We need an icebreaker

That’s what they say on public radio during fundraisers: “We need an icebreaker.” That means they want one caller to break the silence and encourage other listeners to call in and donate money.

I was thinking of that when I read this extraordinary article about how one man’s resistance has inspired thousands to march in the streets of Pakistan:

[T]he Pakistani bar was first stirred into action with remarkable effect on March 9, when Musharraf tried to force Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to quit, alleging that he had misused his office for personal gain. Yet despite reports of a five-hour private showdown, in which [President] Musharraf – in full military dress – called in generals and politicians to intimidate Mr. Chaudhry, the chief justice did not buckle.

Musharraf ended up tossing him off the court anyway, but the judge’s defiance rallied a nation. Like most experts here, Pakistan’s lawyers were outraged, arguing that Musharraf wished only to silence a judge who had been ruling against him. “This was the first time a person resisted all alone against the Army,” says Iftikhar Qasi, president of the Karachi Bar Association.

At issue, lawyers say, was the independence of the judiciary and the last check on Musharraf’s authority, and their response was immediate. The following day, bar associations from Karachi to Lahore called emergency meetings, in which tens of thousands of lawyers chose to fight the only way they knew how. “Lawyers know the law, and the law says everyone has a right to express themselves,” says [Lahore Bar Association president S.M.] Shah.

The article says that many ordinary Pakistanis are supporting the lawyers’ protests against the president’s power grab. I am far from an expert on Pakistani politics,^[1]but it seems like a generally terrible idea for the military to be in control of a former democracy. Yet without an “icebreaker” like Mr. Chaudhry, it is hard to see how resistance would have begun.

Pretty remarkable.

1. Much could be said about the U.S. relationship with Pakistan, particularly with regard to military operations. This is not the post for that discussion.
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posted by Sra. Bibliotecaria ⋅ tagged international, law, politics

One response to “We need an icebreaker”

1. July 20th, 2007 at 2:41 pm , Unschooled » Blog Archive » No one person should have this much power says:
   

   [...] wrote earlier about a judge in Pakistan who was standing up for the rule of law. Today he was reinstated: [...]