Argentine government criticized for protest protocol (Feb. 19, 2016)
Argentine authorities announced a new protocol on police action during public demonstrations that aims to check a culture of road-blocking demonstrations, reports La Nación. Protesters will be given five to ten minutes, after which they will be forcibly removed, explained Security Minister Patricia Bullrich yesterday.
She expressed a conflict of rights -- on the one hand the right of people to protest against that of other people, unconnected to the demonstration, to move freely, reports Página 12.
Protests will be required to have permits and follow a pre-agreed route, she added. Police will not carry arms when they break up a legal protest, but can when the demonstration is carried out without warning, reports La Nación in a subsequent piece.
This is the most troubling part of the new policy, according to Argentine think-tank CELS. The organization said the move "gives the security forces broad powers to repress and criminalize social protests," and unconstitutionally exposes people to physical harm and limits their rights to protest and to freedom of expression.
The protocol also limits where journalists can be during protests -- and their capacity to bring transparency to security forces' actions, said CELS. The regulations are contrary to international standards on freedom of expression and the right to protest, according to the organization.
Amnesty International asked Bullrich for a "serious debate" on the issue, and pointed to repeated cases of repression since Mauricio Macri's government came to power nearly three months ago.
Social organizations and left-wing politicians joined the chorus of rejection, and say it demonstrates a political will to "criminalize social protest," reports Página 12.
The new protocol gives security forces independence in establishing what criteria to use when facing protestors, notes Página.
The announcement comes on the heels of a day of protests around the country, in which about 200 manifestations cut roads demanding the freedom of policial activist Milagro Sala. The leader of the Tupac Amaru indigenous rights movement, was jailed in January on public disorder charges over a street demonstration in her northern province of Jujuy. She now also faces charges of drug-trafficking and of fraud related to her campaign's social welfare projects. (See yesterday's and Jan. 20's briefs.)
A UNDP report from a few years ago said that Bolivia, Peru and Argentina were the Latin American countries with the most protests in 2010, while Costa Rica, Chile and El Salvador had the least, according to Chequeado.
A bill a couple of years ago presented by the Kirchner movement also proposed requiring previous police notification of a planned protest, and would have forbidden completely cutting vehicular and pedestrian circulation. However it would have also mandated mediation before forced eviction by security forces, reported Chequeado in a 2014 piece.
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She expressed a conflict of rights -- on the one hand the right of people to protest against that of other people, unconnected to the demonstration, to move freely, reports Página 12.
Protests will be required to have permits and follow a pre-agreed route, she added. Police will not carry arms when they break up a legal protest, but can when the demonstration is carried out without warning, reports La Nación in a subsequent piece.
This is the most troubling part of the new policy, according to Argentine think-tank CELS. The organization said the move "gives the security forces broad powers to repress and criminalize social protests," and unconstitutionally exposes people to physical harm and limits their rights to protest and to freedom of expression.
The protocol also limits where journalists can be during protests -- and their capacity to bring transparency to security forces' actions, said CELS. The regulations are contrary to international standards on freedom of expression and the right to protest, according to the organization.
Amnesty International asked Bullrich for a "serious debate" on the issue, and pointed to repeated cases of repression since Mauricio Macri's government came to power nearly three months ago.
Social organizations and left-wing politicians joined the chorus of rejection, and say it demonstrates a political will to "criminalize social protest," reports Página 12.
The new protocol gives security forces independence in establishing what criteria to use when facing protestors, notes Página.
The announcement comes on the heels of a day of protests around the country, in which about 200 manifestations cut roads demanding the freedom of policial activist Milagro Sala. The leader of the Tupac Amaru indigenous rights movement, was jailed in January on public disorder charges over a street demonstration in her northern province of Jujuy. She now also faces charges of drug-trafficking and of fraud related to her campaign's social welfare projects. (See yesterday's and Jan. 20's briefs.)
A UNDP report from a few years ago said that Bolivia, Peru and Argentina were the Latin American countries with the most protests in 2010, while Costa Rica, Chile and El Salvador had the least, according to Chequeado.
A bill a couple of years ago presented by the Kirchner movement also proposed requiring previous police notification of a planned protest, and would have forbidden completely cutting vehicular and pedestrian circulation. However it would have also mandated mediation before forced eviction by security forces, reported Chequeado in a 2014 piece.
News Briefs
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