Canvasopedia

Home

Article

Mobilizing citizens to turn off their lights everyday to protest government corruption

Citizen Initiative for Constant Light mobilized 30 million people in Turkey to turn off and on their lights to demand that the government act against corruption. The action resulted from public outrage after a car crash openly revealed connections between government, police and the mob. Turkey is a secular nation with a tradition of democracy. But it also has a tradition of human rights abuse. The influence of corruption extends throughout society through local patronage systems undeterred by any investigative reporting from a mass media industry, which is itself complicit in the corruption. As a result, the corruption issue has historically sparked only apathy and hopelessness in Turkish civil society.

1,500 protesters flex muscles during lawyers rally

LAHORE: About 1,500 lawyers, civil society activists and political workers took to The Mall to rally for the reinstatement of the sacked judges on Thursday.The National Coordination Council gave the protest call. Followed by the general house meetings, the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) and Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) took out their rallies from Aiwan-e-Adl and the Lahore High Court respectively. The two rallies joined at GPO Chowk and marched towards the Punjab Assembly Hall. Solidarity: Workers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Tehreek-e-Khaksar (TK), the Labour Party Pakistan, the Tehreek-e-Insaf (TI), the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) also took to The Mall to show solidarity with the protesting lawyers. They joined the rally at GPO Chowk holding flags in support of their party leaders.On their way to Charing Cross the protesters shouted slogans against the government and the chief justice of Pakistan for “using illegal means to get his daughter more numbers in FSc”. Lawyers who were contesting upcoming elections of the LHCBA and LBA were showing more aggression against the government apparently to win over other lawyers. Pledge: The protesters demanded that the government reinstate the sacked judges as soon as possible. At the Chairing Cross, senior lawyers spoke to the protesters and pledged to continue their movement until the reinstatement of sacked chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other sacked judges. Advocate Hamid Khan said that lawyers, civil society and political parties were united on the reinstatement of the sacked judges. He said allegations against Justice Dogar had put a new spirit in the lawyers’ movement. He said they wanted Justice Dogar to be tried. He said appointing a chief justice as an acting governor was in violation of the Supreme Court’s judgement.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C12%5C19%5Cstory_19-12-2008_pg7_46

Velvet revolution, Czechoslavakia

Czech: sametová revoluce, Slovak: nežná revolúcia) (November 16 – December 29, 1989) refers to a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the Communist government.[1] It is seen as one of the most important of the Revolutions of 1989.On November 17, 1989 (Friday), riot police suppressed a peaceful student demonstration in Prague. That event sparked a series of popular demonstrations from November 19 to late December. By November 20 the number of peaceful protesters assembled in Prague had swelled from 200,000 the previous day to an estimated half-million. A two-hour general strike, involving all citizens of Czechoslovakia, was held on November 27.With the collapse of other Communist governments, and increasing street protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announced on November 28 that it would relinquish power and dismantle the single-party state. Barbed wire and other obstructions were removed from the border with West Germany and Austria in early December. On December 10, President Gustáv Husák appointed the first largely non-Communist government in Czechoslovakia since 1948, and resigned. Alexander Dubček was elected speaker of the federal parliament on December 28 and Václav Havel the President of Czechoslovakia on December 29, 1989.In June 1990 Czechoslovakia held its first democratic elections since 1946.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Revolution

Indian Independence Movement

How was the Raj transformed from the jewel in Britain's imperial crown to the independent nations of India and Pakistan?1858: Beginning of the RajIn 1858, British Crown rule was established in India, ending a century of control by the East India Company. The life and death struggle that preceded this formalisation of British control lasted nearly two years, cost £36 million, and is variously referred to as the 'Great Rebellion', the 'Indian Mutiny' or the 'First War of Indian Independence'. Inevitably, the consequences of this bloody rupture marked the nature of political, social and economic rule that the British established in its wake. It is important to note that the Raj (in Hindi meaning 'to rule' or 'kingdom') never encompassed the entire land mass of the sub-continent. Two-fifths of the sub-continent continued to be independently governed by over 560 large and small principalities, some of whose rulers had fought the British during the 'Great Rebellion', but with whom the Raj now entered into treaties of mutual cooperation. 'The 'Great Rebellion' helped create a racial chasm between ordinary Indians and Britons.'Indeed the conservative elites of princely India and big landholders were to prove increasingly useful allies, who would lend critical monetary and military support during the two World Wars. Hyderabad for example was the size of England and Wales combined, and its ruler, the Nizam, was the richest man in the world. They would also serve as political bulwarks in the nationalist storms that gathered momentum from the late 19th century and broke with insistent ferocity over the first half of the 20th century. But the 'Great Rebellion' did more to create a racial chasm between ordinary Indians and Britons. This was a social segregation which would endure until the end of the Raj, graphically captured in EM Forster's 'A Passage to India'.While the British criticised the divisions of the Hindu caste system, they themselves lived a life ruled by precedence and class, deeply divided within itself. Rudyard Kipling reflected this position in his novels. His books also exposed the gulf between the 'white' community and the 'Anglo-Indians', whose mixed race caused them to be considered racially 'impure'.

Please see: (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/independence1947_01.shtml) for the next seven pages.

Carnation Revolution (Portugal 1974)

Methods

NEWSFLASH

Fathers defiant over arrests » Members of Fathers 4 Justice (F4J) say they are prepared to spend time behind bars as their national campaign of civil disruption enters its second week. About 40 members of the fathers' rights group met in Shropshire over the weekend to organise their next series of protests. They warned members that prison was a reality and planned action on major travel routes, including airports, motorways and ports, if the leaders are arrested.

Police arrest ZCTU president Matombo » HARARE – Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president, Lovemore Matombo, was arrested on Sunday night while addressing members of his union in Victoria Falls.According to the ZCTU information officer, Khumbulani Ndlovu, Matombo was arrested together with two union officials, Michael Kandukutu and Percy Mcijo. No charges had been laid against the trio by late Monday.“They were later transferred to Hwange police station,” said Ndlovu. “The ZCTU president was on a tour of the country meeting ...

Fishermen protest Fuel Prices » Riot police armed with shields and batons charged hundreds of protesting fishermen outside European Union headquarters Wednesday after a demonstration over high fuel prices turned violent.Protesters hurled flares, firecrackers and rocks at police beyond razor-wire barricades. They also fired flare guns at the EU headquarters building. As they retreated down the main boulevard through Brussels' European Union district, protesters broke into EU buildings, smashing windows and dragging out flags ...

Blueprint for a revolution » In October 2000, a group of students from Belgrade University with a yearning to live a democratic life helped to overthrow the rule of Europe’s most bloody dictator, Slobodan Milosevic. Their influences were Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and the work of the American academic and guru of non-violent resistance, Gene Sharp. They employed simple but effective tactics: using mobile phones, slogans and Monty Python-style street humour. But their secret was their methodology: unity, planning and non...

Australian Tamils protest Against Sri Lankan Foregin Minister's visit to Australia » About 300 protesters from Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney converged on the National Press Club yesterday to protest against Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama's visit. Waving placards that said ''Don't kill Tamils'' and ''Recognise our cry for freedom'', the crowd gathered from 11am. As the delegation arrived, the crowd cried, ''We need press freedom'', ''Don't kill journalists'' and ''Tamils want democracy'' at the motorcade. Although vocal, the crowd was well-behaved.

Protesters demand US gay rights » Thousands of people have marched through Washington to demand greater civil rights for gay men and lesbians. The protest took place a day after President Barack Obama said he would move to end a ban on gay people serving openly in the military. The marchers in Washington also called for the speedy removal of legal restrictions on same-sex partnerships. Mr Obama has been accused by some in the gay community of being slow to act on gay rights. On Sunday, the protesters in Washington carried signs ...

Greens to protest at Labour conference » Green Party activists are planning a peaceful anti-globalisation demonstration at this year's Labour Party conference in Brighton. Party spokesman Spencer Fitz-Gibbon warned that trouble-making elements should stay away from the planned protest so that the Greens' message does not get diluted. "We are helping to plan a non-violent protest at the Labour Party conference in Brighton," Dr Fitz-Gibbon said. "We are resisting the right-wing argument that it is irresponsible to organise a protest li...

Curbs on Protest in Tibet Lashed by Dalai Lama » The Dalai Lama accused China on Sunday of waging “cultural genocide” against his followers in Tibet and called for an international inquiry into the suppression of protests there, his strongest defense to date of Tibetan Buddhists who have staged an uprising against Chinese rule. Speaking at the headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile, the Dalai Lama endorsed the right of his people to press grievances peacefully against the Chinese authorities, and said he would not ask Tibetans to su...

Na'lin: full economic and political boycott, along with continued resistance, could end occupation » Ramallah / PNN - Hundreds of people took part in Friday prayers in the threatened village of Na’lin. Thousands of dunams have already been confiscated for the Wall and settlements in the area.Leading yesterday’s service was Sheikh Salah Al Khawaja who said that the prayer and ensuing demonstration were not only part of the continuing struggle in Na’lin, but were also being held in solidarity with Jerusalem. He called for full participation in the ongoing campaign to stop the conversion of the ci...

Student protest Iranian University Employees » Students have gone on hunger strike and demonstration for the past five days at Sahand Technical University in the northern city of Tabriz.They are protesting to hand picked school administrators by the government for the school.Students are also demanding action against university's security guards for insulting female students. Protesting students chanted," "We are angry at those who promote discrimination," "We are fighting, men and women, Fight us and we will fight," "W...

Search Keyword:	Total 6 results found.
Tag: Methods of NonCooperation:Limited strike	Ordering