Monday, June 22, 2020

Black Lives Matter: Will it lead to reform of Police Forces in the USA?

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Kanika Bajaj

Article Title

Black Lives Matter: Will it lead to reform of Police Forces in the USA?

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Global Views 360

Publication Date

June 22, 2020

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Police in riot gear

Police in riot gear | Source: AJ Alfieri-Crispin via Wikimedia

The spontaneous eruption of the “Black Lives Matter” protest after the unfortunate death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police has once again put the spotlight on the operational methodology of the police department at different cities around the USA. There is a chorus across the country, more so in the Democratic Party strongholds to do fundamental reorganization of the police force by focussing on community policing. Some of the extreme and radical activists have gone so far to demand “defund the police” and re-distribute its budget to marginalized communities, municipal corporations and necessity institutions.

“There is no magic switch to turn off and boom there’s no police department,” said Alex Vitale, a sociology professor at Brooklyn College. She released a book named ‘The End of Policing’. The book has become a manifesto for protests and police-reform advocates. The defund development calls for diminishing networks' dependence on police for various administrative problems like, observing the homeless, settling household quarrels, restraining understudies, reacting to upheavals by individuals with mental illness, paring down violence in neighbourhoods, and proportional reaction to minor inconveniences like somebody attempting to pass a fake $20, the allegation that set off the police call that resulted in Floyd's demise. The funds saved by reducing the workload of police could be utilised by social and community workers to resolve street feuds. “When we talk about de-funding the police, what we're saying is invest in the resources that our communities need,” Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza told NBC News.

There are cities which have approached this reform in a positive manner. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has decided to shift the money from NYPD budget to youth recreational programs. A whopping $150 million is being pulled out of the LAPD by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. This money is proposed to be invested in healthcare systems and build peace centres. Similarly Portland and Oregon have consented to pull police from state funded schools. A few Minneapolis organizations, including the government funded school region, the University of Minnesota and the Park and Recreation Board, have moved to diminish or end their agreements with city police.

Dallas has earlier experienced the positive results of diverting emergency mental health calls, not only on hospitals but also police to non-police establishment when in 2018 RIGHT Care  was provided $3 million funding to look after these issues. Since the program started, ambulances and emergency vehicle calls for individuals encountering emotional wellness inconveniences have declined in the south-local region of Dallas where the program works, which has opened up officials to manage different calls, authorities said. This transition was also done after the outcry over the shooting of a schizophrenic man holding a screwdriver in 2014 and subsequent defence of police personnel by the police boss David Brown.

Law enforcement officials and conservative activists believe that de-funding police would lead to an upsurge in criminal activities. President Donald Trump has started making this as a key plank of his re-election campaign while the Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is running against Trump, also came out against de-funding police.

It is therefore too early to predict whether the current phase of “Black Lives Movement” after the death of George Floyd will be successful in bringing some substantial reform in the working of police forces across the cities of the US or the momentum will be lost with some incremental tweaking here and there.  

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February 4, 2021 4:51 PM

How the People Power brought down a Dictator in Sudan

Africa has witnessed many transformative events in the past decade. Among these, a people-led movement in Sudan that has overthrown a dictator in 2019 will undoubtedly take the cake.

The country has been under the ironclad rule of General Omar al-Bashir for over 30 years. The regime which came in power after a military coup in 1989, used strong arm tactics to control a nation of the diverse group of people. Furthermore, the 30 years long repressive military rule had overpowered every institution that promoted the cause of human rights. It also empowered the conservative Islamic leadership that had put harsh restrictions on women.

The regime of Omar al-Bashir was fiercely opposed by the Western countries while Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were its heavyweight backers. It had to grapple with people led movements throughout its existence which also included a full blown insurgency movement in Darfur region. However it was able to put down any challenge through brutal force.  

The people's movement to overthrow General Omar al-Bashir started in December of 2018 had such inclusiveness which was not witnessed in the earlier movements. It was powered by all the classes and ethnicities in posh as well as the poorest of neighbourhoods. Some adrenaline-fuelled women leaders encouraged other women to participate in the protests which not only increased the diversity of the people fighting for the nation but also helped to keep the movement non-violent. It also had the youth power which was yearning for a better future for them and their country.

The mobilization of millions of citizens on the streets forced the government to block the internet throughout the country for weeks. With online communication difficult to make, the protestors started using old ways to mobilise, such as megaphones, graffiti all over the streets and crowd-pulling events like a community service day. This included clearing trash areas in clothing that promoted their movement saying: ‘We will build what we are dreaming of.’

The protesters demanding civilian rule were met by violence which caused death and injury, many of which were caused by gunshot wounds. However people didn't relent and continued to protest. Huge protests were organised to correspond with the 30th anniversary of the coup that helped bring Bashir to power.  The nation was ready to make people’s revolution happen and was ready to pay the cost.

After the relentless protest, General Omer Al Bashir, who ruled with the backing of the military, was finally overthrown by the military in April 2019. However the people were not ready to accept another military ruler  to replace the earlier one. So the people's movement continued till the military leadership relented to disband the Transitional Military Council and in its place an eleven-member Sovereign Council was constituted in November 2019.

The Sovereign Council, made up of the  six civilians and five military representatives, is mandated to rule Sudan and conduct a free & fair election in the next three years. Amongst the civilian council members nominated by the protest movement, there is a woman and a journalist. This in itself is a great step forward for the long oppressed citizens of Sudan.

Reference links -

https://theconversation.com/how-the-people-of-sudan-pulled-off-an-improbable-revolution-132808

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/01/737638806/pro-democracy-protests-fill-streets-in-sudan-calling-for-civilian-control

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/sudan-forms-11-member-sovereign-council-headed-al-burhan-190820204821614.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50835344

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