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Why dictators need ‘orderly transitions’

Anil Netto
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9

Ever wondered why most dictators or authoritarian leaders who have overstayed their welcome refuse to leave their positions immediately despite widespread protests?

Invariably, they often need to put in place an “orderly transition”, which can range from a few months to even a year.

Why is this so?

– they need to sort out their family fortune, transfer money out of overseas bank accounts before they get frozen, etc and they need to find a safe haven for their wealth.

From the Telegraph:

The intelligence source suggested that 82-year-old Mubarak may have learnt the lesson of his fellow dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the former president of Tunisia, who was forced with his family into a hasty exile in Saudi Arabia while Swiss authorities froze the family’s bank accounts.

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Farewell, ‘Lady Macbeth’ of Tunisia

Anil Netto
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13

Ousted Tunisian dictator Ben Ali had to put up with serious insult from his wife Leila before they boarded the plane to flee the country.

'Lady Macbeth' Leila - Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
When hubby refused to board the plane, Leila commanded, “Get on imbecile. All my life I’ve had to put up with your screw ups.”

“Leave me, I don’t want to go, I want to die here for my country,” pleaded Ben Ali pathetically, sounding a bit like Mubarak.

But Ben Ali’s hated political police chief, Ali Seriati, pushed him up, shouting: “For —-‘s sake, get on!”

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People Power ousts ‘Pharaoh’ Mubarak

Anil Netto
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17

A great and glorious victory: finally, people power in Eqypt has done it! Congratulations to the people of Egypt for ousting Mubarak, a modern-day Pharaoh.

Mark this day, 11 February 2011 or 11022011. After just 18 days, ordinary disenfranchised people with seemingly no leader, no organisation, managed to topple one of the most authoritarian leaders in the world – one who was backed by the regime’s feared and hated secret police and by the United States with its military aid.

The people, in contrast, had no weapons, no armour apart from the certain knowledge that they were on the side of good and of the downtrodden in their battle with the forces of evil and oppression. They were arrested, teargassed, struck with rocks and batons, beaten, tortured and even shot dead.

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Fury as Mubarak refuses to quit

Anil Netto
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7

2200: Massive crowds of infuriated Egyptians have surged outside presidential palaces and the state television station to protest against Mubarak. Mubarak and family have left Cairo for his home on the Red Sea.

0505: Mubarak throws cold water on public demands for him to quit and instead insists that he will be staying on until September.

0059: Mounting excitement in Tahrir Square as crowds gather. A lot of anticipation now as people wait for an official announcement. Whatever happens, congratulations to the people of Egypt for their inspiring courage in the face of extreme adversity.

But what happens to the regime and the ‘torturer-in-chief’ Omar Suleiman?

Rainbow over Tahrir Square yesterday: Hope for freedom - Photo credit: Ayman Mohyeldin

Good morning, Tahrir Square!

Anil Netto
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4

The spirit of the protesters at Tahrir Square is just amazing. The latest is that striking doctors and 3,000 staff from a key Cairo hospital along with 3,000 lawyers have joined the protests.

A newly appointed Cabinet Minister for Culture has also resigned. According to Aljazeera, “the NDP Secretary General Hossam Badrawi says he expects Mubarak to respond to the demands of the people before Friday. An official statement from the military is imminent”. Is this the end of the road for Mubarak and his regime?

Nice to see tanks being put to good use as shelter for the weary - Photo credit: SherineT


“The great tragedy is Obama chose not to hold out his hand”: Robert Fisk on the gap between US rhetoric and action in the Egyptian uprising

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Who gave the order?

Anil Netto
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8

When it comes to the question of the chain of command in political matters, I am reminded of the 12th century story of Thomas Becket.

Authoritarian leaders of nations these days don’t like to get their hands dirty. Instead, they tend to surround themselves with sycophants who can almost read their minds and then go out of their way to fulfil what they believe to be the leaders’ desires.

So when some dirty deed is done, the head honcho can then say, “I didn’t order it, it wasn’t me; it was the army or the police who fired at the crowd/tortured dissidents/detained political opponents without trial, etc.”

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Second bridge ready by Nov 2013, but…

Anil Netto
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9

The second Penang bridge is expected to be completed by November 2013, barring delays. The big question now is how are the roads on the island going to cope with all that traffic?

My main disappointment is that planners never thought of building an inter-city rail link to the island instead. That would have eased inter-city traffic on the existing bridge. Without a rail link, the traffic pouring into Penang will reach nightmarish proportions. Anyone who was in Penang Island over the Lunar New Year holidays will have got a taste of things to come (in terms of traffic congestion).

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Meet CikShidaDariParit, mime singer

Anil Netto
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4

Meet C.S.D.P. @ CikShidaDariParit, a 38-year-old school-teacher and mime artiste from Perak, who is breaking out of the mould of what society expects of her.

“I’m not a professional artist. I have no basics in acting, singing or dancing and I’m not an IT expert also. I’m just an ordinary woman and a teacher. I do all the videos by myself from recording, make up till the editing and I’m only using used materials,” she says.

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Hey, does this sound familiar?

Anil Netto
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21

A friend sent me this news commentary and I thought I would share it with you. Does it ring a bell by any chance?

Under sweeping privatisation policies, they appropriated profitable public enterprises and vast areas of state-owned lands. A small group of businessmen seized public assets and acquired monopoly positions in strategic commodity markets … While crony capitalism flourished, local industries that were once the backbone of the economy were left to decline. At the same time, private sector industries making environmentally hazardous products … have expanded without effective regulation at a great cost to the health of the population.

A tiny economic elite controlling consumption-geared production and imports has accumulated great wealth. This elite includes representatives of foreign companies with exclusive import rights in … automobiles. It also includes real estate developers who created a construction boom in gated communities and resorts for the super-rich. Much of this development is on public land acquired at very low prices, with no proper tendering or bidding.

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Penang’s risky beach activities

Anil Netto
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12

Why is it that we always have to wait for tragedy to strike before we implement safety measures?

These photos above were taken on 2 January 2011, just a couple of days after a beach accident involving a seven-year-old Japanese girl. They show beach buggies on the sand, parasailing activities and water scooters all on the same stretch of beach where toddlers and young children are playing, blissfully unaware of the danger lurking all around them. Notice the buggy wheel tracks across the beach.

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