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African bloggers react to ICC charges against Sudanese President al-Bashir · Global Voices
Rebekah Heacock

Note: This article was written in collaboration with John Liebhardt
Bloggers from around the world are reacting to the International Criminal Court's recent recommendation that Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir be charged with multiple counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Many of those bloggers are criticizing the potential indictments, claiming they are difficult to enforce and that they will bring more unrest to an already unstable nation.
Refugee children waiting with their family for a food distribution in Sam Ouandja in Darfur. Photo by Nicolas Rost/UNHCR, uploaded by hdptcar
Background
After a three year investigation, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, wants to formally accuse Sudan’s president Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir of 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the African country’s Darfur region.  It marks the first time the six-year-old ICC has brought charges against a sitting president. al-Bashir and a government spokesman immediately rejected the charges and claimed they would use diplomacy to fight the case.  Sudan has signed but not ratified the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, meaning it is not obliged to cooperate with the court.
Moreno-Ocampo, from Argentina, contends that for more than five years al-Bashir has ordered the Sudanese armed forces along with the Janjaweed militia to attack and destroy villages of three separate ethnic groups in Darfur, directly uprooting nearly 2.5 million civilians who now live in refugee camps.  The UN estimates fighting and disease have claimed the lives of nearly 450,000 people. The prosecutor says he has evidence that government-controlled military groups used rape, hunger and fear to drive people from their lands, which were then taken over.
The case against al-Bashir comes after the United Nations Security Council requested in 2005 that Moreno-Ocampo investigate the Sudanese president’s role in the Darfur conflict, which the United States government terms “genocide.”
While al-Bashir is supposed to be arrested by Sudanese authorities, three ICC judges (hailing from Ghana, Latvia and Brazil respectively) will begin weighing the claims and make a decision whether to proceeded with a trial. This review process could take up to three months.
From Sudan
On Friday, Too Huge World, an aid worker based in North Darfur, compared waiting for news of the indictments to waiting for a grenade to explode:
The potential implications of these indictments are many and depressing. Everything from anti-Western riots on the streets of Khartoum to government-backed attacks on UN targets to the expulsion of many or all international organizations.
I imagine that this is a bit of what it feels like to wait for a grenade to explode.
On Monday another post described effects of the recommendation that al-Bashir be charged on security in the area:
So far today we have not seen attacks against international staff or facilities. The only reaction so far seems to be some large orchestrated protests in downtown Khartoum, another one in El Geneina (West Darfur), a small, half-hearted one in El Fasher (North Darfur), and none at all in Nyala (South Darfur). In fact, as you may imagine, large numbers of the Darfurian population are not too sympathetic towards the government. Therefore, we expect problems principally where there are large concentrations of Arab tribes and/or their militias.
The scarcity of negative consequences so far should not be taken to indicte that there will not be other effects in the long-term. We wait. The next 24 hours are probably the most important.
Sudanese Thinker blames the UN for the security worries and criticizes those who support the potential indictment:
The real dimwits here are the guys in the UN who coordinated things so badly with the ICC, that the ICC is now causing them trouble and forcing them to tighten security.
[…]Now please give me a reason for me to be supportive of the ICC’s move. Those Sudanese who support it are thinking sentimentally.
And Ingrid Jones of Sudan Watch breaks a ten-month blogging silence with an open letter to the ICC begging them to reconsider:
Hello dear ICC, please do not indict Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir or others in the Sudanese government as unfair charges are likely to result in desperate consequences for many Chadian and Sudanese people, peacekeepers, humanitarian workers and those who are most in need of aid and protection.
Refugee woman in Sam Ouandja in Darfur. Photo by Nicolas Rost/UNHCR, uploaded by hdptcar
African bloggers react
African leaders who have spoken out on the issue have been largely against the ICC’s move. Egypt’s foreign minister worried that dealing “irresponsibly” with Sudan will only create more chaos. The South African government admitted al-Bashir will never be arrested.
Tanzania, which holds the African Union presidency, asked the ICC to suspend its order until the situation in Darfur and the fragile peace in southern Sudan are sorted out. This brought the ire of exiled Liberian journalist Emmanuel Abalo, who argues African leaders are once again standing up for a despot:
This nonsense of “African solidarity” and “protecting its own” as espoused by the AU fly in the face of human decency and forthrightness especially when there needs to be courage to speak plainly and boldly against excesses committed by member states of the Union.
The dilemma for some African leaders who were democratically elected and practice good governance is that the AU issues statements on their behalf which do not represent their individual positions on human rights abuses and tyranny as was the recent case with Zimbabwe. And the consequence is that other world continental groupings have to openly challenge the AU's credibility to the embarrassment of some member countries.
Some issues to consider from Codrin Arsene, writing at AfricanLoft:
Sooner or later the Janjaweed will retaliate. I think the UN should withdraw its entire non-military staff from Darfur and transfer it to Nairobi.
I also believe Argentina should increase security measures to maximum alert. We are talking about an Arab state that is charged with genocide. We are also talking about an army so desperate that will make any deals to get its revenge. And that could very well include deals with Al-Qaeda.
I admire Mr. Moreno-Ocampo determination to indict Sudan’s president but he should be very careful. His life is certainly in danger. He just made the first genocide accusation in the world.
In Kenya, Nairobi Notebook ponders the UN's role in the potential indictments:
The argument carrying most support right now seems to be that Moreno-Ocampo's bid to haul Al Bashir in front of the judges will do nothing to ease the suffering of Dafuris, only inflaming the situation as promises of more “blood and violence” are unleashed.
Rewind the clock a bit and you will remember it was the UN's Security Council that gave the green light to Moreno-Ocampo to investigate the Sudanese authorities in the first place.
The Angry African, a South African currently living in the United States, reminded readers that the ICC’s potential arrest warrant may not have much teeth, a fact that can be blamed on U.S. President George Bush.
[al-Bashir] is using the same argument President Bush used against the ICC. They both claim that the ICC have no jurisdictionover anything. They don’t recognize the ICC. This was the only court that could tackle Serbian war criminals. But President Bush wants special treatment for US citizens. He argues that everyone should be equal in the eyes of the law – but some are more equal than others. He doesn’t want Americans to be held accountable to this court even if they have committeda crime against humanity or genocide for that matter. Yes, everyone else should be covered by the ICC. Just not Americans. Do you truly believe Americans should have a higher right in this world? Should Americans be above the law? I don’t think we will ever see the day an American will be charged at the ICC. It’s aimed at warmongers and despots. but we have to make sure everyone is covered by the same law. Shouldn’t we?
Come on Bush – you are either for us or against us… The Darfur blood is on your hands. What options did you leave us with? Invading as a first option? I guess you don’t like it when people first try to take the legal route? It’s easier to go in with guns blazing isn’t it? You set the precedent. Invade Sudan – even the rest of the world think he is evil and worse than Sadam used to be. Be proud – you and the President of Sudan have something in common… I hope you are proud of your legacy.
Victor Ngeny, a Kenyan journalism student living in Uganda writing at African Path, claims a warrant would be too weak to do any good:
Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo is a man on a mission; he wants to get an arrest warrant for Mr El Bashir. A small matter you might think, but if you factor the small detail that Mr El-Bashir is the president of Sudan and that China is squarely behind him, then it slowly becomes clear that Mr. Ocampo’s efforts will be in futility. Mr Ocampo’s, The Prosecutor of The International Criminal Court, case is that Mr El-Bashir has been executing genocide against his own countrymen in Darfur. There is also the small matter of Sudan not being party to the court.
Ugandan bloggers are perhaps uniquely situated within Africa to comment on the ICC's actions, given that the countries share a border and that the first warrants the ICC issued were against members of the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel organization in northern Uganda. Chris Blattman, a political scientist with extensive experience in northern Uganda, compares the ICC's actions in Sudan and Uganda:
There's a temptation to say enough is enough, screw the bastard, and arrest away. But the indictments are a blunt instrument wielded by a narrowly focused and unelected body, the ICC, fighting for its existence and relevance (and trying to make up for a number of bungles). I support the idea of the ICC, but I'm worried that this risky decision was made without consideration for the big picture, including peace in the region.
The ICC's Ocampo has a reputation as a loose cannon and a publicity hound, and is said to have an eye on the Argentine presidency. This reputation accords with my impressions of the ICC's work in northern Uganda–a rash, risky, poorly informed and planned move that nearly backfired.
Is Ocampo acting rashly and alone again? I hope not. I hope that something as serious as an indictment of a sitting President would be part of a high level (probably secretive) discussion among world leaders and the UN. I hope this most of all when we are speaking of a nation with extensive UN operations, several peace efforts, several brewing wars, and an African Union peacekeeping mission (and thousands of foreign humanitarian workers) in country.
Ugandabeat describes local media reactions to the ICC announcement:
The International Criminal Court charged the Sudanese president, Omar Al-Bashir, with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Darfur yesterday.  The news rocked Uganda, with the major dailies putting  Bashir's face on the cover, next to headlines that read “Wanted” or “Bashir Wanted for Genocide.”  Sudan is Uganda's neighbor, and the politics of Southern Sudan and Uganda have always been intertwined.
[…]Of course, the situation is complex.  Mahmood Mamdani, my favorite Ugandan scholar (actually, my favorite scholar in general), has long been critical of the motives of governments and NGOs in calling the war in Darfur genocide, particularly the demonisation of the Janjaweed.
Gay Uganda wonders what effect, if any, an ICC warrant will have on the situation on the ground:
The world is not without its contradictions. With Bashir of Sudan accused of genocide in Darfur, practical politicians are pointing out that if the president of Sudan is arraigned, that, the largest country in Africa, with the most consistent civil unrest since independence, is headed for more unrest.
The nightmare in Sudan has lasted longer than my life. Yet, isn’t Darfur enough to lead to his indictment? When will our leaders become accountable? When will they stop arguing their continued misleading of the continent in the name of ‘stability’?
Oh well. Even the Security Council could not get to grips with Zimbabwe. For Russia, did Medvedev get his wrist slapped when he returned home from the G8 summit? For China, it is simply the Platinum and Gold and other riches. The more the world changes, the more it is still the same.
Other reactions
The Social Science Research Council has an excellent guide to the controversy on their Making Sense of Darfur blog.  Among the questions they ask:
Moreno Ocampo is taking a bold and momentous step for global human rights and for Sudan. It is also controversial and fraught with danger. Will this be a historic victory for human rights, a principled blow on behalf of the victims of atrocity against the men who orchestrated massacre and destruction? Or will it be a tragedy, a clash between the needs for justice and for peace, which will send Sudan into a vortex of turmoil and bloodshed?
Daniel Sturgis, a Canadian travel writer in Morocco, claims the ICC’s move may be correct but may jeopardize the chance for a peaceful resolution:
From a law perspective, the ICC decision to proceed with charges of crimes against humanity for Sudan's top brass, is definitely the right one.
From a moral perspective, the United Nations is unable to prevent the fallout if this decision enrages the Sudanese government. Isolated, Sudanese leaders are much more dangerous than the frustratingly ineffective checks and balances we have currently placed upon them.
To Ali Alarabi, writing for Mideast Youth, the charges are an unhelpful attempt to settle the political issue of Darfur. While the humanitarian costs are high in Darfur, Alarabi points out that the Sudanese government has every right to protect the integrity of its borders. However, larger and richer states are now hiding behind international law to punish the Sudanese leader.
International law however, as it appears to be, is there to punish weak and third world countries if they were deemed misbehaving according to standards of Western powers. As this issue demonstrates, International law is there to preserve the interests and the power of big powers against small helpless nations. Sudan is perceived to be not playing by the rules set forth by western powers when it comes to its energy supplies, its stand on the Arab Israeli conflict and its position on Iraq.
Written in Collaboration with John Liebhardt


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Bahrain: Anti-sectarianism initiative losing momentum? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Redbelt reports on a meeting hosted by a Bahraini newspaper with the aim of promoting a commitment to fight sectarianism and discrimination online – but with a low turnout by bloggers, he worries that no one really cares.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bangladesh: Students Unity Against Rapists · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Unheard Voices on students protesting against sexual harassment in Jahangirnagar University in Bangladesh being handed expulsion orders.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Bermuda: Communication Breakdown  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bermudian Vexed Bermoothes is amazed at “how Government can have so many communications people yet be so bad at communicating its message.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: Anniversaries of Massacres · Global Voices
Sinisa Boljanovic

(An audio version of this post read by Vera Serkovic is also available. Please scroll down to the bottom of the page to access the audio player)
Sixteen years have passed since the massacre in Bratunac and thirteen years since the massacre in Srebrenica. In these cities, more than 10,000 people, mainly civilians, were killed. Many of the victims are still not identified. Some people, accused directly or indirectly of participating in war crimes, are still not arrested. Some of them have been acquitted.
Every year, bloggers and journalists remind their readers of the tragic events that took place in Bratunac in 1992 and in Srebrenica in 1995. The truth is painful, but nobody should be silent about war crimes.
Here is a roundup of several opinions and experiences related to the massacres in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 90's.
Queeria posts a text titled “What is the weather in Srebrenica” – about the early morning of July 11, 2008, in the small town of Srebrenica. The text was previously published on the website www.pescanick.net, which covers politics and human rights in the former Yugoslavia, with a special focus on Serbia.
If you ask me, it was very sunny and sad on July 11. […]
[…] This year, 308 body remains of the newly-identified Srebrenica victims were exhumed. As many graves were dug. In front of them, under the strong sun, members of the victims’ families, mainly mothers, sisters and children, were standing  and waiting for the COFFINS with the remains of THEIR DEAREST ONES. […]
Bojan Toncic, in his text that was also published on www.pescanik.net, reminded readers of the massacre in Srebrenica on July 11, 1995:
[…] In July 1995, […] (Muslim) men, who allegedly were able to be soldiers (and among them were 15-year-old boys) were separated from the women and older people. Pictures of their suffering went around the world. Key creators and executors of the crime, Radovan Karadzic, former president of Republika Srpska, and Ratko Mladic, genaral of the army of Republika Srpska, are still not arrested. […]
[…] The massacre in Srebrenica is the worst individual horrible thing in former Yugoslavia during the civil war and the worst crime in Europe after the Second World War. […]
[…] Ratko Mladic's units killed between 7,500 and 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica. There exists exact data about the number of victims, their names and surnames, and about the verdicts.
Bojan Toncic afterwards quotes Semir Ibrahimovic's moving words, which he said after the showing of a film about the killing of six young Muslim men in Trnovo during the Srebrenica offensive by a paramilitary unit “Skorpioni”:
In the video, I saw how they fired three shots in my father's head. He went with the other men on July 10 when Srebrenica fell. Our parting was sad. We felt that we might never see each other again. He went toward Tuzla in the “march of death”. Fire was coming from all directions. We didn't know whether we’d survive it. He was running over the bridge, waving to us. He had a skin jacket and blue shirt. […]
The extremely graphic video is available at YouTube, here; it has been viewed 175,627 times.
Foreign Policy Association's War Crimes blog provides a description of the video in a post dedicated to the 13th anniversary of Srebrenica massacre:
[…] During the trial of Slobodan Medic, the Scorpions unit commander, video tape of various incidents surfaced.  These videos are part of much larger video diary of the Bosnian war.  In one incident, 6 men are shown being taken from the back of a military vehicle and led to a field.  The men are then forced to march single file to meet machine gun fire – one man at a time – by the Scorpions.  In the video, the soldiers are making comments to the camera – “Did you get that?  Did you film me shooting that mother fucker?”  Only 4 of the captured men were initially murdered and the remaining two were forced to drag the bodies to another area.  According to testimony, the soldiers were mocking the scene to make it appear the prisoners were killed in combat.  The two remaining men are then killed in an outbuilding.  During the video, a soldier is shown emptying his entire magazine into the head of one of the prisoners, protesting “I have a few more shells left!” […]
Drazen Erdemovic, an ethnic Croat and member of the Serbian military forces, confirmed that he participated in the execution of Bosnia's Muslims from Srebrenica. Slavenka Drakulic, a Croatian novelist and essayist, wrote this in her book titled “One day in the life of Drazen Erdemovic”:
[…] Prisoners could not see what would be done to them. They had kerchieves over the eyes. Drazen was glad because of that. He thought that was an act of mercy. But soon buses full of people without kerchieves started to arrive. Even their hands were not tied. It seemed they were rounded up very quickly. Why was there such a hurry? Drazen didn't understand that. These prisoners (without kerchieves) could see their fate. They saw corpses and soldiers with rifles waiting for them. They came out from buses and obediently went to the line of riflemen. Maybe they were not feeling anything. And then Drazen saw something that shocked him. As he was aiming at the head of a man, he saw a treasonable smudge on the rear of the man's trousers. A wet smudge was expanding more and more. He heard a command and fired a shot. When the man fell he saw that he was still alive. He was still urinating. At that moment it was unpleasant for Drazen, as if it was happening to him. “It could happen to me,” he thought, but drove away this unpleasant thought very quickly. […]
Blogger Dijaspora has a totally different opinion:
In over 90 percent of the cases, the actual victims in Srebrenica were soldiers of [Naser Oric]'s unit. Before the fall of the city, they burned over 140 villages in the region around the Drina River and killed 3,228 Serbian civilians. As of now, 2,000 Muslim soldiers from Srebrenica and surroundings have been exhumed. There is no objective and human reason for Muslim victims from Srebrenica to be treated differently from the Serbian victims from around Drina and Sarajevo, especially because Muslim victims mainly were soldiers and Serbian victims mainly were civilians.
Bojan Toncic also mentions war crimes against Bosnia's Serbs:
Shortly before the 13th anniversary of the massacre in Srebrenica, the Tribunal in the Hague issued one more verdict […]
[…] Naser Oric is not guilty. The Tribunal acquitted him, revoking the initial 2-year sentence. Anyway, it is word about a war criminal whose units devastated a lot of Serbian villages and, according to independent assessments, killed more than 2,000 civils in 1992. […]
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author: Sinisa Boljanovic


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Brazil: Calling for investigation into Brazilian Supreme Court · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Hélio Paz [pt] calls everyone to be part of a peaceful rally for investigations into Gilmar Mendes, the president of the Brazilian Supreme Court, over allegations of corruption. “We will make history with the second postmodernist resistance movement in Porto Alegre”. The gathering takes place at 10 am next Saturday, 19/07, at the Brique da Redenção.

author: Paula Góes


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Chile: Student throws water at the Minister of Education’s face · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

In Chile, a student fed up with the repression and incarceration of participants in the protests against the new General Education Law (LGE) and the beatings and abuse sustained by her from the military during these protests complained to the Minister of Education at one of the Participatory meetings organized by the Ministry [es] to discuss the LGE, discussion which ended with a jug of water thrown in the Minister's face as can be seen on the following video.
In the video, uploaded by user profemetropolitano shows a conference during the Participatory Dialogues the Minister of Education has established. At about the 2:02 mark, in the midst of chants against the LGE, a 14 year old student in a red jacket is seen asking for answers regarding her detained classmates, and demanding explanations towards the beatings she was subject to. She then follows Minister Mónica Jiménez up on stage, insists in speaking to her and is blocked by government officials, and that is when she grabs a jug of water and proceeds to throw it at the Minister's face.
Chilean students have been protesting the new General Education Law Project [en] as Erwin, collaborator for The Latin Americanist blog reports(Ley General de Educación) which is already to be decided in the Senate specifically in the areas of for-profit education guidelines as well as the possibility of selecting students based on socio-economic levels and academic performance to enroll in schools, among complaints that the government isn't following through with the agreements written up during 2007 protests. In the midst of these massive protests, occupation of schools and blockages all around the country, hundreds of students and teachers have been repressed by the police and detained in some cases, as can be seen on this mashup of television images reporting on the events.
The Minister has declared [es] that the throwing of water on her face is an example of how people with no arguments to prove their points resort to violence.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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China: Interviews with Chinese journalists · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The second part in China Digital Times‘ series of interviews with Chinese journalists is now up. First question: “How do you feel about the Olympics being in Beijing? What does that mean for the Chinese people?”

author: John Kennedy


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China: Noise games · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Always a cynic and hardly a hater, humor blogger Wang Xiaofeng posted this today (and only this) with the title ‘noise games’, a play on the Chinese word for the Olympic games:


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China: Olympic Ads · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Adrienne Wong from Shanghaiist noticed that the Amnesty International anti-Olympic Ads and Adidas Olympic Ads were designed by the same company (TBWA).

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Submission Call · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fool's mountain makes a submission call for blog post: one of the objective of our blog is to build bridges between China and the West, to facilitate communication and understandings between Chinese and non-Chinese.


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Cuba: Escaping Reality  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From Havana, Generation Y writes a haunting post on “dreams of escape”.


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Ethiopia: Singer Teddy Afro still in jail · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Addis Journal reported that singer Teddy Afro (popular for his protest songs) celebrated his 32 birthday yesterday in jail awaiting his trial. Mamá Etiopía [Es] posted the link to an online petition to free him saying: “… we have no idea if Teddy Afro is guilty or innocent. But we have no doubt in joining the petition for a fair and speedy trial, without delaying tactics and without infringing anyone's right to defend himself”.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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France: Morrocan Woman Denied Citizenship · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Blogger Sabria Jawhar writing for Arabisto comments on the recent French ruling denying citizenship to a Moroccan woman for wearing a “burqa”.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Russia: “The New Elite” · Global Voices
Lyndon

“Join United Russia!” [image source]
Journalist Ilya Barabanov, who writes for the New Times and blogs engagingly as LJ user barabanch, wrote a laconic post a couple weeks ago that drew some interesting comments (RUS):
A young lady came to interview for a job with a friend of mine.
She's a [Young Russia] activist.
Under “Professional Accomplishments” [on her resume] the first and only line read “Participated in the inauguration of [the Russian president] Dmitry Anatol'evich Medvedev.”
A couple of comments on the post:
avdeev [punctuation and capitalization as in original]:
it's funny, but things like that have been happening for awhile
for example at RGGU [Russian State University for the Humanities] they accept [United Russia] party members into the graduate programs, and it's harder for people who haven't been vetted by the office to get in […] a couple of my friends were advised by the academic department that before turning in their grad school applications they should pay a visit to the local United Russia office, that it would be more correct and predictable to do so
at the office it was suggested that they write an essay about how much I love the motherland, i.e. [United Russia], and how much I want to join the party, well they told [United Russia] to go you-know-where and they submitted their applications anyway, we'll see what happens in September
***
el_cambio:
You don't understand.
[quoting from Viktor Shenderovich‘s website (here), who also seems to have been quoting from a transcript of some kind]:
Speaking at [a panel discussion on “the new Russian elite” at the “Strategy-2020 Forum”],[Vladislav Surkov] called on the participants in the discussion to “determine what the Russian elite is.”  In response to this, producer Andrei Fomin suggested compiling a “list of the elite,” and Andrei [Korkunov], general director of the Odintsovo candy factory, noted that such a list already exists, and pointed out the list of participants in the presidential inauguration in the Kremlin.

author: Lyndon


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Google Africa Blog · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Ory Okolloh of the blog Kenyan Pundit reports that Google has recently launched an Africa Blog, covering news and stories of the company in Sub-Saharian Africa with all posts both in English and in French.


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Hong Kong: Buying Money · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Bank of China in Hong Kong has issued a set of commemorative banknotes for Beijing Olympics. Thousands started to line up three days ahead for buying the paper money and resulted in great chaos. Florence from Over the Rainbow has to report about the news and she pointed out that as the money won't be circulating in the market, what people are buying are just papers.


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Hong Kong: Summer T-shirt · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Little Oslo collected a variety of Summer T-shirt with printed nude photos. So which one do you like?


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India: Minority Educational Institutes  · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Reality Check India on the issue of reservations for students from minority communities in certain educational institutions.


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Japan: Cultural Difference · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Harvey from Japan Newsbie explains the graphic representation of cultural differences between East and West from the MountainRunner site.


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Korea: A South Korean Woman’s Death in North Korea  · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

There is a way that South Koreans can officially and safely go to North Korea at present. It is a special tourist site that was opened for a special zone, Kumgangsan Tourist Region, in North Korea. Young people send their parents on this trip for ‘filial tourism for their parents.’ Mt. Kumgang is one of the most famous mountains on the Korean Peninsula and South Koreans dream of seeing it during their lives. Continual tourism from South to North Korea seems to have been hit hard by a tourist’s death by gunfire recently.
Netizens are upset because of the attitude of the South Korean government toward this accident and unclear result. Many netizens throw out questions about this accident.
일개 초병이 저지른 일이 아니다
초병의 기능은 단순하다. 군대란 위계로 구성된 명령체계의 집합이다. 초병은 실수가 아닌 이상 상부에서 하달된 명령을 따른다. 이번 일은 실수와 명령이라는 두 가지 관점에서 접근할 필요가 있고, 더 나아가 작금 북한의 실상을 들여다보는 더 큰 관점도 필요하다. 위에서 말했듯, 초병의 기능은 단순하다. 북의 초병이 남의 초병과 다른 점이 있다면 민주주의 국가의 초병이 아니라는 점. 즉, 그나마 조금이라도 남아 있는 일개 장병의 양심 따위가 통용되지 않는 자유 없는 땅의 병사라는 점이다. 그런 초병을 움직이는 힘은 상부의 명령을 들어야만 한다는 공포심과 포상을 바라는 개인적 욕망 뿐이다. 동이 트는 시점에서 박왕자 씨가 동이 트는 방향과 수평으로 뛰었을 때, 아무리 봐준다고 해도 그림자 정도는 제대로 보였을 것이 확실하다. 게다가 박왕자 씨는 치마를 입고 있었다. 백번 양보해서 간첩으로 오인해서 도주하는 사람을 추격해서 사살했다고 해도 치마를 입은 민간인에게 총을 두발이나 쏘았다는 것은 무언가 강력한 상부의 명령체계가 있지 않고서는 불가능한 일이다. 또 백번 양보해서 간첩이 여장을 하고 침투했을 가능성 때문에 사살했다고 해도 그것은 상부에서 금강산 관광으로 간첩이 침투할 가능성이 많으니 보이면 무조건 사살하라는 명령을 내려두었다고 밖에 생각할 수 없다.
만약 이 사건이 초병의 실수였다고 치자. 그렇다면 이 초병은 포상에 눈이 멀어 있었다는 뜻이 된다. 초병이 겁에 질려 무려 500미터를 쫓아가서 민간인을 사살한다는 것이 말이 되는가? 그렇다면 대한민국에서도 멧돼지를 한마리만 잡으면 포상을 가는 마당에, 남한에서도 간첩을 잡으면 거의 제대인데 북한의 초병이 500미터를 쫓아가서 치마를 입었음이 확실한 민간인을 사살한다는 것은 ‘한 번 걸리기만 해봐라'라는 분위기가 만연해 있었을 가능성을 시사한다. 도대체 이게 뭔가. 북한 군부는 도대체 무슨 생각을 하고 있는 것인가. 금강산 관광이 하루이틀의 일도 아니고, 민간인 관광이 아무리 군사보호지역의 바로 옆에서 행해지고 있다고 해도, 민간인에게 문호를 열기로 작정한 한 국가의 군부는 어떤 태도를 취해야 하는가? 그것은 민간인-그것이 타국인이라 해도-에 대한 보호 아닌가? 군대는 민간인을 보호할 목적으로 존재하는 집단이 아니었던가? 그렇다면 여전히 북한의 군부는 남한의 민간인들을 자국민으로, 아니 적어도 하나의 민족으로 보고 있지 않다는 말이 된다. 아직 통일국가는 아닐지라도, 그리고 통일에 대한 방법론이 서로 다르다해도, 양국이 모두 궁극적인 해당 국가의 목표를 통일에 두고 있는 마당에, 관광객이 득실대는 곳의 초병들에게 내려야할 명령은 도대체 뭐라고 생각이 되는가. 그것은 주의에 주의요, 조심에 조심뿐이다[…]
Let’s see that this is the mistake of the sentry. Then, he looked for an award. Does it make sense that a sentry chased her to 500 meters and shot at her? In South Korea, you can receive an award if you catch a wild pig and if you catch a North Korean spy, you can be instantly discharged from military service. Think about North Korea. It seems that he wanted to obtain such luck through chasing a woman wearing a skirt and shooting her. Tourism in Mt. Geumgang didn’t just happen. They decided to open tourism for civilians, but what is their attitude? Is it called protection for civilians (even though they’re from a different nation)? Doesn’t the army exist to protect civilians? It seems that the North Korean government doesn’t think South Korean civilians as belonging to the same ethnic group. Even though it is not a reunified country yet and the strategy for the reunification we use is different, both of us look forward to resolution of this fundamental issue, reunification. What are they think that makes them order the sentry to shoot in a place where tourists are everywhere? It is a warning and warning, and precaution and precaution.
A netizen who has traveled the same area shares his experience.
당시 저는 일반 금강산 관광 여행이 아니라, 통일농수산사업단 이라는 단체를 통해 조금은 다른 금강산엘 다녀왔습니다. 촬영팀으로 갔습죠. 그당시에는 일반적인 금강산 관광이 구룡폭포와 외금강의 몇몇 곳이 관광허용지역이었는데 저는 당시에는 개방되어 있지 않았던 외금강의 최고봉(? 맞는지 모르겠지만)인 ‘세존봉”이라는 봉우리정상엘 다녀왔죠, 그때부터 북측안내원이 보통 3명이 붙었습니다. 간부급, 온정리 주민2 이렇게.. 그분들은 세존봉을 올라가면서 계속 이야기 합니다. 여기는 찍으면 안된다. 저기도 찍으면 안된다. 특히 세존본 정상에서 점심을 하면서 북측 안내원들과 노래자랑을 했는데 북측안내원들의 노래부르는 것 조차 찍지 말라고 했습니다. 또, 삼일포에 가서 남북공동경작지에 견학갔는데 견학을 마치고 차로 이동중에 온정리마을을 지나갔습니다. 그때 마침 온정리 한 초등학교에서 아이들이 운동장에서 무언가를 했는데 그거 찍으려 했더니 그것조차 찍지 못하게 했습니다.
그리고 저도 금강산 호텔에서 숙식을 했지만 밤늦게까지 다닐수 있었습니다. 단, 허용지역에서만, 특히 허용지역 이외의 지역엔 길목마다 초소들이 있었죠. 결국 그 초소만 봐도 저긴 들어가면 안되는 지역이라고 느낍니다. 따라서, 이번 사건에서 고인이 정말 1차초소를 제지없이 들어갔다면, 초소가 있다는 것만으로도 이곳이 들어가면 안되는 지역이란걸 느꼈을테고, 만약 어떤 이유에서 1차초소를 제지없이 들어갔다면, 2차초소에서 정지명령을 받았다면, 왜 그자리에서 정지하지 않았을까? 왜 갑자기 도주했을까? 물론 당황스러운 상황에서 겁에 질려 도주했을 수도 있지만, 정지명령을 수차례 했다면, 그쯤에서 정지해서 자신의 신원을 밝히는것이 더 안전하지 않았을까 하는겁니다. 또, 한차례 경고사격을 했다면, 사격을 했다면 사람은 본능적으로 바닥에 업드립니다. 그러지도 않고, 계속 도주했다면, 북측경비병입장에서는 사격을 할수 있는 충분한 상황이 됩니다.
7월5일, 우리가 1부 촛불문화제를 끝내고, 거리행진한후 안국동쪽에서 프락치(정보과형사로 밝혀짐)를 잡았을 상황을 보면, 그놈을 어느분이 수상히 여겨 신분증확인을 요구하자 이놈이 갑자기 도망갔죠? 그래서 사람들이 더욱 수상히 여겨 그놈을 막고 잡았죠? 비슷한 경우라고 볼수 있겠죠 북측초병입장에서 군사작전지역에 외부인이 들어와서, 신원파악하려고 정지명령을 냈는데 갑자기 도주합니다. 이상하게 여기겠죠? 계속 정지명령을 내고, 경고사격까지 했는데 경고사격까지 무시하고 도주합니다. 북측초병입장에서는 사격할 수 있을거라 생각합니다.[…]
이번 사건에 몇몇 의문점은 있습니다. 50대 여성이 2m나 되는 경계철책을 넘어(또는 우회하여) 그것도 혼자 굳이 군사지역으로 들어갔을까(물론 기생바위를 보고싶어서 어떨결에 갔을수도 있죠) 또, 초병이 정지명령을 했다면, 왜 자신의 신원을 밝히지 않았을가요..초병이 정지명령을 했다면, “아 나 남쪽에서 관광온사람인데 여기 들어가면 안되나요?”라고 얘기할수 있었지 않을까요? 그럼 북측초병이 “여기는 군사지역이니까 숙소로 돌아가라고 했을겁니다.” (물론 아닐수도 있겠지만요…) 그런데 충분히 저런 대화가 가능했을 상황인데도 무조건 도주했을까요?
암튼 1차적으로 고인께서 군사지역을 들어간것이 잘못이고, 또한 정지명령에 응하기만이라도 했다면 상황을 초병이 사격하는 상황까지 가지는 않았지 않나 싶습니다.
On the 5th of July, after the end of the Candlelight Vigil, we started the street march. At that time we caught a man who was hired by a police in Anguk-dong. Some people asked him to show his ID out of suspicion. He started running. So, people got more suspicious of him and chased him all the way to catch him. It could be a similar situation. In the circumstance of the North Korean army, a stranger entered a military zone and was ordered to stop in order to check the ID. But the person started running. They could feel strange and kept ordering stop. But the person still ran despite of the warning shooting. It could be possible for them to start shooting at her. […]
There are several questions about this accident. A 50 year old woman climbed (or walked around) the 2m fence and went in the military zone by herself. If the sentry stopped her, why didn’t she identify herself? She could have answered, “I’m a tourist from South Korea. Can I go in here?” Then the North Korean sentry could say, “Here is the military zone. Go back to your hotel.” Wouldn’t it be possible to have conversation?
Anyway, first of all, it was the wrong decision that she made to go to the military zone. If she complied with the order to stop, this incident would not have happened.
I have been to Mt. Geumgang not as a tourist, but as one of the members at the Unification Agriculture and Fisheries Department. I was a camera man. At that time, several places, such as Guryong Waterfalls and River Oegeum at Mt. Geumgang, were allowed to tourists. At that time, I could climb the tip of ‘Sejonbong,’ one of the peaks of Mt. Geumgang. As usual, three North Korean guides–a government officer and two residents-were around me. While I climbed, they kept saying I shouldn’t take photos here and there. On the tip of ‘Sejongong,’ I had a singing contest with the North Korean guide while I had lunch and it was not even allowed to take photos. I went to the North-South Korean communal agricultural field at Samilpo and on the way back I saw children at a primary school. I would like to take photos, but it was not allowed either.
Many netizens are not happy about the attitude of the South Korean government after the accident.
금강산 관광객의 죽음이 시사하는것
우선 어제 돌아가신 고인의 명복을 빕니다. 어제 뜻하지않게 금강산 관광을 갔다 돌아가신 한분이 계셨습니다. 그 사건을 뉴스로 들으면서 착잡함을 금할수가 없더군요. 어떻게 그런 일이 발생했는지, 철저한 경위를 조사해서 유가족분들의 억울함을 풀어드려야겠지만, 얼마나 고인의 잘못이 있었는지와 무관하게 자국 국민의 죽음을 대하는 우리 정부의 태도를 보면서 안그래도, 실망만 하게 되는 정부이지만 더욱 실망하게 되었습니다. 물론, 북한과의 관계경색을 환영하는것은 절대 아닙니다. 하지만 그동안 북한에 대해 강경일색의 태도를 고집해, 지금까지 대북한관계에서 이루어왔던 모든것들을 내팽개치다시피 하며, 인수위시절엔 대북관계의 중요성을 전혀 고려하지 않고 통일부를 없앤다는등의 얘기를 하는등 그야말로 “실리”라곤 전혀없는 70년대식 “이념”적 사고를 하다가, 여러차례 망신을 당하자, 그제서야 부랴부랴 북한에게 대화를 하자는 유화된 태도를 보이는 선택을 할수밖에 없게 만든 정부의 잘못이 일단 큽니다. 어떠한 상황이 발생해도 결국 그런 유화카드를 꺼낼수밖에 없는 자충수를 두었기 때문이죠. 결국 평범한 자국국민이 북한땅에서 사망하는 사고가 발생했는데도 11시간 가까이 그 사실을 봉해두고 오전엔 대통령이 국회에서 연설하며 북한과의 대화를 촉구하는 연설을 하는 쑈를 연출하게 됩니다.
국가가 존재하는 이유는, 가장 최소의 목적은 자국민의 안전과 보호입니다. 그것이 국가가 할 가장 일차적인 의무라고 할수 있겠습니다. 그런데 그 의무를 다하지 못하는 상황이 발생했고, 한국민의 목숨과 대북관계에서 오는 여러이익들을 두고 정부는 결국 고민을 하다가(하긴 했는지..-_-), 국민의 목숨은 내팽개치고 대북관계에서 오는 이익들을 택했습니다. 그것도, 지금까지의 정부의 선택으로 말미암아 불가피하게 스스로 그 카드밖엔 없도록 상황을 만들고서야 말입니다.
국가적 입장에서 보면 한사람의 목숨보다 더 중요한게 있을지 모릅니다. 하지만 그 한 시민의 죽음은 그 개인에게는 청천벽력같은 일이며 그 유가족에게도 참으로 가슴아픈 일이 아닐수 없습니다. 정부는 국민의 목숨 하나를 지키지 못했을뿐만 아니라, 그에 따른 정당한 분노의 표출마저 하지 않았습니다. 그동안 대북관계가 부드러웠다면, 충분히 유감을 표시하고 그럴수 있는 일일 것입니다. 하지만 정부는 그런 선택을 하지 않았고 이명박대통령이란 사람은(…) 국회개원연설에서 북한이랑 대화해야 한다고 외쳤습니다. 이 정부가 한 사람의 목숨을 어떻게 생각하고 있는지가 드러나는 대목입니다. 우리의 목숨은 더큰 대의를 위해서는 희생되어도 눈하나 깜짝하지 않는 정부가 있습니다. 그 금강산에서 돌아가신 분이 나일수도 있으며, 내 부모님일수도 있으며 내 누이일수도 있습니다. 하지만 정부는 그것을 봉해두고는, 대통령은 북한에게 손을 내밀어 대화하자고 외칩니다.
지금까지 촛불집회때문에 개난리쳤던 다른 우익세력들은 뭐하고 있는지 모르겠습니다. 벌써 들고 일어나 가스통이랑 각목들어야 될거 아닙니까? 당신들이 그렇게 싫어하는 빨갱이가 사고쳤습니다. 뭐하십니까?
First of all, I pray for the repose of the dead person’s soul. Unexpectedly, a person who traveled to Mt. Geumgang died yesterday. I was perplexed to hear the news. How could it happen? Through the comprehensive investigation, they should console the sorrow of the family. I was so disappointed at our government for how they look at the death of their own people and treat this issue. Of course, it doesn’t mean that I welcome the tense relation with North Korea. But the government has insisted on the tense attitude toward North Korea and hasn’t considered the significance of relations with North Korea at all since the Presidential election. They even tried to get rid of the Ministry of Unification based on ‘ideological’ thought of the 70s, disregarding ‘actual profit.’ But after several humiliations, they suddenly try to have sweet talk with North Korea. Therefore, no matter what happens between North and South Korea, we can’t help but to bow ourselves. As a result, a common person happened to die in North Korea, but the government tried to hide it for 11 hours. And in the morning, the President had a speech to mobilize conversation with North Korea in the National Assembly.
The reason why the nation exists is to protect its own people in safety. It is the first duty that the nation should do. But an unexpected thing happened. The government was anxious to choose either a life or advantages from relations with North Korea (or maybe they even didn’t think over). They decided to choose the advantages from the relations with North Korea. Due to the attitude of the government so far, they even led one choice they have.
In the perspective of the nation, there might be more important matters than a person’s life. But the death of a civilian could be a shocking issue to the individual and to the family. But the government could not protect the life, but also could not express justifiable anger. If the relations with North Korea were smooth, it didn’t have to be this way. But the government even didn’t do anything and the President shouted that we should start conversations with North Korea in a public speech at the National Assembly. It shows how the government thinks about a person’s life. They wouldn’t take care of our lives and sacrifice for a bigger benefit. The person who died in Mt. Geumgang could be myself, my parents, or my siblings. But the government tried to hide it and now insists on the beginning of conversations.
I don’t understand what the right wing who harshly criticized the candlelight vigils are doing now. Don’t they have to all stand up with gas bottles and wooden sticks as usual? The Communists whom you hate so much committed the accident. What are you doing?
More questions continue to pour out from netizens.
새벽 4시에 북한군사구역에 들어가서 인민군에 무차별총격을 받아 살해 당한 어느 관광객의 죽음은 많은 의문을 남긴다. 50세 중후반의 부녀자가 꼭두새벽에 2미터 높이의 철책을 넘어 군사지역을 침범했다는 북한 당국의 발표를 어떻게 믿을 수가 있는가? 새벽 5시에 연달아 울리는 총성을 투숙객 중 아무도 못들었을리가 없다. 고 박씨가 1킬로미터를 도주하였다고 주장하는데 50대 아줌마께서 훈련된 인민군하고 모래사장을 달리면 과연 1킬로미터나 안 잡히고 도망갈 수 있을까요? 모래밭 걸어보셨나요? 솔직히 무지 뛰기 힘듭니다. 절묘하게도 이명박 대통령이 북한에 직접 대화를 제안하기로 한 당일에 벌어진 충격적인 사고다. 금강산 관광을 독점하고 있는 현대 아산 개발㈜ 이 발표한 사건 경위에 대해서도 정부와 군당국에서는 철저히 재조사해야할것이다. 탈북자들의 증언에 의하면 특히 금강산 지역 초소의 군인들은 상부의 지시나 방침이 없이는 절대로 총격을 가할 권한이 없다는 것이다. 따라서 이번 사건은 북한군 초병 개인에 의한 돌발행위가 아니라 북한당국의 의도적인 도발행위로 봐야 한다는 것이 탈북자들의 견해다. 거짓 세력인 북한의 의견을 일방적으로 버젓이 일간지에 개제한 언론의 무책임한 보도. 잠정적으로 금강산 총격 사고는 납치 살해 사건일수도 있다는 의혹이 있다.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Lebanon: Return of prisoners · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

As I write these words, Lebanon is giving five of its citizens/fighters a hero’s welcome. These resistance fighters have just been released from Israeli prisons. The release came as a result of a swap deal between Israel and Hezbollah/Lebanon. According to the terms of the deal, Israel will release Lebanese prisoners and hand over the remains of more than 100 fighters killed during decades of war between the two countries, while it gets information about a missing flight lieutenant and the two soldiers captured in July 2006 by Hezbollah.
It was declared today that the two soldiers were dead and their bodies have been turned over to Israel. Among the Lebanese who were released is Samir Kuntar. Kuntar was sentenced to more than 400 years in prison and has spent 29 years in Israeli jails. The released prisoners are now being welcomed by the Lebanese President, Parliament Speaker and the Prime Minister, among other dignitaries, at the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut. The Lebanese president is giving his welcome speech. Today was declared as a national holiday to give every Lebanese a chance to partake in welcoming its heroes. Here are a few reactions from Lebanese blogs and more to come later, so stay tuned:
Anecdotes from a Banana Republic uses wit and humor to describe the day and goes on to say:
Kuntar has been imprisoned in Israel for 29 years, since the early age of 17. And how the world has changed in his absence! Kuntar has never sent a drunk text message to an ex-girlfriend or stalked anyone on MySpace on Facebook; he's never taken a stroll through the new downtown or eaten at Barbar (a mega- bistro that opened its doors during the Civil War.) Someone warn him that servis now costs a whopping 2,000LL. Thankfully many of the old, familiar faces from the 1970s are still in power; he'll only have to adapt to the likes of newcomers such as Saad Hariri.
Arab Democracy discusses Israel’s claim to moral superiority and being a hero for a day:
Whether Israel likes it or not, this UN brokered deal is the direct consequence of the July 2006 war. In a conventional war perspective, where the military operations end with a clear winner and loser, such a deal would have occurred sooner after the war. But Israel was not in a posture to admit defeat in August 2006, while Hezbollah showed much triumphalism describing as a “Divine Victory” his ability to resist the Israeli attack.
Israel needed time; it took over a year for the Winograd Report to be issued detailing the Israeli mistakes after a lengthy investigation. After admitting defeat, it is now time for Israel to pay the price.
Under a “humanitarian” cover, Israel is making a historic move. Giving back Samir Kuntar in exchange of two (maybe dead) soldiers captured on the 12th of July 2006 is a giant leap. The interesting debate about it in Israel is about fears that such a move might become a political and juridical precedent.
Bilad al Sham describes the event as an ultimate victory for Hezbollah:
The poster on the Lebanese side of the border said it all: Israel sheds tears of sorrow, Lebanon sheds tears of joy.
The pictures from Naqoura were the ones Israelis had been dreading for two years since Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were seized by Hizbullah – an event that sparked off the summer war in southern Lebanon and northern Israel. Two simple black coffins were presented to the media.
On the Israeli side of the border the families and friends of the two burst into uncontrollable tears on witnessing the pictures relayed from the Hizbullah-controlled Al-Manar TV.
It is not all that Hizbullah controls in Lebanon today. Indeed, the handover of the bodies in exchange for five living Lebanese, including Samir Quntar, the man serving four life sentences for his role in a terror attack in Israel in 1979, is arguably the icing on the cake in two wonderful years for Hizbullah and its pro-Syrian allies.
It is hard to argue that Israel achieved either of its stated aims in the 2006 war – it failed to return Regev and Goldwasser and it did not weaken Hizbullah by pushing it to lines behind the Litani River.
Tantalus uses satire and humor to describe the events in a “rumor has it…” post.
Lebanese Political Journal updates, describes and publishes opinions about the events in a series of posts.
Blacksmiths of Lebanon has photos of Samir Kuntar being captured in 1979 with comments from Israeli press, as well as another post in which he questions whether the price paid to release the prisoners was worth it:
Lebanon's prisoner in Israel is on his way back [while hundreds of Lebanese continue to languish in “brotherly/sisterly” prisons in Syria] and yet another pretext for Hizballah's weapons is gone.
Was it worth it?
Over 1,200 dead – 300 below the age of 13; over 4,400 wounded – 700 of them permanently disabled. Those figures alone provide a very clear answer [NO!], but don't forget to add to them the hundreds of thousands displaced and the billions of dollars of damages inflicted on the country.
No matter to Hizballah, they – and the Israelis with whom they negotiated (Olmert & Co.) – got the PR boost that they needed just when they needed. The Lebanese, and the Al Jazeera-viewing Arab public in general, should simply forget the militant group's recent history of turning its weapons on its fellow Lebanese and precipitating a sectarian rift rivaling that of country's 15 year civil war.
More opinions, coverage and analysis from the Lebanese blogosphere later, so check back.
Other GV Posts:
Israel: Intense Emotions Over the Hezbollah Prisoner Exchange

author: Moussa Bashir


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Morocco: Bring on the Gnaoua! · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Every year in June, thousands upon thousands of tourists from around the world and Moroccans from all over the country flock to Essaouira, a small coastal city about 200 kilometers from bustling Marrakesh, for the annual Festival of Gnaoua and world music.  The town, made famous by the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix (Castles in the Sand is rumored to have been written about Mogador), is a year-round hot spot for Moroccan musicians of all kinds, but truly livens up during the festival.  This year, many bloggers were in attendance.
The Moroccan Dream explains a bit of Gnaoua's history:
The Gnawa music inspired a number of great musicians such as Jimmi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and others. Gnaoua music is a pentatonic music very similar to Blues music because both are rooted in the heart of Africa.
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant went even further to create No Quarter in 1994. No Quarter is a fusion between gnaoua music and rock, following the steps of Randy Weston who was the first musician to fuse his jazz music with gnaoua in the 60's.
Kimany Marley performs
The View from Fez quotes festival director Neila Tazi describing the importance of the festival:
We are driven by our passion for music and genuine encounters, our desire to preserve some innocence and dreams in a harsh world. For four days we create a world with values we believe in: simplicity and the basic things in life.
Afropop, a site dedicated to African music worldwide, shared an article from Dr. Chouki El Hamel, a scholar of African culture, on the cultural history of gnawa and the festival's origins:
Recently, Western musicians interested in African traditional music, have “discovered” the music of the Gnawa.  As a result, many collaborations have ensued with famous jazz artists such as Randy Weston.  The Gnawa are modernizing their style to make it more secular and with more commercial appeal.  With these recent developments and their appeal to tourists, the Moroccan government in 1997established The Gnawa and World Music Festival in Essaouira.
Finally, Agadir Souss shares a video of the festival:
Photo of Kimany Marley by Agadir Souss.

author: Jillian C. York


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Morocco: The Hammam · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

In Search of Baraka… discusses the traditions of the Moroccan hammam.


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Nigeria: Football coaching scams · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Foreign Policy's Passport Blog comments on the recent BBC story about Nigerian fake talent spotter scam, in which “conmen pose as sports agents and dupe young, would-be soccer players out of thousands of dollars”.


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Pakistan: The D8 Summit · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Pakistani Spectator on the D-8 summit, and the focus on food production and trade cooperation.


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Palestine: Obama in the News · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Presidential Candidate Barack Obama is making headlines this week in the Palestinian blogosphere: partly for his impending visit to the West Bank and partly for his turn on the cover of this week's New Yorker.
Of the former, Gaza Strip: The Untold Story says:
Finally, we Palestinians and Arab Americans have to look over this race to the White House wisely. We have two choices now. Barack Obama who is slightly supporting the Palestinians and their promising state. In the other side, we have one of the biggest new Bushes, John McCain, whose stances are more extreme than Bush and all the new conservatives in the US. One of McCain’ s advisors said a couple of weeks ago that Palestinians should go to Jordan and establish their own country. Thus, McCain is so dangerous for us and his ideas are so malicious. So, let’s pick the less worse of the two…Let’s endorse Obama.
Referencing Obama's upcoming visit to the West Bank, Window into Palestine remarked:
It happened once to Jimmy Carter,
who visited the West Bank ,
and look what happened to him !!
Carter became an honest US politician.!!
The New Yorker cover art featuring Obama and his wife, Michelle, as flag-burning militants was an even hotter topic this week.  KABOBfest parodied the story with a headline that read “Obama Campaign Outraged By KABOBfest, Attacks Cover As Tasteless, Offensive” and an image featuring Obama with, among other things, horns and a swastika.  The blogger quipped:
Barack Obama's campaign decried Monday a satirical cartoon on the cover of KABOBfest showing the Democratic presidential hopeful wearing Islamic turban, a suicide-bomb vest, sporting a Bin-Laden beard, swastika, and Lucifer’s horns.
The influential blog defended its cover, titled “Say no to Obama,” as a critique of politics of fear and unfounded allegations during the campaign that have attempted to paint Obama, who is Christian, as a closet radical Muslim
Desertpeace sincerely questioned the cover art, saying:
Satire or racism?
Politics of fear?
Islamophobia?
All of the above??
Just what message is the covertoon of the New Yorker magazine trying to convey? Listen HERE to what talk show hosts had to say….. needless to say, the above questions remain unanswered.
In response to an earlier post by Desertpeace in which the blogger decries the cover art as offensive, adamdenker says:
Get a life! They are defending Obama and attacking the bigotries and prejudices that the right-wing hold! THEY AREN’T ATTACKING OBAMA! They are attacking prejudice! Why can’t you see this? Or do you WANT to be offended?
Another commenter, scarlett, responds:
They aren’t attacking prejudice. Would it have been more offensive if the picture had shown Obama with oversized lips, eating a slice of watermelon?
…
No — they chose the one they could get away with in this age of Islamophobia — painting him as a closet Muslim. If the picture had been one of a redneck/KKK type imagining President Obama in that manner, perhaps they could have passed it off as satire.
* This article also appears in Voices without Votes.


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Russia: Romen Theater · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A blog/Wikipedia entry on Romen Theater – “the oldest and the most famous of Romani theatres in the world” – at TOL's Romantic.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Saudi Arabia: Keep out of my space! · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Nzingha is used to   people keeping a physical distance from each other in Saudi Arabia – but she says that in Bahrain those boundaries of personal space are not respected.


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Saudi Arabia: Prize for new media announced · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Saudi Jeans reports on the announcement of the Hadeel International Prize for New Media, established in memory of Saudi blogger Hadeel who recently passed away. The prize is an international award that aims to encourage Arab talent in new media, with five categories: blogging, specialized blogging, personal blogging, podcasting and videoblogging.


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Sri Lanka: Obama and the New Yorker cartoon · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Going Global on the New Yorker cartoon that highlights the smear campaign against Obama.


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Sudan: Campaign to support the ICC’s indictment · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

The Avaaz community blog informs of a recent ad campaign that they have just launched to support the International Criminal Court's indictment to Sudan's President Omar Al Bashir for genocide. The posters say: “Are charges of rape and genocide a Western crusade?”


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The problem with ‘African Woman’ magazine · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Uganda's Scarlett Lion comments on an article titled “From fistula to fab” in the magazine African Woman, a fashion makeover of a woman who was recovering from a fistula. She says: “From Fistula to Fab! trivializes a very serious problem without offering meaningful commentary or insight into things like medical advances, or people who are working to stop discrimination or incidence, or the voices of survivors themselves.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Draft Constitution · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jumbie's Watch wonders “wither did it come from?”, referring to Trinidad and Tobago's new draft constitution.


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Turkey: Freedom Train · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

“My main objection is why the newspaper needs such a campaign,” writes Erkan's Field Diary in response to a recent “Freedom Train” campaign started by the Hürriyet newspaper to draw attention to human rights in Turkey.


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Turkey is Typing…Terrorists and Other Threats to the Nation · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

The past two weeks have been tough for the Republic of Turkey as they have been dealing with enemies from within.  On July 9th, a terrorist attack on the US Consulate in Istanbul has the authorities stumped as to who is responsible and why. And on Monday the 14th, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor filed a long-awaited indictment on the controversial Ergenekon case against 86 defendants charged with forming a terror group with the aim of a government coup.
Attack on the US Consulate in Istanbul
As noted above, on July 9th an attack against the US Consulate building in Istanbul was carried out. Three policeman were killed as well as three attackers, the real blog buzz, however, is focused on not only why the attack was carried out, but who was responsible, and how it was handled by the authorities.
First, comments on how the authorities handled the situation from Talk Turkey:
What gets me most about this provocation is the scenes of an unorganized and unrehearsed state of the actions of the Turkish security and police immediately following the attacks, as can be seen from the early footage. Get a grip people . . . the whole world is watching . . . Don't be so inept with your running around aimlessly, and help fill the information void through one voice.
You've possibly just prevented what could've been a worse attack, and lost three of your own in the process. Show your dignity by displaying some consistency in your professionalism, not only before and during such attacks, but immediately following as well . . .
Now for the question of the day: Were the terrorists going after the Turkish police, which I believe to be the case (with the U.S. as the secondary beneficiary), or was the attack aimed at the U.S.?
Internation Musings expressed a similar sentiment:
Some things sound weird to me; one of the attackers managed to escape, and what the heck this attack was about? Do I have to believe the Turkish ‘Chaos theorie’ now?
Carpetblogger questioned the “why” of the attack, citing that the location and the plan of operation they chose was unwise:
Seriously, who thought funding the attack was a good idea?  Did not the line item for “hiring a random Consulatetaxici to take us and our guns to the U.S. Consulate” raise any red flags with the grant committee? How about a workplan that included “leaping out of a taxi at an armed guardpost and firing indiscriminately”? Even Nib Nedal could have come up with a better idea.
Let us pause to explain how utterly ridiculous the idea of attacking the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul is. The Consulate is about 20 kilometers up the Bosporus, stuck on the side of a hill in a typically overbuilt Turkish settlement called Istinye. Surrounded by multiple high walls and built from pale brickwork, the words “prison” and “high school” come immediately to mind. Even though we are not professional terrorists, we can tell that attacking the consulate from anywhere but the air would be very difficult.
Now we come to the difficult question of who the terrorists were, a question that is surrounded by controversy as no group has taken responsibility yet.  From The White Path:
Wednesday's bloody shootout at the American Consulate in Istanbul is still not totally solved. No organization claimed the attack, which left three Turkish policemen dead and two injured. But the evidence collected by the Turkish security forces so far makes it reasonable to assume that there was an Islamist motive in the mind of the attackers. Actually three of them died right on the spot, and the fourth one turned out to be a paid driver. So there is no interrogation-based information. But the police found out that one of the dead terrorists had traveled to Iran and Afghanistan. The other's father was arrested in 1999 for links with the shadowy “Turkish Hizbollah,” a Kurdish Islamist terror group. The general impression in the Turkish media is that the attackers were at least ideologically linked with al Qaeda. So, this seems to be a case of “Islamist terror.”
In fact, a non-Turkish blog stated that they were convinced the attacks were carried out by Kurdish terrorist groups as well:
It's only fair to say, by the way, that at the time of typing this, no one is certain that this cowardly cretinous attack is definitely the work of the PKK. But we'll bet good money that that turns out to be the case.
In the effort of fairness, a Kurdish blogger, Rasti, has also written on this subject.  Here are her thoughts as to the origins of the “Turkish Hizbollah”:
It's also widely recognized that the Ankara regime created Turkish Hezbollah.
As the Ankara regime tried to use Turkish Hezbollah to attempt to crush the PKK and then forgot about it until a shoot-out in Istanbul in 2000, so now it seems to have forgotten about its creation again until the shoot-out today. Could it be that the Ankara regime took a page out of the CIA's playbook, thinking it would be a very easy thing to control its creature, Turkish Hezbollah, even as the CIA thought it would be a very easy thing to control its own creature, Al-Q?
It's also widely recognized that other Islamist groups use Turkey, particularly Istanbul, as a staging ground, in cahoots with the Gray Wolves, and that these groups move freely across the borders. Other groups, such as Nizam-i Alem are involved with the Ergenekon gang.
It is very important to note, that the actions and identities of the attackers is still unknown, and there is alot of speculation that is floating around the blogosphere on this subject.  In fact, in reference to the above comment by Rasti, there are groups operating in Turkey that further complicate this situation.  One of those is the Ergenekon gang, the subject we move to next…
Further Plots Against the Country
The government of Turkey has recently filed charges against 86 people recently thought to be plotting a coup. From Internations Musings:
A top Turkish prosecutor, Aykut Cengiz Engin, has brought charges against 86 people allegedly involved in a coup plot. Of the 86 people 48 are already in custody, so another 38 arrests, who's next?
“The indictment covers crimes such as forming an armed terror group… and attempting to overthrow the government by force,” Mr Engin said.
A comment on this blog post gave the following sentiment: “I hope that this is the end of the coups in Turkey. Maybe Hurriyet [A prominent Turkish newspaper] still wants to have a coup, but their ‘journalism’ will be under scrutiny as well.”  Perhaps this quote will make more sense when you evaluate the press that is coming out of this news story. In a comment conversation on the blog Erkan's Field Guide the following was said of the news coverage:
Agree. I'm uncomfortable with Cagaptay's analysis of Turkish politics not only for the slant but also because of the role he has seemingly been assigned by the US media as preeminent explainer. I've read previous opeds of his in the WSJ but this is the first I've seen in Newsweek. What I find frustrating is that there are far better – and less slanted – analysts. Are they not getting published? And if so why not?
Posted by: PHK | July 14, 2008 08:39 PM
I don't know. My speculations: 1) it is all about network. Mr. Cagaptay is in US and probably has a better web of connections.
2) in the name of fairness. If Mr. Cagaptay occupies one pole in Turkish politics, Mr. Mustafa Akyol seems to occupy the opposite pole. The latter is published a lot.
but of course, whatever the reason, even in the name of fairness, the readers are offered a very distorted scene while a democratic struggle in Turkey continues…
Posted by: Erkan | July 15, 2008 12:47 PM
In any case, in both of the above situations it seems that the average Turkish blogger is taking a wait and see attitude before forming an opinion….or they could be trying to find something other than news on the television like me and others:
yesterday all tv channels were full of ergenekon talks. for those people who have no idea what this ergenekon is, perhaps it is better they keep it that way. after a two-day run away from the city rush without all those politics talks, ergenekon was the last thing i wanted to care about yesterday so i preferred to watch another episode of the famous and hilarious british series: coupling.


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Zimbabwe: Of molesters and voters · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Marko Phiri at the Kubatana blog draws a parallel between those that justify sexual harrassment to women by the way they look or dress, with the current political situation in Zimbabwe where “women and children have ‘invited’ the wrath of Zanu PF militias by simply voting for a party of their choice”. And he concludes by saying: If a woman can be fondled by a stranger in public for whatever reason (as if any is needed), if a voter can be clubbed to death on allegations they did not vote wisely, does that not scream for the total revisiting of what makes a superior being in the whole created order”


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Zimbabwe: Slideshow to understand the crisis · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

DanHrstich posted a comprehensive presentation on Slideshare on the current crisis in Zimbabwe, especially interesting for those not familiar with the situation in the country.


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· Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Gil the Jenius quotes Bill Moyers to support his argument that Puerto Rico's media has failed the people.


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Angola: “Let’s get to be citizens” · Global Voices
Paula Góes

“We can't carry on saying tirelessly that our country is rich. We can't continue lauding ourselves as the major oil producer in Africa. This was in times when we were children, we felt as children and reasoned as children. Now we need to think as citiznes and quenstion if our life conditions are levelled with our vast resources.” José Maria Huambo writes a piece called “Let's stop being people, let's get to be citizens” for Interrogações Sobre Angola [pt] blog.


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Bahamas, Turks & Caicos: Political Storm · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bahama Pundit reports that a political storm “is brewing right next-door to us in the Turks & Caicos Islands, but most Bahamians don't have a clue about what's happening.”


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Bahrain: Time for Play  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Bahrain, Umm Naief takes her son on a play date – and makes new discoveries.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Bangladesh: Blocked? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The 3rd World View reports that a particular blogging platform may be blocked in Bangladesh.


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Bangladesh: Sachalaytan blocked? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Unheard Voices and Voice of Bangladeshi Bloggers both report that a Bangla Blog Forum called Sachalaytan appears to be blocked in Bangladesh.


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Benin: Competition for young writers · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Babilown announces the first Golden Pen writing competition for young writers [Fr] under 30, to be held this September in Cotonou, Benin.

author: Jennifer Brea


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Blogger lampoons Senegalese singer’s foray into politics · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Senegalese singer, Demba Dia, eying the mayoralty of a district in Dakar, has announced his own political party.
Blog Politique au Senegal thinks Dia's candidacy is hardly serious [Fr]…
…il ne cite personne, ne se fâche avec personne, ne se positionne par rapport à rien et n'a pas l'imagination débordante vu le programme qu'il se fixe.
…but neither is politics in Senegal!
Blog Politique au Senegal posts this cartoon, which reads: “When politicians are buffoons, it's only natural that entertainers become involved in politics.”
Of course, the phenomenon of entertainers, actors, rock stars, footballers, getting involved in politics is hardly unique to Senegal.  Chrisou, a reader, comments:
Je ne suis pas sénégalais… mais l'affiche et le slogan me plaisent beaucoup! On pourrait même l'adopter dans pas mal de pays…
There's not a lot about Demba Dia online, but here is one of his music videos on YouTube, posted by a member who calls Dia “the King of Mbalakh Rock.”


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Brazil: Bloggers question the 13 new cyber-crimes · Global Voices
Paula Góes

In the small hours of last Thursday, July 10, the Brazilian Senate passed the ‘Digital Crimes Bill’, which typifies the cyber-crimes punishable by law and stipulates penalties accordingly. The proposal will now be proceeding to the House of Representatives for a review of the last amendments, and the next step is its approval or veto (in full, or any of its articles).
Thanks to the pressure from many fronts, the initial draft proposed by Senator Eduardo Azeredo, which gathered unanimous rejection by the blogosphere, has been re-written for the better. The demand for user identification before they can take any action on the Internet, such as blogging, e-mailing or chatting, has been dropped, and some advances have even been made with the inclusion of an article to criminalize online racism.
On the other hand, many acts that would be considered trivial conduct when surfing the Internet are still typified as a crime, as explains blogger and lawyer Lu Monte [pt], while the online pedophilia issue, which was supposed to be the main motivation behind the new law, has been touched only superficially in just one of the proposed articles.
The Senate Press Relations Office issued a press-release [pt] to clarify some of the points and some blogs published a shorter version sent by e-mail to journalists:
“São 13 os novos crimes tipificados pela proposta: 1) acesso não autorizado a dispositivo de informação ou sistema informatizado; 2) obtenção, transferência ou fornecimento não-autorizado de dado ou informação; 3) divulgação ou utilização indevida de informações e dados pessoais; 4) destruir, inutilizar ou deteriorar coisa alheia ou dado eletrônico alheiro; 5) inserção ou difusão de vírus; 6) agravamento de pena para inserção ou difusão de vírus seguido de dano; 7) estelionato eletrônico (fishing); 8) atentado contra segurança de serviço ou utilidade pública; 9) interrupção ou perturbação de serviço telegráfico, telefônico, informático, telemático, dispositivo de comunicação, rede de computadores ou sistema informatizado; 10) falsificação de dados eletrônicos públicos e 11) falsificação de dados eletrônicos particulares (clonagem de cartões e celulares, por exemplo); 12) discriminação de raça ou de cor disseminada por meio de rede de computadores (alteração na Lei Afonso Arinos); 13) receptar ou armazenar imagens com conteúdo pedófilo (alteração no Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente).”
“A lei não se aplica a quem, por lazer ou trabalho, usa corretamente o computador, seja desenhando, seja baixando músicas, seja batendo-papo, seja dando opiniões em blogs, fazendo pesquisas ou quaisquer atividades semelhantes. O BOM USUÁRIO DEVE FICAR TRANQUILO, POIS NADA ACONTECERÁ A ELE, A NÃO SER O AUMENTO DE SUA SEGURANÇA, PELALEI, NO USO DAS TECNOLOGIAS.”
“There are 13 new crimes epitomized in the proposal: 1) non-authorized access to an information device or automated system, 2) obtaining, transferring or providing of non-authorized data or information, 3) disclosure or misuse of personal information and data; 4) destroying, making unusable or degrading other people's objects or electronic data, 5) introducing and distributing viruses, 6) severer sentencing for introducing or distributing of viruses followed by damage; 7) electronic deception (phishing), 8) attack on security service or public utility; 9) interruption or disruption of telephone, telegraph computer, or electronic services, communication device, computer networks or computer system, 10) falsification of electronic public data and 11) falsification of private electronic data (credit card and mobile phone cloning, for example), 12) discriminating against people regarding race or color disseminated through computer networks (amendment to the Afonso Arinos Law), 13) receiving or storing pictures with pedophile content (amendment to the Child and Adolescent Statute).”
“The law does not apply to those who, for leisure or work, use the computer in a correct manner, whether drawing, downloading music, chatting online, writing opinions on blogs, searching content or any similar activities. The good user can rest in peace because nothing will happen to them, apart from the increase in security, according to the law, when it comes to technology usage.
The text may have been amended but new questions keep pouring in. Sérgio Amadeu [pt] is looking forward to clarifications of the above points:
1) quem define o que é o “uso correto do computador”? O Senador Azeredo?
2) o que é exatamente “um acesso não autorizado a dispositivo de informação (faltou ele incluir comunicação) ou sistema informatizado”?
3) O que é infomação? Bom, um site possui informações, um game, um CD, um DVD também. Se um jovem pegar um vídeo no youtube ou em um DVD ele estará ou não violando um dispositivo de informação?
4) Se eu destruir o DRM de um aparelho qualquer para copiar uma imagem ou uma cena de vídeo estarei comentendo um crime perante a lei do Azeredo? Se burlar um DRM de um dispositivo de música para copiar a música em outro aparelho serei um criminoso? Se eu rippar um CD e passar as músicas para o meu computador estarei violando a Lei do Azeredo?
5) Quando acesso uma rede de TV a cabo e pego um personagem de um filme ou de uma série da TV para usar no meu blog ou para recriar uma nova história estarei “obtendo um acesso não-autorizado de dado ou informação”?
6) Quando distribuir numa rede P2P ou apenas publicar no meu blog um vídeo que baixei do youtube, uma música que remixei, uma ficção que reescrevi com os personagens do filme “Guerra nas Estrelas”, ESTAREI comentendo um CRIME de “obtenção, transferência ou fornecimento não-autorizado de dado ou informação”?
7) Se o Senador diz que a Lei dele não tem nada a ver com a ampliação exagerada do copyright, então prá que necessitamos dos dois primeiros tipos criminais que a assessoria do Senador destacou entre os 13 novos crimes criados?
8) Se é para evitar “roubo ou furto” de dados e senhas JÁ não seria suficiente o tipo criminal “3 divulgação ou utilização indevida de informações e dados pessoais”?
1) Who defines what “correct use of the computer” is? Senator Azeredo?
2) What exactly is “non-authorized access to an information (communication should be included here) device or automated system”?
3) What is information? Well, a website contains information, a game, a CD, a DVD too. If a youngster gets a video on youtube or on a DVD, will they be violating the information device or not?
4) If I destroy any apparatus’ DRM to copy a picture or a video will I be committing a crime before the Azeredo Law? If I circumvent a music device's DRM, to copy the music to another device will I be a criminal? If I rip a CD and transfer the music to my computer, will I violate the Azeredo Law?
5) When I access a cable TV channel and pick up a character from a movie or a TV series to use it on my blog or to recreate a new story will I be “obtaining non-authorized data or information”?
6) When I distribute a video that I downloaded from youtube, a song that I remixed, a piece of fiction that I re-wrote with the characters from “Star Wars” to a P2P network or just post it on my blog WILL I be committing a CRIME of “obtaining, transferring or provision of non-authorized data or information”?
7) If the Senator says that the law has nothing to do with the excessive extension of copyright, then why do we need the first two types of criminal offenses that the Senator's PR team highlighted among the 13 new crimes created?
8) If it is to prevent “theft or stealing” of data and passwords would number “3)  disclosure or misuse of personal information and data” not ALREADY be enough?
Ronaldo Lemos [pt], director of the Center for Technology & Society (CTS) at the Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) Law School and Project Lead for the Creative Commons in Brazil, provides his conclusions and some advice:
Em síntese, a imprecisão do texto e suas conseqüências imprevisíveis (algumas das quais listadas acima) demandam que sejam vetados no mínimo os artigos 285-A, 285-B, 163-A, parágrafo primeiro, Art. 6º, inciso VII, Artigo 22, III. Caso os artigos persistam, condutas triviais na rede serão passíveis de punição com penas de até 4 anos de reclusão.
In summary, the text's vagueness and its unpredictable consequences (some of which are listed above [on the post]) require that at least Articles 285-A, 285-B, 163-A, first paragraph, Art 6, item VII, Article 22, item III be vetoed. If these articles persist, [users] shall be liable for trivial conduct on the network and punished with sentences of up to 4 years’ imprisonment.
(Say no to the Senador Azeredo project, iconography by Nick Ellis)
Bloggers and Internet users in general demand more transparency and are mobilizing to fight for it. However, there is still a lot of confusion around the issues and many people are still referring to the earlier pre-amendment text to question the law. This doesn't come as a surprise considering that the public has not been invited into the debate and that only agreeable people were allowed to attend the open sessions discussing the law at the Senate.
It is a general consensus that the matter was not debated enough, and to help with it a blog carnival against censorship [pt] has been called for next Saturday, July 19. The original text of the proposal, available here [pt], is being translated into English by a group of volunteers, in order to raise international awareness. Meanwhile, an online petition [pt] in defense of freedom and progress of knowledge on the Brazilian Internet created by some very respected Brazilian cyberculture academics and ativists [pt] has been signed by over 58,000 citizens in just one week.


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Brazil: Learn how to cook Brazilian food through a videocast · Global Voices
Paula Góes

After a long wait, gastronomic videocast and blog Cuca Brazuca returns with videos shot in Rio in April 2008, the first featuring a truly Brazilian dessert recipe, delicious and simple at the same time: Guava Soufflé.


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Brazil: Uncovering the lack of freedom of press · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Andre Deak [pt] interviews Daniel Florêncio [pt], a Brazilian filmmaker living in London, who “has been target of criticism by the government of Minas Gerais because of his video report Gagged in Brazil“, about lack of freedom of press and political manipulation of the media in the country.


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Cambodia: Preah Vihear victory concert · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Cambodia government held a concert to celebrate the listing of Preah Vihear Temple as World Heritage Site by UNESCO. But tensions are not yet over. Thai troops are still stationed near the temple. Both Thailand and Cambodia are claiming the historic site.

author: Mong Palatino


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China and U.S: American Sarcasm Towards China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Maryannodonnell criticizes an esquire article on Shenzhen, in particular, its sarcastic stereotypes about the city.


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China: History of 50 Cent · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Wen Yunchao posted an article that explained the history of 50 cent gangs since 2005 (zh).


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China: Inflation · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Daai Tou Laam looked into the producer price index and questioned the government's claim that the inflation has been tamed.


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China: Olympic Condom · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Consumer products in China try very hard to capture the Olympic concept in their product. This Olympic condom ads has become rather popular in the internet.


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Climate change, the view from Haiti · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Writing about climate change [Fr], Note d'Or doesn't remember it ever getting this hot in Haiti when she was a child and says the trade winds don't blow as often as they used to.


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Congolese blogger applauds Bashir ICC indictment · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Forum Realisance applauds the ICC's decision to indict Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir [Fr] for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.


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DRC: Kabila meets with Sarkozy · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

At his meeting with Congolese President Joseph Kabila yesterday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy extinguished any hopes of more debt relief.  Blogger Alex Engwete has this to say [Fr]:  “the lesson to take from the diplomatic debacle is that the development of the DRC will not happen by way of the West or the Bretton Woods institutions.”


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East Timor: Aid effectiveness · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Return to Rai Ketak believes East Timor has not done well to promote aid effectiveness.


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Ecuador: Learning Kichwa · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Angel Gualán provides two lessons on his blog for those interested in learning an Ecuadoran indigenous language of Kichwa, which is also spoken by his group the Saraguros.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Europe tightens border control, Brazil returns in kind · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Father LaCour, a missionary in Burkina Faso, writes about French tourists who were arbitrarily denied entry by Brazilian immigration authorities [Fr], apparently in retaliation for Europe's increasingly strict immigration policies.


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France: Restrictions on marriages with foreigners · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Racisme et Histoire writes it's getting harder and harder for French to marry foreigners [Fr].


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Global Voices introduces Executive Director, Ivan Sigal · Global Voices
Ethan Zuckerman

We're thrilled to announce that Ivan Sigal has joined Global Voices as Executive Director. Ivan comes to us from the US Institute of Peace, where he's been researching citizen media in conflict-prone parts of the globe. Prior to his time at USIP, Ivan spent several years with Internews, an international media development organization. With Internews, Ivan worked on projects in the former Soviet Union, was Regional Director for Central Asia and Afghanistan, Regional Director for Asia, and worked on development for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Ivan Sigal, Georgia Popplewell. Both photographed at the Global Voices 2008 summit in Budapest by Global Voices board member, Joi Ito.
Global Voices has been searching for an Executive Director for the past year, transitioning the management of the project from co-founders Rebecca MacKinnon and Ethan Zuckerman. In February, we promoted Georgia Popplewell, formerly our managing editor, to Managing Director, where she manages the day to day operations of our international community. Ivan will be working closely with Georgia, focusing on the long-term strategy of the project, on partnerships, fundraising and sustainability of the organization. We're thrilled to have the chance to work with someone so passionate about the potential of citizen media and knowledgeable about the global media environment.
Ivan is an award-winning photographer, currently working on a book on Central Asia. At our recent summit in Budapest, his workshop for bloggers on photography was one of our more popular events. Ivan has been blogging at Ivonotes, and we're looking forward to reading what he thinks about his new role, which he'll begin in mid-August.
Welcome to Global Voices, Ivan – we're glad to have you here.

author: Ethan Zuckerman


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Guinea-Bissau: A day without immigrants · Global Voices
Paula Góes

“What if the immigrants associations decided to go on strike for a day, to show what Europe would be like without them?”, asks Jorge Rosmaninho [pt].


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Heiva i Tahiti 2008, Festival of Traditional Dance · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Jean-Marc posts photos of this year's Heiva i Tahiti, Tahiti's biggest festival of traditional dance. La Danse Tahitienne blogs commentary on each group's performance [Fr].


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Hungary: Budapest’s Public Transportation · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hudin explains how to get to and from the Budapest Airport by public transportation.


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Hungary: Outsourcing · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hudin explains why Ebay Germany is “running the bulk of their customer support operations in Hungary.”


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Indonesia: 2009 elections · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Thirty-nine (39) parties will compete in the 2009 Indonesian elections. Politics and Society analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of some of these political parties.


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Indonesia: Power crisis and nuclear energy · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Iwan F. Salim believes the power crisis in Indonesia is not as life-threatening as the financial meltdown in the late 1990s. He notes that nuclear power can be an option for Indonesia.


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Israel: Intense Emotions Over the Hezbollah Prisoner Exchange · Global Voices
Gilad Lotan

Wednesday, July 16th, was a day of mourning all across Israel. Hopes for the slight possibility that the approved prisoner exchange deal with Hezbollah will bring the two abducted soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, back home alive were shattered as their coffins were transported across the border. In return, Israel released several Lebanese terrorists, including Samir Kuntar who has been serving four life sentences for the murder of four Israelis in Nahariya, 1979. His release is extremely controversial because of the cold-blooded nature of his crime, comprehensively described by Smadar Haran in the following post: The World Should Know What He Did to My Family.
While Smadar Haran supports the prisoner exchange deal, claiming that she has no monopoly over suffering or justice, it has been intriguing to follow the different opinions and perspectives regarding this difficult topic. The return of the soldiers, regardless of their condition, fulfills an important central value of Israeli society – that the State of Israel will do its utmost to recover soldiers behind enemy lines – nonetheless it poses serious questions such as giving terrorist organizations an incentive to act again. In fact, The Jerusalem Post presents a troubling statistics, showing long-term consequence of such an exchange:
According to the Almagor Terror Victims Association, 854 of the 6,912 Palestinian terrorists released in confidence-building measures between 1993 and 1999 were subsequently arrested for acts of murder and terrorism (as of August 2003). In fact, 80 percent of the terrorists released committed criminal offenses related to terrorism, “whether as commanders, planners, or murderers.” Since the year 2000, 180 Israelis have been murdered by terrorists who had been released from Israeli jails. These statistics do not account for the hundreds more who were injured by these same recidivists.
There is much criticism over how the Israeli government handled this topic in the past two years. On the one hand, the government announced that it will “do anything” in its power to bring back the abducted soldiers. But on the other hand, the government declared that there will be absolutely no negotiations with the kidnappers.
Nadav Peretz writes a thoughtful post on the destructive role of Israeli media and the general public during the past months of negotiations:
The media unequivocally adopted the popular ‘bring the boys home’ narrative. If this was the radio broadcaster who dedicated every song to them, or the newspaper which included their pictures on a daily basis – everyone broadcast that Israel has one national goal: to bring Regev, Goldwaser and Shalit home.
But it was known to everyone, 99% certainty, that both were dead – for many months. One did not need connections with the security entities in order to hear the rumors. In addition, this was also claimed, with no commitment, by the media. However, in order to not harm the families, and with media pressure, they were not announced as dead.
From the moment that the media supported the following two base assumptions – that we must bring the boys home, and that we cannot declare their death without 100% certainty – it was obvious that this story will end badly; especially with the current weak state of the government.
Politicians who knew they were negotiating for dead bodies, were forced to act as if they are in negotiations for live soldiers – knowing that they cannot fail in this negotiation. As a result, Israel had to fulfill Hizbollah's main request – release of Samir Kuntar in return for the soldiers’ bodies.
Not only the media is to blame, but every one who placed a sticker with the soldiers’ pictures on their car, every blogger who wrote that ‘it is absurd that we have not brought them back yet’ – every one of you took part in this public campaign which led us to this day.
Yonatan also criticizes the government for lying about the soldiers’ state, suggesting that they most probably knew about their death ahead of time. He suggests that instead of lying in attempt to raise National Morale, the Israeli government should have simply said: “Goldwasser and Regev are dead.”
Others criticize Israeli media for being disgraceful – turning this harsh tragedy and strategic dilemma into a soap opera.
Over the past day, Israeli media has been following the emotion-filled funerals of the two soldiers. Moreover, it has been covering the celebrations in the Palestinian territories reacting to Kuntar's release, who was
welcomed into Lebanon like a true hero. The Hebrew blogosphere is filled with strong emotions, both supporting and against the prisoner exchange deal. Below are translations of several picked posts:
perspective 1:
The State of Israel has known a substantial amount of abductions. And every time, the same moral question comes up: “to pay or not pay the price?”
Every side has their claims and answers. Until today I did not know to which side I belonged.
Until today.
Today I understood.
After the soldiers were returned (unfortunately) in coffins, you could literally hear the relief all across Israel. This massive rock that was released, for every person who cares about the situation here.
Today I realized: it is necessary to pay any price. Even the most hurtful.
And yes, it is difficult to see the monster, Samir Kuntar, entering Lebanon with song and dance, but the feeling from knowing that “our sons are home” cannot be substituted.
…
After the sad songs on the radio, and after we all felt truly a day of mourning, everyone will go back to their routine.
Another soldier will be captured, another prime minister will change, another war, bombing… you know, our routine.
And we will not remember anymore who Udi and Eldad were.
It is sad. But this is how they ball spins.
perspective 2:
perspective 3:
“דמעות של עצב בישראל, דמעות שמחה בלבנון”
יבוא יום, והם ייתבישו בהתנהגות שלהם
היום הזה פתח את פצע המלחמה מחדש, לפחות אצלי
הדבר היחיד שיכול “לסגור” את הפצע הזה
זה החזרתו של גלעד שליט
perspective 4:
17 year old Litalush writes:
אני יסכם את היום הזה ויגיד שוב.שהיום היה כואב וקשה .
אך עכשיו יש לי בטחון במדינה שכאשר אני יהיה חיילת תהיה לי מדינה שתעמוד מאחורי.
I will summarize this day by writing again and again that today was difficult and hurtful.
But now I am confident in my country, that when I will be a soldier, my country will stand behind me.
From the Facebook group Free Ehud Goldwasser, Gilad Shalit and Eldad Regev
After the rest of the family members left Olmert's office, Karnit Goldwasser, Ehud's wife, stayed behind. She went up to Olmert, shook his hand, and with red-rimmed eyes said: “I've been fighting for two years, and I feel that in the end, even if I won, what has it all been for? So I can shout ‘Hooray, I'm a widow'?”
Olmert listened, and the tears coursed down his cheeks.
The debate in Israel is still intense – is it fair to release prisoners who have blood on their hands, especially in return for dead bodies? As you can see above, there is no clear opinion, within the general public nor within the government.
What do you think?
Other GV Posts:
Lebanon: Return of Prisoners

author: Gilad Lotan


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Jamaica: Green Space · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Montego Bay Day By Day posts photos of The Old Hospital – an area that many Jamaicans agree “should remain as one of the very few green spaces in the city.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Jamaica: Sex Tapes · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican youngsters are engaging in a “[not so] new form of sexual exploration and entertainment” – the sex tape – and Long Bench says: “It's the absence of healthy attitudes about sexuality that creates the market and the appetite for these videos.”


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Japan: Internet Trend · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Peter Payne from Japundit blogs about the latest internet trend among young people in Japan.


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Japan: Tokyo2point0 · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Serkan Toto from Asiajin reports on the two presentations in the Tokyo2point0 event. The first is about a Japan portal site Goo and the second is about Japan twitter.


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Jordan: Meeting Salman Rushdie  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Mental Mayhem had an encounter with Salman Rushdie. Click on the link to read what her impressions were.


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Jordan: Save Water  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Naseem Tarawnah calls for a stricter water conservation policy. “Yes, we have little water, but there is massive, massive, massive mismanagement when it comes to this field, because we’re still acting like a country with no water problems instead of one that is striving to save every drop,” he explains.


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Kenya: On poetry slam in Nairobi · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

KenyanPoet announces that the winner of the last Poetry Slam event in Nairobi was Tim Mwaura. On a previous post, he offers a rough guide to poetry performance in Kenya.


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Korea: Nurses and Sex Symbol · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

A recent music video of a popular and sexy female singer Lee Hyo-lee in Korea has been a hot issue. Maybe in other places as well as in Korea, the nurse costume has been sometimes used as a sex symbol and the singer used the concept for her new music video. After the preview of the music video came out in public, nurses have been strongly against the music video and try to break the social prejudice.
A nurse started a petition campaign on the Internet and expressed how the video can give the wrong message to society.
한국에서 간호사란 이미지가 이런 식으로만 보도되니 간호사를 비하하는 사회현상이 지속되는 겁니다. 솔직히 간호사 정말 힘들게 공부하고 힘들게 일합니다. 그런데 병원에서 성희롱 당하거나 남자환자가 끈적한 눈으로 바라보는 거 감당하는 현실. 정말… 이 직업에 대한 회의를 안가질래야 안가질 수 없습니다. 왜 tv에서는 항상 간호사는 의사 시다바리나 시트콤에서의 섹시하고 멍청한 간호사 뮤비의 야한 간호사로 나오는지요? 간호사 전문직입니다. 제발 좀 대접 좀 해주십시오.
An opposite opinion was suggested.
간호사복장 나올 때마다 이런 얘기가 나오면 어쩌라는겨?물론 의사에 비해 간호사가 사회적으로 대우받지 못하고 있는 상황도 맞고 차별적 시선이 있는 것 또한 분명한 사실이라 분명 인식개선의 여지가 분명하지만… 여의사를 활용한 섹슈얼 환타지도 분명 있지 않았은가? 이건 단지 간호사를 떠올리면 여자가 생각나지만..의사를 떠올리면 남자가 먼저 생각나기 때문일꺼다. 남성의 섹슈얼 환타지를 활용한다는 측면에서 간호사, 스튜어디스가 좀 더 유리한  대상일뿐..(거기에 유니폼 페티쉬 정도..) 무시해서가 아니라는거지..
이런 켄셉조차 못한다면 도대체 뭘 하고 뭘 보란거지..그냥 평화방송,불교방송,기독교방송만 봐야하나? 그리고 과도한 간호사 컨셉은 오히려 실제 간호사와는 별개의 사람들로 인식하게 해주지 않나? 오히려 좀 더 리얼한 간호사 복장에 간호사처럼 이런 뮤비를 찍는게 더 기분 나쁠 듯하다. 이런 간호사 컨셉의 섹슈얼 환타지 작품이 나온다고 해서 간호사 전체를 깍아내릴려고 하는 사람도 없고..이 작품을 보면서 간호사들은 다 그렇다고 생각하는 사람도 없다.여전히 간호사라는 직업은 선망의 대상은 아니다 할지라도 신뢰받는 직업군 아니던가?
문제는 이렇게 남성의 섹슈얼 환타지의 대상으로 여간호사가 아니라 그냥 간호사라고 하는 것 아닐까? 분명 여성만의 직업이 아닐진데도 여성직업군처럼 보이는 현상황말이지.. 내 동기가 간호학과 진학하려한다고 할 때의 분위기는..-_-;; 간호부(婦)에서 간호원(員)으로 여성직업군에서 일반직업군으로 바뀌었고 다시 간호사(師)라는 “사(선생)”짜 존칭도 획득했건만 여전히 여성직업군이라는 선입견을 떨쳐내지 못한 상황이 문제인 것이지..
그런면에서는 간호사가 스튜어디스보다는 훨씬 나은 상황이고.. Political Correctness(반차별용어 운동)를 통해 스튜어드,스튜어디스라는 남성,여성 구별 단어를 Cabin Attendant(CA,캐빈 어텐던드)라는 단어로 바꾸려고 하나 잘 바뀌지 않는 상황…솔직히 이에 대한 해결책은 모르겠다..하지만..직업군에 대한 선입견이 사라진다면..사람들은 이렇게 표현하겠지..[…]
The problem is the job is not just for women, but it’s shown as a job for women. When my friend wanted to study in the nursing department, how did people look at him! The name was changed from Ganho-bu (woman taking care of patients) to Ganho-won (person taking care of patients), which is from the job for women to the job for everyone. Again it has been changed to Ganho-sa (polite way to indicate nurses). However, it still has prejudice as a job for women.
In that way, nurses have a better situation than stewardesses. Through political correctness, instead of stewardesses and stewards, they try to switch to cabin attendants. But it has not worked well… I don’t know how to solve this problem. As long as the prejudice of people doesn’t disappear, people will not change..[…]
Since the signature-seeking campaign started and the music video has been seen by the public, many netizens have put their opinions.
이런영상본다고 간호사를 희화화하거나 이상한 눈초리로 보지 않습니다.. 물론 정상적인 사람들에 한해서요.
남들은 간호사들이 유난 떤다고 생각 하실 수도 있습니다. 솔직히 저도 간호계에 속하지 않았을떄는 그냥 보고 지나쳤고 지나쳤을겁니다.하지만 여러분 제발 자신의 직업이 열심히 공부해서 얻은 소중한 자신의 전문직업과 지위가 전국민, 온세계에 이런식으로 비춰진다고 단 한번만 생각해봐주세요.기분이 어떠십니까?
간호사분들도 많이 힘드시고 짜증나실테니까…. 우리도 간호사분들의 입장을 생각해주어야 한다고 생각합니다.
간호사여친을 둔 남성입니다. 지금 한국사회에 간호사가 엄청나게 부족하다고 연일 신문기사가 나오고 있습니다. 그런데도 4년제 대학 나온 간호사들은 기회만 있으면 미국이나 기타 외국에 가서 간호사를 하려고 합니다. 엄연한 전문직인 간호사를 동네병원에서 주사나 놓는 여급 정도로 생각하고, 성적인 대상으로 표현하고. 표현의 자유, 표현의 자유 하지만, 이효리씨가 마이너한 가수도 아니고 온 티비채널에서 방송될 그 뮤직비디오에 한 직업을 성적인 대상으로 보는 시선을 담는다면, 그것을 보게 될 아이들이 과연 어떻게 간호사를 생각할까요?


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Kuwait: Blast from the Past  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jazarah posts the front page of a Kuwaiti newspaper, from 35 years ago.


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Kuwait: Blogs in the News  · Global Voices
Abdullatif AlOmar

A local newspaper has started covering Kuwaiti blogs. In many countries, this might be perceived as a positive step but some Kuwaiti bloggers have their reservations.
According to Exzombie:
Krakatoa-q8 too has his reservations and says:
يجدر بالاشارة الى ان المقابلة مسرووقة حرفيا من موقع نافذة كارنغي على الشرق الاوسط..مع مدون اسمه ساند مونكي..يعني حتى اشارة الى المصدر..ماميش!!!!
It is worth mentioning that the interview has been lifted word to word from the Carnegie Endowment site on the Middle East. It is with a blogger called Sandmonkey and there isn't even a reference to the site it was taken from in the article!!
As You Like has another take on the issue and is concerned with the nationality of the page editor. He writes:

author: Abdullatif AlOmar


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Kuwait: Flight Simulator at Home  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Kuwait, Mark links to a video featuring a Kuwaiti man, who has an actual flight simulator in his home. Check it out here.


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Lebanon: Sea turtles and water pollution · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

L'Orient-Le Jour posts a photo of a dead sea turtle [Fr] floating off the coast near Halat, Lebanon and urges the government to do something about water pollution.


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Macedonia: Parliamentary Elections, Round 2 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Douglas Muir of A Fistful of Euros is “watching with interest” how the situation with the Macedonian parliamentary elections will develop.