<B>By Pauline ETIENNE</B>

Last week was a special one. Most Mauritians had a festival of their own and it was with great fervour that they celebrated their respective traditions in an atmosphere of serenity and calm. Everything would have been perfect if we had not felt something disturbing in the prime minister’s speech.

Politics and religion are two notions closely linked in most people’s minds. Politics and religion both “govern” the lives of many people as they define the line of conduct for many citizens. However, they should be kept separate in public life. Politicians should make sure they do not mix both issues in highly cultural events. These events are supposed to make people show solidarity and get together and the mere mention of politics could lead to division…

So, when a prime minister comes to a religious ceremony to celebrate Divali and dwells on the constituencies that did not give all of their votes to the Social Alliance, there is cause for concern. “There are three constituencies in this country that did not give us all their votes. If they had done so, we would have the necessary majority to do even more than what we are doing at the moment.”

These comments are not only unwelcome in such circumstances but they are also somehow disturbing for freedom. Even though it may have been unintentional, they appear as threats. By pointing at three constituencies which did not vote for the government, the PM is questioning democracy – where we are supposed to be free to vote for whoever we want. And I can’t help thinking that he is in some way saying, “I know who did not vote for me…” The interpretation will stop here!

We could have dismissed this as a faux-pas, a slip of the tongue had there not been another event proving that we have reason to fear for our future… The prime minister was receiving the minister of Arts and Culture of Andhra Pradesh state, Satyanarayan Rao, in his office. The Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) was of course invited to cover the event.

Unfortunately – and whatever the reasons for the absence – the MBCTV did not arrive in time for the coverage. Do you find it normal that, in a democracy, the PM calls the MBC and demands that sanctions be taken against the whole team for that? I mean, the fact of not having been there may have been a professional fault… Fair enough. But is it the PM’s duty to call the MBC to ask for sanctions? Is there no management capable of taking its own decisions and not having to obey the PM’s order concerning an internal problem?

Thanks to such events, the MBC is bound to remain the propaganda machine of the government. Even if it was not the case, the perception will stick to it as long as the institution accepts to be the puppet of the government of the day.

After all there is nothing new in all this. Every government has been used to seeing the MBC broadcasting what the government wants the people to hear and rejecting what could cause them a problem. But, in this particular case, we are reaching another level… The government is not only meddling with what the station will broadcast but also with what happens inside.

The PM was complaining about not having enough seats in Parliament to do whatever he wants. We suppose he was talking about decisions that would benefit the country. But in view of the recent events, we can only be relieved to see that he has not been granted enough power to do absolutely everything… Because freedom is definitely in jeopardy these days!