Protesting the Dark

Iran, Ukraine and Hong Kong are the frontlines in our fight for freedom and democracy

Last Saturday I visited the Iran demonstration in central Vancouver where the protests in support of the revolution against the ever more barbaric regime in Tehran continue on a regular basis. With further executions, endless stories of torture and repression the news is not uplifting at all, but instead of hopelessness it is clear that the resistance is not giving up. Far from it. And: the Iranians that keep fighting can count on strong support globally although it stands to argue that Western governments are not doing nearly enough to help ensure that the mullah regime will be fatally weakened. The people of Iran need a forceful game changer soon.

At the protest I ran into John who I remembered from the pro-Ukraine protest on exactly the same spot nearly a year ago. And then as now he in one hand unabashedly carried the colonial Hong Kong flag, in the other the Canadian. We had a good chat after I expressed - as a former resident - my long held love for Hong Kong and how its nascent democracy was stolen from its people. John wasted no time to connecting the dots in the struggle against authoritarian regimes: Iran being supported by Russia, Ukraine under attack from Russia, Hong Kong being suppressed by China; all of this is clear and alarming evidence of how human rights, decency, morality and plurality are under an incredible and ever increasing mindless violent assault. These values are in mortal danger and if we do not speak up more forcefully we will all stand to lose what we take for granted, so he argued. That is why he was also carrying the Canadian flag in his other hand: it was time for the government in Ottawa to start acting in a far more decided way to counter this global authoritarian wave.

From my younger years in The Netherlands I remember all the protests that brought out large crowds and unrelenting media attention. There were many. Against Pinochet in Chile, against the Franco regime in Spain, while huge support was given for dissidents in the Soviet Union, Nelson Mandela in South Africa and the emerging resistance in Eastern Europe with Lech Walesa and Václav Havel as their leading icons. Everyone know their names and everyone talked about it.

We see far less of that today. The protests against the war in Ukraine have petered out, the rallies for Iran are attended primarily by overseas Iranians and you hardly hear anyone about the steady throttling of what is left of Hong Kong’s democratic spirit. It is both annoying and perplexing to me that Jimmy Lai is not a household name that people all over the world are rallying for like we once did for Nelson Mandela. It is a sad sign of our times where commercial interests, apathy and a lack of moral clarity have given free rein to the authoritarians to push their agendas forward, globally and practically unhindered. And yes, that includes direct operations and influence campaigns in Europe and North America.

Let’s not only put our support behind the brave resisters in Iran and Hong Kong as well as those on the frontlines in Ukraine. Let’s all rally and press our politicians and leaders to do more because if we don’t then the world balance of power may tilt even further towards the forces of darkness.