“Questioning the essence of democracy, where it is a solid pillar of society, is dangerous and profoundly undemocratic” - Gustavo de Arístegui

 A considerable part of mankind has been able to break the chains of oppression and the world consecrated human rights as the most important engagement of humanity with itself to defend each and every human being as an equal. Democracy is a very complex system. It is the distillation of centuries of dictatorships, oligarchies, monarchies and political violence harshly opposed to the human aspiration to freedom and social development.

 According to Gustavo de Arístegui, this seems simple and is taken for granted by those who have never lived under regimes that have tortured and murdered their own citizens. He is of the opinion that, primarily those who question democracy will question National courts in the future. This is why questioning the essence of democracy, where it is a solid pillar of society, is dangerous and profoundly undemocratic, says Mr. Gustavo.

Gustavo de Arístegui is a Spanish diplomat and politician

Gustavo de Arístegui brings to notice that democracy is even more complex in large and diverse countries such as the US and India. In the US, it is impossible to rig an election, but we have seen in other countries undemocratic sore losers question their defeat, triggering instability, havoc, and sometimes even a civil war. But not in an advanced democracy such as the US, Gustavo explained. This goes beyond the electoral systems, where the will of the people needs to be respected. He also stated that the extremes have a tendency to try to hold the moral high ground that is they actually do not have. “The sole motive of the extremists is to drill a hole through democracy and shatter the National courts. Those who question democracy, from the extreme left to the extreme right, are the true enemies of liberty, Gustavo asserted.

As per Gustavo’s viewpoint, the first lesson any politician has to learn is that there is nothing more important than the greater good, the protection and defence of the liberties and rights of the citizens and the nation’s inalienable interests. But this is not the case of 21st century politics, he sighs.

 Gustavo de Arístegui feels that the national courts should have a separate team to monitor the elections. “We are going to face some of the most challenging times of recent history, and we need real politicians with values, principles and a solid commitment to the defence of their nation, their people’s liberties and world stability”. He also mentioned that even though this may sound utopic, it’s the only way that today’s world can defeat terrorism, violence, instability and oppression. Gustavo de Arístegui concluded that the only thing that is unacceptable is that the democratic leaders surrender to the horrors of tyranny.