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New Year and Old Habits in Bahrain · Global Voices
Mohamed Hassan

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011/2012.
While countries around the world ushered in the New Year with fireworks and celebrations, a special line-up of treats from the authorities was awaiting Bahraini protesters.
To mark the beginning of the new year, the Bahrain News Agency published a statement to celebrate the achievements of the previous year, saying:
The Kingdom's impeccable human rights record and bright image remain intact and undistorted by any futile false allegations propagated by hostile megaphones at international functions.
At the same time, Bahrainis experienced New Year's day with many twists. Luckily, some of them have been documented by netizens and found their way to the world wide web, showing the world “impeccable human rights record” and “false allegations” the government is talking about.
Blogger @chanadbh tweeted the link to a video and added a sarcastic comment:
@chanadbh: #Bahrain police officer attacks stationary car with bricks, in self-defense of course http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HraRTyuvpOY …
The video shows a riot policeman throwing a brick at a parked car in the village of Jurdab.
Dr Abdulhadi Khalaf, an academic professor who was recently stripped of his Bahraini nationality, shared another video and commented:
بلطجية الداخلية تحاول كسرأحد أالأبواب****ألهذا السبب تكثر الإصابات بين البلطجية؟
@Abdulhadikhalaf: Ministry of Interior thugs try to break a door****is that why there are numerous injuries among thugs?
@AHRAR_MURQOBAN, a Twitter account dedicated to publishing news of a village in Sitra, published a video of a similar incident. The police forces in this video seem to be speaking in Urdu:
فيديو : المرتزقة وهم يخططون لأقتحام منزل – سترة – ميادين اللؤلؤhttp://youtu.be/sqQp3BJpy7s  http://fb.me/2rcPUyfkP
@AHRAR_MURQOBAN: Mercenaries planning to raid a house – Sitra
The haziness in the video is not from fog – but as a result of the heavy teargas thrown on villages on a daily basis.
Human rights activist Maryam Alkhawaja also shared a video which shows police forces macing women – reportedly – for no apparent reason:
@MARYAMALKHAWAJA: Security forces pepper spray women in their faces for no reason RT@: 1-1-13 http://youtu.be/0wokYBRrxpM
Twitter user Mahmood Alshaikh tweeted yet another video which shows that no good dead goes unpunished in Bahrain:
#البحرين – سترة: مطاردة الشباب بعد محاولتهم انقاذ عائلة مختنقة 1 1 2013:http://youtu.be/0sTkwcQxxD0
@M_Alshaikh: Bahrain – Sitra [An island in the east of Bahrain] : Youth chased after trying to rescue a family from suffocation 2013 1 1
Last year, Physicians for Human Rights [@P4HR] stated in their report
Injured protesters whom PHR investigators examined suffered from blunt force trauma and lacerations to
the head, torso, and limbs due to the impact of metal canisters being fired at them by law enforcement officials at close range.
A clear example of that was tweeted by 14 Feb Media Network, a network specialized in publishing news of Bahrain, on New Year's Day:
#المنامة: طلقة مباشرة تصيب أحد الثوار #ميادين_اللؤلؤ 01 01 2013:http://youtu.be/_I-HhhSz87s
@Feb14Media: Bahrain | Manama : a straight shot hits a protester
Another very similar and clearer video was posted earlier by the same network:
#سترة #سفالة : طلقة مباشرة تصيب رأس أحد المتظاهرين 1/1/2013#البحرين
@Feb14Media:
Sitra – Sufala [A village in the island of Sitra] : a straight shot to the head of a protester 1/1/2013
Police forces must be trained not to discriminate, not even age discrimination as this small child (comments say he is four years old) was not excluded from the joy of celebrating New Year's – the Bahraini way. Moawen explains:
@Moawen: Riot police shoot tear gases that covered a small kid http://youtu.be/4eQmT_M7_is  continuous violations against children's rights:
Journalist Dima Khatib then shared a photo that clearly shows the incident:
@Dima_Khatib: Bahrain… again ! RT @mohmdashoor: any chance you saw this from yesterday? 4 y/o tear-gassed pic.twitter.com/DW7lD5Gl
Photo shows how a small child was teargassed, picture published by @14febonline
Using its Twitter account, the Ministry of Interior issued a formal reply on the events of New Year's day, saying:
@moi_bahrain: Assistant Undersecretary of Legal Affairs: calls in websites to hold gatherings at 3:30PM on Tuesday in various areas in Bahrain are illegal
@moi_bahrain: Public gatherings &freedom of expression are protected by the constitution & those who want to benefit from such right should follow the law
@moi_bahrain: Security and legal procedures would be taken against lawbreakers to protect security
At the end of the statement mentioned at the beginning of this article, the Bahrain News Agency stated:
The Kingdom of Bahrain is confidently and surely heading towards the brightest future in 2013.
Personally I hope that will be true.
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011/2012.


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Podcast: China’s Blog Scene  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

How has the China blog scene changed in the past two years? Sinica Podcast hosts two bloggers writing on China: Eric Fish from the Economic Observer who also writes for Sinostand, and Anthony Tao from Beijing Cream.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Abby Liu


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Sixteen Teachers Arrested in Mauritania  · Global Voices
أحمد جدو

On December 23, Mauritanian authorities arrested 16 teachers who had heckled the Education Minister in protest against their arbitrary transfer to remote posts, for having taken part in last year's demonstrations. The police sent these teachers to its various offices in Nouakchott. Journalist Mohamed Salem comments:
يجدد نظام العقيد ولد باهية اعتقال 16 أستاذا من خيرة أساتذة موريتانيا لأنهم طالبوا برفع الظلم
@medsa20 : Ould Bahia's regime once again arrests 16 of Mauritania's best teachers because they demanded to put an end to injustice

author: أحمد جدو


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Social Media Buzz: Rebels Lose a Charismatic Commander in Syria  · Global Voices
Syria Deeply

As part of our collaboration with Syria Deeply we are cross-posting a series of articles that capture civilian voices caught in the crossfire, along with perspectives on the conflict from writers around the world.
Millions of Syrians are using social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Skype to disseminate and discuss the conflict. Each week our Mohammed Sergie monitors the online conversation in English and Arabic, pulling out the highlights in a feature called the Social Media Buzz.
Rebels scored a major tactical victory this week, taking control of the Syrian Army’s infantry school north of Aleppo after many weeks of battle. Colonel Yusef al-Jader (alias Abu Furat), a former commander of a Syrian Army tank brigade, was the architect and leader of the operation. He died shortly after sharing observations on winning the battle.
In a buzz-generating YouTube video shown below, Abu Furat is quiet and contemplative, as he’s shown among lively fighters fresh off their victory. When the cameraman in the video asks him about his feelings he said: “I am bothered. These are our tanks and these soldiers are our brothers. I swear to God that every dead human I see from our side or theirs, I feel sad… Because if that bastard (Bashar Al Assad) had resigned, Syria would have been the best country in the world. But you’re holding on to the chair, you bastard, why?”
Abu Furat defected after he received orders to shell a village in Latakia earlier this year. He joined the Islamist Tawheed Brigade, the largest rebel group in Aleppo, and would often pop up in videos from the frontlines, always ready with an uplifting and compassionate message.
Prior to initiating the infantry school battle, he asked parents to call their sons  inside the school and tell them to defect to the rebel side. He even provided two mobile phone numbers to facilitate communications. “We don’t want bloodshed. These are our sons and brothers,” he said, adding that there would be no discrimination in regards to sect or religion. (Hundreds ofsoldiers and officers heeded his call to defect before the final battle).
In previous appearances, Abu Furat, who served in Latakia for two decades, talks about his close ties to the Alawite community and difficult circumstances of soldiers. There was an outpouring of grief on social media networks, and blogs such as Free Halab and Darth Nader delved deep into archives to eulogize Abu Furat.
One of Abu Furat’s final acts was filled with symbolism. The veteran officer got into one of the tanks that he captured from his former comrades, and after a long career of pledging allegiance to Assad, he defiantly taunted Bashar and said: “Didn’t I tell you I was going to enter this school. I told you, but you didn’t believe. Here I am inside the school and now I’m taking your tanks.”
Sheikh Adnan Arour, the Salafi “televangelist” whose popularity and sectarian rhetoric raises many concerns about a post-Assad Syria, caused a stir this week when he said those who refuse to add “Allahu Akbar,” or God is Greatest, to the revolution’s flag are heretics. Activists responded by posting “I am a heretic” on Facebook and Twitter. Yassin al-Haj Saleh, a prominent Syrian writer, joined in and then elaborated on these very real tensions with Islamists in a later post.
A more creative activist responded by switching the stars on the flag with universally loved Syrian objects: a pomegranate, a hookah and shawarma.
As this column is intended to cover the social media activity of all Syrians, this week’s featured item from the pro-Assad side is by Rafiq Lutf. Although he is little known outside of Syria and rarely speaks to foreign press, Lutf has gained a large following among Assad supporters, undoubtedly helped by being given hours of airtime on Syrian state TV to interrogate prisoners and debunk the lies being told about the country.
So who is Lutf? A member of the Arab Journalists Union in America (which doesn’t appear to have any activity other than its association with Lutf). He first appeared on the scene in April 2011, revealing that activists and journalists conspire to organize protests, fabricate videos and attack the police through an online chat room called Paltalk. He receded from view for many months, only to return with a special on the secrets of Baba Amr, where he interviewed and extracted confessions from Ali Othman, an activist who helped foreign journalists cover the besieged neighborhood in Homs.
Lutf also said that a group of CNN journalists were involved in blowing up an oil pipeline in Homs. These days he is devoted to covering the victories of the Syrian army in Aleppo and it’s this work that’s created some buzz this week. Lutf, one of the Assad regime’s most prominent defenders inside Syria, came across the military statistics below.

author: Syria Deeply


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Struggling to Make Sense of the Deadly Stampede on New Year Day in Abidjan  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Tree trunks laying on the road seem to have triggered the stampede that killed 60 and injured 49 during a new year celebration in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The fact that the area was not adequately lighted may have contributed to the terrible tragedy.
Israel Yoroba in Abidjan reports on a lethal stampede [fr] as people gathered to watch fireworks at the Plateau district to ring in the new year. A hashtag #drameplateau was set up to give real time updates and on how one can help the victims. This is the third disaster of this kind since 2009 [fr] in Côte d'Ivoire.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Ted Henken’s Review of Cuban Blogosphere · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The academic and blogger Ted Henken offers his year in review of the Cuban blogosphere.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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TEDxSanaa: Inspiring Hope In Yemen · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

Despite the turbulent year Yemen experienced in 2012, a group of Yemenis worked very hard to end the year on a positive note. The TEDxSanaa team succeeded in staging, for the first time in Yemen, an inspirational TEDx event in Sanaa on December 31 under the befitting slogan “Inspiring Hope.”
The panel of 19 speakers, included only four women and a female presenter, the Vital Voices Global Trailblazer Award wining journalist Shatha Alharazi, who later tweeted:
TEDxSanaa – Inspiring Hope
@ShathaAlHarazi: Although I was awarded an important international award last June, I say the best thing happened to me in 2012 is hosting #TEDxSanaa #Yemen
The speakers selected were creative and successful Yemeni personalities from different backgrounds, ages and in various fields (business, media, medicine, science and technology) who inspired the audience with their creativity, determination, innovative ideas, success stories and motivational presentations.
The event was live streamed and divided into four sections, allowing for breaks and a variety of artistic performances in between. The event started with a video message from Chris Anderson TED's Curator to TedxSanaa, who was amazed and exited that a TEDx event was held in Yemen and wished the team good luck. Video messages by Yemeni talents (Dr. Hilal Lashual, Dr. Nasser Zawiya, Dr. Manahel Thabet, Dr. Ayoub Al-Hammadi, Dr. Elham Manea, Mrs. Zahra Al-Harazi) who could not be there were also played on a large screen during the event.
Here is what some of the speakers said about the event on Twitter:
Emad Almsaodi tweeted:
مؤتمر تيدكس صنعاء كان مفعم بالحيوية والإبداع والأمل. تعرفت على شخصيات ألهمتني بالفعل. شكراً لكل من وقف وراء هذا الحدث الرائع #TedxSanaa
@almsaodi: TedxSanaa conference was full of vitality, creativity and hope. I go to know personalities that truly inspired me. Thank you to everyone who was in charge of such a great event.
Abdulrahman Jaber tweeted:
لا أدري بماذا اصف الشعورالعام في تيدكس صنعاء… سوى انه يوم استثنائي بكل ماللكلمات من معاني… اليمن ظهرت وردية اليوم… :) @tedxsanaa #yemen #يمن
@ARJaber: I don't know how to describe the general feeling in TEDxSanaa…except that it is an exceptional day in every sense that word can convey…Yemen appeared rosy today.
Iona Craig, the Times correspondent in Yemen, tweeted:
@ionacraig: Yemeni youth should be running the country if professionalism and slick presentation of #tedxsanaa is anything to go by.
Yemen Peace News tweeted saying:
@YemenPeaceNews:Yemen's youth are showing their community and the world their outstanding potential today at #TEDxSanaa. Congrats to all involved!
Sadeq Alwesabi wondered:
@sadeqalwesabi: I'm wondering if our ‘stupid’ officials are following #TEDxSanaa or they're chewing #qat. I'm sure they're doing the second. #Yemen
Yet it seems Yemen's Human Rights Minister, Hooria Mashhour was the only official following the event. She tweeted:
@Hooria_Mashhour: By following up @tedxsanaa I breathed up and have the feeling that the best era of Yemen will be coming
She added:
@Hooria_Mashhour: @mariamahmed36 @tedxsanaa I wish that minister of higher education, vocational training and M. Of labour are there to see the youth and
@Hooria_Mashhour: @mariamahmed36 @tedxsanaa think how to give them opportunities to take part in developing the country
Amal Alsuqaf posted on Facebook saying:
What a great conference @TEDxSanaa, inspired hope, overcoming obstacles, creativity, the future to become
I can't say enough about this great event :)
Thanks for the organizers, speakers, attendees
You made the new year better ♥
She also posted a photo album of the organizers and speakers behind the scene in TedxSanaa.
Sara Al-zawqari proudly tweeted:
@Sous_AlZ: #tedxsanaa was the best way to end the year! Amazing, diversified & Inspiring! Couldn't be more proud http://instagr.am/p/T6S6R_NV15/
Dr. Hilal Lashuel posted this photo on his Facebook wall:
Dr. Hilal Lashuel photo design addressing everyone who was behind the success of TEDxSanaa
Kudos to the TEDxSanaa organizers, presenter and all the inspirational speakers for this huge success. The event was just a sample of a promising Yemen, full of hope and people with dreams who have the potential and the perseverance to make them happen. The year in Yemen finally ended, thanks to TedxSanaa, with the hope of a better and brighter Yemen.
This is a storify of some of the tweets posted on Twitter during the event and after.
All the videos of the speakers in the event will be uploaded on TEDxSanaa's Youtube channel.

author: Noon Arabia


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Trinidad & Tobago: Tech Trends, 2013 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

ICT Pulse shares six ICT/tech trends that the region is likely to see this year.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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WCIT and its Relationship to the Internet: What Lies Ahead · Global Voices
Via Libre

This third part (see the first part here and the second here), concludes the analysis [es] by the Vía Libre Foundation after the the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) which took place in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) between December 3 and 14, 2012.
After the WCIT and Beyond (third part)
By Enrique A. Chaparro
World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012. Photo by itupictures on Flickr, under Creative Commons license (CC BY 2.0).
VIII. The new ITR
The possibility of consensus fell through, the new ITR was passed with the support of most of the Latin American countries (except for those that have Fair Trade Agreements with the U.S.), thereby breaking the informal CITEL (1) agreement. A number of local media notoriously at odds with the government (Clarín, La Nación, La Voz del Interior) took advantage of the opportunity to shamelessly misinform, showing (as if more evidence were needed) their ignorance in these matters.
Thus, we have a brand new ITU, which will take effect in 2015. Since it is an international treaty, it must be approved in each case according to the legal mechanisms of each country. Many signers (and those who didn’t sign), including Argentina, created exceptions, as is usually the practice. In the not too distant future, the Executive branch will send it to Congress for approval. The final acts of WCIT 2012 are available on the ITU website.
Now, after all the hoopla created, what can we say about the ITR?
In general terms, with respect to the issues we’re interested in, the new ITR is better than the 1988 version. Though the improvements are purely declaratory, they recognize some important issues:
It incorporates the issue of human rights (Preamble);
It expressly excludes the regulation of the issue of content (Art. 1.1);
It incorporates a new article (8A) urging states to adopt best practices for energy efficiency and electronic waste.
It includes a new article (8B) promoting access to handicapped people.
It makes an attempt (weak, restricted and short range) to move in the direction of universal access by declaring the right of states to access international telecommunications services (Preamble).
The result of the process has been generally satisfactory, in that it doesn’t promote the proposals that could potentially mean a danger (as we saw above, very amplified by an intense publicity campaign).
The treaty expressly establishes that the references to ITU-T Recommendations in the text are not mandatory;
The definitions of “telecommunications” and “international telecommunications” did not change, and the new term “ICT” was not incorporated.
The treaty does not make any mention, express or implied, to the Internet. In any case, the ambiguity of scope remains the same as it was in 1988.
None of the regulatory proposals regarding “cybersecurity” were incorporated.
There was no trace of ETNO’s proposals about “sender pays” or quality of differentiated services.
Provisions for numeration are limited to references about numeration resources specified in the ITU-T recommendations, and do not extend to nomenclature, numeration or identification beyond that.
There are some potentially problematic issues, though their seriousness has been seriously exaggerated by some sources:
The incorporation of article 5A regarding network security and robustness. The wording (2) is too general, which allows multiple interpretations. But the worry expressed is legitimate, and the safeguards built into the treaty – see item 1 above – appear to be sufficient to ensure that there will be no legal basis for a repressive interpretation. The practical reality, as noted is another matter; and even without this clause, repressive regimes will continue to censor and monitor in the name of “security”.
The incorporation of article 5B regarding unsolicited bulk electronic communications. The wording is careful to not make any mention of the Internet. Given the safeguards imposed in the Preamble and in Article 1.1, its scope is limited: at best, it authorizes anti-spam mechanisms that do not work on content (and yes, it is possible to establish this type of mechanism) (4). Moreover, in many countries there are laws that prevent access to content without proper judicial safeguards, which further reduces the framework of possibility for this rule to work (5). Again, reality is another thing.
The approval of a resolution (PLEN/3), “Fostering an Enabling Environment for the Internet.” This resolution, which is not part of the treaty and as such is not binding, can be seen as a minimal concession to the members who pushed for a bigger part by the states, via the ITU, in management of the Internet. The ability this will have in shaping the future of the Internet can be considered negligible: all it says is that a majority of members states of the ITU want to keep discussing the issues of “governance” of the Internet in the ITU (6). Calling it a “Trojan horse” designed to empower Russia or China is at best–and assuming good faith–an exaggeration.
As an indirect result, this WCIT yielded another small positive result: due mostly to the pressure of social organizations, the transparency of the process, which still remains obscure, improved significantly.
IX. In the meantime…
While many organizations, many of them aligned with our positions, concentrated on this process, and invested an enormous amount of effort and resources, there were other actions much less publicized, with impact limited to academic circles that follow in detail the “governance” of the Internet and which constitute attacks on fundamental freedoms.
The GAC (Governmental Advisory Committee) of ICANN and its attacks on freedom of expression: the GAC is one of the groups that forms a part of the complex web of ICANN (7). The policy of assigning new top-level domains (TLD) allows for “early warnings” about the applications for new TLDs; this equivalent of veto power in the hands of the GAC has been used to block names that some states, led by the U.S., do not like, outside of any procedures or any adherence to international law. Thus, recently there have been a large number of early warnings against proposed TLDs. The majority of these objections don’t come from Russia or China, but from Australia, which with the argument of dealing with terms with “excessively negative connotations” and that they “lack sufficient mechanisms to address the potential for a high level of defensive registrations” (8), it has rejected the TLDs of .sucks, .gripe, .fail, .wtf and others. The argument of defensive registration is ridiculous, given that it doesn’t appear the $20 registration cost is going to have much affect on the costs for a corporation with enough minions to protect itself from a .sucks domain. But the other argument is plainly an attack on freedom of expression: an Internet user can write here “Australia sucks!”, he can publish it in a book; and can even try to register australiasucks.com….but he will not be able to register australiasucks. The basis in law? None, great, thank you.
At the end of November, the board of ICANN conceded to the International Olympic Committee, the Red Cross, and another set of intergovernmental organizations extraordinary powers for the registering of names under the new TLD. An arbitrary decision of the board, not based on any policy or process, undoing with one hand its previous ruling by the other hand, dismissing a process of ongoing policy development, and reversing a decision of ICANN’s own work group in charge of domain name policies, the GNSO Council.
Another concession to the trademark empire, but also an example of ICANN’s failure in becoming a legitimate institution for the generation of policies, which in practice belies the alleged “bottom up process” and shows that in reality what weighs in decision-making is the lobbying capacity of certain groups.
Another example of ICANN dynamiting their own processes and bowing to pressure from powerful groups: after heavy lobbying, the President of ICANN, Fadi Chehadi, caved in to demands by a trademark interest group to call a closed meeting in Los Angeles, which also, because of short notice about the event, had very uneven representation deciding on the requests of the lobbyists. The result, however, was not as bad as expected, but the whole process was another nail in the coffin of the alleged “transparent and democratic management” of ICANN.
How many cries of alarm, certainly legitimate, from well-meaning sectors would have brought to light facts like these three, if they had been carried out by an agency in the United Nations system?
X. Lessons learned and strategies for the future
There are helpful lessons amid this turmoil. The first is that even social organizations above suspicion can be led (for reasons often attributed to naivety) to positions that have nothing to do with their principles, which lead to being unable to differentiate them from positions taken by certain governments and corporations.
The second is that it is essential to take a deeper political reading of what is happening in international forums. This time, looking from the point of view of organizations that advocate the observance of human rights in all areas, there was no major damage in terms of consequences, nor loss of credibility for social organizations, a good number of which unintentionally played the game for a long time that one of the disputed sectors tried to play. A combination of smell, good instincts, reading habits, disproportionate media reactions and various trolls, meant that at the end of the process some organizations were able to discern that the outcome of the WCIT was far from serious enough to merit the theatrical bang by the U.S. and its allies.
In fact, some organizations have reached less alarmist conclusions that are not consistent with the analysis presented here. “Access” makes its diagnosis of the “the good and the ugly” of WCIT in terms we do not share, and is a good example of such a position (10).
Regarding the ITR itself, and at the local level, Congress must deal with it at some point. At best, it would be ideal to deposit an interpretive reserve letter for articles 5A and 5B, that says something like “Argentina understands, in line with the general principles set forth in the Preamble and Article 1.1 of the ITR, that in no case does a member state have the right to interpret Articles 5A and 5B as authorization to intervene in telecommunications, impose any restriction on freedom of expression, or act upon telecommunication content without law and specific order of a competent judge.”
This safeguard is much more important in laying the groundwork for Argentina’s position with respect to fundamental values (and both the government party as well as the opposition should be in agreement on this) than for any practical effect it might have. In all likelihood, these issues of the ITR in practice will be harmless (and the reserve will not in any way alter the actions of states which violate freedom of expression and privacy).
Moreover, we must continue to insist on the need for greater transparency in the ITU’s processes in general, and before our government in the need to integrate societal representation in processes like this.
The enormous public relations stunts surrounding the WCIT 2012 process which has raised dust for some time, has managed to set up something that Milton Mueller aptly called “ITUfobia”, and has served as an effective deterrent to prevent system stakeholders, particularly social organizations dealing with issues of freedom and fairness on the Internet, from discussing the real issue: how to build new “governance” institutions that are minimalist, open and effective, and legal principles applicable worldwide that regulate and limit the power of states and private sector actors to abuse users. This is Vía Libre’s commitment in all areas in which we work.

author: Via Libre


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A Consensus for Political Reform in China · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Yanhuang Chunqiu[zh], a political journal within the Chinese Communist Party, has published a bold “New Year Greeting” in its latest edition. The article, titled “The Constitution is a Consensus for Political Reform,” argues that China’s Constitution already lays out the priorities to be addressed in carrying out political reform.CHINA MEDIA PROJECT has translated the article into English.


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Arab World: Al-Andalus: Fall or Reconquista? · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

Every year, on the 2nd of January, “El día de la Toma de Granada” is celebrated in Granada in Spain. On that day in 1492, Muhammad XII of Granada (King Boabdil) surrendered the Emirate of Granada. The Umayyad Caliphate conquered the Iberian Peninsula eight centuries earlier, and the fall of Granada on that day put an end to the Islamic control of that part of the world, or what is known in as Al-Andalus in the Arab world.
This year, on the other side of The Mediterranean Sea, some Arabs decided to tweet in remembrance of the fall of Al-Andalus.
@taherofficial: We remember the 521st Anniversary of the fall of Al #Andalus.
Photo shared by @Al_Andalus_ showing King Boabdil handing the keys of the city over to King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile
Many netizens seized the opportunity to tweet about the Islamic and Arabic civilization:
@adnan_hws: Remembering #Andalus is more than crying for the loss of a kingdom, it's to learn from our mistakes to rebuild such a glorious civilisation
@morabeteen: الأندلس ليست بمكان ولا زمان, بل هي تجربة حضارية إنسانية لا مثيل لها استمرت تنير ظلمات العالم زهاء الثمانية قرون من الزمان..
@morabeteen: Al Andalus is not just a place or chapter in history, it is an unmatched civilization in the history of mankind that kept on illuminating the world for about eight centuries.
Others claimed more examples for the effect of such civilization:
@Nouh1919: In Portuguese there are more than 3000 Arabic words as there are over a 1000 Arabic words in medicine and chemistry in English! #andalus
@mdamra: While London is sinking in mud, Córdoba recorded the 1st dustbin in history, there were collection vehicles and street cleaning!
However, a bigger debate started on Twitter later on. Some users believed that this day marks the loss of a part of the Islamic world.
@HmdSaud: Do you think dear Spanish we forget it
@AliElKhateeb: on January 2, 1492, Emir Muhammad surrendered the Emirate of Granada (#Andalus ♥), we won't forget any land taken from Muslims by force.
@NadaMadridista: On this day above all days we recall those who were murdered and tortured by the Spanish Inquisition 5 centuries ago. #Moorish #Andalus
While others replied by saying that it was basically an occupation.
@samaralii: اسمها عودة الاندلس لأهلها الإسبان بعد احتلال عربي، زي كده سينا رجعت كاملة لينا، بلاش تكيلوا بميكيالين
@samaralii: It is called the return of Al-Andalus to the Spanish people after it has been occupied by the Arabs. It is the same as we [Egyptians] reacquired Sinai after it has been occupied. Stop having double standards.
@MoudBarthez: زعلان ان الأندلس راحت منك ؟ كان نفسك تفضل محتلها طول العمر ؟ علي كدا شباب بريطانيا لازم يتظاهر عشان يرجعوا يحتلوا مصر تأني
@MoudBarthez: Are you sad because you lost Al-Andalus? You wish you had occupied it forever? If so, then the British people should demonstrate to re-occupy Egypt again.
Yet, others insisted that it was not an occupation:
@alaa: حكم المسلمون الأندلس سبعة قرون لا يمكن ان يوصف بالاحتلال و لا معنى لتقييم حكمهم بمعايير اليوم اصلا.
@alaa: The Arab ruling of Al-Andalus for seven centuries can never be described as occupation. And no way to evaluate it with today's standards.
@SherifKhairy: الناس اللي بتتكلم عن إن حضارة المسلمين في #الأندلس كانت احتلال زي احتلال الإنجليز مثلا، بالتأكيد مقرأوش كلمة عن ما حدث وقت دخولها وبعده
@SherifKhairy: Those who call the Muslim civilization in Al-Andalus occupation, and compare it to the English occupation of Egypt, for sure never read a word about that phase of history.
One netizen created a mobile application to mark the occasion, while two others decided to make fun of the whole debate. The first was worried [Ar] that FC Barcelona might become as bad as the the Egyptian football teams if Arabs decided to occupy Al-Andalus again. While the other, after looking at the status of the Arab world today, decided that “we did them the biggest favour ever” by leaving them alone.
Finally, this debate didn't stop some Egyptians from arranging a demonstration carrying banners that read in Spanish, “No hemos olvidado” [We have not forgotten] and “Volvera por supuesto” [We will be back for sure”].

author: Tarek Amr


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Call for Portuguese Blogs of the Year 2012 · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Blogs of the Year 2012 Competition. Banner from Aventar.eu
Around 380 blogs have already registered on the ‘Blogs of the Year 2012′ competition launched by Aventar.eu. The most interesting citizen media initiatives from the Portuguese and Portuguese language blogosphere can register until January 4, 2012. Voting starts on January 7.

author: Sara Moreira


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China’s Business Environment Tougher on Foreign Companies · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Dan Harris from China Law Blog foresees that the business environment for foreign companies is getting tougher in China because of unfair competition. Dans business friends believe that
China is much more concerned about face and about nationalism and about keeping its citizens happy than it is about the few thousand jobs that any given foreign company can provide.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China Visa Denial: Vendetta as Diplomacy?  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Following China's Failure to Renew NY Times Reporter's Visa on Dec 31, 2012, Elizabeth Lynch analyzed China's Vendetta and urged for a free foreign press at the China Law & Policy blog.


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Chinese Newspapers’ New Year’s Greeting Censored · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chinese liberal newspapers, Southern Weekly‘s New Year's greeting, was censored directly by propaganda officials without the knowledge or consent of editors. The greeting was a tradition of the papers and this year the topic was on “China’s Dream, the Dream of Constitutionalism”. China Media Project has the story in detail.


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Graffiti in Tehran · Global Voices
Melinda Legendre

Iran is not known for its freedom of expression or popular demonstrations in the public. But urban art  is alive there.
Frescoes, mosaics and other ‘approved’ art adorn the walls in certain cities, underground art, although not as apparent as in Europe, is still visible in Tehran: graffiti, tags and stencils are discretely or more openly present in cities.
Some walls are completely covered with propaganda paintings—of a martyr, for example. But this can also be an abstract image, simply ornamental. Some are true works of art.
A few weeks ago, a Tehran photographer sent these photos of graffiti via email; he enclosed this remark:
I took these in Tehran, near a bus stop. I think someone is fighting with the municipality of Tehran. One day he or she draws a graffiti, the other day the municipality removes it. This goes on and on.
Graffiti in Tehran. Photo: Melinda Legendre
Graffiti in Tehran, November 2012. Photo: Issa
Graffiti in Tehran, November 2012. Photo: Issa
Three weeks later, when I asked him for permission to quote him and to publish his photos, he said that it would be an honour for him and he wanted to add:
Now they painted something like a drawing or pattern on that wall to prevent that person from adding more graffiti. But before that this wall was really dirty. But now at least it's not dirty. So the enemy of the municipality is now a friend of people because that wall is not dirty anymore.
Those who express themselves in Iran are more at risk than those in Europe. Currently, no law exists in Iran, but if authorities consider the work to be subversive; in that case, the art might become a crime.
Street art is only springing up in Iran. Let's hope it prospers.

author: Melinda Legendre


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China’s Low Budget Film “Lost in Thailand” Breaks Box Office Records  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Screen capture of the trailer of a Chinese low budget movie, Lost in Thailand, which has grossed more than 1 billion yuan ($160 million) since its Dec 12 debut.
The movie about two rival business managers has become the most commercially successful Chinese film to date. Via Beijing Cream.


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Taliban Commander Maulvi Nazir Killed As US Drone Strikes · Global Voices
Jehan Naseem

According to reports a leading militant of the Taliban Maulvi Nazir has been killed by an American drone strike. This has caused apprehension on the social media site Twitter and blogs; about how Pakistan's citizens and military forces may react to this news.
The News Tribe Blog reports that his vehicle was targeted:
Peshawar: Key Taliban commander Mullah Nazir was among five others killed in a US drone strike North Waziristan Agency of Pakistan’s north western tribal region during Wednesday-Thursday midnight.
Adil Shahzeb confirms it:
@adilshahzeb (Adil Shahzeb): “Maulvi Nazir was killed in Angor Adda in South Waziristan”.”We heard announcements on mosque loudspeakers announcing Nazir's death”
Omar Quarishi, journalist and editor at the Express Tribune opines:
@omar_quraishi (Omar R quraishi): Would be fair to assume that the Pakistanis will be pissed as hell at the drone strike that killed Maulvi Nazir
@omar_quraishi (Omar R quraishi): Maulvi Nazir signed a “peace deal” with Pak Army in 2006 – According to Saleem Shahzad he had property in Kandahar
Omar Waraich, another well-known Pakistani journalist tweeted:
@OmarWaraich (Omar Waraich):  Whoa. Mullah Nazir killed in drone strike. This is going to piss the Pakistan army off.
Following another tweet of his relating to the Pakistani Army's alliance:
@OmarWaraich (Omar Waraich): Mullah Nazir had long enjoyed a non aggression pact with the Pakistan army. He was released from FC custody to take on Uzbek militants.
Ali Mustafa tweets:
@Ali_Mustafa (Ali Mustafa): The death of Maulvi Nazir can be the result of an understanding between Pakistan's military and the Americans – it can… http://lnkd.in/fiVxz7
On the other hand Asad Munir opines:
@asadmunir38 (Asad Munir): As a reaction to death of Maulvi Nazir his followers likely to attack Army Posts/troops in Ahmedzai Wazir area of South Waziristan.
However, News Pakistan reports in their blog:
Taliban have neither denied nor confirmed the reports.

author: Jehan Naseem


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A New Year of Syria’s Turmoil · Global Voices
Syria Deeply

As part of our collaboration with Syria Deeply we are cross-posting a series of articles that capture civilian voices caught in the crossfire, along with perspectives on the conflict from writers around the world.
As the world celebrated the dawn of 2013, in Syria, the regime and the rebels were fighting for the suburbs of Damascus. President Bashar al Assad’s reportedly launched air raids that struck across the country, killing at least 160 people. Aleppo’s International Airport shut down, said AFP, reportedly after a rebel assault. The bottom line: more deadly fighting, with neither side really able to take control.
All the predictions for a new year in Syria have been bleak. Nearly 50,000 people have been killed to date; UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned another 100,000 people could lose their lives this year. Analysts say President Bashar al Assad could go on fighting for months. A round of voices, including rebels on the ground, tell us that even if the regime falls, it’s likely the fighting won’t stop.  There’s been too much bloodshed, weapons flooding the country, and religious rivalries – Sunni vs. Alawite – turning into active fault lines.
Courtesy of Shaam News Network and the Syrian Revolution Memory Project
In major cities, food and fuel are scarce, people are going hungry and freezing inside there homes. Syria’s social fabric has been torn to shreds. Brahimi himself warned of a failed state in Syria – hellish conditions, if there’s no solution soon.
There’s a flurry of diplomatic headlines: hope for UN peace deal, Russia and the Assad regime talking about talks. But the rebels are skeptical, to say the least – it’s hard to negotiate, when each side harbors no trust for the other.
The trends we saw in 2012 have carried over: diplomats and world powers keep talking, people in Syria keep dying, and the chaos on the ground keeps mounting – in ways that get harder and harder to eventually control.
On Twitter, Syrians spelled out their anxiousness in their New Year messages.
Sarina tweets:
@xxSxx_S: It's very upsetting knowing that #Syria will again be going into the new year the way it is and not peacefully like it used to :'(
@Psypherize shares this photograph from a protest in Syria. The banner reads [ar]: Wishing you a happy new year where your sons are not killed. Wishing your children warmth and bread
The 47th shares similar sentiments:
@THE_47th: Happy new year, Syria.. Happy new year defenseless mothers, fathers.. Men & women in the struggle.. You are everything.. We are nothing.
Rafif Jouejati adds:
@RafifJ: Happy New Year! Come to the Damascus Suburbs, where there are fireworks every day of the year. #Syria
And Sakhr notes:
@syrianews: Excuse me if I don't celebrate a ‘happy’ new year. Save the party for when the war is over and Syria is free.


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An Alawite Outcast: How One Syrian Girl Lost Her Mother  · Global Voices
Syria Deeply

As part of our collaboration with Syria Deeply we are cross-posting a series of articles that capture civilian voices caught in the crossfire, along with perspectives on the conflict from writers around the world.
Loubna Mrie paid a steep price for her place in Syria’s revolution. As an Alawite who took a stand against President Bashar Al Assad, she pitted herself against her community; many Alawites have remained staunchly behind Assad, as the leader of their sect and the protector of their privileged position of power.
From the start of the uprising, Loubna’s parents took opposite sides: her father and uncles stood with Assad, while Loubna and her mother supported the growing protests.
It was a position Loubna’s father made it clear he wouldn’t tolerate: he demanded her loyalty to the Assad camp. In August, Loubna left her hometown of Latakia, in western Syria, fleeing across the border to Turkey. Her father kidnapped her mother and threatened to kill her as punishment. When Loubna refused to return her father followed through on the threat. Her father killed her mother, and cut her off from the life she had known before the uprising.
Loubna is now a filmmaker with Basma, a media activist group. She travels around Syria with a camera, chronicling the revolution on film. We met up with her in Gaziantep, Turkey, to talk about life and war in Syria. Below is a portion of that chat.
SD: What was it like in Latakia at the beginning of the revolution?
Mrie: It started like every other city in Syria. The demonstrations just had the normal, peaceful slogans like, “we want better schools”, “we want better jobs”, “we want democracy”. We didn’t even say the line “al shaab yureed isqat al nizam”—“the people want the regime to fall”.
SD: Were there many Alawites protesting?
Mrie: No. There were hardly any. Latakia is full of Alawites, and most of them were supporting the regime. We had just a small slice of society that was against the regime, but they didn’t go to demonstrations because they were so afraid. From day one, the regime was trying to convince people that this is not a revolution–it’s just terrorists or an Islamic movement against you.
SD: When did it all happen? When did your family fall apart?
Mrie: It happened last November. It was so traumatic, I couldn’t even think about anything. I felt guilt, huge guilt. I kept crying for three days, but then I realized that my mom didn’t die just to see me crying in my bed the whole day. So I chose the other option: to grab my camera and go back to Syria.
SD: Did she speak to you in the final month?
Loubna
Mrie: No, they kidnapped her in the middle of August. I didn’t hear from her again since then. Even my aunts and my grandma didn’t call me because they were so afraid that if the government found out they were in touch with me, they would harm them. Even my neighborhood and my old friends didn’t talk with me at all. They didn’t say we are sorry, we feel sad, we feel anything. They were saying that you deserve that. So it’s not only the loss of my mom that broke my heart, it’s also the attitude of the people that I was growing up with.
SD: What was your father’s argument?
Mrie:  I have no idea. But maybe they were just convinced by these stories that the regime has been telling them: that this is an Islamic movement and they will kill you, and that you will lose everything. I think that for the big families– my family is one of them—they are so afraid. They know that when the regime will fall they will lose almost everything, because when the regime was in control they knew they could do anything and no one would punish them. They could do all the stealing, the cheating, the robberies.
For me, I understand the rich families or the families that are in power, but I don’t understand the poor families who support Assad. I remember my neighbors…they were so poor. I’d wonder, why are you supporting this regime? What did the regime do for you?
After a while we discovered it’s like a religious thing for them. In the last years, it was Hafez Al Assad, and now it's Bashar Al Assad  The people worship these guys. Since the revolution began, I kept telling people that the protesters who are in the streets, the opposition, they are not monsters. I fled to Turkey with the help of the Free Syrian Army. They were so nice to me and they helped me. They knew that I’m an Alawite, but they didn’t kill me as the government is always trying to say.
SD: Do you think they are changing their opinion at all? Do you think the community is changing its opinion at all?
Mrie: Now they are stuck in the middle. They are losing their children in battle. They are losing their generation in the army. So they know that the government is not making any good for them, but at the same time they are so afraid of the opposition. We have Islamist elements in the revolution, and it makes them afraid. They are in the middle.  They know that the government is not helping them, but at the same time they are afraid of the opposition.
I have been hearing stories about how, when the dead bodies come to the villages of the Alawites, all the village starts to curse Bashar Al Assad and curse his government because he’s not protecting them and they are sacrificing themselves for someone who is not making any efforts.
SD: From what we keep hearing, the regime has scared the Alawite community so much that they think it’s a battle for survival, life or their death. How do you think that you can calm down those fears?
Mrie: The problem in this community is that they won’t understand. All they know is that if you were an Alawite and you were against the regime, your punishment will be doubled.
If they just saw the stories and just turned on the TV and heard the slogans, they would know that this is not a revolution against them.
SD: Right now in the Alawite community, if somebody stands up, like you, and supports the revolution, what happens?
Mrie: They would kill his mom.
SD: They say that?
Mrie: No, but it happened to me. I’m not a terrorist. I didn’t do anything wrong. I just stepped out from my small community and said that I am with the revolution, I am with my people. I’m not going to witness all this bloodshed and keep quiet. It’s not a political cause, it’s now a human cause…this is a revolution for us, for our children, for our grandchildren.
SD: The whole regime could change tomorrow. Whenever it happens, how is this community going to react? How is Syria going to change if you have so much fear within the Alawite community?
Mrie: Right now we have liberated areas. There are Alawites in those liberated areas, so you can see samples of a new Syria, how it’s going to be. [The opposition is] not killing the Alawites, they are not kicking them out of their houses. We are all one. We are just a good community. Not because of Bashar Al Assad, because we are a peaceful people.
SD: There are some Alawites in the coalition, in the opposition. Are they people that the larger Alawite community respects? Are they people that can be leaders and help the community?
Mrie: The community hates the Alawites who are with Moaz al Khatib. They say these are not even Alawites—they are outcasts.
Loubna
I’m living the same situation myself. They broke into my house. They stole all my things. They stole my papers from my college. All I got from my Alawite community, who are supporters of the regime, was just bad words on Facebook.
SD: What did they say?
Mrie: That you deserved it and we wish that the same thing that happened to your mom will happen to you.
SD: There might always be some anger against the Alawites for standing behind Assad? What does that mean for Syria?
Mrie: In Syria the shelling is still going on and everyday we have more dead people. So we can’t really decide now the shape of the future Syria. We know that revenge doesn’t build a country, doesn’t build democracy. We went in the streets and made sacrifices to make a new country; revenge will not help us to do this. But we will punish the people who did make mistakes, who killed.


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Chinese Journalists Demand Resignation of Provincial Propaganda Chief  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chinese newspaper Southern Weekend's new year editorial “China’s dream, the dream of constitutionalism” was brutally censored and rewritten by the Guangdong provincial Propaganda chief, Tuo Zhen. The new editorial was titled, “Dreams are our promise of what ought to be done”.
In response, the newspaper's editorial team issued an explanation notice on the censorship incident which has been spread widely through China's microblogging site Sina Weibo.
The censor machine at Sina Weibo then started deleting accounts of journalists and editors who are working for the Southern Media Group. In addition, a long list of terms related to the incident have been filtered in the Sina search engine. Leading many started to believe that the editorial intervention by the Guangdong propaganda department, has been endorsed by the new leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.
The printed censored version of the Southern Weekly New Year Greeting. Image from the House News. Non-commercial Use.
Zhai Minglei, a former Southern Weekend journalist explains [zh] why journalists and editors are outraged by the incident:
有听说过新闻检查官枪杀稿件的，没听说过新闻检查官代写稿件的，就象沙皇用普希金名字写诗，这不仅是新闻界的奇耻大辱，也是人类新闻史的巨荒唐的鬼事。
I have heard that news officer would trash articles but never heard that they would actually write for the newsroom. This is a the Russian Tsar writing poetry under the name of Aleksandr Pushkin. This is not only a shameless incident in the news circle, but a bizarre incident in media history.
Journalists demand resignation
In reaction to the incident, a group of former journalists from the Southern Media Group published an open letter [zh] demanding Tuo resign from his position. The letter also urges the new Communist Party leadership to step in to restore order:
庹震的所作所為，與執政黨的利益完全背道也馳。如果媒體失去公信力和影響力，請問，執政黨靠什麼來發聲？靠什麼說服人民？這個部長所做的事情，讓人民和執政黨離心離德，怎可能會有利於黨的利益？現在他的所作所為，已被認為不僅僅代表廣東省委宣傳部層面，正如網上很多人在問：中央新領導集體這些天所營造的開明開放，究竟是真的還是假的？
Tuo Zhen's action is against the interest of the ruling party. If media loses their credibility and impact, how can the party persuade the people? This department head's action has cut the connection between the ruling party and the people. How can it be of interest to the party? Many people believe that what he has done, does not only represent the Guangdong propaganda department, people have started to doubt if the open attitude of the new leadership is genuine or fake?
Li Haipeng, also a former Southern Weekend reporter, is very proud of [zh] the collective action:
我02年到南方周末，09年离开，亲眼见证它无一日不在严苛管制之下。一棵树，今日断其一枝，明日斩其一根，遮其阳光，截其水源，怎能长得健壮？何况还有媒体市场的巨大变革。南方周末是在衰落，但也就是它，尚有不甘做奴隶的精神，换作另一群人也许早就沉默死去，遑论有此次抗争。今天，我再次为之自豪。
I was working with the Southern Weekend from 2002-2009. It has been operating under the tyranny [of the propaganda department] everyday. It is like a tree dying slowly because today someone cut one branch, tomorrow another branch. Then someone covers the sun and cut off the water. How can it remain healthy? In addition, the market transformation has contributed to its slow decay. Thanks to the spirit that resists enslavement, the paper has continued to survive. If another group of people were running the media, it would have died without making a sound and you won't see the resistance [such as this open letter]. Today, I feel proud again.
Censorship endorsed by Central Authority?
Meanwhile the Foreign Ministry's Spokesperson Hua Chunying said in the press conference that [zh] she was not aware of the incident and stressed that China does not have a news censorship system, as the law in China protects press freedom. Such denial has attracted a lot of sarcastic remarks and angry comments, to the extent that Sina Weibo had to close the comment section.
On the one hand, the journalists’ protest messages are heavily censored, on the other hand, the microblog that supports censorship has been promoted by Sina Weibo. That is the reason why netizens suspect the censorship practice has received the endorsement from the central propaganda department. For example, @shanbang (上邦实业)'s microblog is very visible in the search engine:
【支持党中央整肃南方系】由利益集团和海外势力操纵的南方系媒体一直充当西方和平演变中国的马前卒，甚至颠覆民族立场为日本侵略中国开脱罪行，拿着国家的福利干着反党反社会主义的勾当，典型的扛着红旗反红旗，如今党中央派庹部长果断整肃南方系彰显了民族复兴之决心，由衷地向党中央、习总书记致敬！
[Support central communist leaders on tightening its management of the Southern Media Group] The Southern Media Group has been serving the interest of western interest groups to transform China peacefully. To the extend that it justifies the Japanese invasion of China against its own nationality. It receives subsidies from the government while engaging in anti-party and anti-socialism activities. This is a typical act of holding the red flag but fighting against the red flag. Now that Party official Tuo is being decisive in tightening [its grip on] the management of the Southern Media Group. The action reflects the party's determination in the revival of the Chinese nation. We have to show our respect to the central party leadership and to Xi Jinping secretary.
On Twitter, many believe that Tuo has the central authority's blessing in his outrageous act. Tufu, a former media worker believes that Tuo is just the executer:
庹震敢这样，当然不是他个人的事，你以为他傻逼啊？人家揣摩上意，替上面做想做的事，人家才不会傻逼到自己违背上意乱搞，能爬到这位置，这点本事还是有的，所以我说最坏在上面，走苟只是执行意图。
Of course this is not a personal act of Tuo Zhen. Do you think he is that stupid? He is just serving his master and will not go against his master's wish. The very fact that he was promoted into this position implies that he is good at guessing his master's wish. He is just an executer. The bad guys are on the top.
Mozhixu's comment echoed  [zh] with Tufu's judgement:
中国确实没有新闻审查制度，而是主管主办制下的新闻自查制度，针对南方报业的整顿只是个特例，这也反衬出此次庹部长的作为的来头很大，蓄谋已久，并非心血来潮。
Strictly speaking, China does not have a news censorship system but a self-censorship system under the supervision of the authorities. The clamping down on the Southern Media Group is a special incident [that deviates from existing practice]. It also reflects that department head Tuo's action is well-planned, not an impulse.
However Ran Yunfei believed [zh] that departmental interest is involved in the incident:
阶层悬殊正在分离中国，部门利益正在切割中国，公安部交管局的新规给交管局巨大的利益寻租空间，自我壮大其行业腐败。庹震擅改《南方周末》新年献词，说明强奸言论自由的人都有自我示范的冲动。《人民日报》改版称新的一年将努力“说真话”，这可能是它63年来硕果累累谎言中的又一个谎言
Class and departmental interest is eroding China. For example, new regulation on traffic management has given more space for the transportation department to gain, expand and thus more opportunity for corruption. Tuo Zhen's impulse to rape Southern Weekend's New Year Greeting is a desire for performing [the departmental function]. While the China Daily recently claimed that it would try its best to “speak the truth” in the new year, this may turn out to be the biggest lie in its 63 history.


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Chinese Leaders’ Apparent Thriftiness Fails to Resonate · Global Voices
Abby Liu

The ‘Four Dishes, One Soup’ anti-corruption catchphrase originally coined by China’s first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), Zhu Yuanzhang, has re-emerged centuries later. State media [zh] used the term to describe a simple dinner Communist Party Chief Xi Jinping had in China’s Northern Hebei province on December 29, 2012.
The menu of the dinner, which was published online, shows an order of simple Chinese dishes such as braised chicken and pork with wax gourd soup. “He specifically instructed drinks not to be served,’’ the report read.
Thriftiness praised
In a country where luxury delicacies are more commonly served during officials’ visits, Xi's thriftiness obviously touched the hearts of many state journalists. However, the detailed report about the “Four Dishes, One Soup” dinner failed to impress those online. Whilst some netizens consider Xi to have set a good example, many think the story was not worth reporting as it should be the norm.
It is not the first time state media has praised new leaders’ “touching moments”. On the same day, when reporting about Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to a village, state media Xinhua stressed [zh] that Li stood behind villagers during a photo shoot, rare behaviour for Chinese leaders who usually stand in front of ‘normal’ people.
The screen shot of a TV report on Xi's “Four Dishes, One Soup” dinner from Youku.
The state media’s constant efforts to give Chinese new leaders a more common touch has triggered netizens’ retorts on Sina Weibo and blogosphere. Below are some comments from writers and active netizens [zh]:
岳中海: 既然领导人要走亲民路线，抛弃官员“奢华作风”的固有印象，那么就应该和民众一样，一样等红灯，一样住宿，一样吃饭，这些有什么可报道的？故作低调的用词和语调相反透露出亲民行为“稀少”的程度。
岳中海: If officials decide to abandon the “luxury style” impression, then they should act the same as common people such as waiting on the red light [to cross the road], staying in ordinary hotels and eating simple meals, why is it necessary to report about this? The report itself reveals that such behavior is rare.
在打盹：一听宣传某领导吃四菜一汤，吃什么大排档等等，我就倒胃。不改变、不解决中国面临的诚信缺失、道德沦丧、贪腐遍地、生存环境恶化、社会保障不全、三公经费高的吓人，人民有病看不起等等民生问题。
在打盹: Propaganda like “Four Dishes, One Soup” make me sick. They are not addressing the real issues China is facing today, such as the lack of credibility, moral decay, corruption, the environmental issue, social security issue and medical care issue.
连鹏：啥时候领导四菜一汤、合影时站在村民后面不再是“新闻”，被众媒体和网民歌颂的时候，才是真的进步。那句话咋的说来着，可以将权力关进笼子的制度比英明之主重要，可监督问责官员的制度比青天大老爷要靠谱的多。
连鹏: When “Four Dishes, One Soup” and “Standing behind villagers at photo shoots” are no longer considered “news” praised by the media or readers, we will then have real progress. A system where power can be controlled is more important than a wise leader, a system to monitor the officials is far more reliable than a good leader.
作家草军书: 特别多的国人特别容易被官员的一些微小的本应属于理所当然的细节感动，比如领导考察时吃四菜一汤、开车和别人一样等红灯、吃饭后主动掏钱支付饭费等。这些事情难道不是正常的吗？没有必要大张旗鼓铺张宣传，大家都一样拳头大的胃，一个人吃顿饭，四菜一汤完全能吃饱，不要标准太低奴性太足。
作家草军书: Many Chinese people are easily touched by some small things officials do, although these things should be taken as something normal, such as eating simple meals, waiting on the red [traffic] lights and paying for their own meals. Aren’t they supposed to act like this? There is no need to report about it; “Four Dishes, One Soup” is enough to feed one person, don’t lower our standards with a servile attitude towards the officials.
矮巴马：主要是被奴役惯了，总是把命运交给别人，所以渴望有仁慈的主人。其实命运在自己手中。
矮巴马: [Such reporting shows] we are used to being ruled like slaves. We always leave our fate to others, so we are eager to have a benevolent master. In fact, our fate is in our own hands.
Bright113：当正常的事情发生成为感动或欣喜的标准，这个国家已然很不正常了。
Bright113：When a country is touched by a normal deed, this country is already not normal.


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Iran: Police Looks For ‘Smart Control’ over Social Networking Sites · Global Voices
Hadi Nili

Iran's police Commander in Chief, Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghaddam says police is looking for ‘smart control’ over social networking websites. He believes this ‘smart control’ is better than a full blocking and people may use their ‘useful parts’.

author: Hadi Nili


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Ivorian Bloggers Under Arrest for Allegedly Interfering with Disaster Recovery While Trying to Help    · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

“@diabyMohamed: #drameplateau I have just been arrested by the police for our citizen action to provide helping hand to victims in cote d'ivoire…
with @cyriacgbogou who spent the night at the police crime unit of plateau
Humanitarian bloggers Mohamed Diaby and Cyriac Gbogou wrote on twitter that they were put under arrest on January 4th for allegedly interfering with disaster recovery and fraud attempt while trying to help organize support for the victims of the stampede on new year day in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.


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Myanmar: 2012, the Year of Protests · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Aung San Suu Kyi’s election victory, the reported persecution of the Rohingya people and President Barack Obama’s state visit were probably what the international community remembered about Myanmar in 2012. These were indeed phenomenal and Global Voices was able to document and translate citizen reactions to these events and issues. But reviewing the stories which we published in the past year, we can also declare that 2012 was a breakthrough year of protests in Myanmar.
Community protests have emerged against some development projects. For example, the China-financed copper mining project in Letpadaung was fiercely opposed by local residents. A protest camp established by monks was violently dispersed by state forces which drew global condemnation.
Protests against power shortage in large cities. Photo from Facebook page of CJ Myanmar
Spontaneous protests eruptedin several large cities in response to the power blackouts last summer. The people blamed the power shortage to the incompetence of the government and the decision to divert some of the country’s energy supply to China.
Blue balloons were released as the symbol of peace on International Day of Peace. Photo – CJ Myanmar Facebook Page
Peace rallies were organized to support the peace talks between the government and rebels. Various groups joined a rally celebrating the International Day of Peace, although the Peace Day event was blocked by the police. These initiatives also highlighted that the civil war in Myanmar has created thousands of refugees in the country. We translated a Burmese article which exposed the conditions of refugees living in refugee camps.
There were several small protests which generated public debate, especially online: Women activists who joined an anti-mining protest were detained for a brief time, the government blocked an attempt to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a military crackdown on the student movement, and a lot of people were outraged by the reported selling of ‘Buddha shoes’
Netizens are reminded not to spread hate messages on social networking sites. Photo from New Mandala
The violence in the western part of the country sparked the most intense discussion in the country while the world was almost united in condemning the human rights violations inflicted on the Rohingya people. Surprisingly, domestic opinion on the Rohingya, which is struggling for recognition as an ethnic minority group, is divided and even opposition personalities didn’t express full support to the plight of the Rohingya. Activists outside Myanmar are wondering why democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi merely spoke about ‘rule of law’in reference to the Rohingya issue.
Still, the debates over the Rohingya issue should not make us forget that the local conflict has displaced thousands of innocent villagers which affected both the Rohingya and the Rakhine people.
Thousands cheered the arrival of United States President Barack Obama in Myanmar, an event which signaled that local reforms implemented by the civilian government are being recognized by world leaders. Netizens also actively commented on the famous kiss given by Obama to Aung San Suu Kyi.
Some notable reforms in the past year included the release of more than 500 political prisoners and the holding of a regular Parliamentary elections.

author: Mong Palatino


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“Some Hope for a Solution in Syria” – Michel Kilo · Global Voices
Syria Deeply

As part of our collaboration with Syria Deeply we are cross-posting a series of articles that capture civilian voices caught in the crossfire, along with perspectives on the conflict from writers around the world.
Michel Kilo is one of Syria’s famous dissidents, a political opponent of President Bashar Al Assad. He rose to prominence inthe Damascus Spring, a brief flourishing of political freedom and expression in 2000.
Kilo left Syria eight months into the revolution and now lives in Paris with his family. He answered questions from Syria Deeply via Skype. For more on his story we’ve included a link to a video interview about his time in prison, jailed for his prominent political dissent.
SD: Are you officially backing the Syrian National Coalition? What do you see as their strengths and weaknesses?
Kilo: I’m not a member of the Syrian National Coalition, because I think its weakness lies in the exaggerated representation of the Islamic movement. It does not represent the various trends of the opposition forces, especially democracy and secularism.
SD: When you look at the state of the war in Syria, what do you see?
Michael Kilo
Kilo: I see a slow shift in the power relations between the opposition and the regime, with a possibility of many surprise twists. That includes desperate operations [by the Assad regime], such as the use of internationally banned weapons, as it loses control of more Syrian land. Fighting has also arrived in Damascus, encircling the main centers of power.
SD: Do you have any hope for a negotiated solution? What is the best-case scenario?
Kilo: Yes, I have some limited hope of a negotiated solution. Some members of the system have disassociated themselves from the Assad regime and extended their reconciliation to the opposition, accepting a transition to a democratic system.
SD: How do you keep Sunnis and Alawites from fighting each other? Is there any way? Any hope?
Kilo: I do not know how we can prevent sectarian clashes without a national program that brings in all parties. This integrated program does not exist today, since the opposition had missed the opportunity of drafting and implementing it [early on]. Today I think we need a kind of program, that will encourage everyone to collaborate in a joint national project, in order to cut the route to a sectarian conflict or at least reduces the possibility [of it erupting].
SD: Are there members of the current system that you think could and should stay on in a future Syria?
Kilo: Yes, there are people in the system who can play a role in the future of Syria…some of those who are now in power, especially those who are defecting from power and Assad’s family to join the people.
SD: What is holding up the Assad regime today?
Kilo: The resilience of Assad’s military strength comes from Russian, Chinese, and Iranian support and the lack of a critical western position against it. That enables them to play that supporting role without real impediment, with a green light that allows Assad to oppress people and destroy Syria.
SD: Do you think the Assad regime would really use chemical weapons for its political survival?
Kilo: Yes, there is no doubt that he would use all kinds of weapons, including chemical weapons, because he does not respect the lives and rights of human beings. Otherwise he wouldn’t have destroyed his country.
SD: How do you think Assad will exit the picture?
Kilo: My fear is that we will move from a crisis to overthrow the regime to a new crisis, extending civil war and chaos, political and armed. Plus, we shouldn’t forget that Syria is destroyed, and much of the people are homeless, hungry, or displaced, and this atmosphere will encourage chaos.
SD: What is your biggest fear in the coming phase in Syria?
Kilo: Assad wants to make a decisive victory over his people, this is the goal of the war waged since nearly two years ago. It excludes all kinds of political solutions that had been offered by the opposition. He fancies that he can still win the war.
SD: What does the international community need to do for Syria?
Kilo: The international community should develop clear, practical and applicable positions to stop the killing in Syria and work on a political solution to the crisis without hesitation. [World powers] have demonstrated their inability to do anything, abandoning their responsibilities under the pretext of a weak opposition and divided Syrian society.
SD: If you could tell US President Obama to make one change on Syria policy, what would it be?
Kilo: I’ll tell him committed to what I said repeatedly, that U.S. policy must be based on respect for human rights for people, everywhere.
SD: Should the international community enforce a no-fly zone over northern Syria? Should the world intervene to take out Assad’s forces from the skies?
Kilo: But I do not think we need it. The Syrian people have proved over the past two years that they can [defend] their homes without external interference and are supported by the minimum of weapons needed for victory. They no longer depend on foreign countries to get their freedom. They believe that Western countries don’t want Assad to leave, and that he’ll stay until he destroys the whole society and what holds it together.


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Row over 3rd Generation Contraceptive Pills in France   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

The “new” pills are not without risks. The risk of phlebitis or pulmonary embolism is increased two fold, from 2 to 4 accidents per 10,000 users. This increase might seem low in terms of public health but it is significant at the individual level considering the fact that other satisfactory alternatives are available..
Dr Pascale This weighs in [fr] on the intensely debated subject of the risks of 3rd generation contraceptive pills in France. France health insurance will stop reimbursing [fr] for these pills in 2013 but others wonder whether the current media frenzy over the issue could also lead to detrimental measures towards [fr] women's health.


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Secret Money, Hacks, and Politics of Russian Web · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

While suspicions about money and sponsorship plague all Russian politics, the RuNet is a particularly contentious battleground. The rift between the oppositionist and pro-government camps is a hotbed of accusations about illicit funding, with each side desperately professing its own honesty and insisting on the other's deception. When it comes to news developments about cash in the RuNet, the stories usually spring from illegal hacks.
For instance, in October 2011, the notorious Hacker Hell published years worth of oppositionist blogger Alexey Navalny's private emails, parts of which implicate Navalny in mercenary muckraking attacks on business tycoon Oleg Deripaska. (Navalny says these particular emails were forged.) Roughly three months later, anonymous hackers published emails stolen from Vasily Yakemenko and Kristina Potupchik, former leading members of the pro-Kremlin youth group NASHI. Those logs incriminated a whole slew of popular Russian bloggers in taking government money to report favorably about Vladimir Putin.
Russian journalist Tonia Samsonova, April 2006, photo by Maxim Avdeev, CC 2.0.
It's through leaks and theft like this that the world is accustomed to learning about how the RuNet's biggest figures earn their daily bread. In late December 2012, however, Slon.ru journalist Tonia Samsonova got fed up with this pattern and did something really wild [ru]: she reached out to 16 members of the “Coordinating Council of the Russian opposition” and asked them plainly to reveal the sources of their income and the status of their wealth. All 16 individuals actively blog or microblog on LiveJournal, Facebook, or Twitter, and five belong to Navalny's netizen projects [ru]: Navalny himself, Liubov Sobol (RosPil), Vladimir Ashurkov (Fond borby s korruptsiei), Georgy Alburov (RosVybory), and Vladislav Naganov (DMP).
Before reviewing the responses to Samsonova's questions, it's worth noting the efforts [ru] that an organization like RosPil, Navalny's flagship project, has made to uphold transparency. On RosPil's website, there is a public archive of every expenditure [ru] in 2012 and every Yandex.Dengi donation since 2011, the staff is photographed alongside short biographies (though July 2012 recruit Anatoly Shashkin is missing), and Navalny has delegated “controller” status over the project's Yandex.Dengi account to four monitors: one journalist (Aleksandr Plushev), an Internet guru (Anton Nossik), one photoblogger (Rustem Adagamov), and also a pro-Kremlin blogger, fritzmorgen (real name Oleg Makarenko). In January 2012, Navalny even responded [ru] to a long report by Makarenko, wherein Navalny actually agreed to adopt the blogger's idea to archive scans of RosPil purchasing receipts (though RosPil's website offers no such thing, a year later).
Given RosPil's commitment to openness, one might have assumed that Samsonova's inquiry would have been an easy win for Navalny and the opposition's champions of accountability. This, after all, would be an opportunity to showcase the protest movement's unwavering commitment to public accountability and openness.
It didn't quite work out that way.
Indeed, anti-oppositionist LiveJournal user xs17 welcomed [ru] the article as “an unexpected New Years gift to all lovers of justice,” reposting unflattering excerpts and lampooning the respondents for their reluctance to be forthcoming about their wealth. When some oppositionists did answer Samsonova's questions, xs17 criticized them for bourgeois excess (linking to a biting takedown [ru] of Boris Nemtsov by Eduard Limonov, for instance) and accused them of underreporting their assets (such as Navalny's unmentioned Infiniti M35x and Nemtsov's whitewashed past).
The same day that Samsonova published her questionnaire, Twitter was flooded with tweets (probably assisted by a bot net) using the hashtag “#НаЧтоЖиветОппозиция” (“OnWhatDoesTheOppositionLive”). Many of the tweets mirrored xs17's criticisms, reposting compromising excerpts and mocking individuals for dubious earnings and extravagant wealth.
Samsonova herself was clearly disappointed in the responses to her questions. All 16 oppositionists refused to endorse mandatory earnings declarations for Coordinating Council members, though most did discuss to some extent their own wealth. Some council members, like Sergei Udaltsov and Olga Romanova, rejected obligatory declarations on the grounds that they might arm the authorities with dangerous information. In a concluding remark, Samsonova took issue with that logic:
Они и раньше это делали, когда вы ничего про себя не публиковали. Таким образом, если недружественные государственные органы и так про вас все знают, почему бы не поделиться информацией о себе с дружественными согражданами?
[State investigators already learned about you] when you weren't publishing anything about yourselves. As such, if unfriendly state agencies already know everything about you, why not share the information with your friendly fellow citizens?
While this reaction may have disappointed many, it's important to understand the consequences of the council members’ attitude. By refusing to hold themselves to the transparency standards they expect of elected officials, the opposition is hardly depriving itself of all legitimacy. If the Coordinating Council is meant simply to be a means of synchronizing the protest movement, income declarations perhaps make no sense. The lack of commitment to financial openness, however, does prevent the Council from becoming a real shadow government—something for which many hoped, during last October's online elections.
Now that we can scratch off the list this most ambitious prospect, the Russian opposition will have to decide what it is prepared to make of the Coordinating Council. Returning to the theme of money and conspiracy, it's a shame that Samsonova didn't interview councilman Andrei Piontkovsky, who just weeks earlier in a blog post [ru] on Ekho Moskvy mused that the Russian opposition as we know it is the “business project” of banking tycoon Mikhail Fridman, founder and chairman of the investment consortium Alfa Group. In that blog post, Piontkovsky suggested that fellow Coordinating Council member Vladimir Ashurkov never really severed his ties to Fridman and Alfa Group (where he was a top manager for six years, until [ru] April 2012), meaning that Ashurkov could be the point-man for an entire oligarchic political campaign.
Samsonova did, however, talk to Ashurkov. As you might have guessed, he refused to discuss his income or his wealth, and he confessed no interest in others’ assets, dismissing the subject as “idle curiosity.”

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Uganda in 2012: 50 Years of Independence and Africa’s Youngest MP · Global Voices
James Propa

2012 was one of the happiest years in Uganda's history. Sweet memories range from Ugandans electing Africa's youngest Member of Parliament to the country's 50 year independence celebrations.
But 2012 was not so good for soccer lovers as Uganda failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations taking place this month in South Africa.
Let's look at some issues and events which created buzz on the internet in Uganda.
The Uganda At 50 Official Logo
Uganda Marks 50 years of Independence:
On 9 October 2012, Uganda marked 50 years of Independence with a spectacular event at the Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala. The event involved an air show around the country where three jets painted the skies Black, Yellow, Red – official National colours. The celebrations even got an official song, Yoga Yoga, which was a collaborative effort by some of Uganda's leading musicians. Later the song sparked discussion online as the artists failed to agree on who owned the song.
Kiprotich wins Gold medal at the Olympics:
Stephen Kiprotich. Used with Permission from Newvision.co.ug
With a record 2:08:01, Ugandan runner Stephen Kiprotich won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Delighted by the victory, many Ugandans switched to Kiprotich's winning image as their profile picture on Facebook. This was Uganda's second gold medal since 1972. Kiprotich got a hero-like welcome when he came back from the Olympics and received over $4million in gifts from different individuals and companies.
Hon. Alengot. Photo used with permission from monitor.co.ug
Uganda Elects Africa's Youngest Member of Parliament:
Usuk County in Eastern Uganda elected 19 year-old Proscovia Alengot Oromait as their MP. She won the election with 11,059 votes thus replacing her late father who had died earlier in 2012. This story got much attention online and offline as well as many people were asking whether Hon. Alengot was ready for such responsibility, while others believed in her and congratulated her.
King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi's Child Out of Wedlock:
On Tuesday January 17, 2012 the Buganda Kingdom in Uganda announced the birth of a second son of their King (Kabaka), Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II. Buganda celebrated when the news was released. However, the announcement did not come without controversy because the King duly wed in church in 1999 to Slyvia Nagginda, the Nabagereka (the Queen) of Buganda, which means Prince Ssemakokiro Richard, was born out of wedlock.
Kabaka Mutebi and Prince Ssemakkokiro. Photo source: the official Buganda Kingdom website.
Uganda LGBT Comunity held Frist Gay Pride Events
Early August 2012, the LGBT community held a series of events at Entebbe including a beach party. Jamaican LGBT activist Maurice Tomlinson was honored as the grand marshal of the event. In spite of widespread homophobia on part of Ugandan politicians and the public, the event was reportedly well attended. Ugandan police raided the event and detained LGBT activists who were later released.
Anonymous hacks Government Websites
A screen shot of the hacked website of the Ugandan Prime Minister.
International hactivist group known as Anonymous hacked the website of the Prime Minister of Uganda and the database of the Uganda Justice Law and Order Society in support of Ugandan Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) rights activists.
They took control of the website of the Prime Minister posting photos of Uganda's first Gay Pride events, an official recognition of Gay Pride Week and a formal apology to gay people from the Prime Minister. It also revealed encrypted administration passwords for Uganda's Justice Law and Order Society.
Uganda Bloggers Meet Up:
Ugandan bloggers got to meet and discuss the future of blogging in Uganda and how to connect to the larger network of Global Voices and Rising Voices. They agreed, among other things, to create a Facebook group and a blog that aggregates all blogs in Uganda.

author: James Propa


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Nepali Citizen Arrested in the UK for Alleged War Crimes  · Global Voices
Pradeep Singh

The UK police has used universal jurisdiction law to arrest a Nepali army colonel residing in the in East Sussex town of the UK. The Nepali man has been accused of torturing during the decade-long (1996-2006) civil war in Nepal. UN has recorded more than 2,500 cases of torture during the conflict in Nepal and this is probably the first time any Nepali has been arrested for torture. UK police hasn’t revealed the identity of the man.
Although the details of the alleged offense have not been made clear, Scotland Yard – the home for metropolitan police in the UK issued a statement saying:
“Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service have today arrested a man in connection with torture allegedly committed during the Nepali civil war.”
Images of the civil war in Nepal – Maoist fighters take part in training in a remote village. Image by Bimal Sharma. Copyright Demotix (22/7/2006)
The arrest has made clear that crimes can be prosecuted in Britain regardless of where they occurred. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said:
The arrest in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2013, of a Nepali army colonel suspected of torture sends a warning to those accused of serious crimes in Nepal and elsewhere that they cannot hide from the law forever.
Brad Adams, Asia director of HRW further added:
The UK’s move to arrest a Nepali army officer for torture during Nepal’s brutal civil war is an important step in enforcing the UN Convention against Torture. Those responsible for committing torture in Nepal can no longer assume they are beyond the reach of the law in other countries.
BBC Nepali which extensively covered the story writes in its online version:
“The investigation is being led by the Counter Terrorism Command, who have responsibility for investigating alleged war crimes and human rights abuses.”
Nepal’s decade-long civil war which came to an end in 2006 claimed the lives of more than 12,000 people. The country saw thousands and thousands of human rights abuses during that period. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)  published a 233-paged ‘Nepal Conflict Report’ which recorded more than 2,500 cases of torture.
Kanak Mani Dixit, a Nepali journalist, and Editor and Publisher of Himal Southasian magazine writes in a letter sent to The Guardian of London (later shared on facebook):
“This arrest in Sussex is the start of ‘universal jurisdiction’ against state-side and insurgent perpetrators who destroyed the society and economy of Nepal between 1996 and 2006. The UN's OHCHR confirms in its ”Nepal Conflict Report’ that the level of violence visited upon the people over the decade was of a high degree, including torture, disappearance, abduction, rape and killing. This application of ‘universal jurisdiction’ is also the result of the refusal of the political parties, and the Maoists, to create credible transitional justice mechanisms within the country over the last five years for the sake of true justice and genuine reconciliation. Instead, the present Maoist-led regime has been seeking pardon for murder conficts and has cancelled court cases against hundreds accused of heinous crimes. The vicitms have been left bereft.”
The BBC broke the news with this report that has been tweeted more than hundred times:
@BBCBreaking: Counter terrorism officers arrest 46-year-old man in Sussex, UK, over alleged torture committed during civil war in Nepal.
Everyone is wondering why this step has been taken by the UK police, when several years have passed since the civil war. According to The Independent:
The colonel, who has also not been named, was arrested under section 134 of the 1988 Criminal Justice Act, which makes torture by a public official an offence wherever it is committed in the world.
This is for the first time in Nepal’s history that a serving security officer has been arrested on foreign territory for human rights violations under universal jurisdiction. In a Nepali blog, I expressed my fears of such cases increasing in the UK:
UK is home to thousands of Nepalis that probably involves a significant population involved in the civil War then. If the allegations are proved and if the man is found guilty, how will it affect several others that were part of the civil war living in the UK?
Latest Update: The Embassy of Nepal in the UK speaking to the Himalayan Times has confirmed that the man arrested was serving Nepali Army colonel Kumar Lama, currently deployed in the UN Peace Mission in Sudan. The officer was in London on his Christmas/New Year leave in order to meet his wife, a nurse by profession.

author: Pradeep Singh


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Vladimir Pozner & Russia’s Own Political Correctness · Global Voices
Lev Podelko

Late last month, Vladimir Pozner—one of Russia's best known journalists—spoke out on his television show against the “Dima Yakovlev” law (which banned American adoptions of Russian orphans). He criticized [ru] the need for such legislation, condemning it as an unnecessary and improper retaliation against the American “Magnitsky Act.” In what caught Russian headlines and sent the RuNet buzzing, Pozner also took an uncharacteristically harsh shot at the federal parliament (the Duma), quipping (supposedly “by accident”) that it is a house of fools. (The Russian word “Duma” is one letter different from the word “dura,” which means “fool.”)
Offended Duma members responded with a public letter of protest and announced new draft legislation that bans foreign nationals from working on government television channels. (Pozner, born in Paris, has an American passport [ru] and speaks English with native fluency and no Russian accent.)
Pozner speaking in English at a conference in Cleveland in April 2012.
Andrei Lugovoi, the main author of the letter (some may remember him as the man wanted by British Police for the murder of Alexander Litvenenko) said [ru]:
Нужно действительно подумать над тем, насколько вообще адекватны люди, имеющие нероссийское гражданство, вообще насколько они способны адекватно выступать за интересы российского государства, работая на российские деньги на федеральных каналах, при этом дискредитируя государственную власть.
One really needs to consider how appropriate and possible it is for individuals with non-Russian citizenship to speak in the interest of [Russia], while getting paid with Russian tax dollars on a federal channel, all to discredit the government.
Vladimir Pozner, 15 December 2010, photo by VOA News, public domain.
The response has been mixed. Perhaps because of Russia's troubled record with the freedom of speech, many TV personalities are taking Pozner’s side. Opposition-leaning journalist Nikolai Svanidze believes [ru] that the Duma understands its error and is now trying to protect its reputation:
Тем более сама постановка вопроса. Если бы сказали: “Владимир Владимирович, извинитесь” или “Владимир Владимирович, в дальнейшем избегайте столь некорректных формулировок”… А они сразу поставили вопрос так: ах, у тебя иностранные паспорта, значит, ты родину не любишь!
The biggest problem is the presentation. If [the Duma] asked him to apologize or simply “to avoid such incorrect formulations in the future,” it would be different—but they jumped to: ah, you have a foreign passport, so you don’t love the Motherland!
Anton Nossik, a RuNet guru and popular blogger, approached [ru] the issue differently:
Чтобы уволить с Первого канала одного-единственного Познера, группа депутатов от ЕР, СР, ЛДПР и КПРФ придумала целый законопроект, запрещающий появление иностранных граждан в федеральном телеэфире в качестве ведущих. Вообще-то Познер получил советский паспорт еще в 1950 году, так что с точки зрения действующего в РФ законодательства он рассматривается как российский гражданин, со всеми вытекающими отсюда правами и обязанностями.
In order to fire Pozner from Channel 1, a group of deputies from [all four represented political parties] thought up a bill that forbids foreign citizens from appearing on federal TV channels as hosts. Pozner actually received his Soviet passport in 1950, so—from a legal perspective—he is seen as a Russian citizen with all the  legally he is a full Russian citizen with all the attendant rights and responsibilities.
Still, this incident for many remains a disappointing reminder that speaking out against state officials rouses forces that eerily resemble censorship and sharply contrast with the democratic ideals to which Russia claims to aspire.

author: Lev Podelko


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Website of a Liberal Political Journal Shut Down in China · Global Voices
Abby Liu

The website of Yanhuang Chunqiu magazine, a liberal publication that published a bold piece titled “The Constitution is a Consensus for Political Reform,”  was shut down on Jan 4, 2013. The magazine’s official account on Sina Weibo[zh] said they received text messages and emails from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on December 31, telling them the site had been cancelled.CHINA DIGITAL TIMES has more details.

author: Abby Liu


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“Why Do I Feel So Much Pain, Violeta Parra?” · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón

Patricio Zamorano writes a poetic piece for UK-based blog Chileno on the Chilean film about the life of Violeta Parra:
how to assess the Chilean film “Violeta [Parra] went to heaven” on opening night in Washington DC.
After listing many reasons why Chile hurts, the author ends addressing Violeta Parra herself, telling her “don’t worry, my dear Violeta”, for her songs remain and reviews the most important titles by Parra.

author: Gabriela García Calderón


text:
Australia: UFO Sparks War of Words · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

There is nothing like an extraterrestrials sighting to stir the twitterverse. On January 4, 2013 Australian Cricketer Shane Warne was probably doing his mates at Channel 9 a favour when he tweeted:
@warne888: If you are in Australia or can get to a computer please tune into CH 9 as coming up in a few mins, footage of UFO's caught on film !!!!
You can view the video here courtesy of the Townsville Bulletin.
Warnie received lots of replies. It is hard to tell which ones are in jest at times.
Since the video was supposed to have been taken In Cardwell, Queensland, this UFO twitter search is within 2000km of Brisbane.
Greg Piper MP, a New South Wales parliamentarian, plays a skeptical tune:
@GregPiperMP: It's a mystery to me but why do UFO pilots need their lights on? #qld_ufo
He is also prepared to place the blame on the Queensland government:
@GregPiperMP: QLD UFO sightings likely to be aliens leaving as can't cope with LNP government. #qld_ufo
He might have struck a different note if the sighting was in his electorate.
Shaun Moran sees the funny side:
@shaunmoran: “I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords” news.com.au/national/ufo-c…
On the other hand, Paul Salanitri takes a purely astronomical approach:
@Paul_Salanitri: @warne888 either satellites or planets; need date,time to determine which. To see a “UFO” tonight in Brisbane, look North East @ 7:20-7:26pm
A conversation started between Peter Dyke and Vanstrider17:
@PeterPyke: It's official: “UFO caught on video at Cardwell in north Queensland.” We are not alone. couriermail.com.au/news/national/… @couriermail
@Vanstrider17: @Peter Dyke @couriermail wooh! UFOS! great! it might take a UFO invasion for the human race to get along.. maybe thats our cure?
@PeterPyke: @Vanstrider17 Thr is a #Prediction that NWO will mount a global scam of a ‘UFO invasion’ to finally implement the One World Govt they plan.
The New World Order remark is probably tongue-in-cheek but you can never be sure with UFO discussions.
There was an international audience as well as befits a possible War of the Worlds II.
ActusNews (Australia) who lives in Sydney, tweets news about Oz for Japanese readers:
@ActusNews: ACTUS NEWS : オーストラリアでまたまたUFO出現か？（動画あり） http://actusnews.net/archives/4371409.html
@ActusNews: UFO or appearance once again in Australia: ACTUS NEWS? (With video) http://actusnews.Net/archives/4371409.html
In Pakistan, cricket tragic (and Global Voices author) FK was challenging the skeptics:
@faisalkapadia: I wonder about the arrogance of ppl who laugh at ufos… How arrogant is it to assume u are the only sentient beings
UFO stories are popular in Australia. There is even a roadhouse in the Northern Territory:
Wycliffe Well Roadhouse NT – Courtesy: flickr user tm-tm
Anyway H.G. Wells, author of The War of the Worlds, must be turning over in his grave – unless he was beamed up by aliens.

author: Kevin Rennie