Deepa BHOOKHUN

Change or ?changement? has so far been marked by the persecution of one man and his family. That?s one way one could look at things. Other people would tell you that ?changement? has been marked by rights being restored, the bad punished and a stop being put to excesses and abuse of power. By one family. Another way to look at things.

Which one is right, which one is wrong? Both and none at the same time because it depends on where you?re standing.

Those on the side of ?changement? argue that the people have given them this mandate: to remove the Jugnauth family from Mauritian politics. And that the ends justify the means as long as everything is done legally. I suppose this stand can be argued. At least, now the motives of the government are clear. I do not seem to remember promises being made to remove the old man from Le Réduit but maybe I wasn?t listening carefully.

On the other hand, we have a president who knows he is not wanted by the present establishment but who seems not to greatly care. To arguments that he was appointed president following an electoral agreement, the answer is? silence. To accusations that he has been a partial president and so he must go, the answer is also silence. But the silence was broken this weekend. Lady Jugnauth tells of her anguish of being the subject of much hatred and such character assassination. It was a mother and a wife talking; deeply hurt and revolted. So where do we stand in all of this?

The fight is between Navin Ramgoolam and Sir Anerood Jugnauth. Not the press, not the people, not anybody else. So, how about letting the two men fight this one on their own? It seems that until one of them gives up or gives in, this unhealthy state of affairs will not end.

Let?s not kid ourselves; in this sordid affair, there is no hero and no villain. It is a personal fight that should have remained personal. But the way we do politics is this country, where we do not attack a man/woman for what he/she is defending but rather for who they are, where we thrive on character assassination, will be our downfall.

Remember how people treated Ramgoolam in 2000 after he lost the elections? Remember the character assassination that followed? Senseless, insulting and callous? Do you notice the similarities between the way Jugnauth is being treated? Do we want to be part of this? So let?s stay out. Let the two men balance out their karma; let?s stop trying to find justification for one or the other.

And, when this sordid affair is over, let this be a lesson for the future. Let this cycle end, let the wheel turn until it stops and when we oil it next, let?s oil it with something better, something noble and let?s do politics differently. So we don?t have to put up with this kind of karma.