Fireworks, not firecrackers

One more, with feeling: A Happy and Blessed New Year to all our Readers and Friends! May the year 2008 bring you everything that's good and great!

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A new year has come, and the world has still not switched topics from the very dastardly murder of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the woman who dreamed of bringing real democracy to her country, Pakistan . Alas, Benazir was killed just before the old year passed away, and those responsible for the crime have not yet been identified. Will this assassination go the way of so many others in recent years, where some suspects were arrested, convicted and imprisoned, still protesting their innocence?

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As of yesterday, the news from Pakistan confirmed what its opposition people had been fearing: the government of Pervez Musharraf has declared a postponement of the elections supposed to take place on January 8. International reports said the Pakistani government has announced the new day as February 18, more than a month from the original schedule. The Musharraf government explains that this had to be done because some election offices and polling places had been destroyed by rioters, but opposition leaders do not believe that.

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What the former followers of Benazir Bhutto would like is to go on with the elections as already set, since that would give them a very big advantage from the sympathy votes for the late former PM. Giving the administration more than a month to do damage control and put things together would be disastrous for them. As a rallying point, they have unanimously elected the young son of Benazir as her successor as leader of the Pakistan People's Party.

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Bilawai Bhutto Zardari is only 19 years old and is a college student at Oxford University . To apprehensions of other world leaders that he may be too immature, too raw, and too inexperienced at politics, spokespersons of the family have pointed out that Benazir herself was only 22 when she got into politics and learned as she went along. Bilawai, who is as good-looking as his late mother, looks intelligent and cleancut, innocent, if you like, looks just resigned to what he may regard as “kismet” or fate.

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What other people, Pakistanis among them, are worried about is that his father, Asit Ali Zardari, is going to be his adviser, a sort of regent, in the meantime, and they have doubts about the old man's integrity. Before his late wife was ousted, Azit already had the reputation of being a “commissioner” or “percenter” in every major government project. Hmmm… sounds familiar? Could the son control him when his wife could not? I also heard that his followers are changing Bilawai's family name to Bhutto only, to establish name recall for his murdered mother.

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Meanwhile, doesn't Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf not look and sound somewhat like the late Ferdinand Marcos after the assassination also of former Senator and potential president Ninoy Aquino? On TV yesterday, he looked desperate as he delivered a kilometric statement asking God to forgive Benazir's soul and bring her to heaven, bewailing the allegations about her death, declaring a deteriorating situation in the country, and how he personally felt the pain, anger and sadness over the tragedy. He also spoke of calling in foreign investigators, like Scotland Yard, to ensure an impartial investigation of the crime. Maybe he didn't mention the Sureté since more of his people speak English than French.

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In the meantime, it was heartening to note that statistics for deaths and injuries from firecrackers have gone down by almost half in the country. In fact the only death I read about was that of a rejected lover who swallowed watusi firecrackers. What was very delightful was watching, on TV, the magnificent and stupendous fireworks display in some big capitals of the world, like Paris, Sydney , Hongkong , New York , and even at the St. Basil's Cathedral which is near the Red Square in Moscow .

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I saw that Makati also had a wonderful show on New Year's eve, but my sister Perla and I, together with Mayor Bing and family, drove off to the Talisay residence of Dr. Rodolfo Patino, his sister Linda and her children Mary Jane and Terrence Cordova, and Derrick, as well as her granddaughters, where we always go on New Year's day for the annual fireworks show. This year, the soft rain dampened the crowds a bit, but the show still went on, in line with what is believed to become a Talisay tradition.*

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