Freedom and human rights activists call for global co-operation but there is little to celebrate
But even commiseration helps. Omar Alshogre, 28, a Syrian refugee activist and public speaker, was first jailed at the age of 15 and spent almost three years in prison, facing extreme torture. After fleeing to Sweden, he’s now a graduate of Georgetown University. Meeting López and hearing about the divisions within the Venezuelan opposition gave him a sense of perspective on the failures of the Syrian opposition: “It made it more OK; it wasn’t specific to us.
Experts cite a variety of reasons why most revolutions and freedom movements have failed in recent years. Dictators have turned technology and social media against activists; they accuse their domestic opponents of being terrorists and foreign agents; they’re helped by Russian and Chinese votes at the UN Security Council if other countries object to their repression; they hang on to power for fear of ending up at the International Criminal Court.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders face impossible choices. If they’re in exile, as Alinejad, Kasparov and López are, they are often criticised and dismissed as out of touch. The example of Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi, who encouraged the US to invade in 2003, has also made the west wary of exiled leaders. If they stay in their home country, they’re imprisoned like Russia’s Alexei Navalny.
López says a key lesson for him and others has been to identify the elements needed to make progress: a long-term horizon and external pressure converging with internal pressure at key moments of opportunity, such as the presidential elections in Venezuela next year. In Iran, this could be the first anniversary on September 16 ofThe ebb and flow of protest cycles can be dispiriting.
Everyone is watching Ukraine, hoping for a morale boost — will Putin be defeated? Beyond grand speeches about democracy versus autocracy or debates about the west versus the rest, it’s a matter of life, death and freedom for millions, well beyond Ukraine.
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