Four Freedom Movements You Should Know About This Independence Day

It's been 233 years since America declared its independence, but for millions of people around the globe, the fight for freedom is just getting started. More than half a century after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was passed, the international community continues its struggle to combat discrimination, government corruption and political oppression worldwide. Western coverage of protests in Tehran, the coup in Honduras and internet censorship in China just scratch the surface of a global deficit of human rights, but the problem runs much deeper.

Two hundred years out, it's easy to forget that the Fourth is not just about fireworks and cookouts--It's about freedom. On this Independence Day, here are four freedom movements (in no particular order) that you should know about, and support, if you don't already:

1 - IRAN

The Islamic Republic took center stage last month following a massive effort by Ayatollah Ali Khamanei to silence protesters of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's disputed reelection. Using Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites to mobilize support for opposition candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi, thousands of protesters, including a wide cross-section of the population, surprised the world with cries for reform louder than any heard in Tehran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. In their crackdown, the Iranian government has become the world's leader in jailing journalists and political figures. Since the June 12 elections, Iran has arrested at least 23 journalists and 100 opposition sympathizers, thrown out the foreign press, and killed an estimated 31 protesters on its streets.

The ongoing Iranian protests reveal growing undercurrents of dissatisfaction with the oppressive policies of the 30-year-old theocracy. Hiding behind its mantle of "national security," the Ahmedinejad regime has greatly limited freedom of expression in Iran, censoring the media, firing university professors and arresting groups critical of the government. Racial and religious minorities and women  face institutionalized discrimination, including arbitrary detention and severe punishment that still includes public stoning and lashing.

Internationally, Iran has turned itself into a political pariah as it moves forward with a nuclear ambition that has burned bridges with America and the European Union, its largest trading partner. The latest spate of government crackdowns makes an Obama-supported reconciliation between Tehran and Washington near impossible, and has only angered heads-of-state from London to Rome.

Although it doesn't seem that this month's protests will result in regime change, the Iranian freedom movement has asserted itself in a critical way. In the coming weeks, the establishment will undoubtedly assert its dominance with its extensive security apparatus, but with 70 percent of the Iranian population under 30 years of age, it seems that a sea change is on the horizon. Iran has a long way to go in the way of securing rights for its citizens, but says Fawaz A. Gerges of Sarah Lawrence University, "There is more to Iran than the inflammatory rhetoric of Ahmadinejad and the fearmongers who portray Iran as an existential threat to world peace."

photo credit: .faramarz's Flickr photostream (creative commons)

2 - CHINA

Two decades after the Tiananmen Square massacre that has become the hallmark of political oppression in China, there is little evidence that Beijing has answered protesters' cries for transparency and democracy. In the lead up to the 20th anniversary last month, Beijing went on the offensive, barring foreign coverage of the event, blocking online networking sites and attempting to stave off pro-democracy protests.

The international media barrage surrounding the Tiananmen anniversary was minuscule compared to the massive media convergence at last summer's Beijing Olympics. Although it promised the foreign media complete access to the internet during the games, the Chinese government blocked the web addresses of separatist groups and humanitarian rights organizations. In the lead-up to the games, China also clamped down on a number of prominent government critics and rescinded claims that it would setup designated protest zones in Beijing. A number of human rights defenders, including civil rights lawyers and NGO employees, were closely monitored ahead of the Olympics and many were held under house arrest.

China's most visible human rights violations have been centered in Tibet, a Chinese-claimed western province that has been fighting for independence under the Government of Tibet In Exile and its leader the Dalai Lama since the 1950s. In March 2008, clashes erupted between Chinese forces and Tibetan separatists who blamed Beijing for deteriorating conditions in the region and what the Dalai Lama has called "cultural genocide." Just months before the Olympic games kicked off, the international community watched as protesters on the streets of Lhasa, the Tibetan capitol, were confronted by Communist troops and armored vehicles. Since the crackdown, foreign correspondents have only been offered limited access to the contested region.

More recently, China has come under international scrutiny for its treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority, 17 of whom were wrongly imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay and released to Palau.  Claiming to be protecting itself from religious extremism and terrorism, Beijing has put a number of major constraints on cultural and religious practices in the Xinjiang province where the Muslim population is centered.

Although China continues to take a hard line when it comes to its Communist policies, pro-democracy movements have gained some traction. Despite legislation that bars Hong Kong from holding universal elections until 2017, demonstrators in the former British colony are becoming increasingly vocal in criticizing Beijing. Last month's Tiananmen anniversary drew the largest gathering since 1990. Across China, tens of thousands of public protests go on each year, though most are quickly crushed and covered up by the government. As in Iran, Chinese youth have harnessed the organizing power of the internet to fight back against government censorship. Networking sites like Twitter and Fanfou, its Chinese counterpart, have been pivotal in raising awareness about Beijing's attempts to filter web content. With internet users in China outnumbering those in the United States, there's no telling what effect the Chinese web revolution may have on the future of its political discourse.

photo credit: sha3bi1Beijing's Flickr photostream (creative commons)

3 - MYANMAR

The recent arrest and trial of human rights leader and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has once again put Myanmar in the international human rights spotlight. In May, the Burmese opposition leader, who was already serving a six-year house arrest sentence, was put on trial for allowing  an American visitor into her home. Seen as a thinly veiled plot to prevent the popular political figure from running in the 2010 Burmese presidential elections, the arrest was met with loud protests from the international community. President Obama chimed in, saying the "continued detention, isolation, and show trial based on spurious charges cast serious doubt" on Myanmar's dedication to the rule of law and democracy.

In the wake of the catastrophic cyclone Nargis that struck Myanmar in May 2008, the military junta that runs the country blocked aid from abroad while continuing to deny citizens freedom of expression and assembly. Although travel restrictions for international aid workers have been lifted following an intervention by the United Nations, there has been an increase in institutionalized land confiscations, forced labor and evictions. Immediately after the cyclone, the government in Naypyidaw also pushed through a Constitutional referendum that expanded the military junta's influence on national politics. In a society where freedom of expression and access to information is critically limited, the referendum was marred by voting irregularities and government coercion at the polls.

A year earlier, the military junta faced a backlash from the international community for harsh tactics used to silence pro-democracy protests by thousands of Burmese monks and Suu Kyi supporters. Following violent clashes with the clergy and a spate of political arrests, the military junta came under fierce criticism from UN Secretary Ban-Ki Moon and the Bush White House, which ramped up economic sanctions. The protests came after nearly 20 years of poor leadership by the military junta, which has driven the nation to economic ruin and subjugated ethnic and religious minorities. The Burmese army has also been responsible for recruiting child soldiers, and encouraging its forces to rape and pillage minorities.

Although the government shut down internet service and barred all foreign press, leaked protest images showed  thousands of Myanmar's clergy emboldened to take a stand against the oppressive regime. While the powerful clergy has been more willing to push for human rights in recent years, without swift and resolute action by the UN Security Council, it is unlikely that Myanmar in its self-imposed isolation will yield to international threats.

photo credit: alles-schlumpf's Flickr photostream (creative commons)

4 - ZIMBABWE

Massive cholera outbreaks, food shortages and HIV infections numbering in the millions have become the norm in Zimbabwe after 30 years under the oppressive regime of President Robert Mugabe. Ruling with an iron fist, Mugabe refused to allow international aid organizations into Zimbabwe in 2007 even as the nation of 13 million faced its worst harvest in decades and the number of hungry skyrocketed.

Although Mugabe has repeatedly floated conspiracy theories blaming the West for his nation's most pressing social ills, the ongoing famine has been caused in large part by his regime's seizure of commercial farms in what was once the breadbasket of southern Africa. Angered by the defeat of a 2000 referendum that would have expanded his executive power, Mugabe ordered military veterans and crime syndicates to takeover white-owned industrial farms across the country. A main source of export revenue and employment, the farms' closures left millions without jobs and resulted in a 60 percent fall in crop yields. With inflation hovering around 100,000 percent, Zimbabweans are struggling to stay alive and many have turned to scavenging in the absence of any foreseeable government support.

Economic turmoil aside, Zimbabwe is still reeling from last year's disputed elections and the political fallout that has resulted in today's precarious power-sharing system. In March 2008, Mugabe and his ruling party were defeated in national elections by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Bitter with defeat, Mugabe called for a June 2008 runoff, asserting that Tsvangirai had failed to win a clear majority of votes. In the lead-up to the second election, Mugabe launched a brutal campaign to weed out Tsvangirai sympathizers that left 163 people dead and more than 5,000 tortured or badly beaten. As tens of thousands more were forced to relocate because of the ongoing political turmoil, Tsvangirai stepped down. Mugabe's victory by default drew the ire of the international community, including UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon who sent a special envoy to Zimbabwe. With the aid of South African Prime Minister Thabo Mbeki, Mugabe and Tsvangirai entered into a power-sharing agreement in February 2009 that would give both President Mugabe and the newly-anointed Prime Minister Tsvangirai a basket of executive responsibilities. Although Tsvangirai does have some sway in Zimbabwe politics, Mugabe has maintained control of the oppressive security forces that some fear he will use to intimidate dissidents.

The power-sharing agreement is an incremental but seminal step for Zimbabwean democracy, though the nation has a long road ahead of it. The international community has been especially vocal about the political and human rights situation in Zimbabwe, which has put pressure on Mugabe to respect the tenets of the power-sharing agreement. In a White House press conference last month, President Obama publicly chided Mugabe for failing to provide for his people while praising Tsvangirai's perseverance and dedication to democracy. Although Ban-Ki Moon has put a major spotlight on the Zimbabwean struggle for freedom, internal spats within the United Nations and the Security Council in particular may hamper efforts to aid the flickering democratic movement. While Mugabe announced last week that he has been able to secure a $950 million line of credit from longtime ally China, the United States and its Western allies have refused to fund the Harare government directly for fear that their monies may end up in Mugabe's bloodied hands.

photo credit: Radio Nederland Wereldomroep's Flickr photostream (creative commons)