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August 20, 2012
Guest(s): Aurel Braun, Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto; Lynn Flatley, Organizer, Toronto Protest in Support of Arrested Russian Band
IEN: Most had never heard of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot until three of its members were jailed back in March. But since that time, there has been a global outpouring of support for the women by those who say their right to freedom of speech has been trampled on. They were jailed because of this , a protest song with an anti-Putin sentiment they performed in Moscow’s main Orthodox cathedral. They were charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. And today they’ll find out if they’ll have to spend the next three years in jail. Protests are taking place right around the world today, including in Toronto. Joining me now is Lynn Flatley, the organizer of Toronto’s protest; and Aurel Braun, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto.
So good to have you both here to discuss this with us.
AUREL BRAUN: Good morning.
IEN: Aurel, first question to you. The first thing that comes to mind is, how do these punk rockers, this band, how do they get charged, how do they get jailed for basically, you know, speaking out against the government in what is supposed to be a democratic society? How does that happen?
AUREL BRAUN: This is what is so worrying, that it is supposed to be a democratic society that Mr. Putin and Mr. Medvedev ran on a platform that they wanted to see the rule of law implemented in Russia, that they wanted to see democracy, they would like to see pluralism. But the sad fact of the matter is that what we are seeing are increasing restrictions on freedom. And this is kind of emblematic of what’s happening in Russia, that they are going not only after political opponents who are [inaudible] … parties that are in opposition, but they’re going after cultural institutions as well as people engaged in the arts, because this is the pattern of a dictatorial society. This is what happened, sadly, in the bad old Soviet days. And it’s not nearly as bad right now but it’s moving in that direction. We saw that in the 1970s. Among the people first attacked were also a rock band in Czechoslovakia, the Plastic People of the Universe. It is a sign of a society that is being driven by Mr. Putin in a direction that I think is very worrisome internally. And it is something that ought to concern the rest of the international community.
IEN: Yeah, and people are concerned. Lynn, you’re nodding your head in agreement. You have kept your ear to the ground. You were telling me during the commercial break that you’re hearing some updates from Russia. What’s happening?
LYNN FLATLEY: Right. I’m following live updates. The PussyRiot.org on their tweet posted a live update link. And apparently outside the courtroom supporters of Pussy Riot have come, and they have been, their signs have been torn down, they have been shoved away. People there that are protesting that Pussy Riot gets more jail time are being left alone with their signs and not being disturbed at all. So, it seems fairly unbalanced.
IEN: Why are you organizing the protest in Toronto?
LYNN FLATLEY: When I read about what had happened with the band I just felt it was so wrong on so many levels. And I had to do something. I had never done anything like this before, but it was just my tipping point. The thought of those three young women in jail with no access to the family, that’s what I couldn’t believe. They can’t see their children or their husbands or their loved ones. And that kind of emotional support when you’re going through an ordeal, right or wrong, it would be torture to me for my son not to be able to visit me if I was incarcerated. And that just sent me over the edge. And I thought, well, I have to do something.
IEN: Aurel, why do you think this is resonating in the West the way it is? Because it’s an interesting analogy to look at the way Putin puts forward what he’d like the international community to see, that he’s popular — or populist. And that’s not the case. And this is resonating. Other artists — Madonna has come forward, other artists, saying that this is wrong. Protests are happening everywhere.
AUREL BRAUN: It is a kind of tipping point because the elections for parliament were held in December, and then the presidential elections were so deeply flawed that many viewed them as illegitimate. Opposition parties were kept out, opposition leaders who had a chance of winning were not allowed to get on the ballot. So, there is a kind of bad odour to Russian politics under Mr. Putin. The kind of switch that they had between the presidency and the prime ministership, which was done behind closed doors, tells of an opaque society. So, we saw politically the restriction of freedoms, and now we see it culturally. And therefore, I think when we deal with Russia, which is a major power, which has nuclear weapons, which is involved in many parts of the world, which is supporting the awful regime in Syria, for instance. And we also see that domestically they are running a policy that is very worrisome. And we see huge numbers of people inside Russia — the young, the middle classes — who are extremely worried, they are out in the streets. This is a protest against what they viewed as fraudulent elections for parliament and for the presidency. So, now they are protesting what is viewed as a political prosecution, indeed a persecution, and the seeking of a verdict was something that should not even have been tried. The accusation of hooliganism and insult to religion, ah, this was a protest in many ways against Vladimir Putin. And he’s not about, it seems, to tolerate anyone really coming out openly and criticizing him.
IEN: Thanks so much to you both for being here. We await that verdict. When it comes down we will bring that to you as soon as that happens. Thank you.
AUREL BRAUN: Thank you very much.
LYNN FLATLEY: Thank you.
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