Are Developing Countries Truly Sovereign Nation-States?
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By Priye Torulagha
Iraq, under Saddam Hussein,
was a one man's show. It appears that the ruler had an exclusive
right to the state and the citizens did not have any right. Thus, Saddam
Hussein ruled Iraq as if the country was a personal estate and the citizens
were mere tenants in the estate. All governmental functionaries,
institutions, and apparatuses emanated and revolved around him.
The Iraqis who benefited most were his children, surrogates, and attendants.
Iraqi money was basically Saddam Hussein's money and he could take as
much as possible without any accountability to the Iraqi people.
The discovery of huge sums
of stowed away money and mass graves of assassinated Iraqis point to
a self-perpetuating system that operated beyond constitutional boundaries.
The question is, was Saddam Hussein's Iraq quite different or unique
in the annals of Third World politics? The answer is definitely
No. Embezzlement, corruption, and human rights abuses in
Hussein's Iraq were not unique or extraordinary because the same conditions
apply to many, if not most developing countries today. In other
words, the conditions found in Iraq can be replicated all over the developing
world. Likewise, Saddam Hussein's tendency at self-perpetuation
was also not unique since in almost every developing country, the governmental
system is built around the leader who thinks that he/she has a birthright
to the leadership position.
The disturbing thing is
that the proclivity toward the concentration of power and the abuse
of power tend to be most prevalent in the former colonial territories
which are now regarded as independent sovereign nation-states.
It can be inferred that the nature of their creation has an enormous
impact on the tendencies of their leaders to concentrate and abuse power.
It can further be said that most of the so-called independent former
colonies (otherwise also known as Developing Countries or Less Developed
Countries or Third World) in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean,
and the Middle East are not really sovereign states. The
reason being that, like Iraq under Saddam Hussein, the citizens of these
countries have no enforceable constitutional authority over their leaders
and decisions affecting them. In fact, in almost all the former
colonial territories that now claimed to be independent states, the
leaders tend to rule without any consideration for constitutionality,
treat the states as their personal property, regard the citizens as
mere tenants that have no rights to ask questions, use the military
and the police forces as personal security agencies and strongly believe
that the public purse is merely for their personal enrichment and aggrandizement.
This writer had earlier
written an article about the African situation. However, after a careful
analysis of the Iraqi situation vis-à-vis the rest of the developing
world, there is a strong temptation to conclude that, basically, all
the developing countries are alike structurally, constitutionally, economically,
and politically, even though some (Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea,
Taiwan, Brazil) have achieved great successes than others.
The following reasons clearly show why the developing countries are
much alike and the leaders behave similarly, despite differences in
race, ethnicity, geography, culture, religion, and level of development.
1. Almost all the
developing countries came into being through forceful incorporation.
They were created by foreign powers to serve the strategic interests
of those powers. The indigenes had no choice regarding the incorporation
of the states. It is very difficult to characterize these states
as sovereign nations when the people constituting them did not determine
their existence. A BBC News reporter, Mr. Justin Pearce, commenting
on the Angolan irony (October 27, 2003) reported about a Cabindan who
remarked that his country (Cabinda) was once known as Portuguese and
then Angola and insisted that Cabinda was a separate country from Angola.
The people of the oil rich Cabinda would much prefer to be a separate
entity from Angola.
2. Many racial, ethnic,
political and religious groups that now constitute most of the developing
states are not happy with the colonial arrangements. They would
much prefer to be on their own but cannot do so due to the constant
threat of force being organized by the states against them, in the name
of national security. Some racial, ethnic, political, and religious
groups have decided to wage war in order to free themselves from the
colonially-induced systems. Africa is paying dearly for
allowing the colonial system to proliferate. About ten million
Africans have died since the 1960s when the African colonies supposedly
started to gain independence from their colonial masters. It is
estimated that about 3.5 million Congolese have died since the beginning
of the ongoing civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
More than a million Nigerians died in its civil war (1967-1970).
Add the multitudes of deaths from the wars in Angola, Ethiopia, Somali,
Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mozambique, Eritrea, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda,
Sudan, Algeria, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, etc. and the
number can easily surpass 15 million deaths. Yet, African leaders
continue to insist on maintaining the un-African territorial arrangements
based on the colonial map.
3. Most boundaries
of the developing countries were arbitrarily drawn by the colonial powers.
The indigenes of many developing states in Africa, the Caribbean, Latin
America, Middle East, and Asia ( Philippines, Indonesia, India/Pakistan,
Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan,
Qatar, Sudan, Myanmar, etc.) are trapped by the unjustifiable
territorial boundaries. Due to the arbitrariness of these states,
the threat of conflict is ever present. For instance, Indonesia
is constantly in conflict as various islands threaten to secede.
Right now, Indonesia is mobilizing its forces in an effort to stop the
Aceh region from seceding. Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, tried repeatedly
to reclaim Kuwait which was broken from it by the British. At
the same time, the Kurds and the Shiites were treated like colonial
subjects in Iraq. Nigeria is embroiled in numerous ethnic, religious,
and political turmoil while the Democratic Republic of the Congo has
always been a disaster, despite the abundance of natural resources.
Ethiopia and Eritrea have never known better days. They tend to
communicate only through warfare. Due to the fact that the
two are constantly at war, the citizens are restless. Columbia
is perpetually in a state of war with itself. India and
Pakistan are engaged in a war of dangerous nerves that could one day
result in a thermonuclear conflagration over Kashmir that the colonial
system left behind. Sri Lanka has been in a state of war for about
20 years. The same goes for Myanmar as various ethnic groups seek
to go their separate ways. Indonesia and the Philippines
do not make any territorial sense at all. Even though very successful,
Singapore is more or less a city-state like Hong Kong, although Hong
Kong is now technically part of China. Arab leaders are unable to get
along because they are jealously guiding the pieces of the colonially-created
turfs.
4. Although, generally
believed to be independent, these countries are only nominally independent
in the true sense of the word. They are not really free to make
decisions without first consulting their former colonial masters.
The former masters watch over them with keen strategic interests.
Any real or imagined threat is immediately countered by either having
the regime supported or overthrown. The Democratic Republic of
the Congo is a typical example of the dilemma that the former colonies
face. The Congolese people have never freely chosen their
own leaders since Patrice Lumumba was freely elected. The leaders
are picked both directly and covertly by the big powers which want the
resources in the territories. The primary means of changing
leadership in DRC has been through military action (Patrice Lumumba,
Mobutu Sese Seko, and Laurent Kabilla).
5. Due to the omnipresence
of the former masters, the developing countries tend to mimic everything
that the former masters represent, including the political and economic
systems. Even town planning seems to be copied from the capitals
of the former colonial powers. This is often the case, even when
such adaptations are not compatible with the political, cultural, economic,
and geographic dispositions of the indigenous populations of the former
colonial territories.
6. Although considered
"independent" under international law, the former colonies feel more
comfortable dealing with their former masters. As a result, Latin
American countries continue to look up to Spain as their guiding light.
African states tend to relate to each other through their former powers.
The French are now playing very active role in Africa even though there
are supposedly over 40 independent countries in the continent.
For example, despite the
brutality of the civil war in the DRC, the African Union failed to intervene
with a decisive military force. The continent waited for the United
Nations to solve the problem. France, acting like a sovereign
state with strategic interests, since it was a former colonial power,
decided to intervene militarily by sending peace keeping forces to control
the situation in Bunia. The European Union too is planning
to send a military force. Earlier, the French intervened
in the Ivory Coast and the Central Africa Republic while independent
African states waited for outside countries to help them out.
The African forces (Rwanda, Uganda, Namibia, and Zimbabwe which intervened
earlier in DRC went there to loot the resources. A five member
panel set up by the Security Council of the United Nations alleged in
a report about "how the Rwandan Government and army, the Ugandan army,
and Congolese and Zimbabwean Government officials plan to continue to
exploit the DR Congo's resources" (BBC News, October 22, 2002).
Again, African ( Chad, Libya and Congolese elements) intervention in
the Central African Republic during the civil war, appeared to be motivated
by a desire for diamonds and not humanitarian considerations.
BBC reporter questioned "But why are so many foreign forces involved
in CAR - a relatively small and seemingly unimportant, landlocked state?
The simple and, in African terms, all too frequent answer is diamonds"
(Somerville, October 21, 2002).
7. The constitutions
of most developing states are mere paper showcases since they are often
ignored or violated with impunity by the rulers. Quite often,
the clauses on human rights and due process of law are simply inserted
in the constitutions to make them look superficially modern. The
politicians, senior military and police officers, and high government
officials rarely think about constitutionality or legality when imposing
their will on the citizens, using intimidations and force to silent
opposition. Currently, Myanmar is going through one of its frequent
authoritarian rituals by clamping down on human rights adherents.
The foremost human rights leader and democratic exponent in the country,
Aung San Suu Kyi, is in detention or house arrest again. The constitutions
are amended whenever the leaders feel like doing so, not because the
citizens desire a change.
8. Quite often, there
is no difference between a military rule and a democratic rule in many
developing countries. Civilian authorities are as harsh
as military authorities in using security forces to clamp down on citizens.
Countries like Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Iraq under Saddam
Hussein, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Philippines, Brazil, Chile, Argentina,
El Salvador, Jamaica, Haiti, China, Singapore, Togo, Peru, Myanmar,
Zimbabwe, etc. exercise governmental authority with harsh security means.
The word "Democracy" is used as a tool to hide the harsh reality of
the political situation.
When Alejandro Toledo won
the presidential election in Peru, the citizens thought that their bad
dream ( in the form of Fujimoro) will not reappear in the political
landscape of the country. Well, Toledo is heading toward the Fujimoro's
way. Dissent is being clamped down with security forces.
9. Almost all elections
in the developing countries are rigged to ensure that certain leaders
win. There is no such thing as a "Free Election."
Elections are always characterized by violence and threats of violence.
Generally, the military and the police are mobilized during elections
to supposedly ensure security. Quite often, the security agencies
become active participants in the rigging process. The recently
completed elections in Nigeria and Togo show a proclivity toward an
imposed political leadership, organized with the assistance of the security
forces. Angered by electoral rigging and manipulation, the Berbers
of Kabylie region in Algeria clashed with security forces during the
country's parliamentary elections held in May 2002 (Mayoux, May 31,
2002). Kenya, in its most recent election, displayed a democratic quality
that is very rare in the developing world.
10. The rulers always
want to rule forever, despite constitutional limitations.
Currently, President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo seems to be leading
the pack for ruling continuously. He took over power through a
military coup in April 1967 and continues to remain in office, using
every Machiavellian trick to ensure success. Togo's Constitution
was amended in 2002 to enable him to run for another presidential term.
In fact, he is reported to have just won another presidential election
in early June 2003 (BBC News, June 4, 2003). President Nujoma of Namibia
too had the constitution of the country amended to allow him to run
for a third term. He could even contemplate going for a fourth
term (Somerville, December 31, 2002). President Omar Bongo
of Gabon ascended the political throne since December 1967 and continues
to be the leader of the country. President Mu'ammar Qaddaffi has
remained in power in Libya since the monarch was overthrown in a military
coup in 1969. President Jose Eduardo dos Santos took over the
mantle of leadership in Angola under the umbrella of the Popular Movement
for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) since 1979. President Robert
Mugabe ascended the high office of Zimbabwean leadership through a popular
liberation war in 1980 and continues to be the leader of the country
despite an increasing unpopularity (Somerville, December 31, 2002).
The late Hafez Assad of Syria ruled until his death in the late 1990s.
The same goes for the late President Felix Houghouet Boigny of Ivory
Coast who ruled until his death. His policies and actions helped
to set the conditions which resulted in a military rebellion by Northern
elements in 2002 and the resultant civil war in the country. The
former General/ President Suharto of Indonesia ruled until he was forced
to step down by the Indonesian citizenry. Africa and the
Middle East seem to lead the world for having leaders who impose themselves
continuously on the people, without any regard for constitutionality.
11. The members of
the opposition are always looked upon as enemies and treated with repressive
methods. To be in the opposition in any developing country
is to invite constant threat to life, liberty, and the pursuit of democracy.
The chief opposition leader in Zimbabwe, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai has been
charged for treason and detained, just as Aung San Suu Kyi in Myammar.
12. The military
and security forces behave as if they are owned by the leaders, rather
than by the people. They are very eager to use excessive force
against "troublemakers." They treat their own citizens as
enemy combatants. They often do not respond positively to calls
intended to enforce the laws against those in power. It is generally
risky in any developing country to call the police against high government
officials. Quite often, the complainant ends up being threatened
or detained or even killed.
13. Authority and
control are maintained by sheer force. Political and military
leaders and high government officials basically communicate to the citizens
through "orders" rather than persuasion. The citizens are expected
to obey and not ask questions. It can be said that all developing
countries are characterized by a vertical structural arrangement in
which authority and information flow from the top down and not from
down up.
14. The leaders and
high government officials are literally above the law while the citizens
are below the law. On the other hand, the citizens are expected
to obey the law and to face punishment for failure to obey it.
The leaders and high government officials can steal from the state but
the citizens cannot steal from the state. If the citizens steal
or commit any crime, they are arrested, detained, and sentenced to prison
terms. The leaders can commit the same act and get away
with it.
15. Almost all developing
countries are increasingly nepotistic and personal. The
leaders tend to groom their children to take over after them, even when
the state is not a monarchy. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein purposely
groomed his two sons (Udai and Qusai) to become major national players.
The elder Anastasio Somoza perpetuated his family hold on power in Nicaragua
and enabled his sons (Luis and Anastasio) to rule the country dynastically,
even though the country was/is not a monarchy. The same
goes for former President Suharto of Indonesia who turned the country
into a family state. During his time, no business could be carried
out without the support and or approval of one of his children.
It is variously estimated that President Suharto was worth about $40
to $100 billion (Leadbetter, April 20). In the Philippines, Mrs. Imelda
Marcos acted like the deputy head of state and was very powerful in
directing the affairs of the state. In Syria, under the
Baathist Party system, President Hafez Assad ruled like a king until
his death. When he died, his son, Bashar Assad, took over the
leadership of the country even though Syria is not a monarchy.
Papa Doc purposely perpetuated himself as the president for life in
Haiti until his death. Baby Doc, his son, took over and continued
the family dynasty. Baby Doc had to be driven out of power through
mass protests and the United States. Although a monarchy, the
line of succession was supposed to pass from King Hussein to Crown Prince
Hassan. At the last moment, King Hussein passed the Jordanian
throne to his son, Prince Abdullah, not his brother, as was envisaged.
In Nigeria, since the arrival on the scene of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida,
Nigeria's First Ladies ( at both national and state levels) now have
their own financial pet projects. Disturbed by the phenomenon
of First Lady syndrome in the country, Nigeria's Legal Defence and Assistance
Project (LEDAP) "has taken the First Lady, Chief Mrs. Stella Obasanjo,
Mrs. Titi Abubakar, wife of the Vice president and 22 wives of governors
to the Federal High Court, Lagos to account for monies collected in
their various first ladies projects" (Epia, (June 1, 203). In
Libya, Col. Mu'ammar Qaddaffi's son is becoming a major political player
in the country just as Mohammed Abacha was a major player during the
reign of his father in Nigeria.
Quite often, multinational
corporations try to avoid complying with the laws of the territories
in which they do business by forming business alliances with the children
and relatives of the rulers and high government officials.
A major legal trial is
going on in France over scandalous business practices by the giant Elf
Company. The company was involved in a bribing scheme in
which political leaders and high government officials, especially in
Africa, were paid off to make way for easy access. Loik Le Floch-Prigent,
a chief executive of the company stated "Clearly in most petrol-producing
countries it is the head of state or king who is the real beneficiary.
The Elf system had been at the heart of the French state for years.
It was not so much secret as opaque. So the money went to the
names that the heads of these countries designated." (Schofield, April
24, 2003).
Likewise, the developing
countries tend to suffer severely from extensive tribalization, regionalization,
and social immobility. In Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, the
ethnic groups and the home regions of the leaders always tend to dominate
the governments. In Iraq, for instance, during Saddam Hussein's
reign, the minority Sunni dominated Iraq due to President Hussein's
Sunni background while the majority Shiites and the Kurds were marginalized
and repressed. In Latin America, the class structure is very suffocating
to members of the lower classes who continued to be treated like serfs
in countries like Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina
, Panama etc. Likewise, the Native Americans or the indigenous
people are highly suppressed and deprived.
16. Many leaders
in the developing world tend to be either oligarchic or plutocratic
in nature. Due to the manner in which the political systems
are set up, it is very difficult for honest, dedicated, and patriotic
citizens to assume leadership positions. The overly ambitious,
self-serving, and the devil-may-care types tend to dominate the political,
bureaucratic, military, and police circles of authority.
17. Due to
the above reason, there is generally no distinction between private
and public property, as far as the leaders are concerned. The
leaders use government properties as if the properties are their own.
This is why Saddam Hussein was able to build numerous palaces and took
money from the central bank whenever he wanted. This is why Nigerian
public officials and their wives traveled overseas extensively in the
last four years. Disturbed by the wasteful behavior, the
Concerned Nigerian Professionals in the Diaspora and Within Nigeria
petitioned the people of Nigeria to put a stop to the overseas trips
(Omotowa, June 22. 2001). This is also the reason why government service
is the surest way to accumulate wealth in the country. When
the United Nations, in October 2002, accused the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe and 29 companies of plundering
the natural resources of the DRC. (BBC News, October 22, 2002),
a DRC government official responded "The Congolese Government is the
legitimate government of this country.whatever we do is legitimate.
We had to use our resources to finance the war effort" (Ibid.)
Of course, this is not
limited to Africa and Latin America alone, Asian and Middle Eastern
leaders do the same. Hence, former President Ferdinand Marcos
of the Philippines embezzled hundreds of millions. Balz Bruppacher
of the Assoicate Press noted "In 1997, the country's [Switzerland] high
court ordered the transfer to the Philippines of about $590 million
belonging to Marcos, saying it was against Swiss interests to 'serve
as a safe haven' for flight capital or criminal proceeds." Saddam
Hussein is said to have looted at least one billion dollars as the coalition
forces threatened to overran Baghdad during the 2nd. Persian Gulf War.
CNN.Com (May 6, 2003) noted "about $1 billion was taken from Iraq's
Central Bank by Saddam Hussein and his family, just hours before the
United States began bombing Iraq." Baby Doc of Haiti was alleged
to have looted millions of dollars while fleeing Haiti. In the
days of the Somozas in Nicaragua, every financial deal had to go through
the family. Gen/President Mobutu Sese Seko was considered to be
one of the richest African leaders. The late Gen. Sani Abacha
of Nigeria was alleged to have embezzled about four billion dollars.
Trevor Johnson (November 10, 2002) reported "The recent investigations
by the Nigerian government into the laundering of over $4 billion by
the former military regime of General Abacha -using banks in the UK,
Switzerland, the US, Germany, Luxembourg and elsewhere - makes clear
the vested interests that stood behind the dictatorship."
18. Generally, many
Third World leaders are not patriotic. They tend to form and join
political, military, and economic alliances that are very destructive
to the national security of their states. As result, these leaders
willingly make secret deals with foreign powers and multinational corporations
to exploit the resources of their territories. They do not care
about their own citizens as far as their personal pockets and secret
bank accounts in overseas are filled. The Independent (May
11, 2003) reported that "Exxon/Mobil and other leading oil companies
are to face an investigation into how up to $500m came to be paid into
a private US bank account, said to be solely controlled by the President
of Equatorial Guinea." When asked about the money, an Equatorial
Guinean official, Alejandro Evuna Owono, replied "but we can use
the money as we see fit" There is also an allegation that Mobil
Oil Corporation "participated in a plan to route $78m to the Swiss bank
account of Kazakhstan's President, Nursultan Nazarbaev, and other senior
officials" (Ibid.). A Nigerian official allowed an American oil
company to circumvent Nigeria tax laws by receiving payments in exchange
for tax breaks. A Reporter stated "Halliburton, the giant Texas
based energy company once directed by Vice President Dick Cheney, acknowledged
this week it paid a $2.4million to a Nigerian government official in
return for tax breaks related to its operations in the West African
country" (Cason, J. May 9, 2003).
19. Due to the eagerness
to enrich themselves, many leaders and high government officials are
directly and indirectly responsible for impoverishing their countries.
As a result, whether it is in Peru or Argentina or Chile or Nigeria
or Pakistan or Egypt or Syria or Iraq or Angola or Equatorial Guinea
or Mexico etc. the economy tends to be perpetually stagnant, even in
countries with extensive natural resources . Lashmar further reported
" Equatorial Guinea has become a major oil and gas producer in the past
10 years, yet the 500,000-strong population remains in poverty.
President Obiang has ruled since 1979.His corruption and human-rights
record was so bad that the Clinton Administration cut its ambassadorial
ties. However, he was one of 10 African leaders invited to meet
George Bush last year to discuss the "War on terror" ( May 11, 2003).
The Charity Christian Aid (May 12, 2003) reported that " The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) currently has investigators in Angola, on the trail
of almost $1bn which the IMF believes vanished from state coffers in
2001 alone. The money, the IMF suspects , was diverted from oil
sales into the pockets of senior government, business and military figures.
It amounts to $4bn in all over five years."
20. It appears that
only a handful of leaders from the developing countries have well-thought
out plans to develop their economies. Others have no plans
at all, apart from just claiming to be leaders, hence, even when such
territories are richly endowed with wealth-creating resources, the leaders
are unable to institute means necessary for development.
Consequently, economic mismanagement is a frequent occurrence.
These countries cannot move forward because every positive step taken
forward is followed by two steps taken backward. With the exceptions
of the Asian Tigers (Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and possibly Malaysia),
the vast majority of developing countries are just floating along, including
Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Egypt,
Zimbabwe, Kenya, Angola, Indonesia, Haiti, Nicaragua, Bolivia, etc.
The Asian Tigers are now in a class by themselves, hence, are being
characterized as the "Newly Industrializing Countries."
21. Begging
for foreign aid has become a major preoccupation of many leaders in
the developing world. The leaders spend more time begging for
foreign aid instead of working strategically in a systematic way to
develop their countries with the resources at their disposal.
Some are pathologically depended on foreign aid to the extent that they
now assume that foreign aid is a right rather than a privilege.
They ignore the fact that foreign aid is an instrument of foreign control.
Due to extensive mismanagement
and corruption, foreign aid and loans from the International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank are often not used for tangible developmental
purposes, even though "DEVELOPMENT" is generally given as a reason for
acquiring them. The loans and foreign aids generally disappear
into the deep pockets of high government officials. Although the
citizens rarely benefit from the loans, quite often, they bear the greatest
burden during repayment through Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP).
The desire for foreign
aid and international loans have led some leaders in the developing
world to sign exploitative treaties and business arrangements that have
rendered their countries economically exploited, underdeveloped and
stagnant.
22. Many leaders
in the Third World behave more like caretakers rather than leaders of
independent nation-states. They are just too eager to do
the biddings of outside powers, even at the displeasure of their citizens.
They tend to create the impression that they were actually put in power
by the outside powers and are obligated to carry out orders given by
the outside powers. As caretakers rather than leaders, they
are unable to plan for the future. Instead, they focus more on
short-term gains by asking "what can the state do for me?"
23. Apart from paying
considerable attention to the wishes and objectives of outside interests,
many also pay extraordinary attention to the advice, consultation, and
suggestions coming from the outside instead of listening to their citizens
and experts. They assume that anything coming from the United
States, Russia, France, Britain, Israel, Japan, China, etc. is worth
more than any idea or product or intelligence that originates from within.
They are also very likely to adopt security measures suggested by an
outside security outfit rather than adopt measures suggested internally
to solve problems.
24. It can be said
that the external form of colonialism has been replaced, in most developing
countries, by an internal form of colonialism. External
colonialism refers to European colonization and internal colonization
refers to a system in which an indigenous group or clique seizes power
through political or military or economic or religious means and rules
as if the state is intended to serve only their selfish interests.
Both forms of colonialism are very destructive. Africa, Latin
America, and the Middle East now seem to suffer greatly from the internal
form of colonialism. Likewise, in some cases, the internal colonizers
develop a working relationship with the former external colonizers to
exploit the rich regions of their countries in a form of Mixed Colonialism.
25. As a result of
these developments, in almost every developing country, regions which
produce critical raw materials seem to be the most underdeveloped and
marginalized. The Niger Delta region of Nigeria, the Cabinda region
of Angola, Southern Sudan, the Congo Basin in the Central African region
of the continent, the Aceh region of Indonesia, the Shiite and Kurds
areas in Iraq, the Shiite area in Saudi Arabia, the Yine area
of the Amazon forests, the Meitei area of northeast India. Quite
often, the leaders of the countries do not come from the regions that
produce the critical raw materials, so, they exploit those regions by
transferring the wealth to their own regions. They also look the
other way and allow the multinational corporations to inflict environmental
damage on the powerless people of those territories or regions.
For instance, under the Land Use Decrees, Nigeria is the custodian of
all lands in the country. However, the country seems extraordinarily
interested in exercising its authority over the financial outputs accruing
from the lands, particularly oil, without paying similar attention in
maintaining the lands. In other words, Nigeria wants the money
from oil in the Niger Delta but does not care about what happens to
the land. In order to earn money from oil, it allows the oil companies
to pollute the region, thereby, making life very difficult for the indigenes
of the region. Since Nigeria is the custodian of the land,
according to the Land Use Decrees, it is obligated to police, clean,
and maintain the land whenever there is any pollution. Unfortunately,
this is not the case, hence, in the Niger Delta, the oil companies have
a free hand to pollute as much as they can. The same lack of concern
can be found in its land policy towards other parts of the country.
Bakassi is a typical example of a national tendency to reap from the
land without making any effort to rehabilitate it either environmentally
or politically.
The politically powerless
people of the world are now joining forces to force their states and
multinational corporations to pay for the destruction of their environments.
Through the United Nations, "Leaders of the world's 350 million aboriginal
people, gathered here to discuss ways to protect their culture and environment,
are demanding that multinational corporations accept legal responsibility
for policies that destroy indigenous lands and lifestyles" (Rizvi,
May 19, 2003). Victoria Taulli of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus
on Sustainable Development, lamented "Industries on indigenous lands
were meant to bring development, economic growth and reduced poverty.
Rather, than bringing development, however, they have brought more poverty
and misery to indigenous people" (Ibid.). Nana Akuoko Sarpong,
an Ashanti from Ghana stated "Multinational companies have engaged over
the past 50 years in the systematic exploitation of our timber resources.
The tropical woods, which sometimes take 200 years to mature, are failed
at the stroke of a chainsaw to enrich the hopes of Europe" (Ibid.).
If the former colonies were truly sovereign nations, why would the leaders
allow their territories and peoples to be exploited by multinational
corporations?
26. Many Third
World leaders seem to lack intellectual creativity and courage, hence,
are not able to device alternative political and economic means to develop
their nation-states. As a result, they continue to adopt
unworkable and inappropriate "development" models that unnecessarily
drain their resources and manpower. For instance, instead of seriously
discussing the causes of political instability, a group of West African
leaders under the banner of the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) decided to ban military coups by saying "it would no longer
tolerate military coups and would impose sanctions on those who seize
power" (Sakyi-Addo, June 2, 2003). They ignore the
fact that military coups are byproducts of unresponsive, corrupt, and
unconstitutional practices engendered by the political class to perpetuate
themselves in power. When the system is not responsive to political
demands, then a military coup becomes an option. The Central
African Republic recently had a successful military coup while an attempted
coup was foiled in Mauritania recently.
Thus, the banning of military
coups will not stop coups from taking place, especially if the political
system and the leaders behave unconstitutionally and dictatorially.
When leaders intentionally amend the constitutions to allow themselves
to run again for office against the opposition of the general public,
they are setting the stage for a military coup or an insurrection.
When leaders rig elections in order to perpetuate themselves in power,
they are setting the stage for a possible military insurrection.
When leaders remain in power endlessly, they are setting the stage for
a possible military coup. When leaders engage in economic mismanagement,
they are encouraging a military putsch. When leaders discriminate
politically, economically, and militarily against certain ethnic groups
or regions or sections of the country, they are setting the stage for
a rebellion. When leaders, in the name of safeguarding national
security, wantonly violate human rights, they are setting the stage
for a militant counteraction. To stop military coups from taking
place, the West African leaders should first educate and discipline
themselves about upholding or adhering to the letters of the law and
behave democratically.
27. Due to the uncertainty
of their nature, the developing countries have not been able to either
influence or reshape the United Nations to any measurable degree. The
United Nations is still dominated by the Big Four. (United States, Russia,
Britain, and France). China, which is the fifth member of the
exclusive Permanent Security Council, continues to behave like a developing
country. It is afraid of using its veto power and prefers to act passively.
Therefore, the United Nations represents the strategic interests, feelings,
and desires of the four powers which created it. Thus, the agenda
of the world body is always set or determined by the Permanent Security
Council members.
28. Many developing
countries are still being supervised by their former colonial powers.
They continue to behave like dependent entities. If these former
colonies were truly sovereign states, their leaders would have behaved
much differently, instead of aligning with outside elements to exploit
their own people. If these former colonies were truly sovereign
nation-states, their leaders would not be actively involved in transferring
their resources and wealth to foreign countries and banks.
It is not an overstatement to say that probably more than half of the
wealth of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East are stored
away in the financial capitals of the former colonial powers, the United
States, and Switzerland. It is generally the leaders and high
government officials who are responsible for this massive transfer of
wealth. Why would they engage in such behavior if they truly believe
in the sovereignty of their "created nations?"
29. It is therefore
understandable why some Iraqis went on a looting frenzy as soon as the
coalition forces drove out Saddam Hussein's regime from power.
Having been deprived for so long from enjoying freedom and the resources
of the state that supposed to belong to all Iraqis, some Iraqis decided
to have their own share of the national wealth by looting state property.
Concerning the morality of the looting, a well-to-do young man in Iraq
lamented by saying "These people are savages. This is something
I can't describe. It is a shame for Iraqis. We don't have
Iraqis who do that. I wasn't brought up to do these things" (Eshanova,
April 30, 2003). On the other hand, another Iraqi young
man, a looter, probably someone who had been deprived during the Hussein's
regime, justified the action by saying ""No, no, no haram [stealing].
This is not haram because these [things belong to] the Iraqi people.
This house, there is more, more of these things. In Iraq we haven't
any of these things" (Ibid.)
30. Based on the
totality of the enumerated points, it is clear that the developing countries
have so many problems because they are not technically independent,
even though under international law, they are viewed as independent
nations. They are not independent because the citizens of
these states did not consciously choose to be placed in the entities
for which they are identified with. In other words, most
developing countries are not legitimate in the eyes of the citizens
for which they pretend to represent. Consequently, mismanagement
and conflict tend to proliferate within these political entities.
Perhaps, the solution to
the "developing world" syndrome where nothing seems to work or go right
due to the colonial heritage and utter mismanagement, is for each of
these former colonies to organize national conferences where the indigenous
stakeholders can candidly discuss ways in which to reinvent themselves
politically as legitimate nation-states. So far, these states
and their leaders do not seem to behave as legitimate and sovereign
entities. For Africa, in particular, the need for a reconsideration
of the colonial system is very critical for the achievement of peaceful
coexistence among various ethnic and religious groups, regions, and
nationalities. Failure at structural rearrangement of the political
map of the continent will lead to a continuing bloodbath into the foreseeable
future. Fake democracies, constitutions, and laws would not lead
to peace and stability. A state cannot be sovereign if it is not a product
of the peoples will.
Page
top
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