Tag Archive for: Right to protest

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Concern about the situation of people detained in the demonstration against the Bases Law

We express our deep concern about the situation of the people detained during the demonstration against the bill known as the Bases Law. Protesting is a right and it is essential that international norms and standards are respected. From Fundeps, we appear before the Federal Justice requesting the immediate release of these people.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

On June 12, within the framework of the treatment of the draft “Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines” in the National Congress, a demonstration took place that ended in arbitrary arrests after the repression of the security forces.

The operation carried out by the Federal Police, Gendarmerie and Naval Prefecture advanced on the people using gas, fire hydrant trucks and rubber bullets. This action received congratulations from the Office of the President who described those who demonstrated as “terrorists,” accusing them of attempting a “coup d’état.”

The criminalization of social protest is a serious violation of human rights. Freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly are protected by national laws, our National Constitution and international human rights treaties to which our country is a party.

For all this, we appear before the Federal Justice requesting the immediate release of the detained people, who are in that situation for acts that do not constitute any crime. Furthermore, without clarity of their conditions, reasons for detention and in violation of their rights in the processes initiated.

Democracy is strengthened by guaranteeing the right to demonstrate and to be able to express ideas freely, without fear of repression and criminalization. Under no point of view can a social claim be assimilated with a coup d’état.

Contact

Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

 

*Image source: FARCO Agency

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Democracy is cared for inside and outside Congress

The forms of deliberation, public demonstration, journalistic work, the restriction of state violence, are all necessary conditions for social and political coexistence within the framework of democracy.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The police operation deployed in front of Congress, while it was in session, was violent and excessive, outside the current regulations for action in response to demonstrations. It was organized by the Ministry of National Security, with an excessive deployment of different forces that caused injuries from rubber bullets, irritating gases with an unprecedented capacity for damage, and blows from tonfas. In a historical regression, there were police with firearms, something that had been avoided in all governments more than 20 years ago. The police intimidated older people, left around thirty journalists with injuries of varying severity, and attacked human rights defenders and protesters from different political sectors. Threatening freedom of expression and demonstration, it advanced in the streets, on the sidewalks and in the plaza.

Within Congress, the regulations are violated: days of debate pass on an opinion that is not known, which is being written outside the committees as the sessions progress. These irregularities, in the face of society, deteriorate the institutions. Furthermore, as expressed in the bill, the delegated powers requested by the Executive Branch could impact legislative paralysis and expanded margins of arbitrariness given the vague, general and elusive way in which they are expressed.

The democratic conditions of debate and coexistence are today deeply tense and rarefied. While legislators debate the destiny of the country and its economic and natural resources in record time, the highest officials publish messages that celebrate and encourage police violence and violence by particular groups.

We call on political parties, all authorities with public responsibilities and the different sectors of the community to make an urgent call for respect for the rights that are being violated, for democratic coexistence, in appropriate institutional terms and without repression.

Signing:

Andhes (Abogados y Abogadas del Noroeste Argentino en Derechos Humanos y Estudios Sociales)

Asociación Ecuménica de Cuyo (FEC)

ELA (Equipo argentino de justicia y género)

Fundeps (Fundación para el Desarrollo de Políticas Sustentables) 

CELS (Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales)

Fundación Protestante Hora de Obrar

Asociación para la promoción y protección de los Derechos Humanos Xumek

Fundación SES

Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN)

CAREF – Comisión Argentina para personas Refugiadas y Migrantes

Consciente Colectivo

Red Argentina de Abogacía Comunitaria (RAAC) 

Campaña Argentina por el Derecho a la Educación (CADE)

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We claim the right to protest and demand: enough repression

After the publication in the Official Gazette of the Nation of Decree of Necessity and Urgency 70/2023, which was widely questioned by civil society for favoring large global corporations and lacking the urgency that would justify its adoption, thousands of protesters gathered. They gathered in different parts of the country to express their repudiation.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

In the city of Córdoba, the call took place in the Patio Olmos, where hundreds of people gathered around 9 p.m. and blocked the road on Vélez Sarsfield Avenue in a peaceful demonstration. Around 10 p.m., the Córdoba Police confronted the gathered people and fired pepper spray and rubber bullets to clear the protest, taking 5 protesters into custody.

As a human rights organization, we maintain that the right to petition authorities, freedom of expression and the right to protest play a key role in developing and strengthening democratic systems. They are protected by our Constitution and by various international instruments.

Social protest must be managed democratically and not criminalized or repressed. Public powers must respect international standards related to social protest and the obligations that must guide the state response.

For this reason, we demand that local authorities take the necessary measures to adequately address social conflict, in compliance with constitutional guarantees and human rights. We also demand the immediate release of those detained.

The people have the right to express themselves and take to the streets to fight. Enough repressing. Enough chasing.