Statement on the Violent Repression of Political Protest
In December 2019, the Executive Council issued the following statement.
Crippling economic, political, social, and environmental crises have in recent months inspired millions of people to take to the streets around the world to demand better conditions. These protests have seen major participation from students, faculty members, and other members of campus and school communities. The Modern Language Association strongly condemns government forces’ violent repression of protesters and journalists during this recent unrest. We abhor the human rights abuses suffered by citizens who are using their collective power to demand economic justice, government transparency, and societal improvements. We urge governments to respect academic freedom and the rights of citizens to assemble and peacefully protest and urge them not to respond with arrests and excessive force, which at times result in serious injury and even death.
Circumstances surrounding the protests are varied, depending on specific situations in each country, and although the following examples are by no means exhaustive, they are especially horrific. In the Americas, protesters in Ecuador and Chile have faced state-imposed curfews and excessive use of force by government forces, resulting in a number of deaths and thousands injured, including serious ocular injuries from rubber bullets shot at close range by Chilean forces. Protesters in Haiti and Bolivia have also faced excessively violent responses from their respective governments. In the Middle East, hundreds of Iraqi protesters have been killed and thousands injured by security forces. Indian government forces have responded to peaceful protests in the Kashmir region with excessive force and illegal detentions of schoolchildren, and security forces continue their brutal crackdown on student protesters in Hong Kong. We call on these states and others facing public discontent to cease these violent acts and instead respect the dignity and human rights of their citizens by listening to their demands, seeking productive dialogue, and working through democratic processes to effectively improve conditions.