Dissident

It has been widely alleged that the USSR and China used or use Involuntary Commitment against dissidents. Dissidents constantly face Stalking and harassment by authorities, who often record or keep a close watch on their activities, and gather incriminating evidence that would lead to their eventual imprisonment. Many dissidents, as a result, are forced into hiding, moving from one place to another.

Similarly, social dissidents openly oppose dominant social attitudes. In western Democratic societies political and social dissidents are widely claimed to be free from government pressure, but there have been notable instances of persecution, such as during the Palmer Raids .

Militant dissidents are usually in the form of armed Paramilitary groups whose aim is usually to overthrow a government or regime, or otherwise impose changes on the established order. Since militant dissidents are almost always militarily disadvantaged compared to the ruling power, such groups usually resort to Asymmetric Warfare , Guerrilla Warfare , or in some cases, Terrorism , to further their cause. Such groups are often denounced as terrorists by the ruling power regardless, though they often consider themselves Freedom Fighters or Resistance Movements .

SOVIET DISSIDENTS

Dissidents (many of whom met tragic fates), were identified as such by the Soviet Government , which tightly controlled the Soviet Media , first appeared in a demonstration of 200 on Constitution Day , December 5 1965 , in Pushkin Square , Moscow . The group was protesting the Show Trial of Andrei Sinyavsky and Yuri Daniel who were on trial for subversion for publishing their writings abroad. The English word "dissident" was chosen to imply foreign influence. Tracking down the identities of Sinyavsky and Daniel had proved quite difficult for the KGB ; Sinyavsky had first published in the West in 1959 under the name " Abram Tertz "; Daniel in 1961 as " Nikolai Arzhak "; but only after years of Surveillance of Soviet writers were they identified, their apartments bugged and they were brought to trial. Sinyavsky was given seven years, Daniel, five.

NOTED DISSIDENTS

Noted dissidents include Akbar Gangi , Andrei Sakharov , Alexander Solzhenitsyn , Natan Sharansky , Sergei Kovalev , Vladimir Bukovsky , Mikhail Trepashkin , Harry Wu , Lech Wałęsa , Václav Havel , Aung San Suu Kyi , Armando Valladares , Francis Seow , Wei Jingsheng , and Nelson Mandela .

In a Court case in 2006 , between Prince Charles and the '' Mail On Sunday '', it was alleged by the Prince's ex-private secretary that the Prince considered himself to be a dissident working against prevailing political opinion. {Link without Title}

SEE ALSO

Information About

Dissident