How should we deal with deposed leaders?

Egypt's prosecutor general has ordered the detention of former President Hosni Mubarak, ahead of an investigation into corruption and abuse allegations. It follows tens of thousands of protesters staging weekly Friday protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square, demanding that he stand trial.

But is that always the solution? Is it more important to ensure that a leader who is oppressing his people steps down? If that means allowing him to go into exile, without standing trial, would that mean more dictators would be willing to relinquish power?

What should happen to a leader once they've been ousted from power and there are allegations of corruption, wrong doing or violence hanging over them?

Would it be for the greater good of the country?

Comments

1. Pancha Chandra wrote: All leaders should be accountable for their actions which simply means leaders should be prepared to justify critical decisions they took which had or could have implications on the lives of citizens. Without accountability leaders would be able to ride rough shod over the rights of citizens. Properly constituted courts should decide if actions were fair or not. Impartiality of judges is the cardinal governing principle.

2.Danny wrote: This is a difficult problem. Justice needs to take it's toll, but if we consider Zimbabwe we wil se the Mugabe will never step down due to fear of his own safety, so perhaps for the good of all the Zimbabwian citizens as well as the other people affected, one should considder an amnesty of some sort?

3.modernJan wrote: The court at The Hague is way too soft in my opinion, they also have a horribly incompetent prosecution. They take years to convict somebody, if at all, costing millions: while the whole world literally saw the dictator's televised crimes happen they still use unreliable witnesses at the core of the prosecution, and in the end the dictator gets to spent a few years in a luxurious Dutch cell for crimes like genocide while a common thief in the dictator's home country has to spend 10 years in a rat in filthy cell he has to share with 10 other prisoners and 20 rats. Also the International Court allows dictators to use blood money to buy all-star teams of international lawyers, while they should be forced to make due with one pro bono lawyer, like the rest of us.

4. gary indiana wrote: Despots do not work their magic alone. They are merely the fruiting bodies of decadent fungus that grows beneath. This is seldom rooted-out upon their removal. What should be done is the hardest thing for oppressed citizenry to do; to focus attention upon the causes rather than upon the consequences. It is not the despots, nor even their minions that are the problem; but societies themselves that condone and even nurture the inequalities, mistrust, privilege and corruption upon which these people prosper.

5.Guido wrote: In the short term it seems to be beneficial to offer a former dictator a deal, but it is important to send a signal to all leaders in the world, that their actions may have consequences.

6.Alan in AZ wrote: No Leader should be above the law! That should be the first requirement for any countries leader! Otherwise the citizens will never be safe!

Section 5. Picture

Совет врача.

UNIT 12

Section 1. Практикум Линн Виссон

Текст 23

Интервью с Викторией Федоров