VUSL Students and Professors join to Protest recent events in Pakistan
Posted by: admin in NewsBy: Eric Gettemy, Executive Editor
On Wednesday, November 14, VUSL students, faculty and professors gathered in front of the Valparaiso Courthouse to protest recent events in Pakistan. The New York Times reported that Pakistani police have jailed thousands of Pakistani lawyers, and while in a sheer display of authoritarian power, General Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan’s constitution and placed the Supreme Court under house arrest citing a “state of emergency.”
VUSL SBA President Sebastian Smelko issued this invitation to the student body and VUSL community.
“On Wednesday, November 14, the ABA is organizing a lawyers’ march inWashington, D.C., to support the rule of law and lawyers in Pakistan.At 11:30 a.m., lawyers will gather in the plaza in front of the JamesMadison Building of the Library of Congress before walking around theSupreme Court. Lawyers across the country are participating in similarmarches in their communities, and the ABA is encouraging andsupporting these local efforts.
To support these measures, Professor Ed Gaffney and I ask you to assist us in this endeavor. Some of our very own professors will joinus as we take a stand against this arbitrary governance and I hope I can count on you to march over to the Porter County Courthouse on Wednesday at 11 AM to make a statement on this issue there. As this is during Chapel Break, I hope I can count on you to be there. There will be media present to document our message and intent.
This is not only a positive way to show dedication to the legal system, but show that we are committed to the protecting the Rule of Law all over our World. This is not a political issue; rather, thisis a stand for liberty and written constitutions of which we all believe [are] sacred. It is my duty, as the President of our Student Bar Association, to call upon you to use a half-hour of your time on Wednesday at 11am to show our solidarity towards these ends.”
There was a strong showing at the protest, and many cars passing by honked and waived in support of the cause.
Professor of Constitutional Law Ivan Bodensteiner was at the protest, and had these words to say:
“If we can learn anything from these events in Pakistan, I suppose it shows that if you want to start a dictatorship, the first thing you have to do is take out the lawyers and the press.” He also stated, “The recent attack on attorneys and the press in Pakistan demonstrates the significant role attorneys and the press play in preserving the rule of law. For us, as attorneys, it reminds us of our awesome duty and responsibility as guardians of the Constitution and the rule of law. While we are not alone in this, there is a reason why those who want to place themselves above the law see a need to silence the members of our profession.”
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