04.02.2007
Analysing Various Democracies (Part 4)
_ by Dr. San Oo Aung
“Politics means your everyday life. It is you in fact, for you are a political animal as Aristotle long ago declared. It is how you eat, sleep, work and live, with which politics is concerned. You may not think about politics. However, politics thinks about you. You may shun politics. But politics clings to you always in your home, in your office, in your factories. There, everyday you are doing politics, grappling with it, struggling with it. The worker works for his wages, the peasant tills for his living, the clerk and the official toil for salaries, the trader and the broker struggle for decent incomes. It is, all, the question of livelihood. The worker wants to have higher wages and live in better conditions. The peasant desires to improve his land and his lot. The clerk and the official want something more than the drudgery of office, something more secure, more complete, and more independent. The trader and broker want fair opportunities for trading and business. Thus, you have to live and get certain things that are yours for your living, and this is your politics. This is your everyday life; and as your everyday life changes, so changes your politics. It is for you to have such opportunities for your livelihood and better life that we say there must be freedom, freedom to live, freedom to create and develop nationally, and individually, freedom, which can raise your and our standards without affecting others. Moreover, this is politics. Politics then is quite human! It is not dirty. It is not dangerous. It is not parochial. It is neither magic nor superstition. It is not above understanding.”........Bogyoke Aung San
What kind of constitution do you want?
1. Constitutional monarch with limited powers?
2. Powerful President like US system, Iran and Pakistan ? or
3. Figure head President like India, Singapore?
4. We may need the upper chambers or Senates or like our old Pyidaungsu Hlut Taw for the Ethnic Nationalities and possibly for military generals. We could reserved for all these people in the upperhouse to guide or control us with some influence but witout any executive or leglistic power.
5. But iwe all need a Real Democratically elected Parliament functioning independently and freely for the benefit of all the citizens of Myanmar/Burma. We cannot and should not compromise on this. We could not reserve any place for any one including Myanmar Military. It may be against the very concept of a true and real democracy.
6. I must made it clear that in order to be a real Democratic Country, it must be also a Secular State.
7. We have no choise but to form a Federation. Up to how much power we wish to give?
8. Let me give some crude suggestion as an example.
9. Ethnic Minority States must be given some lactitude to feel that Big Brother, Bama is not not here to exploit or monopolize them but we want to stay united for the benefit of all.
10. They must be allowed to govern their states as they like in the form of Democracy.
11. Exceptions should be in the field of Defence Forces (Army), National Police, Central Bank issuing common currency and Foreign Affairs.
In analyzing and evaluation the Democracy Index of a country, Raw Indicators are used for rating by the Economist.
“The index looks at 60 indicators across the five categories of electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation, and political culture."
The following facts may surely pull down the SPDC’s democracy to a lower level or to the bottom:
- Poor ratings in political participation and civil liberties allowed by SPDC.
- Women's limited political participation at the present and future government and politics.
- The possible restrictions of SPDC on political parties and people’s demonstrations.
SPDC’s democracy may score poorly in the civil liberties category.
The three main concerns are:
- Present and future censorship of the print media.
- government policies favouring Burmese Buddhists Military and
- The Section 5 Political Act, which allows for indefinite detention without trial.
Because of SPDC’s oppression at the present and as there is no obvious signs of reducing these, opposition groups in Burma/Myanmar are also fragmented and ineffective."
According to the Economist, "flawed democracies" were concentrated in Latin America and Eastern Europe, and referred to fragile democracies where levels of political participation are very low and democratic cultures weak. SPDC’s democracy could be weaker than those flawed democracy countries and even with the most optimistic view could not be better than a "hybrid regime".
"Hybrid regime" is a regime that has some characteristics of a democracy and some of authoritarianism, and is not clearly one or the other."
Most probably, it will remain as an "authoritarian regime". We are lucky if it is just like or a little bit better than Pakistan or Iran.
Let us look at the “Asia Democracy Index”, Myanmar ranks at the bottom; Japan tops the Asia Democracy Index 2005, Overview by Paul D. Scott, Ph. D.
The Asia Democracy Index (ADI) has been designed to more accurately survey, measure, evaluate, and report on the scope of political freedoms as perceived by Asians. This survey is the first of its kind where “politically aware” individuals have been asked to assess the level of democratic development of their respective political systems. This is in contrast to relying on the views of experts from outside the region, in particular, those from Western countries.
To avoid over-reliance on economic indicators and to circumvent the problem of mixing up economic indicators with political ones, the present study polls its respondents exclusively on democracy and human rights statements. It is acknowledged that democratic development may well enhance economic growth and vice versa. For the purposes of the ADI, however, the focus is on assessing states according to how much they respect and practice that system of government, which best guarantees political freedom and human rights.
The Survey Design Team comprising of academics, activists, lawyers and political consultants was assembled in Taipei, Taiwan in January 2005. The team identified the areas of study and formulated the survey items. It was decided that the following aspects of democracy would be assessed:
1. “Civil Rights”,
2. “Elections and Political Processes”,
3. “Governance and Corruption”,
4. “Media”,
5. “Rule of law,' and
6. “Participation and Representation”.
Each category is further defined by more detailed statements.
Methodology
Sampling
method and sample size.
The sampling size depended on the capacity and various political conditions in
each country. In principle, the partner organisation would survey samples as
diverse as possible. The minimum number of respondents each country had to poll
was 100.
A total of 16 countries/territories were surveyed: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar (the name Myanmar has been used to reflect the political climate of those living under the current regime. In no way does the use of the name Myanmar denote any recognition of legitimacy), Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand. The following countries were not included due to budget constraints, security problems, or the lack of country partners: Afghanistan, Brunei, China, India, Laos, North Korea, Tibet, Timor Lestè, and Vietnam.
They use the following facts to evaluate the country’s democracy:
1. Civil Rights
1.1 People can openly question and discuss official policy without fear.
1.2 The government allows citizens to demonstrate peacefully.
1.3 Civic association and political organisations can freely organize, mobilize, and advocate their views.
2. Elections and Political Processes
2.1 Voters can freely choose their preferred candidates/parties without
interference.
2.2 There is free and fair competition among political parties.
2.3 The election authorities and election officials are independent, impartial, and effective in guaranteeing free and fair elections.
2.4 There is a legitimate, non-arbitrary, transparent process to amend the constitution and laws.
2.5 External interference is a significant problem in our political process.
3. Governance and Corruption
3.1 The government’s decision-making is transparent.
3.2 Elected officials and civil servants are held accountable for their actions.
3.3 The government is responsive to the public interest.
4. Media
4.1 The media is free and independent from government or other sources.
4.2 Journalists and the media present a diversity of political views.
4.3 The media contributes positively to democracy.
4.4 Journalists have adequate access to public information.
5. Rule of Law
5.1 The judicial system effectively protects human rights and democratic
principles.
5.2 Constitutional and legal arrangements guarantee democratic process in practice.
5.3 All
military, police, and security forces are subject to civilian control.
6.
Participation & Representation
6.1
Political parties provide an effective avenue for citizens’ participation in
politics.
6.2 Political parties adequately represent the interest of their constituents.
6.3 Civil society organisations effectively promote the public interest.
6.4 The rights and interests of vulnerable and threatened groups are adequately represented in the political system.
Read part 1, 2, 3 To be continued
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