M Rafic Soormally (guest)
Born of Hindustani parents, Idrice Soormally and Bibi Rabiah Soormally (born Chaumoo) in Curepipe, and holder of Accounting, Finance, Economics (including Politics), Marketing and Law qualifications, I have been writing since 2000. Several of my articles have been published in Mauritius, Pakistan, Iran, UK. I also write regularly for the Mauritian Abroad Magazine in the UK. Many of my articles have been posted across the web, ranging from the Washington Post to Netherlands Radio Worldwide.
The Cassam Uteem statement on Paul Bérenger as PM
- By M Rafic Soormally (guest)
- Published 5th May, 2008
Mr Uteem justifies his stance by stating in no uncertain terms that if Paul Bérenger were to announce to a Mauritian nation still in « construction » that he would not present himself as Prime Minister at the next general elections, « il met fin automatiquement à la polarisation malsaine qui bloque le débat à Maurice depuis des années », but he makes it quite clear that he is not saying « que Paul Bérenger ne mérite pas d'être Premier Ministre ».
The background
Paul Bérenger happens to be a European-Mauritian
belonging to a community which is less than 1% of the population.
Around 70% of the population is of Hindustani origin, and around 25% is of
African origin. The principle that any one can aspire to become Prime
Minister irrespective of gender, colour or creed, is not a democratic
principle because, under a democracy, it is not unlawful for voters to choose
a leader on the basis of his or her colour, creed or other qualities, however
objectionable this might be. This is why Europeans do not elect a Black
African or an Arab or a Chinese to lead them even though they are born in
Europe and/or have European nationality.
In Mauritius, 99% of the population is non-white, and Paul Bérenger is a white man, perversely described as a 'non-Hindu', hence the big heated debate which has been and still is poisoning Mauritian politics. It is for this very reason that Bérenger did not put himself forward as PM at the 2000 general elections. Instead, he perverted democratic elections by entering into a corrupt deal with his alliance partner, Sir Anerood Jugnauth who agreed to be PM up to 2003 when he would allow Bérenger to occupy the post of PM for the remaining two years [2003-05] while he is made President by pre-arrangement with President Karl Offman who resigned after only 19 months in office. This is how the conspirators manipulated politics to make Bérenger PM through the backdoor and to keep power amongst themselves. But, the people rejected this trickery in 2005 when they voted to power the Social Alliance with Dr Navin Ramgoolam as PM. As the present government is losing popularity because people feel that their lives are not improving, the unhealthy debate about whether Bérenger should present himself as future PM rears its ugly head once more, hence distracting people from the real problems facing the country.
Criticisms
1. On the Défi Media Group website, Mr Parvez Dookhy, a Barrister (Doctor of Laws), launches an attack on Mr Uteem
alleging that he called upon Bérenger not to stand as PM « en raison de
son origine ethnique ». Mr Dookhy also severely criticises Mr Uteem
saying that his « comparison de Paul Bérenger avec Sonia Gandhi est
maladroite sinon inappropriée » because the European-Indian Sonia Gandhi
is « d'origine étrangère » (meaning born in Italy) while the
European-Mauritian Paul Bérenger is « fils du pays » (meaning born in
Mauritius). In fact, the Indian Constitution does not differentiate
between 'natural' and 'registered' citizens, and Bérenger's ethnic origin
holds true whether he is born in or out of the country.
2.1 In a contribution which agrees « completely » with Mr Dookhy's criticism of Mr Uteem, one participant writing under the initials R.A.J., joins in the attack and regards Mr Uteem's statement on Bérenger as « an absolute perversion of democracy ». He makes out that Mr Uteem had claimed that Bérenger « cannot aspire to the leadership of this country [Mauritius] » because of his ethnic background. R.A.J. refers Mr Uteem to the speech of an African-American civil rights leader Martin Luther King in which the latter had said that people should be judged « on the 'contents of their character' rather than on the colour of their skin ». R.A.J. refers to Paul Bérenger as « our first non-Hindu Prime Minister » in 2003, and questions whether Mr Uteem's stance on Bérenger amounts to the latter's disqualification « from even applying for the top job again ».
2.2 Firstly, R.A.J does not view the corrupt power-sharing deal between Jugnauth and Bérenger in 2000 as a perversion of democracy. His understanding of democracy not only leaves a lot to be desired, but he is also unable to discern the inherent and entirely personal reasons of voters in their democratic selection of candidates.
2.3 R.A.J. is wrong in believing that Martin Luther King can give Mr Uteem any lessons on the content of the character of Paul Bérenger. The racism Mr King was fighting against was one of Whites against Blacks and not vice versa. R.A.J. believes that, because Mr Uteem is of opinion that Mr Bérenger should not apply for the top job again, this makes him « a fool subjected to paralysis of thought brought about by naked racism ».
2.4 To all intents and purposes, R.A.J.'s description of Paul Bérenger as a « non-Hindu » is problematic. Why does he not describe Paul Bérenger as a Catholic of European descent ?
2.5 Whatever criticisms R.A.J. may make against Paul Bérenger, he regards Bérenger as having done a 'good job' in 2003-2005, and asks himself whether Bérenger would do a « better job » if (or when) he becomes PM again. .
Conclusion
Mr Cassam Uteem's intellect, maturity, bravery,
independence of thought and depth of the mind are perhaps beyond the
appreciation of certain people. He has always been praised as a man of
great integrity and as a perfect gentleman. Mr Uteem faithfully served
for many years under Bérenger in the Mouvement Militant Mauricien in
which his own son is a present member. He has merely fearlessly given,
in the public interest, an appropriate and brilliant analysis of Mauritian
politics. Mr Uteem is right in saying that, along the lines of Sonia
Gandhi, Paul Bérenger should make it clear to the people that he would not
put himself forward as Prime Minister at the next general elections. This would unify rather than divide the Mauritian people, make the political
atmosphere healthier and avoid a repetition of corrupt political deals
reminiscent of 2000.
M Rafic Soormally
London
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8 Responses to "The Cassam Uteem statement on Paul Bérenger as PM" 
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said this on 08 May 2008 8:49:43 AM MUT
Ki zot p la guerre... Berenger pu vine PM et pu ferme la bouche bane dimun ki p dire li pas bisin presente li comme PM.
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said this on 06 May 2008 8:19:49 PM MUT
R.A.J, I seriously think you need help with regard to your mental state. Regurgitating a series of crap to fulfill your own selfish desire and to dismiss other contributers as illiterate is just off limits. To aspire great things in life you need to first of all show respect to fellow human beings. I am afraid, the kind of insulting and arrogant languages used by you in this context, really demean any value that anyone has for you. In short, Respect is an important feature/component of one's mental health. In order to receive respect one has to give respect.
The weight of my argument also lies on the use of initials and concealing one's identity. You may also have a problem with your identity which is a serious problem in itself. Now, this may sound like a personal attack. This is just an observation based on a number of your posting and this is my assessment of you. You are a highly deluded person. Get down to basic understanding of humanity. |
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said this on 06 May 2008 4:13:15 PM MUT
Dont waste time n energy R.A.J.
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said this on 06 May 2008 12:03:33 PM MUT
I never respond to shallow arguments, and I won't make an exception here. But this chap keeps referring to my comments on Parvez Dookhy's article on Cassam Uteem's interview with Week End newspaper. I am therefore pasting them here so that people can see exactly what I wrote, and not the nasty, wilful, and rather illiterate misinterpretation that Soormally has given them, all floating in the syruppy, sickly sycophancy that seems to be second nature to some people. Sensible people will notice the difference straightaway...
R.A.J. said this on 29 Apr 2008 11:24:30 AM MUT: Yes, I agree completely with the sentiments expressed in this article. It is an absolute perversion of democracy to claim that some people cannot aspire to the leadership of this country simply on the basis of their ethnicity. Cassam Uteem really ought to reacquaint himself with part of Martin Luther King's speech that urged everyone to judge people on the 'contents of their character' rather than on the colour of their skin. I have often criticised Berenger for failing to exploit fully the opportunities presented to him in 2003 as our first non Hindu Prime Minister; he could have really demonstrated that ethnicity had nothing to do with the ability to do the job properly, but instead he followed the same path of mediocrity, self indulgence, and kowtowing to all the abysmal socio cultural organisations polluting this island that all previous Prime Ministers had done. But does that mean that he has disqualified himself permanently from even applying for the top job again? Only a fool subjected to paralysis of thought brought about by naked racism would subscribe to that poisonous view. And by that standard, only a handful of existing politicians would be qualified to stand as candidates for the next elections. Berenger has every right to present himself as our next Prime Minister. I wish he would stop this nonsense of opening the manhole every now and then to find a 'premier ministrable' lurking in the sewer of failed politicians exploiting ethnicity as a weapon of first and last resort. Whether he will be able to do a better job than in 2003-2005 is a different matter entirely, and the only question that needs to be posed. Everything else about his candidature is mere semantics dressing up as a considered political opinion masquerading all the vile views that have blighted this nation for far too long. |
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said this on 06 May 2008 3:50:47 PM MUT
REPLY TO benaam « R.A.J. »
AN EMPTY BARREL MAKES THE MOST NOISE, GOES THE SAYING. I have no problem responding to contributions, which I may deem shallow or otherwise, made by people writing under anonymity as this is within the area of debate and exchange of ideas. A person has the right to preserve his/her identity for a multitude of reasons. But I object to anyone hiding behind anonymity to insult and demean others like you have consistently been doing by basing yourself, not on facts, but on mere prejudices and gullibility. An empty barrel makes the most noise, goes the saying. You have been caught red-handed and you are like a fish out of water. The fact that you are drowning yourself in the use of big words, many of them dismally inappropriate, you think people will believe any garbage you throw at them. It is very unprofessional to quote yourself in support of yourself unless you are denying, in this instance, that you did not use those offending and sickening words against Cassam Uteem while hiding behind anonymity. People can read and understand what you clearly said in your abusive comments against Cassam Uteem. If you disagree, you should explain yourself and not simply paste your own filthy comments, which is a very childish thing to do. Since you do not appear to understand your own comments, it is clear who is demonstrating « illiterate misinterpretation ». Sensible people do notice how you are using bombastic language and cowardly hiding behind anonymity to insult others. It is time that you put a stop to this sickening idiocy of yours. In fact, you are not denying what I said but you are relying on your own sickly sycophants to do the denying for you. M Rafic Soormally |
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said this on 06 May 2008 1:15:38 AM MUT
ADDENDUM AND MISE AU POINT
The above post is an edited version of the original article posted on this blog on 2nd May 2008 under the title « Benaam R.A.J.’s cowardly attacks against Cassam Uteem » and on which readers had already posted their comments. However, this post was removed the same day without any explanation. Finally, it was amended with my permission, although I was not expecting a complete change of title. However, the present title is also relevant. The original article that prompted my response was posted under the name of Mr Parvez Dookhy on 29th April 2008 bearing the title « Cassam Uteem et la nation mauricienne ». I made it quite clear that Mr Bérenger was not the main issue raised by Mr Uteem, although his detractors have chosen to make him the main issue by making personal attacks against Mr Uteem, and against which attacks I have decided to respond. The relevance of an un-named author writing under the initials R.A.J. to Mr Parvez’s article relates to the inappropriate and very objectionable comments he made under the cover of anonymity when he accused Mr Uteem of « perversion of democracy » and of « paralysis of thought brought about by naked racism ». Given that his comments were extremely abusive, I singled them out for a response, as borne out in my reply. M Rafic Soormally |
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said this on 05 May 2008 11:39:13 PM MUT
Mr Soormally and Mr Utteem are both wrong in stating that Mr Berenger’s status in Mauritian politics is akin to Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s status in Indian politics. Mrs Gandhi was born in Italy and came to India (at the age of 25) only after her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi. Mr Bérenger is a born Mauritian and has forefathers who have been Mauritians since 1820. In fact, his parental roots are far more entrenched in Mauritius than our three other Prime Ministers whose forefathers settled in Mauritius after 1835.
Mr Soormally is totally wrong in stating that the racism Mr King was fighting is one of White v/s Black. The racism Mr King was against is universal whether it is Black v/s yellow, mild coloured v/s white etc. In fact, it is worthwhile to note that Mr King’s fight against racism was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s struggle against the caste system especially the injustice suffered by the so called untouchables under that system. I support RAJ’s stand that people should be judged “on the 'contents of their character' rather than on the colour of their skin”. I would go one step further in stating that Mauritians have a lot more to learn from King’s dream. Similar to King’s vision of “sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners sitting down together at the table of brotherhood”, Mauritians should look forward to the day when sons of former slave owners, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former coolies would work together and live together in harmony not allowing themselves to be divided by petty thinking politicians. The argument that Mr Bérenger should not be PM because he belongs to a group which is less than one per cent of the Mauritian population is fallacious. Mr Alberto Fujimori became President of Peru despite being of Japanese descent a group which constitutes less than 3% of the Peruvian population. Other examples are former President Bakili Mulusi in Malawi (a Moslem in a country where Moslems are less than 25% of the population) and former President Leopold Sedar Senghor in Senegal (a Christian in a country where Moslems are more than 95%). We have countless others, Obasanjo in Nigeria, Manmohan Sing in India etc. |
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said this on 07 May 2008 12:09:21 AM MUT
REPLY TO « CHARLIE »
Although you have left some clues in your reply, I am not in a position to definitely say whether you are who you say you are or simply R.A.J. just using another pseudonym. However, allow me to reply to your comments. You have completely missed the point that the Indian Constitution makes no difference between ‘natural’ and ‘registered’ citizens. Hence, Sonia Gandhi is perfectly comparable with Paul Bérenger. Mr Parvez Dookhy, did not dispute this after I drew his attention to the status of Mrs Gandhi. Martin Luther King was only one of many Black civil rights activists fighting against the racism of Whites against Blacks while upholding the racism and terrorism of Zionists against Palestinians. R.A.J. has effectively accused Cassam Uteem of racism against Paul Bérenger’s white skin. He chose the wrong example. You have confirmed what I have stated when you accept that Mr King wanted the « sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners sitting down together at the table of brotherhood ». Unlike Malcolm X, Martin Luther King was sucking up to the White Man. He was assassinated when he said that he wanted the « PROMISED LAND » for the American Negros. When you say that pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian Mr King is inspired from Mahatma Gandhi, you are merely regurgitating the White Man’s propaganda. [Ref. Gandhi, The Jews and Palestine, A collection of Articles, Speeches, Letters and Interviews]. As I said, Mr King has no lesson to give Mr Uteem on the character of Mr Bérenger. Mr King was probably referring to the character of his White masters. You have given several examples where a member of a minority community have ‘ruled’ over the majority, but you have not given the example of a descendant of slavers from a minority community ruling over the majority which he believes are descendants of slaves and coolies. From what you are saying, you want Mauritius to become like the brutal and fascist state of Peru where people are tortured, raped and murdered in custody on a daily basis. Alberto Ken’ya Fujimori, both a Peruvian and Japanese, and ex-President of Peru, who you liken to Paul Bérenger, was an authoritarian and faced charges of corruption and of many human rights abuses during his Presidency and for which he is facing trial. He fled to Japan but was extradited in to Peru in September 2007. You are also wrong in quoting some puppet Presidents (instead of duly elected Prime Ministers) in countries still controlled by their masters. We did have, from a minority community, an African-Mauritian President in the name Karl Offman who resigned only after 19 months. Why did you not give his name as an example ? Could you also give an example of a Black or coloured duly elected Prime Minister or President in Europe ? If you cannot, can you explain why ? By the way, the term « Moslems » which you have used is a derogatory word against Muslims. Regards Rafic Soormally |
