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Special to the
Tribune
Indonesian train crash kills 36
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Special to the
Tribune Like Julius Caesar he came and saw, but, unlike Caesar, Pervez Musharraf did not conquer. Pakistan's former military ruler is trying to stage a political comeback and last Friday he chose the venue of a London hotel to project his appeal. Against the backdrop of a giant portrait of Qaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Musharraf made his pitch via satellite TV to the masses of Pakistan. Whatever he said and did in the second floor reception rooms of the Royal Horseguards Hotel was beyond reproach. There were even moments of pure political theatre, such as his analysis of the falcon symbol of his new political party, The All Pakistan Muslim League: "It flies higher than other birds, it flies alone, living on the mountains and peaks…" But the image that endured after two hours of 'lecturebazi' was of a retired General with dyed hair seeking to convince half interested fellow Pakistanis that he was at heart a true democrat seeking power to uplift the downtrodden masses and not for his own benefit or gratification. To his abiding credit Musharraf does not have the mega millions personal portfolio of the Sharif brothers, or indeed the Bhuttos. He says no corruption charges have ever been levelled against him, adding for good measure, "There are no skeletons in my cupboard." Small wonder therefore that the cost of hiring the Royal Horseguards reception rooms (approximately £25,000 - tea and kebabs included) was transparent for all to see and assess. But something did not feel right on Friday when he addressed approximately 250 local British supporters. Perhaps it was his style of apology. "Only God is infallible", he told his invited audience. I made mistakes and my sincere apologies to the nation for wrong decisions, but I have learned my lesson and will not repeat them again." Or it might have been the platitudes that rolled out so remorselessly. Hence the self serving - some might say shameless - assertion, "There is a covenant between me and God and between me and the people of Pakistan." Another soundbite effortlessly broadcast: "I live for the country, fight for the country and die for the country". Nothing he said could be faulted. He was critical of the Taliban, just as he was critical of NATO for crossing Pakistan's border. He was scornful of the notorious Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan, dismissing him as "kharab". On relations with India he again said all the right things, explaining how he had made progress on the bilateral level and, if back in power, "we could pick up the strings." In a similar progressive vein he flew the flag for women's rights, underlying the need for gender equality, female education and women's emancipation. And yet politics is so much more than sound bites rolled out in a cantonment monotone. Voters all over the world look for passion in their leaders and, perhaps, mistakenly, they confuse passion with conviction - that is part of the mystery and contradiction of democratic politics. I was too young to bear witness to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's 'roti, kapda and makan' slogan that so electrified millions of Pakistanis. But I was present in Lahore in 1986 when a newly freed Benazir Bhutto asked a million strong crowd of adoring supporters to comment on the future of the then dictator and Musharraf's military predecessor, General Zia Ul Haq. "Zia avey, avey", she asked? "Ya javey, javey"? A million voices responded, "javey, javey". Musharraf's polite audience of London-based Pakistanis — some of whom contributed to the cost of Friday's function — dutifully applauded their leader's speech. But their applause for his measured phrases was hardly the stuff that moves nations. In fact judging from the crowd's response the chances of a democratically elected Musharraf returning to take charge of Pakistan is about as likely as an outbreak of monsoon rain in the middle of the Sahara desert. Dream on Pervez.
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Indonesian train crash kills 36
Jakarta, October 2 As most passengers slept on the train, which was sitting idle at the station in Petarukan, a northern coastal city in the central Java province, a train from the capital slammed into it around 3 am (local time), according to Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan. He said investigators were trying to determine if human error was to blame. “It may also have been mechanical,” he said. “We're checking to see if the signals of the parked train were working properly.” The force of the crash knocked part of a train car off the track, and twisted debris from the train littered the rail yard. By early afternoon today, only one body was still trapped inside the mangled wreckage, said Marsono, a rescuer at the scene. He, like many Indonesians, goes by only one name. Thirty-five others were brought to three nearby hospitals, said Tri Yuniasari, a spokeswoman from the Hasyim Ashari hospital, who was helping keep tallies. Cendana Banandi, a government life insurance official, who earlier put the death toll at 43 later revised his figure downward. Meanwhile, another passenger train crashed in the town of Solo at around 4 am (local time), said Ervan, adding data was still being collected about casualties. Officials at the nearby Kasih Ibu hospital said at least one person died in that crash.
— AP
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Like Julius Caesar he came and saw, but, unlike Caesar, Pervez Musharraf did not conquer. Pakistan's former military ruler is trying to stage a political comeback and last Friday he chose the venue of a London hotel to project his appeal.
Against the backdrop of a giant portrait of Qaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Musharraf made his pitch via satellite TV to the masses of Pakistan.
