Should we rejoice at what happened to the German Ambassador during a civil rights conference? Or should it be viewed as a statement about our education? Though the answer to this question in the given situation of Gaza is clear; what about our understanding of the function of an ambassador in a nation, the relevance of the forum for recording a protest, and celebrating the moment needs to be understood.
The German Ambassador on Saturday addressed the 5th Asma Jahangir Conference titled ‘People’s Mandate: Safeguarding Civil Rights in South Asia. The Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell (AGHS) organized this two-day conference in Lahore with the collaboration of the Supreme Court Bar Association and the Pakistan Bar Council. Right at the time when the ambassador started addressing the participants, a young student interpreted this envoy in words “Excuse me, Mr. Ambassador. I am shocked by the boldness that you are here to talk about civil rights while your country is brutally abusing the people speaking for the rights of the Palestinians.” Some others, especially of the same age group, started cheering. They chanted “Free, Free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea.” Responding to the slogans and comments some of their fellows rose from their seats and became part of this surprising protest.
The Ambassador reacted, “If you want to shout, go out; there, you can shout because shouting is not a discussion.” “If you want to discuss it, come here. We’ll discuss it but don’t shout. Shouting is not a behavior.” “Shame on you,” said the German diplomat dignitary. Meanwhile, the event organizers forced the protesters out to let the envoy complete his speech. The program then continued and ended as per the schedule. What Alfred Grannas said within a few minutes went viral and generated criticism on social media; And the foreign media also got active and started displaying this story from their viewpoint.
To our general understanding, the official site of the German Embassy in Islamabad displays a message from this ambassador. It reads “Germany and Pakistan share deep ties and a rich history. I dedicate my tenure to strengthening our relationship further across the board. Let’s together nourish Pak-German Dosti.” Given the incident, does not this message look similar to the one that the Japanese communicated to America after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki blasts? On August 6 and 9, 1945, America detonated two atomic bombs at both cities. This bombing killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians. In response to these killings, the Japanese established a hospital named “Hiroshima Hospital” in the same city which even today provides free medical treatment to American citizens.
Now comparing the incidents, a particular segment of our youth with specifically branded language style and training is helping us understand what we lacking, and what we need to debrief from our society.
Truly, the German government is continuing all possible support to Israel for its brutalities in Gaza, and the world powers are backing the genocide of Gazans contrary to their voices for the upholding of Human Rights. Equally, how the German envoy responded is questionable especially when such interruptions are not new even to the developed countries. But should we not appreciate how citizens of those countries including Germany are protesting against Israel’s atrocities? Are they not demanding their governments stop backing Israel? And importantly holding an ambassador to our country responsible for the acts of his or her country’s government does not make any sense. It implies that at least this particular segment of youth and their masters are not educated about the role of an ambassador. Ambassadors manage and maintain diplomatic relations between the home country and the host.
They engage in political and economic negotiations. They promote bilateral cooperation and safeguard their home country’s interests in the host country. The ambassadors are not entitled to criticize the policies of their home countries and cannot dictate policies to their respective governments. Many citizens of the world might differ from our policies and style of life in Pakistan, but none of them was ever reported in any part of the world as directly engaged with our ambassadors even in Germany and America.
An ambassador can convey the concerns of the host country’s government to the home country’s government in a systematic manner. However, such concerns could be conveyed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Can the citizens of any country be granted permission to take the role of their foreign ministries? This question will help us understand our role as citizens and the limitations and roles of foreign ambassadors. Both the way a foreign diplomat was interrupted and the launching of a hatred campaign against him on social media with indecent remarks speak about our moral education and training. It puts a question mark on how we have been educating our youth in the name of political awareness. But is the youth of this country responsible for a branded language or did the politicians play this role?
When and how to end such careless attitudes are still issues. Politicians need to reexamine how they contribute to the extinction of respect in young people. Debriefing of youth in this regard is equally important. We also need to have some understanding of the bilateral relations of Pakistan and Germany.
The two states engaged in diplomatic relations in 1950 focusing on social, educational, and economic development. According to the official figures, nearly 1,50,000 Pakistanis live in the Republic of Germany.
Germany started a significant industrial initiative in 1961 to help Pakistan become more industrialized.
Both countries have had friendly and close relations since diplomatic relations were established. Germany has an embassy in Islamabad, a consulate in Karachi, and honorary consulates in Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta. For many years, German archaeologists have been working in Pakistan. For instance, the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities has funded the project Rock Carvings and Inscriptions along the Karakorum Highway since 1979. As part of this study, German researchers visit Gilgit-Baltistan regularly. The German Federal Foreign Office has been supporting cultural preservation initiatives in Pakistan. Among these projects are the repairs of a mosque in Gilgit Baltistan and the Lahore Fort. This office in collaboration with the Aga Khan Foundation, funded the repair and restoration of traditional residential buildings in Lahore in 2010 and 2011. In 2010 and 2014, respectively, these projects were granted the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
(Author: Senior journalist Rana Kashif )
