The Island Editorial

‘Puppygate’ and ‘Bondgate’

01 April 2017

 

Governments go to the dogs as we have seen in this country. That may also be true of the rest of the Global South. But, can a dog, much less a puppy, be the cause of the downfall of a head of state? The recently ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye (65) has been thrown behind bars following her arrest on charges of bribery and corruption. She will be held in detention while prosecutors are busy preparing criminal charges she is to be arraigned on. Perhaps, the alleged acts of bribery and corruption she is said to have committed would not have come to light but for a cute puppy.

The circumstances that led to Park’s fall and subsequent arrest and detention were very dramatic. She got into trouble owing to her association with a wealthy businesswoman, Choi Soon-sil, who is also in custody and on trial. Park stands accused of having benefited from Choi’s largess and her fate was sealed the day the latter had a fight with a male friend over a puppy. Piqued, the man went public with what he knew about the questionable deals between Park and Choi. The Park affair has since been dubbed ‘puppygate’.

Park is alleged to have solicited companies, through Choi, for money and infringed upon the freedom of corporate management in her position as president. If these charges can be proved in courts, she will be jailed for ten years according to prosecutors.

Park’s supporters are up in arms, condemning her arrest while others have welcomed legal action against her. Whether she has run afoul of the law or not remains to be seen with the prosecutors having twenty days to build their case according to media reports. But, South Korea has set an example which is worthy of emulation. It has demonstrated that no one is above the law and anyone who commits an infraction has to face the consequences of his or her action. It has done so, creating political uncertainty in the process, in spite of threats from North Korea.

Earlier, it was the western nations which set such examples. US President Richard Nixon had to resign following the Watergate scandal. But, the western role models, too, have shown signs of going the same way as the developing countries, where leaders are too big to be caught. US President Bill Clinton stayed put having admitted to committing perjury. It may be recalled that in 2000, when the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s wife, Cherie, was fined for travelling in a train without a ticket, media paid a glowing tribute to her for obeying the law and asked the leaders and their family members in the developing world to emulate the Blairs. However, the railway company, subsequently, sacked the ticket inspector who had fined Cherie though it initially praised him and used the incident to boost its image. For, it knew the renewal of its contract was coming up for negotiation! Later, Cherie got exposed for having benefited from her association with a fraudster. There was a grand cover-up and she got away with it. Sounds familiar?

Blessed is a country where the law of the land applies equally to one and all including its political leaders whether they are in power or not. Statespersons are a rarity in the modern world and politicians are greedy by nature and their integrity is only lack of opportunity to line their pockets. They never hesitate to avail themselves of opportunities to amass wealth.

This country has been experimenting with various foreign models in a bid to solve its problems. The incumbent administration tells us it has enlisted the support of the UK etc., to deal with financial crimes here. With their help the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) was set up, but the stolen wealth stashed away in the offshore accounts of the former leaders has not yet been traced. The FCID’s dog and pony shows, as it were, have lost their magic. If the yahapalana administration is genuinely desirous of tackling bribery and corruption effectively it ought to look to South Korea for guidance. But, we bet our bottom dollar or rupee that it will never do so because if it ever did, first of all, some of its leaders would have to be thrown behind bars for the biggest ever financial crime in the country—the Treasury bond scam. Fraudsters responsible for the Central Bank heist are moving about freely and seen in the exalted company of the powers that be. It is the fervent hope of all law-abiding Sri Lankans that the big-time rogues who are currently above the law thanks to their political connections will be brought to justice over the ‘Bondgate’ like the disgraced South Korean leader.