Detention without trial

Have been most busy lately that I have not had the luxury of time to blog. I have had too many things to do. When I am not thinking of work, and talk with people, I have observed a spirit of depression, of insecurity in those I meet. The country is run by a Prime Minister who is not allowed to have peace of mind to run the country, there is division in the ruling party, there is talk about a revolution and takeover of government by th opposition, there is inflation and there is this fear of racial tensions that can lead up to violence and emergency rule. These contribute to the uncertainty – we don’t know what is coming next. Investors stay away. People don’t spend money, projects are stalled and the economy is sick. Clients delay in payments, people don’t want to spend money on lawyers and I have to work harder leading to anxiety attacks.

I have now read that an MP, a blogger and a reporter has been detained under the internal security Act – that means detention without trial. How can a draconian piece of legislation exist in a country that practices democracy and profess Islam as its official religion? Detention without trial is against the universal principles of natural justice and has no place in any civilized society. This just adds to the depression and the feeling of helplessness to fair minded citizens in society. Where is the superman, the iron man or the batman? We do need them in times like these. But then they are just fantasy. They become blockbuster movies because they reflect our need for superheroes to fight the bad guys and to protect the small guy against the bully and the oppressor.

I am fortified in my view that a government is the most dangerous threat to its citizens’ rights. It holds a legal monopoly on the use of force against legally "made helpless" citizens. Civilization is setting a citizen free from the unjust oppression of government. The only power any government should have is the power to crack down on crime and to protect the minority from the oppression by the majority. (Those in government should also keep its hands off business if there is going to be any national prosperity in the long run). With minimum control and interference by the government, its citizens should be allowed to run the economy and bring prosperity to all. We cannot allow an environment where this government is free to do anything it pleases and digress to the darkest period of human history – where citizens were ruled by brute force to keep them quiet and docile so that the government can carry out its own corrupt practices and remain incompetent, weak and unjust.

There is no basis for detention without trial even if it is in the interest of national security. If a person is a threat to national security– charge him or her in court. There are powers to deny bail if evidence can be produced before the court that the person is indeed a threat to national security. Government decisions to detain an individual without trial should always be subject to review by the Courts – who must be manned by high moral standing and competent judges. The courts are the guardians of the individual’s rights. Judges are gods as far as I am concerned and therefore must act and behave like gods – learned in the law, wise, fair, just and compassionate. Even governments should tremble before these godly judges in the Court of Law.

The real threat to national security is incompetence, weakness and injustice. When these elements exist in government, then the government is the threat to national security, not the opposition, the bloggers and the reporters who criticize the government.

George Orwell wrote – If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – for ever. I hope he is wrong about the future in this country.