Americans live privileged lives. So do Europeans. And Japanese.
As well as the citizens of a handful of other states. We all live
in nations that are prosperous and democratic, that enforce the
rule of law and protect human rights. Many other people around the
world are not so lucky.
Freedom House has released a depressing
report, “Worst of the Worst 2012: The World’s
Most Repressive Societies.” According to the New York-based
organization, “Autocratic rule remains widespread and persistent”
even in what is supposed to be a new, enlightened age. Nearly a
quarter of the world’s population, more than 1.6 billion people,
“live in countries with the worst records of political and civil
rights, and these countries have suffered under brutal
dictatorships for decades.”
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The good news is that nothing is forever. Even communism largely
disappeared, other than in Cuba and North Korea. China has morphed
into something more akin to a fascist system, with much greater
personal autonomy than before. Moreover, noted Freedom House,
“events in several countries during the last year have raised
further prospects for greater freedom.”
Still, today, at least, one-fourth of humanity suffers under
severe oppression. These people, observed Freedom House, “have no
say in how they are governed and face severe consequences if they
try to exercise their most basic rights, such as expressing their
views, assembling peacefully, and organizing independently of the
state. Citizens who dare to assert their rights in these repressive
countries typically suffer harassment and imprisonment, and often
are subjected to physical or psychological abuse.”
The Worst of the Worst are a motley crew. Eleven governments and
territories are at the bottom, where “political opposition is
banned, criticism of the government is met with retribution, and
independent organizations are suppressed.” The miscreants:
Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia,
Sudan, Syria, Tibet, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Western
Sahara.
Another eight rate just a bit higher, but nevertheless “severely
suppress opposition political activity, impede independent
organizations, and censor or punish criticism of the state.” This
depressing group is made up of: Belarus, Burma, Chad, China, Cuba,
Laos, Libya, and South Ossetia.
There is no unifying feature of the 19 other than ruthless
repression of liberty. In Somalia the oppression occurs in a failed
state. In the others brutal dictatorships enforce their will.
Explained Freedom House: “The common thread among these countries
is an individual or collective dictatorship that rests on a very
narrow elite and uses extreme forms of repression to hold on to
power.”
Most of the oppressors have been busy for a very long time.
“North Korea has stayed at the very bottom of the ratings scale”
since the institute began its Freedom in the World survey. Somalia
has been at or near the bottom over the same period. Nearly
three-quarter of the others have spent more than 25 years on the
list.
The ruling elites in these states have proved to be deeply
entrenched: “These regimes have endured on average for 37 ½ years
without any transfer of power between competing political parties
or forces.” Such longevity could be achieved only through
repression which “is integral to their survival. These regimes have
managed to stay in power for decades by eliminating effective
political opposition, severely circumscribing civil society, and
silencing their critics.”
The prospects for change remain cloudy. Historically, repression
is down. Noted Freedom House: “From a peak of 38 such countries in
1984, the number declined to 15 countries in 2003, and stood at 16
in 2011.” This process was driven by the collapse of communism and
move away from authoritarianism in the Third World. Over the last
year progress was evident in Burma and Libya, though in both the
ultimately outcomes remain in doubt.
On the other hand, there is substantial bad news. China “has
committed increased resources to internal security forces, engaged
in systematic enforced disappearances of dozens of human rights
lawyers and bloggers, and enhanced controls over online social
media.” It is even worse in Tibet, where “authorities have
continued to restrict basic freedoms and impose harsh security
measures.” Cuba responded to the impending visit of Pope Benedict
XVI by detaining dissidents. Sudan “launched a harsh crackdown on
any sign of dissent.” Worst of all was the brutal attempt by the
al-Assad regime to retain power in Syria.
The Freedom House report includes a summary of the 19 countries
and territories. In Belarus dictatorial President Alyaksandr
Lukashenka responded to public protests over another stolen
election with “an extensive crackdown on all forms of dissent.”
Prison was meted out even to protesters who stood wordlessly
clapping their hands.
Burma was a relative bright spot, with the release of opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, and
relaxation of controls over the media. Whether the military is
prepared to accept genuine civilian rule, and end its brutal
campaigns against ethnic minorities, is as yet unknown.
In Chad fraudulent elections maintained control by the ruling
party. Moreover, “Freedom of expression is severely restricted, and
self-censorship is common.”
China, the world’s most populous nation with the world’s second
largest economy, is regressing. The ruling Communist Party, which
just moved through its long-awaited leadership transition, has
increased its “efforts to restrict public discussion of political,
legal, and human rights issues.” At the same time, Beijing “stalled
or even reversed previous reforms related to the rule of law, while
security forces resorted to extralegal forms of repression.” The
latter included the disappearance of human rights lawyers and
bloggers.
Although the Cuban government released some political prisoners
in an agreement with the Catholic Church, Havana also detained a
number of human rights activists in advance of the Pope’s visit.
The government separately has relaxed some economic
restrictions.
Equatorial Guinea long has been one of Africa’s most oppressive
nations. The country held a fraudulent constitutional referendum.
When it hosted the 2011 African Union summit, the government
launched a crackdown, with “security forces reportedly detaining
hundreds of suspected dissidents,” reported Freedom House.
Eritrea is another state known mostly for its brutal
repressiveness. The rulers have never held elections in the almost
20 years since the country’s successful secession. Unfortunately,
“The Eritrean government’s suppression of the basic political
rights and civil liberties of its citizens continued.” Independent
media is not simply restricted; it is banned.
Laos remains a communist throwback in which there is no
political or media freedom. Libya, in contrast, improved with the
overthrow of Moammar Gaddafi, though the country’s ultimate fate
remains to be decided.
North Korea probably is the most repressive, misgoverned nation
on earth. So far the death of dictator Kim Jong-il has led to no
relaxation of the regime’s totalitarian controls. The only reform
might be the issuance of designer hand-cuffs in prison. The North
is an issue for more than its own oppressed people because it is
developing nuclear weapons and threatening South Korea with
war.
Saudi Arabia is a totalitarian Muslim state. Supposedly an
important U.S. ally, Riyadh grew more repressive with “new
restrictions on the media and public speech as well as the severe
treatment of religious minorities, including crackdowns on Shiite
Muslim protests.”
Somalia may be the closest example of anarchy on earth today.
Noted Freedom House: “The Somali state has in many respects ceased
to exist, and there is no governing authority with the ability to
protect political rights and civil liberties.”
South Ossetia has declared independence from Georgia but has not
implemented democracy. Rather, the outgoing president “jailed and
threatened opposition figures and changed legislation to prevent
the registration” of opposition candidates.
Sudan has never been a free society. Unfortunately, there was “a
surge in arrests of opposition political activists and leaders, the
banning of a leading political party, the violent response to
public demonstrations in Khartoum and other cities, and a crackdown
on the activities of journalists.” The situation could worsen with
the potential of conflict after the secession of South Sudan.
Syria saw a significant deterioration with increased government
repression and the slide into civil war. Beijing continued to
maintain its harsh rule in Tibet. Turkmenistan “took greater
repressive measures against human rights activists inside and
outside the country.”
Uzbekistan is another Central Asian dictatorship. That nation’s
government “suppressed all political opposition and restricted
independent business activity.” Moreover, “the few remaining civic
activists and critical journalists in the country faced
prosecution, hefty fines, and arbitrary detention.”
Western Sahara, the former Spanish colony conquered by Morocco,
saw a decline in liberty “due to the inability of civil society
groups to form and operate, as well as serious restrictions on
property rights and business activity.” Unfortunately, native
“Sahrawis continued to be denied basic political, civil, and
economic rights.”
It would be comforting to believe that the world was steadily
and inevitably moving toward greater liberty. However, while there
are moments of great progress—such as the collapse of
communism—there also are moments of great despair.
Some day freedom may come to the Worst of the Worst. However, so
far repression has proved to be brutally resilient. While the U.S.
cannot turn into a crusader state attempting to liberate all these
peoples by force, Americans and other people of good will around
the world should do what they can to embarrass and challenge
regimes which oppress.
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* Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute.