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Peru: Flooding of Toll Road Via Parque Rimac · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Via Parque Rimac [Rimac Park Route], a traffic-management development project, has by some way or another become another example of Susana Villarán (not Lady Vaga (Lady Vague) [es], as mocked by her opposers), Lima's Mayoress, suddenly transforming a project into everything of which it is not: yet another example of mismanagement of image and communication between the current council management. Just as with the lack of a rapid and adequate response in the time of crisis, this new crisis is bringing her dangerously close to losing the revocation process [es] that will take place on March 17th of this year, 2013.
After Christmas, water was seen beginning to filter through the defence walls of the river, the result of an increased volume of flow [es] of the Rimac River, which comes from the Peruvian Andes, and normally maintains a very low level throughout the majority of the year, except during the rainy season in the Sierra [mountain range] which corresponds with summer by the coast. In regards to the matter, the manager of Constructora OAS, the Brazilian contractor in charge of the works, reiterated [es] that this filtration “was foreseen from the start of the project” and that “we continue working as usual with the highest level of security”.
View from Via Parque Rimac. Photo used with authorisation of photographer.
Still, by the 27th, the filtering water had created a flood of huge proportions in the site where the work was being carried out. It even reached the point where a construction company truck finished semi-submerged  [es] in the stagnant waters, which formed a growing lake, despite the water being pumped out. This caused the works to be suspended [es], and for a contractor representative to make a statement again stating [es] that “there will be no impact on the project, it was already foreseen that there would be no work carried out between January and March. This has no impact on the quality  everything was planned for”. Concerning the floods, the Mayoress declared [es] that it was “a drainage matter that was completely planned for at this stage in the project, considering the time of year”.
However, on Friday 28th at 3am, facing increased pressure  the river walls gave way [es], allowing the water to resume its normal flow but flooding the works carried out so far. Once again the contractor's representative  affirmed [es] that the incident had been expected and accounted for in their contingency plan, though he also recognised [es] that the breaking of the provisional channel walls was not expected. In other areas of the work filtration problems [es] have been noted while it is feared [es] that the water will penetrate the adjoining Vía de Evitamiento [Avoidance Route], which was ruled out [es] by the local authorities.
Although representatives from Lima Town Council came forward to declare [es] that the company in charge of the project would accept responsibility of all the damage registered, the Public Prosecutors Office declared itself neutral [es] on the matter, saying that it is investigating the details contributing to the collapse of the wall. Also, it was learned [es] that the Committee of the Investigation of Congress would arrange for the Mayoress to give an explanation for the work's mishaps.
View of Via Parque Rimac. Photo used with authorisation of Photographer.
Despite the fact that throughout the day both the Town Council and the contractor repeated that everything was foreseen and under control, a local television station disclosed images showing the opposite, such as this video [es] where different construction materials can be seen abandoned in a small island of the river while others were carried away by the current. The Environment Minister declared [es] that the application for the contingency plan was not only slow in being carried out but was unrealistic. Afterwards, the Mayoress blamed [es] the contractor for what happened whilst other officials spoke [es] of a “shared responsibility”.
Although some media outlets have reported [es] about the number of memes created in the social networks following the events, these have not only appeared on the internet in Peru. In the blog Agenda.926 by Jorge Rodríguez, besides making a post titled The Via Parque Rimac for Dummies [es], they also published parts of the concession contract concerning the insurance amongst other things, where they declare:
Vale mencionar que hubo un pésimo manejo político por parte de la municipalidad sobre este hecho, así como la planificación deficiente por parte de la empresa que definió “provisional” como “desechable”. Como ciudadanos estamos en nuestro derecho de exigir un buen trabajo por parte del Gobierno, en este caso la Municipalidad Metropolitana de Lima, y las empresas a las que otorga concesiones.
It's worth mentioning that there has been terrible political management on behalf of the Town Council surrounding this event, and poor planning on the part of the company that defined “provisional” as “disposable”. As citizens, we are entitled to demand good work on the governments behalf and in the case of the Metropolitan Town Council of Lima and the other companies that are given concessions.
The Fucking Times printed various comments by Jorge Villena, councillor to the Municipality of Lima, who said [es] he felt misled:
ayer- el caudal del río llegó a 55 metros cúbicos por segundo, “ni siquiera la mitad del máximo establecido por la empresa que era 120 metros cúbicos por segundos”. “Que no nos vengan a decir que inundar el patio de operaciones, ahogar una camioneta y una serie de instrumentos y maquinaria de la misma empresa estaba fríamente calculado. Eso es un insulto a la inteligencia de la opinión”, finalizó.
Yesterday- the river flow reached 55 cubic metres per second, “it wasn't even half of the maximum established by the company which was 120 cubic meters per second”. “The fact they didn't tell us that the operations yard was flooded, as well as a van and a collection of tools and machinery from the same company, was coldly calculated. It's an insult to the public's intelligence”, he ended with.
In CuentaM, Jarinson Castro published [es] what many have said on Twitter:
Creo que despues de esto, Susana Villaran esta mas cerca a la Revocatoria.
I think that after all of this, Susana Villaran is closer to revocation.
Facebook user, Jym Qhapaq Amaru complained [es] about the lack of self-criticism by supporters of Lima's government:
PÉSIMA, Pésima consigna política de la alcaldía de Lima y sus aliados de izquierda, […] no aceptan que lo que ha pasado es GRAVISIMO, se ha perdido totalmente la confianza en esta obra, […] aquí tiene que haber responsabilidad política, y no tildar a todos los criticos de estar “a favor de la revocatoria” “pagados de Castañeda” CARAJO, soy simpatizante de Villarán desde que postuló a la presidencia, apoyé activamente su campaña a la alcaldía y me da lástima, la pésima asesoría política que tiene, su gestión se esta cayendo abajo por un mal manejo político de las circunstancias, y después de este desastre ahora dicen estuvo “previsto” POR DIOS, la ciudadanía no es IDIOTA, tienen que reconocer sus errores, tienen que hacer un mea culpa, aceptar responsabilidades y exigir la renuncia de los incompetentes, de lo contrario, doy por hecho que Susana Villarán va a ser revocada, no porque sea mala alcaldesa, sino por que son demasiados errores cometidos por su equipo, inexperiencia politica, ingenuidad, y actitud equivocada…
DREADFUL, dreadful political slogan of Lima Town Council and its leftist allies, […] they don't accept that what has happened is really SERIOUS, all confidence has been lost in this work, […] there has to be political responsibility, and not to brand all critics of being “in favour of the revocation” “paid by [former alcalde Luis] Castañeda” GODAMNIT, I have sympathised with Villarán since she ran for president, I actively supported her political campaign and I feel sorry for the appalling political counsel that she has, its management is falling down under political mismanagement of the circumstances, and after this disaster they now say that everything was “foreseen” FOR GOD'S SAKE, the people aren't IDIOTS, they have to recognise the government's errors and realise it is their fault, they must accept responsibility and demand the resignation of the incompetent, otherwise, I assume that Susana Villarán is going to be revoked, not because she is a bad Mayoress, but because her team have made too many mistakes due to their political inexperience, naivety, and the wrong attitude…
Also in Facebook, a page from the blog GranComboClub commented:
As it stands, the situation is under control [es], and although the work has not suffered [es] any significant damage, there are definite things [es] that need to be reconsidered. Nevertheless, it will have to wait until April 2013, when the water levels lower, to see the state in which the construction has been left up until now; work that is currently below the level of the Rimac river.
Post published originally in the blog Globalizado [Globalised].

author: Juan Arellano


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PHOTOS: Pakistan’s Countrywide Shia Solidarity Protests End Peacefully · Global Voices
Kumail Ahmed

Shia solidarity protests held in over a hundred cities across Pakistan have finally concluded. They were triggered after bombings killed more than 100 people of the Hazara Shia community in the southwestern city of Quetta on January 10, 2013.
The bombings marked one of the goriest days in the history of Pakistan's southwestern province Balochistan. Members of the banned militant group Laskher-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the horrendous crime.
Following the attacks, members of Quetta's Hazara community gathered on Alamdar Road and started their peaceful sit-in. As images of them sitting in icy rain along with the coffins of their relatives, spread across social media, solidarity protests in form of peaceful sit-ins spread like fire across the whole country. Pakistanis from all sects and tribes joined hands to condemn terrorism in the name of Islam.
Protesters in Quetta had a single-point agenda:
“Put Quetta city under the control of Pakistan Army and invoke Governor's Rule.”
It took the government four days to sort out this matter; finally, signalling an end to the four-day long peaceful sit-ins. Moreover, the relatives had refused to bury the dead bodies of their loved ones until their demands are met. As the protest has concluded, the victims are now being buried.
Citizens organized sit-ins across the whole landscape of Pakistan. Protests took place on main railways lines and also on highways. According to reports, sit-ins were registered in more than 100 cities and towns. Sit-ins were organized even in Skardu city, where the night temperature was -14 Celsius. The goal was simple:
Accept the demands of the protesters in Quetta.
What follows is a pictorial view of some of the protests in major cities of Pakistan:
Protest in front of Bilawal House against Shia Killing. Source: @ArsalanMKhan
Protest infront of Bilawal House against Shia Killing. Copyight: Facebook\Syed Sabih Abbass Rizvi. Used with permission
Here is a video of Numaish, Karachi Protest.
Protest at Karachi Press Club. Source: @faisalkapadia
A child during a Shia Solidarity Protest near Numaish Chowrangi. Source: @arifaBatool
Protest near Hyderabad Bypass. Source: @ImZeesh
#WeAreAllHazara protests in Lahore. Time: 2:00 am. Source: @XumarShirazi
Protest infront of Governor House Lahore. Time: 11:30 pm. Source: Qurrat-ul -in Haider (@mojesma)
A young Shia girl asking her “Sunni Brothers” to join the protest. Source: @annyzaidi
Sit in continues all night. Source: FaceBook\Taimour Mubashar
Women and children during a peaceful sit-in. Source: @Zulfi25
Trying their best to fight the cold climate. Source: @Mehr_Shah
A youngster participates in the protest. Source: @Khushal
Peshawar Sit-in. Source: Hassan Turi (@spin_ghar)
People sitting in Quetta with the cadaver of their loved ones. Source: Humayoun Behzad (@behzadjee)
Hunger strike organized by Hazara Development Party (HDP) in Quetta. Source: Humayoun Behzad (@behzadjee)
People sitting firm. Night temperature in Quetta stays below zero degree centigrade. Source: Humayoun Behzad (@behzadjee)

source: news-globalvoices

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Kumail Ahmed


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Russian Facebook of Horrors: From Tragedy to Humor · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Humor is sometimes the only way to deal with a tragedy like the one that struck Russian Facebook over the weekend [GV], when it turned out that Alexey Kabanov, chef and father of three, had allegedly strangled and dismembered his wife, Irina Cherska. Kabanov led a vocal Facebook campaign in search of Irina for several days after her disappearance on January 3, and so the news of her death came as a shock for many members of Russia's tightly knit online community.
Alexey Kabanov being interviewed about the search for his wife Irina on January 9, just days prior to his arrest. YouTube screenshot. January 15, 2013.
After all, Irina was an active blogger [ru] since 2003, while her husband was in the late 90s a co-founder of the Project O.G.I, a hybrid cafe/literary club/music venue/book-store [ru] that was popular with Moscow's internet hipsters before there were hipsters. Recently both were active participants in the protest movement, regularly attending rallies and marches.
The shock comes as no surprise, but some of the online responses to the tragic events are jarring. I have attempted to curate some examples, with the caveat that sometimes it is hard to tell the people who are using comedy as catharsis from ones who are simply “trolling.” Take for example Maksim Kononenko, who knew the other founders of Kabanov's cafe, although he does not remember Kabanov himself. Kononenko posted [ru] the following joke on his Facebook:
Каждое утро в ужасе просыпаюсь. Не убил ли жену? Не переебал ли детей? Кошку не съел ли?! И только потом успокаиваюсь.
Every morning I wake up in horror. Could I have killed my wife? Could I have f*cked all the kids? Maybe I've eaten the cat? And only then I can relax.
Kononenko was drawing a parallel between Kabanov's case and recent allegations of child abuse [GV] against top Russian blogger Rustem Adagamov. A joke in poor taste, or a way to deal with macabre news coming one after the other? Kononenko later tweeted [ru], parodying theories of political motivation for both cases:
Навальный убил жену Кабанова чтобы отвлечь внимание от Адагамова. Потому что Адагамов член КС, а Кабанов хуй знает кто.
Navalny killed Kabanov's wife to divert attention from Adagamov. Because Adagamov is a member of the C[oordinating] C[ouncil of the Opposition], and who the f*ck knows who Kabanov is.
Popular blogger Vitaly Volodin joked [ru] in a LiveJournal comment:
увы, как-то пока очень узко на эту историю смотрят уважаемые обозреватели. можно шире. например, неплохо было бы обсудить, почему человек, называющий себя предпринимателем, не умеет спрятать расчленённого трупа. собственно, в одном этом уже заключается вся трагедия малого бизнеса в россии.
sadly, so far the pundits are looking at this case very narrowly. there can be a wider discussion. for one, we should be asking why a man who calls himself an entrepreneur is incapable of hiding a dismembered body. in fact, just this in and of itself encapsulates the tragedy of small and medium enterprise in russia.
LiveJournal user zarade was on the same page. In fact, he liked his own joke so much they posted it as comments to at least [ru] two [ru] LiveJournal posts, and as a comment [ru] on one of Kabanov's Facebook status updates.
[…] Только вот расчлененное тело я бы прятал не в машину, а в место по-надежней. Вы, жалкие людишки не поймете исскуство убивать, пока сами его не постигните.
[…] Only I wouldn't hide the dismembered body in the car, but a safer place. You, puny humans, won't understand the art of murder until you comprehend it on your own.
A stylized troll or an unhinged psychopath? You decide.
The same applies to my last pick. In the comments to Kabanov's last Facebook post, one Sergey Shutiev posted what is either the gibbering of a madman, or one of the best parodies of petty nationalism I've seen in a while. Referencing the fact that Kabanov was born in Azerbaijan and Irina Cherska in Ukraine, both lacking Moscow registration, Shutiev wrote:
Почему, вообще все в Москву приехали? Езжайте к себе, откуда вы там. Заебали уже тут беспредельничать. У себя беспредельничайте.
Anyway, why has everyone come to Moscow? Go back to where you came from. I'm f*cking tired of you causing mayhem here. Cause mayhem at home.
Watch this space, we'll be taking an in-depth look with more stories on the “Russian Facebook of Horrors” in the next few days.
Part I: Russian Facebook of Horrors: The Murder Trail
Part II: Russian Facebook of Horrors: From Tragedy to Humor
Part III. Russian Facebook of Horrors: It's a Conspiracy!

author: Andrey Tselikov


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“Silly Season” with Tobago’s Elections · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago is often referred to as one country, which, of course, it is. But they are also two distinct islands, each with its own identity, not the least of which is political. Tobago will be holding its Tobago House of Assembly elections on Monday, January 21 – and though these are not national elections, it is still an important vote, as the result will determine who will steer the semi-autonomous body which governs several key functions of what Trinidadians refer to as “the sister isle”. The THA's twelve elected officials will essentially administer the island of Tobago.
Three main candidates are running for the Chief Secretary seat. The incumbent is Orville London, who has occupied that office for the past 12 years and is affiliated with the People's National Movement, the party that the current government of Trinidad and Tobago ousted in the 24 May 2010 general election. The People's Partnership government is being represented by Ashworth Jack of the Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP). Former Chief Secretary Hochoy Charles, who held the position during the National Alliance for Reconstruction‘s administration (1986-1991), now represents an organisation called The Platform of Truth. All three hopefuls faced off in the twin island nation's first ever live political debate last week Thursday, which sparked some interesting commentary on Facebook – but only one political blogger, The Eternal Pantomime, seemed interested in examining the goings-on in greater detail. Even before the debate aired, she posted this update:
All of Tobago and most of Trinidad is waiting with bated breath to see how Hochoy Charles, Orville London and Ashworth Jack will perform.
I expect Jack to come out swinging about how Tobago has been mismanaged under both Hochoy Charles (Ring Bang Adda) and London (MilShirv and PNM mismanagement for how many years). In both instances Mr Jack may well have some substance, but…Jack’s biggest achievement tonight will be to distract the Tobago Audience [from]:
1. His association with the UNC, despite the fact that he is being financed and prepared by the UNC
2. All of the corruption, squandermania and mismanagement that has taken place under Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s tenure.
Jack will be trying hard to switch focus from Section 34, the SoE, Reshmi Ramnarine, Gopaul Contract, the $7b Highway, and the most recent move to breach our Constitution, Warner’s announcement that soldiers will be given powers of arrest. That announcement has occurred with nary a comment from any corner…everyone so distracted with THA Elections and getting Hilton Sandy to apologise that they've missed the implications of Warner attempting to usurp the power of the President – Commander in Chief of the Army – as well as pervert the purpose of the nation’s Defence Force.
The post went on to address the contentious issue of a controversial reference made to the country's Indian population, by PNM candidate Hilton Sandy:
Let me say unequivocally that Sandy’s comment was asinine. It is common knowledge that Tobagonians are clannish and protective of their culture and space…even Afro-Trinidadians are treated like outsiders. It is also common knowledge that in the past decade the Indian population in Tobago has increased steadily and since the last election there have been more and more Indians moving over to Tobago. But for Sandy to make the comment is to indicate that:
1:Indians aren’t considered to be part of Trinidad and Tobago and;
2: The PNM is openly indulging in race politics as well.
But let’s also not lose sight of the fact that Tobagonians have ample reasons to be wary and cautious of a UNC government. And unfortunately, UNC has come to be equated with Indian, just as PNM is equated with African.
Subsequent to the debate, the blogger, Rhoda Bharath, wrote this post:
Before Tobago was joined to Trinidad the island ran its own affairs, then after the warding in 1898 the island was treated like a dependent unwanted child. It was reliant on Trinidad to make every decision for it. The island was historically underdeveloped, and because PNM was the party in power the longest that is the one grouse they have had with the PNM and for which London is now facing some pressure. How London has managed Tobago’s budget and development is perhaps his greatest challenge in this election.
Enter from stage right Ashworth Jack, hungry for the position of Chief Secretary. Had the TOP stood on its own in Tobago and really been an independent party, Jack might actually be far more popular than London is right now because after 12 years I believe many Tobagonians want a different type of THA. But the fear of the UNC has galvanized support behind London’s PNM in a way that had the political landscape been different we would not have experienced such pro-PNM enthusiasm.
Tobagonians are looking on at Trinidad battling some of the worst corruption, nepotism, mismanagement and constitutional crises ever. It doesn’t help the TOP’s cause either that the UNC has so often insulted and taken pot shots at Keith Rowley, PNM Opposition Leader and another son of the soil. Tobagonians are considering what the UNC’s policies in office could mean for them.
The Tobago House of Assembly; photo by Angelo Bissessarsingh
She explained:
Ownership, independence and autonomy means a lot to Tobagonians. And that’s why this THA Act and the issue of maritime boundaries are so crucial. If..there [are] fuel deposits in the seabed off Tobago, then the island stands to experience an economic boom…but there is the very real fear that a TOP controlled by the UNC will hoodwink and cheat Tobago out of its birthright and that Ashworth Jack will sellout Tobagonians.
Bharath again addressed the issue of race:
Tobagonians are suspicious of Trinidadians in general; but they are also far more suspicious of Trinidadians wanting to buy up their lands and deny them their birthright. In the last ten years the ethnic landscape of the island has changed dramatically. There are more Indians living and working in Tobago now than any other time, an island to which Indians have no historical ties. And now in 2012 it appears to Tobagonians that Trinidadians, particularly Indo-Trinidadians are taking over their island. It doesn’t help either that the UNC has made so many race-related comments…
That Hilton Sandy’s comment was inelegant and racist is not in question. It should never have been said. But the statement reveals some of the concerns of Tobagonians under a TOP government. And the same Jack…who was caught using a cheat sheet at last Thursday’s debate is now setting himself up to become Tobago’s Cheat Secretary.
In a follow-up post, she suggested that even the way in which the debate was organised seemed disrespectful of Tobagonians:
The Debate had a closed off and select audience. All Tobagonians couldnt attend. Remember this is THA elections…it affects Tobagonians more than it could ever affect Trinidadians. The moderator was a Trinidadian of Indian origin. The panellists presenting the questions both sounded distinctly Trinidadian. The venue was the government owned Magdalena Hotel. The production team was Lisa Wickham, a Trinidadian consultant. The research team that came up with the questions were all from the UWI campus and the names I saw listed featured mostly Trinidadian researchers from the University’s research sphere.
The message sent was that this debate was a production by Trinidadian for Trinidadians about a Tobagonian issue.
As the campaigning becomes more intense in the lead-up to Monday's elections, The Eternal Pantomime continues to keep an eye on developments. She posted this yesterday:
This weekend saw what amounted to a Blitz Krieg from the TOP. The Prime Minister, who a month ago said that the UNC was not running the TOP campaign just lending logistical support, was at Jack’s side being logistical as she attended church with him, read scripture to the congregation during the ceremony and then eventually set of on a walkabout of Mason Hall, Ashworth Jack’s seat in the THA and the village that Keith Rowley is from.
In the blogosphere the comments flew fast and quick, with many Tobagonians wondering online and out loud how a PM who only just recently insulted Keith Rowley for attending a religious event at the Divali Nagar, could now show up at a Full Gospel Church and participate in the service considering her Hindu Faith…..ironies, I suppose.
While in Roxborough last evening a fiery Rowley and London talked about the various missteps of both Ashworth Jack and the UNC. It remains to be seen which campaign style will now work for Tobagonians and whose policies (if any) they are interested in.
It’s silly season in full force these next seven days.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Wikimedia’s Sue Gardner Joins Global Voices Board · Global Voices
Ivan Sigal

Global Voices is very pleased to announce that Sue Gardner, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, has joined the board of Global Voices.
Sue Gardner, Executive Director, Wikimedia. Photo Lane Hartwell, distributed under a GNU Free Documentation License.
Sue brings to Global Voices a unique combination of knowledge and experience that is particularly beneficial to the organisation. Formerly a journalist, with more than a decade of experience reporting and producing radio and television, Sue has run large newsrooms, and now works to support the largest volunteer community on the internet.
At Global Voices we work at the intersections of citizen media, information production, and volunteer communities. Sue's expertise and experience, as well as her enthusiasm, will be a critical factor as we mature and grow as a community and as an organization. She will help us to navigate questions such as the growth of local communities of GVers around the world, how we should evolve structurally, and how to plan online, distributed fundraising efforts.
“Global Voices does great work, and I’m really looking forward to sharing experiences and expertise with the people involved there.” says Sue. “The Wikimedia Foundation and Global Voices hold a lot of the same values, and for me the most important is our shared commitment to freedom of expression. The world needs strong voices advocating for internet users’ right to express themselves and to access information without impediment.”
Global Voices’ nine-member board meets four times per year, and has been an active, engaged and vital part of the GV community since its inception. Our board is composed of our two founders, three community representatives, and four external members.
Welcome, Sue!

author: Ivan Sigal


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2012: A Year of Revolt and Social Change in Francophone Countries: Part 2  · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

[All links point to French resources unless otherwise stated]
We continue with the second part of our 2012 review of the Francophone world.  The first half of the 2012 review (which can be found here [en]) focused on the armed rebellions and society projects linked to the economic crisis.  Part two will review the civil rebellion and governance problems experienced in Togo, Chad and Madagascar, the citizen initiatives in Senegal, the fight for more transparency in public affairs in Cameroon and the ongoing debates on society in France.
Protests in Togo, Chad and Madagascar
Togo is currently in full political transition following the highly controversial presidential elections of 2005 which resulted in the son of the ex-President Gnassingbé Eyadema, Faure Gnassingbé Eyadema [en], taking power. The group ‘Let’s Save Togo’ (Collectif ‘Sauvons le Togo’ (CST)) counts several human rights defence groups and political parties among its supporters. Its main condemnation (amongst others) is the exploitation of certain institutions and the subsequent confiscation of riches from these institutions by the rich minority whilst the local population is plunged into mounting poverty.  The demonstrations against the ruling power have been the setting for many violent clashes with the police during the year, as shown in the following photos and videos:
Repression at the demonstrations on 13 June 2012, by the group Let's Save Togo on Flickr with permission
This video shows police officers severely injuring a demonstrator [Warning: These images may shock certain audiences]:
In Chad, a coalition of organisations for the protection of human rights has expressed similar demands over the need to protect people’s right to the freedom of expression and to implement reforms for more social justice.
In Madagascar, the non-payment of salaries and bursaries to teachers and students has caused violent protests in May and in November. The protests against the current crisis are not limited to students and teachers: cattle farmers and even banks have been protesting against the chronic insecurity  of the country.
“Sort out this problem because we are suffering”  students on strike in Madagascar by Jentilisa (used with permission)
Post-election pride for Senegal but tough times ahead for Cameroon
Senegal:
The pre-electoral period was a particularly turbulent time in Senegal.  The decision to endorse A.Wade’s candidacy for a third term by the Constitutional Counsel triggered a wave of violence and organisation of protests by the Senegalese opposition. The vote finally supports the opposition’s case  that backed Macky Sall to victory on the 25th March. A new citizen initiative has allowed observers to verify the results of the elections in real time and to avoid any questioning of the validity of the verdict from the ballot boxes. Here is a video of the  headquarters of Sunu 2012 during the night of the second round of the presidential election:
Cameroon: (by Julie Owono)
As well as being a country that is particularly hostile towards homosexuals, Cameroon has surpassed this by making front page news in 2012 during the Olympic Games in London when seven athletes withdrew from the national team.  They decided to stay in Britain instead of returning to their country. Philippe Menkoué from Global Voices has tried to make sense of their choice and suggests that the work and life conditions of professional athletes in Cameroon have strongly contributed to this decision:
Ces fugues viennent tout simplement mettre en évidence le malaise qui anime la jeunesse camerounaise toute entière. Ainsi, d’après le blogueur camerounais Florian Nguimbis, ces athlètes ne sont pas à blâmer, mais plutôt le système tout entier.
The story of these fugitives simply shows the misery that is facing young people in Cameroon. According to the Cameroonian blogger Florian Nguimbis, these athletes are not to blame – rather it is the fault of the whole system itself.
The 2011 elections that saw P.Biya reelected with more than 75% of the vote seems to have made Cameroonians sceptical over the possibility of any deep reforms to the current system.
France: Change of power or Power to change? (by Suzanne Lehn)
Campaign posters by JC Benoist on Wikimedia CC License -3.0-BY
The most memorable event of 2012 would have been the presidential election in which the socialist François Hollande won in the second round against the departing president Nicolas Sarkozy, followed and confirmed by legislative elections. The electoral process was scrutinised abroad and people again started trying to guess the winner before the official announcement of the results.
We finish this round-up of 2012 with a little success story of a French film’s exceptional 5 Oscar wins “The Artist” – although not a typically sounding French film, it is homage to the silent movie era of which France was a pioneer.
Anna Gueye, Julie Owono, Abdoulaye Bah, Suzanne Lehn and Philippe Menkoue all contributed to this post.

author: Rakotomalala


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Fighting “Blatant Criminal Dictatorship” in Ukraine’s Coal Mining Region · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Donetsk-based blogger Stanislav Kmet (LJ user frankensstein) visited Severnyi, a decaying coal-mining village in eastern Ukraine, after a group of local residents emailed him asking for help in drawing attention to the illegal mining that threatens to ruin their homes. On January 10 -11, 2013, Kmet posted a photo report from the trip on his blog ( part 1 and part 2 here [ru] – with some 70 photos and two videos), adding to the already extensive collection of items on the history and contemporary problems of Donbas, the region where most of Ukraine’s coal production takes place.
According to Kmet, if it wasn't for the Ukrainian currency and passports still in use in Severnyi, it would be hard to tell that this village was part of the Ukrainian state: an “enclave” – one of many in Donbas – where “neither the Constitution, nor the laws have any real power.”
Here is Kmet's summary of the situation [ru]:
[…] As it usually happens with coal-mining villages, Severnyi […] started dying together with the local mine. All the way back in 2000, the Severnaya mine was declared unprofitable, and soon coal extraction basically stopped there. Currently, mining takes place only in numerous [illegal mines known as kopankas], whose owners have all the power over the village. The local population are deprived of their rights, law enforcement officials neglect their duties, the local authorities keep silent and pretend nothing is going on. Coal entrepreneurs shamelessly engage in grabbing the lands that are rich in coal, digging up nearby forests, ruining people's houses. I've been to many corners of Donbas, but I haven't seen such blatant criminal dictatorship anywhere before.
[…]
Located between the towns of Snezhnoye and [Torez], the village of Severnyi isn't a good place to live in – there are almost no jobs there, and getting to nearby towns using the beaten down road is hard and takes too long. Real estate costs almost nothing, population has reduced from 17,000 people (in the early 1990s) to 10,000 (in 2012). […]
Unfinished, ruined and deserted houses, impassable dirt roads: Kmet's photos and words work together well to convey Severnyi's “hopeless atmosphere.” He writes:
[…] Even the inhabited buildings in Severnyi bear the mark of decay and death. As you walk down its streets, everything around is somehow only half-alive, slanted, neglected. It seems as if these houses are inhabited not by people but by walking mummies, as shabby and dusty as their dwellings. […]
It seems as if everyone who is still capable of doing something has already left this village.
[…]
I'm sure [filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, who directed Stalker in 1979,] would have liked this place. […]
Illegal coal mines are everywhere, writes Kmet:
[…] Everything is done absolutely openly. Neither the authorities, nor the law enforcement react to it. The looting of the bowels of the earth goes on as if no state exists at all, and everyone is digging up coal wherever they feel like it.
We encounter numerous resource-exhausted, abandoned “holes.” When a kopanka exhausts its resources, they just move on to dig up a new one. […]
Some of this illegal mining takes place right beneath people's houses – and this is the problem that brought Kmet and his colleagues to Severnyi.
Residents of the affected streets show Kmet two kopankas located dangerously close to their houses, as well as Kozlov Street, whose residents were forced to move elsewhere after their houses became damaged as a result of illegal mining:
[…] They know coal lies right underneath their backyards. If they start mining it, their houses will collapse due to land subsidence. […]
The local residents’ attempts to resist illegal mining produce no results: the authorities keep failing to react adequately to the officially filed complaints, and, moreover, there are signs that they are actually collaborating with the illegal miners (e.g., by providing them with access to electricity).
When one of the local women confronted the illegal miners personally, she received a death threat in response. Kmet cites her story (which he has also recorded on video [ru]):
[…] At first we just wanted to come to an agreement […]. When the bandits arrived, I came up to them and said: “Guys, you won't be allowed to dig here.” Then one of them told me: “Lady, you're tired of being alive, aren't you? Because we can [throw in two bottles of explosives] at night – and everything will be fine!” So then I, of course, decided to keep my mouth shut. […]
Kmet writes that the local residents’ only hope is for the media to get involved.
The other video included in this photo report is of a man working at one of the illegal kopankas. Kmet writes that this video will be part of the documentary about Severnyi that he's working on now and will soon post online.:

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Georgia’s Gay Rights Activists Protest Broadcast of Secret Sex Tapes  · Global Voices
Tamara Mirianashvili

On January 14, 2013, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia announced [ka] that the previous chief of the Military Police Megis Kardava, secretly filmed videos of public figures having sex with homosexual partners. The office alleges these videotapes were used to blackmail the public figures into cooperation with President Mikheil Saakashvili's government.
Prosecutors released blurred versions of the videos to Georgian TV stations, to dispel any doubts about the veracity of their claims. But the broadcast has sparked an outcry over invasion of privacy.
Image by Eric Politzer for Identoba. From their Facebook page.
Despite the blurring, some say, the men in the videos can still be identified and minority rights groups argue in a highly orthodox country like Georgia, the videos could put those filmed at risk.
Many human rights organizations, including LGBT Georgia [ka] have asked the officials to stop broadcasting the videos through TV channels:
@Dato_Shubladze: The Association “LGBT Georgia” appeals to the Georgian President, Prime Minister, Public Defender and Prosecutor General. http://bit.ly/11yOttZ
According to Transparency International Georgia:
In our opinion, there is no public interest in seeing these secretly recorded videos, while there is a strong interest of the people affected by this case to have their privacy protected.
The organization also claims that Georgia's TV stations failed to comply with the Code of Conduct for Broadcasters [pdf], according to which they:
shall not show sex in programs aired before midnight and shall only portray sex or discussions about sex between 20:00 and 23:00 if this is justified by public interested and edited in a proper form.
The code also stipulates when reporting on crime “broadcasters shall seek to balance the freedom of expression with the presumption of innocence and respect for the privacy of suspect, accused, convict, witness and victim.”
Following this criticism, on January 15, Archil Kbilashvili, the Prosecutor General of Georgia explained that the Prosecutor’s Office didn't violate human rights by showing the videotapes, as it was impossible to identify the people in the released videos.
Explanation is not a relief, on the contrary, existence of such incriminating videos is and always will be the reason for permanent fear for those who were taped and for those who are not taped as well:
@lishtotah  Systemic homophobia – still alive RT@CivilGe: Public Defender criticizes release of ‘gay honey trap’ videoshttp://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=25644 … #tbilisi
LGBT organizations in Georgia scheduled a Facebook event [ka] to protest the blackmailing, entrapment and humiliation of people for their sexuality, in front of the Persecutor’s Office of Georgia. Recently, the Organization “IDENTOBA” [ka] also launched an online campaign “Trap Me” [ka].

author: Tamara Mirianashvili


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Indonesia Flood: Jakarta Placed Under State of Emergency · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, is paralyzed by massive flooding. Governor Joko Widodo placed the capital under emergency status until January 27. It is reported that 27 out of 44 subdistricts in Jakarta are flooded. Netizens are using the hashtag #banjirJKT (Jakarta flood) to share information about the flood situation in various districts.
@Posma_ Jokowi-Ahok menghadapi salah tantangan terbesar Jakarta. Ini baru banjir 5 tahunan. Semoga terobosan solusinya berjalan baik #banjirJKT
@Posma_ (Mayor) Jokowi-(Deputy Mayor) Ahok are dealing with Jakarta's toughest challenge. This is what we call the five-year flood. Hopefully, the solution will be smooth #banjirJKT
Flooding in central Jakarta. Image from twitter page of @KartuPos
@cewequat Silakan berpartisipasi di #BerbagiSELIMUT Menolong warga terdekat sekitar & siapa saja yg bisa kita bantu meringankan musibah #BanjirJKT
@cewequat Do participate in #berbagiselimut (share a blanket). Help your neighbors or anybody. We can help those who suffer in this Jakarta flood.
The local economy was paralyzed after two consecutive days of heavy rains in Jakarta
Johannes Silentio Hari-hari ini wajah paradoks Jakarta terkuak lebar. Kota metropolis-modern yang berkali-kali salah urus dan bisa lumpuh hanya karena hujan semalaman.
Johannes Silentio These past days, the paradoxical facade of Jakarta was revealed. A modern metropolis that is mismanaged many times over and can be crippled by overnight rainfall.
Heavy flooding in central Jakarta. Photo from @MustafidzZ
@BLUTransJakarta: Info | 09:16 Mhn maaf saat ini semua koridor stop operasi imbas banjir dan jlr tdk dapat dilalui
@BLUTransJakarta: We apologize to announce that currently all our bus corridors have stopped operating due to flooding and lanes are impassable.
Jennie S. Bev Many things need to be cancelled today, including business meetings.  Floods in Jakarta as high as 3 meters in some areas. Internet connection is also bad. My sympathy to all affected.
@kalamkata Tol bandara arah tengah kota, jalur kanan terendam setinggi setengah bodi mobil sedan. #BanjirJKT #JKTBanjir
@kalamkata Inner city highway's right lane is submerged. Half a sedan high.
Jakarta residents cross a flooded street. Photo by asep sambas Copyright @Demotix (1/16/2013)
Flood photos are also pooled on Pinterest. Meanwhile, Google user Dest created a Google Map to locate the heavily flooded areas in Jakarta. Below are other twitter reactions and updates about the flood:
@DianOnno Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) sepertinya juga sedang membantu hewan yang terkena dampak #banjirJkt. Kalau butuh bisa kontak mereka.
@DianOnno Looks like Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) is helping animals that are affected by Jakarta flood. Do contact them if you need assistance.
@Oepaij Wilayah yang harusnya jadi zona luahan air (discharge) malah dibikin pemukiman. Sama aja nyuruh orang ngebangun rumah di empang. #BanjirJKT
@Oepaij Areas prepared to receive water evacuation are now filled with residents. That's like telling people to build a house on top of swamp.
@Ngelantour Flood in the world is measured by ‘cm’ or ‘meters’. Only in Indonesia, it is measured by ‘mata kaki, betis, dengkul, dada, pinggang, leher’ (ankle high, calves, knee, chest, hip and neck deep)
@KartuPos Ular gede banget ditemukan depan sekolah Santa Ursula sekitar Lapangan Banteng. Dari path @BeckTum: pic.twitter.com/JJZ6SYfo
@KartuPos Large snake found in front of Saint Ursula school near Lapangan Banteng (note: a sports field). From Path Dari path @BeckTum: pic.twitter.com/JJZ6SYfo

author: Juke Carolina


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More than 80 Killed at Aleppo University in Syria · Global Voices
Nada

@SyriaCampaigns tweeted:
Imagine this: You’re taking an exam & looking at the clock w 15 mins left. All of the sudden you hear explosions. The end. #AleppoUniversity
It happened on January 15, 2013. It was the first day of exams when war in Syria struck the heart of Aleppo University as two blasts killed over 80 people and injured over 160 on campus. In reaction to this latest tragic episode of Syria settling in violence, blogger Nour al-Ali beautifully expressed her “Incapacity to Mourn” as a “Helpless Syrian”, explaining:
I don’t know what I’m trying to say here; I am yet to think of a proper thesis for this post, but I am unable mourn properly anymore. Yes, that is what I want to say. I do not know how to absorb death anymore, metaphorically, literally, philosophically, and what have you of -ly. I cannot accept seeing such grotesque scenery coming out of Syria with both hands crossed and tears falling down. Actually, I can no longer cry either. I am not one to translate emotions into tears, though I wish I did. There comes a point where being so far away begins to take a toll on you, and you no longer function in proper terms. I am not sure if this is familiar to anyone, but to me, for the time being, I am dying a thousand times every day just reading the news. I think to myself, what I am doing here, and why am I not there. Then comes a dissonant silence that deafens my ears. I have no answer.
The hashtags #AlepoUniversity  and #AleppoUniMassacre were populated with messages of mourning and anger. Playing on the homonyms “University degree” and “Martyrdom” in Arabic @arwamenla remarks on Twitter:
Only in #Syria can you obtain your شهادة while writing your finals…& I'm not talking شهادة as in university degree. #AleppoUniMassacre
From @farah_sooriah:
Apparently Bashar AlAssad is threatened by students taking final exams, so he bombs them. #FreeSyria #AleppoUniMassacre
And Tarik Aldiery tweeted:
Kill the university students because they have brains & might contribute something positive to the country. #AssadLogic #AleppoUniMassacre
Nora Basha @Nora0315 wrote:
“It is evident that the massacre at the university was part of systematic plan to inflict as many casualties as possible.” #AleppoUniversity
And Mouna Hashem @mannoush said:
Assad bombs student at #AleppoUniversity on their 1st.day of tests,then forces whomever stayed alive to chant & praise him! #HangASSad2013
Micheline Hazou (@mich1mich) noted:
What words can express the fact that #Assad bombs the next generation of a nation??? #AleppoUniversity #Syria #Assadcrimes
Perhaps it is because students represent the future of a nation that the event resonated so painfully around the world. Emergency vigils were announced on Facebook by Universities all over the USA and Canada.
The University is a sacred place, it is a place that we go to learn and grow into men and women who will one day contribute to society. It is where the future of our country is built from. It is supposed to be the safest place in the world.
This is not the case in Syria. On January 15, the University of Aleppo was bombed by Assad forces as they were taking their first round of final exams. The total number of wounded and killed are being counted under the rubble and destruction.
We stand in solidarity with the students of Aleppo University and we stand in their honor and memory throughout the US.

author: Nada


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NGO Penalized for Requesting Information on Corruption in Spain · Global Voices
Elena Arrontes

After a five-year legal battle, Access Info Europe, an NGO with whom the author of this article collaborates, has been sentenced to pay 3,000 euros [es] after the Supreme Court ruled that it did not have the right to know what Spain does to fight against corruption.
The European organization, based in Madrid, fights to institute and ensure compliance of the European transparency laws while simultaneously promoting the right to accessing information worldwide with the goal of having this be recognized as a fundamental right.
On June 14, 2007, a member of the Access Info board requested information from the Spanish Ministry of Justice, asking for the measures the government was taking in accordance with the U.N. Convention against corruption. The information was denied and the case ended up in the courts until it exhausted the legal channels in May of 2012. As such, the Spanish Supreme Court alleged that following the demand for information on anti-corruption measures, the NGO expected to the government to provide explanations for its actions, a right that only the Parliament has, and for that it was fined 3,000 euros.
Photo from the campaign showing the Access Info team upon receiving the fine.
The last option for the organization is to present the case to the European Court of Human Rights, which could delay the case for years. To meet the costs imposed by the Supreme Court, the NGO has launched a campaign to raise enough money to pay the fine. The members of the organization say that any type of collaboration is welcome — whether monetary or spreading the word — considering that the cause justifies it: supporting the fight for transparency in Spain.
The campaign has received support on Twitter, a network on which so many politicians, civil society organizations, journalists and citizens related to the transparency cause have contributed to spreading the petition of support. In its first day, Access Info raised more than 800 euros. If donations exceed the needed amount, the money will go towards other legal cases.
The penalty amount with the Spanish Supreme Court in the background. (Access Info's website)
The case is alarming for various reasons: it does not grant the right to know the measures taken to fight corruption, especially when Spain is living in an unprecedented time of crisis that triggers citizen discontent. The context does not allow for an understanding of the sentence when new cases of political corruption are disclosed in the media day after day, corruption that now affects even the country's monarchy. It is also problematic to deny such requests for information when Spain is processing the Law of Transparency, Access to Information and Good Governance [es] in the Parliament. International experts have analyzed and harshly criticized this law for not meeting international standards and excluding many areas of information that the citizens will not have access to.

author: Elena Arrontes


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Nigeria 2012: Great Challenges and Even Greater Victories   · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

“Africa's most populous country and it's brightest hope. Nigeria is an odd place to find a silver lining. In spite of its all-too-visible failings, I believe that Nigeria's mix of talent, resources, and gall will one day pull the country up out of Africa's Nth World.”
- Blaine Harden, “Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent”.
2012 was a curious mix of tensions, anguish and hope for Nigeria. The blogosphere never had an idle moment. We present our picture of Nigeria, from an amalgamation of some of the stories that made news on Global Voices in 2012. These narrations represent a country, where challenges arise continuously but also unceasingly emits hope.
Citizen media and activism
Early in January 2012, Nigeria got the world's attention with a presidential announcement that withdrew the subsidy on fuel. Trade unions and civil society organizations responded with #OccupyNigeria protests. For days, the nation was shut down: no one worked, earned or learned. Of particular interest was the galvanisation of cyberspace with face-to-face protests. This synergy between online and real time protest was articulated by African Urbanism:
Occupy Nigeria Logo (Courtsey: Nigerianstalk.com)
As a lover of communications, media and especially social media, there are two things about this movement that make me especially excited: 1) First, the impressive role that social media is playing in terms of documenting and for coordinating activities and 2) the astounding amount of people that are making use of this medium to make their voiced heard… “Follow#occupynigeria #fuelsubsidyfor just a couple minutes and you'll see precisely what I'm talking about — in a highly mobile country of more than 150 million, tweets are coming in so fast at times it’s almost impossible to keep up with the conversation.
In July, we reported the reaction of netizens to the call of the Nigerian Senate President – a move he later denied – to clamp down on social media. This news ignited the blogosphere and was perceived as a declaration of war by netizens:
Digital natives also amplified the voices of offline victims who were displaced from their slum homes in Makoko, Lagos.
@chineduozordi: After her shanty in Makoko was demolished by the government, Janet and her 3 kids simply moved into their canoe ensconced under the 3MB (Third Mainland Bridge).
Twitter users were disgusted not because a slum was demolished but how the way it was done. Apparently, the victims were not given enough time to find alternatives.
@tejucole: The living conditions in Makoko were appalling, but appalling, too, is waking up to guns, bulldozers, violence, and sudden homelessness.
We introduced you to Battabox - a Nigerian Conversation – which engages real life stories from the street, weaves a narration and presents it to a global audience through online videos. Here is an interview with Christian Purefoy of Battabox with our author, Nwachukwu Egbunike.
The mob justice meted on the “Aluu4″ was a rather horrid and horrifying low point for Nigerians. Julie Owono discusses the incident and its aftermath in this post – “A Legal Solution to Mob Justice in Nigeria”.
Nigerian Bloggers and Tweeps Saved #Oke was one of the greatest manifestations of hope that emanated from the Nigerian blogosphere in 2012. Oke, a young Nigerian almost lost his foot to diabetes if not for a campaign that was facilitated by netizens. He was flown to India where he got medical attention. This story is a part of the Global Voices eBook: African Voices of Hope and Change.
In Lessons from the #SaveOke Campaign Fairy GodSister’s highlights four components:
Social Media is Powerful
I’ve never doubted the power of social media (wouldn’t have studied it if I did) but if I did, this campaign would have forever put paid to those doubts. The speed with which the blog posts spread and the amazing functionality called the ‘retweet’.
Nigeria is in Trouble
Oke’s story was just another instance pointing to a problem we (Nigeria) haven’t gotten past. Unfortunately, even in 2012 we are still in the ‘reaction’ rather than ‘proactive’ mode. No one thinks to plan for the future, hell we’re barely getting through today!
Who Sings for the Unsung?
How many people die every day because they have no access to qualitative healthcare? How many ‘trivial’ cases transform into life threatening because they were not nipped in the bud with adequate treatment? Who sings for the unsung?
We are still the World
Social media has always and will always revolve around people. Social media without human involvement can be compared to a beautiful car without a driver: it is nothing without our input. It is one thing to sit in the comfort of your home and moan every day about everything going wrong with the country, how the government doesn’t care, how we need a ‘paradigm shift (lol), etc. It is a totally different (and more profitable) thing however to do your civic duties, know your leaders (local and national), and then hold them accountable by getting informed, asking them questions, you know the drill.
Politics, Diplomacy and Arts
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy. Image released in the public domain by www.imf.org/
Ngozi Okonjo Iwealla’s (NOI) bid for the World Bank Presidency generated global ripples online and offline. She was also grateful for the support from other African countries. NOI’s Facebook post stated as follows:
I am honoured by my nomination and the support of multiple African Nations to make the World Bank more representative of the people it serves. As an employee of the Bank for 22 years, I know of its commitment to improving the lives of those in developing world. It is that passion that inspires me to do the most I can for Nigeria as the Minister of Finance.
Although the Nigeria’s Finance Minister lost the bid to the US favourite, she was seen as the best candidate. And this was obvious with netizens continued talking even after the selection. On her Facebook page, Ngozi congratulated the new World Bank president and adds:
With regard to the selection process, it is clear to me that we need to make it more open, transparent and merit-based. We need to make sure that we do not contribute to a democratic deficit in global governance.
Nevertheless, by our participation we have won important victories. We have shown what is possible. Our credible and merit-based challenge to a long-standing and unfair tradition will ensure that the process of choosing a World Bank president will never be the same again. The struggle for greater equity and fairness has reached a critical point and the hands of the clock cannot be turned back.
Nigeria-China relations were a mix bag. In July, Oiwan Lam, reported protests that were triggered because of the suspicious death of a Nigerian in Guangzhou's Sanyuanli District while in police custody. In September, the Lagos State Government introduced Mandarin in public schools.
Zuma Rock, in Abuja – capital city of Nigeria – was one of the contestants in the voting for One of the Seven Wonders of Africa. Similarly, two Nigerian writers – Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka – were among the list of contenders for the 10 Most Influential African Thinkers Alive.
The Osun Osogbo Sacred Groove – a UNESCO designated cultural site – made a comeback to the global scene through a documentary. The producer, Immanuel Afolabi spoke to Nwachukwu Egbunike – among other things – about digitalizing Africa's spiritual experience.
Sports
Richard Wanjohi chronicled the buzz generated by the death of Rashidi Yekini (1963-2012) – one of Africa’s highest scoring heroes in football.
Rashidi Yekini – Nigeria's soccer legend. Photo source goal.com.
The North Bank Evening Standard from Gambia also shared highlights of his career:
Yekini scored nearly 40 goals as a Nigerian international, and represented the nation in five major tournaments, including 2 World Cups, where he scored the country’s first-ever goal in the competition. He was also named the African Footballer of the Year once
The William Sisters, Serena and Venus, were in Nigeria between October 30 to November 2, 2012. In this post we presented the rousing welcome they received in Lagos.

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


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Outspoken Critic Attacked at Book Promotion in China · Global Voices
Owen Guo

On January 13, 2013 at a promotion event in Beijing for his book the Whole World Knows, 45-year-old Li Chengpeng, an outspoken critic and former soccer columnist, was slapped on the face by a man who said he was disgusted by the content of Li’s book.
The assailant, reportedly a former lawyer from China’s eastern Shangdong province, called Li a traitor. Close to the end of the book promotion, Li also dodged a knife wrapped in red paper hurled by a man. The two attackers were later detained by police.
Li's book promotion tour has been dogged by controversy. We reported earlier this week that he had been silenced from speaking at another book promotion event.
Hailed by many as someone not afraid of speaking his mind, he is also nicknamed “Li big eyes”, and is followed by some 6 million fans on Weibo [zh]. He uses his sarcastic wit to expose China's social problems. His scathing articles and outspoken speeches have won him a large fan base, as well as a lot of decriers.
A screenshot of Li Chengpeng on a TV show from youku
The Global Times editor-in-chief showed his support for Li's new book [zh]:
胡锡进：@李承鹏新书在京签售火爆，这是中国多元化的又一标志性场面。当局需要接受多元化的现实，全社会应当把握好多元化的节奏和力度，使它真正成为国家前进的正能量。谁都别天然以为这种平衡不可能，这是中国走向未来的唯一之路。否则中国或者走向动荡，或者回到过去。
胡锡进[zh]:The popularity of the new book signing is another symbolic scene of China’s diversification. The government needs to accept the diversification as a reality, there should be a proper degree and pace of diversification in the whole society so it could be a positive force driving the country forward. Don’t assume the balance couldn’t
be achieved, this is the only road for China to move ahead, or else China would be heading for turbulence or moving backwards.
One netizen expressed his liking of the book:
寰球同此凉热:今天看了李承鹏的《全世界人民都知道》自序，很给力，看来环境是越来越宽松了，这样的环境肯定预示着某种变革。
寰球同此凉热[zh]: I read Li Chengpeng's preface of The whole world knows it, it was awesome, it looks like the environment has become much more free, this kind of environment definitely indicates certain reforms.
Many netizens vented their anger over the attack. Actor Wang Xiaoshan tweeted to his 1 million plus fans:
@王小山：今@李承鹏 签售连发暴力袭击，令人震惊。谨呼吁，无论观点如何，抗议应该理性。谩骂已然过分，动手更是不该。读书、辩论皆为明理，惟盼国之进步。无论如何，大家将继续共存同一天空下。公民之间，因观念不同而诉诸武力，长此以往，各方都将陷万劫不复之境。慎之，慎之！
王小山[zh]：Several violent attacks occurred at Li Chengpeng’s book signing. It was shocking. I want to appeal that whatever your viewpoints are, protest should be rational. Verbal abuse has already gone too far, initiating physical attacks shouldn’t have happened at all. Reading and debate are for a better understanding of truth so that the country can advance. In any event, we all live under the same sky. By resorting to violence because of different opinions, we will all be trapped in an eternal doomed fate if this trend continues. Be cautious, be cautious!
悠悠小天使: @李承鹏 竟然被打了，打人者竟然还是山东人！可气！前两天，还跟悠悠讲来着:有一个眼睛比你还大的叔叔叫大眼，文章写的特别好，妈妈很喜欢看他写的东西。。。替我鄙视打人者！！
悠悠小天使[zh]: Li Chengpeng was beaten up, the attacker turned out to be from Shangdong! That was annoying！I said the other day: There is an uncle whose eyes are bigger than yours, he writes good articles, mommy loves to read his stuff…Please denounce the attacker for me!!
Criticism of Li also could be found online:
简评828：李承鹏本来是个不错的足球记者，野心让他现在走火入魔了
简评828[zh]: Li Chengpeng was a pretty good soccer journalist, his wild ambition has made him take the wrong road.
是思思妹儿不是死死妹儿：李承鹏到底是怎么成足球流氓混成公知的？
是思思妹儿不是死死妹儿[zh]：How could Li Chengpeng go from a soccer hooligan to public intellectual?

author: Owen Guo


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Photo Journey Through the Spine of Greece · Global Voices
Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni

River Pamisos and Ancient Gomfoi Hill, Thessalia, Central Greece. Photo by ident. (CC-NC)
Blogger Ident from Trikala, Central Greece, takes his readers to a journey through the Alpine landscapes of the Greek countryside, capturing the South Pindos villages and its landmarks. Pindos is the biggest mountain range in the country, often characterized as “The Spine of Greece”.

author: Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni


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Saving Filipino Street Kids Through Twitter · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Filipino netizens are urged by the Department of Social Welfare and Development to report sightings of street children by informing the agency through its twitter account, @savestreetkids. Updates will be posted within eight hours on whether the street children have been rescued.

author: Mong Palatino


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Scholars Call for an End to China’s One-Child Policy · Global Voices
Abby Liu

China's one-child policy is unshakeable, a top family planning official announced on January 14, 2013. Minister of the National Population and Family Planning Commission Wang Xia said:
The policy should be a long-term one, and its primary goal is to maintain a low birth rate and be gradually perfected.
The debate about whether it's time to phase out the policy started in China recently, fueled last year partly by public disgust with instances of forced abortion. In July 2012, 15 scholars called for a two-child policy; in Nov 2012, over 30 economists urged an end to the one-child policy. The announcement, which dismissed speculation that the one-child policy would be scrapped, has triggered another heated debate on Chinese social media. On Sina
A screenshot of a report about single children as “little emperors” in China (from youku)
Weibo, it became the number 1 hot topic on January 16 and 17. On the Weibo survey, over 12,000 web users maintained that it was time to phase out the one-child policy while only about 5,000 still support the policy.
The supporters argue that China has already got a big population, without the policy, there would be too many people. Global Times Chief Editor Hu Xijin [Hz] took the lead:
支持坚持计划生育大格局，同时支持部分、逐渐放开一些具体政策。中国的高生育率得以控制住，这是了不起的社会成 就。我不希望后代们生活在20亿人口甚至30亿人口的中国…我周围的很多双独已经开始生2个孩子了， 祝贺他们。但这不意味计划生育的终结。
I support the one-child policy; at the same time, I support a gradual relaxation of certain policies in some areas. The control of China's high birth rate is a great achievement. I do not want future generations to live in a country with a population of two billion or even three billion. Young couples around me who are both the single child of the family have already been allowed to have two children; I congratulate them. But that does not mean the end of the one-child policy.
However, supporters seemed to ignore China's current demographic problems caused by the one-child policy. Many scholars and economists argue that the one-child policy resulted in a series of long-term social problems, including a rapidly aging population and gender imbalance. The also say  that the Chinese would not have had many more children without the policy.
Co-founder of Ctrip Liang Jianzhang[zh] called for urgent reform of the policy:
僵化的生育政策导致倒金字塔的人口结构，为中国经济发展埋下了巨大的隐患，引发各种社会问题，改革刻不容缓！
This rigid policy led to an “inverted pyramid” population structure with unforeseen risks to China's economic development and various social problems. Policy reform is not to be delayed!
Liang also wrote [zh] a commentary on the Chinese version of Wall Street Journal explaining why maintaining a low birth rate is no longer necessary.
Professor Wu Bihu from Beijing Univeristy further explained:
因为计生委有行政编制、准生寻租、超生罚款等利益链，国家不应被计生委绑架。强制人流谋杀生命、独生子女社会问题、性比例失衡、老龄化、城市化育子成本蹿升出生率下降等，都已预示计划生育政策可以洗洗睡了。
There's a chain of interests involved within the Population and Family Planning Commission, as it concerns many people's jobs and large fines for a second baby. However, the state should not be “kidnapped” by the Population and Family Planning Commission. Forced abortion, the social problems from a single child, the imbalance in the sex ratio, a rapidly ageing population, the declining birth rate due to the rising cost of child-raising, all of these have indicated that the one-child policy can go to sleep.
Yuan Li[zh], chief editor of Wall Street Journal China provided some revealing numbers to support Wu's statement:
计生委成立于1981年，有50万全职雇员和600万兼职员工，每年征收的罚款达数百万美元
The Population and Family Planning Commission was founded in 1981. There are now half a million full-time employees and 6 million part-time staff. They receive fines of up to millions of dollars each year.
Economist Mao Yushi[zh] echoed:
其实，取消计划生育全国几十万的计生干部都要失业。这是生死存亡之战。
In fact, the abolition of the policy means thousands of cadres would lose their jobs. This is the battle of life and death.
Social researcher Yi Fuxian[zh] analyzed on his blog:
现在很多人认为城市化可以保证中国经济继续高速增长。本文从人口结构分析，中国不可能重现日、台、韩当年那种经济奇迹。中国现在经济放缓并非偶然。城市化也是生育率跳跃性下降的过程，中国需要果断停止计划生育。
Many people think that urbanization can guarantee China's continued economic growth. From the angle of population structure, it is impossible for China to experience the economic miracle Japan, Taiwan and Korea has experienced. The slowdown of China's economy is not accidental. The process of urbanization also resulted the decline of birth. China needs to stop one child policy immediately.

author: Abby Liu


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Sant’Egidio Community Helps Free Senegalese Hostages · Global Voices
Bah Abdoulaye

Negotiations started in Rome around mid-October between representatives of the Senegalese Government and the Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) [it]. On 9 December, 2012, through the mediation of the Sant'Egidio Community, 8 Senegalese prisoners were freed, amongst them are 6 soldiers, a policeman and a civilian, according to the website scoopsdeziguinchor.com.
The MFDC, divided into various factions, has led Guerrillas towards independence in Casamance [it], the most southern Senegalese region and a strip of land between Guinea-Bissau and the Gambia, since 1982.
The blog fattodiritto.it summarises [it] the events:
Nell’ultimo anno, diversi soldati senegalesi sono stati uccisi e altri rapiti nel territorio del Casamance, a seguito di attacchi dei ribelli separatisti. La Comunità cattolica di Sant’Egidio, mediatrice ufficiale tra il governo senegalese e i separatisti, ha iniziato i negoziati a Roma, il 14 Ottobre 2012. Come prima cosa, ha chiesto la liberazione dei soldati senegalesi al leader dell’MFDC, Salif Sadiò, il quale ha aderito positivamente alla richiesta. Ieri, 9 Dicembre 2012, i soldati sono stati liberati alla presenza dei rappresentanti della Croce Rossa Internazionale e la Comunità di Sant’Egidio, composta da don Angelo Romano e Mauro Garofalo. I soldati, sono stati riportati nel territorio della Repubblica del Gambia.
Last year, numerous Senegalese soldiers were killed, and others taken hostage in the region of Casamance, following separatist rebel attacks. The Sant’Egidio’s Catholic community, the official middleman between the Senegalese Government and the separatists, opened the negotiations in Rome, on the 14 October 2012. To begin, there were calls for Salif Sadiò, leader of the MFDC, to release the Senegalese soldiers. Salif Sadiò agreed to the request.  Yesterday, 9 December 2012, the soldiers were released in the presence of representatives of the International Red Cross and the Sant’Egidio Community, comprising Don Angelo Romano and Mauro Garofalo. The soldiers have since returned to the Republic of The Gambia.
Massimo A. Alberizzi adds [it], on the website africaexpress.corriere.it:
Grazie alla comunità di Sant’Egidio che ha trattato a oltranza, otto soldati senegalesi nelle mani dei ribelli che lottano per l’indipendenza della Casamance (la regione più meridionale dell’ex colonia francese) sono stati liberati oggi. Alcuni erano prigionieri da poco meno di due anni, altri da un anno. In realtà uno di loro non è un militare ma un pompiere. I guerriglieri del MFDC (Movimento delle Forse Democratiche della Casamance), secondo la comunità di Sant’Egidio, non hanno chiesto nulla in cambio. Probabilmente però un po’ di visibilità gli è più che gradita. La loro lotta dura dal 1982 e solo rarissimamente ha avuto l’onore di apparire sui giornali.
Thanks to the Sant’Egidio Community, eight Senegalese soldiers in the hands of the rebels fighting for independence in Casamance (the most southern region of the ex-French colony) were freed today. Some had been held hostage for little under two years, other for a year. In reality, one was not a soldier, but rather a fireman. The guerrillas of the MFDC (Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance), according to Sant’Egidio Community, have asked for nothing in exchange. More than likely they will relish the increased visibility. Their fight, despite having been on-going since 1982, has only occasionally appeared in the press.
The release has sparked great reaction throughout Senegal. The blog ferloo.com, while interviewing Jean Marie Biagui, MFDC general political secretary, writes [fr]:
Les huit (8) soldats libérés le dimanche grâce à l’intervention de la communauté chrétienne de Sant-Egidio, ont été capturés par le Mfdc d’abord lors de l’attaques du cantonnement de Kabeum (Sédhiou) et ensuite quelques semaines plus tard de Brigade de gendarmerie d’Affiniam (Bignona). Le Président de la République qui a accueilli dimanche les ex-otages à la base militaire de Ouakam (Dakar) a réaffirmé son engagement à tout mettre en œuvre pour le retour de la paix en Casamance où une crise à l’irrédentisme a commencé en 1982.
The eight (8) soldiers who were freed on Sunday, thanks to the intervention of the Sant’Egidio Catholic Community, had been taken prisoner by the MFDC during the course of the first attacks against the Kabeum (Sédhiou) regiments and then, only a few weeks later, against the Gendarmeria in Affiniam (Bignona). The President of the Republic, who on Sunday welcomed the ex-hostages to the military base in (Dakar,) reiterated that they are making every effort to restore peace in Casamance, where problems first started in 1982.
The website senenews.com writes [fr]:
Depuis la capture de ces soldats plusieurs structures ou personnalités sont entrées en médiation pour leur libération. Il s’agit notamment du Cicr, de la Communauté Sant’Egidio. L’ancien ministre d’Etat, Robert Sagna, a été également très actif. Il a été l’émissaire de Macky Sall sur ce dossier. Sans tambour ni trompette, l’ancien maire de Ziguinchor se rendait très souvent dans le maquis, en passant par la Gambie pour rencontrer Salif Sadio pour libérer ces vaillants soldats.
Ever since the capture of these eight soldiers, various organisations and famous faces have played a part in working towards their release. Amongst these include the CICR and the Sant’Egidio Community. The Ex- Minister of State, Robert Sagna has also played an active role, as has the affluent Macky Sall in this report. Without fanfare, the former mayor of Ziguinchor often went into the woods through the Gambia to meet Salif Sadiò, so that they may negotiate the release of these courageous soldiers.
The Cardinal Theodore Sarr, archbishop of Dakar, has commented on the unfolding of events in an interview with Helene Destombes [it], in a French transcript of Radio Vaticana:
E’ veramente una bella notizia per tutti i senegalesi: ne sono veramente molto, molto contento. E’ davvero un motivo di sollievo e contemporaneamente di speranza. E’ un primo passo: c’erano già stati contatti preliminari, a Roma, tra una delegazione del governo del Senegal e una delegazione del Movimento di Salif Sadiò, alla presenza della Comunità di Sant’Egidio che ha svolto le funzioni di testimone. Si è trattato sostanzialmente di preliminari, eppure questo atto è una grande prima tappa che consentirà il proseguimento dei negoziati e, come noi crediamo fermamente, un loro esito positivo. C’è una seconda ala del Movimento, l’Mfdc, con il quale è necessario prendere contatti e so che questo è un momento favorevole per farlo, so che è ben disposto al dialogo. Quindi, se veramente le due principali ali del Movimento iniziano un dialogo con il governo del Senegal, penso si possa dire di essere sulla buona strada per la pace.
This really is great news for all Senegalese people: they truly are very, very happy. It’s a reason to breathe a sigh of relief, and should inspire us all with great hope. It’s a first step:there has already been preliminary contact, in Rome, between the delegates representing the Senegalese Government and Salif Sadiò’s movement, all of which have taken place in the presence of the Sant’Egidio Community, who is acting as witness. Although still in the early stages, this act is a huge first step that will allow negotiations to continue and, as we firmly believe, a positive outcome. There is a second wing of the MFDC movement, in which it is necessary to make contacts, and this is the most opportune moment in which to do so, as people are still open to talk. For this reason, if the two main bosses from the movement are capable of starting up dialogue with the Senegalese government, then I believe it can be said that this is a step towards peace.
Fattodiritto.it still provides [it] many other stories to better understand the reasons that motivate the Guerrilla movement:
Secondo gli storici, la guerra per l’indipendenza del Casamance è iniziata a causa di una mancata promessa del celebre presidente e poeta senegalese Leopold Senghor. Nel 1960 egli promise ai leader del Casamance, che, se si fossero uniti al Senegal per vent’anni, avrebbero ottenuto successivamente la loro indipendenza. Quando ciò non accadde, nel 1980, il Casamance insorse con manifestazioni violente per le strade della capitale, Ziguinchor. Manifestazioni represse brutalmente con violazioni di diritti umani. Da quell’anno, iniziò una guerra civile fatta di rapimenti, attacchi, rivolte, che ha comunque prodotto nel tempo circa un milione di profughi e migliaia di morti.
According to the stories, the Casamance’s war for indipendance started as a result of a broken promise, made by the President and the Senegalese, Leopold Senghor. In 1960, he promised the leader of Casamance that, if they were to be united in Senegal for 20 years, they would be granted their independence. When this failed to happen, in 1980, violent demonstrations broke out in streets of the Casamance capital, Ziguinchor. The demonstrations demonstrated such brutality that they violated human rights.  Since then, a civil war comprising kidnapping, attacks, uprisings broke out. This war, over time, has led to around one million people becoming refugees as well as leading to thousands of deaths.
The website diasporas.biz [fr] describes the ways in which the Sant’Egidio Community has carried out its work:
Salif Sadio, qui se présente comme “chef d’état-major général, commandant en chef des forces combattantes du maquis” du MFDC affirme, dans un communiqué transmis mardi à l’AFP à Dakar, qu’il reste “disponible au dialogue” à condition que le dialogue se déroule en terrain neutre, hors d’Afrique. Salif Sadio a ainsi rappelé que l’ancien secrétaire général de Sant‘Egidio, l’abbé Augustin Diamacoune, décédé en 2007, “souhaitait qu’après l’échec de la médiation conjointe de la Gambie et de la Guinée-Bissau, la Communauté mette sa propre médiation à la disposition” des parties. Ce souhait “reste en nous” parce que le MFDC “espère que celle-ci fera preuve de neutralité dans sa médiation”.
Salif Sadio from the MFDC, who is presented as “the head of generally the biggest state and commander for the armed forces currently fighting in Macchia”, stated in a press release issued on Tuesday to the AFP in Dakar, that he is still “open to dialogue” on the condition that the dialogue take place on neutral territory, outside of Africa. Salif Sadio he recalls that the ex-general secretary of Sant’Egidio, Father Augustin Diamacoune Senghor, who went missing in 2007, “wanted the community to take its own steps,after negotiations failed in The Gambia and Guinea-Bissauche. This want “is ours”, as the MFDC “wants the Community to demonstrate its neutral status”.
However, in reality, it was the ex-President, Abdoulaye Wade who indicated that the Sant’Egidio Community should act as intermediary, during an interview with Radio France internazionale [it] on 5 January 2012, just before the elections, explaining the reason behind this suggestion:
Le 5 janvier dernier, lors d’un entretien à RFI, c’était le président sénégalais Abdoulaye Wade qui avait révélé avoir demandé à la Communauté de Sant’Egidio, proche du Vatican, de servir d’intermédiaire entre le gouvernement et la tendance du MFDC de Salif Sadio, afin de “régler cette question” de la crise en Casamance s’il est réélu.( ..) “je connais les gens de Sant’Egidio, parce que j’ai travaillé avec eux quand j’étais dans l’opposition (…) et je leur ai demandé d’être des facilitateurs entre le gouvernement du Sénégal et la tendance de Salif Sadio”.
On 5 January, Senegalese President, Abdoulaye Wade, revealed that  he asked the Sant’Egidio Community, near the Vatican, to mediate between the Government and the MFDC, in order to “resolve the issue” of the Crisis in Casamance, if he were to be re-elected. (…) I know the people of Sant’Egidio, because I worked with them when I was in the opposition (…) and have asked them to be faciliators between the Senegalese Government and Sadio’s MFDC.”
The Sant’Egidio Community has worked on various projects on African soil, including Mozambique, Algeria, Guinea and the Costa d’Avorio, having also received international recognition for its activities. In addition to managing the DREAM [it] programme in the fight against Aids [it], which covers 10 African countries, 38 treatment centres, 20 labs, and 4,500 specialists. Andrea Riccardi, one of the founders of the community, is a Minister without portfolio [it] for international cooperation and integration activitiesin the outgoing Monti Cabinet [it].

author: Bah Abdoulaye


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Singapore: Testimony of Deported Bus Workers · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

After my work pass was cancelled, I felt like another person. I was no longer a respectable bus driver but a prisoner. Maybe the way the police treated us as we moved from room to room made me feel that way.
This was the testimony of He Zhi Yi, one of the 20 Chinese bus workers in Singapore who were deported to China after participating in an ‘illegal strike’


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Slovak Antimonopoly Office Defends Obligatory Microsoft Use · Global Voices
Tibor Blazko

European Information Society Institute, a Slovak NGO, reports [sk] that the Slovak Antimonopoly Office (AMO) does not see it as a problem that the country's Financial Directorate is forcing taxpayers to use Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer, arguing that there is just about 10 percent of 44,000 subjects who have to use eTax and eDane applications, which are not compatible with Microsoft Windows. Netizen jaaaaaaaaaaj notes [sk] that, using AMO's logic, murder also affects just a negligible number of the population.

author: Tibor Blazko


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Tehran’s Deadly Air Pollution Illustrated · Global Voices
Farid

Air pollution has been a public enemy to millions of Iranians for years. It is no longer surprising news when the government some days shuts down public institutions due to air pollution.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Health declared that last year more than 4,400 people lost their lives because of air pollution in Tehran, Iran's capital.
Dusty Tehran
There are several cartoons that have been shared with Iranian netizens about Tehran's pollution. Omid drew a cartoon on  Iroon.com to show dusty Tehran.
Omid, Iroon.com
Mana Neyastani did not forget politics in his cartoon on pollution: “Grandfather” says “It's morning again, and I should wake up… all this bad news…executions, prison…” “Grandfather” takes a deep breath to start his day and falls down beside a journal with the headline: “Deadly pollution of Tehran's air”
Mana Neyestani, Mardomak.
Dark City
Here is a video showing a dark polluted Tehran at noon as an airplane lands in Mehrabad's airport.
No Oxygen
Zeyton, an Iranian blogger, says [fa]:
We used to say there is no place to breathe in this country. By saying this we referred to political and social repression by the regime. But now there is literally no oxygen to breathe. A regime which can not provide oxygen for its citizens claim to export its way of governing to the whole world.
We should not forget that people in many other cities in Iran have become the victims of pollution too, such as the southern city Ahwaz [fa].

author: Farid


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Twitter Suspends Cuban Encyclopedia Ecured’s Account · Global Voices
Elaine Díaz

Twitter has suspended the account [en] of the Cuban Collaborative Encyclopedia Cubana EcuRed according to an announcement posted on the official blog of the Ecured website.
“Its only violation (of Twitter rules and regulations) has been registering with an e-mail belonging to the Joven Club de  Computación y Electrónica (The Youth Club of Computers and Electronics), a Cuban institution removed from Twitter for having celebrated the achievements of the Revolution through the hashtag #Caravana54.”
Logotipo de Ecured. Reproducido bajo licencia CC
At least two Cuban bloggers have been also blocked since last week.
In a post on “Desde adentro de Cuba”, (From Inside Cuba), Arian Jesús Pérez recounts:
En la tarde del martes 8 de enero [Twitter] suspendió indefinidamente TODAS las cuentas que salían por las IP pertenecientes a los Joven Club de Computación.
On the evening of Tuesday, January 8, [Twitter] suspended indefinitely ALL the accounts originating from IP belonging to the Joven Club de Computación
For Perez, the suspension is also related with the coverage by the site of the 54th anniversary of the arrival of the caravan carrying Fidel Castro, among other leaders of the Cuban Revolution, into Havana.
Las etiquetas #Caravana54 y #Cuba que utilizaron tuiteros cubanos ocuparon lugares destacados durante varios días. El primero de estos dos hashtag hasta el 7 de enero tenía 30 574 tweets. Desde el día 3 de enero se había posicionado entre los 20 tags más populares del día. En las tendencias de los mensajes en español, el pasado día 5, se posicionó en el segundo lugar, y en las tendencias de los tags populares, en primer lugar.
The Hashtags #Caravana54 and #Cuba used by Cuban Tweeps kept trending for various days. Until  January 7, #Caravan54 had generated 30,574 tweets. Since January 3, it has been among the top 20 most popular tags of the day. It was on second place among the trending messages in Spanish the second day and it was positioned first among the popular tags trends.
The author of El colimador blog says:
Ayer en la tarde descubrí con desagrado que mi cuenta de Twitter había sido bloqueada por los administradores de Twitter. (…) Me abstuve de hacer cualquier comentario al respecto, pues pensé que se podía tratar de algún error. Mas, hoy en la mañana descubro que todas las cuentas que accenden por el IP de Joven Club han sido suspendidas.
Yesterday evening, I found out unhappily that my Twitter account has been blocked by the platform administators. (…). I refrained from any comments on the issue and then I thought I could be some error. But today, I discovered in the morning that all accounts originating from the Joven Club had been suspended.
Numerous Cuban Twitter users asked Twitter to revise its decision and take into account that the owners of these accounts do not consider “having infringed any of the regulations which allegedly have been breached” and thus justify their suspension.
Last December, Eucured announced the launch of its first portable version, which can be installed on mobile phones, during the first quarter of 2013.

author: Elaine Díaz


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Bayaka Fighting to Save the Congo Basin Forests   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Trailer of the documentary Ndima by Luis Leitao
The documentary Ndima (forest in Bayaka Language) depicts the struggle of the Bayaka people to protect the Congo Basin forests and preserve their way of life. An similar initiative, Mapping for Rights, strives to help forest communities in the Republic of Congo to gain legal rights to their lands via community-based mapping.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Bolivia: An Unexpected Brush with the Past · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón

Luis Enrique Ramos, who blogs at Citizen of La Paz [es], remembers his old classmate “el Hernán” [the Hernán], who “was one of those who doesn't attract attention, in fact, most of times, it was as he was invisible”. Ramos tells us how good was “el Hernán” at playing football and how good they both got along playing together.
Back in December, Ramos got across his old friend in La Paz:

author: Gabriela García Calderón


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China: Top 10 Independent Movies of 2012 · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Shelly Kraicer, a China-based writer and film curator offered a list of the best Chinese independent films made in 2012. ChinaFile has more details.


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Gabon to Mali: History of French Military Interventions in Africa  · Global Voices
Anna Gueye

[All links forward to french articles unless otherwise stated]
The French military intervention in Mali, known as Operation Serval [en] started on January 11, 2013 following the advance of terrorists groups towards Bamako. Lauded by a substantial part of the Malian population [en] and many outside observers, the military intervention diverts, however, from the non-interventionist line professed by French President Hollande in Africa.
Google interactive map of the Malian conflict by Jeune Afrique
Francis d'Alençon wonders why French interventions in Africa do not raise protests around the world:
Bizarre, bizarre… L’intervention française au Mali ne dérange personne alors que des actions américaines similaires soulèveraient des tempêtes de protestation… De l’avantage de ne pas être une super puissance.
This is odd… The french intervention in Mali does not bother anyone whereas similar actions by the USA would have raised a storm of protests.. There are perks to not being the world's top super power.
To illustrate his point, he quotes from the Cech newspaper Lidové noviny :
Les Français sont intervenus plus de 50 fois en Afrique depuis 1960. Ils ont combattu au Tchad, dans la guerre non déclarée avec la Libye, protégé les régimes de Djibouti et de République Centrafricaine des rebelles, empêché un coup d’état aux Comores, sont intervenus en Côte d’Ivoire. Que ce soit pour préserver des intérêts économiques, protéger les ressortissants français ou démontrer le statut de grande puissance du pays, les locataires de l’Élysée, de gauche comme de droite, ont fréquemment manifesté leur penchant pour les actions unilatérales. … Pourtant personne n’a jamais protesté. … Si les États-Unis intervenaient avec une telle véhémence, il y aurait des protestations interminables en Europe. Et les ambassades américaines verraient défiler des diplomates fâchés, à commencer par les Français.
The French have now intervened more than 50 times in Africa since 1960. They fought in Chad, in the war with Libya, protected regimes in  Djibouti and the Central African Republic from rebels, prevented a coup in the Comoros and intervened in Côte d'Ivoire. Whether to preserve economic interests, protect French nationals or showcase the still imposing power of France, the main tenants of the Palais de l'Élysée, either from the left or from the right wings, have frequently expressed their penchant for unilateral action. But … nobody has ever protested. If … the United States intervened in such a manner, there would be an endless sequence of protests in Europe. U.S. embassies would see angry diplomats coming through their doors, starting with the French ones.
Map of the Tuareg rebellion in Azawad, Northern Mali showing rebel attacks as of April 5, 2012 (CC-BY-3.0)
Below is a chronology of these interventions [There are indeed quite a few of them but contrary to what the Cech newspaper stated, there were less than 50 french interventions in Africa ]. It is based on two articles:  one is a review written by  Nestor N’Gampoula  for Oeil d'Afrique and  another one by Jean-Patrick Grumberg for Dreuz Info. Grumberg adds that most of the French interventions in Africa took place on former colonial soil :
In 1964, airborne french troops landed in Libreville, Gabon after an attempted coup against the regime back then.
From 1968 to 1972, French troops took part in the fight against the rebellion in the Tibesti region in northern Chad.
In 1978 in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), 600 French legionnaires went into the town of Kolwezi, in the south-east to help thousands of Africans and Europeans threatened by Katangan rebels. The mission was in response to a call for help made by President Mobutu Sese Seko to help his country. The operation cost the lives of five legionnaires, but allowed the evacuation of 2700 Westerners.
In 1979 in CAR, Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa is removed by French paratroopers during the Operation Barracuda.
From 1983-1984 in Chad, France undertook Operation Manta, a 3,000 men strong operation to face armed rebels supported by Libya. Two years later, another French military action, composed of mostly aerial attacks called “Operation Epervier“, was deployed after an anti-government attack.
In Comoros in 1989, after the assassination of President Ahmed Abdallah and the takeover of the country by the French mercenary Bob Denard, about 200 French soldiers arrived in the country to force them to leave the country.
In 1990, Paris sends troops to Gabon in Libreville and Port-Gentil in reinforcement of the French contingent after violent riots erupted. The operation allowed the evacuation of some 1,800 foreigners.
In 1991 in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), the Belgian and French troops managed to evacuate foreigners after violent riots and looting occurred in the country.
In 1991 still, French troops based in Djibouti help the Afar rebellion to disarm Ethiopian troops that had crossed the border following the overthrow of Ethiopian President Mengistu Haile Mariam.
In 1994, French and Belgian soldiers evacuate Europeans while Rwanda Hutus massacred hundreds thousands of Tutsis. Later in the year, some 2,500 French soldiers, supported by african troops, launched “Operation Turquoise“, described as a humanitarian effort, in Zaire and in eastern Rwanda.
In 1995, a thousand men involved in Operation Azalea ended another attempted coup against Comorian President  Said Mohamed Djohar by Bob Denard.
In 1996 in the Central African Republic (CAR), operation Almandin secured the safety of foreigners and the evacuation of 1,600 people after the army mutinied against President Ange-Félix Patassé. The following year in 1997, specifically after the murder of two French soldiers, a French operation against the mutineers was mandated in Bangui (Central African Republic).
The same year, 1997, some 1,200 French soldiers rescued French and African expatriates during fighting between the Congolese army and supporters of the military leader Denis Sassou Nguesso, now President of the Republic of Congo.
In 2002, French forces undertook Operation Licorne to help Westerners trapped by a military uprising that effectively divided Côte-d’Ivoire in two regions.
In 2003, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Operation Artemis in Ituri  secured the area and put an end to ongoing massacres. This was followed by the deployment of 2,000 peacekeepers,  80% of which were French.
In 2004 in Côte-d’Ivoire, France destroyed the small Ivorian airforce after government forces bombed a French base.
In 2008 a new French intervention strengthens the regime of Chadian President Idriss Deby and evacuated foreigners while rebels from neighboring Sudan attacked.
In March 2011 in Libya had the French airforces were the first to bomb Gaddafi forces after the vote at the United Nations authorized intervention in Libya to protect civilians caught up in the rebellion against Gaddafi. NATO took command of the overall mission on March 31, a mission that helped the Libyan rebels to defeat the forces of the government and take power.
In 2011 in Côte-d’Ivoire,  French forces alongside UN forces tip the balance in favor of Ouattara during the civil war. The war broke out after the refusal of Laurent Gbagbo to resign and accept the verdict of the election that pronounced Alassane Ouattara as president.
France had decided to break with his role as “policeman of Africa” by refusing to intervene again in the Central African Republic  where François Bozizé (former army chief who came to power by overthrowing the elected president Ange-Félix Patassé on March 15, 2003) faced a rebellion uprising. Little did he know that the events in Mali would force his hands :
In 2013 in Mali,  French bombarded Islamist rebels after they tried to expand their powerbase  towards the Malian capital, Bamako. France had already warned that control of the north of Mali by the rebels posed a threat to the security of Europe.
At the same time, France has mounted a commando operation to try to save a French hostage held by al Shabaab militants in Somalia, also allied with al-Qaeda. The hostage was  killed by the militants.

author: Anna Gueye