Civil protests, political events and manifestations of the expression of will reflect a society’s concern for disagreement with the current state elite. Nations of any country by default have the rights to express themselves and to the right to freedom of expression even in countries which are under dictatorships and totalitarian systems and must be protected by a Constitution. Civil protest marches are destabilising countries, in particular, France, Russia, Italy, followed by severe battles involving police force and further prosecutions afterwards. Citizens of the countries are by a Constitution allowed to express themselves in the streets in a quite manner (non-violent way) to protesting their infringement of the rights and freedoms. Failing to provide their legitimate rights, the elites, in particular, state governments discredit themselves as being unconstitutional, illegitimate and contradict to the United Nations’ main policy on human rights.
Under the United Nations and in accordance with the Constitution of some countries humans by law are entitled to freedom of speech and assembly. The United Nations and its milestone document on the universal declaration of human rights holds two of the declared articles, however, consisting of thirty articles in total, and, in particular, the articles 19 and 20 state that everyone has the right to freedom and expression and everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. Yet, the united Nations is not the only organization which oversees such matters and issues around the globe, there is also a similar organization named European Convention on Human rights. European Convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms also consists of articles. The article eleven has almost identical description to the article 20 from the United Nations. The more people are aware of such organizations and the more they are aware of laws and their rights, the harder it will be for a government to manipulate around its citizens.
Neglecting the rights of people, their freedoms and freedom of speech, civil protests may develop into violence and unrest, therefore, organizations for human rights and a constitution must protect citizens from illegal reprisal by the police. There are no fire without a spark (metaphorically speaking), hence its a government that forces people to protest. People protest due to many reasons and some of them are poverty, the minimum wage that is imposible to survive and, the high cost of living, corruption and the tenure of power. The article 25 from the United Nations states that everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of him-self and of his family. However, it is clearly seen that many countries can not provide adequate nesseseties to their citizens thereby driving their citizens into poverty. There is evidence of the infringement of the rights of the citizens of Italy who protested against the constitutional reform. Protests in Italy caused a storm of outrage and anger in relation to the government of Matteo Renzi which entailed violent scuffles and fierce clashes with police forces. Citizens of Italy who were against the referendum on constitutional reform were not sceptical that such reform would reduce democratic values in the country. The constitution of Italy, however, states that the citizens of the country have the right to assemble peaceably and unarmed. Because citizens of any country have their rights to a peaceful assembly and association, therefore,
Figure 1. Clashes with police in the Italian city of Florence. Retrived November 5, 2016 from https://www.rt.com/news/365488-italy-protesters-clash-police/.
Civil non-violent protests and rallies are the means to control government and impact directly on it. Undoubtedly, rallies and protests (non-violent) are highly effective when it comes to impacting on governments. An evidence from the Russian city of Novosibirsk proves that massive rallies and protests are of a good use. The popular protests in Novosibirsk have defeated the Governor’s plans to raise rates. Up to seven protests were undertaken in the region’s capital of Novosibirsk to warn the local government to reduce the rates on building maintenance and utilities. Another evidence that mass rallies had had enormous impact on the empire such as Sovient Union, where hundreds of thousands of Estonians all together demanded and regained its independance from the Soviet Union.
Figure 2. The Tallinn Song Festival Grounds where the Singing Revolution took place still bring people together for music and change. Retrived July 8, 2016 from https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/peace-protests-dallas-response/
Counter-claim: Some people believe that rallies and protests can be dangerous as they may create chaos in the streets, thereby, imply that such rallies and protests should be subject to approval first from a local government. Others, in addition, believe that rallies are distracting, noisy and, as a result, create inconveniences for people who are working or are sick in hospital. Rebuttal: Unfortunately, yes, some rallies, protests, assembly and associations can be loud, noisy and at times very crowded, and, for the matter of convenience, rallies and protests can be held on a weekend. In terms of authorization of a rally, in the democratic societies ‘if they true democracies‘ rallies and assemblies do not need an approval as they are free as the freedom of speech. If some countries/governments allow rallies today and does not allow tomorrow, then, they discredit themselves as unconstitutional and illegitimate powers.
Conclusion
The evidence of the first premise has demonstrated us the true notion of what a Constitution, the United Nations and the European Convention are when it comes to the protection of ordinary people who will of fate have to protest, be citizens and demand whats right for their country. The next, Government of any countries should address citizen’s concerns and to behave accordingly, otherwise, it may be fraught to some governments. Finally, as the evidences state a postive change is possible, then, the positive changes either in social, political or economical spheres are dependant only on citizens of those counties and are based on their optimistic view and desires. Pessimistic views work in the favour of governments from the reluctance to change something.
Used links
http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf
https://www.rt.com/news/365488-italy-protesters-clash-police/
http://www.constitutionnet.org/files/Italy.Constitution.pdf
Popular Protests in Novosibirsk Defeat Governor’s Plans to Raise Rates
http://time.com/4584639/italy-referendum-2016-matteo-renzi/
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/peace-protests-dallas-response/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/chaos-paris-annual-day-march-10334456
http://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/democracy-allows-peaceful-protests
References
Constitutionnet. (n.d.). THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC, 1948 . Retrieved May 03, 2017, from Constitutionnet: http://www.constitutionnet.org/files/Italy.Constitution.pdf
European Convention on Human Rights. (2017). Article 11 Freedom of assembly and association. Retrieved May 03, 2017, from European Convention on Human Rights : http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf
Kalyukov, Y. (2017, April 19). Popular protests in Novosibirsk defeat Governor’s plans to raise rates . Retrieved May 03, 2017, from the Russian reader: https://therussianreader.com/2017/04/19/popular-protests-in-novosibirsk-defeat-governors-plans-to-raise-building-maintenance-and-utilities-rates/
RT. (2016, November 05). Italian protesters clash with police at anti-government rally in Florence . Retrieved May 03, 2017, from RT: https://www.rt.com/news/365488-italy-protesters-clash-police/
United Nations . (2017). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved May 03, 2017, from United Nations : http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
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