Baloch Society Of North America (BSO_NA) Balochistan into the world’s Notice.Balochistan into the world’s Notice.
The Chernobyl syndrome
Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur
Dictatorial and unrepresentative governments can never be transparent and forthcoming on any issue, be it social,
economic, military or political. They intrinsically suffer from what may be termed as the Chernobyl syndrome; all
must be remembering the clumsy Soviet attempt to deny that the catastrophe had even occurred, hoping that the
invisible fallout wouldn’t be noticed. Unrepresentative regimes in Pakistan too never acknowledge responsibility
and moreover try to sweep under the carpet their disasters and sordid activities, hoping that no one will notice
them, not realizing that the fallout of these as in the case of Chernobyl could be fatal and terminal.
The history of this country is replete with instances of cover-ups of catastrophes, disasters, scandals, scams and
violations, which include the catastrophic debacle and atrocities in East Pakistan, the atrocities, outrages and
injustices in Balochistan, the Kargil disaster, the freezing of foreign accounts, the writing off of the debts of crony
politicians and businessmen, the allotment of plots, the Defence societies, the dubious privatizations, the Ojhri
Camp, the questionable concessions to foreign firms, the capitulations at a single phone call, the enforced
disappearances of people in Balochistan and Sindh, the Damadola and Bajaur bombings, the frontal assault on
the Supreme Court in the last dispensation and the present self-inflicted judiciary crisis and so many more. The list
is long and shameful and no one has ever been held accountable.
There has been no self-examination leave alone any reckoning for the crimes and misdemeanors committed in
the name of ‘national interest’, simply because the people at the helm and their cronies were responsible and they
were beyond censure. The other facet of this syndrome is that the government thinks if it refuses to acknowledge a
problem, the problem, feeling insulted at not being given due recognition, will disappear into oblivion. Problems
however, are as thick-skinned as the rulers here and refuse to leave until shown the door. The problems of
inflation, the suffocating poverty, the galloping rich-poor divide, ubiquitous power shortages, the poor state of
human rights, the lack of clean drinking water, illiteracy, near non-existence of health facilities, the law and order
situation, the rife and rampant corruption, the ever-increasing internal and external debt burden, the increasing
Talibanization of society, etc., are all denied by the rulers in face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Their logic is simple. If Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report is not published, then probably the Dhaka
debacle didn’t happen. If the denial about missing persons is consistent, then they are not missing. If you say
things are fine in Balochistan, then they are fine. If you say people want the Kalabagh dam, then they want it, and to
hell with the resolutions against it in three provincial Assemblies. The idea behind this stone-walling is that the
Establishment probably thinks that by denying problems and catastrophes long and strongly enough, they can
make the people forget and overlook the harsh reality they have to live in and contend with in their everyday lives. If
we seek the underlying reason for these illogical and irrational denials of reality and refusal to accept
responsibility, i.e. the Chernobyl syndrome, all fingers point towards the illegality of the rulers as the root cause.
This illegality emanates from being in power due to rigged elections or simply due to the usurpation of power by
brute force of arms. Dictators, being insecure in their illegality, are more concerned with their survival and image
rather than the problems and their solutions. This insecurity leads to a warped perception of reality, which compels
them to increasingly depend on a limited group of cronies and advisors. This in turn completely divorces them from
reality and they begin viewing reality as is presented to them by their spineless spin doctors.
They begin believing the ‘mirror on the wall’ that they are indispensable and infallible. The delusion that they are
infallible and indispensable makes them resort to further deception and falsehoods. The denial of mistakes stems
from their warped assessment of their capability and importance. The illusory misconceptions about their role and
status in the Universe is responsible for all their blunders. If it weren’t so, why would attempts be made to solve the
problems of the Middle East when unsolved problems abound here? The other equally dangerous perception with
equally disastrous consequences originates from the misconception about the historical role and importance of
the armed forces here.
They are seen in a historically glorified form as the sole inheritor of the Glory of Islam and as its bulwark. This is far
from reality as our armed forces have hardly even been able to defend our frontiers. Moreover, this concept has
nothing to do with the conditions and needs of today. The delusion that the armed forces are infallible, invincible
and indispensable, has resulted in people being burdened with unwanted and unwelcome military dictators and in
needless conflicts with neighbours, both having disastrous consequences. This delusion has led to an ever-
expanding role of the armed forces in the civilian and economic sectors of life. This has created a very unfavourable
atmosphere for the establishment, and the chances of the development of democracy.
Although Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has demanded the death penalty for ‘abusers of the armed forces’, the
undefined term ‘abuse’ is open to interpretation in innumerable ways. One has to speak one’s mind about the
armed forces because we are answerable to our conscience and these threats will not deter us from speaking up.
The military and civilian dictators have been the major source of this blighted country’s misfortunes and this has
been compounded by the active connivance and collaboration of the timeserving politicians, politicians of easy
virtue professing promiscuous politics, who change loyalties with the slightest shift in the winds of fortune. I need
not recollect the names of the pseudo-dynasties and individuals who have perfected this art and have thrived at
great cost to the poor and helpless. Wherein lies the solution and how will the misery of the people end is the
question everyone asks and demands an answer to. It has no easy answers and no ready-made solutions. The
present set of rulers or those who wait impatiently in the alleys to replace them or to join hands with them cannot
be expected to change the present warped political system because they are the ones who benefit from and thrive
in this system. They won’t sign the death warrant of their own system.
The people will have to wake up from their indifference and lethargy to challenge the present unjust system and
bring about a change in their own fate and the fate of this country, which certainly deserves better rulers and a
better deal than has been its lot so far. The people will have to strive in a long and arduous struggle to set the long
history of injustices right. The people should succeed if they are led by honest leaders. Once that happens; all
those guilty of the disasters, catastrophes and corruption should be taken to task. I suppose not many politicians
and generals here would escape the accountability process.
Those found guilty should be held accountable for the same. A complete revamping of all state institutions will
have to be carried out. Unless the revamping is thorough and institutionalized, there can be no hope of any
progress on any front and this country will continue to wallow in the quagmire of disasters and catastrophes.
Tailpiece: Need I say that in this country elections have hardly ever been representative of the people’s will and
have invariably been won by those who have the wherewithal, i.e. the money, the clout and the backing from proper
quarters (read agencies) and also have the know how to manipulate the electoral machinery.
I think that if the General-President gets himself elected by this very lame duck and wishy-washy parliament and
that too with the help of ‘democracy loving’ Benazir, then this election will prove to be the death knell and will be
long remembered as ‘The Stepmother of all elections’. The writer has been associated with the Baloch national
struggle.
