2023-07-04 08:57:09
Who is guilty, the state or society?
Fuad Kahramanli, a member of the APCP Presidium
What happened in France can be evaluated as a sharp, very harsh reaction of the society against the illegal violence committed in the name of the state in democratic countries. The state is always obliged to follow the law, no matter how my society protests, but no law, it seems, can deprive society of its right to be angry. Therefore, as in the example of France today, the state in democratic systems cannot exceed the legal limits and act like a mob when using force even in the most critical situations related to riots.
Since the unjust and brutal violence against a young Arab man led to all these riots, the state is obliged to comply with its legal obligations not to further fuel such public anger in the face of mass riots. Therefore, the state cannot punish every protester it catches without a trial and outside the law. The state should be restrained even in suppressing the protests of an angry society with violence, it should follow the law and the law, it should not recognize the right to use all kinds of violence on itself due to the emotions of the destructive crowd.
We are against all kinds of violence, disruption of social order, unrest, and unsanctioned use of force. What happened in France shows that even developed civilized nations are not immune to hysterical anger in the face of injustice, and the highest democracy can be built by the societies that have the most intolerant attitude towards injustice.
American society reacted strongly to the shooting of black George Floyd by the police in the United States, as in France, and there were riots across the country. This is how society shows its limits and place to the state from time to time.
The most interesting result of such events is the stability of democratic systems and the solid guarantee of the country’s security. Imagine what would have happened if these mass riots in France and the United States had happened in any other non-democratic country? Either the state will act like a bandit and shoot hundreds of people in the street, as in Iran, or if it behaves gently, there will definitely be a change of power and the risk of chaos with no end in sight.
However, democratic societies are able to resolve such upheavals without destroying the political system and shaking the country without needing outside intervention. Nothing has changed in France.
From a socio-psychological point of view, when the number of foreigners and immigrants in a country is 4 percent, this creates a risk of social explosion. In France, this number is 7 million people, 10 percent of the total population. However, due to established democratic institutions and a society made up of a developed, educated, cultural majority, the country is not only shaken and disintegrated by such upheavals, but even emerges victorious by teaching the state to be fairer.
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