Forces of Reaction

Right here in our Asean neighborhood, a huge country has its intellectuals under a blanket of fear and trembling as it arrests, jails its critics without due process.
This is very sad because Asia should be peopled by intellectuals who have two perspectives: material and spiritual. It is basic to our character as Asians to be perceptive and reflective of our societies, of the world. Yet, the big nation is not wont to grant that to individual intellectuals.

I do think that as a country which launched the People Power in 1986, we should also give clear examples of respect for intellectuals to our neighbors. We cannot be praised for launching that so-called revolution, when our situation now is even worse than before, with intellectuals being hunted down to make them kowtow to this administration regardless of its human rights violations. If in our own country, there are still forces of reaction, despite the successful end to the dictatorship, then this has emboldened highly conservative countries to be more brazen about their activities to their citizens.

Along the same vein, is this not a case of lack of strength of democratic forces to counter the forces of reaction philosophically? Why is it that other thoughts -- conservative religions and political thoughts still pervade the thinking of the rulers and make them follow dehumanizing policies? Why should they put domination and discrimination on top of their agenda? Life indeed is too short to allow answers to surface to these questions.

But on hindsight, the current political events should elicit a collective condemnation from all countries, most specifically, from the United Nations which should be the first to denounce all human rights violations.

NEWS:
June 24, 2009
By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Beijing

One of China's most prominent political activists has been formally arrested for inciting subversion.Liu Xiaobo is accused of spreading rumours and defaming the government, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency.

Mr Liu's arrest comes six months after he was taken into custody. He was detained just before the publication of a document that he co-authored calling for political change in China.

Mr Liu was detained on the eve of the publication of Charter 08, a document signed by hundreds of Chinese artists, academics and political activists.

It was published on the 60th anniversary of the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

It called for political reforms in China, such as a new constitution, judicial independence and the freedom to assemble.

Many of those who signed the document were subjected to harassment from the Chinese government after its publication.

Liu Xiaobo is accused of spreading rumours and defaming the government, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency.

Mr Liu has been a political activist for more than two decades. He took part in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 - for which he spent two years in prison.

After his release he continued to push for political change. Human rights organisations, such as Amnesty International, have called for Mr Liu's release.

"This use of state security charges to punish activists for merely expressing their views must stop," said Amnesty's Roseann Rife after Mr Liu's arrest was announced.

"This is another act of desperation by a regime that is terrified of public opinion."