of the judiciary preceded democracy otherwise chaos prevailed.” She added the call for the boycott of the election proved a step forward because it created such a pressure, which led to a cleaner polling in contrast to the pre-poll rigging.

She said it was pleasing to see the political parties, which were being played against each other by the agencies, were joining hands for the sake of democracy.

The dictator, who had been dictating the people since 1999, would not be able to play cat-and-mouse anymore because he ran out of time, she said.

She said the judges were going to be restored soon but the people needed to keep an eye on the state of affairs to ensure the judiciary remained independent.

After her speech, the protesters moved out of the Zaman Park and marched towards The Mall Road, holding aloft pictures of Mr Ahsan and the deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, besides placards inscribed with slogan in deposed judges’ favour. They gathered on The Mall, distributed flyers among the people passing by in their vehicles and walked back before singing the national anthem.

Tabinda Khan, a PhD student, said being a student of political science her only concern was restoration of the judiciary because democracy hinged on its independence. The talk about whether or not the people gave political parties the mandate to restore the judiciary should not serve as an impediment for anyone to ensuring the independence of the judiciary.

After gathering before the barricaded entrance, several protesters pushed against the policemen while shouting slogans for Mr Ahsan’s release. They also demanded release of all the lawyers and judges unlawfully confined in their houses. They condemned the chief secretary, the home secretary and the IG for keeping Mr Ahsan confined.

Earlier, Professional Group head Hamid Khan advocate warned political parties against supporting Gen Musharraf (retired) and declared the chief justice subservient to the rulers. He asked the lawyers, the civil society and the political parties to bind themselves together for taking the movement for the restoration of the judiciary and the rule of law to its logical end.

Talking to protesters, Concerned Citizens of Pakistan (CCP) representative Hamid Zaman said the Constitution should be purged of the ills like the president’s power to dissolve the assembly and the 17th Amendment. He asked the establishment to refrain from taking repressive measures against the peaceful forces supporting the deposed judges.

Alliance of Civilizations

The Alliance of Civilizations is a United Nations Secretary-General initiative intended to galvanize collective action across diverse societies in order to combat extremism, overcome cultural and social barriers between mainly the Western and predominantly Muslim worlds, and to reduce the tensions and polarization between societies which differ in religious and cultural values.

The Alliance of Civilizations is expected to be voted into action by the end of 2009, and may initially be implemented in the Middle East in conjunction with the framework of the EU's European Neighborhood Policy.

[edit] Inception
Mutual suspicion, fear and misunderstanding between Islamic and Western societies has been increasing since the beginning of the new millennium. The heightened instability of coexistence between these groups of people with divergent backgrounds has led to exploitation by extremists throughout the world: the severest form of this being violent acts of terrorism. It has been the opinion of many political leaders that efforts should be made to reach a common ground between diverse ethnic and religious groups based on the tolerance, understanding, and respect of the fundamental set of values and beliefs of each group. In this way, and by the attempt to quell "extremism", a comprehensive coalition can be established to work toward a peaceful coexistence between diverse groups around the world, and thereby support international stability.


[edit] Proposal
The Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) initiative was proposed by the President of the Spanish Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero at the 59th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in 2005. It was co-sponsored by the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The aim of the initiative was to produce actionable, time-bound recommendations by the end of 2006 for UN member states to adopt.


[edit] Preliminary Work
To fulfill the objective of the initiative, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan assembled a High-level Group (HLG) consisting of 20 eminent persons drawn from policy making, academia, civil society, religious leadership, and the media. A full range of religions and civilizations were represented.[1] Among the members were former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who proposed the Dialogue Among Civilizations initiative, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South African Nobel laureate, Prof. Pan Guang, who obtained the Saint Petersburg-300 Medal for Contribution to China-Russia Relations, and Arthur Schneier, who is the founder and president of the “Appeal of Conscience Foundation” and who gained the "Presidential Citizens Medal”. The HLG met 5 times between November 2005 and November 2006, and produced a report prioritizing relations between the Western and Muslim societies.

The first meeting of the HLG of the AoC occurred in Spain in November 2005. The second meeting was in Doha, Qatar from 25 to 27 February 2006 with the agenda of aiming to find ways to calm the cartoon crisis between West and Islamic world.[2] The third meeting took place in Dakar, Senegal from 28 to 30 May 2006. At the final meeting in November 2006 in Istanbul, the members presented their final report to Kofi Annan and to Prime Ministers José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The report outlined recommendations and practical solutions on how the Western and Islamic societies can solve misconceptions and misunderstandings between them. According to the report, "politics, not religion, is at the heart of growing Muslim-Western divide", although a large emphasis is maintained on religion.[3]


[edit] HLG Report
The final 2006 report of the HLG was structured in two parts. Part I presented an analysis of the global context and of the state of relations between Muslim and Western societies. It concluded with a set of general policy recommendations, indicating the HLG's belief that certain political steps are pre-requisites to any substantial and lasting improvement in relations between Muslim and Western societies.

Part II of the report reflected the HLG's view that tensions across cultures have spread beyond the political level into the hearts and minds of populations. To counter this trend, the Group presented recommendations in each of four thematic areas: Education, Youth, Migration, and Media. The Report concluded with outlined suggestions for the implementation of its recommendations.

A key issue regarded by the AoC is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the resolution of which is considered paramount.

The report also recommends combating "exclusivism" and extremism. It defines exclusivism as, “those who feed on exclusion and claim sole ownership of the truth". Thus, religious groups who assert one specific truth to the exclusion of other religious doctrines are considered undesirable by the AoC. Furthermore, the report identifies the primary global groups in this issue as the three monotheistic faiths.


[edit] Structure and Leadership
The "High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations" is the title of the primary leadership position of the AoC, who is to function as political facilitator and lead spokesman, and to consult directly with the United Nations Secretary General. In April 2007, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed the position of High Representative to Jorge Sampaio, former president of Portugal.

The Secretariat of the Alliance of Civilizations provides support to the High Representative and implements developmental functions of the AoC. The offices are based at the United Nations headquarters in New York.


[edit] Ongoing Activities

[edit] Implementation Plan
In May, 2007, the AoC released its "Implementation Plan 2007-2009", which elaborated on the notion that the AoC will not replace or reconstitute any existing plans or political channels. Rather, the AoC will facilitate its goals primarily through partnership operations among a variety of existing groups, and also through projects in youth, education, media, and migration.

The core of the 16 page document consists of two parts. The first part, drawing directly on the 2006 HLG report, describes the strategic and structural framework for the AoC. Included are plans for an AoC forum held in varying locations annually, the "Group of Friends" representatives from States and international organizations, and UN Secretary-General-appointed ambassadors to the AoC. Financing will be accomplished via the AoC Voluntary Trust Fund with support from various organizations.

The second part of the plan calls for actions to staff the office of the Secretariat by Summer 2007, and to implement the directives established in the first part of the document. A mid-term review of the plan of action is intended in 2008. The first group of ambassadors will be listed by the end of 2007, and the first annual AoC forum will be held January 15-16 in 2008 in Spain, with a focus on youth. The AoC will establish a rapid-response media-based mechanism to intervene in escalations of global tension.

The plans were discussed with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on June 14, 2007.

On June 24, Ki-moon spoke at a commemoration of 13th century Muslim poet Rumi in New York, in which he embraced the essentially New Age teachings of the poet, expressing the resonance with the goals of the AoC.[4]

The Alliance was presented with the "Dialogue of Civilizations" award, which was given by the Rumi Forum and the Georgetown University Center for Peace and Security Research in Washington. Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received the award..[5]


[edit] See also
Dialogue Among Civilizations
Clash of Civilizations