NAIROBI – Hollywood star Danny Glover joined other peace activists in Nairobi Tuesday in issuing a plea to civil society to fight back and reclaim space lost to increasingly authoritarian governments emboldened by the War on Terror. 

 

Glover, speaking in a panel discussion at the WSF, said there has been “a slow closing of voices of dissent” since the 9/11 terrorist attack and the invasion of Iraq.

 

“Civil societies are crucial to democracy. Right now the space for their voice is slowly closing up and we see this especially since the so-called War on Terror and also since 9/11. Organisations need to address this problem and reclaim their space.”

 

The panel, organised by CIVICUS, an international alliance citizen’s participation, was on ‘the war on terror and how it is threatening civil society.’ Speakers said anyone opposing the Iraq war was considered a traitor in the US.

 

“This has had a chilling effect on discussions in civil society, it has emboldened the right wing and made people afraid to speak out. Alternative voices have been drowned in the interests of supposed national interest,” American peace activist Jody Williams said.

 

Glover argued that the erosion of democracy had its roots in racism. He gave the example of America where the incumbent administration closed off voices of dissent ostensibly to fight terrorism, but in fact to take away and control the rights of people.

 

“We would never have heard about how the black people in New Orleans were suffering after Hurricane Katrina. It would have been swept under the carpet because the people were black and poor. It was only because it became a national issue and foreign media was covering it that the government began to rouse itself to do something.”

 

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