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Regional upheavals
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Posted on Nov 09 2000
The Issue: Upheavals in nearby Asian countries triggered by civil discontentment.
Our View: Despite the rising sentiment from the grassroots, due process must not be denied the accused.
In relatively incipient democracies throughout Asia, autocrats and dictators amassed the wealth of their countrymen stashing them elsewhere or outside the country.
There’s the late Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos who robbed his people of millions of dollars. It remains a tedious task bringing back to the republic what he’s alleged to have taken from the treasury. It still is an ongoing legal battle.
A similar accusation has been leveled against Indonesia’s former President Suharto and his siblings. Today, his son Tommy is in hiding and the persistent civil protest to make him pay for his alleged loot is a daily affair throughout the Indonesian capital.
President Erap Estrada has also been accused of bribery or taking millions of dollars from the operation of an illegal numbers game. This has sparked civil marches in Manila demanding for his resignation. The president asserts that he will remain in office claiming innocence against bribery.
In either case and no matter the battle cry for resignation or imprisonment of country leaders alleged to have amassed the wealth of their people, the basic tenets of democracy in terms of the due process rights of the individuals must be upheld and followed.
If in the end a conviction is reached, then and only then must the accused be asked to leave office. Otherwise, a lot of questions would be left unanswered despite the desire of the people at the grassroots level to see that justice is had in an effort to protect the interest of the greater majority.
It’s a difficult process but one where justice could only be had if the accused is given his or her due process rights. The democratic process is often a tedious journey where even the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Si Yuus Maase`!
