went to the shanaakht press conference yesterday. as usual i was dressed in black. the tank top i was wearing underneath my grey overshirt, had a somewhat large neck and was constantly threatenign to dip and display 'my goods'... so i resorted to using a common-pin to pin it up. at the back of my head i was hoping that the outfit wouldn't appear as inappropriate for the press club or the conference.just as i was getting out of my car, i saw sharmeen walking by me with a bunch of Cap volunteers. slowing her stride, she thanked me for being there and went on. i've interacted with her a lot in the past and i have never seen her face so... crushed before. she didn't look like she'd slept all night, and understandably so.
once inside i also spied amean there - also in black - along with fahad. pretty soon the regular journo crowd - minus those representing a certain competitor publication - arrived and the press conference started.
the pain the organisers felt was reflected in their expressions and in their voice. they had been working very hard for over two years for this festival to happen, had an amazing line-up of events, it would have been absolutely fabulous and a big step forward not only in terms of the festival, but also in the objective that they have been trying so hard, to achieve. it would have been a great festival for the citizens of karachi by the citizens of karachi.
those who had turned up to support the festival included karafilm fesitval director hasan zaidi, omar bilal akhtar from the adp, fatima (naveen's friend, who's also worked in Cap), and then a whole bunch of people i did not recognise. a lot of them were NOT those who'd very conveniently announced on facebook that they would come. at least those that i knew off. i dont think that there was anything lacking in their intentions, but declaring something on a public networking site and actually doing it are two very different things.
i think the following article, published in the metropolitan (dawn) on april 10/2009, by qasim a. moini describes the conference pretty well:
Lack of security forces organisers to cancel Shanaakht
KARACHI: The Shanaakht Festival 2009 – an event that was supposed to celebrate the nation’s history, culture and identity over a five-day period – came to an unceremonious end on Thursday as organisers told a standing-room only press conference at the Karachi Press Club that they had decided to cancel the festival in the light of the fact that the provincial government had failed to provide adequate security to the event.
Citizens Archive of Pakistan (the principal organisers of Shanaakht) president Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, photographer Amean J and other organisers spoke, while a large number of the festival’s supporters as well as media-persons were present.
The festival’s opening day – Wednesday – was disturbed by a violent protest by self-styled vigilantes (reportedly members of the political party currently in power in Sindh and the centre), who objected to the exhibition of a work of art they considered offensive.
The protesters proceeded to tear banners, smash equipment and abuse the organisers and public by hurling profanities. There were also reports – though unconfirmed – that some of the protesters resorted to firing. And all the while that this distasteful episode unfolded, the police stood by and watched as silent spectators.
Ms Chinoy contradicted statements given in the press by Pakistan People’s Party leaders that the organisers had refused to take down the offending picture. ‘If they had asked us, we would have removed the picture,’ she said, referring to the art-work in which Benazir Bhutto was depicted in an unflattering manner.
‘We apologised for it. Out of 1,000 contributions, one picture was overlooked. We would have removed it in two minutes’ had we been asked in a proper manner, an organiser said. ‘We did not want to hurt anyone’s feelings.’
According to the press release issued by CAP at the briefing, ‘Our intention was not in any way to offend or harm any citizens.’ On the first day of the festival, when over 1,000 people were present, some members of a political party were offended by a voluntary contribution in one of the exhibitions. The protesters turned violent and not only vandalised the area, but also threatened the safety of all those at the festival, including young organisers, women, children and the elderly.
‘We are extremely apologetic for the offence we have caused due to the controversial contribution. We accept that its inclusion was an oversight on our behalf. Following the incident, we immediately issued a public apology. The press has mistakenly reported that we were asked to remove the piece and refused, and that the protest began peacefully. In actuality, the Arts Council was stormed and attacked without any warning, and we condemn the manner in which the protest was lodged.’
The organisers stated that despite several verbal assurances by the government, nothing concrete was promised to them as far as proper security arrangements are concerned.
‘We have not received any security assurance from the government. Thus, we cannot provide security to the citizens of Karachi (attending the festival),’ the organisers told the press conference.
The statement adds: ‘In response to our public apology, some members of the government verbally assured us of their support and stated that it was their desire that the festival should continue. However up till (6pm) today, Thursday April 9, there was no official statement from any representative of the government supporting our festival or assuring the safety of its organisers or those attending the festival.’
Ms Chinoy said that Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri had been ‘very supportive’ but did not give the organisers any clear-cut assurance promising proper security for the festival. She added that the organisers had tried to contact provincial Minister for Culture and Tourism Sassui Palijo ‘around 10 times’, yet the minister failed to take their calls.
Conspiracy theory
Interestingly, the culture minister – instead of condemning the violent incident – issued a statement expressing her ‘displeasure over the display of objectionable portraits of the Bhutto family members at an exhibition at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi’.
According to PPI, the minister said a ‘conspiracy, in the name of art, to malign the name of the Bhutto family, who sacrificed their lives for the interests of the people and the country, would never be tolerated’.
She said that art should revive beauty and culture and not malign great leaders and distort facts. ‘It is shameful to commit character assassination of such great leaders, who laid down their lives for the rights of the people.’
Sassui Palijo said strict steps would be taken to avoid display of such pictures in the Arts Council of Pakistan in future.
The organisers of the Shanaakht festival asked the government to conduct an inquiry into the incident as they claimed the violence had ‘deprived thousands of citizens of Karachi from participating in the festival’.
The organisers said they had received many messages of support from ordinary citizens who had attended the festival.
‘We, the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, seriously condemn this vandalism and violently outrageous behaviour. We have been forced to shut down the festival as we cannot jeopardise the lives of the people who were expected to participate in the festival,’ adds the press release.At the conclusion of the press conference, the organisers asked those present: ‘Is our shanaakht (identity) disrupting festivals? This is not a discussion on art. If a citizen has a problem, there is a civil way to protest. Firing and violence are not the answer. Destruction is not the answer.’
Sadly, many of the press-men chose to ask the organisers attacking questions over displaying ‘objectionable’ pictures, even though the organisers profusely apologised for the oversight. This, coming from a community that has been at the forefront of the struggle for freedom of expression in Pakistan, was disturbing to say the least.
As the organisers noted, ‘this is a sad day for Karachi’. Indeed.http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/entertainment/lack-of-security-forces-organisers-to-cancel-festival-hs
