Syndrome of despotism and corruption in the Arab world

534702 4

Nidal Mansour /

Wherever there is tyranny, there is corruption and vice versa, when corruption is common and widespread; Tyranny will be there for sure.

I cannot see the scene in the Arab world apart from duality and the syndrome of tyranny and corruption. This is prevalent and the exception is not the rule. The tyrannical rulers we have known over the decades were often symbols of corruption and disposed of the wealth of their lands as belonging to them and their families, and more than that they contributed to corruption and the purchase of credit to ensure loyalty. .

Corruption is a global problem that is not limited to the Arab world, and the difference in democratic countries does not find social support in the incubators of corruption, and in our country the great corrupt appear as “cutters” and “pahlavis” who know where to eat shoulder, and surround themselves with relatives who glorify and support them.

Most of the protests in the Arab world were against widespread corruption and to demand social justice, as governments listen to the voices of the rich, while the voices of the poor are muffled and absent, and any revision of the protests sweeping the streets of the Arab world ; You will easily and easily find that the fight against corruption is at the top of the protesters’ slogans and, returning to Beirut and Baghdad, whose streets are still boiling and rising, you will find that the eradication of the corrupt political class that controls the country and the people is at the top of the protesters’ agenda.

You will not be surprised and disappointed when you learn that many Arab countries are among the most corrupt and least transparent and fair. Somalia, for example, is the most corrupt country in the world in the annual report on the Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International for the year 2019, and ranks last (180), followed by Sudan (173 ), followed by Libya (168), Iraq (162), and the common denominator between these countries is the absence of good democratic governance and the prevalence of unrest and conflict in them.

Arab countries, even if it is not known that they are consolidating democratic government; It has tried to get out of the umbrella of corrupt countries with its relentless quest to be an attractive business environment, so it has made reasonable results in international transparency indicators.

The UAE ranked first in the Arab world and booked the place (21) globally among the most honest countries, Qatar right after second in the Arab world and (30) globally, followed by Saudi Arabia , third in the Arab world and (50) globally, and the Sultanate of Oman, fourth in the Arab world, and (56) in the world, and Jordan. Fifth in the Arab world and its share (60) among the countries of the world.

The Corruption Perception Index prepared by Transparency International does not prioritize the reality of human rights in countries, but it does not overlook the importance of the existence of accountability and control bodies and pays attention to the existence of an independent judiciary and a free press.

Just as the countries of the European Union which enjoyed the most freedom and democracy advanced – and this is not surprising – in the indicators of transparency and good governance, and Denmark ranked first out of all countries in the world.

The recommendations made by Transparency International’s report to improve integrity and curb corruption do not seem strange and have been repeated in recent years. And the separation of public powers.

These recommendations reached by the Transparency Organization are based on the basic indicators it monitors and works to consolidate, such as the limitation of embezzlement and corruption, the exploitation of public officials in their positions in the state, the protection of journalists as they discover cases of corruption, as well as the protection of those who denounce corruption and the construction of a legislative system that prevents and limits corruption. And it promotes the rules of transparency and good governance.

Widespread corruption increases poverty in societies and reduces development opportunities. “The cost of corruption amounts to $ 2.6 trillion, which is equivalent to 5 percent of global GDP,” the UN Secretary-General said in a message on the International Day against Corruption in 2018.

And he adds in his message that “the value of bribes in the world reaches one trillion dollars every year,” and the United Nations Development Program says that the value of bribery due to corruption is ten times the total amount expected for relief efforts, and these terrifying numbers do not represent the whole scene of the “infection” of corruption sweeping the world. Rather, it is deduced and discovered. As for the widespread corruption in the parallel economy of the arms trade, drugs and money laundering, that’s another story.

Whenever stories of corruption were mentioned, I remembered the Arab reality and the tyrannical regimes that set the values ​​of corruption so that corruption became the natural thing to get any service from the state, and wasta became the way to work and get benefits at the expense. standards of justice and equal opportunities.

The most dangerous devastation consecrated by tyrannical regimes is that they have socially instilled a culture of corruption. Wasta is not seen as a violation of the law and corruption is sometimes referred to as “tipping” and is common so as not to be treated as a crime that deserves responsibility and punishment. Therefore, the regimes in power were able to rely on social values ​​and concepts. Religious people who planted the seeds of corruption in the conscience and mind of society, so tolerated it and turned a blind eye to it, and tyrannical governments and regimes used them to falsify their will in elections and steal theirs. riches.

Corruption has become an institutional condition in the Arab world, and corruption becomes, with the passing of days, through the “system” capable of its episodes, and every day the corruption regimes generate corrupt people who control the decision-making process and fight and besiege the remaining “honest” and “honorable” people in the state apparatus who oppose that their countries be run as “farms” of the leader, his followers and his accountants.

The syndrome of tyranny and corruption will remain oppressive in the Arab world as long as some security services control the fate of people, throw them in prison in violation of law and justice, violate their privacy and use the information they obtain to discredit, limit them. and besiege them.

The Arab world will continue to be the leader in the most corrupt countries as long as the government is also inherited in the so-called republics, and the sons of presidents rule and control more than their fathers, and as long as the “ungodly marriage” between power and businessmen it prevails and governs, and until parliaments are controlled or challenged, and the press is nothing but mouths. To the leader, as long as the judiciary does not speak in the name of justice and the law.

There are many examples of corrupt autocratic leaders in the Arab world. Until recently, former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh – before he was killed – ruled a resource-rich but poor country, after his departure, the most important question was how much his wealth had been stolen from the money of the people and smuggled into banks and accounts. Secret and safe shelters? The same goes for leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed after decades of his rule, and it is still a mystery how much wealth was plundered during his reign, and is still hidden until now? It is also possible to talk about the money of the ousted president, Hosni Mubarak, and the former Tunisian president, Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, who lived his last days in Saudi Arabia before his death, and his wife and family were a model in the power of government over the wealth and capabilities of the country.

It is difficult for people to be optimistic about the fall of the “state” and the establishment of corruption that reigns in the Arab world. Democracy has not flourished and been defeated, and this means that the incubators of good governance have not caught on, and the question is not limited to an immortal leader whose word is not broken, but the question extends to the leaders of sects. and parties that are not far behind. Tyranny and corruption, their ideology, their weapons and their hands are used to steal those who are deprived of the possessions of their homelands.

_{Read also to the author: “The Deal of the Century” … the most dangerous thing is happening under the table}

_{ـــــــــــــــــــــ}

_{The views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily express the official views, views or policies of the Middle East Broadcasting Network (MBN).}

Syndrome of despotism and corruption in the Arab world. Agenda of Protesters 2020-02-20 12:42:19 1 2020-02-20 12:52:19 0