This is the continuation of the first part of the story. The last year of the decade has seen the sprouting of protests across the globe. From Latin America to Hong Kong, the protests that flared up can be rooted in three major causes, climate change issues, widening economic gap, and political repression. Suppression of protests and protestors in a systemic way was seen to be a common thread. Let us peep into the protests that shook the civilization in 2019.
Crux of the Matter
Opposition in October Iraq was wrapped in anti-establishment protests in the month of October. Protestors were agitating against corruption, economic divide, poor public infrastructure, nepotism, and authoritarian governance. Authorities were also condemned for using tear gas bombs, rubber bullets, actual bullets, snipers, hot pepper, etc. to disperse protests. Protestors also raised critical issues of Iraq being domesticated by the US, inefficient use of revenue from oil, and Iran’s intervention in Iraq. In October, Bolivia was engaged in protests after allegations about Electoral Fraud in the 2019 Elections were made. Jeanine Anez took over Evo Morales as the President of Bolivia after Evo resigned. Protests persisted while the entire scene played out. 14 people were killed during the protests as a result of undue force by authorities on protestors. Spain was also not fared from protests. In the ongoing prosecution against top leaders and people who organized referendum in Catalan, 9 people were charged with sedition and other charges. This led to massive violent protests in Spain. During the violent protests that continued for a week, protestors used force and pelted stones to impose the protests, whereas police charged protestors with baton and resorted to tear gas to disperse the protestors. Nearly 25,000 university students came out on the streets for a peaceful demonstration. Chilean uproar began in response to the increase in the subway fare of Santiago Metro. The protests also caught more spark against the increased cost of living in the country, economic disparity, and leeching privatization policies of the state. Protestors resorted to vandalism and arson of property. President Sebastian Pinera called a state of emergency and announced a curfew in the protest-hit area. Police resorted to the brutal use of force and in one of the incidents as many as 200 people damaged their eyesight as a result of the police pellets. As many as 2500 people were injured and 20 killed. There have been reported incidents of torture, sexual assault, and sexual abuse on protestors by security forces. Apart from protests in Bolivia, Spain, and Chile in the month of October, Lebanon also fell into a revolutionary frenzy. Civil Protests in Lebanon were a culmination of the proposed tax on gas, tobacco, and online phone calls. Gradually the protests turned into an uproar against corruption, unemployment, economic situation, and inflexible government. The protests led to the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Not So Good November Outcry in Italy is a political movement against Matteo Salvini. The protests came to be known as Sardines Movement – crowd protesting on streets like sardines packed in a shoal. Partly because of the Anti-Immigration Policies and of the rising amount of Hate Speech in Politics caused the agitators to raise their voice against, as opposition in Italy claims, ‘authoritarian and undemocratic‘ leader Salvini. Iran, a nation that has been getting eyeballs because of the escalating tension between it and US, saw protesters emerging on the streets to protest against the rising fuel costs and cost of living, which some experts believe are rising because of the US sanctions. Peaceful demonstrations turned violent, in which protestors burned down state-owned banks and Islamic centres, and criticized Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian government used brute force to shun down civilians. Nearly, 1,500 people were killed. Iran blocked internet access for nearly a week. The protests that have taken the shape of anti-establishment protests are the most severe in 5 decades in Iran. Malta was rocked in protests after its government was accused of participating in the assassination of journalist Daphne Galizia. Protestors took the issues of corruption, poor governance, and judicial hollowness on the streets. Protestors demanded resignation from Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
Dissenting December for India India engulfed into protests after the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 was passed in the parliament. Protests erupted against the constitutionality of the Act and the speculative fear of filtering the Muslim population. The protests turned meta after the police violence at Delhi’s Jamia Milia University. Protestors then took to streets against police brutality and the right to protest. Indian government also resorted to internet shutdown to curb violent protests. Students and women participated in large numbers. Violence took lives of many and injured many. Call for peace is being persistently made.
Not only there have been overlapping reasons for the protests across the globe, but there also have been similar combat techniques by the government. Some protests resulted in the ousting of the incumbent, whereas others have out forth that demand. Protests proved to be helping Sudan in revamping its government structure. The rising voice of students across the globe, use of violence by mob, government’s use of internet blackout, and police authorities using force were seen almost everywhere. The fashion in which protests have erupted throughout the world gives a sense of nostalgia for the Arab Spring and the Arab Winter that followed. Although the protests are rising against governments and economic gap, it would not be an understatement to anticipate a serious cyclic lap like Arab Winter.
Curiopedia
The Arab Winter is a term for the resurgence of authoritarianism, absolute monarchies and Islamic extremism evolving in the aftermath of the Arab Spring protests in Arab countries. Events referred to as the Arab Winter include those in Egypt that led to the removal of Mohamed Morsi and the seizure of power by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in an anti-Muslim Brotherhood campaign. According to scholars of the University of Warsaw, the Arab Spring fully devolved into the Arab Winter four years after its onset, in 2014. The Arab Winter is characterized by the emergence of multiple regional civil wars, mounting regional instability, economic and demographic decline of Arab countries, and ethnoreligious sectarian strife. According to a study by the American University of Beirut, by the summer of 2014, the Arab Winter had resulted in nearly a quarter of a million deaths and millions of refugees. Perhaps the most significant event in the Arab Winter was the rise of the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which controlled large swathes of land in the region from 2014 to 2017. More Info
Curated Coverage
The Guardian – Violent clashes over Catalan separatist leaders’ prison terms
Al Jazeera – Protests erupt in Lebanon over plans to impose new taxes
The Guardian – ‘Sardines against Salvini’: Italians pack squares in protest against far right
VOA – US Confirms Report Citing Iran Officials as Saying 1,500 Killed in Protests
Summachar – CAA Retrospective: A Winter Of Snowballing Protests
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