Recovery from Memory lane 2008:Goa Bolo-mat Abhiyan

Goa Bolo-mat Abhiyan by Soter D'Souza My stand lies vindicated. The mascot of Goa's Builders Abhiyan could not face the reality like a man. The Truth was sought to be suppressed and that is why the builder's coterie had to cart a pack of intruders to the venue just to protect their mascot. It reminded me of the situation when goons and drunkards are carted to our Gram Sabhas by the MLAs and Sarpanchas just to disrupt the proceedings and prevent the people from making their point. The colleagues were all respectable citizens who definitely would not have acted unruly to warrant that the mascot protect himself by carting his thugs. I have walked through all this fire from 1988 with my head held high and fearless. This builder's coterie is too miniscule an entity to be taken cognisance of. I am part of national and local movements but never had we reason to curtail the freedom of expression of any of our colleagues. Misunderstandings and difference of opinion are always there. What happened on 2nd June was simply cheap and dirty and marks the begining of the end of a forum that emerged to save Goa. It is shameful that the coterie has behaved worse than our corrupt political thugs. Almost 50% of the intruding faces were alien to others and it was suprising that besides a handful of activists most of the others who profess to be the champions of the people's rights in Goa did not even have a little courage to speak out and stand for their rights. They behaved worse than cowards. It amounted to they allowing themselves to be raped by lying down without any resistance. We definitely cannot fight the hostile forces with this cadre of cowards. No wonder corrupt politiians rule us endlessly because we are ready to make small concessions at the cost of our rights. If the mascot had nothing to hide he should have faced the forum like a man rather than behaving like a village thug who ensures that a pack of goons will cheer him on. And while all decorum and rules were trampled upon to protect the mascot, the coterie along with their pack of intruders tried to suppress the truth from coming into public domain by introducing something called 'rules of decorum'. Perhaps they were confusing it with 'decoration' that many of them were reduced to, because they could not follow what was going on. The truth has defintiely become bitter. The truth has spilled into public domain and is becoming embarassing. The mascot is jittery and therefore had to stoop so low. Activism is about morality and ethics. If everyone is going to hire gangs to make their point, one can imagine what the state of affairs will be. What moral right has this coterie to talk about decorum when it closets itself in the cabin of the CM and emerges from it only to try and negotiate and run it's own colleagues down to please their beloved CM? What moral right has this coterie when it depends for its daily bread from real estate and mining sharks? Freedom is my birth right. I shall not allow the builder's coterie to suppress my freedom that has been won for me by the Father of this nation. The interest of the people of Goa is supreme and I will say what I have to say, and when I have to say it. This is my constitutional right. -Soter D'Souza http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-June/161218.html