However, the latter, Park, who was left to rule for another 15 months in office, found herself in the middle of a political influence scandal after her close aide and confidant Choi Soon-sil was arrested for allegedly meddling in government affairs while exerting influence over the President. Mark the nature of offence, the accusation against her was actually to have aided a friend for exploiting the President’s influence; otherwise, it is clean favouritism without any direct involvement in any corruption charge. Yet, she apologized while delivering a speech addressing the nation – it wasn’t only a sheer sign of a self-effacing gesture but also a sign of political courage.
Regarding the former, Rousseff was charged with criminal responsibility in the execution of her duties, including administrative misconduct and disregarding the federal budget in violation of a couple of clauses of Article 85. Even then, a large number of Brazilian scholars and witnesses had opined during the hearing phase of the impeachment process that her lapses did not amount to criminal responsibility. To cut a long story short, she was reportedly trying to plug deficit holes in popular social programmes to boost her chances of being re-elected for a second term. Needs mentioning, moving funds between governments budgets, though illegal according to Brazilian Law, but reportedly not to have happened for the first time. Furthermore, it wasn’t benefitting her in anyway financially straight away. The most fascinating reaction in her impeachment has been, besides a chunk of Brazilians, at least 8 Latin American Countries rejected the outcome of her impeachment verdict. Several other countries supported in her favour. The impeachment charge-sheet even didn’t include many of her most contentious decisions.
Now replace their countries, impeachment proceedings and political realities with Bangladesh. Can you imagine witnessing any of the above scenes here?
Has it ever happened that being proved corrupt, a Bangladesh President or Prime Minister had ever apologized in public or before the nation? Most importantly, does the legal scope exists under which you can hold our Head of State directly accountable for a larger misdeed and therefore initiate an impeachment process? Other than assassinations and downfall due to massive civil-unrests, have any of our Head of State ever resigned on a moral and ethical ground?
Answers to the above questions are very easy with a straight ‘yes’ or ‘no’ but at the same time gives birth to even more questions. However, talking about the very least, let’s stay within the topic of apologizing in public. Concerning a misdeed or corruption charge at any scale, our politicians usually never say, the least – sorry, let alone resigning from power. In recent times, many of them are not only confirmed corrupt but inconceivably arrogant when it comes to justify their crimes while practicing the different forms of corruption.
Many of their resignations were surely recorded, but they were mainly on personal grounds or perhaps falling in the bad books of the PM. Never to be on the basis of a corruption charge as yet. That having said, impeachments of Rousseff or Geyun-Hye carry a series of significant leadership messages on being accountable and transparent while carrying state-responsibilities. Particularly, in the case of the South Korean President, it’s about conscience and humility.
None of the two Presidents has not enriched herself with peoples’ money. They were careless with public money and the allegations were of criminal negligence.
Our people in power somehow have forgotten that they have any accountability to the people. The consequence is that they have no conscience to feel guilty for the crimes that most of them are committing everyday by way of grabbing public property and looting public money.
Our big corrupt ones should have the sense of feeling at least humble. Instead, they are going boldly and bravely telling everybody no law can touch them.
