Beyond the Philippines: Right to protest under fire in many countries
BANGKOK — In the Philippines, the major anti-corruption protest of over 100,000 individuals on September 21 resulted in a violent dispersal of the police. More than 200 young people were arrested, reportedly tortured inside prison. The police are now filing criminal charges before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“They’re going after the people who are vocal against the issue of corruption. But there is no action being done against those [government officials and contractors] implicated in the ongoing corruption scandal in the country,” said human rights lawyer Sol Taule, deputy secretary-general of human rights group Karapatan, in an interview with Bulatlat.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), through its director Robert Alexander Morico, said that charges have been filed against at least 97 individuals. The cases cite Articles 136, 139, and 142 of the Revised Penal Code which cover conspiracy and proposal to commit rebellion or insurrection, sedition, and inciting to sedition. The move marks one of the most extensive legal actions in recent months involving alleged threats to public order.
“Free speech and expression is crucial for the people facing systematic oppression. But it is being violated to pacify the strong and powerful demand of the masses for accountability,” Taule said. “There is no amount of state fascism that could pacify the desire of the people for accountability.”
The right to protest — exercising the freedom of speech, assembly, and association, and expression — is protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Philippines was among the 174 countries that ratified the covenant.
Repression across the world
The violent repression of those asserting their rights through protest is not only happening in the Philippines. Over 1,000 activists and civil society leaders gathered in International Civil Society Week (ICSW) in Bangkok to expose the rising trend of authoritarianism around the world.
Read: Global activists strengthen solidarity in times of crises
In Pakistan, 17 year-old activist Ammas Talpur said that the youth movement in their country is rising to protest because they are driven to speak up against systematic inequality and nepotism.
“As youth, we were promised a world of dignity, a world of freedom, and that our voices can be spoken out, where we can say what we want,” Talmur said in his speech during a plenary session at the ICSW. “But instead, we are inheriting a world of inequality.”
He stressed that the alignment of Asian governments to the elite violates their international obligations under the United Nations charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“I have seen it in my own eyes. I have been in different schools and stages. The people and the lower class are living terrible lives. Ten children are working in the farms, while the children of army generals are living different lives,” Talpur said.
Recent protests in Pakistan resulted in the deaths of at least nine people and more than 100 protesters were reportedly injured in October. They demanded an end to special privileges for government officials, restoration of student unions, access to?free and quality healthcare and education, among others, according to Amnesty International.
Sri Lanka-based activist Melani Gunathilaka said that the recent uprisings and mass protests in Asia transcends generations. “It’s not just the youth, there are a lot of people from other generations. There were protests by the farmers, environmentalists, teachers, and so on. All these gave us reasons,” she said.
Gunathilaka is the co-founder of Climate Action Now Sri Lanka and member of the Debt for Climate global movement. She also joined the ICSW to discuss the ongoing protests across the world. “There is a continuing inequality and corruption, our natural resources are being exploited in the name of so-called sustainability and green energy. People want a dignified life.”
She said that the mass protests and the struggle for dignified living are not limited to borders. “We understand that the same issues that we are facing in Sri Lanka are the same issues that the people in Bangladesh, South America, Africa, and the rest of the world are experiencing.”
Nearly three years after Sri Lanka’s 2022 Aragalaya (“struggle”) movement ousted the powerful Rajapaksa family amid the country’s worst economic crisis since independence, thousands of protesters still face prosecution. Around 4,000 individuals have been charged under nine different laws, including the Penal Code, Police Ordinance, and Public Security Act. Data show that 859 arrests were made in Colombo alone while activists estimate nearly 3,000 arrests nationwide.
Global vantage point
United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of assembly and association Gina Romero identified three major issues and tactics used to restrict human rights, which are the decline of democracy worldwide, the rise of authoritarianism, the ongoing genocide; the adoption of restrictive laws; and the trade-off between security and the guarantee of rights.
“These tactics are undermining the right to protest and creating a chilling effect that discourages new voices from taking part,” Romero said, referring to the growing restrictions on civic space.
She said that the government and other powerful actors have been using various strategies to suppress dissent, from targeting protests and independent journalism to harassing human rights defenders. “These three major issues are being fueled by a range of tactics used to interfere with fundamental rights,” Romero said, adding that such actions justified the criminalization, harassment, detention, and even killings of civil society leaders and journalists.
In her report submitted to the General Assembly, Romero stressed that thousands of civil society organizations were forced to shut down worldwide due to the ongoing challenges.
“Across all regions, governments are resorting to more intrusive and aggressive tactics to deliberately prevent and deter people from exercising their freedoms, especially when they are challenging or voicing disagreement with government policies, demanding accountability, revealing corruption, and defending rights of freedoms,” the report read, adding that impunity for violations have also resulted in legitimization of the state’s abusive tactics.
The ICSW declaration signed by over 600 activists around the world stated that only four percent of the world’s population live in countries where freedoms to organize, mobilize, and speak out are respected.
More than 70 percent of the world’s population live under repressive conditions based on a monitoring by CIVICUS. They recorded that civil society is under severe attack in 116 of 198 countries.
“Our call for a more just, equal and democratic future is urgent. Heads of state and the international community must respond,” the declaration read. “We call on governments, international institutions and fellow civil society organisations to stand up and uphold democracy and civic freedoms. Democracy is vital because it gives people power, enabling them to shape their societies. Civic freedoms – the rights to assembly, association and expression – allow people to demand change and hold those in power to account.” (DAA)
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Disclosure: The author is participating in the International Civil Society Week (ICWS) as a Young Journalist Fellow.
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