What is Acta?

Acta stands for Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. It is an international agreement with the goal to achieve copyright protection internationally. The negotiations have been conducted between 2008 and 2010 under the monitoring of interest groups such as the music and film industry.

Preparations for Acta began with the G8 summit in 2006. The negotiations between European Community, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Marocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States of America began in June 2008 – and have been secret. The European Commission represented its member states. The EU council of secretaries gave its acceptance on December 16, 2011. The agreement was signed by 22 member states in Japan on January 26, 2012. Germany and four other countries missed the signing because of formal reasons.

Acta is a “mixed” agreement because it needs to be signed by its member states as well as the EU parliament. Due to massive protests, multiple governments openly declared in February 2012 that they would stop the signing process. These governments include Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovakia and Germany. In Germany, the federal attorney general Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, who is responsible for the process, declared that she wants to wait for the decision of the EU parliament.

1. What is the point? – This type of protest must have a very specific point. It is not a good choice for drawing general attention to a broad range of issues. When a group working to improve conditions in one of Chicago’s slum neighborhoods wanted to urge Mayor Daley to action, they piled up rats on the steps of City Hall. While there were also other issues making conditions intolerable in the Woodlawn neighborhood, focusing on one specific thing kept the message focused.
2. What is the symbol? — The symbol must capture an aspect of the issue that will grab people’s attention and their emotions. When supporters of the Committee of 100 wanted to protest Soviet nuclear weapons testing, they delivered hundreds of bottles of milk labeled “Danger – Radioactive”. Using milk drove home the concept of corrupted purity and danger to our children.
3. To whom will it be delivered? — The choice of recipient may also be symbolic, like an embassy or government representative. However, if there is one official with power to change the situation that will be the most effective recipient. In 1963 the Congress of Racial Equality joined in a wider campaign to remind President Kennedy of his campaign promise to abolish discrimination in federally funded housing. An executive order had been reportedly waiting for his signature for two years so protesters sent the President thousands of bottles of ink.
4. When and how will the items be delivered? — These practical details are vital to the success of the protest, if handled poorly they will distract from the point.

As in any protest, the enemy is the situation not any one person or group. Show respect to the recipient and to others who will be affected by the delivery. The point is to draw attention to a situation that needs to be changed and to encourage action. Making enemies of those with the power to make the change is counter-productive.

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Using 2012 as a more immediate guide, taunting officials has been used extensively, and has been well documented in media around the world, by the Aboriginal peoples of Australia by storming a shop that the Australian Prime Minister was present in by shouting taunts, demonstrating their lack of support for new Constitutional measures being discussed to the point that the Prime Minister had to leave the establishment in a hurry, leaving a shoe behind in the process. The effect has generated considerable discussions and debates about the Aboriginal cause well beyond the confines of Australia all the way to media information centers in the United Kingdom, European Union, and the United States, and has led to an apology by the Prime Minister.
The use of taunting officials is used in the United States during various election debates and when officials, public or private, are greeted by taunts that directly respond to the official, company, or agencies policies or responses to the public at large.

With the ancient examples provided, as well as this year’s examples, taunting officials has become a popular and increasingly effective way of generating media attention to a cause, plight (such as the Australian Aboriginal peoples), or policy issue by putting pressure on individuals. The use of common taunts among an organized group can either get the point across to officials not willing to discuss issues openly in a public forum, or by generating enough commotion that the public at large and the media groups that follow officials have to take notice and begin a dialogue.

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Protest singing has continued to be a huge factor in nonviolent protests in the United States. During the 20th century singing was often used during civil rights demonstrations as a way to stir the crowds and drown out jeers from opponents. These songs were often gospel-based songs that were adopted from more traditional songs that were sung every week in church.

During the 1960s protest singing came into its own throughout the world. In Europe nonviolent protesting of communism and economic injustice was often accompanied by song. It was used by protesters of all ages and it was a prime reason why anti-communist protests in Poland eventually freed the country in the 1980s.

In the United States nonviolent protest were accompanied not just by the singing of traditional protest tunes by by protest songs created by well-known musicians. From anti-Vietnam War protests songs such as “Give Peace A Chance” to tunes like the anti-National Guard “Ohio,” singing was an integral part of any protest.

That tradition continues today as the “Occupy” protests that have taken place around the world have used music as a way to draw attention to their nonviolent causes. The biggest difference between today and previous protests is that there has not been a great deal of writing of new music. Today’s protesters are typically singing slightly-reworked versions of popular 1960s songs written by musicians such as Bob Dylan or Pete Seeger.

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A non-violent religious procession usually begins with a meeting in the community. An agreement is reached to draw attention to the issue by bringing citizens together and marching to an ending point along with precious religious items and ministers joining with the people. The issue is not a church problem; it is usually a complaint about local government policy. Often at the end of the march, prayers and songs are sung. Procession members conduct devotions during the march as well.

There are a number of examples of religious processions. One of the most well-known is the Salt March organized by Gandhi in 1930. This 240 mile religious procession was joined by more and more people as it continued. Gandhi was protesting British rule over India, and had started by protesting the salt monopoly controlled by the British. The march did not change things immediately, but awoke an awareness in the people that they could change their future. At the beginning of the Russian revolution in 1917, Russian Orthodox members used religious processions to protest treatment of citizens by the new regime. Dr. Martin Luther King used Gandhi’s approach to non-violence as one of the guiding examples for his marches for Civil Rights. Many of the famous Civil Rights protests were religious processions, including Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Other countries have taken up the banner. Religious processions are being used in India, Pakistan, Russia, Poland and other countries to attempt to achieve change in government policies. Countries with more than one faction of the Muslim religion often use religious processions to sway the local government to support one faction over the other.

Some religious processions are held once a year to honor some event that has not been remedied in the opinion of the protestors. The yearly religious processions on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision is an example. Another example is the yearly Orange parade in Northern Ireland.

The success of combining both religion and a protest procession is mixed at best. Many of the processions have not been successful. Still, a religious procession can be a valuable tool to use to make progress on a difficult issue with its double power of religion and non-violent protest. And, while many religious processions have not immediately remedied a cause, the fact they are remembered years later shows that some of the goals of the participants were achieved.

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Syrian forces are trying to eliminate resistance in Homs and other cities by pure force, including tanks, mortar shelling and snipers. The FSA is fighting back with nothing else than AK-47′s and some RPG’s.

I’m thinking of the makeshift hospitals that have been set up in order to care the wounded. Thinking of the families hiding in their homes.

This whole story did not turn the way it should have. The government of Syria should have accepted the will of their people and protect their rights. When this did not happen, the U.N. should have intervened but due to the veto of China and Russia, that did not happen, either.

Now, what’s next? My guess is that the West and the Arab countries will support the rebels with arms and money and that Iran will support the Assad regime with loyal troops to replace defected soldiers. The uprising turns into a sectarian war between Iran and the West. That way, this whole story turns into an even bigger blodshed.

What is the way out? My fear is that the uprising will last for several years to be stopped by the stepping down of the bastard Assad. My hope is that he is sensible enough to step down early enough to avoid more killings.

The Lebanese Campaign for Democracy

In 2005 a car bomb rocked the city of Beirut, in Lebanon. The bomb killed 22 people, including the leader of the opposition party. The citizens were right in assuming Syria, which had occupied the city for three decades, was behind the attack. This was due to the fact that Syria feared losing their influence in the upcoming elections. But instead of allowing the bombing to break the public’s spirit, a public funeral was held in memory of the victims at Martyrs Square in downtown Beirut. 250,000 people attended, paying homage to the fallen leader. This was one of the first and most important steps in getting Syria to remove its troops from Lebanese soil.

The Overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos

As ruthless a dictator as any the world over, Ferdinand Marcos was president of the Philippines from 1965 to when he fled the country in 1986. Marcos was legitimately elected president for two terms but declared marshal law and became dictator of the country when he was refused to be granted a third term. One of his main critics during this early period was a senator named Benigno Aquino. Marcos had Aquino arrested, but due to a medical condition was released and transferred to the United States for treatment.

After three years Aquino decided to return to his native land in order to overthrow the dictator. Marcos had him shot the second he stepped foot off the plane. This led to a series of nonviolent protests by the citizens of the Philippines that would result in Marcos fleeing the country. Aquinos mother put her son’s body on display, as it was the moment of his death, so the people could see what happened to him. Thousands of people paid tribute to Aquino, and this eventually led to the downfall of Ferdinand Marcos.

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Taxes that were proposed on commerce were also protested in this way. These taxes were viewed as a way to try to control and regulate commerce, rather than a way simply to raise additional money. If this was allowed to happen, surely more taxes would follow. This was a part of the taxation without representation protest movement, and it proved to be quite successful.

Today, mock funerals are used not only as vehicles of protest, but to teach as well. In some places, mock funerals are used to raise awareness of teenage drunk driving. Citing that a teenager is killed every 15 minutes, mock funerals are held to bring home the point to teenagers that drinking and driving among teens are lethal activities with very real tragic consequences.

As a very effective protest mechanism, mock funerals were also recently used in Russia to protest Constitution Day. Symbolizing parts of the constitution that are currently dead, it was meant to be a protest of the celebration of Constitution Day by the government of Russia.

Mock funerals have in the past been and continue to be a very effective form of nonviolent protest. They can be a very graphic and symbolic way to show that certain principles either have died or are on the way to certain death if they are adopted by that society.

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Paint can be used in the form of banners, publications and also painting on walls and other places where the painting will have a positive effect towards the protest. Organizations and institutions may feel ignored by the various people in authority and the use of publications will go a long way in making their demands heard. The government may also turn a blind eye towards injustices which they feel favor their political ambitions and it is up to the people to protest against these injustices if any action against these injustices is going to take place.

Painting on walls is a simple task but its effects are highly noticeable. The people carrying out the injustices will definitely notice the paintings and will have to react. It is however important to note that it is against the law to paint on certain public buildings and one has to be careful where they are putting up their paintings and banners.

Over the past decades many forms of paintings have been used to protest against various injustices that are no longer tolerable. The use of paint in the East German Uprising for example was a case where paint was used as a protest method by some nightshift workers at the Strausland shipyard. The workers covered the name of a new lugger, Walter Ulbricht, with black paint and this led to the cancellation of a launch ceremony scheduled for the following day to launch the boat for the herring fleet. Earlier on in Eisenbach, East Germany also in 1962 an individual altered a public picture of Walter Ubricht when they painted a rope around his neck.

Another paint protest is the famous Guernica painting by Pablo Picasso. He made the painting to protest against the bombing of Guernica by German and Italian warplanes during the Spanish civil war. The painting is nowadays used as a reminder of the tragedies of war and it is an embodiment of peace.

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There were many instances when prayer and worship was used as a form of protest. In World War II, the Germans destroyed valuable monuments and statues in Poland that had great patriotic significance. In response, the Polish would cast up their prayers at the sites of destruction to express their oppostition to German actions. There were many instances of secret religious gatherings where members of a people oppressed by Hitler’s might fist made certain to express themselves through prayer. Even the concentration camp victims managed to gather in prayer in secrecy. When the camps were discovered during liberation, prayers were found carved into the walls or ceilings in places where they would not be seen by the German guards. Prayer has the power to move mountains even if it is only within the hearts, souls, and minds of those who achieve solace through communion with God. Often, people gather the resolve to take a stand.

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