28 December 2007

Martyred in Pakistan

A poignant article from Salon.com one day after Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan was assassinated.

"The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy," President Bush predictably told reporters in Crawford, Texas. "Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice." He's missing the point. This is not an episode of "Law & Order," where the killers have to be caught and punished. That would be the way to end the story of Benazir Bhutto.

If Washington and Islamabad are really serious about democracy in Pakistan, they would do better to heed the words of Indira Gandhi: "Martyrdom does not end something; it is only a beginning."

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