Oslo Freedom Forum’s imagined community

In the presence of remarkable individuals, who were sharing with the Oslo Freedom Forum’s audience harrowing testimonies of survival, the resilience of human dignity and strength of character in conditions beyond hope, I was thinking: “what could I possibly say? What coherent thought could be added, after having heard a series of talks that left everyone pretty much speechless?”

The answer came from some of the speakers. Former Vice President of Bolivia, Victor Hugo Cardenas, spoke about the different nations, or indigenous groups, that form Bolivia’s society. Cardenas belongs to the Aymara nation, same as Evo Morales, but as he would clarify, unlike President Morales, who’s is a brand of sorts in Cardenas’ opinion, he does speak the indigenous language of his ancestors. A mob supportive of Morales recently attacked Cardenas and his family for political reasons: as he would put it, not even in the worse periods of Bolivia’s past dictatorships, against which he made his political career, had his wife and children suffered violence from foes. Racial hatred, the exacerbation of which originates from Bolivia’s highest office, is tearing apart that country’s society. But Cardenas remains hopeful, in the face of adversity, and stressed upon the ability of different nations or indigenous groups to live in peace and harmony.

Former President of Lithuania, Vytautas Landsbergis, expanded upon the need to make the concept of human rights understood and understandable to all, and, more importantly, make every civilised nation accountable to violations of same. The working definition seems accommodative to political expediency and accountability appears to be inversely proportional to the economic power and military might of nations nowadays.

Vladimir Bukovsky said that human rights violators are to be demanded to have, at the very least, the courage of perpetrating their heinous crimes in front of the world, for that, the act of facing international criticism, is more taxing than the actual crimes.

Others stressed the sheer hypocrisy of most governments when asked to reconcile commercial relations with regimes that systematically crush human rights. When it comes to business, it seems most are eager and prepared to deal with thugs so long as gains can be realised.

Benedict Anderson wrote a book called “Imagined Communities”. In it he argues that one of the fundamental principles for nation building is language. Once upon a time Latin was the language of choice of the educated elites in Europe, and regardless of country of origin people would communicate in it. The printing press brought about a significant change, for books started to be printed in vernacular languages, reasserting national identities and contributing with mass distribution or democratization of knowledge.

After listening to some of the speeches I couldn’t help but notice that our gathering was in fact epitomy of Anderson’s “Imagined Communities”, read a group of people sharing fundamental beliefs, principles and a language, in sum a nascent nation. I have more in common with Leyla Zana than with Cilia Flores*. Likewise, I am more inspired by Armando Valladares than by the dictator who incarcerated him for 22 years for refusing to toe the communist line. Palden Gyatso’s suffered prison and torture for 33 years for refusing to renounce his religious beliefs, while Elie Wiesel’s family did not have such luck, if it could be termed as such. Vladimir Bukovsky says that an encounter between torturer and victim is nothing but a clash of wills, whoever comes on top has broken the other’s mind. Armed with nothing but conviction these people have won, which shows that imposed collective thought or group thinkers will never conquer a spirit committed to his own convictions.

I felt that every one of us there in Oslo has been victimised, in different degrees, by the same kind of individual: he who fears our inherent capacity to discern, to reason, to choose and to voice an opinion. For it is not violence they dread, rather it is the expression of a language, i.e. words, that throws enemies of freedom into a spin. A shared language makes us members of an imagined community, that of the advocates of freedom.

But there remains a lot to be done, for our nation to grow strong. As Jack Healey said, only a tiny fraction of the world’s population knows the existence of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent treaties. Thus the task of education must start in earnest, for a society where there’s no transfer of knowledge is bound to repeat past mistakes.

*Head of Venezuela's National Assembly

Free Aung San Suu Kyi

We, the undersigned participants of the Oslo Freedom Forum,
categorically condemn the detention of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi. We condemn the unjustified charges raised against her by the
Burmese military dictatorship, which has imprisoned and charged her
with breaching the terms of her house arrest.

We call upon all people who believe in the dignity and rights of the
human person to support our urgent demand for the immediate release
of Aung San Suu Kyi and that all charges against her be dropped
immediately.

1. Kjell Magne Bondevik
2. Ajay Royan
3. Bodil Fremstad
4. Thrond Berge Larsen
5. Asle Toje
6. Sara Azmeh Rasmussen
7. Lars Fr. H. Svendsen
8. John Zeki
9. Tika Mustika
10. Hans Jørgen Lysglimt
11. Tenzin Kalsang
12. Wenche Thingnes
13. Vytautas Landsbergis
14. Kristin Clemet
15. Zainab Al-Suwaij
16. Tom G. Palmer
17. Mutabar Tadjibayeva
18. Erin Anderson
19. Darye Shut
20. Aliaksandr Bialiatski
21. Chongdak Koren
22. Dechen Pemba
23. Palden Gyatso
24. Hallstein Bjercke
25. Olav Nils Sunde
26. Darla Romfo
27. Ravi Sunder
28. Arne L. Lynngård
29. Christian Charapata
30. Lee Brooks
31. Jonas Braad
32. Lisa-Mari Damgaard
33. James Kirchick
34. Hege Synne Rahm
35. Park Sang Hak
36. Seo Bohee
37. Jan Tore Sanner
38. Camila Payan
39. Pedro Trujillo
40. Victoria Villarruel
41. Erik Storelv
42. Julie M. Remen
43. Therese Thomassen
44. Humberto A. Pujals
45. Louise Halvorssen
46. Jan Christie
47. Anne Elisabeth Hellum
48. Abdel Nasser Ould Ethmane
49. Ragnhild Astrup Tschudi
50. Magne Ove Varsi
51. Stephen R. DeBarre
52. Jackie Monckton DeBarre
53. Katie Coughlin
54. NG Man-Yan
55. Sarah Stemmler
56. Peter Magnuson
57. Tor Jørgen K. Arnesen
58. Vo Van Ai
59. Penelope Faulkner
60. Ola Elvestuen
61. Johnny Syversen
62. Petronella Barker
63. Arnt G. Hartvig
64. Beate Barth-Nossum
65. Kjell Vagle
66. Sarah Bronfman
67. Nadya Berlin
68. Jacqueline Moudeina
69. Axel Halvorssen
70. Eilen Nordlie
71. Alise Davidsen
72. Frederic Hauge
73. Aud Lunde
74. Peder Lunde
75. Viktor E. Jakobsen
76. Alek Boyd
77. Alex Gladstein
78. S. E. Parker
79. Mikkel Dobloug
80. Maria Dahle
81. Roar Hagen
82. Vladimir Bukovsky
83. Friederike Denham
84. Ronald Rich
85. Hilda Denham
86. Jonathan Chen
87. Jared Lapidus
88. Chandler Tottle
89. Kris Anderson
90. David Satter
91. Charles L. Harper Jr.
92. Jan Hedberg
93. Miryam Halvorssen
94. Alexa Katarina Halvorssen
95. Preben Sohlberg
96. Yvonne L. Sohlberg
97. Per Elvestuen
98. Tammy Bruce
99. Bruce Bawer
100. Olaf Halvorssen
101. Marius Doksheim
102. Anders Vollen
103. Leyla Zana
104. Therese Jebsen
105. Ruken Zana
106. Victor Hugo Cardenas
107. Javier Flores
108. Lasse Heimdal
109. Tatiana Yankelevich
110. Robert A. Granier
111. Mary F. Whitney
112. Marc Wachtenheim
113. Harry Wu
114. Nicole Kempton
115. Per H. Houge
116. Torunn Nilsen Houge
117. Emil Constantinescu
118. Marius Doksheim
119. Anders Vollen
120. Jonathan Foreman
121. Elin Skaldebø
122. Glenda M. Aldana
123. Pedro Pablo Alvarez
124. Armando Valladares
125. Jung Chang
126. Ladan Boroumand
127. Jack Healey
128. L. Craig Johnstone
129. Leopoldo López

Oslo 19. May, 2009

Oslo Freedom Forum
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