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Mass Social Protests and the Right to Peaceful Assembly

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Mass Social Protests and the Right to Peaceful Assembly MASS SOCIAL PROTESTS AND THE RIGHT TO PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY A 12-COUNTRY SPECIAL REPORT BY FREEDOM HOUSE JANUARY 2015 Table of Contents Overview: Mass Social Protests and the Right to Peaceful Assembly ......................................................... 1 Chile: Reclaiming the Street – Chile’s Student Movement .......................................................................... 7 China: The Case of Shifang ........................................................................................................................ 13 Denmark: The Case of COP15 ................................................................................................................... 19 Kyrgyzstan: Commotion-Based Democracy .............................................................................................. 24 Libya: Save Benghazi Friday ...................................................................................................................... 30 Malaysia: The Bersih Movement ................................................................................................................ 37 Morocco: February 20 Movement .............................................................................................................. 44 Peru: “El Baguazo” ..................................................................................................................................... 49 South Africa: The COSATU March ........................................................................................................... 54 Turkey: The Case of Gezi Park Protests ..................................................................................................... 60 Uganda: Walk to Work ............................................................................................................................... 66 United States of America: Occupy Wall Street .......................................................................................... 71 Freedom of Assembly Case Study Methodology ....................................................................................... 78 Front cover photo credit: Photojournalist Paula Gonzalez (U.S.A.) March 24, 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The photo was selected as a Finalist in the Freedom House Photo Contest 2014. Entitled, Primera plana frente al Ritz (Headline Before the Ritz) The Disappeared make the newspaper headline on the 2011 Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice in Buenos Aires, which commemorates the 35th anniversary of the 1976 military coup in Argentina. Managing Editor Lisa Davis Research Teams and Authors Viviana Giacaman (Chile, Peru) Alex Brockwehl (Chile, Peru) Paul Mooney (China) Caroline Nielmann (Denmark) Matthew Schaaf (Kyrgyzstan) Susan Corke (Kyrgyzstan) Aalaa Abuzaakouk (Libya, Morocco) Monjib Maati (Morocco) Sue Gunawardena-Vaughn (Malaysia) Billy Ford (Malaysia) Cathal Gilbert (South Africa) Staff researchers (Turkey) Alissa Skog (Uganda) Lisa Davis (Overview, United States) Bridget Hebbard (United States) Editors Sarah Repucci (main) Russell Raymond Tyler Rolance Methodology Vanessa Tucker Freedom House thanks Mr. Ernesto de la Jara, Carmen Gomex, and Nelida Gandarillas from the Instituto de Defensa Legal, who were instrumental in leading and conducting the field research in Peru, and Andrea Sanhueza, for field research in Chile. We also thank the staff at the International Center for Not- For-Profit Law for their advice in developing the methodology, case study selection, and information provided on the legal environment for some of the chapters of this report. THIS STUDY WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. Overview: Mass Social Protests and the Right to Peaceful Assembly Chile The year 2011 was widely viewed as one of mass social protest around the world. China People took to the streets to voice their grievances and aspirations in the unexpected Denmark Arab Spring, the anti-austerity backlash in Europe, and the occupation of public spaces and financial districts in the United States. Seen on the streets of Hong Kong today, Kyrgyzstan citizens choose mass public assembly to press their governments for change. In Libya democracies and nondemocracies alike, citizens have courageously assembled in Malaysia peaceful protest on issues including climate change, land use, education, wages, Morocco elections, corruption, financial influence on politics, increased poverty, and dictatorship. Peru Disturbingly, as mass public protest is increasingly used as a means of participation in South Africa political life, a number of authoritarian regimes have responded with violence, new Turkey legal restrictions, and blatant violations of the rule of law, all on the pretense of Uganda maintaining public order and stability. United States Freedom House researched cases of mass social protests in 12 countries to glean best practices and determine the causes for failure in promoting and protecting the right of peaceful assembly. Our comparison spanned a range of democratic and nondemocratic societies as well as an array of issues at stake in each setting. This report not only evaluates the role of the executive and law enforcement agencies in enabling or restricting freedom of assembly, but also investigates how government ministries, legislators, courts, political parties, national human rights institutions, think tanks, media, labor unions, civil society organizations, and even businesses respond to the content of protests and affect the peaceful exercise of the right to assemble. The study yielded the following general findings: • Citizens increasingly turn to mass protests to address grievances in the face of unresponsive elites, and these protests often drive significant changes in the political agenda. • Authorities in various countries use aggressive methods, such as excessive force and criminal sentences, to dissuade citizens from protest, and in undemocratic countries they try to block protests “upstream,” while the events are being organized. • Communication between police and protesters, and of equal importance, dialogue among authorities and other democratic stakeholders on the issues raised by protesters, reduce tensions and improve the prospects for peaceful assembly. • Struggles between protesters and authorities play out in the media, as officials use traditional media to generate public disdain for the protesters, while the protesters themselves turn to social media to get their messages out. Page 1 Citizens increasingly turn to mass protests to address grievances in the face of unresponsive elites, and these protests often drive significant changes in the political agenda. Protest organizers and participants from the 12 countries examined repeatedly said in interviews that the status quo had not and would not change through institutional channels; in many cases, the institutions were dominated by strong political monopolies or other elites. Change required a visible and persistent show of numbers and voices. The mass protests, as a non-institutional form of democratic participation, served to channel important issues into the institutional process. In some settings, they paved the way for shifts in official policy. For example, the protests of the February 20 Movement in Morocco precipitated parliamentary debates and constitutional reform, though the reform itself remained a top-down process. Marginalized voices and new ideas often came to the forefront. Mass demonstrations in Chile, Denmark, Kyrgyzstan, Peru, South Africa, and the United States brought about public support for educational reform, increased awareness of climate degradation, reforms addressing sustainable use of resources and land rights, improved labor conditions, and greater national attention on the structural inequities and influences surrounding the economic crisis. Changes in public opinion led to a change in elected leadership in some instances, such as Chile and New York City. The experiences of individual protest movements offered valuable lessons for their counterparts in other locations, and these had a discernable impact on the ability of demonstrators to assemble peacefully in the face of aggressive responses from authorities.1 Protests also displayed an innovative character, with planning and alliance-building before and during the events, unique internal decision-making processes, and dynamic flexibility as the demonstrations unfolded. In Chile, protesters used music, dance, and comedy to liven up the streets and their message. The sense of festivity dampened any violent confrontation, and the movement grew from a student protest to reach broader constituencies with each successive march. In Turkey, protesters at times used silent, statuesque assemblies to counteract the police’s aggressive efforts to block motion and suppress speech. And in the United States, well-networked activists in the Occupy Movement gained solidarity from parallel protest camps and marches that spread to over 70 cities. Organizers and protesters in many settings employed internal processes to mediate disagreements, isolate provocateurs, and identify and deal with surveillance by authorities. Various protest movements had their own security protocols; in the cases of encampments, activists set up their own sanitation and health committees to ensure safety and avoid government intervention on these grounds. As officials and traditional media failed to address their grievances, discredited them, or responded in other negative
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