>>Corruption is essence of Arab regimes'
Sudanese author calls for political reform in Muslim world Posted: August 15, 2002 1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Jon Dougherty © 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
A Sudanese researcher and author has called on Arab and Muslim nations in the Middle East to end corruption and reform government practices by becoming more "open and transparent" to their people and the world.
"When you hear – and these days you frequently do – that a senior Arab official is standing trial on charges of corruption, it is reasonable to assume that this wretched official was not corrupt enough," writes Dr. Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Effendi in the Aug. 6 edition of the London-based Arabic language daily newspaper Al-Hayat.
"This is because charges of corruption have no meaning unless they take place in an open and transparent regime, with known and fixed rules and regulations, clear foundations for accountability, and independent and neutral apparatuses to deal with it," Al-Effendi wrote, in an article translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
"Fighting corruption in the Arab world is like fighting capitalism in America or fighting Catholicism in the Vatican," he wrote.
Al-Effendi says "under existing Arab circumstances," it's impossible to fight and eliminate corruption because that "is the foundation" of many existing regimes "and the main instrument" which allows them to survive.
"Were the regimes to really fight corruption," he wrote, "the entire political elite" would wind up "in the courts and in prison."
Much of the corruption, he said, was attributable to regimes which convey power and privilege on an elite few, such as family and friends.
"… In the Arab world, where there are absolute autocratic regimes, the concept of corruption loses all meaning, as the law is the ruler's will," Al-Effendi said. "He decides what is permitted and what is forbidden, and his bonuses and gifts are a legitimate livelihood.
"If the ruler so decides, he will give his sons a monopoly on import or export; will permit them to purchase abroad at a tenth of [the merchandise's] value and be reimbursed for the full price by the state treasury; will allow his friends and cronies to use public property or state revenues; or will give them land," he writes.
Consequently, the law in such regimes is not meant to punish the ruling class.
"Since it is inconceivable that the courts with which we are familiar in the [Arab] countries will sentence the sons of the president and the top ministers, cleaning hands will have to wait until the changing of the regime," Al-Effendi said. Change would only be possible upon the "destruction of the foundations of the existing order."
Palestinian corruption 'necessary'
Al-Effendi made an effort to single out Yasser Arafat's regime as an example of the kind of corruption endemic in Arab and Muslim regimes, characterizing Arafat's call to end corruption a "comic phenomenon."
"The slogans of the struggle against corruption have another role – these days, they have become conditions set by the Western financial funds and donor countries for continuing aid," he wrote.
"In short, Arab regimes, including the Palestinian Authority, promise to battle corruption in order to secure more financial assistance. But it's not because they are interested in ending the dishonesty and bribery; it's because they must give the appearance of doing the right thing, for a number of selfish, regime-preserving reasons.
"They do this not out of love of virtue, but because businessmen active in those countries have begun complaining about the [corruption] impeding them in their work," Al-Effendi wrote, as one example. "Tenders are not awarded to companies submitting the best proposals, but, in most cases, to those offering the largest bribe to those concerned."
The Sudanese author also said it is within this "framework … [lies] the comic phenomenon in Palestine and the bizarre collective demand that the Palestinian Authority fight corruption."
"The humorous aspect of this demand does not end with the demand that President Yasser Arafat fight corruption, institute security, and even support 'free economy and trade' while he is besieged and cannot even buy tomatoes in the marketplace – let alone transform Palestine into a backbone of free trade in the 'free world,'" he writes, according to the MEMRI translation.
"What is even funnier is that the corruption of the PA and other Arab regimes is actually a necessary condition for fulfilling the role imposed upon them – to serve foreign interests and subjugate the peoples."
He said if the PA gave "full authority to the Palestinian parliament" and associated "legal apparatuses," as well as "obey popular will and spend its grant funds and income on education, health, services, and reviving the economy, what would be left for bribing the activists and intellectuals with appointments to ministries and the security apparatus … ?"
Without that ability, Al-Effendi charged, the PA would be unable to silence its political opposition and prevent it "from exposing the irregularities necessary to safeguard Israel's security."
"This goes for other Arab countries as well," he wrote.
In related news, President Bush on Tuesday nixed a $5.1 billion security spending package passed by Congress that contained hundreds of millions in aid for Israel and the Palestinians.
Included in the package was $200 million for Israel and $144 million in aid for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Citing an interest in fiscal restraint amid sour economic news, a worsening stock market and creeping government debt, Bush announced his decision at an economic forum he hosted at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. The White House also said Bush was attempting to send a pre-election message to Democrats that Congress should do more to get spending under control.<<
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