Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, January-February 2008, pages 40-41

European Press Review

State of Emergency Said to Be Musharraf’s Last-Ditch Effort to Prevent His Demise

By Lucy Jones

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s Nov. 3 declaration of a state of emergency and suspension of the constitution was met with dismay by the European press.

“The declaration of emergency rule…by President Pervez Musharraf is an embarrassment for the U.S. and British governments, which had been urging him not to take this step,” commented the BBC’s world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds two days later. “Both have condemned it,” he added. “The question now is whether they will have to live with it.”

Editorialized Britain’s Guardian newspaper on Nov. 5: “In launching what is, in effect, his second military coup in eight years, the general has exposed the impotence of the U.S. and Britain to control a key ally with nuclear weapons.

“With troops on the ground in Afghanistan and the military situation in NATO’s war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda delicately poised, the U.S. cannot make more than faint bleating noises when its key ally across the border buries democracy for the foreseeable future,” the newspaper continued.

However, that day’s London Times thought it would be “ridiculous” to ostracize Musharraf. “He remains the figure, even if diminished and tarnished, who is most sympathetic to the principal objectives of the outside world in his region and who, if minded to steer a path toward political modernization in his country, is best placed to manage that task,” the newspaper argued.

“There is no doubt that Pakistan is in peril as much because of its feeble institutions as the extremists who exploit their weaknesses. In the end, only robust democracy can be the answer to the country’s many difficulties,” it concluded.

Italy’s La Repubblica of Nov. 5 was critical of U.S. financial contributions to Pakistan. “Since 2001,” it noted, “Musharraf has received nearly $11 billion from Washington, and $150 million continues to flow in each month. Of this, only 10 percent goes to economic and social projects. The rest goes to the soldiers. It doesn’t look as if the U.S. wants to end its military support in Islamabad.”

“In Islamabad, the house of cards of democracy and stability, which Washington had built up around Pervez Musharraf, has collapsed,” wrote Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Nov. 4. “Despite the pile of rubble, Washington is continuing to act as if Pakistan were a bastion against Islamo-fascism. Those who are disappointed about the state of emergency haven’t thought of cutting off financial support to Musharraf.”

“The general has exposed the impotence of the U.S. and Britain.”

Berlin’s Die Tageszeitung predicted the following day that an end to Musharraf’s rule was in sight. “Like many dictators, the general is becoming the victim of his own hubris by equating his personal power with state interests,” it editorialized. “As if he didn’t have his hands full with the threatened front of Islamic fundamentalism, he’s now making even more enemies. It’s just a matter of time before his most powerful prop, the army, realizes that their interests and those of its commander-in-chief aren’t necessarily the same.”

Switzerland’s Basler Zeitung of Nov. 5 also considered Musharraf’s days in power to be numbered. “Calling a state of emergency was [Musharraf’s] last effort to try to prevent his public demise,” it wrote. “Though the move won’t save him, suspending parliamentary elections may win him time for further negotiations. But his unrestricted rule is coming to an end. It remains to be seen whether this is a chance for Pakistan or if it will throw the country into even more chaos,” it concluded.

Achievements in Iraq Must Be Recognized, Says London’s Observer

Both Britain and the U.S. need to recognize success on the streets of Iraq, urged London’s Observer on Nov. 4. “There is evidence that unfettered violence is subsiding and fragile stability emerging. October saw the lowest death toll in 18 months. In Baghdad, monthly civilian casualties between May and October fell from 1,070 to 317, still too many, but part of an encouraging trend,” the newspaper noted.

Despite the good news, however, in Britain “there is only the collective conspiracy in all parties to portray Iraq as Tony Blair’s war, an event in the past on which judgment is best left to historians,” the newspaper editorialized.

“That silence is dishonest and irresponsible,” it continued. “Whatever the arguments around starting the war, Britain has enduring responsibilities to Iraq. Pessimists say that al-Qaeda, the Sunni insurgency and Shi’i militias are simply regrouping. But an equally credible interpretation of events on the ground is that democracy has a chance, and that its best hope is the continued, unstinting support for the government—military, financial and diplomatic—provided by Britain and America,” the newspaper concluded.

“In Iraq, it seems, good news is deemed no news,” the London Times wrote on Nov. 3. “The current achievements, and they are achievements, are being treated as almost an embarrassment in certain quarters,” it added.

“Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic have to appreciate that Iraq is no longer, as they thought, an exercise in damage limitation but one of making the most of an opportunity…Iraq is getting better. That is good, not bad, news,” The Times concluded.

Killing of Six at Fatah Rally in Gaza Said to Show Palestinian Divisions

In an Oct. 25 editorial, Britain’s Guardian announced that it had filmed rare scenes from inside Hamas-controlled Gaza—“Hamas beating up Fatah dissenters, Palestinian doctors forced by their Fatah paymasters to go on strike or forfeit their salaries, the militants who log on to GoogleEarth to search for Israeli targets for their Qassam rockets.

“Gaza is a wound that is being left to fester,” the newspaper said. “What this situation demands is a strong Palestinian leader, rather than a pliant one. Strength comes from authority and Mr. Abbas is in danger of losing his among his own people by tightening the screw on Gaza,” it continued. “At some point, a deal with Hamas has to be struck and a new power-sharing government created. This task may be distasteful for Fatah but it cannot be put off indefinitely. Otherwise, Mr. Abbas becomes the hostage of a process that makes him weaker still.”

The newspaper continued: “The longer the two-state solution stays on the drawing board unbuilt, the less Palestinians will believe in the scheme…If that idea withers, not only do the Palestinians not get the state they deserve, but that part of Israel that believed it would ever live in peace with its neighbors dies too.” 

The shooting dead by Hamas security forces of at least six people at a Fatah rally in the Gaza Strip to mark the third anniversary of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s death “has thrown into sharp relief how divided the Palestinian nation is,” Germany’s Der Spiegel wrote on Nov. 12.

“Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has not said how a Palestinian state that excludes the entire Gaza Strip, where more than a third of the population lives, could work,” the paper pointed out. “He has not said how a peace in whose negotiation Hamas has not participated and which Hamas does not recognize can last. Abbas also has not said that the creation of a Palestinian state stands and falls with the question of whether or not the Palestinians can achieve unity again,” it added.

New Code to Regulate British Mosques, London’s Guardian Reports

The first attempt by British Muslims to set out the core standards and constitutions for Britain’s 1,350-plus mosques and Islamic centers has been drawn up by a new body representing four leading groups, Britain’s Guardian of Oct. 30 reported.

The new proposals were developed by the year-old Mosques and Imams National Advisory Body (Minab), set up by the Al–Khoei Foundation, the British Muslim Forum, the Muslim Association of Britain and the Muslim Council of Britain, the newspaper explained.

According to the Nov. 4 edition of Britain’s Observer, the new code would allow mosques and imams to be regulated and would offer Muslim women much greater protection. Imams will be expected to make it clear to their followers that forced marriages are completely “un-Islamic,” as are violence or harassment in domestic issues.

Internet Dating Increasingly Popular With Muslims, Says London’s Times

Online dating is growing increasingly popular with young British Muslims, the London Times of Oct. 29 reported. Online services allow them to browse through potential partners online without breaking any of the rules of Islam, the newspaper explained. According to Shaadi.com, based in India, 700,000 of its 10 million members live in Britain. Meanwhile, of the 100,000 users browsing singlemuslim.com, about 10 percent are British.

“Internet dating has solved the dilemma for young people who want to choose their partner but marry within their religious and racial groups,” the newspaper continued. “Many dating services incorporate traditional aspects. Parents can view—and veto—potential partners on some sites, while chaperones attend any meetings between the matched couple to ensure that there is no impropriety.”

The newspaper also reported that more than 10 percent of the profiles on singlemuslim.com have been uploaded by family members.

Lucy Jones is a free-lance journalist based in London.

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