Bhutto mulls ‘virtual’ rallies

Former Pakistan Premier Benazir Bhutto said Tuesday she is considering “virtual” mass rallies and campaigning via phone to avoid mass violence after last week’s deadly suicide attack on her convoy.

Bhutto wrote her suggestions in a Wall Street journal opinion piece, a day after she condemned the government’s plan to ban large rallies in the run-up to January’s general elections, seen as a key step to restoring democracy after eight years of military rule by President Pervez Musharraf.

“Where people have telephones, we can experiment with taped voice messages from me describing my issue positions and urging them to vote. In rural areas we are contemplating taped messages from me played regularly on boom boxes set up in village centers.

“Instead of the traditional mass caravans of Pakistani politics, we are discussing the feasibility of ‘virtual caravans’ and ‘virtual mass rallies’ where I would deliver important campaign addresses to large audiences all over the four provinces of Pakistan.”

Pakistan “is not California or New York, where candidates can campaign through paid media and targeted direct mail. “The people of Pakistan ... expect mass rallies and caravans, and to hear directly from their leaders through bullhorns and loud speakers.

Washington,Tuesday, AFP