hatred among the masses General Pervez Musharaf of against US imperialism apart from the LPP action. Pakistan has been painted in the Western media as a While police presence was good" military ruler, espe- high on the demonstration Clinton's recent visit to the because of the presence of the international press. has announced the date for local elections and indicated After all. we are tod. he police and army raided the houses and the offices of That evening however the Labour Party leaders. The that he will soon state wren the next General Election police were trying to arrest Farooq Taria, Shoaib Bhatti will be heki. The reality Is - perhaps not surprisingly and Zafar Awan, the three main leaders of LPP They were fortunate enough to avoid the arrests ment, which came to power in a coup on October 12 1999, announced a ban on ground. During the raid on political parties and strikes Farooq Tariq's house, hun- hardly a sign of demo cratic intentions. The Labour police encircled the whole decided to go ahead with its iney entered the nouse planned protest against Clinton's visit outside the forcefully to search for Farooq despite protest from American Consulate in Lahore, though a previous his partner Shahnaz lgbal, who was alone with her 6 year old daughter withdrew because of the fear of police repression. bour, Hamayun Rashid, into They then took a neigh custody and forced him to dreds of protests during In India there were nun point out the houses of all Bangladesh, there were mil- clinton's visit, even in Itant demos by students. in the area. Rashid was then arrested for some hours and was released at no other voice for the great 2 am that moring after several national newspapers made inquires about his arrest. The offices of had been several times coup and under constant surveillance. it unclear whether PLP leaders will be charged with some spunous ontence.
There has been widespread condemnation of this repressive action in a number of mass circulation newspapers and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has unanimously opposed these attacks on civil rights.
Protests have also taken place in Bntain against the military regime: a picket of March 23 called by Aaj Kay Naam' (In Today's Name) and supported by the LPP heard about the raids. Would Cook's "ethics" alloto him to back Pakistan's Labour Parry against the military crackdown?
It is clear that solidarity is desperately needed. Send messages of protest • Chief Executive General Pervez Musharaf [email protected] • Federal Interior Minister (R) Moin -ud•Din Haider, Fax number 92 51 9202642 • Governor of Punjab, Lt. Gen. (R) Muhammed 92 42 9200077| • Please send a copy of the protest to LPP Email [email protected] or to Box 1109, London N4 2UU.