Gagging the media
Peace evolves through knowledge, which is power. And knowledge when combined with enlightenment leads to wisdom that beholds the balance. It is easier to make a war than to make peace. Teaching peace, compassion and empathy through the force of arms is not the solution of the miseries the people are facing. Honour the will of the people, reduce poverty, pain, suffering and injustice and peace would prevail. Can you have peace without freedom, or freedom without peace? It is a question of priorities. The time when forces of reason had the capacity to reshape our polity, democracy and the rule of law with all the fruits of enlightenment, people are being forced to live in a situation where evil has somehow achieved pervasive influence over the direction of our society’s evolution.
The age-old choice between privilege and equality has assumed a new dimension in our system of governance. The social consequences of improved communications; the spread of the print media and the extended range of eye and ear through radio, motion pictures, television and internet have ushered in an era of mass politics in which the power that drives the wheels of government depends on what beliefs the millions accept and what facts they have been told and choose to keep in mind. The people are ceasing to be the passive subjects of politics as in the past. Instead, they are becoming active participants thereby increasing the possibility of conflict between democracy and dictatorship.
The imposition of emergency has increased the complexity of the mayhem the country is facing. Instead of restoring pure democracy as was earlier envisaged, it has pulverised the hopes of the masses for an egalitarian system as against authoritarianism being practiced by the existing regime. That would further widen the existing gulf between the rulers and the ruled. The elections under the emergency umbrella would be a farce.
Gen. Musharraf’s contention that emergency was invoked after deliberations with the civil society is not tenable in the face of anger exhibited by the masses after March 9, 2007. When the genuine leadership is either in exile or behind bars and not allowed to meet people; but for the US pressure, even Benazir Bhutto would have been shackled. The restrictions being imposed on her movements in the name of security against possible suicidal attacks reflect in fact the fragility of the present set up.
The promise of democracy, on the other hand, is to cut the ties between political power and privilege by offering the masses alternative leaders and programmes through multiple parties thus preventing the formation of a permanent class or pseudo-political group.
With the dictatorial power at its back this group holds the sway and demands total conformity and discourages dissent at the cost of the rule of law and sovereignty of the people. And to achieve this goal the only way, in their judgement, is to gag the independent media to keep the people in the dark. Outwardly this measure gives an illusion of stability through power display, while inwardly it is just the reverse. In the present day world independent media is a boon while the state-run medium is a curse in the hands of oligarchs.
After the proclamation of Emergency on November 3, several television networks turned to the ‘Internet’ to stream news coverage of the political crisis in Pakistan. Agence France-Press (AFP) reported that the chief of a popular TV channel explained the situation this way, “News is a contraband item in Pakistan now, and it is being sold on the black-market. This black market consists mainly of internet sites, but satellite broadcasts are growing fast as a source of independent news as well. “Sales of satellite dishes have jumped since the weekend,” AFP reported, citing several dealers who were interviewed.
While it was a news blackout in Pakistan, many US and European cities were reverberating with the latest news from Pakistan. Since the dishes can help Pakistan citizenry to circumvent the media blackout by picking up signals from sources beyond government control, the latest development should hardly be surprising. In university computer labs and at internet cafes, students and others are blogging about emergency rule, posting online videos of protests and publishing daily news letters. News is also transmitted through e-mails and cell-phones, including some made by political leaders and rights activists under house arrest. Students, opposition leaders and even Pakistani housewives have posted highly political comments on “Facebook”, a social network site.
Trying to cut off information in the digital age is like trying to stop the rain and wind in a monsoon is not possible. By this miscalculated crackdown, the government has lost a very valuable source through which it could feel the pulse of the people correctly that has never been done by its huge intelligence network. This regime’s popularity has already dipped low after the suspension of the constitution, but the electronic media blackout has made the people angrier.
There is reason to worry about so-called ‘fake media’ pretending to be objective while fronting for special interests. At the same time there is more reason to worry about efforts to close off access to the independent media. The legitimate journalists resent the unsavoury efforts by the government to reinvigorate the PTCL and new media outlets that actually are nothing but shills in the eyes of the people.
As a consequence, the rumour mongering is pushing Pakistan to the brink of an utter chaos that will only help the militants. It would create a situation from which it would be difficult to pull out. Gossiping and rumours could only bring more instability in the country that is already facing gigantic problems. Inspired rumours are spread to destabilise the government. Are theses rumours just self-generating stories from the imaginative minds of a cynical group, or are they propagated by hostile intelligence agencies? Who can ever know? But, what it does illustrate is that when there is huge public interest in an event with strong emotional appeal and lack of verified facts, the most fanciful stories can flourish and would be given credence. Independent media is the only bull-work that can check rumours. Unfortunately, for any government failure, it is the media that is the first target and gagged.
Source: TheNation
Date:11/15/2007
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