Social:Town square test
Town square test is a threshold test for a free society proposed by a former Soviet dissident and human rights activist Natan Sharansky, now a notable politician in Israel.
In his book The Case for Democracy, published in 2004, Sharansky explains the term: "If a person cannot walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm, then that person is living in a fear society, not a free society. We cannot rest until every person living in a 'fear society' has finally won their freedom."[1]
Usage
The test became famous after George W. Bush endorsed the book[2] and Condoleezza Rice referenced it to characterize "a fear society" in her prepared remarks before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 18, 2005:
The world should apply what Natan Sharansky calls the "town square test": if a person cannot walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm, then that person is living in a fear society, not a free society. We cannot rest until every person living in a "fear society" has finally won their freedom.[3]
Rice went on to identify Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Zimbabwe as examples of outposts of tyranny.[3]
The case of Luis Robles Elizástigui and the "Town Square Test" in Cuba
Luis Robles Elizástigui,[4] referred to as "the Young Man with the Sign,"[5] is a Cuban citizen notable for his arrest and imprisonment following a peaceful protest in Havana on December 4, 2020.[6] His case has been cited [7][8][9][10] as an example of Natan Sharansky's "Town Square Test," which posits that a society is a "fear society" if individuals cannot express their opinions publicly without facing arrest or harm. Robles was detained after standing on San Rafael Boulevard holding a sign demanding freedom and the release of imprisoned artist Denis Solís. He was later sentenced to five years in prison.[11]
Robles' case has garnered significant attention from human rights organizations and media. Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience,[12] stating that his imprisonment stemmed solely from peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. Human Rights Watch classified him as a political prisoner,[13] and characterized his detention as politically motivated. Robles' family said he was subjected to "humiliating treatment" in prison.[14]
See also
- Democracy
- Political freedom
- Free speech zone
References
- ↑ Sharansky, Natan; Dermer, Ron (2006), The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror, Balfour Books, pp. 40–41, ISBN 978-0-89221-644-4
- ↑ "My Sharansky" by Chris Suellentrop
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Archived copy". p. 4. Archived from the original on 2006-03-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20060325002023/http://foreign.senate.gov/testimony/2005/RiceTestimony050118.pdf. Retrieved 2006-03-26.
- ↑ "Luis Robles Elizástigui" (in es). https://www.prisonersdefenders.org/tag/luis-robles-elizastigui/.
- ↑ "Cuban regime releases political prisoner Luis Robles" (in en). 2025-01-16. https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2025-01-16-u1-e135253-s27061-nid295607-regimen-cubano-excarcela-al-preso-politico-luis#google_vignette.
- ↑ cfcadmin (2024-12-25). "CubaBrief: There are over 3,067 political prisoners in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela today. On Christmas Eve remember those innocents jailed for exercising their rights to advocate for freedom." (in en-US). https://cubacenter.org/cuba-brief/2024/12/24/cubabrief-there-are-over-3067-political-prisoners-in-cuba-nicaragua-and-venezuela-today-on-christmas-eve-remember-those-innocents-jailed-for-exercising-their-rights-to-advocate-for-freedom/.
- ↑ "Our Moral Debt to Luis Robles, sentenced to 5 years in prison" (in en-US). 2022-03-31. https://democraticspaces.com/trending/2022/3/31/our-moral-debt-to-luis-robles.
- ↑ Jurídico, elTOQUE (2021-12-09). "Cuba: Luis Robles, a Year in Jail with No Trial or Sentence" (in en). https://eltoque.com/en/cuba-luis-robles-a-year-in-jail-with-no-trial-or-sentence.
- ↑ "Human Rights Watch demands the release of Cuban Luis Robles" (in en). 2021-08-10. https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2021-08-10-u1-e200807-s27061-human-rights-watch-exige-liberacion-cubano-luis-robles.
- ↑ "Policía política amenaza al preso político Luis Robles por denuncias de su madre" (in es). https://adncuba.com/es/derechos-humanos/policia-politica-amenaza-al-preso-politico-luis-robles-por-denuncias-de-su-madre.
- ↑ "Condenan a Luis Robles a cinco años de prisión" (in es). 2022-03-30. https://www.cibercuba.com/noticias/2022-03-30-u1-e196568-s27061-condenan-luis-robles-cinco-anos-prision.
- ↑ "Cuba: Amnesty declares four new prisoners of conscience in midst of new wave of state repression" (in en). https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/cuba-amnesty-declares-four-new-prisoners-conscience-midst-new-wave-state-repression.
- ↑ "Cuba: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report" (in en). https://freedomhouse.org/country/cuba/freedom-world/2022.
- ↑ Lima, Lioman. "Quién es Luis Robles, el joven que lleva preso casi cuatro meses en Cuba por pararse en una calle con un cartel" (in es). BBC News Mundo. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-56368410.
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