Smiling faces – smiling faces sometimes don’t tell the truth
An interesting situation has developed in Pakistan: politicians of all stripes have filed disqualification references and petitions against each other alleging corruption through abuse of political power. As a citizen I believe all these respectable elected politicians must be telling the truth based on evidence. So I have no other option but to accept that they are corrupt. It will be a historic opportunity for the country if all of them are disqualified so that space is created for new leadership to emerge. But then that is wishful thinking because it seems behind the door all of them have an understanding (muk mukka) not to go beyond a certain point. The Quran advises us to learn lessons from past generations. In other words history is a guide to organise a society better. So let’s see how other nations dealt with the similar situation.
In 1st century before Christ (BC), Rome was deeply mired in corruption of the elite before the arrival of Julius Caesar. He believed system can be reformed from within so tried to form an alliance with the status quo by accommodating all prominent senators including now famous Cicero and Brutus. But these same senators conspired and assassinated him. A civil war ensued for succession between his trusted lieutenant Mark Anthony and adopted son Augustus Caesar (real name Octavian). During the struggle both sides submitted list of people to be executed as a compromise for balance of power, eventually killing most of the corrupt elite. The struggle ended when military supported Augusts Caesar forcing Mark Anthony to exile to Egypt. This cleansing of the state resulted in a much more powerful Roman Empire that lasted for over 200 years before splitting into Western and Eastern Roman Empires. The Eastern Roman Empire survived another 600 years until the emergence of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Islam with its new moral code fought and defeated it to capture current day Syria and Turkey.
In 12th century Asia Mongol tribes were deeply divided and engaged in unethical practices of looting, ransom from caravans, kidnapping of people especially women and other such practices. In this chaos rose chief of a smaller tribe named Temujin who was orphaned at young age by opponents of his father. He was deeply disturbed by the corrupt practices of Mongol tribes and embarked on a journey to cleanse these practices and unite them into one nation. The solution he found was to kill chiefs of corrupt tribes one by one and install creditable leaders in their place that pledged their allegiance to the new social contract presented by him. When the nation was united he was elevated to the position of Khan of Khans and remembered by the world as Ghenghis Khan. He was highly disciplined and did not tolerate any breach of code of conduct among any of his chiefs. He would declare himself wrath of God on all those that he conquered and massacred. In other words he was driven by a religious zeal to cleanse the world. I am not trying to glorify Ghenghis Khan but that for his nation the unity was achieved by practicing a code of conduct.
In 18th century Europe French elite were engaged in facilitating each other at the expense of peasants, labors and other poor classes. The situation became highly unsustainable giving rise to a group of middle class educated men who formed a Jacobian club to raise voice against this oppression by elite. This was not the only club there were many more but Jacobians became more well-known led by orators like Robespierre. They initiated a reign of terror killing almost every aristocrat that was considered part of the corrupt elite. Coincidently Robespierre himself became one of those consumed by the revolution. Eventually a new order was established by Napolean Bonaparte by declaring himself an Emperor but it was a temporary respite before the emergence of a democratic republic.
In modern times around early 1990s Italy experienced emergence of a corruption nexus between politicians, large corporations and organised crime. They benefitted themselves at the cost of the citizen and state. The situation became unbearable giving rise to a team of prosecutors and judges that decided to stop it. They embarked on an operation cleanup that is now called Mani pulite (clean hands). They were able to unearth and prosecute the corruption of the former Prime Minister Bettino Craxi and almost half the members of parliament. It was an ugly fight and resulted in assassination of many prosecutors and judges. But eventually the justice prevailed paving way for emergence of new breed of politicians.
In China President Xi Jinping made eradication of corruption one of the main agenda of his reform program as soon as he took oath of office in 2012. Despite serious challenge from the status quo, he was able to prosecute many high ranking officials including some of his old mentors and colleagues. It is not yet clear whether he has broken the back of the corruption or not but China appears to have emerged stronger. They still have to deal with a declining economy that can become a serious threat to the continued rule of Chinese Communist Party.
What are the lessons we can learn from these examples in history? First lesson is that if we delayed prosecution of corruption then it can lead to a bloody revolution. Second lesson is that peaceful transformation, as experienced by Italian and Chinese, could be achieved through rise of a capable team that has legitimate authority to cleanse the system. Third lesson is that expecting cleansing of the system through ballot box alone is impractical unless there is systematic change in the way elections are contested and political parties organised.
Installation of a technocratic government that is theoretically clean but constitutionally illegitimate is not viable rather will be detrimental. Band aid solution of using Rangers and military courts can provide temporary relief but does not eradicate the problem from the roots. Military encroachment on political authority is also not a solution. A better approach will be to break the nexus between organise crime and politics which is only possible when Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) perform proper monitoring of political parties through implementation of their constitution and code of conduct. Judges have to punish violators of public trust so that space is created for better politicians that are cognisant of their fiduciary responsibility. Electoral system has to be reviewed as first-past-the-post-system (FPTP) has failed miserably. Proportional representation or some other formulation has to be considered seriously.
We are at a critical juncture in our evolution. It is yet to be decided whether we can achieve peaceful transformation or a bloody revolution is waiting for us around the corner.
