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“The right to protest is not an absolute right. You're not allowed to do whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want, but the state should allow you to exercise that right peacefully and provide the conditions for that to happen”, says Tamara Taraciuk Broner in this week’s #Forum2000online Chat with Hernán Alberro. Ms. Taraciuk is the Acting Director of the Americas Division at Human Rights Watch, USA. Mr. Alberro is an Associate Fellow at the Forum 2000, Czechia. What do the protests in Latin America show us about the tensions between the right to demonstrate and the democratic order? How are the authorities responding? What are the most important concerns in the region?
 
According to Tamara Taraciuk, you will learn that:
👉 In the recent waves of protests in Latin America, certain patterns can be identified. The first one is that the protests tend to be related to very basic needs that have not been met and that are not being provided by governments. These protests bring together people with different types of requests that range from social democratic governance to social needs. Second, in some countries, security forces are unable to respond properly to the protests. The violence on the streets on the side of demonstrators requires a response by authorities, but it ends up being disproportionate.
👉 There are human rights that do not admit any type of "degree" or balance. For example, no one can torture a person. There are other rights that do require a delicate balance, such as the right to freedom of expression and association, which are enabled and guaranteed by the State, but are generally protected to the extent that they are expressed in peaceful demonstrations. There is where the tension begins, when demonstrators, for example, close roads and do not allow ambulances to go through and provide health care to the population or when they cut off an entire area in a city and prevent food to enter that area.
👉 The state should allow the people to exercise their right to protest peacefully and provide the conditions for that to happen, but at the same time has the obligation to respond with proportionate force when there are incidents of violence amid protests. - Another problem is that when there is a disproportionate response to protests but no accountability for abuses.
👉 There are accusations against authoritarian governments such as that of Cuba and Venezuela according to which they would be the instigators or even funders of protests in other Latin American countries. However, this should be investigated by independent judicial systems that observe both the crimes committed by some protesters and infiltrators and the abuses committed by security forces. Both things are wrong and should be investigated.
👉 Social networks and the internet play a very important role, for example, in countries where there are very limited – if any – independent media. In those cases, social media is a way to obtain information that is not otherwise available due to authoritarian controls. They can also help the population to mobilize. However, there is also a considerable risk of getting false or incomplete news.
👉 It is the responsibility of the people not to spread false news. And a certain level of control is important, but without undermining freedom of expression or falling into the authoritarian temptation of censorship. All strictly necessary control or regulation must be within the framework of the law. Arbitrary controls are not acceptable.
👉 The democratic backsliding in the region is worrying, not only the dictatorships in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, but also democratically elected leaders that come to power and once in power they turn their back on the most basic democratic guarantees like the judicial Independence and the free press.
👉 One of the main challenges moving forward is how we can protect democratic institutions and democratic guarantees in a co

The study of kleptocracy as a global phenomenon typically focuses on individuals who steal money from the state for personal gain. In this week’s #Forum2000online Chat, John Zemko and Andréa Ngombet joined Jessica Ludwig, Director of Freedom and Democracy at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, USA, to look at a broader issue of kleptocratic behavior channeled through public institutions and foreign governments as well as through individual kleptocrats. They explain what kleptocracy is, what corrosive capital is, and what the main strategies used by kleptocrats are as well as their impact and consequences. John Zemko is the Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) in Washington, D.C. Andréa Ngombet is the founder of the Sassoufit Collective, a Paris-based organization advocating for democracy, human rights, and anti-corruption in the Republic of the Congo and elsewhere in Africa.This interview was recorded on January 23, 2023, and it is tied to the paper Kleptocracy and its Global Impact on Markets and Democracy. It is the result of a cooperation between Forum 2000, the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights who met during the 26th Forum 2000 Conference in Prague. Read the full document here: https://www.forum2000.cz/en/news/kleptocracy-its-global-impact-on-markets-and-democracy For more information about our activities follow our web and social media: ▲ Web: https://www.forum2000.cz ▲ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forum.2000 ▲ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Forum_2000

After deep public dissatisfaction with the country's strict controls and mass protests against restrictions, the Chinese regime suddenly relaxed its zero-Covid policy steadfastly held throughout last three years. In this week’s #Forum2000online Chat, Xiao Qiang and Parsifal D’Sola joined journalist Kateřina Procházková, analyst at Sinopsis, a project of the Institute of East Asian Studies at Charles University in Prague, Czechia, to discuss the current situation in China, the significance of the protests and Beijing's actions, and the most likely scenarios. Xiao Qiang is a Research Scientist at the School of Information, UC Berkeley, and the founder and Editor-in-Chief of China Digital Times. Parsifal D’Sola is the CEO of the Andrés Bello Foundation–China Latina America Research Center in Bogotá, Colombia.
This interview was recorded on January 10, 2023.

“It's kind of a feminist revolution. I would say it's the first feminist revolution of the Middle East”, says Ramin Jahanbegloo in this week’s #Forum2000online Chat. Mr. Jahanbegloo, an Iranian political philosopher, professor at the Jindal Global University, and ICDR Member, joined Azerbaijani journalist and member of the Forum 2000 Program Council Arzu Geybulla, to talk about the situation in Iran. Is this the beginning of the end for the ayatollahs? According to Ramin Jahanbegloo, you will learn that: 👉 During the past 44 years of the Islamic Republic of Iran, there have been a lot of protests, repression and violence. What we are witnessing right now in Iran is nothing new. It has actually been growing and practically every five years, since 1979, there have been protests. 👉 Iranians have been going through different demonstrations like in 1999 with the students, in 2009 the “Green Movement”, and in 2017-2018 with the urban protests. This one is very particular because it is actually being led by women. It is kind of a feminist revolution, the first feminist revolution in the Middle East. 👉 Violence is nothing new, but it is important to highlight the participation of very young people and minors. For this reason, among the victims assassinated by the Iranian regime in the past months there are many minors, people under the age of 18; what is new about these protests is that the regime has been killing a lot of children. The Iranian regime is very fearful of young people because they are not fearful at all. 👉 This current movement has put the Iranian theocracy into a legitimacy crisis. The internet generation’s sense of being is completely different from the old conservative Iranian regime represented by the ayatollahs. 👉 The protests have been ethnically and economically driven by different populations, such as Kurds, Baluchis, people from southern Iran, people from all walks of life in the country, and the mostly professional Iranian diaspora. 👉 For the first time, the world has reacted well and in solidarity like never before. Sanctions, boycotts and punishments, if well conducted, can yield positive results. 👉 The Iranian regime is in a very bad position for the first time in its political life. It does not know how to handle young people and women and is completely isolated internationally. It is the beginning of the end. This interview was recorded on December 20, 2022. For more information about our activities follow our web and social media: ▲ Web: https://www.forum2000.cz ▲ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forum.2000 ▲ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Forum_2000

“You cannot have a successful physical reconstruction in any sustainable, durable way without having well-functioning pluralistic institutions”, says Richard Youngs in this week’s #Forum2000online Chat. Mr. Youngs, a Senior Fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at Carnegie Europe and an ICDR Member, joined Martin Ehl, journalist and author working at Czech Economic daily Hospodářské noviny, to talk about the democracy-related priorities from among the large number of issues that future support to Ukraine will need to encompass. According to Richard Youngs, you will learn that: 👉 It is too early to say that war is strengthening the Ukrainian path to democracy. The focus today is on fighting the war and on helping the country successfully execute it. The focus of Forum 2000 and the European democracy Hub is to put the issue of democracy at least on the agenda. This is very complicated because there are more pressing urgent short-term imperatives that have to do with the war, but it is important to remember that it is being carried out in the name of democratic values. 👉 It is understandable that the priority will be on physical reconstruction, but there is also an institutional dimension. The lesson from other conflict and post-conflict experiences is that it is not possible to have a successful physical reconstruction in any sustainable, durable way without having well-functioning pluralistic institutions. 👉 The Ukrainian civil society is playing a key role. This is one of the most impressive features of the national resistance over the last months. There is a whole of society approach that Ukraine seems to have developed and perfected. The international help for the longer term also needs to focus on building the civic capacity for the future. 👉 Before the war started, Ukrainian democracy was in a fragile balance. There were elements of democratic reform being implemented. There will be a difficult balance to strike between offering help as quickly as possible, as smoothly and flexibly as possible to Ukraine on the one hand, and making sure that longer-term reform issues do not get pushed off the agenda in the midst of the crisis. 👉 The war is being taken forward in the name of political values. There seems to be a new commitment to democratic values and a focus on the need for a high degree of democracy, governance, and transparency. 👉 Despite the war, the Ukrainian state is still moving forward with many reforms associated with the accession process to prepare Ukraine for getting into the EU. It is an onerous task to implement all reforms. The EU needs to be flexible on this and helping Ukraine move along that path in a steady fashion. Ukraine is moving forward on corruption and other issues as well despite fighting a war at the moment. 👉 A successful pursuit of the war in Ukraine could give a broader impulse and prompt to democratic reforms elsewhere in the world. It could revitalize the whole democratic project on a global basis, but it is important to remember that in many countries around the world, democracy's fate still depends on specific local factors. Despite the undoubted systemic level importance of what is going on in Ukraine, not everything is about this country and this war in other parts of the world. The interview was recorded on December 16, 2022. For more information, you can read the paper “A Democratic Roadmap for Ukraine”: https://www.forum2000.cz/en/news/a-democratic-roadmap-for-ukraineThis short contribution of Forum 2000, in cooperation with European Democracy Hub at Carnegie Europe, explores a selection of democracy-related priorities from among the large number of issues that future support to Ukraine will need to encompass. For more information about our activities follow our web and social media: ▲ Web: https://www.forum2000.cz ▲ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forum.2000 ▲Twitter: https://twitter.com/Forum_2000

“Housing, education, and health care are particularly problematic right now”, says Masha Volynsky in this week’s #Forum2000online Chat. Ms. Volynsky, from the Agency for Migration and Adaption AMIGA, Czechia, joined Hrishabh Sandilya, a Senior Programme Manager with the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM), to talk about the key issues that policymakers, philanthropy and civil society should consider as they continue to support Ukrainian refugees in Central and Eastern Europe.
According to Masha Volynsky, you will learn that:👉 Amiga is a migrant founded and a migrant-led organization based in Prague. It works through volunteering and other sort of participatory community methods to improve integration of migrants in Czech society. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Amiga has focused its efforts on providing mental health and psychosocial support to refugees.👉 Housing, education and health care are particularly problematic right now.👉 There are cyclical movements of refugees currently between Prague and Central Eastern Europe and Ukraine. Sometimes, for example, grandparents come with daughters and grandchildren in the beginning. Then many of them left in the spring and summer and now some are coming back. Parents, not having found jobs and in order to maintain their family budgets, have to surprisingly return to Ukraine, leaving their children behind with other caretakers. This creates instability for the families, administrative problems and chaos for the generally slow-moving bureaucratic machine. The situation leads to skepticism from the side of the Czech authorities.👉 These movements back and forth, separations of families, and uncertainty about the future puts a great strain on mental health of refugees, which poses a problem for their potential integration.- There are people coming with post-traumatic stress symptoms. Some are coming from places that are being bombed but also from areas that spent months under Russian occupation. This requires a long therapeutic process, and sometimes psychiatric interventions as well. Psychiatric help is available and the quality is very good, but there are not enough specialists.👉 There was a great and, in many ways, very successful effort to welcome and to settle refugees in the Czech Republic. There may be more refugees coming, people that are in a desperate situation right now in Ukraine. It is important to know what was done well and what can be improved.
The interview was recorded on November 29, 2022. For more information, you can read the policy paper “The Way Forward for Ukrainian Refugees in CEE”. It offers insight into the key issues that policymakers, philanthropy and civil society should consider as they continue to support Ukrainian refugees in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
For more information about our activities follow our web and social media:▲ Web: https://www.forum2000.cz▲ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forum.2000▲ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Forum_2000