This is Ethiopian Review Policy Research Center’s series on From Dictatorship to Democracy extracted/quoted from books and articles published by Albert Einstein Institution and similar sources.
Mass Uprising for Massive Civil Disobedience to Dislodge the Repressive Regime
KEY NONVIOLENT WEAPONS
“If People do not Obey, Rulers cannot Rule; – thus Disobedience”
Destabilize the Regime through the Shrewd Use of:
1.0
Nonviolent Protest and Persuasion
2.0
Non Cooperation
2.1- Social Non cooperation, 2.2- Economic Non cooperation: Economic Boycotts, 2.3- Economic Boycotts : The Strike, 2.4- Political Non cooperation
3.0
Nonviolent Intervention and Sabotage.
DEFINITIONS:
- Violence: Physical violence against other human beings that inflicts injury or death, or threatens to inflict such violence, or any act dependent on such infliction or threat.
- Terrorism is the intentional use of, or threat to use violence against civilians or against civilian targets, in order to attain political aims.
- Strategic nonviolence is a method of actively engaging in resistance through carefully planned campaigns of disobedience and disruption.
KEY RULES OF ENGAGEMENT:
Rule #1. Thou Shalt Not Commit Violence Against the General Public.
“Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable.”The largest risk for a failure of discipline in a nonviolent movement is that some members may become violent. Therefore, nonviolent discipline—the ability of people to remain nonviolent, even in the face of provocations—is often continually instilled in participants. There are practical reasons for this. Violent incidents by members of a movement can dramatically reduce its legitimacy while giving the movement’s opponent an excuse to use repression. Furthermore, a movement that is consistently nonviolent has a far greater chance of appealing to a broad range of potential allies. Everyday citizens who are sitting on the sidelines are reluctant to participate in the violence.
Rule #2. Thou Shalt Not Commit Violence Against the Supporters of the Regime. (Pillars of Support)
Successful movements continually reach out to the tyrant’s supporters, understanding that one of the strengths of sustained civil resistance in the service of a unifying vision is the ability to induce loyalty shifts and defections among its opponent’s ranks. Instead of allowing your primitive “fight” response to take over, the most difficult obstacle is overcoming your negative emotions to be able to show them the right path forward for the country. A movement that is consistently nonviolent has a far greater chance of appealing to a broad range of regime’s pillars of support – through the course of its struggle.
Acts of civil disobedience, by individuals or groups, will gain more support if the behavior of the protestors is exemplary. The justification for non-violence i.e, avoiding crime, chaos and vandalism is not moral but strategic.
For an Overhead View of ERUPTION AGAINST REPRESSION CLICK: Eruption against Repression
Worthwhile Viewing Again Mass Uprising for Massive Attack in Animal Kingdom i.e. ”Eruption against Repression”
IF ANIMALS CAN DO IT, WE CAN DO IT. “FEAR IS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND ALL DICTATORS’ REPRESSION.”
“Terrosism is the intentional use of, or threat to use violence against civilians or against civilian targets inorder to attain political aims” hmmm…
Very poor and very simplistic definition. First and foremost are you talking about state terrorism or none state terrorism?
Who said that terrorism is exclusively intended use of violence against civilians or against civilian targets. On the contary terrorism is essentially either against military establishment by an antagonistic competing military of the states or contrarywise against the fighting forces of none state politico-military (militia) targets. Only after these one may add civilian casualties caught up in the cross fire.
this means that governments forces may terrorize another government’s forces or both of them in alliance terrorize none state oppositions militias or militias terrorrizing other militias without any one of these intending to terrorize the civilian population. It is also true that in modern day conflicts civilians suffer unintended violences both from the stae actors and the none stae actors like in Darfur, Somalia, Ogaden, Aghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, etc.
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yes fear can prevent you from alot of thing but the ethiopian peopel they should know better becouse they been through a lot firest of all we all remember the fashist mengistu hilemariam what he did to ethiopian peopel specialy the young student.his cadres come under the cover of darkenes pulling their son and daughters with out any evidence of rong doing just being young,took them out on the street and killed them and discard their corps all over the street to peopel to see in order to scared them off. and here we are again on the same situation but thes one a littel claver fierst meke the country divided on ethnic line and littel by littel disolved all opposition group and now creat chaos purpposely in order to send a message by killing them all these fear mongering should not work on ethiopian peopel becouse they know better
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The worst mistake is when countries who have great power ignore those terrorist when they got power to govern a country.
On the contrary they helped them.
Currently they are not only dangerous for the people who have no power to fight back but for those who helped them to control. I guess not to far to see.
How come can someone expect a gurella or bandit who were looting to survive can drop his past experience and act as a civil governor or president?
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