Freedom of speech is
a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to
articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or
legal sanction. Facebook on June 4 said
an EU court opinion calling for it to seek out content deemed illegal by a
local court on its platform undermined free speech across borders. An advisor
to the EU's top court said on June 4 that Facebook could be ordered to seek out
all content on its platform identical to that found to be illegal by a court
injunction. "This case raises important questions about freedom of
expression online," the company said in an emailed comment.
Back home,
often some fringe elements and mainly the Left [Communists] often decry that
Govt is stifling freedom of expression and clamping down on the voices !! Left in India received its biggest setback in
electoral history at 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The tally of Communist Party of
India (Marxist) at Parliament reduced from an already paltry five seats to mere
three this year when the results were
announced. Kerala, the Left’s last bastion in the country, delivered chilling
news to the party electing just one CPM
member out of 20 Lok Sabha seats. On its
erstwhile turf in West Bengal, where it failed to win even one seat, its vote
share reduced to a paltry 7 per cent from 23 per cent in 2014. In West Bengal, it was a debacle wherein all
but one Left-wing party candidates lost their security deposits. This was also
the first time since 1952 that the Left Front did not end up with double digits
in the general election. Till now, while it had put up its most dismal show in
2014, winning only 12 seats - 12 less than what it had won in 2009 - its
highest ever tally of 59 seats had come in 2004. .. .. .. here is something on Communist’s
distinction on ‘freedom of expression’ !
As the sun rose on the
morning of June 4, 1989, (this day 30 years ago !)
the Chinese people woke to a country which had changed overnight. The Tian'anmen or the Gate of Heavenly
Peace, is a monumental gate in the centre of Beijing, widely used as a national
symbol of China. First built during the Ming dynasty in 1420, Tiananmen was the
entrance to the Imperial City, within which the Forbidden City was located.
In April 1989, the popular
reformist leader Hu Yaobang died. During the 1980s he had been a high-ranking
Communist party official who had promoted economic and political reform, but
was ousted by his conservative opponents. Two days after his death, on 17
April, several hundred students marched to Tiananmen Square and laid a wreath
at the Monument to the People’s Revolutionary Heroes. They
called for greater freedom of speech, economic freedoms and curbs on corruption
– demands that touched a raw nerve with the conservatives in the Communist
Party. The top leadership was divided; while some saw students as
patriotic, others saw them as a threat to the regime. The demonstrations spread
to hundreds of cities across China.
For seven weeks it had
seemed like China was on the brink of a massive social change, but in just one
night the dreams of hundreds of thousands of protesting students and workers
were brutally crushed. For about a decade, China's economy had been steadily
opening up and allowing small amounts of free enterprise in the Communist
country, after years of strict state control under chairman Mao Zedong. Directing
the change was then-Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping, who wanted to see China
grow prosperous by embracing some pro-market liberalization.
In a prelude without
expecting that such a cruelty would be thrust upon them, hundreds of thousands
of Chinese gathered on June 2, 1989 in Tiananmen Square demanding democracy
despite martial law in Beijing. But when large-scale protests in Beijing called
for greater social freedoms, such as freedom of speech and even democracy, Deng
would prove far less enthusiastic. Chinese students demanded freedom, democracy and enlightenment on the
Martyrs Monument in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, festooned with a giant portrait
of Hu Yaobang. The protesters occupied Tiananmen Square, the massive public
space in the center of Beijing which faces onto the Forbidden City, former home
of the Chinese emperors, and the Great Hall of the People.
A rally on May 19 in the
square drew an estimated 1.2 million people, leading then-Communist Party
leader Zhao Ziyang to meet with them to plead for an end to the protests. On
May 30, in the center of the square, protesters built a 10-meter high statue
called the Goddess of Democracy, to boost morale among the huge crowd. More
than seven thousand students from local colleges and universities march to
Tiananmen Square, Beijing, May 4, to demonstrate for government reform.
In the end, the government
moved swiftly. After a tense two weeks, on the night of June 3, convoys of armed
troops entered Beijing with an aim to clear the square by whatever means
necessary. Blocked by civilians in the streets who were attempting to protect
the students, the troops opened fire. Students, workers and other ordinary
citizens fought back, setting fire to some military vehicles, but they were
overwhelmed. Witnesses told horrific stories of tanks driving over unarmed
protesters and soldiers shooting indiscriminately into crowds. No official
death toll was ever released by the Chinese government, but human rights groups
estimate it was thousands. Many of the protest leaders were imprisoned, some of
whom wouldn't be released for more than a decade, and the government has worked
hard to remove all mention of the massacre from Chinese history and media,
seeing it as a threat to the legitimacy of its continued one-party rule.
On the 30th
anniversary in 2019 today, no public memorials or events marking the day are
expected in mainland China. Not many now
remember or write about those ghastly hours – 30 years ago, when Chinese troops launched a two-pronged attack
from the east and west of Beijing with orders to put down the protests. Armoured
cars and tanks smashed through the
citizens’ barricades to the east. Gunfire was heard throughout the night. The
actual number of deaths from the crackdown remains unknown, but according to a
secret diplomatic cable from then British ambassador to Beijing, Sir Alan
Donald, dated 5 June, 1989 and released in December 2017, the Chinese army
killed at least 10,000 people.
Thirty years
on, the Chinese authorities continue to view the Tiananmen protests as one of
the most sensitive and taboo subjects. “June 4”, as the movement is commonly
known as in China, remains largely scrubbed from official history and is
censored from school text books and online. The authorities punish those who
try to commemorate the event, placing scores of intellectuals, writers or
activists under house arrest ahead of the anniversary of the crackdown.
Relatives of the victims who died during
the massacre are barred from openly mourning their loved ones. The
Chinese government has since justified its military crackdown on the movement
as necessary for political stability, economic prosperity and its eventual
rise. So much so for the red version of ‘freedom
of expression !’
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
4th June 2019.
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