Colour Revolution

Colour Revolution
 

News: Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned his Central Asian neighbors against allowing outsiders to destabilize them with “color revolutions.” The statement was made during the recent SCO Summit in Samarkand.

What do we understand by Colour revolutions?

o Colour revolutions refer to a series of uprisings that first began in former communist nations in Eastern Europe in the early 2000s, but are also used in reference to popular movements in the Middle East and Asia.
o Most have involved large-scale mobilization on the streets, with demands for free elections or regime change, and calls for removal of authoritarian leaders.

Important Colour revolutions:

o Bulldozer Revolution – The Bulldozer Revolution of 2000 was the first Color Revolution in a former Communist state. It was led by the Otpor movement and the Serbian democratic opposition to Serbia’s ruling Socialist party. During the latter’s reign, a series of bloody wars led to Yugoslavia’s breakup, and living standards fell dramatically. The revolutionaries wanted to improve the socioeconomic situation and recover the prestige that Serbia had lost as a result of wars, isolation, and deterioration of its relations with the West. The Western politicians and organizations provided substantial support to the revolutionary movement.
o Orange Revolution – It refers to a series of protests that occurred in Ukraine between November 2004 and January 2005.
o Tulip Revolution – Also called the First Kyrgyz Revolution, the movement led to the ouster of Kyrgyzstan’s President Askar Akayev in early 2005.
o Jasmine Revolution – The popular uprising that occurred between December 2010 to January 2011 in Tunisia was in response to the underlying corruption, unemployment, inflation and lack of political freedoms in the country.
o Cedar Revolution – The Cedar Revolution or Independence Uprising was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri. The popular movement was remarkable for its avoidance of violence, peaceful approach, and its total reliance on methods of civil resistance.