Pandemics are fertile breeding grounds for governmental overreach. After the outbreak of COVID-19 (“coronavirus”), China required citizens to install software on their smartphones which predicts people’s health status, tracks their location, and determines whether they can enter a public place. According to a New York Times analysis, the software “appears to share information with the police, setting a template for new forms of automated social control that could persist long after the epidemic subsides.”
Meanwhile in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, coronavirus may have been used as a justification to stifle political and social activism. Protesters recently held demonstrations seeking the release of an opposition politician in advance of upcoming parliamentary elections. At the same time, women’s organizations were planning a rally on International Women’s Day to draw attention to the problem of domestic abuse in the country. Against this backdrop, a court in Bishkek granted the mayor’s application to ban all protests in the city center until July 1.
The Bishkek court cited the coronavirus as one of the reasons for the ban, even though there were no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country. Although the mayor’s office subsequently revoked the ban, participants in the International Women’s Day march were nonetheless arrested, while a large group of men were permitted to participate in a traditional ceremony to ward off coronavirus.
In Iraq, the government has faced widespread protests over corruption, unemployment, and inefficient public services. The government responded with force, killing an estimated 600 protesters since October. On Feb. 26, citing the coronavirus, the Iraqi Health Minister announced that “all gatherings in public places, for any reason, are banned” through March 7. Questions have arisen about the motivations behind the ban, especially since there was only one confirmed case of coronavirus when the ban was imposed (with the number rising to 71 earlier this week). In the words of one Iraqi activist:
The government uses coronavirus as an excuse to end the protests. They tried everything — snipers, live bullets, tear gas, abduction and so on and on — but they failed. They are now finding another way to stop us….
In addition to banning large-scale protests, the government also targeted small gatherings, requiring all cafes and restaurants to close and sending security forces to break up funerals in private homes.
