A surge in terror has put the rights and liberty of the public at stake. Life is very cheap and one’s blood is spilt for nothing and without an iota of mercy. Women and children are particularly vulnerable to the political instability and their individual and collective freedoms are curtailed to a great extent. Civilian casualties and terrorist attacks are the hackneyed statements making headlines on national and international newspapers and the bloody pictures shown on TV channels and posted on Facebook numb our minds and senses.
In spite of the vast discourse over the men’s natural and inalienable rights, international human rights’ instruments and counterinsurgency campaigns, a large number of people lose their lives around the globe on the basis of their racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Considering the strong threats, such as terrorist attacks, suicide bombings, arm trades, chemical weapons, an increase in insurgent groups and corrupt policymakers behind the scene, one will be lucky to survive – mainly who live in the heart of militancy such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc.
Although, democracy and philosophical theories over human rights, which played integral role in the constitution of some countries, alleviated men’s pain and suffering to some extent, it could not stop mankind from bleeding. Perhaps, since the spirit of democracy is moribund in third world countries, people suffer from widespread militancy and terror.
It is believed that there are two major reasons behind the violation of human rights. Firstly, religious extremists are inculcated that democracy, human rights, women’s rights, etc. are the profane products of western culture, and had to be fought against at the cost of one’s life. Therefore, the radical ideologues spill the individuals’ blood recklessly and put the legitimacy of a democratic government under question.
Secondly, the power sharing among the executive, legislative and judicial powers is not balanced, mainly in the aforementioned countries. To protect the citizens’ rights and freedom, the power should be decentralized, in a government’s machinery, through dividing equally into three independent powers. In another item, it will tend to cruelty and jeopardize citizens’ rights when power is centralized in one point and the same person legislates, interprets and enforces the law. Dividing the state’s tasks equally on three organs and protecting their independence are the main elements of division of power. In a nutshell, the fair and equal division of power and submitting it into three independent organs is the soul of democracy, which will protect the rights and liberty of citizens. As a result, the kings’ absolute power in the past led to despotism and people’s rights and freedoms were trampled upon on a large scale. Hence, the past experience demonstrates the fact that centralization of power jeopardizes citizens’ individual and collective freedoms and paves the way for violence and bloodshed. To avoid rhetoric, “Democracy is an impossible thing until the power is shared by all, but let not democracy degenerate into monocracy.”
Besides division of power, the three powers should move parallel and independently in a government’s machinery. For instance, when the legislative power is strict towards terrorist networks, the judicial system must interpret the law strictly and the executive system must enforce the law in the same way. So, since no one is considered beyond the law, one should not threaten others’ life and liberty with impunity.
There are many barriers ahead of democracy and giving it lip service will not alleviate a nation’s pain and sufferings. In a democratic administration, the social society activists will have to play a pivotal role to assure that the public rights are protected by the government and scrutinize the officials’ activities. Moreover, those who deem democracy as western product and resort to arms for the destruction of democratic governments should be brought to justice or dealt militarily.
Whenever one imagine the pungent smell of a human’s burnt limbs in the bedlam of a suicide bombing, the painful sobs of the injured, the bloody bodies of street vendors, the children’s beheaded corpses, the mothers who seek their kids tearfully and the profound anguish of the victims’ families, s/he will recoil with unmitigated disgust and wish they were not born so that they would not hear the lurid reports or see the poignant incidents going on in their surroundings.
We have to break the chains of egotism and megalomaniac feelings. We should believe that we are equal and the racial and linguistic differences matter not in the realm of humanity. We are all human, born with certain and inalienable rights and dignity. We will not gain peace and freedom unless we respect the rights and dignity of our brothers and sisters, cherish religious tolerance, value the code of ethics and yield to the call of our conscience.
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” We are not “bound to the starless midnight of racism and war.” We are able to end this conflagration and cultivate the morale of brotherhood and sisterhood on the prolific land of our society.
Afghan government has constantly called warring parties to stop insurgency and join peace talk – this is the best possible option for the insurgent groups since killing innocent individuals serves no useful purpose. Moreover, it is believed that murdering people for self-interests or on the basis of any particular backgrounds is not justifiable at all in any religions on the surface of earth.