2020 wraps up with a strong scent of dissent in the air
2020 has been one eventful year. No sense of irony in that comment by the way. Clearly, some events have overshadowed others. While the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 brought down the curtain on Anti-CAA and NRC protests that had gained momentum in several parts of India, the year witnessed several protests happening across the world despite the pandemic.
Undoubtedly, the Black Lives Matter movement gained the most traction. The protests against police brutality and all forms of racial violence took off following the death of African-American George Floyd in the hands of a cop, and has had several celebrities from actors to sportspersons voicing their support. Several American late night talk show hosts released emotional responses and several non-American sportspeople too are still taking a knee in support. These may be the popular images of resilience, but on the streets, the movement, which is claimed to be the largest in US history, has itself witnessed a lot of violence; in terms of brute force being used to clear the crowds and numerous incidents of vandalism. Even though all of this feels from another past, some other protests and issues have taken the sideline. Yes, not all, but some have.
It has been several weeks since the Farmers’ protests have locked up movement to and from the landlocked national capital. What initially began with farmers from Punjab and Haryana marching and driving to Delhi to revoke the three recently passed popularly referred to as ‘Farm bills 2020’- Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 respectively- has turned into a mass movement with farmers, students, celebrities, and activists from others parts of the country joining in as well. Several rounds of negotiations have been unfruitful with the farmers still demanding a complete roll-back. Most of them have been prevented from entering Delhi and are camping on roads, blocking national highways, while some have moved to the government approved site, the Burari ground. Many more are still joining the agitation.
Predominantly, the protests are against the effects of the laws on agriculture, how corporates could have an upper hand in the dealings, and also in demand for minimum support prices for produce. Journalist P. Sainath in an article Did You Think the New Laws Were Only About the Farmers? has highlighted how the laws infringe upon citizens’ rights to legal recourse. He quotes Section 13, “No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the Central Government or the State Government, or any officer of the Central Government or the State Government or any other person in respect of anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or of any rules or orders made thereunder.”, of the first of the three laws mentioned above.
France is facing similar unrest. Not only did it give up plans to ban the chokehold method during arrests, following police demonstrations against it, the country has also drafted a police security bill which if passed will enable French forces’ use of body-cameras and drones for mass surveillance, filming and live-streaming footage of citizens under Article 21 and 22 of the bill. Further, Article 24 criminalizes circulation of images or recordings of police and paramilitary officials in police operations, with imprisonment of up to 1 year and a maximum fine of 45,000 Euros. Therefore, the bill has been vehemently opposed by civil rights activists and journalists, resulting in large scale weekend protest marches. Even the Government’s announcement to rewrite Article 24 has not appeased the French public.
The dissolution of its leading opposition, Future Forward Party, earlier in 2020 has led to agitations in Thailand. After a brief pause due to the pandemic, the demonstrations against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government that also seek a reform of the Thai monarchy have resumed. Over the course of the protests a State of Emergency was declared in its capital for a few days in October. The government has banned gatherings of more than five people in Bangkok, laid restrictions on publishing and circulation of news and online information that may hurt national security, and granted permission to the police to arrest any person associated with the protest. The protestors are also calling for repealing of the Royal insult or the Lese Majeste laws; under Section 112 of their Penal code, anyone who is convicted of “defaming, insulting or threatening the king, queen or their heirs faces a sentence of three to 15 years in prison for each count”. The pro-democracy protests received fresh attention recently for the use of inflatable rubber ducks that were used to mock the government and monarchy which also doubled up as shields against water cannons. Three-finger ‘Hunger Games’ salute, dinosaur costumes, Harry Potter and LGBTQ+ themes, and changing protest locations at the last moment to confound the police are among other tactics they have become popular for.
Australia’s proposed surveillance bill has received flak for permitting infringement of privacy. The bill allows interrogation of children as young as 14 years of age by government officials, imprisonment of journalists for five years if they refuse to reveal sources, and authorities to “hack, secretly takeover and add, copy, delete material on computers”. No protests have taken place in this regard but opposition is evident.
These are but a few on-going protests and apparent instances of dissent. Beirut, Belarus, Brazil, Hong Kong, Israel and Mexico (‘A Day Without Us’) have also had their fair share of protests this year. Some protests have been more violent than others. Police crackdown on people, use of water cannons and tear gas to disperse crowds are common among all of them. These protests are also quite reminiscent of the Arab spring, and if anything, the almost a decade old uprisings are evidence of how even revolutions are not enough at times. Lack of political figures as faces of the protests is another common thread and almost all of the aforementioned examples have had an increased involvement of youngsters. So, maybe tomorrow will not be so terrible after all.
(Cover credits: CNN)
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