Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:23:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: Carvalho <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
But I believe, I was a lone voice on Goanet who repeatedly said that democracy
has certain established routes, and by giving Gram Sabhas a role which they are
ill-equipped to handle will only undermine the cause of democracy and not
restore it to its full potential.
>
Mario responds:
>
Au contraire, mon cherie! Not so fast!
>
What you were proposing was that some new central government department be set
up to make decisions on the ugly developments springing up across Goa, when the
decisions were already being made by some existing central government
department.
>
You, from far-away Blighty, wanted to take away local control as represented by
the Village Panchayats and Gram Sabhas, which you said were corrupt, when, in
fact, as local activists like Wendell had told us, they were far more subject
to the influence of local residents than some nameless, faceless,
money-grubbing bureaucrats in some central government department.
>
The lovely and gracious and allegedly frail Venita may not have been a danger
to flies, but she must have given the human authorities some probable cause to
arrest her.
>
Let the system play out and we will soon find out what the real problem was.
>
