http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy_power/politics_protest/bhutan_tibet Comments for "China and Bhutan: crushing dissent, Meenakshi Ganguly " en http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy_power/politics_protest/bhutan_tibet <p>The study of history provides rich lessons about the damaging effects of oppression and injustice, particularly egregious human-rights violations. One of the most important is that if legitimate claimants are brutally repressed into silence and desperation, their grievances can be exploited by those who instigate further violence. The result of this mistaken choice of war over peace is that almost everyone involved is drawn into a circle of fear and degradation in a way that leaves them even worse off. </p> <p>Among the various battles raging around the globe - with cluster-bombs and suicide-bombs, between militants and soldiers, over religion or land - one peaceful struggle is rapidly disappearing from our newspapers, and another, possibly more violent, threatening to make news. Each is nourished by human-rights abuses and hidden by the &quot;happy news&quot; of the state concerned. The tiny mountain kingdom of <a href="http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/bhutan.htm">Bhutan</a> and the enormous state of <a href="http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/china.htm">China</a> share the dubious distinction of representing dominant ethnic and linguistic majorities that would prefer to erase minority cultures. </p>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy_power/politics_protest/bhutan_tibet" class="read-more" title="Read the rest of this posting.">Read the rest of this post...</a><p><a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy_power/politics_protest/bhutan_tibet">read more</a></p> http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy_power/politics_protest/bhutan_tibet#comment democracy &amp; power Creative Commons normal Meenakshi Ganguly politics of protest Wed, 04 Jul 2007 18:37:30 +0100 Grace Davies 33917 at http://www.opendemocracy.net