Are despots good or bad?

By batsman 

Europe is in the grip of fear of a return of far right politicians with the election of far right politicians as members of the European Parliament. It seems that whenever things go wrong, there is a noticeable turn towards extreme politics. Whether cool headed civilized Europeans or hot headed uncivilized Middle Easterners, the result is the same – there is a swing towards extremism.

So one wonders whether despots are really good or bad? Why do people turn towards despotism when they sense that they are in trouble? 

UMNO politicians must be banking on this gut reaction of some people. At a time when there is economic stress, UMNO must be hoping that people will opt for a despotic strongman to tide them over bad times. 

It is no accident that when things were very bad in Russia, the people opted for communism, but once they achieved some security and comfort, the people opted for capitalism. The same thing happened in China and it seems to be happening in Iran, only in Iran’s case the switch seems to be from conservative no-nonsense no-humour clerics to Rafsanjani – style rich city dwellers and cool internet denizens. 

Everybody wants the good life and do not want to miss out especially when their neighbours and others who seem to be less deserving are enjoying it. 

So it is that having followed and supported a despot for a while and suffered for it, people tend to hanker for the good life once they feel safe and secure. 

The problem is whether the world can sustain the good life for everybody. The UN just released news that there are now 1 billion hungry people in the world. On top of this there are problems with climate change, water problems, desertification not just of land but the seas as well, pollution, unsustainable cutting of forests, unsustainable use of natural resources, new-fangled diseases which travel and kill at the speed of lightning mostly spread by tourists who have visited the US as well as the US stimulated economic crisis, etc. 

So, are despots good or bad? 

In the old days, people practiced free markets and were honest and hard-working. These days they practice state intervention to rescue giant banks, but call it free market, practice monopoly and domination but call it free-enterprise and practice despotism but call it liberalism and liberty. In a world where there is only one super imperialistic power, it there such thing as a world without despotism? 

I guess to answer the question posed above; despotism is good if the despot is “your” despot and bad if the despot is “someone else’s” despot. A good example is the case of Neda Soltan. There is no argument that she was brutally and heinously murdered. Everyone points the finger at Ahmedinejad and his gang of election riggers. So whether the Iranian demonstrators want to be independent of both the clerics AND the US or not, the question has been taken out of their hands. They are now either FOR the clerics or FOR the US. Is an independent course now even a possibility let alone a feasibility? 

The callous murder of Neda Soltan needs to be investigated with a neutral, objective and professional mind. Unfortunately, this is not possible anymore, especially if a Malaysian detective is involved and at long range at that, but I shall try my best. 

For an objective investigation, the investigator needs to identify who stands to gain most from Neda Soltan’s death. Both Mousavi and Ahmedinejad need Neda’s death like a hole in their own heads. Some one else stood to gain most. So a proper study of the conditions and history surrounding her death must be laid bare. 

She was hit with a bullet. What sort of bullet was it, from a pistol or high powered rifle? We have no idea. What we know is that it is difficult to hit a standing person accurately at 300 yards let alone someone moving among a massive crowd of demonstrators. 

I do not think it was a random bullet since in a massive crowd a random bullet will have probably hit those in the front lines and not an innocent participant like Neda who joined in more out of curiosity and goodwill than ferocious anti-cleric sentiments. We don’t know where Neda was standing in relation to the front lines but I rather think she was quite far removed from the action. If she was targeted, she must have been targeted by an expert marksman – a sniper. All he needed was for a single round to hit his chosen target. If the gun was fired by a crazed Basiji militiaman, it would have been many rounds, not just one. 

We also know that the US has a record of interfering in the domestic affairs of Iran. This was exposed by the invasion of the US embassy where sensitive documents were found. Whether an invasion of the US embassy in Teheran was good or bad and legal or illegal it is in the past. Suffice to say that documents were found that incriminated the US. Further, a former official of the US govt. claims that the US still has secret operatives working inside Iran. 

We can surmise that if the US has secret operatives working in Iran, the British would probably have some too. Only the British are not as rich as the Americans, so their operatives will have to be fewer but more highly trained. We also know that the British have one of the best sniper schools in the world and are famous for their SAS commando training. It is likely that if the British have any operatives working in Iran at all, they would most probably be trained in sniper and SAS methods. We also know that Iran has been suffering recently from terrorist bombings of their mosques. 

What about the Russians and the Chinese? Can they be connected in any way in this cruel and cold-blooded murder? 

Actually I am not doing a very good investigative job am I? I don’t seem to know where I am going with this – best leave it alone. What I really want to say is that for an objective, neutral and professional investigator looking into DSAI’s case of a 60 year old buggering an unwilling strong man in his 20’s, the independent investigator has to identify who it is that has most to gain from DSAI being jailed from being found guilty of such a heinous crime. 

The people then has to decide whether a despot who has the power to do just about anybody in is good or bad. They also have to decide whether their courts of justice being used as tools of oppression are a good thing or a bad thing.