KARACHI, Feb 17: Commonwealth Secretary-General Donald McKinnon on Friday called for using the freedom of expression with responsibility and restraint. Mr McKinnon was speaking on ‘Shaping the global agenda: Role of Commonwealth’ at the Aga Khan University.   Referring to the cartoon controversy, he said: “Although, we share a common humanity, efforts are being made constantly by those with sinister interests to divide people.

“Ask the millions of Muslims – and many non-Muslims — the world over, who have been deeply offended by cartoons that appeared originally in a Danish newspaper. Or, for that matter, ask the traumatized citizens of Denmark, who are now being vilified for the actions of one cartoonist and one newspaper editor.

“I have made it clear that while freedom of expression is a core Commonwealth principle, that freedom has to be exercised with responsibility and restraint. We must respect people’s religious and cultural sensitivities.”

Equally, he said, violence was not the answer because that would only fuel the cycle of hatred. He emphasised that respect for others and their points of view cannot be imposed nor demanded through force; it must be built up through dialogue, understanding and goodwill.   He pointed out that cartoon controversy had sharpened tensions and portended a clash of civilizations. “But that itself is a simplification of what is a much larger problem — that of a world being made ever smaller by the forces of globalization.”

Mr McKinnon maintained: “It is not a matter of Islam versus Christianity. Extremists who distort the pillars of a faith are not peculiar to any one religion – sadly, they all have their share of them. But it is also not just a matter of religion. “Faith does not explain ethnic genocide or inter-clan warfare.”

He said that alienation, marginalization and exclusion were phenomena that had many roots, including religion, language and culture. But, he added, so too were poverty, illiteracy, environmental degradation and perceived political injustice.

South Asia is a region which has seen – and continues to witness – examples of religious extremism, ethnic conflict, economic deprivation and challenges to democratic practice. Pakistan itself has paid a heavy price – politically, economically and socially – for the conflict in Afghanistan in the 1980s and the war against terror after 9/11.

“So we all have to work harder to ensure that people in any society, wherever they live, are not made to feel that they are outsiders, that they are marginalized, that they don’t have equality of opportunity, that they must simply give up in despair on their children’s future.

  “I am sure, therefore, that the direction provided by Commonwealth leaders in Malta will have resonance and support here in Pakistan, as well as in the other member states of this region.”

In the context of good governance, the secretary-general said that it had become a Commonwealth flagship and added that the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (Cmag) had been created to deal with serious or persistent violations of the Harare principles.

He said the heads of government at Malta did welcome “the progress made by Pakistan in restoring democracy and rebuilding democratic institutions.” Among the notable developments were the resolution of the LFO (Legal Framework Order) through parliament, enhanced representation of women in the Senate and National Assembly, increased press freedom and efforts to combat corruption. Pakistan has also willingly engaged with the Commonwealth and permitted Cmag to monitor progress.

“But,” he said, “our leaders also concluded that the holding by the same person of the offices of head of state and Chief of Army Staff is incompatible with the basic principles of democracy and the spirit of the Harare Commonwealth principles.”

Mr McKinnon, who is scheduled to meet President General Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad on Saturday, said the leaders emphasised that “until the two offices are separated, the process of democratization in Pakistan will not be irreversible”, and “urged Pakistan to resolve this issue as soon as possible, and not beyond the end of the current presidential term in 2007 at the latest. They noted that Cmag will retain Pakistan on its agenda pending the resolution of this outstanding issue.”