Independent
Media and Democracy in Pakistan
By Riaz Haq
www.pakalumni.com
Popular TV channels GeoTV and ARY Digital have
been forced off the airwaves. It is a very sad
period indeed. It seems that the glimmer of hope
for a civil Pakistan created by independent TV
channels has been extinguished, at least for the
moment.
Looking back at what has transpired in the last
few days, we all need to learn a lot about the
exercise of freedom, responsibility and the spirit
of compromise necessary to nurture and sustain
any hope for democracy. Sadly, the spirit of compromise
so essential for democracy has been missing in
the behavior of the judiciary, the media and the
politicians in Pakistan.
In addition to displaying graphic images of violence
and mayhem on the streets, GEO and its various
commentators (Hamid Mir, Shahid Masood, et al.)
went out of their way to take strong anti-government
positions and failed to play the proverbial "devil's
advocate" role in panels consisting entirely
of anti-Musharraf panelists. Since the imposition
of emergency by Musharraf, Geo abandoned any semblance
of objectivity in its reporting. I know I am sad
about the closure of my favorite channel and I
can understand Geo TV commentators’ anger
at being shut down but they also need to reflect
on their own behavior.
When I see Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and their
various allies being presented by our "esteemed"
journalists as pro-democracy leaders spouting
their support for media freedom, it reminds me
that most people in Pakistan have very short memories,
and even shorter-term horizons. It seems that
all the sins of Bhutto and Sharif in their previous
two terms as prime ministers never happened. There
is not even a pretense of the two "stalwarts"
as being "born-again", acknowledging
their prior sins. Recycling these failed leaders
will not bring democracy, just more of the corruption
and incompetence we have seen from them in the
past. The elections will simply become a means
to legitimize their governments as elected and
democratic.
The real democracy, with all of its institutions
properly working, is a goal that requires a lot
more patience, tolerance and longer-term thinking
and sustained effort to succeed.
The propensity in Pakistan to become instant "heroes"
and "martyrs" by refusal to compromise
as shown by our judges, lawyers, media, politicians
and Musharraf is not in the best long-term interest
of our nation. We can do with fewer heroes and
martyrs and seriously need wiser, more pragmatic
and sincere leaders to move toward a durable democracy
that serves our people. Unless we reflect on the
mess that currently exists and change our ways,
we will be condemned to permanent chaos and ultimately
self-destruct. As Churchill described it once:
"Democracy is the worst form of government
except all the others that have been tried".
Let's choose a path to democracy because the alternatives
are far worse.
As far as the independent media are concerned,
they have a very significant role to play in this
march toward democracy. I do hope to see GEO and
ARY back on the air very, very soon.
Siemens in Pakistan
As I saw the recent reports from Munich about
Siemens pleading guilty to bribing politicians
and officials in Nigeria, Russia and Libya, it
reminded me that Siemens is a large player in
Pakistan. Has any one looked into Siemens engaging
in similar corrupt practices in Pakistan?
And, how about the behavior of other American
and European companies operating in Pakistan?
There are definitely laws on the books in the
West such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
(FCPA) in the United States. All ethics classes
taught in the West in management schools and company
training cover this topic. However, the question
is whether these laws are really enforced and
how often are the companies held accountable?
Or do they simply rely on the foreign governments
to report misbehavior?
It would be a fantasy to expect the officials
and politicians on the receiving end to report
incidents of bribery as they are the main beneficiaries.
But I think the German, French, US and other western
governments and other developed nations who claim
higher moral positions should be cracking down
on these reprehensible practices just to enforce
their own laws and live up to their own higher
standards. While it may be argued and it is like
putting the shoe on the wrong foot, I see it as
the only hope we have of containing such widespread
corruption in developing nations that is robbing
their people blind.
Looking at Pakistan, there have been serious allegations
and at least preliminary evidence to suggest that
illegal payments were made to Bhutto-Zardari controlled
fronts by companies in France, Switzerland and
Poland. There was some action pursued in Switzerland
at the request of Pakistani Government under Pervez
Musharraf. However, France and Poland have not
pursued the charges of corruption involving their
companies in Pakistan. The only explanation I
have heard is that the FCPA style laws did not
exist in France prior to the year 2000. It has
made me wonder whether there is an inherent conflict
when it comes to European or American governments
taking action against their own companies. After
all, there are jobs in these countries that depend
on exports to the developing nations. Would they
rather be pristine in their efforts in enforcing
their laws even if it means losing business and
jobs to the Japanese, Koreans and others?
Upon searching the Internet, I found at least
one report in Forbes magazine regarding Siemens
in Pakistan: "The World Bank is looking at
an electrical power plant project in Pakistan
concluded in the mid-1990s, which was built and
later partially maintained by Siemens and financed
by the World Bank.The World Bank is concerned
that Siemens' costs for the project may have been
overpriced. Siemens is currently engulfed in a
slush-fund scandal, in which prosecutors allege
that managers siphoned off hundreds of millions
of euros in company money to obtain foreign contracts.
Siemens' own internal investigation uncovered
420 mln euros in suspicious payments going back
to 1999 which may have been made to obtain telecommunications
equipment contracts in a range of foreign countries.
The Bavarian State Prosecutors office has said
the sum is estimated in the triple-digit millions
of euros."
These reports beg the following questions: Do
they represent only the tip of the iceberg of
political and official corruption in the developing
world? Are there more such investigations and
prosecutions on the horizon? I certainly hope
there are. In my view, serious action by the Western
prosecutors seems to be an effective way to reduce
the scourge of rampant corruption in developing
nations such as Pakistan.
(www.pakalumni.com PakAlumni Worldwide, created
and launched by NEDian Riaz Haq, is a social network
designed for all Pakistani alumni and students
to connect, share and collaborate. It serves Pakistan
Alumni at home and abroad. Riaz Haq's Blog: http://riazhaq.blogspot.com)
