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In open societies, there is a close relationship between a responsible and uncensored media on the one hand, and democracy and the rule of law on the other. Properly informed citizens in a democracy, take on their role of seeking accountability for what their government does.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Many are hoping French voters will do so on Sunday, April 24, ensuring that incumbent President Emmanuel Macron defeats Marine Le Pen, his right-wing nationalist challenger, again in the second round of the presidential election.<\/p>\n
Autocracies, meanwhile, depend on their ability to exercise maximum control over most aspects – political, economic, social and cultural – of a country’s life. And essential to this control, is determining what the public is allowed to know about what is really happening inside and outside their society.<\/p>\n
To prevent the escalation of criticism and unrest, undemocratic governments are forced to ban free speech, spread false news, and create a narrative that supports authoritarian rule. In China, for example, authorities describe the suppression of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang as a merely restrictive measure against terrorism and “peaceful re-education.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, all allegations that Muslims are being locked up in camps, tortured and separated from their children, or that women are being subjected to forced sterilization and abortion are being censored. Some human rights advocates say these policies are crimes against humanity, and possibly examples of genocide.<\/p>\n
In Hong Kong, a once-free city now placed under the strict control of the Beijing government, journalists are jailed on fabricated charges while the media is forced to remain silent or shut down. If the city is not yet a fully police state, it is certain that it is run by security officials who behave like thugs with citizens.<\/p>\n
Former police officer John Lee, who has been projected by Beijing authorities as Hong Kong’s next chief executive, believes any questioning of central government policies equates to rebellion. Lee knows nothing about economic and social issues, but on the other hand knows how dissidents are imprisoned.<\/p>\n
Likewise in Russia, years of state control over the media and blatant fraud have helped build public support for President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, which has been accompanied by the cold-blooded killing of civilians, the destruction of their homes and cities. all.<\/p>\n
The Russian public has long been told that Ukraine is run by neo-Nazis, that this country represents the symbol of NATO’s threat to Russia’s security, and that Russian-speakers in Ukraine have been victims of genocidal attacks.<\/p>\n
Given all these lies, it is not surprising that most Russians seem to support Putin and his security apparatus in the Kremlin, despite the growing number of killed Russian soldiers returning to the country in coffins.<\/p>\n
After indoctrination, many Russians confuse black with white. Other countries with non-liberal but not entirely authoritarian governments have a similar attitude towards freedom of speech. In Hungary, a country that is still a member of the European Union, despite Prime Minister Victor Orb\u00e1n’s usual contempt for the union’s core values, the media is largely controlled by friends of the government.<\/p>\n
Orban secured his last election victory, in part through the corrupt use of funds his government received from Brussels. He is currently the “weakest link” in the EU, and the strongest opposition to NATO over Russia’s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
But Orban is not the only European political leader in the camp. Le Pen, whose campaign for the French presidency is partly financed by a loan from a Hungarian bank near Orban, has long been an admirer of Putin, as in recent days he has called on the West to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine. and vowed to withdraw France from NATO integrated command if it wins on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The brilliance of this campaign can not hide Le Pen’s extremist views, and Putin should hope that it will triumph. No one in France – or in other democracies where extremist nationalist leaders seem to sympathize with Putin – can claim to be unsure of what is happening in Ukraine, or the fate of those in Russia who boldly oppose the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
French voters have all the information and evidence needed to make a serious choice, regarding their attitude to the evil that Putin represents. They have no excuse for the Russians or the Chinese being denied a free media environment.<\/p>\n
But there is no doubt that excuses will not be lacking, in case Europe and America’s determination towards Ukraine fades, as Putin himself hopes. For some, economic grievances will outweigh any moral concerns.<\/p>\n
Just as greed often outweighs any human rights concerns when it comes to China, the prospect of paying higher energy bills will blind some to Putin’s crimes in Ukraine. At the core of populist nationalism is a narrow view of the nature of community, which overrides any acceptance of civic and humanitarian responsibility.<\/p>\n
Ukraine’s greatest weapon is the courage of its citizens. In the rest of Europe, it is our commitment to the values \u200b\u200bthat open democracies must uphold. This is the judgment that French voters should have in Sunday’s presidential election.<\/p>\n
France, which has done so much since the European Enlightenment, to promote and defend freedom, equality and brotherhood, is once again involved in a struggle for these virtues. Macron’s political struggle is also a struggle for democracy. If the French citizens make the wrong choice on April 24, they will not be able to use ignorance as a protective tool.\/bota.al<\/p>\n
Note: Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, and former EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs. Today he is Chancellor of the University of Oxford.<\/em><\/p>\n \n<\/p>\n top channel
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