Contents – The long reach: How authoritarian countries are silencing critics abroad
Contents
The death of North Korea’s propaganda chief marks the end of an era
One of the core roles of Index from its establishment was samizdat, providing access to real news for those people caught behind the Iron Curtain as an alternative to Soviet propaganda. We provided both a platform for dissidents and a news outlet for those subject to totalitarian censorship, an aspiration we continue to hold today.
However when you think about censorship and repressive regimes we only ever refer to the dictator as the main driver for censorship – Putin’s Russia, Xi’s China, Lukashenka’s Belarus, but we rarely consider or even know the names of the people who do the dirty deed.
That isn’t the case in one of the most restrictive dictatorships in the world.
In the tightly controlled information environment of North Korea, the recent passing of Kim Ki Nam, a key figure in the regime’s propaganda apparatus, marks the end of an era. Kim Ki Nam, who spent decades shaping the narrative of the totalitarian state and building a personality cult around the ruling Kim dynasty, leaves behind a legacy of censorship and manipulation.
Kim Ki Nam’s career demonstrated the potent blend of ideology and media manipulation that characterise authoritarian regimes. As deputy director and later leader of Pyongyang’s Propaganda and Agitation Department, he played a central role in crafting the regime’s messaging, cementing the authority of the ruling dynasty, and stifling dissent.
The propaganda machine overseen by Kim Ki Nam maintained an iron grip on communication within North Korea, tightly controlling information flows and censoring external influences. The banning of South Korean and Western entertainment, including music and movies, illustrates the regime’s determination to isolate its citizens from alternative narratives and perspectives, something that perpetuates today. The draconian punishment meted out to individuals caught consuming foreign media, such as the public sentencing of teenagers for watching K-dramas, highlights the regime’s extreme measures to enforce ideological conformity.
Moreover, Kim Ki Nam’s influence extended beyond North Korea’s borders, with his role in shaping the regime’s external propaganda efforts and projecting an image of strength and unity to the outside world. Something undertaken at a huge cost to the citizens of North Korea, as they were forced to engage in the charade.
As we reflect on Kim Ki Nam’s legacy and the ongoing impact of his work, it is imperative to recognise the profound implications of state-controlled propaganda for freedom of expression and the broader struggle for human rights. The manipulation of information, censorship of dissent, and cult of personality perpetuated by regimes like North Korea not only deprive citizens of their basic rights but also threaten the foundations of democracy and open society.
The death of Kim Ki Nam must remind us of the need to reaffirm our commitment to defending freedom of expression, combating propaganda, and standing in solidarity with those who dare to speak truth to power. Only through vigilance, solidarity, and unwavering dedication to the principles of freedom and democracy can we hope to challenge the tyranny of censorship and authoritarianism wherever it may arise.
Protesting to save democracy in Georgia
In the south-eastern corner of Europe, in the small country of Georgia, a monumental struggle is unfolding between the government’s authoritarian ambitions and civil society’s determination to advance fundamental freedoms.
Tens of thousands have been out of the streets of the capital Tbilisi protesting the planned adoption of the Russian-style “foreign agent” law which labels NGOs and media outlets receiving more than 20% foreign funding as “organisations acting in the interest of a foreign power”. The adoption of such a law threatens the country’s vibrant civil society and dashes the dreams of Georgians who want European Union integration. If the law comes into effect, democratic norms across Eastern Europe are likely to be negatively affected, with communities of human rights defenders coming under increasing pressure from governments tempted to follow suit. All who care about freedom and democracy need to take action now and demonstrate global solidarity for Georgian civil society.
On 3 April 2024, Georgia’s ruling party, the Georgian Dream Party, announced that they were resurrecting the so-called “foreign agent” draft law, almost entirely copying the text defeated by mass protests in March 2023. The passing of such a law would give organs of the state sweeping powers to carry out extensive inspections of NGOs and media organisations and forcibly put them on a special registry. Non-compliance would result in heavy fines. The law was adopted at its second reading on 1 May 2024 against the backdrop of furious mass protests outside the Parliament. The third and final reading is scheduled for 17 May.
Contrary to the declared aims of the authorities to increase transparency within civil society, the draft is a key legal instrument straight out of the Russian authoritarian playbook. It goes without saying that such a law violates freedom of association. Over 150 civic and media organisations in Georgia have already vowed not to register, potentially resulting in many people who are victims of abuse being left without vital services and without support in their fight for justice.
The revival of restrictive legislation against NGOs is part of a larger pattern of assault against a broad range of human rights in Georgia. In recent years, civil society and international human rights bodies have raised numerous concerns about the narrowing civic space for free expression and protest. They have highlighted illegal surveillance, attempts at criminalisation of legitimate human rights work, smear campaigns and increased physical attacks particularly on the LGBT population, coupled with impunity for often violent far-right political groups. The democratic decline in the country is confirmed by international civil society rankings, with Georgia dropping staggeringly low on the World Press Freedom Index, and being assessed as becoming a “semi-consolidated authoritarian regime”.
Last month in other assaults on the rights of women and minority groups the Georgian Parliament hastily abolished mandatory gender quotas for women within political party lists and initiated constitutional amendments which threaten to outlaw LGBTQI-related expression and protest. Georgia holds parliamentary elections on 26 October 2024, and the proposed “foreign agent” law calls into question the ability of NGOs to roll out their usual large-scale election observation missions, which have traditionally played a key role in ensuring elections are free and fair.
Understandably, Georgian civil society and the public have not been sitting idly in the face of such an existential threat to democracy and civic space. One of the key victories of civil society was the success in countering the official narrative about alleged lack of foreign funding transparency. Human rights defenders and activists successfully made the wider public aware that the law was about Russian-style authoritarianism with more repression to follow, and it would totally undermine Georgia’s European integration, which enjoys a steadfast 79–83% support and is guaranteed by the Constitution. Hence the main protest slogan: “Yes to Europe, No to Russian Law”.
The shifting of narrative also worked because the Georgian public remembers the term “foreign agent” and its negative connotations which hark back to Stalinist repression. In the 1930s, a whole generation of Georgian intellectuals were executed on trumped-up charges, accused of being “spies” of various Western states.
Since parliamentary hearings on the law began in mid-April, protests have been unrelenting. They are mostly organised horizontally and led by students and young adults, dubbed as “Gen Z”. Georgia has a population of just 3.7 million, which makes the gathering of more than 100,000 people in front of the Parliament all the more extraordinary. The opposition to the law has gripped the entire society, with theatre performances across Georgia ending in declarations of protest against the law. Sportspeople, football clubs, some businesses, writers and cultural workers, teachers, start-ups, bloggers, doctors and academics have come together to condemn the government’s plans.
The law enforcement uses illegal and largely disproportionate force against mostly peaceful protesters. Tear gas, stun grenades, pepper spray and water cannons are almost a daily occurrence, with documented cases of likely illegal use of rubber bullets and beatings, judged tantamount to ill-treatment and torture. Yet, the protesters stand firm.
The anticipated descent of Georgia into the authoritarian abyss will be felt more widely across Eastern Europe, where human rights defenders face many risks due to wars or repressive regimes. Despite negative trends and proven cases of cross-border intimidation of dissidents, Georgia is still a place of temporary shelter and a relatively safe space for those who can no longer carry out civic work in their own countries, or who need a brief respite. All this is expected to vanish with the adoption of “foreign agent” law.
International condemnation of recent events has been unanimous. The European Union has made it clear that the proposed draft legislation undermines Georgia’s EU accession path. Yet, the government rhetoric remains in the eyes of many of us unhinged, brazen and threatening. The authorities seem to be set on adopting the “foreign agent” law at all costs. This would signify a U-turn regarding Georgia’s place within the international rules-based order. Moreover, what is at stake is the end of a vibrant civil society which has played a role in upholding fundamental freedoms within and beyond national borders. International organisations, civil society and like-minded states should leverage all legal means available to exert pressure on the authorities and be even more vocal in their support to the Georgian public and human rights defenders. They need to act today. Tomorrow could be too late.
We the screamers
In my work as a journalism lecturer, I am increasingly struck by the fact that many students don’t read books. By this I don’t mean they don’t read – they read all the time, constantly scrolling on their phones, laptops and devices. I mean physical books. As for newspapers: forget it. For this reason, I have taken to reading to them. I tell them to put their phones away (which some find almost impossible), to close their laptops and… listen. I don’t ask them to sit in a circle on the carpet, but it’s not far short of that… it is a moment for meditation, what some have come to call mindfulness. I have read them all sorts of authors: Orwell, Conrad, the great Dutch journalist Geert Mak, Joan Didion. They wriggle and fidget, but in the end their breathing calms down, their faces relax, and they sit and listen.
And I am going to do the same with you today. You are all busy people so I won’t ask you to put away your phones and devices, but I will ask you to listen as I read to you from one of the most celebrated authors of the 20th century, Arthur Koestler. Perhaps not so widely read today, Koestler was best known for his anti-totalitarian novel Darkness at Noon, but was also a prolific journalist and essay writer. This essay, On Disbelieving Atrocities, is from a collection of essays called the Yogi and the Commissar, published in 1944. The essay itself was originally published in the New York Times under the title The Nightmare That is a Reality. He describes the “mania” he feels when telling the world about Nazi atrocities. “We, the screamers, have been at it now for about ten years,” he says. But the screamers are struggling to be heard.
“We said that if you don’t quench those flames at once, they will spread all over the world; you thought we were maniacs. At present we have the mania of trying to tell you about the killing, by hot steam, mass-electrocution and live burial of the total Jewish population of Europe. So far three million have died. It is the greatest mass-killing in recorded history; and it goes on daily, hourly, as regularly as the ticking of your watch. I have photographs before me on the desk while I am writing this, and that accounts for my emotion and bitterness. People died to smuggle them out of Poland; they thought it was worthwhile. The facts have been published in pamphlets, White Books, newspapers, magazines and what not.
But the other day I met one of the best-known American journalists over here. He told me that in the course of some recent public opinion survey nine out of ten average American citizens, when asked whether they believed that the Nazis commit atrocities, answered that it was all propaganda lies, and that they didn’t believe a word of it. As to this country, I have been lecturing now for three years to the troops and their attitude is the same. They don’t believe in concentration camps, they don’t believe in the starved children of Greece, in the shot hostages of France, in the mass-graves of Poland; they have never heard of Lidice, Treblinka or Belzec; you can convince them for an hour, then they shake themselves, their mental self-defence begins to work and in a week the shrug of incredulity has returned like a reflex temporarily weakened by a shock.”
Koestler’s words still have the power to shock 80 years later…
I have been proud over the years to be something of a screamer — for the Observer, the New Statesman and most prominently as the journalist portrayed in the Hollywood film Official Secrets (dir. Gavin Hood 2019).
I now work as editor-at-large for Index on Censorship, initially set up in 1972 to publish and promote the work of dissident writers from behind the Iron Curtain. There has never been more for us to scream about. The atrocity deniers are everywhere: suggesting that outrages committed by Iran, Russia, Belarus, China are mere Western propaganda. We saw it on October 7th and we see it in Gaza.
My favourite screamer (and Koestler’s heir in some ways) is the journalist and academic Peter Pomerantsev. His second book, This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality (2019), should be required reading on all journalism (and public relations) courses. Pomerantsev comes from the same tradition as Index — his parents were Soviet dissidents arrested for “distributing harmful literature”. He warns that Putin’s Russia has ushered in a new age of atrocity denial driven by the troll farms of St Petersburg.
His family’s experience gives Pomerantsev a personal, visceral respect for objective truth, facts, reality. He tells the story of the legendary dissident publication The Chronicle of Current events.
“The Chronicle was how Soviet dissidents documented suppressed facts about political arrests, interrogations, searches, trials, beatings, abuses in prison. Information was gathered via word of mouth or smuggled out of labour camps in tiny self-made polythene capsules that were swallowed and then shat out, their contents typed up and photographed in dark rooms. It was then passed from person to person, hidden in the pages of books and diplomatic pouches, until it could reach the West and be delivered to Amnesty International, or broadcast on the BBC World Service, Voice of America or Radio Free Europe.” (This Is Not Propaganda, p 2)
Where does this leave us? We who are committed to telling the truth. We who respect facts. Are we listening to the screamers?
On the plane to Zurich, I was given my complimentary copies of Forbes and Vanity Fair and the answer was right there. Vanity Fair carried an article about Alexei Navalny, who grew to prominence through his exposure of corruption in Putin’s Russia, while the cover of Forbes was devoted to the Boeing whistleblower John Barnett. We perhaps need to start thinking about whistleblowers as corporate dissidents, as truthtellers, not subversives to be closed down.
Because Navalny and Barnett are both, in their way, screamers.
This is the transcript of a speech made to a meeting of chief communications officers from leading global companies in Zurich