Peaceful assembly Knocked out
By Keegan Pedersen
Unless you've been living in a cave with no contact to the outside world for the last three months, you have heard of the crisis in Ukraine. What you may not have heard of are the rights that have been violated and continue to be infringed upon even now. The most glaring injustice that's been displayed is the brutality in the countries streets. In what should be peaceful protests people have been punched, kicked, shot, pepper sprayed, and even killed. This the result of government and police brutality. When the blood of your countries citizens is being spilled and your "independence" square is in ruins you have a serious problem.
This isn't an issue we can brush away. Article 20, section 1, "The right to peaceful assembly and association." It's important to all of us and it's hard not to notice something's gone wrong in Ukraine. Look up the numbers and see that over 100 people have been killed and some injury estimates reach the thousands. Look up the pictures, see town squares in rubble and people that have been beaten and brutalized for speaking their mind. Especially at a time where it's imperative their opinion be heard. It's difficult to understand how a country and it's government can come to a place like this, but Ukraine has. Not to mention the Russian "invasion" hasn't helped. Peaceful assembly applies to everyone. People in Orange County and people in Yemen, it doesn't matter where. It allows us to speak our minds in the most powerful way, with others. The civil rights movement was driven by peaceful assembly, the women rights movement driven by peaceful assembly. Not to say it wasn't violated at times, but without it entirely imagine the world we would be living in now. Any freedom that let's us improve our circumstances is one worth fighting for.
In times where other places are in hardship it's easy to not know what to do, and to feel that justifies doing nothing at all. It's true there isn't an easy answer in Ukraine, there's no good or bad side to choose. The government is in rubble both literally and metaphorically, and Russia isn't exactly the shining knight in armor we love. So don't fight for a country or a government, fight for the people. The people who's voices are being smuthered and oppressed. By taking advantage of what we have here. They may not be able to peacefully assemble but we can. That's the best thing about this country. We may not like democrats or republicans, Tea Party or Green Party. The new healthcare bill or the old one. But, we can always advocate for what we believe is right. So use that, voice for the people who have been denied theirs. Create a better world with the advantages we have in this sheltered piece of the puzzle that surrounds us.
Sources:
D. (2014, February 26). In Ukraine, Naming of Interim Government Gets Mixed Response. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/world/europe/ukraine.html
Ukraine Crisis | Al Jazeera America. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://america.aljazeera.com/topics/topic/event/ukraine-uprising.html
Ukraine Death Toll Rises as Gunfights Rage in Restive East. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://time.com/89139/ukraine-russia-crimea-crisis/
Ukraine bloodshed: Kiev death toll jumps to 77. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://rt.com/news/ukraine-kiev-death-toll-955/
D. (2014, February 26). In Ukraine, Naming of Interim Government Gets Mixed Response. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/world/europe/ukraine.html
Ukraine Crisis | Al Jazeera America. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://america.aljazeera.com/topics/topic/event/ukraine-uprising.html
Ukraine Death Toll Rises as Gunfights Rage in Restive East. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://time.com/89139/ukraine-russia-crimea-crisis/
Ukraine bloodshed: Kiev death toll jumps to 77. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://rt.com/news/ukraine-kiev-death-toll-955/