A lady, a scholar, and the first ever female to be elected prime
minister in a Muslim country. Twice. A brave woman, who went to
great personal risks and sacrifices to work for her country, for her
people, to make things better for them. Better, freer, more modern.
With her death dies the hope for millions of people in Pakistan. With
her death, dark forces shall rise, forces who don't respect freedom,
don't appreciate democracy, and most certainly, don't believe women are
capable of leadership. I salute you, Benazir Bhutto. You are an
inspiration.
Conflicts exists wherever people do. Terrorism, suicide bombing,
abduction, torture, and other means of forcing opinions on entire
populations are not acceptable measures in resolving conflicts.
Negotiations, and time, as long as needed are the only ways to
accomplish solid, stable and long term conflict resolution.
The reason is simple. There's always the day after. The collective
memory of people who were forced into a resolution by inappropriate
means will be there for generations. The memory of atrocities stays,
simmers, and get resurrected at times. I hope with all my heart, that
conflicts around the world will see some resolution this year. Solid,
stable, long term resolution.
The memory of Benazir Bhutto will be with me for a long time. I hope
that her legacy will bring peace to her people, to her country, to the
world. Forgive me for mentioning this, but we, human beings, may be
facing a much bigger problem. We may have to work together to resolve
it if we want to live. From what I'm reading lately, we may be facing
some severe environmental problems, not in a thousand or a hundred
years - tomorrow, next week, in a year.
Farewell, Benazir Bhutto. The world will miss you.