Democracy Fights Back As People Around the World Protest Authoritarian Governments
The people are not going quietly as protests against rising authoritarianism are happening around the world.
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From the historic No Kings protests during Trump’s birthday parade to the protests this weekend against authoritarianism in Budapest and Serbia, the People are not going quietly.
Huge crowds gathered in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, for the city’s 30th annual Pride march, in defiance of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s legal attacks on LGBTQ+ events and community, including a police ban against LGBTQ+ events.
“Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Hungary's capital on Saturday as a banned LGBTQ+ rights rally swelled into a mass anti-government demonstration, in one of the biggest shows of opposition to Prime Minister Viktor Orban,” Reuters reported.
“This is about much more, not just about homosexuality ... This is the last moment to stand up for our rights," Eszter Rein Bodi, one of the marchers, told Reuters.
Serbia Continues Protesting Slide into Authoritarianism
And in Serbia’s capital of Belgrade, a massive anti-government protest led to dozens of arrests.
“Serbia’s president announced Sunday more arrests of anti-government protesters following clashes with police at a massive rally demanding an early parliamentary election. Dozens have already been detained,” PBS reported.
The violence broke out after the official protest had ended and protesters weren’t having it when blamed for the violence, calling the current populist government “illegitimate”:
“Tens of thousands of people attended the rally held after nearly eight months of persistent dissent, which has rattled Vucic’s firm grip on power in the Balkan country. Protesters also declared the current populist government ‘illegitimate’ and laid the responsibility for any violence on the government.”
Not to suggest you might find any of this familiar, but Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucic is accused of becoming increasingly authoritarian and has close associations with Russia and China. He is also accused of allowing corruption and organized crime to flourish, which PBS points out he has denied.
The anti-government crowd was estimated by the Independent Protest Monitor, Archive of Public Gatherings, to be around 140,000. France 24 reported protesters are demanding the populist government hold early elections in addition to protesting against government ineptitude and corruption that led to 16 people being killed by a train station collapse last November.
“Students have kept up protests in recent months, demanding justice for 16 people killed when a train station collapsed last November – a tragedy blamed on government ineptitude and corruption.”
The police underreported the number of attendees at the peaceful protests, claiming it was 34,000 versus the 140,000 by the Independent Protest Monitor, according to France 24. And authorities halted public transport in an effort to prevent people from attending the protests.
The human spirit seeks democracy and freedom, the liberty to be creative and true to oneself and have a fighting chance. In other words, the human spirit rebels against authoritarianism, even as too many people fall for the easy solutions promised by wannabe dictators from all extremes of the political spectrum.
What do you think about the global protests? Discuss them in the comments below.
This is the best news for us here in the US…so happy to hear Hungary & Serbia are fighting back, it shows that the government can’t scare us into submission. Keep fighting brothers & sisters…WE SEE YOU AND WE SUPPORT YOU!!!!!
What I think is of no consequence. More importantly, what I do matters greatly. It’s easy to watch comfortably from the sidelines or in a recliner, but putting dissent in action requires my sweat and voice to lend credence to whatever my thoughts are. My actions and those of us that challenge authoritarianism allow our voices to be amplified.