1979 Times Square protests
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| 1979 Time Square protests and massacre | |||||||||||||
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| Part of the Continental democracy movement, Post-Gardner hysteria, and the Cold War | |||||||||||||
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| Demonstrators gathering in Times Square during the protests | |||||||||||||
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| Parties to the civil conflict | |||||||||||||
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| Lead figures | |||||||||||||
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Hugh Qualter |
Student leaders:
Democracy leaders
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| Casualties | |||||||||||||
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The 1979 Times Square protests, also known as the Times Square incident or the June 4 incident, were student-led demonstrations that took place in Times Square in Manhattan, Congregationalist States, in 1979. The protests started on April 15 and ended on June 4 with the violent supression of the protests using military force and the occupation of Times Square and parts of Manhattan. In what would be known as the Times Square massacre, units of the Continental Army and Congregationalist People's Militia, armed with assault rifles and accompanied by tanks, fired at the demonstrators and anyone attempting to slow down the military's advance. The popular national movement inspired by the Times Square protests is often refered to as the '79 Democracy Movement.
The protests began as a result various factors, mainly the aftermath of the assassination of General Secretary Rupert Gardner on October 25, 1968, as well as and calls for political and economic reform in response to the inefficiency and corruption which had become rampant in the United Commonwealth as a result of the Era of Stagnation. Other issues included anti-burearucratic sentiment, increased anti-Landonist attitudes, inflation, and opposition towards one-party rule in the United Commonwealth with the establishment of Manhattan as a special economic zone resulting in the borough being more free economically and politically from the rest of the country. The economic reforms were popular, however they also lead to increased calls for political reforms as well including support for freedom of speech and freedom of the press among others and general improvement of human rights in the Continental States which had worsened since Gardner's death in 1968.
As the protests developed and continued, government authorities responded with conciliatory and hardline tactics which exposed deep divisions within the Continentalist Party. In May, a student-led hunger strike galvanized support nationwide and lead to further protests and demonstrations in 400 cities across the United Commonwealth. These demonstrations had garnered significant attention by the news media and soon international attention despite efforts by the Continental government to supress information about the protests and publically downplayed their severeity, size, and support. Eventually, party official Simon Valure convinced Hugh Qualter, Premier of the Council of Ministers, to respond with decisive action in the form of using military force to supress the protests. On May 20, martial law was declared and elements of the Continental Army and Congregationalist People's Militia were deployed and ordered the dispersal of the protestors. By Juny 4, the military troops, now numbering at 300,000, open fired on the protestors killing both demonstrators and bystanders alike.
The international community, human rights organizations, and political analysts condemned the Continental government for their actions and for the massacre. In response, numerous countries imposed arms embargos on the United Commonwealth, restricted trade with the Continental States, and increased economic and political protections on Manhattan, especially after government forces withdrew by the end of June. The Continental government made mass arrests of the protestors and their supporters, supressed other protests nationwide, expelled foreign journalists from the country, increased state control and censorship over the media, strengthened police and internal security forces, and purged or expelled party and other government officials suspected of sympathies with the demonstrators. The economic reforms and liberalization reforms were both halted and wouldn't resume until 1992 under Jackson Rothko and intensified during the Revolutions of 2000 to prevent the fall of the Continental government. Considered a watershed event, reactions to the protests are restricted and are the basis on limitations on political expression in the United Commonwealth today. In the modern era, remembering the protests is associated with questioning the leigitmacy of the Continentalist Party and its power and is one of the most heavily censored topics in the Continental States today.
Naming
The official name for the protests are the 1979 Times Square protests and massacre and is the overall main name used to refer to them internationally. The term refers to both the original protests and demonstrations and the subsequent massacre used by government forces to violently supress the protests and similar demonstrations nationwide. While protests occured in 400 cities across the entire United Commonwealth, the demonstrations began in Times Square, Manhattan, and is thus named after them. The demonstrations are often refered to as the April 15 Movement after the May Fourth Movement in China in 1919. June Fourth refers to when the Continental Army and Congregationalist Militia forcibly cleared the protestors, however they were deployed earlier and began their operations on June 3.
In the United Commonwealth and by the Continentalist Party, the protests are refered to in more neutral terms such as the "June 4 Incident" or the "Manhattan Incident". In Manhattan, the event is often refered to as the 1979 massacre or the 1979 Times Square massacre with both terms being used to refer to the event internationally. As the events unfolded, it was refered to as a "counterrevolutionary riot" and was later changed to a "political storm" or "counter-revolutionary demonstration". In the modern era, party leadership refers to the event as the "national political turmoil of 1979" since the end of the protests.
Background
Continental Democracy Movement
Assassination of Rupert Gardner
Political reforms
Beginning of protests
Goals of protestors
Escalation of protests
Military action
Martial law
June 1–3
June 3–4
Protestors attacking the army
Immediate aftermath
Arrests, punishments, and defection
Domestic response
International condemnation
Long term impacts
Politics
Economy
Manhattan
United Commonwealth's international image
Western bloc arms embargo
Contemporary issues
Censorship
Calls for government re-assesment
Continental leaders voicing regret
League of Nations report
Gallery
See also
- D-class articles
- Altverse II
- 1979 Times Square protests
- 1979 protests
- Protests in the United Commonwealth
- 1979 in the United Commonwealth
- 1970s in Manhattan
- Civil rights protests
- Cold War history of the United Commonwealth
- Political controversies in the United Commonwealth
- Political repression in the United Commonwealth
- Student protests in the United Commonwealth
- Times Square
- Human rights abuses in the United Commonwealth
- Censorship in the United Commonwealth
- Continental democracy movements
- Riots and civil disorder in the United Commonwealth