Attacking Free Speech - Our World

 

I was reading up on the G8 summit and related protests taking place this week in Germany when I stumbled upon footage of German security forces violently repressing a Greenpeace protest. Greenpeace's is calling on G8 member states - made up of the world's most powerful economies - to engage in a serious discussion on global warming. According to Greenpeace:

"This morning, 24 Greenpeace activists, using 11 speedboats took the message "G8: Act Now!" to the waters around the beachfront summit hotel. They entered the outer restricted area at 11am, informing the police as they did so. They came in from both east and west sides, entering into the inner restricted zone 10 minutes later.

Police boats ran over some of the Greenpeace boats - injuring six activists and sending several to the hospital. Fortunately, no one suffered more than severe bruising. The activists were trying to deliver a petition calling for clear commitments on climate change." 

You can seefootage of the action on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZG54Gsf1LQ

The footage got me thinking about the use of violence against peaceful protestors. Take Greenpeace as a case in point. Since 1971 Greenpeace has routinely carried out ship-borne protests against everything from the testing of nuclear weapons to whaling, and its activists have frequently faced violent repression. In 1985 Greenpeace was targeting Frances policy of testing of nuclear weapons in the South Pacific when French secret‚ service agents planted a bomb on the organizations flagship, The Rainbow Warrior. The crews photographer  drowned when he tried to go below deck to retrieve his gear after the bomb went off. Eleven others had been on board at the time of the explosion but escaped to safety. (You can view a summary of the attack and the subsequent investigation by the New Zealand police here.) The incident helped to spark global opposition to France's nuclear weapons testing program and to testing in general. Thanks partly to the efforts of Greenpeace, the world's traditional nuclear powers no longer have active nuclear weapons testing programs.

 

For Americans, some of the most memorable images of violence against activists hails from the era of the Civil Rights movement. The image above shows a Freedom Riders bus in flames after an attack by proponents of segregation. Civil Rights activists faced violent attacks and even murder in the South, but they persevered and African Americans made major strides towards equality in the United States during the 1950's and 1960's. In fact, images of the violence against civil rights activists that aired on television shocked many viewers into action, and helped to rally support for the movement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free speech has been defined as an inalienable human right. But is this right respected? Dissent is often met with force. Images from major protests - be they against war, globalization, or environmental degradation - that have taken place in our own country and in countries all around the globe reflect a common trend. The images include large numbers of police in riot gear marching on unarmed civilians. Tear gas. Rubber bullets. Beatings with batons. Lines of police on horseback. In countries with few protections for human rights activists face even worse than a few bruises, including longterm imprisonment and even death.

What most protest movements of the past five or six decades share in common is a dedication to non-violence. This dedication to peaceful action is not shared by the governments that these movements have targeted. Instead of engaging in open minded debate, governments are too quick to declare protesters a security threat. The same methods that are used to quell riots are used to control peaceful protests. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Governments continue to enjoy a monopoly when it comes to the legitimate use of violence. Most people deplore the use of violence by activists of any stripe and support the responsible use of force by their government when it comes to ensuring public safety. But when governments engage in needless acts of violence against protesters, the media tends to take note. In some cases, public support for a social movement begins to grow after its activists are victims of violent repression. For an activist, sometimes it is worth taking a beating. But for governments, one has to wonder what the point of handing out that beating is in the first place.

 

The author, David Anderson, is a Political Correspondent for Gather and a graduate student studying Political Science at the University of New Hampshire. You can read past editions of his column "Our World" under the tag of the same name. You can view all of David's Correspondent pieces under the tag "Live From New Hampshire". David's articles appear weekly on Gather.