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William H. Neukom
President, American Bar Association
Prepared Remarks from Lawyers' March Supporting Rule of Law in Pakistan
Washington, D.C.
November 14, 2007
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I am Bill Neukom, president of the American Bar Association. Thank you for being here today.
We have witnessed one of the most direct attacks on the rule of law that the world has seen in many years. Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution and shut down its Supreme Court, which was preparing to rule on Musharraf's recent re election. These actions are a clear breach of the rule of law ΓÇô the constitution and judiciary do not answer to him.
Pakistan's lawyers refused to accept this breach. They dressed for work wearing dark suits and white shirts. They headed to court knowing that instead of meeting their clients, they would meet policemen with batons and tear gas. But Pakistan's lawyers went to court anyway because of their belief in the rule of law.
Today, we will walk to court to show our colleagues in Pakistan that we share their commitment to justice. We will show them that they do not stand alone.
We are here because we cannot forget the images of hundreds of our brave colleagues assaulted in the streets, carried off in police trucks, and fenced in by barbed wire and concrete barricades.
We are here because we, like our colleagues in Pakistan, will not let the justice system become a tool of dictatorship and tyranny.
We are here because we, like they, believe that the rule of law is the only acceptable foundation for government.
The consequences of General Musharraf's actions affect everybody. We live in a small world, where the security and economies of all nations are linked. A blow to the rule of law in one place threatens justice in others. Pakistan is in a volatile part of the world, but strengthening ΓÇô not weakening ΓÇô the rule of law there is the best way to achieve security and justice.
Lawyers across the country ΓÇô from California to Ohio, and from New York to Wisconsin ΓÇô are holding solidarity events like this one to show our support for lawyers, judges and the rule of law in Pakistan.
We, the lawyers of America, call on Gen. Musharraf to restore the Constitution of Pakistan, reinstate Pakistan's Supreme Court justices, and free those lawyers and civil leaders who have been wrongly jailed!
Let's march for justice.
