Volume No. 2 Issue No. 39 - Monday May 19, 2008
The rule of law Vs the law of the jungle
 By Gerald La Touche JP
On 2 May 2008 Cyclone Nargis ripped across the coast of the Union of Myanmar, also known as Burma, the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. Cyclone Nargis left thousands of Burmese dead and millions homeless or displaced.
So how is it possible or conceivable that the military government of Burma could stick to its timetable to hold a May 2008 constitutional referendum to further empower the regime.
Well it did, and eight days later, on Saturday 10 May, while the Burmese people were still dying and food, water and shelter were desperately needed, amidst this human catastrophe, the voting on the constitutional referendum began!
How is this possible, you ask. Well, such action may, and should, come as a shock to most normally decent minded people, but it may further surprise you to learn that this is common behaviour amongst dictatorial or military governments around the world.
For them there is nothing odd about putting themselves above the people whom they govern, some even elected to do so before embarking on reversing constitutional liberties.
Let us take a closer look at Burma and the Burmese government, and the pattern of behaviour in the making of a dictatorial government.
Burma achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 4 January 1948 as the Union of Burma. However, democracy was short lived and democratic rule ended in 1962 when General Ne Win led a military coup d'�tat.
Between 1962 and 1974, Burma was ruled by a Revolutionary Council headed by the general, and almost all aspects of society i.e. business, media, production were nationalized or brought under government control.
In an effort to consolidate power, General Ne Win and many top generals resigned from the military and took civilian posts and, from 1974, instituted elections in a one party system.
Between 1974 and 1988, Burma was effectively ruled by General Ne Win through the Burma Socialist Programme Party, and the country became known as the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma.
Enter the current regime - In 1988 amidst economic and political unrest General Saw Maung staged a coup d'�tat and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).
In 1989 SLORC declared martial law and changed the country's official English name from the Union of Burma to the Union of Myanmar. On the day it seized power SLORC abolished all state institutions that were established under the 1974 Burmese Constitution.
The lesson to be learnt from the above is that dictatorial governments are not a product of accident or coincidence. They are systematically and calculatingly planned and organised.
They usually have great military backing, as they cannot exist without the consent of those who are charged with the duty to uphold the law, but soon compromises that duty for power.
They are great believers in central command and control this is usually reflected in their desire for �one political party state�. They always consolidate their rule through constitutional reform to favour the ruling party and disadvantage everyone else.
The Caribbean as a region has done well to resist the above case scenario. We have shown a certain degree of political maturity and resilience in overcoming political strife and the �would be dictators�.
Looking at the Caribbean islands and nations, which attained independence from European colonisers, it is generally with great pride and humility that I savour the political maturity and stability that we have achieved as a geo-political block, while still at the teething stages in our national and regional development.
We have a long road yet to travel and a lot of hard work ahead as we aspire to full and complete self-determination and self-sufficiency as a Caribbean-Nation-Region, but we have come a long way still.
However, Haiti, the first amongst us to be independent, does live a tear in the eyes. But I hold hope for that country, ravaged by dictators. We shall liberate Haiti yet, from itself!
So it is with pride that I raise this issue at the dawn of Dominica�s 30th anniversary of independence. We have had our civil strife. We are still working through our hard times.
Things have never ever been easy in Dominica � even as some amongst us reminisce the days of �milk and honey, cane juice and sweet medicine, vanilla and cassava� to quote the Midnight Groovers.
Life has always been a struggle in this beautiful, lush yet rugged Dominican terrain, which we all so dearly love.
But compared to some of those countries, long independent before us, and some about the same time as us, struggling through the growing pains of the journey into nationhood, boy have we done well!
It is not often that we pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. We have managed the first 30 years of our independence with maturity and clarity. We know what we want and what we do not want for our country.
And never forget that it is our country � not the government�s, not yours, not mine, but our country, Dominica.
Some of our brothers in Africa, Asia and South/Central America have not all been as fortunate as we have been since their independence.
In part two of my 30th Anniversary of Independence series I will take you through the mess of post-independence Africa and introduce you to thieves and tyrants who would be Prime Ministers!
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