{"id":3690,"date":"2015-07-27T07:20:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-27T07:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/2015\/07\/27\/tp-saran-192\/"},"modified":"2018-11-08T10:30:03","modified_gmt":"2018-11-08T06:30:03","slug":"tp-saran-192","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/tp-saran-192\/","title":{"rendered":"Constitution or State repression? Time for good sense to prevail"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a saying that \u2018it is never too late.\u2019 Perhaps we could make that \u2018it is never too early\u2019 \u2013 for a 2.0 version of L\u2019Alliance Lepep?<\/span> <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether we like it or not \u2013 and this concerns especially those who are in power \u2013 there is a generalized feeling of \u2018sour taste\u2019 that is prevailing in the country as a direct result of the actions taken by the power apparatus beginning shortly after the Vire Mam electoral victory of December 10, 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no doubt that this victory represented a mandate for bringing about change in the country \u2013 positive change according to the winning Alliance\u2019s manifesto, with a promise of carrying out a grand nettoyage. The electorate, in handing over the reins of power to the new dispensation, agreed with this broad objective, and even jubilated with the holders of power when what they qualified as the alleged Ponzi scheme of the BAI and the nexus with the outgoing government were exposed and unravelled.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, what they didn\u2019t bargain for were the methods of pursuing this objective which have been much in display as the months have rolled by. As the number of enquiries have multiplied like successive sparks in a gunpowder trail, the manner of proceeding seems to have degenerated into what increasingly is being likened to \u2018State repression\u2019 by certain observers \u2013 with the President of the Bar Council Mr Antoine Domingue not mincing his words about likeliness to a police state or even dictatorship!<\/span><\/p>\n

The BAI saga has uncovered a Pandora\u2019s box that that has threatened the livelihoods of many families, while at the same time leaving in limbo many customers in, for example, the Bramer Asset scheme who, despite official \u2018reassurances\u2019, are still not convinced about the eventual outcomes. On the other hand, the forays into other matters, such as the Cooperative Society of Vacoas and, more recently, the agreement with Jin Fei regarding Domaine Les Pailles, are giving rise to contradictions that are unsettling the employees. Thus, they are querying why when it concerns a private company \u2013 BAI Group \u2013 government is taking over and guaranteeing employment to the staff, whereas for a State-owned one, there is no similar arrangement. What is the rationale for this differential treatment? Which, to anyone, sounds perfectly logical and reasonable.<\/span><\/p>\n

As is bound to be, it is news that concerns government actions that always dominate the national headlines, and the platforms of access to such information are so varied and multifarious that its widespread dissemination impacts citizens directly. As a result, a sense of paranoia can so easily take hold, and completely overshadows whatever \u2018good\u2019 measures are being simultaneously taken by the very same government. Everything becomes tainted with the same suspicion that is driving the grand nettoyage agenda. Excesses either way, good or bad, eventually sour, however noble the initial intentions. Needless to say, they do no good to the image of the country, not to speak of that of the government and more specifically of certain of its branches and the officers concerned, like the Police.<\/span><\/p>\n

As noted above, the methods being resorted to are not resonating with the expectations of the people, who are disturbed \u2013 even if spuriously — by the heavy-handedness involved. In the matter of the DPP Satyajit Boolell, several experts have pointed to the section (93) in the Constitution which provides for an accepted and civilized approach in any issue where clarifications or explanations from the holder of that office may be needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

It does not include making unannounced and improper landings at unearthly hours, as has been the case \u2013 not only with regard to the DPP but also in other cases. What democracy or respect of democratic principles are we talking about then?<\/span><\/p>\n

The Vire Mam is beginning to smell more of scores settling than actually putting things right, and of respecting institutions or the dignity of offices or their holders under the Constitution. But more fundamentally, it is simply about human dignity \u2013 can\u2019t we see that?<\/span><\/p>\n

No doubt the retort would be that the previous dispensation acted likewise: that\u2019s precisely the point. Having demarcated itself electorally through the massive mandate, why does the new dispensation have to sink to the lower levels of batte red\u00e9?<\/span><\/p>\n

Why not rise above and show that there is truly new blood around, which intends to rigorously follow and protect Constitutional and institutional propriety? Isn\u2019t that more likely to gain points rather than showing that one can be even more violent?<\/span><\/p>\n

And if guidance were needed, there is nothing like turning to and heeding those who walk the world stage with heads held high and whose track record leads them to tender freely their advice and views about the human condition.<\/span><\/p>\n

One such is the Burmese freedom fighter Aung San Suu Ki, whose essay \u2018Freedom from Fear\u2019 that was reproduced in last week\u2019s issue of this paper should act like a wake-up call to all of us, especially those in power. The following extracts are most relevant to our current situation:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018The quintessential revolution is that of the spirit. Born of an intellectual conviction of the need for change in those mental attitudes and values which shape the course of a nation\u2019s development. A revolution which aims merely at changing official policies and institutions\u2026 has little chance of genuine success. Without a revolution of the spirit, the forces which produced the iniquities of the old order would continue to be operative, posing a constant threat to the process of reform and regeneration. It is not enough merely to call for freedom, democracy and human rights. There has to be a united determination to persevere in the struggle, to make sacrifices in the name of enduring truths, to resist the corrupting influences of desire, ill will, ignorance and fear.\u2019 (italics added)<\/span><\/p>\n

So, are we going to persist with the iniquities of the old order \u2013 \u2018du pareil au m\u00eame\u2019 – and threat? Or will good sense take over in the name of enduring truths, resisting to be driven by ill will and a re-invention of the way of conducting the affairs of State? There is a saying that \u2018it is never too late.\u2019 Perhaps we could make that \u2018it is never too early\u2019 \u2013 for a 2.0 version of L\u2019Alliance Lepep? Pausing awhile, taking stock of ground realities and feelings, and setting sail in fresh waters? Here\u2019s really hoping for good sense to prevail.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

* Published in print edition on 31 July 2015<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a saying that \u2018it is never too late.\u2019 Perhaps we could make that \u2018it is never too early\u2019 \u2013 for a 2.0 version of L\u2019Alliance Lepep?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":6560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5268],"tags":[1841,5576,140,1096,3744,5577,4794],"class_list":["post-3690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-justice","tag-antoine-domingue","tag-aung-san-suu-ki","tag-bai","tag-bar-council","tag-constitution","tag-dpp-satyajit-boolell","tag-lalliance-lepep"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/MT-Logokk.jpg?fit=1200%2C880&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8QzSF-Xw","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}