Protests, which are constitutionally allowed in different countries, are carried out in many countries for the realization of economic, political and other demands. But there are subversive activities including arson attacks during protests in many countries. According to multiple sources including the BBC and CNN, subversive activities were carried out during protest movements in many countries including — but not limited to —Bangladesh, Venezuela, Brazil, France and Kenya. Though such activities lead to the realization of the reasoned economic, political and other demands of protesters many times, they lead to the devastation of government and private properties, worth billions of US dollars, leading to concerns in many countries.
But it remains unclear whether subversive activities can be ended altogether during protests. Subversive activities have become parts of protest movements, no matter whether they are legal or not, especially in major protest movements, though they bring economic and other impacts by destroying important government offices, rail stations, buses and cars and disrupting various economic activities. Though destructive activities including arson attacks are most often carried out by protesters, they are sometimes carried out by the government to blame protesters in many countries. While subversive activities during protest movements have destroyed government offices and railways in Bangladesh many times, they have resulted in the destruction of buildings and economic activities in many other countries. Because of the harmful effects of subversive activities, they are undesired in any country.
There are legal, political and other reasons that can lead to subversive activities. The government’s use of force on peaceful protests, killings of protesters and the repression of protesters are some crucial causes. While the use of force on protests led to subversive activities, the killing of protesters increased the extent of such activities in many countries including Kenya. The ill-intention of protesters to create fear and/or make the government dysfunctional also leads to subversive activities — even if there is no excessive/significant use of force on protests — in different countries. Among others, the existence of a culture of subversive activities and the lack of a culture to address reasonable concerns expressed through peaceful protests also cause subversive activities.
Governments take law enforcement based and other steps to address subversive activities during protest movements and reduce harmful effects. The tactic of the prevention of subversive activities by law enforcement is employed across countries. Many times, this approach is effective at least in reducing the chance of subversive activities and their harm, though indiscriminate use of force sometimes leads to more subversive activities. Additionally, political negotiations with protesters take place that lead to positive outcomes many times. Among others, firefighters fight fires set by protesters which reduces the harmful effects in many countries. But there are also various flaws in the steps, leading to the ineffective outcome of the efforts many times.
The excessive use of force is less addressed many times, leading to anger among protesters and retaliatory subversive activities in many countries. Moreover, and importantly, there is a lack of talks and steps to address the addressable reasoned concerns of protesters in many countries — leading to grievances and destructive sentiments. Among others, the focus on addressing the culture of political intolerance is given less in many countries, increasing the chance of subversive activities. Given the political complexity surrounding many protest movements, it is consequently difficult to end subversive activities during protests completely. But it is possible to reduce such activities and minimize their harmful effects many times.
To successfully address subversive activities during protests, addressing their reasons is crucial. The government’s positive attitude towards protesters’ reasoned concerns, avoiding unnecessary use of force and a sense of responsibility among protesters are crucial to address the culture of destructive activities. Among others, the right to protest needs to be given and political negotiations with protesters need to be emphasized. Subversive activities during protests will probably continue in many countries otherwise. But the chance of destructive activities is higher in those countries where there is a culture of political intolerance.
