Dear friends and readers on Silicon India: I'm posting this short story of mine which is excerpted from my book BEES: A hive of twenty short stories with the snowballing world human rights crisis in context. This story champions all the free thinking peoples of the world and is dedicated to all those throttled voices of innocents crushed by brute military and economic force. Ps pause to spare a thought on the political cowardice displayed by the majority of the free world democracies in the name of free trade with economic and milatary bullies. I'm posting it in the CORRUPTION category because I see it as a massive corruption of human rights. Thanks for your time and support. Shiva IYER aka Dr. Sivaram Hariharan

The Agreement

(A Short Story by Sivaram Hariharan aka Shiva IYER)

Jian Xi was sipping hot green tea and blew cigarette smoke out of his nostrils in this small suburban takeaway shop. In another two hours he would be meeting his friend Peter Norman, the Prime Minister. Raymond was Jian Xi’s English name after he defected to this vibrant multicultural Western democracy and he had been passionately calling it home for the past 16 years. And yet his heart longed for his motherland. He remembered fondly his days as a student in his native country’s top university. He was a student of traditional medicine and the future looked so bright. But one fine day all that optimistic youthful innocence shattered. The brutal dictatorship that ruled his country mercilessly mowed down his friends who were rallying peacefully for freedom and democracy. Some of his best friends were slaughtered coldly by those rumbling tanks which left a deep scar in his psyche. And then the brutal crackdowns, in which many innocent students were arrested under concocted charges of sedition and ruthlessly tortured, rained down like a never ending nightmare. Most of his friends were never to be seen again. Raymond himself was taken in by the authorities for questioning and they had tortured him for 12 straight days. But miraculously he was set free after being severely warned and threatened. It was then that he had met Peter Norman.

Peter was working at the embassy of his country as a liaison officer. The westerner was very sympathetic to the students’ cause. He was instrumental in arranging for Raymond’s defection to his new homeland after two harrowing years with the help of some key political contacts. A friendship was born and matured over the years. Peter had been a strong supporter for the Movement of Democracy in Raymond’s native country. And Peter had also come a long way since then. On returning to his homeland after a series of overseas postings, Peter had joined the local Labour Party and had worked his way assiduously up the party ranks. His meteoric rise culminated in him being elected as the Prime Minister when his party leader and the then PM John Myers had to step down due to advanced lung cancer. Of course, there was lots of wheeling and dealing given the ugly nature of politics and Peter Norman became the youngest PM to hold office in the country’s history.

Two years back, prior to the election that swept ex-PM John Ryan to power, Raymond was an invited guest at an important Labour caucus. In that meeting Peter Norman had thundered about the human rights abuse in Raymond’s former homeland. He spoke convincingly about the need to liberate that nation from the clutches of the evil dictatorship. After the meeting he had personally introduced Raymond to John Myers. Myers had shaken Ray’s hand warmly and assured him that he would campaign tirelessly against the dictatorship whether or not his party won the elections. And when Myers and his party took power he had once again assured Raymond at the election victory celebrations. When Peter Norman became PM in unexpected circumstances, Ray wasted no time in congratulating his friend over the telephone. PM Norman once again assured Ray about his undying commitment to his friend’s cause. And then in one year’s time PM Norman made an official visit to Ray’s native country. And before he had left he had a telephonic conversation with Ray that he would champion the cause of freedom and democracy when he met with the dictatorship. He would also request the dictator to stop harassing overseas dissidents through spies.

After a whirlwind trip, PM Norman had returned triumphantly. His trip to this upcoming global economic colossus was a resounding success. But Raymond Jian Xi was perturbed and he had a few questions for the PM. With great difficulty he had managed to secure a 10-minute meeting with his friend at his official residence the following morning. Ray was frisked thoroughly at the gates by two big and burly security commandos and was escorted by one of them all the way to the PM’s patio in the backyard housing a giant swimming pool. The PM was sitting on an easy-chair by the poolside sipping his morning coffee. His face lighted up as soon as he saw Ray walking in. After waving the commando off, he indicated his friend to sit beside him. ‘So glad to see you after such a long gap my friend. Tea or coffee Ray?’ the PM smiled extending his hand towards his friend.

‘Some tea without milk and sugar please,’ Ray replied shaking the PM’s hand.

‘So tell me Ray what brings you here. I’m afraid I have to rush out of here for an important meeting.’

‘Peter, I’m a bit concerned after reading a newspaper report that you did not emphasize human rights with the dictatorship of my country. Instead, you went there just to lay the groundwork for a free trade agreement. Tell me did you even mention human rights during your recent visit?’

‘Oh, Ray I did not get the opportunity and moreover the forum was not appropriate. The meeting with the Premier was very short and I also decided that it was not the right time to bring up the issue. It’s a very sensitive matter Ray and I have decided to move on it in the near future when the circumstances are more appropriate. But believe me my friend; we have not forgotten you or your cause.’

‘But tell me Peter, how come the dictatorship has suddenly become more open regarding the free trade. All these days they had stymied a lot. Now suddenly it all looks smooth. I hear from certain quarters that this happened because of your willingness to brush the human rights issue under the carpet in order to secure the free trade agreement.’

‘That’s rubbish Ray, I would never do that. You know that I’m a champion of human rights and would never bend on that.’

‘But you could have at least mentioned the matter to the dictatorship.’

‘We have to be realistic Ray. The free trade agreement is vital to the future economy of our land and this has been a milestone achievement for my government. This is a global village now and your former country is an economic superpower in the making. We have to make sure that we have them on our side.’

‘But what about all those ghastly genocides committed by the dictatorship in the past? In fact the main reason I came here was not about the free trade but about a very disturbing development. Yesterday, some 1000 peasants died in a crackdown in my native province. All these peasants were asking for was a fairer system of reimbursement for their lands which are going to be converted into residential and industrial units and all they got in return was a brutal rain of army bullets. Peter, I’m really afraid for my family, friends, and relatives over there. I do not know whether any of them have died or became injured or being tortured in jail. I’m really worried.’

‘Oh Ray, that’s very distressing indeed. But as far as I’m aware, neither my government nor even any of my intelligence agencies, including our embassy over there, have heard anything about this latest crackdown by the dictatorship. Our foreign office is closely monitoring the human rights situation over there and would be the first to know if something is awry. Are you sure about your information sources? I mean should you be really taking all these internet gossip very seriously?’

‘I have credible proof about this latest crackdown Peter. Would you please please please raise this issue in the parliament?’

‘I’ll see what I can do Ray. But you have to realize that I cannot do anything to jeopardize the free trade agreement.’

‘I can’t believe that you are talking like this. What happened to my old friend Peter, the champion of democracy and freedom?’

‘Oh… relax Ray and have some more tea. Believe me when I tell you that you are not forgotten. For starters I have hinted the dictatorship to stop the spy-harassment of expatriate dissidents.’

‘Oh… that is very patronizing Peter. Please.’

‘I’m not patronizing you Ray. Please look at it from my shoes.’

‘Peter all I have is hope that someday the dictatorship will be brought to justice. Enough on this now. Tell me, how are your wife and son? I heard that they had also accompanied you on this trip. Did you get to do any sightseeing?’

‘Sally and Dave got time to do the sightseeing business but I was totally tied up. And both of them are still over there extending their holiday. They want to see some of the countryside of your land minus all the official entourage. But then our security boys have to be with them all the time. Such are the times that we live in Ray.’

‘Such are the times indeed Peter but I do hope that they are having a good time. Look, I better take leave of you now and I thank you for your valuable time. But please think about what I told you.’

‘I will my friend,’ the PM rose to bid goodbye. He then walked into his house with a sigh of relief. Yes, he indeed had information from the foreign office about a brutal crackdown by the dictatorship yesterday in an undisclosed rural province but chose to keep mum. There were too many things at stake here. As far as he was concerned, the human rights issue was a lost cause and there was nothing to gain for neither him nor his government in this regard. Global economic realities were too real and harsh and heavily dictated the fates of governments these days. As for Raymond Jian Xi, he was thoroughly disappointed. He had seen enough of real world politics to understand the implications of his conversation with the PM. The free trade agreement was the proverbial Holy Grail and PM Norman had kicked the goal dead centre through the uprights. But Ray was still indebted to the PM. After all it was his friend who had set the ball rolling for securing political asylum for him and his family all those years ago and Raymond Jian Xi would never forget that as long as he lived. The phone rang shrilly as the PM reached his gargantuan living room. His secretary was on the other end and sounded heavy and breathless.

‘Sir, I’m afraid that I have some not-so-good news. It seems that your wife and son were caught in a vicious uprising by a mob of dissident peasants when they were touring this particular rural province. Somehow, they had given our security boys the slip and took off on their own. It took a while for their security escorts to realize that your wife and son were not at their hotel room. And by that time your wife and son had left the capital city. Both of them suffered serious bullet wounds when the government forces fired on the dissident mob in retaliation. Your wife’s condition is listed as very serious but I’m afraid that your son could not make it. I’m really very sorry sir.’ 

Here I end with a question to the reader: What would you do if you were the PM? What would be your decision for the future?

Copyright 2008-2012: No part of this story shall be reproduced in any form, part, or manner without explicit written permission by the author Sivaram Hariharan aka Shiva IYER.

https://sites.google.com/site/omsriguru/sivaram