WE TAKE PRIDE IN THE GLOBAL VILLAGE BUT IS IT BECOMING LESS FREE ?

 Regardless of which part of the world you live in, there is a slow slipping towards the right in body politics. Of course we will not talk about countries where there are no free elections: China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia ..Russia, Turkey and most of the Arab world.. but democratically elected governments around the world.

Was the election in Uganda democratic?

What about the currently contested election in Cote d'Ivoire?

Senegal acting democratically against the leader of opposition?

Does Zimbabwe, South Africa have stable democracies? 

What about Tanzania whose covid denying leader is in hospital in neighbouring Kenya for covid related conditions? 

One of the biggest news items of the day was the new list of free /not so free/ no freedom list published in Sweden. They had downgraded the largest democracy in the world, India to the not so free, calling it an Elected Autocracy of the Hindu dominated political parties.

Of course one does not search for freedom in Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan, but the majority of the Muslim majority nations were under Not Free categories, including those who were once part of the British Empire.

The ex-British colonies normally follow the rule of law and going through the list, I was in a way proud of the fact that the majority of the ex.British colonies were in the Free column, with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia predominantly in the not so free column. 

How do they calculate these lists? must be a formidable task, lots and lots of experts, hundreds of them, go through a long list and rate the countries.

The consensus is that the world is moving towards the Right and there were even countries in the EU: Hungary and Poland those are becoming less Free. With the inclusion of India in the partially free column, it is sad to note that the covid 19 year of 2020, a grand majority of the people in the world were living in less than free countries 

in 2021, one of my favourite countries, Myanmar, also known as Burma/Birmanie lost its freedom. The resistance to the Army Generals continue in that lovely country and as a young man said: They chose the wrong generation to meddle with.

I wish success in their endeavour to the people of Myanmar. They tasted freedom and they are not going to let it go that easily. 

PS only three small ex-colonies of the Portuguese empire could be considered Free

Cabo Verde, home of the late diva pied nuis, Cesaria Evora

Timor L'este who got their occupiers to leave, the not so free Indonesia 

Sao Tome and Principe