Anna's 'monster' Jan Lokpal scares me

Anna Hazare has good intentions but his Jan Lokpal Bill scares me.

I can understand the anger in India today. I can understand why hundreds and thousands have taken to the streets. I can understand why corruption needs to be tackled on an urgent basis. But what I don’t understand is why we need to create a monster to fight a monster. I don’t trust monsters.

When India got democracy 64 years ago, we set out to create a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Started off with good intentions and decades later we are sure that the government is of the people (a separate corrupt class) by the people (who need them for corrupt means) and for the people (who are ready to offer bribes and kickbacks).

 

Team Anna wants to create another draconian structure because they say that the draconian structures we already have in our society are no longer any good. The premise of Jan Lokpal bill is based on a system of 'respectable non-corrupt' officials with the powers to prosecute anybody in the country, who are demanding life sentences for corruption and the right to dismiss and penalize anybody they deem corrupt.

While this may seem the perfect solution to eradicate corruption from our society, think carefully if it would work in reality? Who are these non-corrupt officials who will run the Lokpal and Lokayukta, who will in a sense hold almost unlimited power in the country?  I know the Jan Lokpal Bill has clearly defined how the process will be done using terms like ‘transparency’ and through various ‘respectable’ committees, but I don’t see it work.

One of my many worries with this bill is that it will end up seeing many of the people on Anna’s stage today running the Lokpal from the centre and the Lokayuktas in their states tomorrow. So who are they really campaigning for- the people or themselves? And my worry is why are we giving so much power to a fraction of people? 

Team Anna argues that corruption in India is systemic and I agree but I’m not sure that the Lokpal will escape this systemic corruption. Power corrupts and there is no guarantee that this system will eventually not succumb to corruption. Then who will police them? Team Anna reply to this in their bill does not convince me. I only see it as a vicious circle which will eventually succumb to a mutual parasitic relationship and infest society further.

If these so called non-corrupt people have managed to garner such a huge fan following among the masses with the Team Anna tag attached to them, then why don’t they stand for elections and see changes happen within the system. Team Anna can form a political party and these non-corrupt supporters, then as elected members, be a part of various governing bodies and monitor the corruption within the system.

It may not seem like a quick fix solution to rid India of corruption overnight but it’s in my opinion a far better solution to eradicate corruption and sustain non corrupt practices in the government departments. Why create a parallel system? And how many parallel systems will we create? Tomorrow we may not like something else in this country (and I’m sure there are many more issues we despise) are we going to hold the government to ransom and create more parallel structures?

We all hate corruption and we want an end to corruption. So why not force the government to become more transparent by holding them accountable. Why not use the same model that Jan Lokpal bill uses for transparency – form a single body to hold inquiries in corruption related cases; publish status reports of corruption cases, keep the cases in public domain, issues penalties for delayed cases etc.

I also agree it would be a good idea to get politicians, bureaucrats to disclose their assets periodically; and to liquidate their assets if they have swindled taxpayers’ money in scams. But why not lobby to include these provisions in our current judiciary system? Give power to the judges and monitor them through a strong Judicial Standards & Accountability Bill which I believe is a step in the right direction.

An independent body can monitor such cases and since the documents will be in public domain, study them and lobby for a speedy trial. The media will only be too happy to campaign for it as we have seen their constant 24x7 coverage to Team Anna.

I respect Anna Hazare, at 74, to believe in a cause and campaign for it. But Anna is no Gandhi and his coterie is not fighting for our freedom against an alien oppression or occupation. Bringing the Gandhi cap back in vogue, celebrity endorsements, crowds chanting freedom slogans, Anna fasting-unto-death, shooting dramatic videos messages inside the jail to reach the masses waiting outside are just gimmicks to liken the movement to the freedom struggle. Tackling corruption is important but the theatrics is ludicrous.

Team Anna has picked up an issue that has mass appeal and timed it perfectly with the many scams we saw early this year to rake up emotions. While I’m happy to see India unite against corruption, I doubt many even understand the finer print of what they are campaigning for.

It’s easy to get swept by the Arab Spring but India is not the Middle East. While the Jan Lokpal model would work beautifully in some Middle East countries who have just began to form democratic structures, India is a mature democracy and already has structures in place. We just need to make them more transparent and productive and the Jan Lokpal bill has some suggestions that are worth implementing and some which will require further analysis, but creating a separate entity like Anna’s Lokpal is not my solution to corruption.

One positive thing from this campaign is that people have found a voice. And I really hope this voice can also be channelized to create awareness on other important and urgent issues.

While Show Anna is on at the Ramlila grounds, there are simultaneously many other issues across the length and breadth of India that require a strong united voice and the media spotlight to lobby for them: Keywords: Irom Sharmila against AFSPA, POSCO protests, Koodankulam nuclear plant protests (and many more).  

Many livelihoods are getting lost; many innocent people are getting shot, villages are getting destroyed and families are burying a loved one every day. They are however going unheard.

Simply because they are not as glamorous as this.

 

God, Syria and no Bashar

 If you say ‘God, Syria and Bashar’, I say ‘God, Syria and My people’, I Bashar Al-Assad will remain dutiful and faithful to my people and will walk with them to build Syria…

Powerful words from Syria’s President yet drowned by chants of ‘God, Syria and Freedom’ and ‘Syria is protected by God’ as millions of Syrians take to the streets of Damascus and other cities standing united and strong against the oppressive regime. And as the global leaders unite to put sanctions against Assad, will this succeed in ending Assad's brutality? 

Hafez al-Assad with his sons Basel & Bashar

Bashar al-Assad became Syria’s president by accident. Though not originally the first choice to succeed the iron fisted Hafez al-Assad, as the President of Syria, Bashar was thrown into the spot light after his elder brother Basel was killed in an accident in 1994.

An eye doctor trained in Britain, Bashar’s sudden change to a military career and his super progression from June 2000 when his father died to mid July when he took over his father’s place, was the aftermath of Hafez’s efforts to ensure his son was his successor.

Rifaat al-Assad with Hafez al-Assad

Hafez was afraid his disgruntle brother Rifaat would be staging a coup to take over Syria’s presidency after him. Rifaat, a hardened politician himself, who commanded a ruthless army of 55,000 men with arms & ammunition fell out with his brother in 1984 and since lived abroad in exile. Rifaat had showed his displeasure at the inexperienced Bashar contending for the Presidency.

But Hafez’s faithful coterie of Alwaties ensured that Hafez’s last wish came true. In the next month and half; the constitution was amended to lower the age of Presidency from 40 to 34 (Bashar’s age then), Bashar was made the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, then promoted to the military rank of lieutenant general, made the head of the Ba’th party. He was then endorsed by the leadership for presidency, nominated and then duly elected for president with 97 per cent of the Parliament voting for him.

A novice in politics then, Bashar tried to bring in some reform- he released 600 political prisoners, relaxed few controls on the economy and the press. Syria saw emergence of private banks and universities and the private sector got some room to grow. The Damascus spring which saw the slight opening of the economy and the political system did not last long. But never a believer in democracy, Bashar still kept the country in the four decade old martial law.

Syria’s foreign policy too saw turbulent times. Bashar’s influence in Lebanon cannot be underestimated. He forced the Syrian constitution to pass an amendment in 2004 to extend Emile Lahoud, the then Lebanese president term for three years. Lahoud has been a Syrian puppet and Bashar had vested interest in doing so which also led to allegations of Syria orchestrating the murder of Rafik Hariri, a leading politician who opposed it.

United States imposed sanctions under the Syrian Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act (SALSA) in May 2004. SALSA bans all U.S. exports to Syria (except food and medicine). This has hit Syrian aviation particularly the State-owned Syrian Air, Syrian oil and gas production and other projects that depended on US technology and US parts for their operations. Also companies specializing in major high-tech projects shunned operations in Syria for fear of angering the US.

A UN Resolution in 2004 forced Syria to remove its troops from Lebanon which were posted there since 1970s. But after the Israeli & Hezbollah war in Lebanon in 2006, Syria’s influence in Lebanon once again grew as they were the main suppliers of Iranian weapons to Hezbollah. This forced United States to acknowledge that Syria was an important player in the Middle East peace process.

In 2007 Bashar was re-elected the President with 97.62% vote, not surprising since there was no other candidate which reinforced that any political reform was just lip service.

In this picture taken on June 13, 2000, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, right, his brother Maher, centre, and brother-in-law Major General Assef Shawkat, left, stand during the funeral of late president Hafez al-Assad in Damascus, Syria.  (AP Photo, File)

But what was perhaps Bashar’s biggest political mistake was to remove many of the old and seasoned politicians – Bahjat Suleiman, head of intelligence, Hasan Khalil, head of military intelligence, Adnan Badr Hassan, head of political security and Vice President Abdel-Halim Kaddam.

What followed was the emergence of the triad of power: Bashar, his brother Maher who heads the Republican guard and his brother-in-law Asef Shawkat who heads military security.

What Bashar perhaps did not foresee was that the narrower the coalition became the greater the opposition grew.

Syria’s opposition was organized by a group of activists online inspired by events in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt. The group, called the National Initiative for Change, said that its members in Syria represented a broad spectrum of groups opposing the leadership. From the initial sparks of unrest online, the opposition grew in numbers and determination over the months. Syrian revolution has moved from above to below. A revolution from the grassroots has a far disastrous impact on the elitist regime that that from its own clan.

In a country where any political meeting of more than five people required a permit from the government at a two week notice with the names of speakers and attendees duly given, thousands take to the streets everywhere defying the state. Battles continue as the army fires on innocent civilians but that has not deterred the proponents of democracy.

Assad is spraying bullets at his people to stay in power, inspiration gained from his friend Muammar Gaddafi who is turning Libya red with protesters blood. It’s important for the international community to mobilize support against Assad’s regime. However their experience in Libya had put them on a back foot.

The new sanctions imposed on Assad and his faithful coterie by the US and the EU came too late. Assad's regime can still survive on its reserves of $18bn dollars held in its central bank and Iran too has pledged financial support of almost $6bn. However it cannot survive forever and soon when the money runs out and the isolation sets in, Assad will have to decide on a plan B. There is no doubt Syria will eventually get its freedom, at what price to its people is the worrying bit.What is also worrying is that exiled politicians like Rifaat Assad might use this opportunity to support the revolutionaries in a bid to get back the throne he was never given but thought was always his. Syria needs to watch out as Rifaat would be as bad as the rest of the Assad clan.

US turning against Syria is a good sign as in the recent years they were hoping to garner a partnership with Assad to isolate Iran and broker peace in the Middle East. Recently the Obama administration condemned the attacks on Syrians in these strong words; ‘Syria would be a better place without President Assad’.

And for once billions worldwide agree.