Crushing dissent (Guardian) By Peter
Tatchell
The arrest in London of exiled Baluch human rights
activists looks like a bid by Musharraf to frame his opponents and
silence critics
A former MP and government minister from Pakistan-occupied
Baluchistan, Hyrbyair Marri, has been languishing in Belmarsh prison for
the last two months. He was arrested at his west London home in early
December on charges of plotting terrorist acts abroad (it is assumed
in Pakistan). His next pre-trial hearing is today at the central
criminal court.
Marri was minister for construction and works in the provincial
assembly of Baluchistan from 1997 to 1998.
Baluch leaders and Pakistani opposition figures believe the charges
against him are without substance and have condemned Marri's arrest and
imprisonment. They claim that the Pakistani dictator, President Pervez
Musharraf, has a vendetta against the Marri family, who are leading
nationalists in the province of Baluchistan - a formerly independent
nation that was invaded
and annexed by Pakistan in 1948. They cite leaks that Musharraf has
privately vowed to crush the Baluch self-determination movement and
destroy its leaders. They also highlight the fact that the Pakistani
authorities have been pressing the British government to arrest and
extradite Marri and several other Baluch nationalists who live in
London.
Their claims seem to have some credibility. Marri's arrest in London
two months ago came just two weeks after the Pakistani
authorities assassinated his brother, Balaach Marri. His murder was
strongly condemned by opposition leaders such as Imran Khan and the late
Benazir Bhutto.
Marri's other brother,
Mehran Baluch, who also lives in the UK and is the Baluch representative
to the UN human rights council, was last year the subject of a
top-secret extradition
bid by Pakistan, on charges that critics have condemned as trumped
up.
The actions of the Musharraf regime against these three brothers look
like a systematic attempt to target the family and crush three major
voices of Baluch dissent. What is particularly shaming is that the UK
government appears to be colluding with this plot by the despots in
Islamabad.
Marri's arrest in London also coincided with a major Pakistani
military offensive against Baluchistan, which has included the
indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas using US-supplied fighter jets
and other weapons small arms, some of which may have been supplied by
Britain. The Labour government is aiding the Pakistani tyrant;
authorising the sale of the military hardware that he uses to sustain
his dictatorship and suppress his own people.
Hundreds of innocent Baluch civilians have been killed in Musharraf's
scorched-earth military campaign. Thousands more people have been
detained without trial or forced to flee their homes to escape
Musharraf's terror tactics.
Earlier this week, I spoke to the chair of the human rights
commission of Pakistan, Asma Jahangir. She confirmed the apparent
attacks on civilian areas; saying she visited the site of a supposed
rebel military camp that was blasted to pieces by the Pakistan army and
air force. Littering the ground, she said, were domestic artefacts,
civilian clothing and children's toys.
Marri has been charged alongside another Baluch human rights
activist, Faiz Baluch, of north London.
I know both the detained men. They are Baluchistan nationalists and
human rights activists. We worked together to expose Pakistan's
persecution of the Baluch people and to support the broader struggle for
democracy in Pakistan. The defendants never expressed to me any support
or sympathy for terrorism. All our campaigns have been lawful and
peaceful. I would be very surprised if either man was involved in any
terror plot. Marri is a member of one of the most distinguished and
esteemed Baluch families. He is a rather unlikely terrorist.
It is my opinion that these terror charges are likely to have
resulted from pressure by the Musharraf regime. We know that Musharraf
has been pressing Britain for the extradition of Baluch nationalists
exiled in London.
Britain and Pakistan have been in secret negotiations for a prisoner-swap
deal. The UK police want to extradite terror suspect Rashid Rauf
from Pakistan. They are keen to question him in connection with the 2006
plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.
In exchange for handing over Rauf to the UK, the Pakistani government
is demanding the extradition from Britain of Baluch nationalists.
Late last year, however, after the UK government failed to extradite
Mehran Baluch, Rauf, a high security prisoner, mysteriously
escaped from police custody in Pakistan.
Despite their carelessness, Musharraf's men are still pressing for
the Baluch nationalists to be handed over. If Marri and Baluch are
extradited, they will never get a fair trial and will face torture,
imprisonment and probable execution.
Astonishingly, our government, in our name, is colluding with a
bloody dictator like Musharraf. Gordon Brown should refuse to give in to
pressure and blackmail by the Pakistani dictatorship. He should publicly
reject requests for the arrest and extradition of Baluch leaders and
activists, and cease supplying military aid to the tyrant in Islamabad.
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2008/02/crushing_dissent.html
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