23 June to 30 June

Self sacrifice and political change

It's not in the news much, but two Czech protesters have recently ended a three week hunger strike aimed at drawing attention to US plans to establish a military base in their country. President Bush is worried that Iran might develop missiles that could reach the US, and the new base would allay his fears by extending to Eastern Europe, the American missile defence system, which includes two bases in Yorkshire. Though opinion polls show that 70% of Czechs are against the base, protestors had failed to persuade their government to hold a referendum. That is why Jan Bednar and Jan Tamas went on hunger strike until Bednar suffered liver failure, after which they called for an international one day hunger strike on June 22nd.

Jan Pallach self immolated in protest at the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1969; Buddhist monks set fire to themselves protesting the War in Vietnam; ten people died during the 1981 Maze Prison hunger strike and suicide bombing is now an almost daily occurrence. Attempts to bring about political change by harming oneself, threatening to do so, or sacrificing oneself in the process of harming others, are common. But which, if any, are ethically acceptable?

Professor Dave Webb, Praxis Centre and School of Applied Global Ethics