"Syed Atiq ul Hassan, is senior journalist, writer, media analyst and foreign correspondent for foreign media agencies in Australia." What a pity he can't spell martial, as in "martial law"!

However it is true that while you can lead a horse to water but can't make it drink, you can also not make a population embrace democracy if they don't want it. It took about one and a half millenia for democracy (or a version of it) to move from attic Greece to western Europe. We should not be surprised if the middle east and asia generally do not embrace democracy in one and a half decades.

oz is about as democratic as pakistan.

this guy is right about national culture determining the possibilities of political structure. it's just as true of oz. neither can have democracy until the culture of submission changes. pakistan has the excuse of poverty and illiteracy, while oz is enslaved by doublethink and newspeak. this slavery is psychotic, a genuine 'emperor's new clothes' phenomenon. it would be severely disabling if it were not nearly universal.

i'm still waiting for an ozzie to admit he doesn't live in a democracy. shows what can be achieved with doublethink and newspeak.

hey you English dictionary - Reynard - what is your problem in Martial Law. Evern if there is spell mistake what a big deal you English dick.
What a nonsence attitude to criticize someone if couldnot find anything a wonderful and truthful article - Congratulation Syed - there are so many bugger on this forum don't worry - keep writing good analytical articles.

There are first world people, and there are second world people, and there are third world people! So with a fact to this absolution, you can only look at the extinction of our cousins, that are no longer with us. Its funny how everything comes in three's! but thats another story. DEMOCRACY MUST BE SPREAD RIGHT ACROSS THE PLANET, this three world existence, will just not work. Think about this! If we become the one, we shall move in ways, that some of the people could not posable imagine. Pakistan is still a second world people. But if you look at the world in a whole, we are all still very young. and thats a fact! Its time to grow up.

DEMOS
I am the first to admit that we have never had a democracy not for a very long time but my reasons for making that statement are not appreciated by anybody especially by the corrupt and dishonest members of the legal profession and the grubs who have been appointed to judicial office in the Commonwealth and the States.
Does anybody really believe that we are being fed the truth of the situation in Pakistan and I tend to believe that this General has identified all of the same problems we have in Australia but have never been exposed. If one of our honest military generals or the Gov-Gen was to do the same in Australia I and many others would be right beside him to identify the scum.
The writer made the following statement;

Therefore, should President Musharraf hold the election in Pakistan, it will not change the lives of the common people nor will it change the corrupt system of governance.

What makes anybody believe that an election in Aus will change anything for the people who have been enslaved in this country or change the vile corrupt system of governance we have but very cleverly concealed by the legal profession who have absolute control all major political parties who are able to form government after the election.
I can now say that the ruling class in Queensland are very concerned with the discussions conducted in the private hearing in the court-room where the Qld-Court-of-Appeal is supposed to sit, and these discussions took place on Monday in the matter of L W CLAMPETT -v- PRINCIPAL REGISTRAR of the DISTRICT and SUPREME COURTS of QUEENSLAND, presided over by justices PAUL DE JERSEY, GLEN NORMAN WILLIAMS and PATRICK ANTHONY KEANE.
This matter will never be recorded or published as it was a private hearing ( legal proceeding) because the judicial proceeding had never commenced as the Originating Process was never issued from the Registry of the Court under the SEAL OF THE SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND in compliance with our laws of our Parliament and the judges rules of court