The coalition of
the willing has embarked on a noble mission - to deliver democracy to
the millions of poor souls in Iraq, who have never known anything but
dictatorship and tyranny. And many have applauded such effort of
spreading goodness all around the world. We remain skeptical. We feel
it is a good time for reflection and introspection. We feel it is time
to revisit the basic definition of democracy.
Long ago patrons
of democracy defined it as a state "by the people, of the people,
for the people". And it has been so for hundreds of years.
In Australia, a
democratic state, 71% do not support sending troops to Iraq. Yet they
do. In Britain, a Mori poll for The Sun newspaper, found that 63% of
respondents oppose war and Britain is the strongest ally of this
carnage. When 80% of Spaniards reject war even with U.N. backing,
Spain becomes a hawk in this war. In Japan opinion polls show that
roughly 80% of Japanese are opposed to the war and they are part of
this coalition. In Turkey, a democratic state, up to 94% of the people
are against this war. Yet after initial rejection, they are forced to
open up their airspace.
All these
countries failed to represent the will of their own people.
By virtue of the
old definition, all these states are democracies. The leadership
comprises of the people, they have been voted in power by the people
and they are acting in the sole interest for those that are governed.
And this trend of
democracies rejecting the will of its own people marks something far
more sinister than a war and a few thousand innocent victims. It marks
the death of democracy as envisioned by its forefathers. These states,
that we call democracies, have all successfully suppressed the voice
of the majority. In this sense, they are not much different from the
dictatorship we are about to dispose of in Iraq.
The old definition
of democracy "by the people, of the people, for the people",
specifies how a democracy should be created and run. It is more a
technical definition and fails to capture the true spirit of
democracy. The old definition makes us believe that democracy is only
about votes. We are made to believe that when we execute our choice
every four years, we create a democracy - a misconception that has
been fed to us over the years. In reality, we just vote to choose who
the next dictator will be and hand him over our powers for the interim
period.
It is time to
redefine democracy. A government that is "by the people, of the
people, for the people" is not enough. Further it must also
ensure a state where "WILL OF THE MAJORITY IS UPHELD AND RIGHTS
OF THE MINORITIES ARE RESPECTED".
States, where
individuals and parties can manipulate the existing machinery to
suppress the will of the people, are non-democratic in nature.
Maintaining a façade of election does not make them any more
democratic than tyrannical regimes of this world.
It is time to
state that the coalition partners have strayed from the path of
democracy. Australia, Britain, Spain, Japan and Turkey are no more
democratic.
The
Bush-Cheney-Rumsfield agenda is stealing democracy from all over the
world. It respects neither rights of minorities nor the will of the
majority. It makes a demon out of France and Germany because the
elected representatives respected the will of its people. It tried to
buy off Turkish leaders who were bent on respecting the will of the
governed.
As planes bomb to
give democracy to Iraq, already it is lost in several countries. For
many, a few birds in hand looks far more precious than the lone one in
the far away deserts of Iraq. Uncle Sam begs to differ.
We call on all
democratic institutions and individuals to recognize the slow
disintegration of this cornerstone of civilization that we know as
democracy. We call on all people to adapt this new definition of
democracy and measure a country with this new standard.
And please Mr.
Bush, when we give democracy to Iraqis, let it be one where "will
of the majority is upheld and rights of the minorities are
respected". Not one, that is just "by the people, of the
people, for the people". We have suffered the pitfalls of the
narrow definition enough.