A void where words have lost their meanings

What does a social experimenter seek among other things? A confirmation of his theories or prejudices. With another experiment underway in Pakistan, what more fitting place for General Musharraf to visit than the enigmatic Republic of Myanmar? For Myanmar epitomises to perfection the political theories being bandied about in Pakistan today. It is a country cleansed of politics and subject to the unchallenged supremacy of the military.

Aung San Suu Kyi may be the darling of the Western media, and an icon of sorts to democrats the world over (certainly a towering figure compared to the democratic champions produced by us). But what does her star billing matter to Myanmar's dour generals as long as she remains safely under lock and key?

Dour I say advisedly because it would be hard to imagine anything more set and impassive than the features of Senior General Than Shwe. Even when greeting Musharraf scarcely the ghost of a smile flickered across his face.

We want to make a functioning thing of the National Security Council. In Myanmar the ruling junta styles itself as the State Peace and Development Council. Our constitutional experts in the service of the military (did I hear anyone say Sharifuddin Pirzada?) could mull over this one. It sounds delicious if also a trifle more sinister. For what it truly stands for we could ask Suu Kyi.

By now aficionados of the Pakistani scene should have a fair idea of General Musharraf's foreign preferences. His liking for Turkey is no secret, not so much perhaps for Kemalist secularism as for the power exercised by its generals as the final arbiters of Turkish democracy. This accounts for Turkey's magnetic attraction. Turkish generals ride into the political arena as guardians of Ataturk's ideals. Those embarking upon similar missions elsewhere would, given the choice, like to have the same high-sounding legitimacy for themselves.

Another country in danger of becoming a role model for Pakistan is Egypt with which, as all the signs suggest, Pakistan's ties have become warmer under Musharraf. Does its attraction lie in the example provided by Egyptian democracy in which the president reigns supreme and elected institutions are little better than rubber-stamp bodies? Or in Hosni Mubarak's longevity, he being around since Sadat's assassination in 1981?

Now streaking across the popularity charts comes Myanmar whose political landscape has its obvious pulls for the visionaries of the Musharraf government: a land where politics has been all but snuffed out, Suu Kyi's periodic outbursts of defiance notwithstanding.

Just a day before embarking on his Myanmar trip Musharraf had this to say of Pakistan's politicians, "As they say in cricket, they have played their innings – they have played useless innings, getting out at zero. They should stay at home" – a sentiment with which Senior General Than Shwe would wholeheartedly agree.

But a point to remember. All the energies of the Myanmar army are concentrated on its first priority, keeping an iron grip on the country. This economy of purpose accounts for the success of the Burmese model. Myanmar's generals are not interested in the IMF. They are not driven by any other consideration. Their dictatorship is honed to a single purpose, at which it has proved remarkably successful.

Indeed as a rule wherever dictatorships have sacrificed unity of aim to embark upon foreign adventures they have come to grief. The Greek invasion of Cyprus in the sixties led to the downfall of the Greek colonels. The seizure of the Falkland Islands and the resulting war with Britain drove the Argentinian generals (the Galtieri regime) from power.

Saddam's example is the exception which proves the rule. His dictatorship was secure and prosperous. He put everything on the line by invading Kuwait. To the chagrin of the West he survives but as a much diminished figure.

We may count our blessings in that Pakistan is not Myanmar. Long may it remain this way (although I do pray at the same time that we somehow become a less stuck-up country in social terms).

But behind the smiles and good intentions lurk serious dangers. The body-language of the Musharraf government suggests long-term plans: the invention of a model wherein all the shots are called by the president, much as in Egypt, and where the president is the consensual choice of the national security establishment, again as in Egypt. Elections, assemblies and a noisy press would be the window-dressings to this structure.

About the most useless thing in such a situation is verbal protest and empty analysis. Words matter when they have some relation to action or political activity. In present-day Pakistan there is a void where the political arena should be. Words thus have lost their meaning. Also much of their sting which is why Musharraf can just as easily shake off verbal criticism as he can pour contempt upon the political class.