Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2

Dear Prime Minister:

On behalf of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, I am writing to express our grave concern and dismay regarding the imposition of a state of emergency and suspension of the constitution in Pakistan by the country’s military ruler and President, General Pervez Musharraf.

Musharraf’s dictatorial actions, including: the suspension of Pakistan’s Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other members of the judiciary; bans against the media; and the suppression of fundamental democratic rights; have resulted in protests throughout Pakistan and growing condemnation from human rights organizations, trade unions and government leaders from around the world, including Canada.

The people of Pakistan have a long and vibrant history of fighting to protect civil society and democracy and have been on the frontlines of the struggle since a state of emergency was declared in the country. Pakistan’s military dictatorship has responded with wide spread detentions and arrests of lawyers, journalists, students and internationally respected human rights defenders such as Asma Jahangir.

On November 11, the Musharraf government amended the Army Act of 1952, allowing the army to court martial civilianspeaking out against the state with charges of sedition, treason and terrorism, with trials conducted through military courts. This most recent change in legislation signals a dangerous escalation in the regime’s long history of human rights violations by allowing the military to act with total impunity, and presents a very serious threat to justice and human rights in the country.

Equally disturbing is the impact of these wide ranging military powers on trade unionists in Pakistan who have taken a leadership role in the recent protests. Many trade union activists have been arrested and detained; others are still missing according to Amnesty International. On November 5th, Liaquat Ali Shah one of the leaders of the Solidarity Campaign with the Karachi Pearl Continental Hotel Trade Union was arrested along with four others, and charged with treason; a charge which carries the death penalty.

The actions of the Musharraf regime against Brother Shah are part of a long history of state sanctioned violence and intimidation against trade unions in Pakistan that have had tragic results – as was the case with the president of the Punjab Federation of Labour Arif Shah, who had long worked to abolish child labour and who was murdered in 1995. At various times throughout the country’s history, the government has passed laws that have prohibited workers from being involved in union activities, even though Pakistan is a signatory to ILO (International Labour Organization) Conventions 87 and 98 on the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

This repressive legislation, coupled with the deregulation and privatization of Pakistan’s public services and the large scale appointment of military officers to key roles within public service agencies, such as the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), has resulted in huge job losses, increased poverty, and country wide demonstrations by workers. The 130,000 member Union of Water and Power Workers has been on the forefront of fighting privatization and corruption at WAPDA. Rana Ayub Aki Khan, Deputy Secretary General of the Union was arrested on November 5, along with four colleagues.

Mukhtiar Khan, a worker for Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (which is part of WAPDA) was recently kidnapped and is reported missing. Other union leaders from the Water and Power Authority have gone into hiding. Nonetheless, the fight against privatization continues. In fact on November 2nd, the day before emergency rule was imposed, airline workers protested against privatization and shut down several of the airports in the country.

Mr. Prime Minister, recently you stated that you “see the government of Pakistan using excuses like a threat of terrorism or the Taliban to effectively clamp down on legitimate opposition in the country. And the great threat in any country is when people who oppose the government don’t have legitimate channels of opposition”.

We agree that suppressing dissent in the name of “security” and the “war on terror” not only clamps down on legitimate opposition in any country but also grossly violates fundamental human rights. The plight of the Pakistani people is but one recent example of the devastating consequences of the “war on terror”.

As I’m sure you are aware, the involvement of the government of Pakistan in the global “war on terror” manifests itself within the country through the abuse of civil liberties and hundreds of people being disappeared and secretly detained, particularly in areas such as Balochistan, Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province. Western intervention and the “war on terror” in Pakistan and the surrounding areas have led to increasing instability in the region.

Yet the people of Pakistan courageously continue their struggle for national and social liberation and we ask that our government take the necessary diplomatic steps to support their efforts. We demand an immediate end to the state of emergency and we join the International Trade Union Confederation in calling for “the immediate restoration of the rule of law, the country’s constitution and the fundamental democratic rights of its people”. We further urge you to continue to demand the release of political prisoners including trade unionists.

We applaud the courage and tenacity of Pakistan’s workers in the face of continued repression. In the words of the Pakistan Trade Union Defense Campaign, “the bosses can murder our members; they can never murder our determination to fight for our own liberation”.

Yours truly, John Gordon, National President

c.c.
General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan
Stéphane Dion, Leader of the Liberal Party
Jack Layton, Leader of the NDP
Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the Bloc Québécois
Zahid Hamid, Pakistan Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights
PSAC National Board of Directors
Public Services International
Pakistan High Commission in Canada
Canadian High Commission in Pakistan
Pakistan Trade Union Defense Campaign
Canadian Labour Congress