No doubt many of us felt satisfied at the outcome of the probe into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 68 inmates in a fire in the Kingdom’s largest prison last September. The findings of the commission which investigated the tragedy at Al-Hair prison outside Riyadh led to the sacking of the top prison official and the suspension of several other officials for dereliction of duty.
When I say that many are satisfied, it is because many almost forgot about the fire after having waited for so long for the commission’s findings to be made public. Yes, the findings took a long time to be announced but no one ever expected the outcome would be so reassuring.
For a very long time, we continued to maintain a policy of keeping things shrouded in secrecy. It is because of this secrecy that many tragedies have gone unnoticed and many negligent and careless individuals have gone unpunished.
I remember a reporter asking an official why the penalties imposed on erring officials were never made public and why no reference was made to those officials and their penalties in order to act as a deterrent to others. The official answered that because of certain social considerations, this was not possible. Under such circumstances, how can we expect any penalty, no matter how severe, to be of any use?
The findings of the commission into the fire at Al-Hair prison have finally put matters on the right track and those responsible have been identified. This is an unprecedented move that proves two things. First, there was real determination to get to the bottom of the matter, identify those responsible and hold them accountable. Second, other attempts at cover-ups and burying things in the sand will perhaps now come to naught.
You don’t need to see smoke and flames to know a tragedy is happening. Many places suffer from negligence and incompetence resulting in huge losses. We have reached this stage because things are often left as they are, with no one taking notice or bothering to look into them and identify those responsible.
We hope the results of this commission will usher in a new era of transparency and openness. Cases involving negligence and failure on the part of those in charge must be treated with utmost seriousness and those responsible held fully accountable.
