Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

Tag: protest

  • Pussy Riot: a new chapter in art versus power

    Pussy Riot is a collective of young, cool, smart women with attitude who may just be giving Russian President Vladimir a few sleepless nights. Pussy Riot engage in guerrilla punk protests, popping up unexpectedly at iconic sites in Moscow to blast punk songs critical of Putin. They are probably now the most globally recognised expression of the “Russian […]

  • Is the Max Brenner protestors’ court victory an Australian legal watershed?

    By Adam Fletcher The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel is controversial on at least two levels. First, it targets businesses, which some (including the Victorian Government) see as an illegitimate means of political protest. Secondly, it targets Israel, which some see as inherently anti-Jewish. This is not an article about the merits […]

  • Cambodian mothers and grandmothers behind bars after facing off the most powerful men in the region. Will the World Bank stand by them?

    Guest Bloggers: Natalie Bugalski and David Pred, Inclusive Development International Last week thirteen Cambodian women representatives of the Boeung Kak Lake community were sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after a summary trial. The women, including a 72-year old grandmother, were arrested on May 22 whilst singing at a peaceful protest to support 18 families whose homes had […]

  • Time’s Person of the Year: The Protester

    by Sarah Joseph* Time Magazine has just announced its Person of the Year.  Appropriately, it is “The Protester”. The signature characteristic of 2011 has been the extraordinary outbreak of protests, demonstrations, riots, and even overthrows of government. Most obviously, there has been the “Arab Spring”. Two long-standing dictators, Ben-Ali and Mubarak, were, remarkably, overthrown in […]

  • The Occupy movement and the Importance of Civil Protest

    Sarah Joseph The “Occupy” movement has swept the world in the last five weeks, as seems appropriate in this year of demonstrations by people tired of a clapped-out status quo.  Of course, the Occupy movement is quite different to those that overran Tahrir Square or who now bravely withstand the bullets of the Syrian State.  […]

  • Occupy Melbourne – One Observer’s Account of the Eviction

    By Andre Dao I received a text message on Friday morning from a friend at the Occupy Melbourne protest at City Square, saying that the protesters were about to be forcibly evicted. I had previously been down to City Square the previous Saturday as the protesters were setting up, and my impression of the movement […]