Although democracy is the most popular form of governance of the era, few elected democratic leaders display the prudence and foresight to rule their countries in accordance with democratic values. The majority of these democratically elected leaders fall prey to puppeteers of their own making or worse yet, get lured into the trap that the lust for power creates. Others morph into the tyrants they truly had been, on taking the oath of office.
Such leaders, in their agenda for self advancement, bully the citizens who ushered them into power. The bullying begins with finding loopholes in the legislature to torture and harm citizens. But such bullies get bolder by the day. Soon such bullies do not need loopholes in the Constitution to terrorize citizens. In addition to developing a blatant disregard for the rule of law, they have the power to create ridiculous laws that would allow them to treat citizens as they wished at that time.
Here in Maldives, we now have entered the last stage. The government which boasts parliament majority has the legal authority to endorse laws to facilitate their bullying. This has left us with a feeling of helplessness. We feel that our hands are tied before the law.
But one thing the bullied always forgets is that they have the power to stand up against the bully. As for a bullied community in a democratic government, we should remember that we put these bullies in power and so, we can remove that from power.
Of course we are not a direct democracy. And as a representative democracy removing the bullies form power via legal means, might prove more difficult than anticipated. However the beauty of democracy is the freedom it grants to the citizens. Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly would be our arsenal. Arrests will be made, jails will be filled. Jails may even be constructed to accommodate more prisoners.
Bullies gain strength from playing down the strength of others. How many times have we heard government officials mock the opposition by teasing them about the strength of their protests? How many times have we had to witness the government’s celebratory fireworks displays right after making arrests of popular leaders and activists of the opposition movement?
If we let the bullies make us falter in our actions, the bullying shall not stop. Maldives is a country that boasts a group of peace-loving people. But that peace cannot be what we get in exchange for our freedoms and rights.
It might not be today or tomorrow, but a day will come when even the most non political citizens of the country see the need to stand up against the oppressors. That day, might come sooner than later with the government’s bullying tactics directly and indirectly affecting more and more people every day.
A bullied demographic can be a strong one which might take time to muster the courage to confront its oppressors. But once such a community gains the strength, there would be nothing more dangerous to that community’s oppressors than the oppressed.
Such leaders, in their agenda for self advancement, bully the citizens who ushered them into power. The bullying begins with finding loopholes in the legislature to torture and harm citizens. But such bullies get bolder by the day. Soon such bullies do not need loopholes in the Constitution to terrorize citizens. In addition to developing a blatant disregard for the rule of law, they have the power to create ridiculous laws that would allow them to treat citizens as they wished at that time.
Here in Maldives, we now have entered the last stage. The government which boasts parliament majority has the legal authority to endorse laws to facilitate their bullying. This has left us with a feeling of helplessness. We feel that our hands are tied before the law.
But one thing the bullied always forgets is that they have the power to stand up against the bully. As for a bullied community in a democratic government, we should remember that we put these bullies in power and so, we can remove that from power.
Of course we are not a direct democracy. And as a representative democracy removing the bullies form power via legal means, might prove more difficult than anticipated. However the beauty of democracy is the freedom it grants to the citizens. Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly would be our arsenal. Arrests will be made, jails will be filled. Jails may even be constructed to accommodate more prisoners.
Bullies gain strength from playing down the strength of others. How many times have we heard government officials mock the opposition by teasing them about the strength of their protests? How many times have we had to witness the government’s celebratory fireworks displays right after making arrests of popular leaders and activists of the opposition movement?
If we let the bullies make us falter in our actions, the bullying shall not stop. Maldives is a country that boasts a group of peace-loving people. But that peace cannot be what we get in exchange for our freedoms and rights.
It might not be today or tomorrow, but a day will come when even the most non political citizens of the country see the need to stand up against the oppressors. That day, might come sooner than later with the government’s bullying tactics directly and indirectly affecting more and more people every day.
A bullied demographic can be a strong one which might take time to muster the courage to confront its oppressors. But once such a community gains the strength, there would be nothing more dangerous to that community’s oppressors than the oppressed.
