[NYTr] Commonwealth - Pakistan: Suspended but Not Banished

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

IPS - Nov 23, 2007
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40195

COMMONWEALTH-PAKISTAN:  Suspended, But Not Banished

Analysis by Sanjay Suri

KAMPALA, Nov 23 (IPS) - The headlines over suspension of Pakistan from
the Commonwealth conceal some of the nuances of this action. The
nuances were born of considerable differences that surfaced within the
Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) that finally took the
decision.

The group "also affirmed its strong commitment to remain engaged with
Pakistan, as a valued member of the Commonwealth, (and) to work to
assist the return to democracy in that country." Pakistan, then,
remains officially a member of the Commonwealth, and a valued one,
despite the headlines.

Britain had campaigned to give President Pervez Musharraf a chance at
least until January to make good on his promise for fair elections.
British Foreign Secretary David Milliband announced that "you will see
very practical steps that the Commonwealth is determined to reach out
to Pakistan, including the possibility of a CMAG mission to Pakistan."

This refusal to isolate Pakistan fully could well be a good thing. "We
want the Commonwealth to take action against the government of
Pakistan, not the people of Pakistan," Claire Doube from the civil
society group Civicus told IPS. "It is after all not their fault that
they are faced with this denial of rights."

A state of emergency was declared in Pakistan earlier this month and
the constitution suspended. Officials dismissed judges and detained
human rights activists, members of the opposition, journalists and
lawyers -- this as the court was about to rule on the legality of
Musharraf's re-election last month. On Thursday, judges sympathetic to
the president -- who is also army chief -- confirmed his new term in
office.

Musharraf has said emergency rule was necessitated, in part, by the
threat of Islamic extremism.

Over recent days, Pakistan's government has made promising moves, Doube
said. Certain detainees have been released, and restrictions on some
media organisations eased. But Pakistan must do more to earn back full
Commonwealth membership, she added.

The optimistic view within the Commonwealth is that "suspension-lite"
makes engagement with the government possible.

The less optimistic view is also the more obvious. It is difficult for
anyone to claim that Pakistan lost materially in any way between 1999
when Musharraf took power in a coup, and 2004 when Pakistan was
readmitted with the promise of a return to proper democracy -- that did
not quite come. Consequently, it's also hard to claim that Pakistan
stands to lose materially now.

But, there is loss to its international standing. The Commonwealth
decision comes as a rap on the knuckles: well short of a slap in the
face, but a public embarrassment nevertheless. And it can be argued
that democratically elected leaders representing a couple of billion
people have now spoken against Musharraf formally.

Suspension clearly hurts Pakistan enough for its leaders to have
written to CMAG (comprising Malta, Lesotho, Sri Lanka, Malaysia,
Britain, Canada, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea and St Lucia) to argue
against such a move. The argument convinced enough members for CMAG
hold off from harsher action until the elections, promised for Jan. 8.

The suspension of Pakistan from the councils means exclusion of its
representatives from participation in all inter-governmental
Commonwealth meetings and in other inter-governmental Commonwealth
activities, including CHOGM (the biennial Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting, currently underway in the Ugandan capital, Kampala).

Pakistan seems clearly to have anticipated the decision. CMAG declared
that it had "noted Pakistan's own decision not to attend the Kampala
CHOGM." It may have proved embarrassing to tell arriving officials due
to attend particular meetings that they might need to take an earlier
than intended flight back.

The Commonwealth is taking forward its activities over Pakistan
seriously, in the name of "solidarity with the people of Pakistan." And
its decision has so far at least armed people with an argument against
Musharraf.

Not all of CMAG's joint declaration seemed entirely sombre, though. The
ministerial group said in its written statement: "CMAG acknowledged
President Musharraf's intention to remove his uniform, and looked
forward to him doing so as soon as possible." (END/2007)