Dismantling Democracy? Virus Used as Excuse

Dismantling¹ Democracy? Virus Used as Excuse

On the streets of Belgrade, heavily armed Serbian soldiers walk the streets. The army guards a large complex of buildings that have been turned into a temporary hospital. The buildings are lined with beds ready for possible COVID-19 patients.

The country's president, Aleksandar Vucic, has warned citizens that Belgrade will not have enough space to bury the dead if people ignore his lockdown orders.

Vucic announced a state of emergency on March 15. Serbia has put into effect some of the strongest measures in Europe to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.

Parliament is suspended under the orders. Serbian borders are closed and a 12-hour curfew is in effect. The measures also bar people over the age of 65 from leaving their homes. Critics say Vucic's actions are unconstitutional.

Rodoljub Sabic is Serbia's former Commissioner² for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection. He said the president of Serbia holds only ceremonial responsibilities under the country's constitution. But, he said Vucic has taken total power of decision-making during the crisis.

He said, "He issues orders which are automatically accepted by the government. No checks and balances."

Several European leaders are ordering similarly strong measures on the public. These include unrestricted government observation of cell phone use and long jail sentences for those who violate lockdown orders.

Ingibjorg Sólrún Gísladóttir leads the democracy and human rights agency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. She said she understands the need for fast action to protect the public from COVID-19. But she said the newly announced emergency orders should include time limits and parliamentary control.

"A state of emergency, whether it is declared and for whatever reason, must be proportionate to its aim," she said.

In times of national emergency, countries often take action that restricts civil liberties. Such action can include spying on citizens, ordering curfews, banning travel, and limiting rights of free expression. China ordered lockdowns of whole cities earlier this year to stop the spread of the virus. India ordered a countrywide lockdown.

Amnesty International researcher Massimo Moratti said states of emergency are permitted under international human rights law. But he warned that they should not become a "new normal."

He said emergency orders should remain in effect only as long as the danger remains³.

In the European Union member-country of Hungary Monday, parliament passed a number of severe new laws. One permits the government unrestricted power to order laws during the state of emergency. Another sets prison terms of up to five years for people who spread misinformation and up to eight years for people who violate orders that restrict movement.

Critics say the Hungarian action creates the possibility for an unending state of emergency. They say Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his government will be able to control the press and restrict human rights without any supervision⁴.

Tanja Fajon, a member of the European Parliament, was among the critics. She said Orban had "abused coronavirus as an excuse to kill democracy and media freedom."

Other governments have also taken extreme measures.

In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu's government passed several emergency measures, including laws that expand the government's right to spy on people and to slow judicial⁵ activity. This resulted in a postponement⁶ of Netanyahu's own trial on corruption⁷ charges.

In Russia, law enforcement agents are repressing COVID-19 discussion on social media. They are also acting⁸ against media that criticize the government's actions connected to the crisis.

Almost 800 coronavirus infections and 16 deaths have been reported in Serbia, says Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. However, testing has been extremely limited and experts think many more COVID-19 cases exist.

Pictures from inside the huge temporary medical center in Belgrade have caused public fear. Many say the place looks like a detention⁹ camp.

The Serbian president said that this is a good thing: if people are frightened of the image, they should obey orders to stay home.

Words in This Story

lockdown - n. the total shutdown of a community

automatically– adj. something that happens without being controlled by a person

proportionate– adj.a size or number directly related to something else

judicial - adj. having to do with the courts or the legal system

1 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

2 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

5 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

6 postponement   

n.推迟

参考例句：

• He compounded with his creditors for a postponement of payment. 他与债权人达成协议延期付款。
• Rain caused the postponement of several race-meetings. 几次赛马大会因雨延期。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。