September 18, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 17, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Sept 17: Speakers on Wednesday called for concerted efforts for a sustained democracy to enable the country to brave the internal and external threat challenging territorial and ideological sovereignty of the country.

Speaking at a symposium held in connection with the international day of democracy, they asked all the political parties to bring in democracy within their ranks and shun the politics of confrontation as these trends were the mother of all the ills. The participants passed a unanimous resolution urging all the political parties to hold intra-party elections at all levels.

The speakers also urged the politicians, media, and general public to forge unity in their ranks as the “country was facing an extraordinary security situation and the enemy was threatening the territorial integrity of the state”.

“We should carry on concentrated efforts to keep the democratic course on and bring in intra-party polls so as true democratic culture could nurture, institutions sans personalities be strengthened.

“This would ensure that no intruder with nefarious designs would be able to thwart the democratic process. We share the responsibility for the promotion of democracy, which in turn will help establish economic prosperity and social harmony,” the resolution said.

Former Minister Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi urged the political, civil society organizations and the media organizations to work in tandem to make the country a truly democratic by all means.

He said the country was facing numerous challenges and the resolution to all these challenges lied in pursuing a true democratic course in the country.

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1948, projected the concept of democracy by stating ‘the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government,” he said and added that since its adoption, the UN Declaration has inspired constitution-making around the world and has contributed greatly to the global acceptance of democracy as a universal value.

Dr Sara Naveed, an eminent civil society activist, said democracy was the best, the only method, by which a government could be made to respect the rightful interests of the individuals.

“It is the method by which we attempt to make free cooperation on the basis of society. In this discussion, our primary definition of democracy is this practical one. All the techniques that allow decision-making to be inclusive and egalitarian, rather than exclusive and hierarchical, we call democratic,” he said and added that there are a variety of democratic techniques, most of them quite simple, which have been used in different times and different places far more often than is commonly realized. One of our goals is to set out the history of the use of democratic technique,” she added.

“As the country is advancing towards a true democratic order, sustained and combined efforts are needed to ensure that the country keeps heading on the democratic course. Democracy is the best system that has so for been evolved in human history as it not only addresses peoples’ concerns but also gives the opportunity to the people to freely express their will to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of life,” she said.

Rukham Khan, Convener, CSA, said democracy is a cherished dream for all of us as Pakistan came into being through a democratic struggle. Since non-democratic forces intervened time and again into the democratic course, the country faced so many predicaments over the years. This is the time for us to realize the gravity of situation and forge unity among our ranks to work together for a sustained democratic process in the country, he added.

“Indeed, democratic techniques, such as voting in referenda, can be used to impose social unanimity, to validate decisions made by a few in the name of all, without real choice entering into the process at any time. Democracy as goal and democracy as technique are nevertheless related.”

Civil rights activist Sadia Khan said one can take the existence and failure of such quasi-democracies in either an optimistic or pessimistic sense.

“We simply hope that this phenomenon can be recognized as an important part of human history. Likewise there is a history of democratic societies, at least of societies where many people, in part through the use of democratic techniques, have striven to realize the larger democratic virtues,” she said and added no one has ever reached the goal of the perfectly democratic and free society, and none is ever likely to. Perfection is not a human possibility. Yet the striving has not been worthless, and it has left its trace on the historical record. This, too, is part of our history,” she maintained.

Barrister Ayesha Jamal, Dr. Sultana Agha, Wasif Farid, Mujahid Hussain and Salman Khwaja also addressed the gathering.