Wednesday, December 05, 2007 Carvajal: The irony of it By Orlando P. Carvajal Break Point
ONE instance of a reason why we need to liberate ourselves from both the present ruling elite and those that want to take over power happened at the Manila Pen. It happened in the ironic situation of one group wanting to solve the country’s social ills by seizing power unconstitutionally and another defending the constitution by trampling over basic human rights guaranteed by the constitution.
While we cannot go with the way Trillanes has chosen, the way of the gun, it is equally certain we cannot go with the way this insecure government defended itself. I am not denying the government its right to defend itself with the gun when a gun is indeed aimed at it. But there were few guns at the Manila Pen although, because the hold-out was staged by men with military backgrounds, the threat of more coming was there.
But more guns likely to come out of the woodwork. Therefore, ramming the Manila Pen’s doors with a tank was not just a case of overkill but of high-powered weapons in the hands of low-powered minds. There is no way the arrest of the journalists could be justified under the situation either. From start to finish it was purely a police matter so why were journalists arrested without warrants?
There’s the irony. The journalists were arrested to protect democracy from those who would destroy it. In the process of defending democracy they killed it. They showed that they were as disrespectful of democratic processes as the coup plotters. It was like democracy stood still and Martial Law took over for the duration of the crisis.
The truth of the matter is both the coup plotters and the administration just wanted the power to rule. They would discard democracy any time we let them.
Trillanes’ group deceived the two bishops into thinking they were for changes in society when all they wanted was to seize power. The administration people, for their part, were not defending democracy. They were simply securing the crown that teetered on PGMA’s head.
If we want to help this country, we must strive to make our democratic institutions work. We need to get our acts together to make things happen by way of reforms in the electoral system, in the justice system and especially in the economic system that impoverishes the many and enriches only a few. No group, least of all the military, should be allowed to claim they have the answer to this country’s problems.
We must not allow unconstitutional accession into power. We can correct cheating more easily than restore free elections once we are ruled under martial law. We need to mature in our democratic ways through the lessons learned from our political history. Let’s have none of these ironies.
