Slashdot Mirror
Gary Kasparov Arrested Over Political Fight
geddes writes "World chess champion turned opposition leader Gary Kasparov was arrested this morning while leading an march through Moscow in opposition to Russian President Vladamir Putin. Kasporov is a leader of the 'Other Russia' coalition which has been banned by the government from appearing on TV, and had been denied a marching permit. From the New York Times: 'Essentially barred from access to television, members of Other Russia have embraced street protests as the only platform to voice their opposition ahead of parliamentary elections in December and presidential elections next March. Early this month, Mr. Kasyanov's and Mr. Kasparov's Web sites were blocked, though it was unclear by whom.' Kasparov was later released from detention, though he was still fined for participating in the event."
It's interesting that the people in charge of Russia now could be reasonably charged as "counter-revolutionaries" who thwart the will of the people. If I recall, the punishment for that used to be being sent to the Gulag.
Why is it that celebrities think people should listen to their political beliefs? Does it make a movement even more right if you have the backing of someone famous?
Why is the fact that US law is also broken on freedom of speach a reason why this is something to ignore? I know it is hard for some people to remember, but there are more countries in the world than the US and Russia. Yea, many of them are not much better, but there is a handful in which arresting people in peaceful protest ( permit granted or not ) would actually have quite drastic consequences in the next election. Of course, we have 7-8 parties with more than a snowball's chance in hell to influence national politics, so over here voters actually have a choice. Maybe if you and your fellow countrymen cared about things like this politicians would meet more than a summer breeze's worth of resistance when deciding that anyone who looks slightly foreign and is politically convenient to lock up is an "unlawful combatant" and that the geneva convention and yoru own constitution somehow doesn't aply to people in a classification no government has ever used before... You have a number of laws which came into force during the last ten years which everyone knows about because they make a mockery of your constitution, yet somehow the fact that actions by the Russian government "are not worse than in the US" is a reason why it isn't anything to worry about. You can blame Bush all you like, but somewhere along the line you started getting these peopel voted in rather than peopel who had quite a different attitude to the role of government. Seriously. You have a law which makes it illegal to tell others about alternative ways to watch movies they have legally purchased. You have a law which pretty much means the police only need to accuse you for a serious enough crime to ignore your constitution and you have a law which allows the government to steal your belongings without telling you they have done so. Maybe other parties than the big two are too small to make a difference. But by the very same argument it won't be your single vote that determines the outcome of the election, so you might just as well vote for something you believe in. Your vote doesn't matter any more if you vote for the democrats or the republcians. It isn't any more wasted if a small party doesn't get into office than if you vote for something you don't believe in. Do you really think your vote counts twice if you vote for the big guys? It's not the fact that you are voting for their main opponent that hurts politician, it is the fact that you are voting for someone that doesn't support them.