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Russia: Anti-Drug Activist Identifies Corrupt Moscow Police in Sverdlovsk · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Evgeny Roizman [ru] is a controversial figure. A Yekaterinburg [en] based art-collector and former Duma deputy who supported Mikhail Prokhorov’s failed presidential bid, Roizman originally made a name for himself by establishing a non-profit fund [ru] called “A City without Drugs” [ru].
The fund both treats drug addiction and targets dealers, albeit using somewhat vigilante methods. It is known for cooperating with local law enforcement agencies, and Roizman often blogs [ru] on LiveJournal about successful raids and arrests [ru]. Some aspects of the program are especially troublesome, including accusations of use of force and kidnapping [ru] to get addicts into detox.
In spite of these allegations — and because of the fund’s success in reducing drug-related crime — Roizman is a respected politician, activist, and blogger in Yekaterinburg. Since his most recent association with Prokhorov, he has become a prominent member of the opposition, as well as last winter's protest movement. Recently, he has also helped facilitate publicity for Oleg Shein’s Astrakhan hunger strike [ru]. At the same time, his blog, together with the locally based news agency URA.RU, has been at the forefront of publicizing a police corruption scandal in Sverdlovsk Oblast.
Tackling the racketeers
Although locals have apparently been aware of the problem for some time, Roizman first blogged about it on April 4, citing an URA.RU article about racketeering related arson [ru] at a Yekaterinburg market, and tacitly linking the arson to Sverdlovsk Oblast’s new police chief, Mikhail Borodin [ru]. Borodin and over 70 of his underlings are allegedly transplants from the Moscow police.
In his post, Roizman calls these policemen “Muscovites,” and claims that they have taken up many important positions in the regional police infrastructure and are beginning to abuse their authority. “I am carefully studying the situation, and I now have a strong impression that these people are here to rob,” he concludes [ru].
Screenshot of the Sverdlovsk Oblast police website, including Mikhail Borodin's portrait, at http://66.mvd.ru.
Later that day, Roizman linked to another URA article [ru] detailing some of the alleged racketeering. The extortion is apparently centered on openair markets, one of which recently burned down. However, as Roizman himself states in the article, “They take from everyone — banks, car lots, spas, vegetable stands, even the older women who sell sunflower seeds and homemade pickles on the street. Even they pay tribute.”
Roizman later elaborated [ru] that the “tribute” for the sunflower seed sellers amounts to 5,000 rubles (170 USD) per person every ten days.
How does Roizman acquire his information? The answer is that he is not afraid to solicit the public for it. In his second April 4 blog post [ru], he wrote: “Friends! If anyone has any other information about the Muscovite tribute-takers, leave it here or come to the Fund, or call me directly.”
The post soon made it to a Top-25 list [ru] on Livejournal. Although many people were at first afraid of retribution and requested to stay anonymous (leading Roizman to somewhat uncharitably call them cowards [ru]), the information he has collected through such requests allowed him to pen an official inquiry to the Urals Federal Okrug [ru] (where Yekaterinburg is located) on April 9, as well as a brief to a Federal Investigatory Committee [ru] on April 18.
Roizman has described some of the extortion schemes on his blog. For instance, on April 16 he wrote [ru] that: “Several owners of mini-markets from Elmash, Vtorchermet, Viza, and so on came to me on Friday. They brought their official complaints and told me how it happens.”
Roizman attached a scan [ru] of one such complaint with the names blacked out. Small-scale merchants at this particular market were each told by the police to remit 15,000 rubles (510 USD) every month. When they refused, the police confiscated their merchandise, and returned it only after the business owners had each paid 10,000 rubles (340 USD).
Another incident [ru] involves a couch that one of the police chiefs extorted for his office from a local furniture factory. According to Roizman, the police chief later decided that the factory should also pay him protection money. (This version of events is challenged by a local blog with likely ties to the police, on the grounds that the couch was allegedly purchased at IKEA [ru].)
Marginalized and stewing
With so much current focus on Astrakhan and “Pussy Riot,” the mainstream and liberal Russia media have yet to devote any real attention to Roizman's story. The noteworthy exception in this trend has been the U.S. consulate in Yekaterinburg, which called Roizman and asked him for a meeting [ru]. Roizman’s reaction was lukewarm, as was that of over 800 comments to his blog, after he revealed the Americans’ interest.
Nevertheless, he appears to be doing fine on his own. So far, his and URA.RU’s reporting has prompted many people to come forward and file complaints. In an interview with URA.RU [ru], Roizman said that the upper echelons of the region's police and FSB are aware of the situation, but seem to be waiting for word ‘from the top’ to make their move. If that move is not made soon, he warns, the citizens of Yekaterinburg take to the streets in mass protest.
Beyond Russian police corruption (a tired trope for many), this case speaks to the increasingly contentious relationship between the Kremlin and peripheral regions like Sverdlovsk. There is bitterness in the way Roizman constantly refers to the corrupt policemen as Muscovites, seemingly implicating all those who live in Moscow and benefit from the government’s stranglehold on the periphery.
If the situation continues unabated, Yekaterinburg could easily become another hotbed of regional rebellion, like Astrakhan, Ulyanovsk, and Omsk today.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Russia: Liberal Democrats Join Opposition to Ulyanovsk NATO Hub · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

In the last week, Vladislav Naganov and Aleksei Navalny, two of Russia's most prominent liberal democrat bloggers, entered the debate about a proposed NATO transit hub in Ulyanovsk. The transit hub (or “military base,” as critics call it) is unlike most Russian political issues that involve the North Atlantic Alliance, as the Kremlin in this instance has agreed to cooperate with (rather than resist) the West. Until recently, the public backlash was chiefly limited [GV link] to activists in the Communist Party and other factions notorious for their anti-American sentiments. The arrival of liberals like Navalny and Naganov is a powerful reminder that RuNet political mobilization can produce strange bedfellows.
Alexey Navalny attends a massive protest rally against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's rule in St. Petersburg, Russia. (2 Feb 2012) Photo by ELENA IGNATYEVA, copyright © Demotix.
Not Friends Anymore
The attack on the Ulyanovsk hub tends to be conspiratorially angry. In their April LiveJournal posts, Navalny and Naganov both accuse Putin and Russia's military leadership of being foreign spies. While Navalny's tone is largely ironic, Naganov seems to seriously believe that Putin colluded with the United States to secure American support for his reelection. Navalny jokes [ru]:
We need to find the [Russian] politicians who take orders from the global cabal and beg for scraps at NATO's offices. Channel One is silent. NTV doesn't film [GV link] ‘The Anatomy of the Military Base.’ Clearly, the American spies have already infiltrated quite deeply.
Naganov, on the other hand, writes [ru] the following about the Kremlin:
These scum fool Russian citizens as a service to another country. They're all traitors to the Motherland, unashamedly masked as patriots actively battling the United States and NATO — all in order to cover their tracks and promote themselves.
In a follow-up post, Naganov states [ru] plainly:
[Putin's] seat as President of Russia was exchanged for the NATO base in Ulyanovsk, disguised by anti-Western hysterics in the media, and agreed upon [in advance] with the Americans.
Opposition leader Garry Kasparov, speaks during a protest rally against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's rule in St.Petersburg, Russia. (2 Feb 2012) Photo by ROMA YANDOLIN, copyright © Demotix.
How unusual is it for liberal democrats to attack the Kremlin for undermining Russian sovereignty? Garry Kasparov was perhaps the first liberal oppositionist to raise the conspiracy flag, blogging [ru] on the day of Putin's reelection (March 4) that Washington was curiously silent about “the gravest human rights violations in Russia,” pondering connections to Ulyanovsk as “geopolitical currency.” The election context is important to understanding how liberal democrats have reconciled themselves to joining the anti-NATO activists. Typically champions of Russia's path to integration with Western Civilization, liberal oppositionists have momentarily abandoned that line in order to lash out at American “appeasers” like Hillary Clinton and Michael McFaul (who remained “silent”), as well as sustain their campaign to deny Putin's legitimacy as President.
Every Post is a Repost Repost
Various pro-Kremlin bloggers were quick to point out [ru] that both Navalny and Naganov very clearly either misread or misrepresented Federal Resolution 219 [ru], a government ordinance enacted in 2008 that regulates the transit of military cargo over Russian soil into Afghanistan. Both bloggers listed weapons from the resolution's annex, arguing that the government had authorized NATO to transport across Russia items such as “bombs,” “lasers,” and “warships.” In reality, however, the annex is a list of weapons excluded from the Resolution's jurisdiction.
The backlash was so overwhelming that Naganov was compelled to respond with a second blog post [ru], where he explained that the Kremlin would enact separate legislation to permit the transit of lethal military cargo, now arguing that Resolution 219 “allowed” items like “tanks” and “explosives” because it did not explicitly ban them. He lashed out sarcastically:
On the whole, it's a completely idiotic situation. There are all kinds of agreements with NATO countries — but there's no permission to transport and there won't be any! The ‘Kremlin patriots’ declare: ‘When they actually grant permission for transits, then we'll talk!’ and Naganov and Navalny are just lying. They didn't read the documents. They aren't real lawyers. Yeah, well, we are lawyers, and you are idiots. Why on Earth then did they conclude bilateral agreements on military cargo transits in the first place? And the Americans decided to open a NATO base [in Ulyanovsk] not to transport weapons, but to ferry napkins and toilet paper from Afghanistan to the Baltics?
Was this Naganov's initial argument? The text of his original blog post contains none of this subtlety, and neither does Navalny's shorter and more moderate repost.
Whatever these bloggers’ true beliefs and intentions, the RuNet debate about Ulyanovsk and Resolution 219 has produced a remarkable reversal of the usual political conflict. Activists known [en] for lobbying the Justice Department to enforce American laws against Russian citizens are now accusing the Kremlin of betraying Russian sovereignty by cooperating with NATO. Equally bizarre, pro-Kremlin bloggers (as well as avowed Stalinists [ru]) are now flocking to defend Russia's decision to better assist Washington's military effort in Afghanistan. Indications are that this debate is far from over.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Sao Tome and Principe: Memories of a Lonely Navigator · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Follow the blog Odisseia nos Mares (Odysseys in the Seas) [pt] and navigate through the stories of Jorge Trabulo Marques – a retired Portuguese journalist and photographer who lived in São Tomé and Príncipe for 13 years during colonial times. Trabulo blogs on his memories of São Tomé, including lonesome adventures in the sea, trying to cross the Atlantic to Brazil.

author: Sara Moreira


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Slovakia: “Slavery in the Streets of Bratislava, 21st Century” · Global Voices
Tibor Blazko

Radovan Bránik highlights an instance of child abuse in his photo report, Slavery in the streets of Bratislava, 21st century [sk]. His pictures show a girl from Romania who, instead of being at school, is playing accordion for money in Bratislava's Old Town. A few older kids stand nearby, permanently checking for police presence and quickly taking the money earned by the girl. An adult woman, probably the kids’ mother, is enjoying coffee and sandwiches, while the girl often has to run away from the police. A solution offered by the blog's readers: do not give them money.

author: Tibor Blazko


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This Week in the Caribbean Blogosphere  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In last week's summary of the regional blogosphere, a young comtemporary artist from Barbados made the observation that the region is “more than the beach and coconuts.”  Here's a round-up of what Caribbean netizens were talking about this week, with not one mention of beaches or coconuts…
Jamaica
Jamaican bloggers were understandably excited about the launch of the Bob Marley movie yesterday, which also happened to be International Weed Day.  Cucumber Juice, who already “saw the new documentary about Bob Marley as part of the 2012 DC International Film Festival”, wrote:
The documentary is worth every second of its 145 minutes.  On its 4/20 opening day Marley will also stream on Facebook.  All of the reviews that I have read – and there are many, from the New York Times to local papers in Silicon Valley, California – are enthusiastic about the film.  I agree with the seemingly widespread sentiment that Marley is a well-needed portrait of Bob Marley the man, not the superstar, not the celebrity, not the prophet…just a man.  It was something that his granddaughter Donisha Prendergast urged us to have in mind as we watched – think of Bob the man not Bob the celeb – but the caution wasn’t necessary even as I saw footage and heard the famous songs; I couldn’t help but think about him outside of the context of superstar, maybe even the first Third World superstar.
I still believe as I did during and immediately after the film that every Jamaican must watch this film.  And I still say that without any hesitation, reservation, or hyperbole.  Why?  Because Bob Marley is an important historical figure and he is Jamaica’s own.  Even though he has touched millions – maybe he belongs to them too – he’s Jamaica’s own first.  It is simply important to know our history, and this documentary is a good place to start.
Jamaica Woman Tongue, meanwhile, took issue with the “complete mockery of the national flag” that took place during a political swearing-in ceremony:
This juvenile act proves that we have sunk to a new low in national politics.  Even the flag is no longer safe in the mindless colour war between orange and green fanatics.
The distasteful anti-green flag is forcing us to take a fresh look at the meaning of this national symbol.  We can no longer assume that as a society we all accept the grand idea that national pride is wrapped up in what is really just a piece of cloth. It seems as it we are quite prepared to cut up the cloth to suit our rather limited political agendas.
The Bahamas
Politics were also top of mind with Bahamian bloggers this week, as the country's general elections draw closer.  New blogs have been adding depth and dimension to the online debate: in response to one of its posts, Blogworld wrote:
I tend to fall into its camp with regard to the ways in which we view ourselves, our fundamental conservatism and fear of confrontation, our need of “brain-un-washing”. I particularly agree with the idea that 2012 and possibly years to come ‘may see the continuation of the unfinished revolution of the 1960/70s.’ I’m not sure I share all of its cynicism, and while I am as unimpressed with the “achievements” of the past five years as the author is, I have not been convinced that a return to a PLP administration will be the magic bullet that solves all our problems.
Her compatriot, Rick Lowe, blogging at Weblog Bahamas, thought that it was time for him “to hit the off button” when it comes to election propaganda, while Political Bahamas Blog republished a mainstream media opinion piece which suggested that:
It is imperative to state that a leader will be judged by and for successive generations based on his/her ability to, among other things, manage the economy in a manner that balances economic prudence, socio-economic expectations and infrastructural development.
Haiti
Haitian bloggers were talking about the magnitude of the country's cholera epidemic.  Dady Chery noted that
“Haitian health officials have approved a medical trial of the oral cholera vaccine Shanchol on poor women and children”, saying:
This trial is being presented as a vaccination campaign and will curiously be administered in two of Port-au-Prince’s slums by researchers from Gheskio (Center for Haitian Studies of Kaposi Syndrome and Opportunistic Infections) a group closely associated with Partners in Health (PIH) that studies AIDS and enjoys generous funding from USAID…
To avoid possible abuse it is essential that, in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, the medical trial be monitored by a panel of impartial observers.
We can help the Haitian poor by giving them correct information and the choice to make appropriate decisions for themselves and their children.  If poor women and children get coerced into becoming the guinea pigs for western pharmaceuticals, Haiti will add yet another sordid story to its long list of abuses.
Cuba
Diaspora bloggers were looking at numbers this week – Uncommon Sense republished statistics from “the opposition Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation”, stating that there have been “almost 2,400 political arrests in first 3 months of 2012.” Notes from the Cuban Exile Quarter took a longer view of what he called “the rising body count in Cuba.”
Pedazos de la Isla posted a recap of “another violent weekend in Cuba”, while Laritza Diversent blogged about the plight of “Sonia Garro Alfonso, a member of the Ladies in White and the Afro-Cuban Independent Foundation”, who was recently arrested.  Crossing the Barbed Wire focused on another Lady in White, Yakelin Garcia Jaenz, whose husband is in prison:
She has been beaten and harassed by paramilitary Rapid Response Brigades and has been arrested arbitrarily for various hours, despite the fact that she is the mother of two small children.
Translating Cuba posted an article dealing with the case of El Ñaño, the imprisoned Rastafarian priest, while Havana-based Iván García was focused on the fact that Cubans are too busy “in search of their daily food” to notice “the flowers of the flamboyant on Havana’s Santa Catalina Avenue already [beginning] to change color”:
Increasingly, many Havana families find it difficult to put a decent meal on the table…The issue of food is a national headache. It takes about 90% of the money that a family receives. And so everyone may not always eat decently.
Trinidad and Tobago
Globewriter blogged about a group whose mission is to “empower youth to deal with difficulties regarding sexual orientation and gender identity/expression”:
Sitting in that first meeting held at a conference table at the University of the West Indies I looked at the young faces and listened to them emphatically stating that young people being driven to despair because they were lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered or questioning  was not acceptable and I can’t really describe how proud I felt and how full of hope for the future.
His post gave details about “a project that will be a first for T&T – a Day of Silence which will be  observed on Friday”:
This might seem like a small act to achieve a very big change – and it is – but it is a start and it will mark  a major turning point in the fight for LGBTQ kids to be given the dignity and respect that they deserve as equal human beings. This is also being done in a country in the English speaking Caribbean – not normally viewed as an especially tolerant environment for such vulnerable kids. In practice T&T is nowhere as unwelcoming as say Jamaica but there are still discriminatory (though rarely enforced) rules on the books and LGBT people face discrimination on a daily basis simply because of who they are.
In support of the cause, his blog was silent until midnight on April 20.
Other Trinidadian bloggers were focused on the arrest of Ian Alleyne, controversial host of a popular television show, “Crime Watch.”  The Eternal Pantomine said:
The People’s Police Commissioner Ian Alleyne has been arrested and it was all done on national television!
I get confused…under which act? Dangerous Dogs? Mental Health? Both?
Bear in mind that Ian come like a saviour/messiah figure to many members of the society who feel they can’t get justice from the police and judicial services here…if nothing else shows you how decrepit a society we have become, Ian Alleyne’s rise from pastor’s son, to obscure television host….to Trinidad’s Batman is a metre gauge that we shouldn’t ignore.
Mere minutes after Alleyne’s arrest the meme generators was on fire and youtube was under pressure. There is a part of me that even wondering if the entire arrest was staged given how over the top this entire thing has been. Raids for rape tapes and now raids to arrest…. If there is a show today….it will be EPIC.
Kudos to TV6 who has successfully removed itself from culpability by insisting that Alleyne responsible for his own show…that way the station never have to get any flack for the filth aired on the programme while getting all the viewership, advertising and ratings.
In a follow-up post, she repeated her point about the television station's culpability and raised questions about Alleyne's track record:
Since Ian doesn’t own a television station, or broadcast rights…nor in fact pressed play on the tape button, doesn’t the TV station have some culpability in this matter? Didn’t the station allow the tape to be aired not once but TWICE…showing the face of a minor engaged questionable circumstances.
All yuh see why I asking if is the Mental Health Act or Dangerous Dogs Act? Because somebody in tv6 has to be liable too…because is the station broadcast the thing.
Another issue I have is this…ppl keep calling Ian the poor people’s champion and alleging he has done so much for this country…how many of Alleyne’s arrests have resulted in solid convictions? Because a crime is only solved when there is a conviction…so, how many solid convictions has Alleyne’s show really resulted in?
Could it be people have faith in Ian because he does put on a good (pappy) show

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Tunisia: Police Clash with Jobless Protestors in Radès · Global Voices
Salah Almhamdi

This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.
On April 13, 2012, police clashed with a group of young protestors from Cité El Mallaha in the port of Radès, just south of the capital Tunis and considered to be a suburb of it. The clashes started that night, a Friday, and continued into the following week. The protesters were staging a sit-in, demanding a share of some jobs which had been recently created in Radès port, near Cité El Mallaha.
The police fired tear gas at the protestors, dispersing them. They then chased them, even onto rooftops. Some protestors were detained, which led to further protests and clashes.
These clashes come just a few days after similar clashes over jobs erupted [ar] in the southern city of Moularès, and police violence against jobless protestors in Tunis.
Protesters in Cité El Mallaha in Radès. Photo from machhad.com (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Blogger Tounsiahourra tweeted [ar]:
She added [ar]:
The following video from TunisByNightt shows police invading the streets of Cité El Mallaha in Radès:
The protestors reacted by pelting security forces with stones and Molotov cocktails. And blogger Haykel tweeted:
@Haykel7: markez ecchorta fel Maléha #Rades totalement brûlé hier #tunisie #tngov
Twitter user Narjess expressed her fear about the increase in clashes between protesters and police:
@NJESSREB: La question qui se pose:vont-il prolonger l'état d urgence qui prend fin le 30 avril? #OmLaarayes #Rades #1Mai #Tourisme #Tunisie
Media blackout
Blogger Wessim tweeted [ar]:
Tounsiahourra criticized the media blackout [ar]:
Med Salah M'Barek tweeted:
@MidoxTheGeek:#Radès est à 10~15 km du siège de #TTN et aucune équipe n'a été envoyée pour couvrir les évènements !!!
Official media openness
Tunisia's television channels may have ignored the events, but the government didn't. On Twitter Global Voices Advocacy Director Sami Ben Gharbia linked to photos published on Facebook by the Tunisian Interior Ministry.
This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Salah Almhamdi


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Armenia: A Tale of Two Nations · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Security, in the Caucasus and beyond…. comments on the 97th anniversary of the massacre and deportation of 1.5 million Armenians from the Ottoman Empire in 1915. Considered an act of genocide by many historians and countries, the blog explains why the events are still very much politically relevant to both Armenia and Turkey today.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia: Human Rights Organizations Concerned by Film Festival Obstruction · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

After threats, intimidation and incitement to violence led to the cancellation of a film festival to be held in Armenia's second largest city of Gyumri, nationalists, with the indirect support of the country's main political parties and some NGOs, have attacked a human rights organization for the same reason.
Police stood by as some in a crowd of around 200 people threw eggs and stones at the Helsinki Citizen's Assembly office in Vanadzor. International human rights organizations have decried the latest manifestation of intolerance and lack of freedom of expression in the former Soviet republic.
Although the demonstrations against the screening of Azerbaijani films in Armenia were not well attended, mobilization was coordinated through the mass media and on Facebook. The organizers also allege that local authorities canceled classes for students so they could attend. Video shows young people, unable to remember the time when Armenians and Azeris did live together in peace, forming the majority.
Whatever the size and attendance, the action succeeded as Tamada Tales explains.
Its films did not feature the graphic violence of Pazolini’s “Salo” or the merciless satire of Sasha Baron Cohen’s “Borat.” The single criticism of Armenia's “Stop” film festival was that its films were made in the enemy state, Azerbaijan. And, now, faced with a campaign of threats and abuse, the organizers have called the festival off.
[…]
A previous attempt to screen Azerbaijani films in Armenia also fell through in 2010. The organizers said they will keep trying to promote free thinking and help audiences on both sides of the 24-year-long Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan see through the veil of propaganda.
Ironically, those opposed to the festival justified their position by alleging there were no similarly moderate voices in Azerbaijan, Armenia's foe to the East. However, response to the attacks and threats targeting festival organizer Georgi Vanyan in particular have since shown that not to be the case.
Indeed, with nationalists as well as the government in Azerbaijan also against the festival, one Azeri youth activist was among those noting how many will do anything to prevent talk of peace and reconciliation.
@RuslanAZad: Neither both political elites & nor #Russia are interested in sincere movement for peace.Thus Vanyan had to be stopped #Armenia #azerbaijan
@RuslanAZad: I believe campaign against Vanyan was to greater extend political provocation than people's true desire. #Armenia #azerbaijan #caucasus
An anti-festival Facebook page included incitement to violence as well as threats against Vanyan and personal attacks on Global Voices’ Caucasus editor and one of Armenia's most prominent bloggers, Unzipped, who earlier commented on the nationalist action in Gyumri:
This was a campaign of bullying, intimidation, hate speech, direct death threats, psychological and physical abuse towards someone who you do not agree with. This was not a ‘civil’ protest. More like a mob rule.
[…]
As one of my Facebook friends commented on his page: is this how civilised and cultured people need to react to showing of film? “Do these protesters realize how insecure and weak they appear? So shameful…”
[…]
Once again, freedom of speech lost in Armenia. Once again, state structures in Armenia failed to protect constitutional rights and freedom of their citizens. There were no winners.
However, if the situation in Gyumri was one of concern, what happened next in Vanadzor was on another level entirely. Human Rights Watch issued a statement:
On the morning of April 16, some 200 people – including former military servicemen, students and political party representatives – gathered in the center of Vanadzor and marched toward the HCA's office. According to one of the witnesses, the crowd was led by the Union of Nagorno-Karabakh War Veterans (“Yerkrapah”).
The HCA’s Vanadzor office tried to negotiate with the crowd and allowed several of the protest’s organizers to enter their offices to discuss the group’s demands. However, several of the rally participants also entered the premises and threatened to break the equipment and furniture unless the NGO agreed not to show the films. The crowd outside chanted slogans: “Traitors, Shame, and Turks!”
HCA Vanadzor director Artur Sakunts offered to postpone the film screenings, but the crowd demanded full cancellation and started to throw eggs and rocks at the office. They broke several windows, and one stone hit an HCA employee. Several protest organizers demanded that Sakunts cancel the film festival or potentially face further violence. When protest organizers told Sakunts that they could no longer control the angry crowd, he yielded to the threats and agreed to cancel the film screenings. The crowd dispersed shortly thereafter.
HCA’s Vanadzor office called the police as soon as the crowd gathered outside the office, but police arrived only after the protest dispersed. According to one eyewitness, there were at least four policemen near the office during the protest, but they did not intervene to try to prevent the attacks.
Freedom House also commented on events:
Freedom House urges Armenian authorities to conduct an immediate, independent investigation into a mob attack against the offices of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (HCA), a leading human rights organization, and the failure of police forces to calm the crowd or intervene when the situation began to turn violent. […]
The film festival is a project of the Caucasus Center of Peace Making Initiatives (CCPMI) to foster reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but Armenian nationalist groups and political parties reportedly worked together to organize the protest rally to halt the event. Screening of the films had previously been scheduled at the offices of the Asparez Journalist Club in Gyumri, but was cancelled due to threats of similar attacks. Freedom House calls on authorities to perform their duty by protecting the festival and its organizers from harm and defending all citizens’ freedom of peaceful expression.
Armenia is rated Partly Free in Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2012 report, and Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2011. Nations in Transit 2011 categorizes Armenia as a Semi-consolidated Authoritarian Regime. Ethnic and territorial tensions remain high between the Armenian and Azerbaijani populations. A seven-year war over the semi-autonomous Nagorno-Karabakh region ended with a ceasefire in 1994, but has yet to be fully resolved.
The latest blow to freedom of expression in Armenia follows attempts to silence a young author for his book which contains stories detailing hazing and abuse in the military. Meanwhile, attempts to discredit Vanyan domestically as well as internationally continue online as well as off, with some civil society organizations complicit.
Raising further questions about the sincerity of peace building initiatives in the country, as well as the extent to which freedom of expression will be tolerated in the future, concerns that the authorities in Armenia and Azerbaijan are more interested in perpetuating the ‘image of the enemy’ in their respective societies continue.


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Bahrain: One-Woman Demo! · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.
Since the uprisings started around the Arab world, we have become accustomed to seeing the image of thousands of protesters taking to the squares and streets.
Phrases like Million Man March have been added to the dictionary, and scenes like the one below have become symbols of the “Arab Spring”.
Mass rally in Tahrir square, Cairo by Nameer Galal (25/11/2011). Copyright Demotix.
However, it takes extra courage to be part of smaller protests, where there are fewer people to defend each other and less media to report a possible crackdown. So what about a single protester conducting a sit-in on her own, like the one in this image?
Zainab Alkhawaja outside the Financial Harbor in Manama, Bahrain (21/4/2012). Image by Twitter user @Kareemasaeed.
Zainab Alkhawaja is seen in the above image protesting on her own on April 21, outside the Financial Harbor in Manama, the Bahraini capital. Her father, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, is a prominent human rights activist who was arrested on April 9, 2011 and sentenced two months later, along with other opposition leaders, to life imprisonment. He has been on hunger strike since February 8, 2012 to draw attention to his detention and mistreatment, and recently netizens around the world expressed their great concern over his deteriorating state.
Zainab, who tweets as @angryarabiya, has been detained since yesterday. Her sister Maryam AlKhawaja reports that she has refused to go to the public prosecution. It is worth mentioning that this was not Zainab's first arrest, nor the first time she stood her ground alone.
I'm still wondering how she has such courage, but I guess nothing can answer my question better than what she has written as her Twitter bio:
When ur in chains, living with no dignity or rights, bowing to criminal dictators, the first step is to forget ur fear & realize that its ur right.. to be angry
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.

author: Tarek Amr


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Bahrain: Tear Gas, Violence Surround F1 Grand Prix Race · Global Voices
Salah Almhamdi

Bahrain hosts the Formula One Grand Prix on April 22 but the run-up to the event has seen huge protests. Protestors have been trying to  draw international attention to the human rights situation [PDF] in Bahrain, and to the deteriorating health of imprisoned activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja who has been on hunger strike since February 8, 2012.
The Grand Prix was cancelled in 2011 because of political unrest in the country. The decision was made not to cancel this year, despite ongoing unrest. In recent days the government has made every effort to limit the scale of protests, and has also denied entry to many foreign journalists. In clashes police have been firing tear gas and stun grenades at protesters, and one protestor, Salah Abbas Habib, was found dead.
The following video from Al Wefaq Society features a huge opposition march on April 20:
Tensions are high, with a huge police presence around the country. Formula One journalist Ian Parkes wrote on the morning of April 22:
@ianparkesf1: On the final day of the ‘count the police cars’ game’ heading to the track, today's grand total is 86!
On April 21 activist Nabeel Rajab described the situation in parts of Bahrain:
@NABEELRAJAB: From my house I hear ambulance, helicopter, police car and shooting but #F1 management say every things is ok #Bahrain #GP London
Dr Fatima Haji (one of the doctors put on trial for treating protestors last year) tweeted on April 21:
@drFatimaHj: My 3yrs old son, my husband and I are suffocating in our flat in Bani Jamra as security forces are shooting tear gas in Duraz!! #F1 #Bahrain
The following video from Qamar70 shows riot police firing tear gas in the streets of Saar on April 19:
Justin Gengler at the blog Religion and Politics in Bahrain wonders if the decision to hold the race has backfired:
If you search Google News for “Bahrain Formula One,” you find that the ratio of negative (political) to positive (race-related) news articles is about 4,082 to 232, or about 17.5 : 1. With coverage like this, Bahrain's leaders may be rethinking their cost-benefit analysis.
In another post Justin Gengler has a roundup of images about the Formula One race, including this by Carlos Latuff:
Boycott F1 in Bahrain. Image by Carlos Latuff.
Blogger Emily L. Hauser questions the idea that holding the race was positive for the country:
Discussing the fact that the Formula One Grand Prix race will be held in his country on Sunday despite a year-long uprising in which protesters have been killed, gassed, imprisoned, and tortured, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa told the BBC that “cancelling the race just empowers extremists,” whereas holding the race can serve as “a force for good.”
A force for good.
A force for good?
You know what’s a force for good? Democracy. Human rights. Liberty and justice. That sort of thing.
Barbed wire put up around the village of Qadam before the F1 race. Image by Twitter user @Sajjad_Alalwi.
Mohammed Ashoor wonders what the day of the race will bring:
@mohdashoor: The skyline in #Bahrain is filled with smoke from burning tyres as #F1 teams get ready to start their engines. Will be an interesting day.
Journalist Javier Espinosa writes:
@javierespinosa2: New clashes in villages like Malkiya, Karzakan, Sadad and Damistan in #Bahrain before the start of #F1
Motor racing correspondent of The Times, Kevin Eason, writes:
@easonF1: Good morning Bahrain and the UK and others. On way to #bahrain GP circuit for one of the most controversial races in F1 history
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has made the following video about the race:


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Colombia: “Lleras Law2.0 ” Taken Before Constitutional Court · Global Voices
Lully Posada

The “Lleras Law 2.0”, which was hastily approved to fit requirements for a Free Trade Agreement with the United States, was taken before the Constitutional Court on April 18 by Senator Camilo Romero [es], who argued it contains parts that threaten rights enshrined in the Constitution. Netizens [es] are invited [es] to support the demand before the court with signatures [es] and peaceful marches [es].

author: Lully Posada


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France: #RadioLondres, Election Day Fun and Dissidence on Twitter · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

Occasions to laugh or smile have been few and far between during the current French presidential election campaign, which has been obsessed with recession, unemployment, xenophobia. But today, April 22, 2012, as French voters elect two runner-up among ten candidates, they are finally having electoral fun on Twitter under the hashtag #RadioLondres [all links in French].
The ten French presidential candidates, with their
The French electoral code enforces a Euro 75,000 (US $99,000) fine for violation of the confidentiality of the results and has dispatched 10 official “censors” to monitor the Web and enforce the ban until the official result time, 8 PM local time (GMT+1), despite the fact that neighbouring countries Switzerland and Belgium can communicate preliminary results whenever they please online.
The ban unleashed a mischievous hashtag on French language Twitter: #RadioLondres.
Netizens are having a field day tweeting insider news and fantasy results via secret codes and riddles, as the French Resistance daily radio used to do from London during World War II to coordinate sabotages and secret operations.
On 18 April, Guillaume on Twitter was among the first to set the rules of this game:
@Guillaumechampaud: On va se faire un code. “Le flan est au four” ça veut dire Hollande au 2nd tour. “La tomate est mûre”, ça veut dire Mélenchon.
Soon after, a mysterious tweet appeared, and was widely retweeted.
@xfrison: Les talonnettes sont dans les cartons. Je répète, les talonnettes sont dans les cartons #radiolondres
Guessing when Sarkozy is concerned – as in this tweet – is easy for the French: they know their president's minute stature, his taste for Rolex watches, yachts, and his Hungarian origin.
The socialist contender, François Hollande (his surname means “Netherlands” in French) is often linked to cheese-based riddles, to a pedal boat (in reference to a snide comment made by another candidate, Mélenchon, on Hollande's campaign), or to a French brand of custard, Flanby.
Marine le Pen, the extreme right candidate, can be identified as “The Flame” (her party logo) or allusions to Brittany (her family region) and fish.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a far left candidate, has very “red” nicknames, such as “cherry” or “redbreasted robin”.
On Twitter, Gabriel is pushing his candidate:
@Gabriel_Hussy: #radiolondres Le pédalo remonte le fleuve, je répète le pédalo remonte le fleuve…
Some call on wine buffs culture, linking candidates to their native region:
@Borislaffargue: #RadioLondres A l'heure de l'apéritif! Malibu Orange (29%/vol), Kir Royal (21%/vol), Beaujolais (18%/vol), Schnaps (16%/vol), Jurançon (8%)
Frederic tuned in on Twitter from the French Caribbean, where voters voted ahead of France:
@FredericHelbert: sous les cocotiers, ou ds la franz lointaine, la température atteint les 30 à 40° degrés sur baromètre des pays-bas..#RadioLondres
Zineb dishes culinary tips:
@Zineb_borja: #RadioLondres Mes voisins qui aiment les frites viennent de me dire que le fromage est le meilleur suivi du goulasch.
Cyril has wardrobe access:
@Cestsidoux Le nain chausse toujours du 26. Je repete, le nain chausse toujours du 26
A Flanby custard container:
Rafik is cautious about Hollande's chances in the second round, on 6 May:
@RafikSmati: Flanby expiration date is 5/5
Olivier is nearly worried by the craze:
@Luisetti: Twitter surchauffe le TweetWall Pro l'hashtag #radiolondres produit 62000 tweets/mn exposés à 18600000 followers-
And Jibinho spares a thought for the official “censors”, on duty until 8 PM:
@Jibinho Une pensée émue pour les 10 censeurs chargés de surveiller la toile jusqu'à 20h. #radiolondres

author: Claire Ulrich


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Iran: Pet Dogs Seized by Security Forces Once Again · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Dogs Arrested by security forces in Tehran. Photo by Iranspca.com, used with permission.
Pet dogs have been arrested in Tehran, Iran again by security forces, and it's a deja vu of events in 2007 and 2011. Surreal but true. The Iranian Society for Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals report [fa] that last week about 20 dogs in Pardisan Park were arrested as their owners walked them. They were moved to a center, let's call it jail. Owners have so far failed to have their pets released them. The video below shows the creatures disturbed behind bars. It seems “man's best friend” is an enemy to the Islamic Republic.
Iran's government considers keeping pet dogs un-Islamic, but has mostly tolerated it. It is possible that because the people most likely to keep dogs are Iran's urban and educated youth, dogs may be generating more official hostility again.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Jordan: New Website for Short Stories · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Project Pen is an initiative to promote short story writing by Arabs and “encourage a new generation of writers, creating new kinds of stories, for a new kind of readership”. By sharing stories across social media, and by connecting writers with each other, Project Pen intends to bypass traditional publishing and take storytelling “back to a future when stories were carved out on cave walls, and spoken out over the camp fire”. You can find out more at the project's website (in Arabic and English), and on Facebook and Twitter.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Malaysia: Religion, Academe, and Freedom · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Hwa Yue-Yi tackles the issue of academic freedom and religious freedom in a Muslim-dominated society like Malaysia

author: Mong Palatino


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Serbia: Upcoming Elections Offer Few Choices, Inspire Apathy and Humor · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

Much unbeknownst to most people in the world, Serbia is, in many ways, looking at its most important election since the 2000 revolutionary elections that toppled the government of Slobodan Milosevic. For months now, the quiet before yet another political storm in the Balkans has been present on the streets and in homes throughout the country. The lack of will among voters to put up with more promises of reform and progress is now almost palpable, since state, provincial and municipal elections were announced for May 6 [en] just weeks ago.
As politicians and their parties have started campaigning avidly, so have many bloggers broken their silence on this issue. What most seem to express is one form or another of apathy and whom not to vote for.
These political opinions, or lack thereof, are most often expressed on social networks these days, with many taking to Facebook and posting public notes on the subject. A young man from Novi Sad posted one such note, titled ELECTIONS. Why NOT to vote for the current government [sr], with a list of facts, including debt, inflation, unemployment, and activities of several Serbian ministries since 2008, that the current government is responsible for:
- Debt in 2008, 20.53 billion Euros, in 2012, 25.14 billion Euros
– Exchange rate in 2008, 80.3788RSD = 1€, in 2012, 111.634RSD = 1€
– Average [net] salary in 2008, 47,883RSD, in 2012, 36,639RSD (both are unrealistic amounts as average salaries of all employed citizens are counted, without those who are unemployed, while it is common knowledge that outside major cities people work for a minimum wage of 24,000RSD)
– There are 200,000 people employed by this government, while over 400,000 others have lost their jobs, although one should take into account that employment rates have been pumped up by temporary jobs, such as newsstands that employ and fire some 40 people annually, making it questionable how many jobs are actually permanently retained. […]
The list goes on and is only one of many like it that mention the factual amounts spent by the current government and their political counterparts in the name of reform and betterment. Serbs have a tendency, due to the country’s turbulent past, to be well aware of political and economic matters and many are just as well informed when it comes to the European and global economies and political situations.
One of Serbia’s most popular bloggers, whom we have quoted here before, also calls attention to unemployment and other political and economic failures of the past four years in a text titled Jobs Are Out There Waiting, Just As Soon As Elections Are Over [sr]. Mahlat bases this particular blog post on the campaign promises of over a dozen political parties taking part in the upcoming elections that are all highly focused on raising employment and lowering national debt, but also includes comparison and contrast to EU countries:
During this pre-election time, we could open hundreds of topics related to the hundreds of issues that this country is realistically faced with, but I am most touched, irritated and flabbergasted by the matter of employment, the large number of those unemployed, the rising unemployment rate and, of course, the de-partisation of that.
Serbia has the same problem that all the countries in Europe have – lowered number of jobs, large unemployment rates among young people that is on the rise each year, pregnant women losing their jobs, the problem of mothers with small children finding employment…
The crisis that began in 2008 is still current. The unemployment rate in the Euro Zone is at 21%… The Institute for Statistics of the Republic of Serbia reported in January that the unemployment rate in Serbia was at 23.7% at the end of November of 2011. […]
What we are battling is equal to the battle in EU countries – with rising unemployment trends. And everyone claims that they have issues with inadequate training among employees, that there should be reforms in the education system, that there are no real programs for employing the young. […]
After a set of comparisons and contrasts to European statistics and mentions of campaign employment promises, Mahlat concludes:
If you’ve come this far [in reading], it must be clear to you by now that we have the same issues and that jobs won’t appear even with the help of a magic trick, so I ask those comrades who are promising them to turn to stabilizing the nation so that they can then speak of creating jobs. And to come out with a plan. How? When? They must have some idea of this?
Because if they keep promising to give what they don’t have, we won’t budge from this dead spot. Serbia has to work.
Serbia shares the fate of Europe, to which it territorially belongs, is economically bound, so don’t go hollering about handing out gifts that you don’t have to give.
In conclusion – according to the Institute for Statistics of the Republic of Serbia, in November 2011 there were 691,841 unemployed older that 15, 2,224,508 employed, as well as 3,377,510 inactive.
I’m supposing I belong to those 3,377,510.
I want to be active. I don’t expect gifts, but rather an opportunity.
Who’s offering?
Although many of the political parties running in this year’s election and their candidates have become active on social networks in recent months and, particularly, weeks – those writing online independently of any party or campaign don’t seem to be showing support for any of the choices on the ballots. In fact, most are writing against voting for someone. Many, as Mahlat mentions in her blog post, note the uncanny similarities of all the parties’ campaigns, platforms and promises. One blogger puts it all in one short blog post titled Promises, promises… [sr]:
You’ll be better off voting for us…
Said the representatives of every single party in Serbia in the past few days…
I don’t want it to be better for me… Having it good would be quite enough… You know the gradation – Good – Better – Best… Since I have it BAD now, I want it to be good. Better is the next step after that… I can’t recall if there’s anything they haven’t promised.
How are they not ashamed, they themselves know how much they’re lying and I’m sure the people are aware of all this…
[…]
The voter apathy is as apparent in other texts as it is in this one. On the other hand, Serbs have often shown in the past that they have a good sense of humor, even in the darkest of times, and seem to be showing it again. Many blogs jest with the upcoming elections, while some ridicule the candidates. One blogger has written a series of posts titled Elections 2012 [sr], in which he describes some of the candidates and their parties in a satirical tone, then adorns his texts with photos to boot:
"And the third little piggy… made his house from concrete" – feat. Ivica Dacic, current Minister of Internal Affairs and presidential candidate. Image courtesy of Vujaklija.com, Serbia's premier user-generated online dictionary of slang (used with permission).
(Other images in this post include this one of the “Preokret” coalition partners Vuk Draskovic (SPO) and Cedomir Jovanovic (LDP) in Jedi mode, and this one of Vojislav Kostunica, once hailed as the revolutionary of the decade, now often compared to Hans Moleman from The Simpsons.
While most have taken to serious criticism or outright ridicule of the candidates and elections in general, some have started calling for an organized and obvious boycott of the May 6 elections. Horizont blog [sr] and others have reposted and written about a Facebook group called “Project: Citizens have the power – 99% of Serbia” [sr], which is openly calling for boycott, even recommending options that voters have for boycotting:
[…] 1. Empty ballot
2. Invalid ballot
3. Abstinence
Option 1 can easily be abused as politically affiliated members can fill empty ballots in while counting ballots.
Options 2 and 3 are solid choices. If voter turn-out is very low, then this low turn-out and a large number of “creative drawings” logic and common sense would suggest that after the elections we question whether or not the existing political options have any LEGITIMACY in the eyes of the people. We remind you that the election laws and the Constitution allow for elections to be LEGAL even if a mere 100,000 voters vote.
A new option for those who are sick of all the existing political options is the following:
TAKE YOUR BALLOT FROM YOUR POLLING STATION WITH YOU

author: Danica Radisic


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Vietnam: Agent Orange Victim and his Music · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Meet Thanh Tung, a talented player of dan bau which is a traditional monochord instrument in Vietnam. Tung is also an Agent Orange victim who lost his eyesight at the age of twelve.


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Bahamas: Elections Getting Closer  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

With just two weeks to go until the country's general elections, the Bahamian blogosphere has been filled with political discussion.  Blogworld yesterday compiled her usual Twitter Weekly Updates, which gave a good overview of the issues being discussed.  The dark horse in the elections race (this is apparently the first year in the history of Bahamian politics that there is a strong third party contender – The Democratic National Alliance) tweeted:
@mydnaparty: @nicobet Our vision for ALL Bahamians is for us to be esteemed higher than any material or natural resources. We are worth so much more.
…to which she responded:
@nicobet: Great start–Details?>>RT @mydnaparty @nicobet Our vision for ALL Bahamians is to be esteemed higher than any material or natural resources.
Under the hashtag #Bahamas2012, @nicobet posted several tweets to the various political parties letting them know what voters were looking for:
@nicobet: #Bahamas2012 @YourFNM @MYPLP_Believe @mydnaparty We need a vision. We need deliverance from paternalism. We need, after all, a nation.
@nicobet: #Bahamas2012 Democracy is turning down the emotion & turning up the mind. Educate, investigate, interrogate. #DemandDebates
Other issues were also coming to the fore:
@nicobet: @sbaranha: Q: Which party transformed rusty steel into our national stadium? A: Communist Party of China. #DemandDebates”>>w/Chinese labour
@nicobet: Principles have to cut both ways. Under #PLP loan scholarships were being regularized, the way #FNM regularized mortgages. 6 of one & other. #
Edward Hutcheson, blogging at Weblog Bahamas, talked about the one-sidedness of the political discussions:
As May 7th approaches, all registered voters and people who we think are registered will be faced with a common problem. Someone is going to tell you how you should be voting. PLP, FNM, DNA or Independent.
It really does not matter, someone’s representative or even the candidate is going to get in your face in an attempt to have a one-sided discussion with you, based on their overly informed opinion. I would implore you to have the discussion, and, listen carefully to what they are saying. Those who would be fair will give you their opinion and not try to ‘win the argument’. Those who would try to win the argument will be coming from an environment where discussion is not really allowed, a place where persons dressed in the same colours are routinely slapped down for expressing views that are dissimilar or not as radical as they should be.
There are winners and losers in each election, but the real winners are the persons who can look over the fence or May 8th and say, ‘Good morning’ to their neighbour, sincerely.
In another post, he called politics “a game” in which “there are no rules”:
The game board is comprised of players who claim that they want what is best for us. They will say anything and do anything to get ‘another chance’, to do all the good things they would like to do for us. The good thing about political gaming is that we get to see them trying to do their best, but the worst of who they are always finds a way on to the stage. Those of us who are burdened with the task of voting, must be just as committed to our responsibility as citizens as the candidates are to playing their games. We will have to judge the newcomers by what they are saying and what we know about them from their public and business involvements. We will have to judge the experienced fellows as we relate what they have done to what they have previously said they will do.
Here is a suggestion. If you are still confused about what you hearing and all the stuff that is going on, get a hold of the recent financial disclosures made by the candidates and do the leg work to see which companies they are involved with. What you are looking for, are persons on opposite sides of the political spectrum who are actually business partners or associates, or who share responsibilities on different boards. If the company or association is a successful one, then you will have to question the disconnect between their public and private personas, which allows them to sit at the same table and make rational decisions but use public political behaviour to sow discord and separation among the persons they want to lead. We will have to have our own rules in place to deal with the political gamers.
Finally, Political Bahamas Blog republished mainstream newspaper articles which they felt were relevant, including criticism of key political parties not yet putting forward a manifesto and the impact that women voters could have at the polls.


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Brazil: Passer by Injured and Arrested by Police in Demonstration · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Brazilian blogger Conceição Oliveira reproduces [pt] a Facebook note [pt] from Pedro Urizzi (an actor from São Paulo), who denounces that he was injured and arrested by the Military Police when he was passing by a demonstration against corruption on April 21, 2012, on his way for dinner. The detention came after he made a call for caution, when he noticed there were children near an armed policeman.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Bulgaria: May Bicycle Parade · Global Voices
Ruslan Trad

On May 19, the 15th annual May Bicycle Parade will gather thousands of supporters of cycling in Sofia with one clear goal – to count the cyclists and show that in Sofia there are more of them than ever. Bulgarian NGO “Bicycle revolution” is organizing the event [bg]. In 2009, more than 3,000 cyclists took part in the Parade.

author: Ruslan Trad


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Bulgaria: “Why Should We Read Books?” · Global Voices
Ruslan Trad

As many in Bulgaria fear that there are fewer people reading books now than in the past, Ognyan Antov of Anapest offers [bg] three answers to the question “Why should we read books?”: 1. Because thus we absorb the language and its grammar and spelling; 2. This way, we come to know world; 3. Because thereby we feel like one society.


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Chile: The Role of Municipalities in Promoting Reading · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Enzo Abbagliati in his blog Cadaunadas [es] asks, “What is the relationship between promoting reading in Chile and municipal elections?” He says that two main tools that impact what and how much Chileans read depend on Municipalities: public libraries and municipal schools. Enzo asked three candidates for mayor of Providencia (a municipality in Santiago) to answer some questions regarding the commune's public library system for World Book Day. Candidate Javier Insulza [es] emailed his answers, while candidate Cristóbal Bellolio assured Enzo that promoting reading is one of his 10 priorities, but had not had the time to answer his questions.

author: Silvia Viñas


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China: Reactions to TV Ban on Japanese Porn Star, Sola Aoi · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China’s State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) has recently set restrictions [zh] on entertainers with a “bad image” from appearing on stage, resulting in the withdrawal of Japanese porn star Sola Aoi from being featured on television shows in China.
Sola Aoi is the most popular porn star in China. During the Shanghai Expo 2010, she served as a spokesperson for a portal website in some of the major Expo activities. Her Sina Weibo account [zh] has more than 11 million fans.
Despite the fact that Sola is adjusting her image in China by shooting artistic online micro-movies, she cannot escape from the ban. Her fans of course are very frustrated. To express their support to Sola, a number of them decided to display a slogan in a football match in Guangzhou on April 17, 2012. It said: “Diaoyu Islands [refers to a territorial dispute of islands by both China and Japan] belongs to us, Sola Aoi belongs to the World”:
'Sola Aoi belongs to the world' banner. Photo by Weibo User Chen Zhaohua
The slogan, which captures both nationalistic sentiment in term of the territorial claim of the Diaoyu Islands and the international solidarity of porn fans, quickly attracted a lot of attention and spread through the Internet.
Weibo user Song Zude's comment [zh] has best represented the frustration of Sola's Chinese fans:
宋祖德：封杀苍井空，非常愚蠢！苍作为一个艺人，并没有危害社会，相反在我国做了不少慈善事业，她比我国很多艺人更坦诚更勤奋，苍的粉丝素质不比其他大腕的差，祖德以为，广电总局应该干点自己该干的事，乱作为有时比不作为更有害！
There are more than 1,866 comments follows Song's micro-blog, with a majority echoing his opinion:
@绿茶喝我：那些所谓的文人专家卫道士，天天窝家里快着进看片，有精彩的还回放。关了快播就骂这个 卷内个，说别人破坏河蟹 危害下一代，你才是虚伪无耻，道德沦丧！
@单骑千里：现在这个操蛋的社会，就指望苍老师带来一点快感，广电总局都不放过，封杀了苍老师，那些宅男们、那些新生代农民工们，业余生活都干嘛呢？干嘛呢
朴永春：广电总局的爷们，本来就很无聊！又让我们的生活少了一份颜色，多了一层灰色！
Cesc黄泳斌：广电局你凭什么人家，至少也给一个合理理由，我看来真正应该被封杀的还是你们这班搬弄是非，吃饱饭没事干的人
Yang Guoying explains [zh] why Sola Aoi is so popular in China:
@杨国英V：【苍井空被封杀】：低俗的事，少数人可以做，多数人却不可以看，即使从良也不可以看!苍井空在中国为什么红？源自民众对伪道德的反叛！

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: Omni Zona Franca in New Orleans · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

El Yuma writes about the visit of Cuban experimental art group Omni Zona Franca to New Orleans. Omni is on tour in the US this spring, performing various works, and showing a documentary about their work. They describe the documentary as follows: “Their lives are marked by the actual performance of life, giving communities other ways to enjoy life and art to the fullest. What's going on in the country? What's going on in the spirits of the people?  What about freedom?”

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


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Cuba: The “Gap” within the Cuban Exile Community · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

Penúltimos Días author Ernesto Hernández Busto, who lives in Barcelona, describes the “gap” or divide between Cubans living off the island, when it comes to their desires for Cuba's future; Regina Coyula, a blogger who resides in Cuba, responds. Hernández writes that there is a “deep gap between Cubans with different interests as they face the prospect of a radical change, and of the inevitable price that this implies.” English translation available at Translating Cuba.


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Jamaica: Literary Festival Founder Gets Guggenheim Fellowship · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Nadine, Unscripted says that “kudos are in order for poet, author and co-founder of Calabash International Literary Festival Trust, Kwame Dawes, who has been awarded a 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship for Poetry, one of the most prestigious of its kind in the world.”


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Liberia: A Preface to Liberia’s Complicated Biography · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Robtel Pailey discusses Liberia's complicated biography: “April 12, 1980 is often described as the beginning of Liberia’s end. I think of it as the preface to Liberia’s long, complicated biography, the beginning of our awakening. It was a day when our pomp and circumstance left a deafening echo; when we were all exposed, laid bear by the realization that being the first African republic meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Mexico: Human Rights Abuses and the Presidential Elections · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The documentary A Schizophrenic State by Charlotte King follows the stories of San Salvador Atenco and Oaxaca, two places in Mexico who suffered human rights abuses by the ruling political parties, including a Governor who now would like to become President.
Two social movements show the lack of respect for human rights expressed by the Mexican Government as the protests for land rights and the struggle for education were met with brutality including deaths, imprisonment, and allegations of torture in the shape of sexual abuses.  These actions led to the labeling of the Mexican government as schizophrenic by Amnesty International, since on the international stage Mexico champions for Human Rights, but allows violations to take place in their lands.
Reports on the human rights’ abuses  in Atenco and Oaxaca can be found on the Amnesty International Website.  On Atenco:
At least 211 people were arrested on 3 and 4 May 2006 in the towns of Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco, Mexico State, following a police operation carried out in response to protests by activists from a local peasant organization. Among those arrested were 47 women. This report describes what happened to the women, with particular emphasis on the reports of sexual abuse as well as the lack of effective and impartial investigations to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.
On Oaxaca:
In June 2006 widespread protests demanding the resignation of the State Governor erupted in Oaxaca State. For several months Oaxaca City was brought to a standstill. This report focuses on some of the serious human rights violations reported during the crisis, such as excessive use of force (including lethal force), arbitrary and incommunicado detention, ill-treatment and torture, threats, harassment of human rights defenders and journalists, and violations in due process and the right to fair trial. Municipal, state and federal police reportedly committed the majority of these abuses.
As the 2012 Presidential Elections come closer, there is a need to clarify these human rights abuses and bring the perpetrators to justice.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Mexico: Netizens Speak Out Against Geo-Location Law · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

On April 18, 2012, a series of reforms popularly known as the “Geo-location Law” began to take effect. The law reforms the Federal Penal Code, the Federal Penal Procedures, the Telecommunications Federal Law, the Minimum Rules about the Social Rehabilitation of Sentenced Criminals and the National System of Public Security General Law.
On Twitter this matter has been discussed by several users under the hashtag #LeyGeolocalización [es] (Geo-location Law)
What are the reforms about?
Given the current administration's war against organized crime, the reforms mentioned above give the investigation authorities (Federal Public Ministry) the faculty to ask for the geo-localization of mobile equipment (smartphones, tablets, cell phones) if they suspect the device is used to commit a crime [1].
The reform also establishes service providers’ obligation to cooperate promptly and without reservations with authorities, not only to locate the mobile equipment but also to give technical support for the installation and operation of devices that block cell phone signals, radio-communication or data transmission (Internet) inside jails.
These reforms aim to prevent or discourage the theft of telecommunication equipment because they give authorities the right to deactivate or block lines that are related to theft or loss.
Image of devices with geo-location systems from Flickr user Chris Fleming, under Creative Commons Licence 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
How have Mexicans reacted to these reforms?
Several bloggers wrote about the issue before the reforms took effect. Katya Albiter [es], from Vivir México (Living Mexico), wrote about those who fostered the reforms:
Después de todo, los impulsores de la ley son destacadas figuras de la sociedad civil, como Alejandro Martí, presidente del Sistema de Observación para la Seguridad Ciudadana (S.O.S), e Isabel Miranda de Wallace, presidente de la Asociación Alto al Secuestro, ganadora del Premio Nacional de Derechos Humanos 2010 y aspirante a la jefatura de Gobierno del Distrito Federal por el PAN. Con semejantes credenciales no pueden estar equivocados, ¿no, NO?
Pues mucho me temo que con todo y el argumento de autoridad, esta vez les falló. El problema, como siempre está en las letras chiquitas -es decir algunos párrafos de las reformas-.
After all, the law's sponsors are outstanding figures from the civil society, like Alejandro Martí, President of the Observation System for Citizen Safety (S.O.S.) and Isabel Miranda de Wallace, President of the Stop Kidnapping Association and winner of the National Award for Human Rights in 2010 and PAN's candidate to the mayorship of Mexico City. With such credentials, they can't be wrong, can they?
Well, I'm afraid that even with the argument of authority, this time it failed. The problem, as always, lies in the small print – that is, some paragraphs from the reforms-.
Also, she stated her opinion about the convenience of approving these reforms:
Es una ley con buenas intenciones que, como en todo “superpoder”, sólo sirve en las manos correctas, pero en las equivocadas puede hacer bastante mal. Los defensores arguyen que con esta medida el país vivirá un clima de seguridad y justicia. Al parecer, el costo será la libertad. También los defensores dicen que el que nada debe nada teme y si no quieres que te localicen apaga tu celular. Eso es cierto, si no quieren ser localizados, se apagará el celular y seguramente es algo que ya pensaron justo los secuestradores y demás mafia que se pretende combatir.
It is a law with good intentions that, as in any “super-power”, only works well in the right hands, but in the wrong hands it could be very harmful. The advocates argue that with this measure the country will live in a secure and just climate. Apparently, the cost will be freedom. Also, its supporters say that those who haven't done wrong have nothing to fear and that if you don't want to be located, you should turn off your phone. That is true, if you don't want to be traced you just have to turn off your cell phone, and surely it is something the targeted kidnappers and mobsters already considered.
On the other hand, Jitten [es] for FayerWayer wrote about the scope of this law, highlighting that investigation authorities can ask for the location of  certain devices without a judge's warrant:
En esencia, estas disposiciones legales establecen que las compañías telefónicas deberán proporcionar los datos a la Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) sobre la ubicación de una persona en tiempo real de un aparato asociado en una determinada línea, por lo que en el papel tendría buenas intenciones. Alejandro Martí dijo que “será posible conocer a mediano plazo los resultados de esta reforma, al recabar cifras correspondientes a secuestros y extorsiones en el todo país”.
También contempla que la PGR no solicite una orden judicial sino por “simple oficio o medios electrónicos” todos los datos de geolocalización en tiempo real al concesionario. Si se niega a proporcionar la información a la autoridad judicial, será sancionada con 250 hasta 2,500 días de salario mínimos de multa (alrededor de MXN$155,825).
Essentially, these legal dispositions establish that cell phone companies must provide data to the Republic's Attorney General (PGR) on the location in real time of an equipment related to a certain phone line, which in writing has good intentions. Alejandro Martí said that “it will be possible to know results of this reform in a medium term when we collect data related to kidnappings and extorsions across the country”.
[The reforms] also take into account that the PGR won't have to ask the provider for this geo-location data with a court order, but only with a “simple letter or by electronic media”. If the provider refuses to provide the information, the judicial authority may fine it with a penalty between 250 and 2,500 days of minimum wage salary (aproximately MXN$155,825 or USD$12,000)
Geraldine Juárez [es] in alt1040 talked about the reforms and questioned that, in her opinion, there were no complaints from citizens:
La Ley de Geolocalización es parte de la tendencia legislativa del gobierno mexicano para legalizar la vulneración de los derechos sus ciudadanos. Aprobada gracias a la presión de grupos civiles dirigidos por padres de víctimas de secuestro, Alejandro Martí y la ahora candidata del PAN Isabel Miranda, dicha ley fue aprobada la semana pasada por unanimidad, con 315 votos a favor de parte de los brillantes legisladores mexicanos.
En México no hubo ni una protesta, nadie se quejó y muy pocos fueron los que intentaron difundir la información al respecto, parecería que a los mexicanos les tiene sin cuidado la erosión de sus derechos.
The Geo-Location Law is part of the Mexican government's legislative tendency to legalize the vulneration of its citizens’ rights. Approved thanks to the pressure of civil groups lead by parents of kidnap victims, Alejandro Martí and the current PAN candidate Isabel Miranda, the law passed by unanimity with 315 votes in favor from the brilliant Mexican congressmen.
In Mexico there were no protests, nobody complained and very few tried to spread information regarding [the law]. It looks like Mexicans don't care about the erosion of their rights.
The blog Human Rights Geek [es] hopes the human rights defense organism in Mexico will fight against the reform:
Afortunadamente la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CNDH) puede hacer algo al respecto, puede interponer una Acción de Inconstitucionalidad en contra de estas disposiciones y mandar un claro mensaje a la autoridad de que la erosión de los derechos no es la vía para combatir la delincuencia.
On Twitter, user Osvaldo Suarez (@paul_suco) [es] pointed out that the right to privacy is not considered in the constitutional text:
La Ley de Geolocalización no es inconstitucional por violar la privacidad, ya que dicho derecho no se contempla en la Constitución.
The Geo-Location Law is not unconstitutional because it violates privacy, since this right is not mentioned in the Constitution.
Also, Claudia Guerrero (@clausgr) [es] questioned:
¿debe estar el celular en ‘acción’ haciendo sms, llamadas, tuiteando, para poder aplicar la #LeyGeolocalización ?
What does the implied cell phone have to be doing to be considered in the #LeyGeolocalización (sms, calls, tweeting)?
User @nololeas [es] warned about the validity of the law:
Aguas, entra #LeyStalker y nosotros como si nada. Poco a poco nos van vigilando mas. #LeyGeolocalizacion
Be careful, the #LeyStalker (Stalker Law) is now valid and we didn't even blink. Little by little they are monitoring us more. #LeyGeolocalización
User Eddie (@EdHappy) [es] stated his opinion on the subject in a simple and clear manner:
No me agrada la #LeyGeolocalización
I don't like the #LeyGeolocalización
Mexico's ‘war’ on drugs continues, now with new ‘weapons’, and apparently with a lot more dissatisfaction among bloggers and social networks users.

author: J. Tadeo


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Multinational Companies’ China Market · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ChinaHush translated a local feature report looking into the significance of China market to different multinational companies.


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Panama: Poor But Not Forgotten Thanks to Online Videos · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Coco Solo was once a United States Navy submarine base on the Panama Canal Zone, near Colón, Panama. Today, Coco Solo is the home of some of the poorest, most marginalized Panamanians.
In 2008, Reuters published a story about the “poverty and decay” in Coco Solo, where John McCain (then Republican presidential candidate) was born:
McCain was born in 1936 on the Coco Solo submarine base in a U.S.-run territory in Panama where his father was a Navy officer.
Now, children play next to open sewers in the town that was built around the base and large homes once inhabited by American service families lie abandoned and strewn with debris.
Bored young men stroll around topless, sporting gang tattoos that boast of the number of people they have killed. Areas that were once softball fields have been taken over by rough saw-grass.
The report continues:
Panama gradually took back control of the base and the rest of the Canal Zone after a 1977 treaty with the United States, and Coco Solo has since been converted into a huge container terminal known as Manzanillo. Washington handed over its last remaining Panamanian outposts in 1999.
But apart from this story by Reuters, little has been reported about Coco Solo. Online videos are a few of the available online media that show life in this community.
One of the organizations that frequently uploads videos of Coco Solo is Cambio Creativo (“Creative Change”),
an educational platform that promotes critical thinking skills, determination and self-expression through the process of exchanging ideas and skills. We facilitate a space for mutual exchange between a group of mentors and students in Coco Solo (Colon, Panama). Monthly interdisciplinary workshops are led by mentors from Colon, Panama City and abroad. We trust that by stimulating knowledge, creativity, and positive experiences, participants will find alternatives for their own social and economic development.
Photo from Cambio Creativo website, used with permission.
Two years ago, the co-founder of Cambio Creativo, Rose Cromwell, uploaded a short documentary about Coco Solo by film maker Eric Soussanin. Marisa Treviño from news website Latina Lista shares an excerpt of the documentary and writes:
The men, women and children who live in Coco Solo are described as the ones in Panamanian society who have given up on life because they feel they have been forgotten. Yet, a short documentary about the plight of the Coco Solo people makes sure they’re not forgotten and, in fact, that the world knows about them.
Cambio Creativo works with youth from this community through different workshops. Cromwell blogs [es] about a photography workshop which took place in January 2012. She shares a video of a brainstorming session:
The students’ photographs are showcased and sold through an online gallery hosted on the Cambio Creativo site. The money from the sale of these pictures goes directly to the young artists.
You can watch more videos of the Cambio Creativo staff and volunteers working with the youth in Coco Solo on Rose Cromwell's Vimeo page, including the following of a “body percussion” class:
This post was sub-edited by Jane Ellis.


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Panama: President Martinelli’s Confrontation with Journalist Generates Controversy · Global Voices
Ariel Moreno

Following the breaking of the “Lavitola” scandal in Panama, many were eagerly awaiting a clarification of matters from President Ricardo Martinelli, notwithstanding several messages sent out on his Twitter profile (@rmartinelli) [this and all links that follow in this article are Spanish-language]. In these, the Head of State justified his silence:
Cuando a uno lo embarran en algo que no tiene que ver, uno siente que nada tiene que decir o responder. Pronto se sabrá toda la verdad.
At last, on April 19, he decided to break his silence and summoned a national TV broadcast on which he would make an appearance to clear up the Government's position regarding the scandal. At the appointed hour, and to the surprise of very few, the Government accused the opposition and the members of the media of being behind political moves to discredit it. The President also made it clear that no bribe of any kind had been received.
Even so, what really made news of the press conference were the answers the President gave to journalist Hugo Famanía, who had in recent weeks revealed on some media outlets that he'd been involved in a struggle with a drug problem. The President responded to one of the journalist's questions by referring to his past addiction, as summarised by Panamanian TV station Telemetro:
Famanía cuestionaba a Martinelli sobre su relación con el empresario italiano Mauro Velocci, de quien dijo tenía dudosa reputación. “Por el amor de Dios Hugo, tú has tenido problemas de drogas y no significa que por eso yo no voy a hablar contigo, yo no conocía a ese señor, yo no lo conozco, ¿yo te puedo decir ahora que yo no voy a hablar contigo porque tienes problemas de droga o tuviste problemas de droga? Yo creo que eso no es justo“, espetó el mandatario.
The President then left the press conference after addressing the journalist once again: “I hope you won't fall foul of the scourge of drugs again.” Eric507simpson, on his YouTube account, shares an extract of the press conference that was captured by national TV station TVN, and which presents the President's responses to the journalist.
Social networks reverberated with shows of contempt for and condemnation of the President's words. Two hashtags quickly emerged on Twitter: users used #MonseñorMartinelliyoconfieso (“Monsignor Martinelly, I confess”) to criticise the intolerance of the Head of State by themselves admitting to personal sins and mistakes; #UnfollowMartinelli advanced the idea of unfollowing the President's Twitter accounts.
Some made fun of the whole thing: Mercedes Melias (@MercyMelais), referring to other occasions when the Head of State made indiscreet comments on social networks, and then alleged that his account had been hacked, noted:
El presidente mañana dira que le hackearon la Boca jajjaajjaja #Panama
Although the majority of reactions took the side of the journalist, some believe that Hugo Famanía got a little of his just desserts. Martiuska Guerra (@martiuskaguerra) was one:
@HOMERO311251 Famania no tiene moral, El presidente le simplemente le respondiò de su propia medicina.
In contrast, Karina Bazan (@karinabazan) expressed her admiration for a journalist who stoically put up with the President's tactlessness:
Mi respeto y admiracion x H.Famania,un man q esta clarito en cómo los sentimientos,pensamientos y acciones influyen en su vida y el mundo
Blogger Erick Simpson Aguilera (Pma507pty) wrote:
Tal parece por sus palabras y acciones que, el Presidente Ricardo Martinelli no cree en la rehabilitación, y no perdona a quienes han pasado por esta dura experiencia. Bien, pues espero que, todos los panameños que sufren de la adicción a las drogas, quienes ya superaron dicho flagelo, y sus familiares, recuerden estas duras palabras del presidente de la nación, en las próximas elecciones.
So it was that, far from clearing up the Government's guilt or innocence in the Lavitola question, the press conference raised serious doubts about the President's communication skills, and gave more ammunition to those with things to say on social networks.

author: Ariel Moreno


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Peru: Report on Conga Mining Project Released · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Update 21 April, 2012 : President Ollanta Humala announced [es] to the nation that the Conga project will continue, but with better environmental conditions.
The technical report commissioned by the Peruvian government to survey the Environmental Impact Study of the Conga mining project in Cajamarca was finally delivered [es]. However, lots of things related to this controversial project have happened since, ranging from the unsuccessful attempts at discussion between those against the project and the government, to the ignored “March for Water.” (More on this can be found on Scribd on the Report on the Great National March for the Right to Water in Peru by the International Mission of Observers.)
After the march, Wilfredo Saavedra, President of the Defence Front of Cajamarca, pointed out [es] that the government had until the third week of March to declare the Conga project to be non-viable. If the government did not do this he stated they would declare a national strike.
It was discovered that apart from the survey commissioned by the central government, the regional government of Cajamarca had also negotiated an international survey at the same time [es]. Until that moment this report had included some observations [es] into the environmental impact [es] of the mining project.
Message against Conga during the Water March, February 2012. Image from Flickr user Ricardove04 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
In the middle of March, Wilfredo Saavedra was detained [es] in Tacna and moved to Cajamarca where he was freed [es] after 10 hours of detention and not before taking his protest to the Public Ministry.
The National Assembly for the Peruvian people started [es] in Cajamarca towards the end of the month amidst rumours [es] of new strike action. The Assembly agreed [es] on a strike for April 11. It was reported [es] that this meeting had accentuated the division between the different movements that form the Environmental Defence Front of Cajamarca, allegedly because of differing political interests [es].
Since April 7, the central government has sent [es] a strong military contingent to Cajamarca to prevent any disorderly behaviour that would arise out of the strike. The strike eventually was problem-free [es], although there were reports [es] of the occupation of the University of Cajamarca and reports [es] of road blocking in Jaén. It was also reported that a “flag-washing” [es] took place in the Plaza de Armas in Cajamarca to reject the Conga project.
More recently, the Constitutional Court upheld [es] the cries of unconstitutionality by the Prosecutor's Office against the bylaw implemented by the regional government of Cajamarca. This bylaw declared the Conga project to be non-viable. The Court also established that it is the National Authority for Water that should be in charge of determining which coal-mining areas should be declared to be intangible and not regional governments.
The Conga project is attracting a large amount of opinion in the media by different people. The opinions range from announcements [es] of a great clash between the government and the anti-mining protestors, analysis [es] of the wearing away of the movement, analysis [es] of the communication errors made by the government, to mere damaging remarks [es] made by those that oppose the Conga project. There is some evidence that suggests [es] that the report indicates that the loss of the lagoons would not have any significant impact on water flow in the region. However, it is noted [es] that the report did recommend not using two of the four lagoons that the project had previously intended to use.
In blogs the analysis and reports are just as varied. For example, the blog Celendín freely reproduced [es] a statement from the NGO Oxfam:
5. Asimismo, Oxfam invoca a las autoridades regionales y locales de Cajamarca a retomar el diálogo, escuchando, resolviendo las dudas de la población y, buscando el bienestar de quienes los eligieron. Esto no representa limitar sus derechos a decidir sobre sus circunscripciones y recursos.
6. Oxfam invoca al Gobierno peruano a formular políticas de largo plazo que permitan que la inversión pública y privada se realice en una forma armoniosa con la biodiversidad y las dinámicas sociales y culturas de las poblaciones indígenas y campesinas. En esa línea, impulsar políticas económicas alternativas, que reduzcan la fuerte dependencia del país con el modelo extractivista vigente, constituye una prioridad.
5. Similarly, Oxfam calls on the regional and local authorities of Cajamarca to resume dialogue, to listen and resolve the doubts of the population and to ensure they are looking for the well-being of those who elected them. This is not to limit their rights to decide on their constituencies and resources.
6. Oxfam calls for the Peruvian government to formulate long term policies that allow public and private investment to be made in a harmonious manner, with the biodiversity and social dynamics and cultures of the indigenous people and country people at its heart. In the same vein, they must make it their priority to boost alternative economic policies that would reduce Peru's heavy reliance on existing extractive industry.
From Cajamarca the blog Radio Alfil informed [es]:
Entre las 4 y 8 p.m. del día martes 17 de abril, unas 3 000 personas se concentraron en la Plaza de Armas de Cajamarca para iniciar un recorrido por las principales calles de la ciudad en respuesta a la presentación del peritaje de la parte hidrológica del EIA del proyecto minero Conga. Hubo movilización y luego vigilia.
Vigil in Cajamarca
On the other hand, there have been complaints [es] regarding the difficulty in accessing the experts’ technical report via the Internet. The blog Crónicas from the city of Cajamarca in Perú comments [es] on this:
Luego de descargar [en informe] me topé con lo que ya esperaba: el documento tiene el texto como imagen, de tal manera que no se puede hacer búsquedas de palabras. Pero hubo una sorpresa adicional: el documento está protegido contra impresión… bajo Windows, porque bajo Linux es posible imprimir.
The blog of Tierra y Libertad (Land and Freedom), the political movement of Marco Arana – one of the leaders of the anti-mining movement- issued [es] their statement to a local radio station about the attitude of the government:
“La decisión política ha sido: ‘mire, el peritaje es nuestro, lo vamos a dar a conoce en los términos q nosotros queremos, y los demás tienen que acatar, y a la prensa le vamos a transmitir la imagen de que el debate técnico ya está resuelto, aquí está claro, lo que falta es solamente la decisión política’”
The blog titled Environmental Defence Front of Cajamarca reproduced [es] part of the opinions of Robert Morán, one of the experts in charge of the alternative report commissioned by the regional government of Cajamarca:
Es totalmente irreal discutir los impactos de Conga sobre el agua sino se habla también de los impactos acumulativos que tendrán otros proyectos mineros en las mismas cabeceras de cuenca que Conga. Como mínimo, estos incluyen a la mina Yanacocha y sus futuras ampliaciones de Amaro y La Carpa; Galeno de Lumina Copper(China), y Michiquillay de Anglo American (Sudáfrica y Reino Unido)
Given that apparently the two sides seem to be irreconcilable, it has been suggested [es] that a technical debate be carried out concerning the topic. In his blog Lacritaprecisa, Lucho Aguirre comments [es] with humour:
Debate técnico: Intercambio de puntos de vista entre dos partes antagónicas prescindiendo de palabras que sugieran algún tipo de emotividad o compasión. Es más, se recomienda prescindir por completo de palabras y usar, en cambio, tablas, gráficos de barras o pictogramas. En el debate técnico está prohibido el uso de megáfonos o sombreros que puedan contaminar la información.
Some other bloggers claim [es] that the report clears any doubts and that the anti-miners are stubborn characters, such as Diego Yépez from the blog Cínico ¿yo?:
Esto es un levantamiento cultural, es el indio contra el blanco, el anti sistema contra el sistema. Así de simple. No hay confrontamiento racional de propuestas sino una pelea ideológica entre el chiquito y el grande, y lo que la gente que se opone al proyecto no entiende es que esa batalla hace tiempo ya la perdieron. […] Santos, Saavedra y su gente están a punto de cruzar la raya entre diferir con el gobierno y la anarquía, y ahí, viendo que Humala es cachaco de corazón, ayayay, va a correr sangre. Es jodido, vamos a joder nuestra imagen en el exterior, pero es necesario.
What is evident is that no matter whether there is a report or not, the problem is far from being resolved. Such as Hans Rothgiesser mentioned in an article [es] in Semana Económica, “none of this would have been necessary had we had a credible mining ministry that when it approves an [Environmental Impact Study] it is because the [Environmental Impact Study] is being approved”. You can read a full version of the specialist technical report commissioned by the government on Scribd [es].

author: Juan Arellano


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Portugal: Video of Guinea-Bissau coup protest in Lisbon · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Youtube user MinisterioDaVerdade published a video of a large parade on Saturday by Guinea-Bissaun residents of Lisbon, and their Portuguese families and friends, protesting the military coup which took place April 12. Marchers occupied the streets of Lisbon's Baixa neighborhood. Signs read “We have a consensus: No to dictatorship” and simply “peace.”

author: Janet Gunter