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Young People, Technology and the Welsh Language · Global Voices
Daniel Cunliffe

This post is part of a special Global Voices series on Welsh language and digital media in collaboration with Hacio'r Iaith.
According to UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger the Welsh language is “vulnerable”. The most recent census for which results are available (2001) shows that speaker numbers have stabilised after decades of decline.
The growth in Welsh-medium education has been a significant factor in this stabilisation. Census results since 1971 have shown an increase in the percentage of people under the age of 25 able to speak Welsh, while the percentage of those over the age of 25 able to speak Welsh has fallen. These young bilingual Welsh-English speakers are therefore critical to the future of the Welsh language, in terms of using and valuing the language and in terms of passing it on to future generations.
Looking ahead
This increase in the percentage of young people able to speak Welsh has coincided with some profound technological transformations. As a developed and relatively affluent country, Wales has been able to adopt these new technologies as they have emerged.
Many of these young speakers are growing up having never known a world without the Internet and mobile phones. For them “new media” is no more new than television, radio or cinema, it is part of their everyday experience, embedded in their everyday lives. While the presence of the Welsh language in these technologies will not by itself save the language, an absence of the language will surely damage it in the eyes of young people.
Despite growing recognition that young people and technology are critical for the future of the Welsh language, there is very little data on the subject. This lack of evidence causes problems in terms of monitoring trends, identifying demand, planning interventions and creating policies.
I recently had the opportunity to collaborate with Delyth Morris and Cynog Prys from Bangor University in a small scale study funded by the University of Wales’ Board of Celtic Studies. The study explored the use of social networking sites – such as Facebook – by young Welsh speakers aged between 13 and 18 in Welsh-medium schools. While this study only involved 200 pupils from four schools it provides some initial insight into the perception and use of the Welsh language in these popular applications.
All the pupils reported having broadband access at home and several also had Internet access on their mobile phones or on their personal media players. The use of social networks was pervasive, with only six of the 200 pupils reporting that they didn’t use any social networks at all. Facebook was used by 87% of the pupils, YouTube by 76% and MSN by 70%. No other social networks were used by more than 20% of the pupils.
Welsh youth and tech
Facebook was clearly popular with the young people in the study; it was associated with maturity and was perceived as one of the few websites where Welsh is used (quotes translated from Welsh):
Our Facebook is a Welsh section of the Internet, where our friends speak Welsh.
The pupils’ language behaviour on Facebook was complicated and appears to be influenced by a number of different factors, but just over 44% of them said they would either mainly use Welsh or would use Welsh and English equally on Facebook. While this figure may seem low, the majority of the pupils in the two schools from Southeast Wales came from non Welsh-speaking homes and in one school only 12% of the pupils considered Welsh to be their first language.
Overall it appears that young people’s language choices in social networks broadly follow their patterns of language use in their offline networks:
When I joined Facebook, some of my Welsh friends were there, and only they were there, so I spoke Welsh with them and it’s carried on.
There does not appear to be anything particularly significant about the fact that these pupils are interacting through a social network which influences their language behaviour. The use (or non use) of Welsh in social networks is as natural as their use of Welsh in their other day-to-day interactions.
Whilst these results appear encouraging, it is important to recognise that social networks represent only one use of these new technologies. We did not set out to systematically explore the wider issues, but some of the pupils’ comments were revealing:
… after we leave school every computer we see will be in English. If we learn how to do things in Welsh it will be more difficult to do things in English, because we wouldn’t understand what the words say.
If this statement is representative of the views of young Welsh speakers generally, then it appears that whilst Welsh may be playing a role in social interaction online it is perhaps failing to secure a wider role as a language of technology. The perceptions, attitudes and actions of these young, technologically literate Welsh-speakers will be critical in determining whether or not this wider role can be achieved in the future.
Meanwhile, initiatives to encourage young people in use of Welsh with technology are being introduced. In this video for example, uploaded to YouTube by HuwTubeable, young people in Caernarfon participate in a bilingual Welsh/English coding workshop called Coderdojo:

author: Daniel Cunliffe


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Cuba: Police Detain Blogger, Disrupt Independent Scholarly Forum · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

On Saturday, September 1, the well-known Cuban author and blogger Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo was detained by state police for several hours. Pardo Lazo had been slated to moderate a session of Estado de SATS, an independent, informal scholarly forum in Havana later that day. Estado de SATS has endured increasing criticism from government officials who claim the program to be “counterrevolutionary.”
Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo. From Boring Home Utopics. http://vocescubanas.com/boringhomeutopics/
Police allegedly arrived at Pardo Lazo’s home early Saturday morning and took the blogger, along with his girlfriend, to a nearby station where they were held and questioned for most of the day, leading Estado de SATS organizers to cancel the day's event.
In the blogosphere and on Twitter, the majority of voices agreed that Pardo Lazo’s detention was directly linked to Estado de SATS.
Alberto Muller [es] wrote:
Todo parece indicar que la detencion conllevaba el objetivo de que Pardo no pudiese moderar la mesa de discusion sobre el Nuevo Pensamiento Cubano.
A well-known blogger whose fiction and poetry writings were published in Cuba until 2008, when editors abruptly ceased publication of his work, Pardo Lazo has been detained by police in the past, likely due to his involvement with anti-government groups and online dissent on the island. On Pardo Lazo’s blog, commenter Miguel Grillo Morales [es] wrote:
Secuestrar, detener a un escritor a un bloguero por expresar sus ideas en un papel o en un blog no solo es un crimen, es una bejesa politica. OLP tu detras de las rejas eres el mas libre de todos los cubanos.
After his release, Pardo Lazo [es] wrote:
Respirando otra vez fuera de los barrotes y la luz mortecina de una estación de provincia de una capital de provincia de un país de provincia de una historia provinciana con el título grandilocuente de Revolución…
The Estado de SATS meeting was rescheduled for the following Monday. Netizens who attended the meeting reported that police kept several attendees from traveling to Rodiles’ house, where the forum is held. Nevertheless, over twenty individuals were able to attend and Pardo Lazo moderated the panel as originally planned.
Responding to the incident, Estado de SATS organizer Antonio Rodiles [es] wrote:
Seguiremos haciendo Estado de SATS, ni amenazas, ni detenciones, ni mitines de repudio, ni operativos policiales nos detendrán. Somos ciudadanos libres y queremos otra Cuba, no hay fuerza bruta que pueda contra eso!!

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


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Jordan: What Happened to Education?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Roba Al Assi shares a video of the opening of the University of Jordan in 1962 on her blog And Far Away. She writes:
As a graduate of the the institution myself, it is funny looking back 50 years, at a time when education actually mattered in Jordan.
How did things get so bad so quickly?

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Kyrgyzstan: Two Years After the Conflict · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Much like physical marks the conflict left on the city, the damage left in individual lives and on the city as a community is healing in many places—and where it doesn’t heal, it seems at least to fade into the background of other scars, other challenges.
Noah Tucker on Registan.net writes (part 1, part 2) about the situation in Osh, a city in southern Kyrgyzstan, two years after the ethnic clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities there.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Lebanon: A Virtual Museum for Censorship · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

Lebanon now boasts a Virtual Museum of Censorship, an online database of censorship cases in Lebanon since the 1940s. The website was launched by Lebanese organization MARCH  to draw attention to information kept away from people.
On September 2, 2012, the day the Museum of Censorship was launched, MARCH said:
WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF CENSORSHIP IN LEBANON !
Ever wondered WHAT was censored in Lebanon, WHEN, and particularly WHY? You have come to the right place.
Here, you will be able to look up material that was censored since the 1940's !
Heard of something that is being censored, is under the threat of being censored or has been censored in the past that we have missed/failed to spot? Feel free to report it in order to complete the database.
Netizens can report censored movies, music, theater pieces, books, print and audiovisual content from 1940s to date on the website. They are required to give the name of the censored work, the censorship date, entity and reason.
For instance, Charlie Chaplin's Great Dictator was banned in 1940 for its anti-Nazi views. While, in 1990 LBC International received threats from the National Audiovisual Media Council to suspend its transmission over the broadcast of an interview with David Levy, the Israeli foreign Minister at that time.
In 2012, Lebanese journalist Moustafa Geha survived an assasination attempt, a cartoonist who drew Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was threatened, and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis was banned from bookshops for “offending Islam and Iran.”
Who censors in Lebanon?
The Virtual Museum of Censorship lists four main Lebanese censorship entities:
General Security: Licensing, Monitoring, Censoring creative works
Ministry of Information: Prohibiting the entry of a foreign publication; confiscating copies of it
Provides licenses to publish for periodical publications
May suspend a TV channel for a maximum period of 3 days
Can censor cinematic works from the preliminary stage of the censorship process, along with the General Security
The special administrative committee: In the case that General Security finds what it considers enough cause to prevent part or all of the film from being screened, a decision shall be made by the committee according to a majority vote of its member to allow the film to be screened as it is, to edit certain parts of the film or to ban the film from being screened altogether. The final decision shall officially be issued by the Ministry of Interior, alone.
The National Audiovisual Media Council:The Council has become a “media watchdog”. It started off as an advisory board for the government to regulate television and radio broadcasting; the council's authority is now expanding to include regulating websites and blogs (what? exercises post- censorship on TV, radio and Internet
Censorship motives
In Lebanon, censorship practices are either politically, religiously or morally motivated. The Virtual Museum of Censorship explains:
Political reasons: regarding foreign relations with friendly countries, the censor pays considerable attention to the political sensitivities of Arab regimes and endeavors to safeguard diplomatic relations with these countries as well as banning attacks on the Palestinian cause and Arabs in general. Films on the civil war have been routinely censored since the nineties on the basis that referring to the conflict “threatens civil peace”.
Israel: regarding relations with enemy states, censorship is firstly based on a national law that calls for the boycott of all Israeli products. Secondly, there is censorship of all forms of publicity or compassion for Israel : this boycott was initially observed by the entire Arab League. Today, only Lebanon and Syria adhere to it stringently(…)
Religion: General Security will send creative works it thinks might upset religious sensitivities to their respective governing bodies (usually the Catholic Information Center or the Dar-al-Fatwa, which is Lebanon’s highest Sunni Muslim authority). Scenes or topics that question the ability of religion to counter evil and offensive scenes are removed.
Obscene and Immoral content: regarding censorship material which offends public morals, contains scenes of nudity, sex and foul language are strictly censored and the censor generally determines the extent to which the film or work does not offend public morals. Also, works that promote homosexuality are prohibited but violent scenes or scenes depicting drug use are allowed.
Twitter reactions
On Twitter, the initiative was welcomed:
@SultanAlQassemi: This is a brilliant idea: The Virtual Museum of Censorship (Lebanon) censorshiplebanon.org via @Sandmonkey Every Gulf state needs one
@mirabaz: This is great: what was censored, when and why–> censorshiplebanon.org v @SultanAlQassemi
@ramseygeorge: This is fantastic

author: Afef Abrougui


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Myanmar: Increase in Insurance Buyers Due to Natural Disasters · Global Voices
Chan Myae Khine

Ko Ko Aung blogs [my] about the increasing number of insurance policy buyers due to natural disasters in Myanmar, although numbers remain relatively small compared to other countries.

author: Chan Myae Khine


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Russia: Dreaming About Better Roads · Global Voices
Yulia Lukashina

This summer, on June 21, Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev ordered [ru] the government to auction a construction contract to build another 38 kilometers (23.6 miles) of a still-incomplete toll road between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. By signing the decree, Medvedev awakened a debate about the highway's negative environmental impact that only recently seemed to be subsiding.
Toll roads exist around big cities like Saint Petersburg and Moscow, and are a regular feature of Russia's southern regions, where traffic jams are also a fixture of daily life. Responding to Medvedev's June initiative, some Russian Internet users agreed that the country needs an improved highways infrastructure, and they seem to be ready to pay for it. For instance, blogger nikitskij describes [ru] his experience with toll roads in Saint Petersburg:
Ощущения были положительными — помимо ровного полотна дороги, в Санкт-Петербурге креативно подошли к оформления вдоль трассы, а оно было выше всех похвал. Т.е. было не только быстро, но и красиво!-)
Fandorin_k says “yes” [ru] to toll roads, as well:
Платные дороги нужны, лишь бы про альтернативный объезд не забывали и ремонтировали время от времени.
Highway construction through Khimki Forrest, Russia. 8 May 2011, photo by Daniel Beilinson, CC BY-SA 2.0.
The plans to build the new toll road [ru] to connect Moscow and Petersburg belong to the Ministry of Transportation and date back to 2006. In November 2011, the Ministry estimated [ru] that driving from Moscow to Petersburg on the new toll road, once it is completed, will cost motorists roughly 1,600 rubles ($49 or €39). In April 2012, the head of Avtodor (The State Company Russian Highways), Sergei Kelbakh, put this figure even lower [ru], approximating that a one-way trip will cost average drivers just 600 rubles ($19 or €15). (Kelbakh explains that nearly 40% of the highway will actually be a freeway without tolls of any kind.)
Amidst the various other estimates about the future costs of using the road, the Internet has proved to be a fertile rumor mill for inflated calculations [ru] about toll levels. Thanks to such concerns and complementary worries about how the state will actually spend the highway's revenues, many bloggers have reacted with strong criticisms. LiveJournal user maydyk, for instance, contends that the highway represents “neofeudalism,” and he attacks the notion that privatization of public works projects delivers the promised benefits:
Платные участки ничем не отличаются от аналогичных бесплатных …
According to blogger sapojnik:
Нас, бессловесное быдло, просто заставят в собственной стране ездить по обычному шоссе ЗА ДЕНЬГИ – только и всего.
In comments on his LJ, sapojnik also appealed [ru] to Nikolai Gogol's classic hero Manilov, a character notorious for never acting on his many dreams:
Lj user gena_t jokes [ru] that the citizens of Moscow and Petersburg are being punished for their political disobedience:
Показали свою нелояльность, походили с белыми ленточками – теперь получили. Потом еще хуже будет.
The question of toll roads is an inevitable controversy in Russia. As the natives say, roads and fools have always been the nation's biggest obstacles. The low quality of Russia's current highway infrastructure remains a kind of national shame. The prospects for better roads, however, could improve, if Russia's millions of Manilovs can learn to replace dreams with action.

author: Yulia Lukashina


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Saudi Arabia: Reformist Figures Refuse Secret Trial · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

The third hearing session in the ongoing trials of two prominent Saudi human rights activists was held earlier today, September 8, 2012. Mohammad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamid, who are among the co-founders of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, are facing charges that include inciting the public to protest and impeding the country’s development.
In the previous session, the judge decided that hearing sessions will not be public, after tens of reformists attended the trial, which is a surprising number in Saudi politics.
Earlier today, when it was time to start the hearing session, a policeman asked Dr. al-Qahtani and Dr. al-Hamid, who were sitting in the waiting area, to come without the rest of the attendees. They got inside the courtroom with their two lawyers. Dr. al-Qahtani's wife, Maha al-Qahtani, tweeted [ar]:
Soon after that, they got out for private consultation. Dr. al-Hamid told the attendees that they will accept a secret hearing session, provided that the next one will be public. One of the attendees, Sultan al-Ajmi, tweeted [ar]:
The judge insisted that today's hearing session would be private, and refused to give any assurances for upcoming sessions. Dr. al-Qahtani's lawyer, Fowzan al-Harbi, tweeted [ar]:
Dr. al-Hamid said to those who attended [ar]:
Dr. al-Qahtani said [ar]:
al-Hamid and al-Qahtani speaking to people outside the court building, just before the riot police arrived. via @alajmi01
Outside the court building, Dr. al-Hamid and al-Qahtani's talked to a group of people, including those who attended, condemning political trials and saying that the reason why the judge did not want a public hearing was that many would testify in public against the Interior Ministry's systemic torture. Soon after that, a bus full of riot policemen arrived to disperse them.
Both of them were released shortly, after signing a written pledge that they will not photograph court procedures again.

author: Anas Soliman


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Tajikistan: Bribes and Neckties in Universities · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Now students pay bribes to be admitted to universities, study only to get their [diplomas], but happily wear neckties to classes…
Temur Mengliev summarizes [ru] the changes that have taken place within Tajikistan's colleges and universities over the recent years.


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Tajikistan: Xenophobia on Facebook · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

[O]ur society – to be more exact, that part of our society which has internet access and actively uses social networks – is increasingly witnessing the expansion and strengthening of unhealthy nationalist beliefs.
Blogger Harsavor ponders [ru] the rise of xenophobia in Tajikistan, particularly among the country's Facebook users.


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Australia: Web Wet Nurses Share Breast Milk Via Social Media · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Sharing breast milk via social media, both in Australia and other parts of the world, has brought surprise in some sections of the mainstream media.
In ‘Mums sourcing breast milk on social media‘ (September 02, 2012) News Limited’s news.com.au reported:
MOTHERS unable to breastfeed are bypassing registered milk banks and reaching out to strangers on social media for donations of human milk.
One such network called ‘Human Milk 4 Human Babies’ connects parents in need of breast milk with those willing to provide it free of charge.
Breastfeeding Graffiti in New Zealand. Photo from Flickr page of eliduke
This story was picked up by overseas media such as India’s IBN Live.
The milk sharing websites and social media pages are easy to find. HM4HB has its own global Facebook page as does Eats on Feets which has chapters in the Australian States of Tasmania and Western Australia.
Despite the old media’s recent discovery of the issue, it is not a particularly new development on social media. Nor is the concept – web wet nurses are just the kind of evolution to be expected in the digital age.
Gullible New Parent, who lives in Darwin, addressed the safety issue on her blog in 2010:
But it's not rocket science – essentially if you want to use another woman's breastmilk, you want to be satisfied that they have taken the same precautions you would take if you were breastfeeding your own baby. They shouldn't consume drugs which would get into the milk, they should use sterilised bottles and mark the date of expressing etc. You need to be careful they don't have HIV or other diseases which could then infect your baby. So, you need to trust your donor and they need to agree to be screened for diseases.
HM4HB has been around since 2010. Sometimes it takes a while for the old media to catch up with what’s happening in the online world. Alexandra explored some of the issues a year ago in her blog post Ooo taboo! Who’s sharing milk?:
There isn’t enough information out there for parents who are looking for breast milk for their baby or toddler. I look forward to seeing this change.
One Australian tweeter, Lauren, is certain where she stands:
@MsLozzaloulilei: Mums please don't share your breast milk as using unscreened milk is unsafe. In addition, its just revolting. Stop trying to be perfect. FFS. 2 Sep 12
Whilst Damo is all for controlled sharing:
@ThatDamoGuy: @lovelysqualor @eutraphalia I'd like to see breast milk banks set up in each women's and children's hospitals nation wide. It's liquid gold. 2 Sep 12
Eutraphalia seems more concerned about the commercial exploitation of shared milk:
@eutraphalia: @ThatDamonGuy @lovelysqualor private donor/s. $80 p/L is exorbitant and I have an issue with breastmilk as a ‘product’. 2 Sep 12
Anyway, as Richard Nixon liked to say, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

author: Kevin Rennie


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Bahrain: Despite the Ban, Opposition Protests in the Capital · Global Voices
Elias Maki

This post is part of our special coverage Bahrain Protests 2011/12.
After stopping for a little over three months in light of the Ministry of Interior (MOI) refusing to grant permission to gatherings or marches of the opposition, societies held their second rally in the streets of Manama on Friday September 7, 2012. The MOI had announced ahead on Twitter that the gathering is not authorized and participation is illegal.
Various similar gatherings in Manama were previously denied permission, which according to a Ministry press release is because the capital is not the place to carry protests, citing traffic delays and adverse effects on businesses in the area as reasons for the ban.
Shaikh Ali Salman, the secretary-general of the opposition AlWefaq Islamic Society tweeted to comment that the ban will not stop him personally from attending the protest [ar]:
Ali Salman leading one of the protests in Manama on Friday, photo by yfrog user @2012_atoma
Salman was among the first to arrive to Manama for afternoon prayers which he lead in Moemin Mosque, one of the iconic mosques that were closed during the unrest of the 1990s as it became a gathering place for opposition leaders at the time.
This video, uploaded by mmeha89 shows part of the protest in Manama. Among the chants [ar] are a call for the freeing of political prisoners, down with Hamad [the monarch] and the all too familiar Arab Spring protest chant: “The people want the downfall of the regime.”
As hundreds responded to the call to protest, the announced route of the rally along the “Government Avenue” was soon besieged and riot police were stationed along it to prevent crowds from gathering. However, numerous spontaneous protests took place in the back allies of Manama, which were soon dispersed by riot police with stun grenades and tear gas.
Protesters carried pictures of detainees, chanted anti-government slogans and stressed their right to protest in the capital. Main entrances to the capital were later blocked by riot police armored vehicles or patrol cars, which diverted traffic to other roads. Pictures of blocked roads and open entrances were spread on Twitter.
Police presence in Manama, photo by Twitpic @AJalilKhalil
The traffic diversion was not announced by MOI. Instead, it let out a tweet saying that the traffic jams around Manama are due to planned road work in the area [ar]:
Skirmishes and small protests continued throughout the day. The situation because tense by the maghreb [sunset] prayers, when groups of riot police surrounded the mosque Ali Salman prayed in, in anticipation of the protesters regrouping demonstrating again.
The day ended with the arrest of six protesters as announced by MOI. MOI has also issued a press release the next day stating that criminal charges have been filed with the public prosecutor against AlWefaq for calling for the protest, even though five other opposition societies have called their supporters to protest on social media.
Many were not pleased with the opposition carrying their protests despite the ban and a Twitter campaign under the hashtag “Close Down AlWefaq” #أغلقوا_الوفاق was launched.  A number of public figures also expressed their concern. Among them was foreign minister Shaikh Khalid AlKhalifa, who tweeted [ar]:
This post is part of our special coverage Bahrain Protests 2011/12.

author: Elias Maki


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Cambodia: Mandatory Internet Surveillance Cameras · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Cambodian government is enforcing a circular drafted earlier this year which requires Internet cafes to set up surveillance cameras and to register callers.
Based on an unofficial translation made by Jinja, the government said the circular was made in response to the rising number of cyber crimes in the country:
Past experiences of offense investigation and suppression have shown that, criminals and offenders always used telecommunications services such as mobile phones, fixed phones, VoIP and Internets as a means to commit terrorisms, trans-boundary crimes, robberies, kidnapping, murders, drug trafficking, human trafficking, economic offenses, illegal installment of and illegal corporation of all forms of telecommunications service, broadcasting of obscene pictures and debauchery, which affect national customs, traditions and social good moral values.
Participants in the Cambodian Bloggers Summit. Photo from Flickr page of cambodia4kidsorg
The provision below mandates telephone and internet stations to put CCTV cameras in their areas:
All telecommunications operators, sales outlets and distributors are obliged to register their business at local authorities. Meanwhile, all locations serving telephone services and Internet shall be equipped with closed circuit television camera and shall store footage data of users for at least 03 months. Telephone service corporation owners along public roads shall record National Identity Cards of any subscriber.
The circular could be a model for a more comprehensive cyber legislation which the government plans to enact this year. Jinja reports that no violator has been arrested yet in connection with the circular:
So far I have seen no report of anyone being fined or arrested for refusing to comply. This circular sets a precedent for regulating the use of the internet which may be followed up by an actual law enacted by the National Assembly.
The circular is seen by some netizens as a threat to internet freedom. Clothilde Le Coz interviews several Cambodian writers who expressed their concern over attempts by the government to regulate online behavior.
Cambodian Law Blog confirms news reports that the government is drafting an anti-cybercrime law:
The Cambodian government seems to have had enough of false information on the internet. It is drafting a law that will make it illegal to lie on the internet.
Does a writer need to know the information is false? Does he have to intend to cause harm through the false information?
False speech is a problem that every government will need to address at some point or another.
It will be interesting to see how the Cambodian government deals with this difficult issue.
LTO Cambodia believes that internet freedom is still very much practiced and enjoyed in Cambodia but notes that “free space has slowly been shrinking” in recent years:
It can even be said that Cambodia has some of the freest Internet in the region. Still, over the last three years, that free space has slowly been shrinking, some ‘political’ websites have been blocked and the government has repeatedly expressed the desire to enact some sort of Internet law or official regulation.
The blogger also provides a good summary and history of internet censorship cases in Cambodia. Meanwhile, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights advises the government that instead of controlling new media, it should facilitate improved access, better broadband services, and greater online freedom:
…despite the (government’s) recent announcement that they are drafting a cyber law, it seems highly unlikely that they will be able to unilaterally censor the internet and mobile phones, primarily due to a lack of the financial and human resources that are needed in order to do so. Furthermore, as Cambodian citizens become more technologically aware, many users will be able to find a way of accessing restricted sites through the use of proxy servers.
The recent moves by the (government) to restrict internet and mobile phone use in Cambodia, as outlined above, indicate a desire within government to control new media – particularly the internet. It is hoped however that, as internet penetration in Cambodia is still very low, the (government) will refrain from imposing further restrictions on the internet and spending its limited resources on censoring online content and debate. Similarly, it is hoped that the (government) will refrain from steps aimed at preventing the use of mobile phones as a medium to communicate important civic and political messages.
The government position with regard to Internet freedom has been presented already to the global community. Although, it was a Chinese official who articulated the stand of several countries which included Cambodia. Nhklein quotes from the presentation:
The Internet is often used to propagate terrorism, extremism and racism, xenophobia even ideas of toppling legitimate authorities. Moreover, the Internet is used by some groups to distort fact, exaggerate situation and provoke violence in an attempt to acetate tension it appears and gain political benefits and is also used by criminals for outlawed activities and have access to facilities.
Mr. Moderator, all stakeholder of the Internet should make concerted efforts to prevent and combat the abuse of Freedom of Expression on the Internet. Internet users of all countries should respect the right and dignity of others; contribute to maintaining social stability and safeguarding national security. The Internet industry should act to foster a crime free, reliable and secure cyberspace, Governments should strengthen legislation in efforts of Internet regulation and law enforcement activities, with the aim of combating criminal activities. All countries should start as soon as possible to discussion on effective ways to promote international cooperation on Internet regulation for building safety and confidence on the Internet.

author: Mong Palatino


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China in Africa: The Real Story · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Hibiscus is a Global Voices project designed to amplify Sino-Africa conversations taking place online and create dialogue about the relationship between China and Africa, specifically encouraging conversations between bloggers in both regions and those outside the region who write about the China-Africa relationship.
Chinese interest and presence in Africa has increased rapidly in the last few years and the country has become Africa's largest trading partner. “Trade between China and Africa increased by more than 22 percent year-over-year to $80.5 billion in the first five months of 2012,” writes Mike King quoting figures from China’s Ministry of Commerce.
As part of this project, we will regularly feature blogs or any other social media sites that focus on the China-Africa relationship. Today we are introducing to you China in Africa: The Real Story blog, written by Deborah Brautigam, author of The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa.
Banner in Beijing in November 1996, during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Image released under Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Flickr user stephenrwalli
Deborah Brautigam is:
Professor and Director, International Development Program, Johns Hopkins University/SAIS; senior research fellow at IFPRI, and author of The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa (Oxford U. Press, 2009, 2011). A China scholar, I first went to Africa in 1983 to research Chinese engagement and never stopped.
China in Africa: The Real Story won the Danwei Model Worker Awards 2012, which is a list of the best specialist websites, blogs and online sources of information about China.
Below are some of interesting stories that Deborah Brautigam has written about the Chinese presence in Africa.
‘Learning Chinese in Zambia‘:
A growing number of students are producing really first rate field research on China in Africa. I recently read the M.A. thesis of Arwen Hoogenbosch, who is finishing his M.A. in Leiden. His thesis, “Made-in-China”: Chinese as a commodity and a socioeconomic resource in Chinese language schools in Zambia” makes fascinating reading.
Arwen spent several months doing “participant observation”, enrolled in a Chinese language school in Zambia (which has both a Confucius Institute and a private-for-profit Chinese language school). He got to know his fellow students, and reports on their varied goals and hopes for learning Chinese.
She continues:
Arwen's analysis of the motives for Zambians to study Chinese is thoughtful. Some thought it would advance their job prospects, although Arwen writes: “it appears that Chinese companies prefer Chinese skilled employees.” I think there is a lot more potential for Africans who speak Chinese than perhaps Arwen does. I'm current in Ethiopia and seeing some fascinating examples of Chinese companies employing Ethiopians at a high management level. One firm's production manager is Ethiopian — he runs the place (the Chinese owner also has factories in Somalia, Sudan, Mali, and several other African countries).
‘Kenyan Traders Protest Against Chinese Competitors‘:
The proliferation of Chinese traders in African markets is one of the perinneal sore spots in China-Africa relations. This video highlights the recent protests in Nairobi where African traders fear and resent the competition. Consumers generally welcome the expansion of products at lower cost, but frequently complain about the low quality of cheap goods.
On the plus side: cheap Chinese cell phone have allowed Africans at the bottom of the pyramid to communicate in unexpectedly large numbers. On the negative side, counterfeit pharmaceuticals — a regular phenomenon — can exacerbate illness or fail to prevent death. This creates a climate of fear and distrust affecting all Chinese pharmaceutical exports. None of these products need to be sold by Chinese, of course. As I've noted in this blog, thousands of African traders visit Chinese cities and export directly from China to their home markets.
The YouTube video below posted by NTVKenya on August 16, 2012, shows Kenyan traders protesting against Chinese traders:
‘“Zombie” Chinese Land Grabs in Africa Rise Again in New Database!‘:
Last week, the new Land Matrix “land grab” database was released at a big World Bank conference on land. The Land Matrix project is “an international partnership involving five major European research centres and 40 civil society and research groups from around the world.” On paper, they have a strong methodology and very strict criteria about projects that are to be included. But in practice, they seem to violate their own rules routinely, at least when it comes to Chinese “projects” in Africa.
She goes on to list Chinese “zombie” land grabs in Africa:
I understand there is a lot of Chinese land investment in Asia, especially in Cambodia and Laos. I don't know the Asia cases, but when the database was made public, I checked the China-Africa cases in the online database, which supposedly only lists the cases that have passed their “robust” fact-checking process (which apparently involves checking to see if another NGO has published a link to a media report on an alleged case). I was interested to see which “Zombie Chinese projects” (i.e. dead projects, or projects that in fact never had any life to them at all!) are in their database as confirmed. Here is a sample:
(1) ZTE oil palm project 2.8 million hectares in DRC The project was discussed but never finalized, land was never allocated, the project — which was almost certainly a maximum of 100,000 ha — was never this large — and has been dead in the water for years.
(2) ABSA Biofuels 30,200 ha in Ethiopia. Huh? This proposed joint venture is not “Chinese” but South African-Chinese-Ethiopian, and was listed in an Ethiopian database in 2008 as in the “pre-implementation” phase. It has never been implemented.
(5) Zimbabawe 101,170 ha irrigated maize project. I've written about this countless times. It was a construction contract given to a Chinese company by the Zimbabwe government, not a Chinese investment. They were not paid. They went home. The land never ended up being developed. This all happened almost ten years ago, in 2003 for Pete's sake!
‘Africa's Free Press Problem: Is China Causing It?‘:
On April 15, 2012, the New York Times published an op-ed by Mohamed Keita on Africa's free press problem, arguing that press freedom was getting worse in Africa — because of China.
Keita's piece makes a lot of good points. Investigative reporters have a very tough road in many parts of Africa and there are many examples of courage under impossibly tough conditions.
However, his opinion oversteps his evidence in linking increased Chinese economic activity in Africa with increased repression of the media.
Asking “Why this disturbing trend? (of media repression)” Keita points to (inter alia) “the influence of China, which surpassed the West as Africa’s largest trading partner in 2009.”
As an example of this causal linkage, Keita wrote: “The volume of trade between Rwanda and China increased fivefold between 2005 and 2009. During the same period, the government has eviscerated virtually all critical press and opposition and has begun filtering Rwandan dissident news Web sites based abroad.”
She agrees with Keita about Chinese technical and media ties with African government:
Keita actually does make a good point in his observation that with growing trade, “China has been deepening technical and media ties with African governments to counter the kind of critical press coverage that both parties demonize as neocolonialist.”
Rather than training African reporters to be like Xinhua reporters, the Chinese goal in stepping up training and PR activities is to present a different picture of Chinese activities in Africa to counter the negative reporting eminating from “the West”.
The establishment of modern China-Africa relations dates back to the late 1950s when China signed the first official bilateral trade agreement with Algeria, Egypt, Guinea, Somalia, Morocco and Sudan. However, ancient China-Africa relations date back as far as 202 BC and AD 220. Archaeological excavations at Mogadishu, Somalia and Kilwa, Tanzania have recovered many coins from China.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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France, Yemen: Vanishing Women · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

“Disparition” by Yemeni photographer Bushra Almutawakel
Eloïse Lagrenée [fr] has posted on her Facebook page a picture by Yemeni photographer Bushra Almutawakel, illustrating how women could vanish into darkness and invisibility, step by step, under fundamentalist pressure and the full niqab. It has been shared over 1,500 times.

author: Claire Ulrich


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Mali: Militant group MUJWA Vows to Push towards Bamako after Killing · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Militant group MUJWA said that the killing of 16 Muslim preachers by the Malian army in Diabaly leave them no choice but push forward towards the Capital Bamako. Malijet adds that Nabil Abu Alqama, one of the AQIM leader in Gao, was also killed [fr] in a separate incident.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Mauritania’s Online Journalism Director Hires Hackers  · Global Voices
الدد ولد الشيخ إبراهيم

“Kolna Aziz” (We all Aziz), a Facebook page created by a group of some young opponents of the Mauritanian president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, shared a screenshot of a conversation between a former “dissident” of a Mauritanian Islamic party and the President's media adviser, Abduallah Weld Hormat Allah. In the screenshot, the media adviser has urged the “dissident” to hire hackers to hack the online accounts of activists and opposition members.
Commenting on the picture, the page wrote [ar]:
الدولة الموريتانية تشعر بخطر المدونين الموريتانيين على فضح تصرفاتها المنافية للديمقراطية، فلجأت إلى رشوة القراصنة كي يقوموا لها بقرصنة من يعارضهم من المدونين والسياسيين
The Mauritanian state is feeling the upcoming threat of the Mauritanian bloggers to expose its anti-democratic behavior. That's why the state resorted to bribe hackers to pirate all the opposing bloggers and politicians accounts.
And there were comments about the issue by some bloggers. For instance, blogger Ahmed Ben Jedou tweeted:
@ahmedj_85: يظن الجنرال وكتيبته الألكترونية أنه بقرصنة حسابات النشطاء والتضييق عليهم سيحجبون الحقيقية ….قرصنوا وسنفتح حسابات أخرى تفضحكم وتكشفكم !!
@ahmedj_85: The general and his electronic unit think that they will veil the truth by hacking activists’ accounts and intimidating them…. hack us and we will activate new accounts which will expose and uncover who you are !!
Blogger Mohamed Abdou tweeted:
@medabdou: يصر النظام العسكري في #موريتانيا أن يثبت غباءه رغم كونه مسيطرا، سيطرته على الشعب مبنية على نوع مبتذل من الخداع
@medabdou: The military regime in Mauritania insists on proving its stupidity despite being in control, its control of the people is based on a vulgar type of deception
And he added:
@medabdou: قبل يومين أنتشرت تسريبات لحوار بين ملحق اعلامي في رئاسة الجمهورية واحد شباب الفيسبوك للتشويش على النشطاء
@medabdou: Two days ago, some leaks of a conversation between a media adviser in the presidency and one of the young people on Facebook to hack the activists was circulated
Blogger Bader Dari Elchingiti noted:
@baderdine1: رغم أنها ليست من العجب أن تكون صحيحة لكن هناك إشكالية في التأكد من صحتها فمع الفوتشوب وغيره تكمن الشبهات :)
@baderdine1:There is no wonder that this picture is correct, but there is a problem as well how to make sure it is not Photoshopped.
Elmokhtar Weld Mohamed Moussa answered him:
@moctarmm: هو لم يعد ملحق في الرئاسة هو مدير الصحافة الإلكترونية بوزارة الإتصال
@moctarmm: He is no longer an extension to the presidency, he is currently a director of electronic journalism in the ministry of communications

author: الدد ولد الشيخ إبراهيم


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Myanmar: New Foreign Investment Law Passed · Global Voices
tan

The Union Parliament of Myanmar has already passed the new foreign direct investment law without the controversial provisions which included the requirement of a US$5 million minimum investment.

author: tan


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Russia: Top Opposition Blogger Investigated for Ethnic Extremism · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

This post is part of our special coverage Russia's Protest Movement.
According to documents published online [ru], police in Volgograd are investigating one of blogger Aleksei Navalny's newest crowdsourcing projects for possible ethnic extremism. In March earlier this year, Navalny formed the “Good Machine of Truth” [ru] (commonly abbreviated as “DMP” in Russian) as an intended counterweight to Russia's mainstream media.
Originally called [ru] the “Good Machine of Propaganda,” DMP's guiding star has been to discredit and lampoon Russia's two most powerful institutions: President Vladimir Putin and political party United Russia.
Past acts by the good machine of truth
DMP has distinguished itself by using unorthodox and often semi-legal outreach tactics. One of its earliest campaigns was to stamp Russian currency with the words “United Russia: A Party of Card Sharps and Thieves.” In a June 18 LiveJournal post, Navalny explained the stunt's logic: the quick circulation of cash means that a hundred stamped bills translate into an audience of 20 thousand people.
Aleksei Navalny in Moscow, Russia. 24 May 2012. Photo by Denis Mironov, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Just days later, Navalny announced DMP's next move: Operation “Krasnodar” [ru]. In a scheme that drove Gazeta.Ru blogger Sergey Smirnov to rename [ru] the group “the Stupid Machine of Spam,” DMP set out to send 100 thousand messages over the Russian social network Vkontakte to residents of the Krasnodar area. The plan was to transmit compromising information about Governor Aleksandr Tkachev and United Russia to everyone that lived in the Kuban. The message's template was over 400 words long [ru].
Smirnov compared the campaign to a previous initiative by Evgeny Korolev, who notoriously spammed thousands of LiveJournal blogs and forums in 2006, in an attempt to raise awareness about oppositionist activist Eduard Limonov. The backlash to that action was intense and Limonov eventually broke with his unfortunate promoter.
Additionally, DMP has tried to rally Russians against the Kremlin's limited cooperation with NATO in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. In a sensationalistic YouTube video [ru] and in flyers [ru] available online, DMP alleges that Putin conspired with the West to establish a NATO military base in Ulyanovsk in exchange for their acquiescence to Putin stealing the 2012 presidential election. The flyer concludes angrily:
НАТО теперь просто подкупает наивных туземцев, а этим туземцами стали мы.
The fake flyer from United Russia
The alleged police investigation in Volgograd concerns one of DMP's more recent campaigns. On July 4, Navalny introduced a new flyer [ru] that DMP activists were instructed to post in the entryways of apartment buildings across Russia. The document is an intentional replica of an official announcement from the United Russia branch any of the nation's 31 administrative areas that did not supply the party with more than 40% of their votes in the parliamentary elections last year. In other words, the flyer is meant for distribution wherever United Russia's support is already weak.
The fake United Russia posters contain real statistics about utilities and housing taxes, comparing low rates in Dagestan, Ingushetia, and Mordovia (where more than 90% of voters supported United Russia in December) to much higher rates in Moscow and any of the other 30 administrative areas where United Russia's votes were few. (The flyers are customizable [ru], and activists can even alter the text to feature language addressing the specific address of any building.)
The document also reads [ru]:
Обращаем ваше внимание, что жители тех регионов, которые показали высокий уровень поддержки нашей партии и Национального Лидера Владимира Владимировича Путина, оплачивают коммунальные услуги по существенно меньшим тарифам.
Flyer from the Good Machine of Truth. Available to the public for free dissemination.
Putin: The national leader?
Initially, United Russia simply protested the obvious deception at play. Undeniably, DMP did disguise its propaganda to look like official announcements from United Russia. Navalny even encouraged [ru] volunteers to break into locked bulletin boards and place the flyers behind glass to make them appear more authentic.
Some United Russia figures accused Navalny of trying to distract [ru] the public from revived corruption charges recently levied by federal investigators. Others argued that DMP was violating campaign laws [ru] in advance of this October's regional elections.
The possible criminal charges in Volgograd, however, are different. Relying on an analysis [ru] from a local psychologist, prosecutors have apparently determined that the DMP flyer about housing and utilities is designed to incite ethnic hatred. The report, leaked online by Navalny himself, finds especially troubling the use of the term “National Leader” as applied to President Putin. Navalny responded incredulously, pointing out that it was United Russia officials themselves who coined [ru] the term.
While Navalny is correct that Putin has often been praised as a “National Leader,” he ignores the fact that DMP deliberately twisted the term's meaning to imply that Putin's “nationality” allegiances are specific, rather than universal. (Supporters call Putin a “National Leader” because his popularity is supposedly so high that he rises above partisan or ethnic loyalties.) If Putin is a “National Leader,” but selectively rewards the non-Russian southern republics, then “National” would seem not to include Russia's titular ethnicity, the DMP flyers imply.
Navalny's denotations and connotations
None of this is to say that Navalny or DMP are guilty of outright racism. However, Russia's number one blogger does not need to publish or promote overt racism to stoke the passions of nationalists.
When it comes to ethnic issues, Navalny is adept as denoting very little, but connoting a great deal. One of the ways to study this tactic and its effect is to find one of his blog posts that addresses some racially-charged news event. In mid-July, for instance, Navalny blogged [ru] about the public arrest [ru] of Chechen millionaire and suspected gangster Adam Taramov. On his LJ, Navalny linked to a news report [ru] from RenTV, where a large Chechen man, brandishing a shiny, nonstandard pistol on his belt, appeared at the scene of the arrest and claimed to be an FSB agent. Navalny notified his readers that he was submitting an official inquiry to the FSB to ask if the Chechen was indeed an agent of the service. (He wasn't.)
For Navalny, visibly appealing to the authorities was an opportunity to demonstrate a measure of vigilance in the face of Chechen lawlessness. To understand better what he was actually implying with such antics, one need only look at some of his readers’ comments to that same post.
While his LiveJournal is open to all, and any article is liable to attract stray radicals, there is often a pervasive, albeit subtle, racism present in the comments on Navalny's blog. For example, LJ user wimpall writes the following in a comment on the Taramov post, responding [ru] to another user who asked whether or not the FSB “agent” had any brains:
Зачем еще мозги – когда есть деньги. Нормальный чеченец.
Another commenter identified as Staer Lex recited [ru] a long list of justifications for the mass deportation of the Chechens and Ingush by the Soviet government in 1944. One blogger responded [ru] in disagreement. Another, shust50, thanked [ru] Lex for the “excellent proof” and complained that the media only credits Asians and North Caucasians with defeating the Nazis. The mainstream makes it seem as if Russians are only capable of “guzzling vodka,” he protests.
In a separate comment, user beloborodoff writes [ru]:
Этот человек имеет нужную национальность. Кавказец – друг Путина, зарэжет всех за него. Если бы был русский с пистолетомЮ то его сразу бы скрутили.
Most of Navalny's audience is not made up of raving bigots, of course. But he frequently does employ connotative language, when writing about ethnicity. Navalny's tendency to wink and quietly gesture at potentially inflammatory racial views may be precisely why Volgograd investigators — no doubt also motivated to defend Russia's ruling party — have decided to target DMP specifically for ethnic extremism.
This post is part of our special coverage Russia's Protest Movement.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Singapore: Media Literacy Council to Curb Internet Freedom? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

To promote ‘public education on media literacy and cyber wellness’ the Singapore government has set up a 21-member Media Literacy Council. The Media Development Authority issued a press statement last month explaining the mission of the council:
The Media Literacy Council will advise the government on the appropriate policy response to an increasingly complex and borderless world of media, technology, consumer expectations and participation.
The Internet and social media have brought about exciting possibilities for learning and collaboration, and even new business opportunities for young people. At the same time, social issues such as bullying, scamming, preying on the young and inappropriate comments have found new outlets and been magnified through the multiplier effects of the Internet and social media. Our ability to critically evaluate information, as well as handle and create content appropriately, is key
Young Singapore Internet users, photo from Flickr page of markhsx (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
Established last August 1, the council is already organizing a Communications Literacy Seminar. It also announced Singapore’s participation in the Safer Internet Day initiative next year.
But bloggers are worried that the council could be a tool to restrict internet media freedom. Kirsten Han questions some of the council’s priorities:
By placing the emphasis on “appropriate social norms”, it seems like the Media Literacy Council is just going to spend its time telling us what we can or cannot say and do online, without dealing with we do or do not know – and there is a lot Singaporeans don’t know about the way our country is run that we need to know if we really want to raise the standard of discussion in our community.
Howard Lee accuses the government of distorting the meaning of media literacy:
In truth, media literacy, in the broadest sense of the term, is the constant application of critical thinking to any text we come across. It requires us to apply a certain degree of scepticism to what we read, filtering it through our own values, which is in turn challenged and expanded by alternative values and view points. In other words, media literacy is attained by de-structuring the mind, not by structuring it towards certain attainable results, as the MLC suggests.
Howard also highlights the lack of transparency in nominating the members of the council:
The fact that the panel is appointed by a political figure would rightly raise uncomfortable suspicions that there would be a political purpose behind their appointment
Given the current level of distrust toward the government among the online community, why has an alternative system, such as peer nomination, not been used in appointing the panel? Has the online community been consulted adequately about the need for the MLC, to begin with?
DK is supportive of the idea:
I know a lot of bloggers/forumers/tweeters are against the formation of Media Literacy Council. If you ask me, I think it is good that MDA is paying attention to Social Media and setting up a Media Literacy Council to promote cyber wellness. To most Social Media savvy people, the MLC might seems redundant. But I do think they can play a huge role in educating the general public and advising the government on Social Media matters
But I personally feel that its a pity that there are only 2 bloggers/influencers in the council. I think the council will benefit more if there are more Social Media influencers involved. Nevertheless, it is a good start. The council have a huge task ahead and I wish them good luck.
NG E-Jay thinks the council is another attempt to stifle critical voices in the Internet:
…is yet another attempt by the government to control and stifle dissenting voices on the internet. Far from promoting media literacy, the MLC will instead be promoting media illiteracy, which is what the ruling PAP has been promoting for the past 50 years.
Jentrified Citizen shares a similar view:
…is the strongest signal yet that while its outward approach and style may have softened a tad, nothing much has changed in this government’s mindset and attitude. It is clear that its intention is not to loosen but to tighten and expand its iron grip on the people who have become increasingly vocal and assertive
But the council has denied that it aims to regulate online behavior. Earlier this year, the government has proposed a Code of Conduct for social media but this was strongly opposed by the local internet community.


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South Korean President’s First Photo on His New Facebook · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Korean President, Lee Myung-bak posted the very first photo taken by himself in his new Facebook that was launched on September 7, 2012. This image show photographers and journalists covering the APEC Summit meeting.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Syria: With Guns and Tanks  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

On Twitter, Emma Suleiman, who lives in France, shares a photograph holding a gun, near a tank, taken during a recent visit to Syria. She tweets:
Emma Sulieman with the Free Syrian Army. Shared by @emmasuleiman on Twitter
@emmasulieman: More photos with FSA in the free Syria:) they have tanks now :)))


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United Kingdom: Helen Grant, the First Black Female Conservative Cabinet Minister · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Afro Europe wrote a post on the appointment of a black female in UK Prime Minister David Cameron's new cabinet and gave a list of black female cabinet members in Europe [Erratum: The blog post was amended to show that Mrs Grant was the first black female Conservative member of parliament and cabinet minister. Baroness Valerie Amos was the first female black cabinet minister in 2003]:
Helen Grant MP has been made a Minister in David Cameron’s Ministerial reshuffle this September. She is now the first female black conservative cabinet Minister in the UK.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Video:  San Cristobal Volcano Eruption in Northern Nicaragua · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

YouTube's Citizentube has a playlist of user submitted videos showing the dramatic volcanic eruptions of September 8, 2012, in Nicaragua. The San Cristobal volcano, the tallest in this Central American country, erupted at 9:02 am on Saturday, releasing steam and ash and causing authorities to evacuate more than 3000 people from Chinandega.
This video shows the ash column rising while those recording wonder about protocols, if they should be evacuating the area:
In this next one, the ash column is also seen growing in the neighboring town of Chichigalpa:
In the following one, in minute 1:09 a new burst of steam and ash erupt from the volcano, causing the person recording the video to comment that he had never seen the volcano erupt with such strength:
The San Cristobal Volcano erupted at 9am on September 8, 2012 in Nicaragua. Image by Ricci Rich Silva via Twitpic.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Zambia: Tonga Terror Claim – Real or Fake? · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

An apparent Zambian terror group, ‘Tongas Under Oath’ claimed to have killed three Northern Province Bemba people, including a baby. The group, from the predominantly Tonga Southern Province region of Zambia, made their shocking claim in a television news item read on the state-owned Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) channel, on the evening of September 3, 2012. But the claim soon came under suspicion following newspaper coverage.
The story was carried by two state-owned newspapers, the Zambia Daily Mail and the Times of Zambia. Such stories do not get published without clearance from higher political offices in the land, especially if they are to also appear on national television. This meant that for some, there was no doubt that the Tonga were out to get rid of the Bemba from the province. Hakainde Hichilema, leader of the United Party for National Development (UPND), one of the largest opposition parties, is Tonga.
Tonga group declares ‘war’ against Bembas, story as it appears in the Times of Zambia. Twitpic image courtesy of @luchi7.
The letter claimed:
We the Tongas under oath are now in serious warfare. Like we promised, this is an update. We wish to inform you that so far we have killed three (3) Bembas – 2 adults and 1 baby in Southern Province […]
Our demand is simple – ‘Take Chirundu and Itezhi Tezhi [two districts annexed to Lusaka and Central Provinces, respectively] back to Southern Province’. We gave the 30th of June 2012 as the dealine for all Bembas to leave Southern Province or we be given back our Chirundu and Itezhi Tezhi – you have opted for war-we are going to fight you Bembas effectively and courageously.
To many others, however, the story was not as convincing as it sounded and these people were vindicated when President Sata stated two days later that the letter was possibly authored from the capital, Lusaka.
Commenting on a story on the Lusaka Times in which the opposition accused the Patriotic Front government of being behind the letter, MUWELEWELE wrote:
It appears PF has embarked on a strategy to see to it that all opposition politics are completely eliminated form this country. Then what is the meaning of democracy. Thye want a one team game with themselves being competitors and referee at the same time.This is proper dictorship in modern age. We know how MMD came up with ZERO OPTION up today it still remains a mystry. Arresting opposition leaders on trumped up charges will just make those opposed to the way PF is running public affairs more polorised.Lets face facts as Zambians and allow divergent views. Its health for democracy.
Writing on the Zambian Watchdog, Roderick Mazuba accused the ruling Patriotic Front  of trying to distract people from its failure to fulfil its election promises:
The Zambian people should open their eyes and see what a desperate PF regime can do to divide its people through acts of desperation in the wake of its declining fortunes. The construction of a Tonga fundamentalist group calling itself ‘Tongas on Oath’ is nothing other than the ruling party’s desperation to distract people’s attention from Michael Sata’s endemic tribalism and nepotism. The desperate attempt to link the UPND to the group is an obvious and well calculated scheme aimed at reversing Hakainde Hichilema’s growing popularity in the wake of PF’s tribalism, nepotism and failures to meet the expectations of the Zambians who voted for the PF.
Mazuba, who linked the terror letter to the former arrest and charging of opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema (for allegedly publishing false news in which he told the nation that the PF government was in the process of sending youths for militia training in Sudan), a police search of the UPND headquarters and the incensant accusations of tribalism against the opposition leader, further wrote:
Any reasonable person who has been following the recent developments in Zambia need only to link and not isolate the recent events to understand what is going on. All what you need is to link the recent arrest of [UPND President Hakainde] Hichilema , the search at the UPND Secretariat for seditious materials, the unrelentless tribal attacks targeted at Hichilema while [Defence Minister] Geoffrey Mwamba(GBM)’s interview with Mazabuka Community radio where he accused Hichilema of dividing Tongas and Bembas provides a powerful clincher and lead to the whole episode.
Commenting on the story on Zambian Watchdog in which President Sata said the letter was authored in Lusaka, new age wrote [there are no links to individual comments on this site]:
Public media should face the full wrath of the law. I thought they should be the last to perpetulate [perpetuate] genocide in the nation. What has gone wrong to the public media?. Do they have editors? I want to know why that letter was given the massive space. Its only in [Z]ambia where such dirty letters can be published by gvt [government] controlled media without weighing the conseguences [consequences]. Is our security secure? Why did the public media publish that evil? Cage those evil doers.
Blogger, MissBwalya, delivered a damning verdict on the public media:
However, when it’s an issue that has the potential to raise the ugly spectre of xenophobia, it’s no laughing matter.
At the time of writing, no one had come out to claim they witnessed the killing of any Bemba in Southern Province, nor did any one claim that they were missing any relative from that part of the country as a result of the reported terror killings. It was probably a terror plot that never was anyway.
This post was sub-edited by Jane Ellis.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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Colombia Answers with New Promotional Campaign and Slogan · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

During the beginning of September a new promotional video was launched by Marca Colombia [es], the official government agency responsible for the Colombia brand, with the slogan “The answer is Colombia” [es].
The video has generated countless responses on Twitter with the hashtag #LaRespuestaesColombia [es] (TheAnswerIsColombia), and was a trending topic Saturday, September 8.
The official Twitter account of Marca Colombia (@MarcaColombia) [es] summarized the campaign in several tweets:
@MarcaColombia: La inversión en la marca Colombia busca generar retorno para el país en inversión, conocimiento, confianza y progreso http://goo.gl/TkpO1
@MarcaColombia: Todos somos parte de la respuesta. Cuéntanos esos hechos que te hacen sentir orgulloso de ser Colombiano #LaRespuestaEsCOlombia
In response many Colombians are using #LaRespuestaesColombia to talk about Colombia in positive terms.
For example the radio personality Marcela Alarcón (@MarcelaAlarcon) [es] posted:
@MarceLaALarcon: Dónde SI recibimos a los extranjeros con amor, con cordialidad y amabilidad? #LaRespuestaesColombia
@MarceLaALarcon: Lo máximo! RT @diazanalucia: @MarceLaALarcon Donde todos los vecinos se saludan sin conocer #LaRespuestaesColombia…
@MarceLaALarcon: Dónde hay gran variedad de climas, sin esperar muchos meses? #LaRespuestaesColombia
Jenny López (@JenTomy) [es] expressed her optimism with this response:
@JenTomy: Cual es el país donde vivimos tan felices a pesar de tantas cosas tan absurdas que pasan y nada nos queda grande?? #LaRespuestaEsColombia
Similarly, Johana Moreno (@JjohanaMoreno) [es] writes:
@JjohanaMoreno: En que país, que aunque se este lleno de problemas, se puede vivir feliz? #LaRespuestaEsColombia
Alejandra Mazo (@Aleja_Mazo) [es] makes a comment referring to another Colombian campaign with the slogan “The only risk is wanting to stay”:
@Aleja_Mazo: Quieres un país donde no hay amigos sino hermanos, donde el único riesgo que corres es que te quieras quedar?. #LaRespuestaEsColombia
However, the hashtag has also been used for to point out not so positive aspects of Colombia.
Cepeda the Nose (@Madamemagola) [es] recalls that some taxi services won't go to some neighborhoods because they are considered dangerous:
@Madamemagola: ¿En qué país el taxi lo lleva sólo si le sirve la ruta? #LaRespuestaEsColombia.
Sergio Falla (@_sergiofalla) [es] writes:
@_sergiofalla ¿Un país donde te matan por un celular? #LaRespuestaEsColombia
Cristian Gómez (@CristianGommez) [es] makes this allusion to political corruption:
@CristianGommez: En qué país hasta el gobierno nos roba? #Tristemente #LaRespuestaEsColombia.
Meanwhile George (@tatanGeorge) [es] questioned the relationship between the government and its political oppostion:
@tatanGeorge: En donde el presidente y el líder de la oposición pertenecen al mismo partido? #laRespuestaesColombia
Carlos Duque (@_carlosduque) [es] points out:
@_carlosduque: Asegurar que “Colombia es la respuesta” es como decir que tenemos la solución sin definir cual es el problema.
Colombian netizens continue sharing diverse opinions on Twitter under the hashtag #LaRespuestaesColombia [es] (#TheAnswerIsColombia). Reactions can also be found on the Marca Colombia's official Facebook page [es].

author: Cati Restrepo


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Croatia: Promoting Solar Energy at Terraneo Music Festival · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

UNDP's Voices from Eurasia blog reports on the ecological education program of this year's Terraneo music festival in Šibenik, where guests, among other things, could “test-drive Croatia’s only solar-powered car and bicycle.” In charge of the festival's “solar booth” were Marko Capek and Robert Pašičko, who “also sang songs about [solar energy], changing the lyrics of Sunshine Reggae and other favorites.”
[…] Just to illustrate, Austria, which has only two thirds of Croatia’s sunshine, uses 20 times more solar power than Croatia. […]

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Cuba: Blackout Leaves Millions in the Dark · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The digital magazine Café Fuerte informs of the major blackout on September 9, 2012 that left almost half of the Island–from central to western Cuba– and 5 million people without electricity.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Egypt: Going Hungry to Draw Attention to the Plight of Syrians · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.
Syrian activists and artists abroad have been on hunger strike for almost two weeks, to draw attention to the atrocities being committed by the Syrian regime against their people.
In Cairo, six women, including prominent Syrian poet and writer Lina Tibi, have been camped outside the Arab League headquarters for a week today [September 10, 2012], vowing that they will not end their hunger strike until their demands are met.
Tibi tweeted yesterday [ar]:
Syrian women protesting in Douma in April, 2011. Photograph from Syriana2011 photostream on flickr, used under (CC BY 2.0)
And on her Facebook page, she writes [ar]:
Among their goals are:
@Mou2amara: One aim of #StrikersForSyria hunger strike in #Cairo is for closure of #SuezCanal to #Iran & #Russia ships supplying arms to #Assad. #Egypt
The Cairo protesters are part of a huge group of activists off food to draw attention to the plight of Syrians.
On Twitter, former Syria resident Donatella tweets:
@donatelladr: Many #Syria artists & activists living in #Egypt #France #Lebanon #Turkey #Germany #Spain #Jordan #KSA on hunger strike since Aug 26
Meanwhile, on Facebook, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria page posts [ar] a statement on the hunger strike:
The statement names some of those taking part in the hunger strike and appeals to them to stop:
ولا يزال معظم هؤلاء النشطاء مستمرين في إضرابهم حيث تدهور الوضع الصحي لعدد منهم.و إذ توجه لجان التنسيق المحلية في سوريا التحية و تثمن موقف الأحرار[….]
فإنها تتمنى على المضربين عن الطعام فك إضرابهم، باعتبار أن الرسالة وصلت، ويكفينا الموت القادم من كل صوب
على أيدي آلة حرب النظام ومرتزقته. فمعركة انتزاع الحرية لوطننا طويلة ومريرة و تحتاج جهود الجميع، و لاينبغي أن نخسر المزيد من الأرواح كيف يلتفت العالم إلى معاناتنا، التي باتت أوضح من الشمس الساطعة
Those activists are continuing their strike, and some of them are in deteriorating health conditions. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria sends its regards to those freedom fighters and appreciates their gesture.[….]It also hopes those on hunger strike will stop their actions because their message has reached those it was intended for. We have had enough death coming from all directions, at the hand of the war machine of the regime and its mercenaries. The war to extract freedom for our country is long and bitter and will need all our efforts and we shouldn't risk more souls for the world to pay attention to our plight, now that it has become clear for all to see
For more reactions on Twitter, follow the hash tag #StrikersforSyria in English and #مضربات_لاجل_سوريا in Arabic.
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Egypt: Hero’s Welcome for Paralympics Squad · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Hundreds await the arrival of the Egyptian paralympics squad at the Cairo International Airport. Photograph shared by @Morgan_ah on Twitter
On Twitter, Ahmed Morgan shares a photograph taken minutes ago from Cairo International Airport, where hundreds of people gathered to welcome home Egypt's squad from the London paralympics.


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Egypt: NGO Trial Adjourned  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

On Storify, MaliciaRogue shares tweets on the trial of 43 foreign and Egyptian non-governmental organisation workers, accused of receiving funding from foreign sources and operating in Egypt without permission. The trial was adjourned until October 2, 2012.


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Egypt: Welcoming Paralympics Heroes  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

@MonaMcloof shares the signs she will take with her to welcome Egypt's delegation to the paralympics. The signs read [ar]: You have honoured us! You are heroes! and You are the pride of Egypt
@MonaMcloof: Im taking these n going to greet our #egyptian delegation coming bk frm london #Paralympics


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Egypt: Women on Hunger Strike for Syria  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia visits Syrian women activists on hunger strike in Cairo to draw attention to the plight of their people back home. She blogs her observations and interviews in two parts – here and here.


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India: Arrest of Cartoonist on Sedition Charges Sparks Debate · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

On 8 September, 2012, award-winning political cartoonist was arrested in Mumbai, India, on charges of sedition and remanded to police custody. Twenty-five year old Aseem Trivedi, joint winner of the 2012 Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award by the Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI), is best known for his hard-hitting, cartoon-based online campaign Cartoons Against Corruption. He is also a founder member of Save Your Voice, a campaign/movement that aims to mobilize public opinion against Internet censorship.
Trivedi has been arrested for “insulting” the Parliament and other National symbols through his political cartoons,which parodied the symbols in an attempt to depict a nation beset by scams and corruption scandal. The arrest was done on the basis of  private complaint(s) filed against him with the Mumbai police and at the High Court. Earlier this year, Trivedi's website had faced a shutdown, though he has since then moved to another blog.
Screenshot of the blog Cartoons Against Corruption.
Anti-corruption activists, his peers, as well as netizens are outraged at his arrest, which is widely being seen as a politically motivated and wrongful act by the government. Justice Katju, who is the Chairman of the Press Council of India, defended Trivedi strongly and said that political satire was an occupational hazard that the political establishment must learn to put up with.
On his blog Musings, blogger Arun writes:
The politicians are nervous, it seems, outrageously, and have gone after cartoonist Aseem Trivedi. See this. This is outrageous!  What is happening to freedom of speech in India?
Political cartoonist Aseem Trivedi arrested in India for “insulting” National symbols. Original image from Wikipedia, used and adapted by the author under CC BY-SA 3.0
Expressing support for Trivedi, Sanjeev Sabhlok, an ex-bureaucrat, is scathing in his criticism of the political establishment. Drawing attention to a political cartoon that he himself had drawn in the 1970s, he says:
Apparently, in India, it is criminal to depict the state for what it is: a monster that is sucking up the blood of the people of India…Apparently Trivedi has shown disrespect to national symbols…What is more important: symbols or reality? In my view the government of India is showing the GREATEST disrespect to national symbols. Trivedi has got it right.
Tweets reflecting popular sentiments and outrage have been pouring in, making #AseemTrivedi trend on Twitter. Some examples:
Nikhil Moro (@nikhilmoro): Atrocious! Aseem Trivedi, Indian political cartoonist, arrested under Sec. 124A, the colonial law under which Gandhi was convicted in 1922.
Sujit Kumar Sahu (@sujitsahu53): @janlokpal If a cartoonist can draw a political cartoon then that is crime, but fighting inside parliament is not a crime..!!Jago India Jago
PennyKin (@pallavipinakin): Strange times indeed when a cartoon is classed as sedition but shameless corruption is acceptable. AseemTrivedi India
Chetan Bhagat (chetan_bhagat): Scamsters who give away country's resources to friends for free are guilty of sedition, not cartoonists.
Sardar Khan (@hussync_in): You know you are in India when as a cartoonist you are jailed, and as a terrorist you are safe n secured! #AseemTrivedi iProtest
Tushar A. Gandhi (@TusharG): Arresting and charging Aseem Trivedi is a contemptuous action it must be condemned & Government must be ridiculed.
However, some netizens are also raising questions as to why the outrage is against the government en bloc, when the arrest was made on the basis of private complaint(s) and a court order that followed. Others do not agree to such differentiation:
Abdulla Madumoole (@AMadumoole): @TusharG But it is a private complaint, police has acted as per court warrant – why govt shld be ridiculed?
Mahesh Murthy (@maheshmurthy): @probablytrippy cops = arm of govt, carrying out orders of politicians. since forever.
Some are also questioning  the appropriateness of some of Trivedi's cartoons, such as Gang rape of Mother India (which shows a woman being pinned down) saying that these are in poor taste. However, others are seeing them as acceptable analogies. This has rekindled the discussion about whether or not there ought to be a fine line between art/satire and obscenity.
Siddhartha (@srameshwaram): ashutoshibn7 Aseem Should be freed, everybody should get a chance, but Mother India cartoon should be removed ASAP.,
Shipi Tewari (@shipitewari): Pls don't make ur DPs into trivedi's cartoons.. They are disgusting and cheap.. Pls find other ways to support him! Ughh!
R.K. Mishra (@rkmishra100): @gsurya Both M F Hussain and Aseem hurt the feelings of people. Everybody can't resist the reaction. #Aseem should apologize.
Sai Kumar (@m_saiK): @PowercutIN and any sensible person knows that cartoon did not insult mother India… It insulted the people running it
Nilanjana Roy (@nilanjanaroy): @aparnaray If you made tastelessness a crime, what would happen to Parliament? Jailing a cartoonist isn't an act of artistic judgement!
On his part, Trivedi remains defiant and has said that he will continue his fight against corruption in political life and governance. Reacting to the popular outrage, the Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil has said that he was looking into the matter but admitted prima facie that the police had no reason to take the cartoonist into custody. The police too it seem to have had a change of heart and are now open to giving up his custody. Netizens were already seeing this as a possible win for digital media.
Mahesh Murthy (@maheshmurthy) Is #AseemTrivedi release a win for digital India? Maybe partly. We started the pressure & mainstream media amplified it
However, in court today, Trivedi refused to take bail and insisted that all charges of sedition against him be dropped. Since the police too did not seek his custody, he has been remanded to judicial custody until September 24, 2012. Looks like the battle is not yet over Aseem Trivedi. The online petition demanding his release can be found here. Another petition, asking the government to repeal the Sedition Law, can be signed here.

author: Aparna Ray


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Japan: House of Representatives Passes ACTA · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

ACTA and three other motions were all adopted together in a plenary session [ja] of the Japanese House of Representatives on September 6, 2012.
No major newspapers reported on the event, but netizens commented on Twitter [ja] as they watched a live cast of the plenary session. An anti-ACTA protest in Ginza on September 9, was broadcast on journalist Yasumi Iwakami's Ustream channel.

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Malaysia: Furor Over Alleged National Flag Redesign · Global Voices
Jerrenn Lam

In early September 2012, there was a minor furor over an alleged proposal by the Opposition to change the Malaysian flag. Aeshah Adlina Karim wrote that one of the Opposition politicians posted on his Facebook page that the current flag looks too much like the one of the government coalition, and that the new proposed flag looks a lot similar to the ones of Singapore and Indonesia.
The fact that they are going to make the new flag Malaysia’s flag when PR (Pakatan Rakyat, the Opposition coalition) gain control of Malaysia, do they mean to make Malaysia a republic because both Indonesia and Singapore are republics.
The current Malaysian flag above the proposed new flag design. Photo from blog of Aeshah Adlina
Sicfallacy thought it was a disgraceful action, especially given that the news broke during the Independence Day celebrations:
Merdeka should be about unity. We, as a countrymen should stand together and fight for our country. But this year's Merdeka celebration, we cannot even agree on Merdeka theme, we cannot even sit together celebrating our birth of Nation. Divided with two themes, with two logos and even with two different flags.
Yes, our National flag is somewhat similar to US flag. But that doesn't give you any right to proudly mocking our flag, on a very important Merdeka night! Who do you think you are to do that? Such a disgrace to the country. Liberian flag also resemble that US flag, but can you saw any of Liberian people loath their flag on their Independence celebration?
I think this is exactly what will happen in Malaysia, if PR (Pakatan Rakyat, the Opposition) win the next GE13. PR looks like want to change, not only government (Cabinet) but also Malaysia's identity. New flag, new anthem, and new name maybe?
Syed Akbar Ali also voiced discontent on the issue:
Protesters brandishing the proposed new flag. Photo from blog of Syed Akbar Ali
Well folks look at these pictures. I see retards who have parked their motorbikes somewhere. The first picture shows Pakatan Rakyat supporters unfurling a different flag which (by the looks of it) they want to replace our national flag. So they want to change the Malaysian flag too.
What about the National Anthem?  If they change the flag, why not change the National Anthem as well? It is kind of old and some may say boring. Maybe they can get Namewee to craft a new National Anthem.
And why stop at the flag or the National Anthem. What about changing the name of the country?
What about Greater Malayalam?  Or maybe Greater Nanyang? Greater Tamil Eelam? Southern Hindustan? Singapore North? Northport Singapore? Here is a more uptodate name – ‘Greater Bangsar’. Maybe ‘Greater Damansara’. Peninsula.com?
A prominent Opposition politician, Lim Kit Siang, refuted the allegations in his blog:
When the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday personally led three senior UMNO Ministers to attack the Pakatan Rakyat with the canard that PR wanted to replace the national flag Jalur Gemilang, it was more than anything else a reflection of their sense of desperation about UMNO/Barisan Nasional prospects in the impending 13th General Election than respect for the truth.
The change of the national flag is never a Pakatan Rakyat agenda and has never been discussed or raised in any Pakatan Rakyat meeting. But these attacks were clearly cooked up by the UMNO/BN dirty tricks department, for there is no truth whatsoever in the allegations that the PR wanted to change the national flag or to abolish the system of constitutional monarchy.
Pakatan Rakyat, through its various policy pronouncements, including the Pakatan Rakyat Common Policy Framework in December 2009 and the Buku Jingga on December 2010, had reiterated the PR’s commitment to uphold the fundamental features in the Malaysian Constitution, in particular “to defend the role and responsibility of the institution of Constitutional Monarchy”.
It is the height of irresponsibility for the Prime Minister and senior Umno Ministers to spearhead the Umno/BN dirty tricks department’s campaign of lies and falsehoods against PR as when the four UMNO Ministers repeated the canards that PR wanted to change the national flag and to turn Malaysia into a republic.

author: Jerrenn Lam


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Mali: Civil Society Rises to Solve the Ongoing Conflict · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

As the partition of their country continues, Malians are still watching in disbelief, wondering whether it will stop. There has been media indifference coupled with confusion of Malian citizens as Sharia law is imposed without mercy in cities now in the hands of MUJWA (Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa), MNLA (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad) and Ansar Dine rebels. Adding to this disarray, the frantic rhythm of the new nominations for government [fr].
N’Golo Diarra, Government Housing Minister at the time of the March 2012 coup, spoke in May 2012 of his concern at the silence of Malian intellectuals faced with these events which fractured the old certainties [fr] of this country. This concern was all the greater as Mali had been hailed as an example due to the resilience of its democracy over the past twenty years:
I've seen several media outbursts, I've read several pitiful reactions in the press, I've also witnessed several intellectual gestures and contortions, but I've seen nothing of the calibre of “J’accuse… !”, the famous open letter that Zola addressed to the President of the French republic, Felix Faure, and which made the front page of newspaper Aurora on January 13, 1898. [….] It is quite frankly pretentious of me to want to find Zola in the intellectual desert of our country, which has been in total freefall for such a long time. That is more to try to awaken the good conscience of the poets, artists, leading lights or even just unselfish patriots so that they guide us on this tortuous and dangerous road that our country is following in a kind of stupor. […] Is it really beyond our powers, that we Malians, inheritors of the greatest political and social structures of the African middle ages, so proud of our figureheads and heros…have the lucidity to analyse our existential problems and to try and find appropriate solutions for them?
Declaration of Kassoum Tapo on a coalition for restoration of the republic and of democracy. Screen capture from video uploaded by FDRMali
This appeal has certainly not gone unheeded, judging by the vitality of organisations coming out of Malian society. One such organisation is the Coalition for Mali (CPM), created with the aim of participating in the recovery of the nation's integrity. The CPM has gone to meet local representatives of Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu, three regions under occupation, as well as representatives of the ruling powers in these regions.
Assane Koné reported the conclusions of Tiebilé Dramé [fr], CPM vice president, on website Ankamali.net:
Five months after the forced retreat of the state, all state services, NGOs and partners, there is a real need for the state in the occupied regions. The rulers there understand that they cannot replace the state by themselves. Each of them feels the urgent need to fill the gap which has been created and to satisfy people's basic needs. […] It was 150 days ago that the army and the civil service withdrew, leaving the people defenseless and at the mercy of various groups, some of which, notably in Gao and Timbuktu, perpetrated acts of violence and looting, violence which will always haunt memories. The Coalition representatives have observed an irrepressible need for the Malian homeland as well as observing that at the same time, people hardly miss the prefects, judges, gendarmes, police and all those who embody state services such as economic affairs, taxes, customs, water and forestry commissions etc.
Video of the meeting between CPM, Ansar Dine and the MNLA by AlQuarraTVFr [fr]
While the CPM are trying to find the way forward by dialogue, completely in line with respect for the Malian tradition of consensus and conciliation or “jekafo” [fr], other members of society are openly opposed to this move towards reconciliation at any price.
Sambi Touré, of Info-Matin, accused the CPM [fr] of advocating peace without respecting the fundamental values of the Malian nation:
Of course we want peace: but not at any price. We value a united, indivisible Mali, but not a fake unity and indivisibility; we value the republic, not a messy mix-up with the Sharia from the North and the free of the South; we value a democracy in which all citizens shall live under one sole body of law. Any other approach, for our patriotic temperament, would be not only a capitulation, but also a betrayal of democracy and of the republic, but above all, of the Malian nation.
On the right there are the armed militia of the Patriotic Resistance Front (one member of which, Ganda Izo  lost the city of Douentza [fr]), who are determined but have little support, and on the left, the conciliatory Coalition for Mali. The ordinary people of Mali have also seen the birth of ethnic assocations which now considered more threatening in light of recent events. Consider the indigenous population of the regions of Gao, Timbuktu, Kidal and Mopti, members of the Zasya Lasaltsaray [fr] association who define their ties by “ZASYA”, the alliance of the descendents of three dynasties – the ZA, the Sony and the Askia – and by “LASALTARAY”, meaning authenticity, dignity, honour, nobility.
Dr Sadou Djibrila Maïga, Zasya Lasaltsaray coordinator, explained [fr]:
We, the indigenous people, form the majority the northerly regions of Mali. By creating this alliance, we wish to fight, to defend ourselves so that we are no longer the object of contempt for the Touareg and Arab minorities. No ethnic community has taken arms against the Touareg or Arabs.
Approaching the Malian crisis by “The question of Touareg and Arab minorities of Mali into historical and geostrategic perspective”, the Djoyoro Fa association brought an historic and sociological perspective [fr] different from the prevailing rigid outlook:
For many observers of the Touareg, notably the nationals from the mostly Touareg Kidal region, the Malian crisis, more than the inherent reasons for political and administrative mis-governance, is also the result of the break-up of internal mechanisms and settlement of conflicts at the heart of traditional Touareg societies. Once, structured around a well organised system of chiefdom, traditional Touareg societies managed internal tensions by consultation. […] The power of the spoken word permitting a democratic way of management and guaranteeing peace. Colonisation, careful to maintain administrative order at any price, hascreated coercive structures, set up to curb any semblance of trouble. Well trained Goumiers and Fellaghas controlled the territory perfectly under colonial administration, always with a presence in the great spaces of the north, and leaving no chance whatsoever for the slightest revolt to develop. When independence came, the new leaders of the country cared more about conquering political militants than concerning themselves with the social and economic equilibrium at the heart of Touareg society. Neither have they known how to take into account the inherent factors causing dissension. They have exacerbated antagonisms between the tribes, themselves and the administration. Misunderstandings have been aggravated, leading to mistrust and hostility in the face of which the sentiment of national belonging has been considerably weakened.
If there were to be one good thing to come out of this situation in Mali, it would be the political pressure of a people galvanised by the sight of its own nation now in danger.

author: Rakotomalala


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New Digital Safe Haven from Censors · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders is launching a new website in October for banned and censored content called Wefightcensorship.org. The site is intended to be a “virtual shelter,” for all those hounded by censors, and users will be able to submit content anonymously.

author: Solana Larsen