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Chinese and Western Media Bias Claims in Xinjiang “Terrorist Attack” · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

On April 23 2013, a week after the Boston terrorist attack, another terror incident took place in Bachu County of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in which 15 police officers and community workers were killed and 6 suspects were shot dead.  The incident was reported as “terrorist attack” in local Chinese media while some western media namely BBC Chinese [zh] and VOA Chinese [zh]  maintained some skepticism on the nature of incident. In response the state controlled media, Global Times, accused [zh] western media of bias against China in their reporting and won many echoes in Chinese social media.
However, the Uyghur community also has their doubts and have pleaded with the Chinese authorities to disclose all the details of what had exactly happened in Bachu.
Screen capture of the Bachu incident by Ifeng.com via Youtube.
According to a report by Tian Shan Neton [zh], Xinjiang's official media outlet, on April 24, three community workers found some strangers and knives on a regular visit to a family at Bachu county. While they reported the situation to the authorities, the suspects found out and held the three community workers hostage. When the police officers and local government officials arrived, they were attacked by the suspects who also killed the three hostages and burned the house.
The Global Times unveiled more details of the incident on April 25 [zh]. According to the report, the group of suspects were watching terrorist video tapes during the community workers’ visit. There were also many long knives in the house. When police officers and local officials arrived, three hostages had been killed. The head of the police officers used up six bullets in his gun and took shelter in the house. Then the suspects set the house on fire and burned the police officers and local officials to death. The report also criticized western media outlets for avoiding calling the incident a terrorist attack.
Yet, the Uyghur community also cast their doubts upon the “terrorist attack”. Nijatkar from Uighurbiz.net highlighted [zh] some of the questions raised by Uyghur netizens:
随着官媒对案件的公布及其细节的曝光，一部分维吾尔网友提出了质疑。
针对官媒所谓的社区干部“走访”一事，有网友称，社区干部走访的目的何在，他们在这个过程中有没有强制闯入住户家里，过程中有没有出现其他暴力行径。也有网友认为，由于案件发生在居民家中，有关部门必须及时公布案件细节及背景。
网友还对官媒如何定义“极端主义视频”提出疑问，另有网友表示自己家中也有“1.2米长刀”，但是它们是作为装饰品陈列在家中。
As the state controlled media started to unveil the details of the incident, some Uyghur netizens have also raised their doubts.
In reaction to the “visit” of community officials, some netizens questioned their intention and asked whether the officials entered the house with force or used violence in the process. Since the incident took place in an ordinary family home, some netizens said that the authorities should explain the background of their visit.
Some netizens questioned the definition of “extremist [terrorist] video” in news reports while others said that they also possessed a “1.2 meter long knife” at home. Those knives are for decorative purposes.
On Sina Weibo, the biggest micro-blogging platform in China, the mainstream opinion among Han Chinese echoed the Global Times. For example, “Cat-topia” (猫德邦) was very angry [zh] at the U.S response to the Bachu incident:
本来我还挺同情波士顿爆炸的受害者，但是看到美国国务院那个关于中国新疆巴楚暴力袭击事件的哈鸡巴发言，我就觉得美国挨多少次恐怖袭击都应该，就这尿性不多挨几次炸真心说不过去。
I was sympathetic with the Boston Bombing victims at first. However upon reading the U.S. State Department's response [zh] to the Bachu terrorist attack incident, I feel that the U.S deserves all these attacks.
“Blue Sky in Snow region” (雪域碧蓝的天) also questioned [zh]:
在你们西方国家的眼里，难道仅仅是伊拉克、阿富汗、巴基斯坦有恐怖袭击吗？
In the eyes of western countries, terrorist attacks only happen in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan?
Lin Zhibo (林治波), reporter from China Daily, repeated [zh] the Global Times’ criticism of western media:
镇压叛乱分子，维护国家统一，在哪一个国家都是天经地义的事。不必在乎他人怎么说，我们的一个很大的教训就是太在乎洋人怎么说，其结果就是畏首畏尾，迟疑不前，该说的话不敢说，该做的事不敢做。在这方面，中国要向普京学习。
Repression of rebellions and maintaining national unity is a principle upheld by all countries. We should not care about others’ opinions. We have paid too much attention on foreigners’ opinions and kept refraining from taking action and expressing our own thoughts. In this regard, China should learn from Putin.
“Han Youth Association” (汉青社) believed that [zh] China should alleviate anti-terrorist policy in southern Xinjiang:
巴楚暴力恐怖事件再次表明，对暴力恐怖分子不能有丝毫轻敌，更不能有丝毫姑息，必须出重拳给予雷霆般的打击。强力执法部门如此大的牺牲，恐怖分子已达成部分目标。事实是南疆部分地区已成中国“类加沙”地带，反恐斗争应升级为常态化。
The terrorist incident told us again we should not tolerate the terrorists and should strike them hard. The law officers have sacrificed their lives and the terrorists have gained a partial victory. The fact is that the southern part of Xinjiang is now becoming a “Gaza” area in China and the anti-terrorist struggle should be normalized.
However, Ilshat Hesen, a dissent Uyghur writer, blamed the state-run media for their impartial terrorist incident reports that instigate ethnic conflict and hatred:
每次在中国发生‘神秘’恐怖案件。大家不用看报纸就可以知道；第一肯定是维吾尔人干的，所以也肯定是穆斯林；当然是十恶不赦的宗教极端分子、分裂分子。
第二，当然是‘东伊运’操纵的，参与恐怖案件的恐怖分子肯定是在东亚某国受过训练的，至少要有一位恐怖分子是在国外受过训练的。（便于和国际恐怖主义挂钩）
第三，肯定是天山网独家首先报道，而且一定是寥寥几笔，非常短，无细节。（为后续故事的编造留余地）。
第四，当然是侯汉敏在事件发生好几个小时后发布有关‘恐怖事件’的新闻，但细节有待补充。
第五，肯定‘恐怖案件’的详细细节要有《环球时报》记者一两天后进行报道。
第六点，也是最令人难于理解的（大概也令国际恐怖大亨们倍感羞愧的）是：每次，这些和国际恐怖主义组织有联系，在东亚某国受过训练的维吾尔‘恐怖分子’要么是手拿辣椒面、砍刀，要么是汽油、大刀；当然有时还不忘带上拐杖、打火机。
Whenever there is a “mysterious” terrorist incident in China, you don't have to read the papers to know that:
Firstly it must have been done by Uyghur and the terrorists must be muslim. They are of course the villainous religious extremists and separatists.
Secondly, they are certainly controlled by the “East Turkestan Independent Movement“, the terrorists must have some training in one of the east Turkestan countries. At least one of them must have received training overseas. (Thus they are connected to international terrorism.)
Thirdly, the reports are certainly run exclusively at Tian Shan Net very briefly, in a few sentences without much detail. (So that they can fill in the gap later.)
Fourthly,  Hou Hanmin [Xinjiang government spokeswoman] will announce the “terrorist incident” several hours after the attack without the details.
Fifthly, the details of the “terrorist incident” will be unveiled by reporters from Global Times one or two days later.
Sixthly, (it is rather embarrassing for the international terrorists) [the weapons] used by these internationally connected terrorists who were trained in some East Turkestan countries are usually spicy noodles, knives, gasoline, big knives; of course sometimes they would not forget to bring their sticks and lighters.

author: Oiwan Lam


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‘Farmers Know Better’ in Turkmenistan · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

The president of Turkmenistan has announced [ru] that a district which would grow most cotton and wheat this year in the natural gas-rich country would receive an award of one million U.S. dollars. An exiled Turkmen blogger comments [ru] angrily:
When will [the Turkmen leader] finally understand that the planned economy is not working? In order for the cotton sector to develop, cotton should be grown by private farms. Wouldn't farmers be able to decide better how much cotton they should sow? Does the [president] sitting on a golden toilet in [the Turkmen capital] Ashgabat really know better how much cotton can be grown in the country than a person working on a field?

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Giants, Hackers, Trolls: Where Mythology and Online Activism Meet · Global Voices
Barbara Auger

Netizens have come to know a “troll” as “someone who posts a deliberately provocative message” to fuel an argument online.
That these inflammatory net users were labeled as “trolls” was no accident. The original meaning of a troll is found in Scandinavian mythology, in which trolls are “creatures bent on mischief and wickedness.”
In fact, the online world has much more in common with the mythological world than you might expect. Many of the roles that have emerged in the Internet age are very similar to the structure used in traditional tales to impart some truth to listeners.
For instance, Loki, in Scandinavian folklore, is a trickster, a character set on breaking rules for ultimately positive effects. In the online world, a trickster is a whistleblower, the unconventional agent who will alert the rest of the world in order to trigger social change, such as former United States army soldier Bradley Manning, who is accused of passing on classified information to WikiLeaks.
In the same vein, blacksmiths and dwarves take material in its raw form and build objects that allow the gods to fight against their enemies. They give the raw material a shape that is useful and understandable, similar to what professional and citizen journalists do with information that is made available online by WikiLeaks.
And in Norse mythology, when Thor and the other gods fail to launch Baldr's funeral ship so that he may be resurrected in the other world, they call upon a giantess of supernatural power to propel the ship forward. In the online world, organizations of “giant” power such as Anonymous throw their weight behind information or causes to increase their awareness.
Whistleblowers and tricksters
Illustration of Alfred Smedberg's “The boy who never was afraid”, John Bauer, 1912. Public domain
A trickster often times effects positive change through scheming and thievery, despite perhaps having less-than-pure intentions.
Bradley Manning himself noted this when he admitted during testimony that he took classified government information about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, according to a transcript of his statements:
I created copies of the CIDNE-I and CIDNE-A SigAct tables as part of the process of backing up information. At the time I did so, I did not intend to use this information for any purpose other than for back up. However, I later decided to release this information publicly. At that time, I believe and still believe that these tables are two of the most significant documents of our time.
His role as whistleblower (or, as the french say, “alert-launcher”) is characterized by his aim – he again testified – to trigger national debate on the role of the US military and on US foreign policy.
His actions helped to re-establish a line of communication between the government, which was holding back a certain truth, and the population, which had been deprived of it.
While his decision might be justified from a purely humanist standpoint, it nevertheless is considered a crime. Manning found himself being challenged, rejected, or even ignored by the mass media.
WikiLeaks and blacksmiths
Manning then gave the stolen information to WikiLeaks, who worked and shaped the data in a way not dissimilar to the blacksmiths of mythology.
Figures such Julian Assange and Birgitta Jónsdóttir, a member of the Icelandic parliament, processed and analyzed what Manning had given them. The work was journalistic, identifying the context, the players, and the political implications to ensure the information's full impact.
Julian Assange described the role:
Quantum mechanics and its modern evolution left me with a theory of change and how to properly understand how one thing causes another.
In other words, so long as the key facts are not actively identified, they remain uncertain and elusive.
WikiLeaks is not the only entity to assume the role of a blacksmith. Citizen journalists also play a part in forging information into an understandable form.
The extensive research and dissemination efforts carried out most notably by Heather Mash and Jemila Hanan [fr] related to the living conditions of Myanmar's persecuted Muslim minority, the Rohingya community, are an important example of this.
This journalistic work is more than just a mediating role, as Hanan explained in a February 2013 post on her blog:
There is no precedent for using social media to stop a genocide – this is uncharted territory. We need to use social media to create and be the media, us, the people.
Our objectives are to:
1. disseminate information;
2. make connections;
3. encourage people to act.
Anonymous and giants
But Manning's information and WikiLeaks’ analysis would have been pointless without an audience. It was not enough to simply unearth and to shape the information – something needed to intervene so that information was actually read.
Hacktivist group Anonymous stepped into this role, using its might to propel the information foward, as Annie Machon, a former MI5 officer, explained in an op-ed for RT:
If you can do it over cyberspace, you get global awareness of what you’re doing, and the message you’re trying to put out. And this is precisely what Anonymous has achieved, with this publicized assault against certain Israeli websites.
Let’s not call them attacks: they are distributed denial of service attempts against certain countries and certain websites. So what we’re seeing here is a sort of automated mass influx into certain websites that cause them to crash.
While Anonymous relies on data released and shaped by citizen journalists to carry out their actions, their role is not to work the information as a blacksmith but to infuse the information with circulatory force using their extraordinary strength, like the mythological giant.
Twitter, for example, is rich with posts concerning their recent operations such as: #OpIsrael, #OpKashmir, #OpRohingya (which attracted public attention to available information concerning the genocide of this minority), #ReformCFAA (which is part of a protest movement against the Computer Fraud and Abuses Act), or #OpGabon against organ trafficking.

author: Barbara Auger


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Hong Kong Boycotts Donations for Sichuan Earthquake  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

The Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s call for donations for China’s quake-hit Sichuan province has been denied by the legislature due to the overwhelming opposition by Hong Kong citizens.
As soon as Leung Chun-ying announced on April 22, 2013 the government's plan to donate HK$100 million, many  citizens opposed the idea, fearing that the donation would end up feeding corrupt government officials instead of going to people in need.
In an online poll by SCMP.com on April 23 that attracted over 5,000 votes, 92 percent of the respondents said “No” to the question “Should Hong Kong’s legislature approve a HK$100m donation to Sichuan earthquake victims?”
The overwhelming opposition to the plan is believed to be a consequence of mainland China's abuse of donations for the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 and the continuous corruption scandals. A school whose reconstruction was funded by Hong Kong after the quake was demolished last year to make way for commercial property development.
Hong Kong’s opposition to donate has found resonance among Weibo users on the mainland. On the popular microblogging Sina Weibo, netizens expressed their understanding for Hong Kong’s doubt and call for reflections among government officials. Some even questioned the whole idea of donation, as they believe the government is rich enough to cover the cost of disaster relief.
One netizen’s analysis has been reposted over 28843 times on Sina Weibo:
Sichuan earthquake kills 193 people. Image by Flickr user @Shiqi Shen(CC BY-SA 2.0).
每次内地发生重大灾难，港人都踊跃捐输献爱心，五年前汶川发生大地震，港府与市民合共捐献二百三十亿元，创下历史新高。然而今次雅安大地震后，港人排队捐款的一幕已不复见，连港府建议拨款一亿元赈灾都惹起争议，这不是因为港人变得冷漠，也不是穷得拿不出这些钱，而是内地官场太腐败，在使用善款方面的纪录太恶劣，没有人能保证，善款不会再次被滥用，爱心不会再次遭践踏。
Each time a major disaster hit the mainland, Hong Kong people would actively make donations. Five years ago, after the major earthquake in Wenchuan, the Government and the public donated a total of twenty-three billion yuan, a record in history. However, after the Ya'an earthquake this time, the scene of Hong Kong people queuing for donation is nowhere to be seen, even the government’s proposal of HK$100 million disaster relief has caused controversy. It is not because the people of Hong Kong has become cold, or too poor to donate, but rather because of the rampant corruption among mainland officials who misused the donations without any monitoring system or transparency. No one can guarantee that the money will not be abused again, and our love trampled again.
Web user “Tuuu Wei” from Shanghai echoed the sentiment:
谁叫汶川地震有挪用捐款的前科，就难怪港人存戒心。 纳税人的钱也都是滴滴血汗换来。 欣赏香港的民主与冷静。
Why did the government embezzle the donations for the Wenchuan earthquake? No wonder the people of Hong Kong have doubts. Taxpayers’ money comes from their drops of blood and sweat. I appreciate the democracy and rationality in Hong Kong.
“Xin chaodao” from Hongkong’s neighboring Shenzhen city complained:
连我们自己都不相信捐款能到达真正需要的人手上,更何况是香港同胞
We don’t even believe that the donations really go into the hands of the quake victims, not to mention Hongkong people.
Writer Lian Peng commented:
钱不是问题，咱们不差钱，但失去民心很可怕。
Money is not a problem, we are not lacking in money, but losing people’s trust is scary.
Famous actor Chen Kun confirmed Lian Peng’s thoughts:
捐不捐款不是重点，信任！信任！信任的流失才是当下刻不容缓要修复的重点
Donation or not is not the point, trust! Trust[is]! The lost of trust is the key issue to be fixed immediately.
“Baoxiang Siyi” wrote:
信任危机，要反思啊！
[This is] trust crisis, we need to reflect!
“Liuxue bu Liu lei 08” pointed out the fundamental reason for the rampant corruption:
没有严格的约束制度，犯法不受惩罚，那人性的最阴暗暗一面就会爆发，不要怪贪官，只能怪制度没有约束他们.
Without any strict regulatory system, or punishment for breaking the law, the dark side of humanity will erupt. Do not blame corrupt officials, blame the system that does not restrain them.

author: Abby Liu


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Hundreds Killed and Trapped in Bangladesh Garment Factory Collapse · Global Voices
পান্থ রহমান রেজা (Pantha)

A nine-story building with mostly garment manufacturers collapsed in Savar, in the outskirts of capital city Dhaka, killing 142 people and injuring close to a thousand, resurrecting concerns of safety conditions in Bangladesh's manufacturing industry.
More than a thousand are believed to still be trapped under the rubble.
Six garment manufacturers were operating from the third to the eight floor of the structure in Savar and at least five thousand people were inside the crowded building when it caved in on the morning of April 24, 2013.
This disaster comes five months after a fire killed more than a 100 people, mostly women, at another overcrowded garment factory Tazreen Fashions.
Since that incident, there has been increasing concern about workers safety and inadequate emergency response systems in the industry. Garment factory workers have also been agitating against poor-pay.
Bangladesh is the second largest producer of ready-made garments after China. International retailers Walmart, H&M, Sears, GAP, Tommy Hilfiger and many other renowned brands outsource their cloths from Bangladesh, bearing the tag “Made in Bangladesh”, a pride for the country. Blogger and journalist Arafatul Islam thinks such pride is at stake:
পোশাক কারখানায় আগুন লেগে পুড়ে মরে শ্রমিক, পোশাক কারখানার ভবন ধসে চাপা পড়ে মরে শ্রমিক… লাশের মিছিল এভাবেই বেড়ে চলে। আগে ‘মেইড ইন বাংলাদেশ’ দেখলে আগ্রহ ভরে কিনতাম। এখন কেমন যেন সেই লেখার মধ্যে রক্তের দাগ দেখতে পাই, মৃত্যুর আর্তনাদ শুনি।
Workers die in factory fires, workers die in factory building collapses.. the procession of the dead becomes long. I used to buy “Made in Bangladesh” cloths with pride. Now I see blood on that label, hear the cries of death.
The scene after a nine-storey building collapsed in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (24/4/2013)
Netizens expressed their outrage on social media about the repeated disasters at garments factories. Most workers in this sector are women. Blogger Vashkar Abedin writes in Facebook:
আহা বোন!
সুঁচ-সুতো দিয়ে কেবল নিজেদের মৃত্যু বুনে যাচ্ছো…
Ah sister!
Sewing your death only…
Joydeep Dey Shaplu cannot control his rage in Facebook:
এতো লাশের ভিড়ে কেউ জীবিত থাকতে পারে না। আমি আপনি সব শালা লাশ… নইলে এতো লাশ পড়তো না এ দেশে…
Nobody can be alive among all these dead bodies. We are zombies.. otherwise we could not let so many deaths happen..
There was a crack in the building evident just the day before. The factories were closed immediately [bn]. But the signs of impending collapse were ignored by the building owner as he opened it  for business on 24 April and workers were forced to go back to work. Sumeema Yasmin Sumi cannot accept such a reckless decision from the management:
এতোগুলো মানুষকে মৃত্যুর দিকে ঠেলে দেয়া হলো! এরকম দায়িত্বহীনতা কোনোভাবেই মেনে নিতে পারছি না।
So many people were forced towards death. I cannot accept such a lack of responsibility from the management.
Lucky Akter, one of the leading activists of the #Shahbag protests writes in Somehwhereinblog in a post titled “Mourn Not, But Protest”:
দাসপ্রথা নাকি বিলোপ হয়েছে বহু আগে কিন্তু আমরা তো দেখি দাস প্রথা নতুন ভাবে ফিরে এসেছে খুব ভয়ালভাবে, তা না হলে মৃত্যু নিশ্চিত-জেনেও শ্রমিকদেরকে পিটিয়ে পিটিয়ে কেন মৃত্যুকূপে পাঠানো হল? কেন মিথ্যা বেতনের আশ্বাস দিয়ে শ্রমিকদেরকে কারখানায় আনা হল?
Slavery has been abolished long ago. But we see that slavery has returned in a new form. Otherwise knowing that there is a death-risk, how come these laborers were forced to enter the death-zone? Were they lured back to work by promising bonuses?
Army personnel and civilian volunteers work together to rescue those trapped. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (24/4/2013)
The majority of Bangladesh's export earnings come from the ready-made textile industry. Tamanna Sultana writes on Facebook:
আমি লজ্জিত! একটা দেশের অর্থনীতির মূল চালিকাশক্তি যারা, তারা শয়ে শয়ে মরে গেলেও তেমন কিছু যায় আসে না। এই ঘটনা বার বার ঘটতে থাকে। বড় বড় ব্যক্তিগুলো সুখে শান্তিতে বসবাস করতে পারলেই হলো…
I am ashamed! Those who are the backbones of the economy of the country are dying in hundreds, and nobody cares. And this is being repeated again and again. It seems we care about the well beings of rich and powerful only.
The factory owners or those responsible are rarely convicted for their lapses that lead to the big disasters. Apurbo Shohag expresses rage in Facebook:
এই দেশে মৃত্যু কোনো ব্যাপার না। এই দেশে সবচে’ সস্তা জিনিস হলো মানুষের প্রাণ! শুধু আজকে সাভারেই নয়, এর আগেও যখন গার্মেন্টস কারখানাগুলোতে অসংখ্য প্রাণ শেষ হয়েছে বা ভবন ধসে মানুষ মরেছে আমরা তখন শুধুই শুনে গেছি মালিকদের শাস্তি হবে। শাস্তি হয় কি না সেটা আর জানা হয় না। তবে একের পর এক সাভারের মতো ঘটনা ঘটছেই। দীর্ঘ থেকে দীর্ঘ হয় লাশের লাইন।
In this country death comes easy. Because the cheapest thing is the human life. Not only today's disaster in Savar, we have heard many times after the previous factory disasters that those who responsible including the owners will be brought to justice. But we don't see them get punished. So such disaster happen again and again. The bodies pile up in greater numbers.
Many are still buried under concrete rubble. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (24/4/2013)
The Government has declared a day of mourning [bn] for such a tragic loss. There were appeals via Facebook to donate blood, and many rushed to donate blood in Savar and elsewhere.
Blood donation drive in Shahbag Square for the injured people of Savar building collapse. Image courtesy Shahbag Movement Facebook page.
Updates were being sent in Twitter:
@ShahbagInfo: Rh NEGATIVE BLOOD NEEDED in #Shahbag; 700 bags of #blood collected here, 500 sent to Dhaka Medical College & Enam Medical College. #Savar
Volunteers for Bangladesh crowdsourced volunteers via Facebook to help the rescue operations. More pictures of the disaster are available in this post by Blogger Bishkhoy.

author: পান্থ রহমান রেজা (Pantha)


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Hungarian Students Blog on Freedom of Information Requests · Global Voices
Atlatszo.hu

Hungarian grassroots student union Hallgatói Hálózat (Student Network) started a blog that curates freedom of information requests related to higher education. The blog, titled Transparent Education [hu], is using the Hungarian public freedom of information request service KiMitTud [hu] to track down the allegations of misuse of funds by university student governments. The blog's author Dániel G. Szabó was the one who sued the Faculty of Law at ELTE University in order to publicize the information on the Faculty's student government spendings. The aim of the blog is to promote the use of freedom of information requests, and to make the spending of public funds transparent at Hungarian colleges and universities.


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Iran: Facebook is ‘the most disgusting US spyware’ · Global Voices
Hadi Nili

A high commander in Iran cyber police says Facebook is ‘the most disgusting spyware and the most dangerous warfare of the U.S.’ which is also ‘responsible for one third of divorces in Iran’.
Facebook and other famous social networking websites are blocked by Iranian authorities. They blame this services as ‘tools to promote unrest and in favor of regime change in Iran’.

author: Hadi Nili


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Mapping Tool to Track Insecticide-Resistant Mosquitoes · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Cameroonian blogger Edouard Tamba posted on twitter about the first online mapping tool to tool to track insecticide resistance in mosquitoes that cause malaria : IR Mapper.
Interactive map that consolidates reports of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors onto filterable maps via irmapper.com

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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‘Poor’ Coverage of Boston Marathon Bombing in Media · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Matthew Kupfer on Registan blog offers an explanation for the “poor” coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing in American media:
…[M]uch information has been misunderstood due to lack of knowledge about the Caucasus or Russia and a desire to present the suspects in a framework easily understandable to the American public.


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Saudi-American View on Boston Bombings  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Nora Abdulkarim shares a Saudi-American perspective on the Boston Bombings.
She explains:
I won't try to simplify what is inherently complex. I will simply present and reflect, and nothing more. No fancy theorizing, no overarching message. This post is only meant to be a glimpse at personal identity – that wild thing which one cannot pin down.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Saudi Arabia Summons Human Rights Activist for Interrogation · Global Voices
Guest Contributor

This post is part of our Special Coverage: Reformists on Trial in Saudi Arabia
Omar Al-Saeed, a member in the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), has been summoned for interrogation on April 22 and asked to re-appear next week.
Al-Saeed went to the Investigation and Prosecution Bureau in Qassim with his brother, Abdullah Al-Saeed, who is also an ACPRA member. There, Omar and Abdullah met with interrogator Ahmad Al-Thekri.
The expected interrogation session didn't take place. Instead, Al-Saeed was asked to come again the following week. He asked for more time to find a lawyer to attend with him, but the interrogator insisted he attends next week.
Shortly after tweeting what went on in the bureau, a Kuwaiti attorney, Bader Al-Harbi, mentioned Omar Al-Saeed on Twitter, offering his services:
@bhd1973: @181Umar
مستعد استاذ وبالخدمة
@bhd1973: @181Umar ready and at your service
While Al-Saeed was in the Investigation and Prosecution Bureau, Saudis started the hash-tag #عمر_السعيد which translates to Omar Al-Saeed, in solidarity with him.
Abdullah Al-Mogbel tweeted:
@asmogbelt: تجريم نشطاء الحقوق ومن يمتهنون العمل السلمي ينذر بكارثة خطيرة عندما يصادق القضاة على كليشة المدعي العام الفتنة والتأليب.الخ #حسم #عمر_السعيد
@asmogbelt: The criminalization of peaceful activists and rights defenders is a warning of a dangerous disaster since judges are endorsing the clichés of the General Prosecutor such as: inciting disorder, etc.
Turki tweeted:
@SAUDI_LIBERAL: أخبروا محمد بن نايف بأن سجونه ستمتلئ ولن يجد مكاناً للكم الهائل من المطالبين بالحرية والعدالة والحقوق لأن الشعب مل ببساطة
#عمر_السعيد #حسم
@SAUDI_LIBERAL: Tell Mohammad bin Naif [the Interior Minister] that his prisons will be full and he won't find a place for the large number of people demanding freedom, justice and rights because people have simply had enough.
The summoning of Omar Al-Saeed comes as a continuation of the Ministry of Interior's actions against ACPRA, the most prominent rights association in Saudi Arabia.
Before Al-Saeed, five of ACPRA members were jailed: Abdullah Al-Hamed, Mohammad Al-Qahtani, Sulaiman Al-Rushoodi, Saleh Al-Ashwan and Mohammad Al-Bjadi. Another member, Abdulkarim Al-Khader has just been detained for objecting to the judge's decision to bar women from attending his trial.
This post is part of our Special Coverage: Reformists on Trial in Saudi Arabia

author: Guest Contributor


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Spain: The Bishop and the Global Conspiracy Against Humanity · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

[All links lead to Spanish language pages]
José Antonio Reig Pla, bishop of the Spanish city of Alcalá de Henares (province of Madrid), has uncovered an «international conspiracy to decrease the population,» which most likely involves the participation of governments, universities, NGOs, political parties and labor unions, as well as the United Nations, UNESCO and the European Parliament.
The bishop is referring to abortion. In his own words, as reported by Europapress:
Monsignor Reig Pla, during his homily on Good Friday 2012. Photo from the website Espíritu Gay.
Lo dice el Papa Juan Pablo II en la Evangelium Vitae, [existe un proyecto] científicamente pensado y técnicamente muy estructurado, de manera que están haciendo que no aumente la población, porque ese es el gran proyecto de todo ese complejo internacional (…)
Hay grandes poderosos que financian estos proyectos. Es una batalla que están librando con muchos dólares y muchas ONG que sirven a grandes grupos internacionales que están frenando la población en África o Asia.
As Pope John Paul II states in the Evangelium Vitae, [there is a plan in place], scientifically thought out and quite structured in a technical sense, which is designed to prevent increases in the population; in fact, this is the program of the entire international conglomerate (…)
There are great and powerful people financing these plans. They are waging their war armed with huge sums of cash and with the backing of NGOs that serve the interests of huge international groups, who in turn are working to curb population growth in Africa or Asia.
Word of this spread quickly on social networking sites, where Monsignor Reig Pla is a familiar presence, as he has never had a problem making his anti-gay and anti-abortion views public using any platform, including his own pulpit.
Two distinguished tweeters who have commented on the bishop's remarks are writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte and former president of the Community of Cantabria, Miguel Ángel Revilla
@perezreverte: Lo del obispo Reig es para tenerlo en cuenta. No por lo que dice, que también, y mucho, sino por la impunidad y desvergüenza con que lo dice.
@perezreverte: Bishop Reig has to be taken seriously. Not because of what he says (even though that, too, is cause for great concern), but because he is able to say it so shamelessly and with such impunity.
@RevillaMiguelA: Obispo de Alcalá: “Hay una conspiración mundial para que no nazcan niños”. Sólo somos 7.000 millones y eso que presuntamente él no ejerce
@RevillaMiguelA: Bishop of Alcalá: “There is a global conspiracy to keep babies from being born.”  There are only 7 billion of us, and he is (supposedly) not doing anything to keep the world's population up…
José Antonio Reig Pla became known to the general public last year when state-owned TV station La 2 broadcast Good Friday services from his diocese. The bishop seized the opportunity to make claims like this one during his homily:
(…) aquellas personas que hoy llevados por tantas ideologías acaban por no orientar bien lo que es la sexualidad humana, piensan ya desde niños que tienen atracción hacia las personas de su mismo sexo. Y a veces para comprobarlo se corrompen y se prostituyen… o van a clubs de hombres nocturnos. Os aseguro que encuentran el infierno.
(…) those people today who are led astray by so many different ideologies, and who ultimately do not have a grasp on the essence of human sexuality, have believed since they were children that they are attracted to others of their own sex. And sometimes, to test this notion for themselves, they become corrupt and they prostitute themselves … or they frequent all-male night clubs. I assure you that they are living in hell.
According to  Cáscara Amarga, a digital LGBT newspaper,
Reig Pla, as he is portrayed by the ultra-Catholic website HazteOir.org. This image from the site's Facebook page.
Reig Pla tiene verdadera fijación con el colectivo LGTB. Hace sólo unos meses, y coincidiendo con la celebración del Orgullo Gay en Madrid, presentó una guía para curar la homosexualidad. Bajo el epígrafe ´Homosexualidad y esperanza´, la página web del obispado de Alcalá de Henares señalaba que «la comprensión e identificación de la orientación sexual de una persona puede cambiar en el transcurso de la vida; es posible la esperanza. Así pues, si alguna persona desea un cambio o evolución, o quiere formarse sobre este tema, desde el respeto a todos, informamos de los siguientes textos y recursos».
Reig Pla has a real fixation with the LGTB community. Just a few months ago, at the same time as Madrid's Gay Pride Celebration, he released a guidebook for curing homosexuality. Under the title ´Homosexuality and hope´, the web page of the diocese of Alcalá de Henares pointed out that «our understanding of and identification with our sexual orientation can change over the course of a lifetime; hope is possible. Therefore, if any person desires change or growth, or wishes to become educated about this subject, we will, from a position of respect for all, give you more information about the following texts and resources».
The Monsignor has been quite busy of late. On the 10th, during a presentation at the «International Conference for Life», he had this to say about the statements he made a year ago:
Los niños «se plantean por ciertas ideologías que han sido introducidas en el ámbito de la enseñanza su propia condición y orientación de su sexualidad», (…) hace un año hablaba de «hechos conocidos» por él. «Hablaba de niños que llevados por una ideología pueden dudar de su condición e identidad sexual y que a veces puede llevar a que uno pruebe si es de una manera o de otra» (…) «probando», los chicos pueden «llegar incluso a prostituirse»
Children «are influenced by certain ideologies that have been introduced to them, in the spirit of instruction, regarding their own sexual condition and orientation», (…) a year ago he spoke of issues «well known» to him. «I was talking about those children who, carried forward by an ideology, may come to doubt their sexual condition and identity, which may sometimes lead to experimentation in order to prove whether they are one way or another» (…) during this «experimentation» phase, young men and women can «even fall into prostitution».
To which Placentino y Guajina responded on ABC.es:
Vaya payasada. Así no me extraña que se le vaya la clientela. Sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que dentro de la iglesia la pederastia está a la orden del día.
What utter nonsense. I'm not surprised that he's losing his following, especially when you consider that pedophilia is the order of the day inside the Church.
???!!! Eso no se lo cree ni él. Anda que no han salido incluso sacerdotes del sacerdocio y del armario. Y no será porque no tuvieron una educación más que dirigida en su infancia.
???!!! Not even he believes that. Look at the priests who still haven't come out of the priesthood or the closet. And it isn't because they didn't have an “education” beyond what they were taught as children.
At the same event, he also spoke about abortion:
Es una batalla tan larga como la que pretendía abolir la esclavitud (…) [que no se hará] sin sufrimiento [como] en el parto de un hijo.
This battle is as protracted as the battle to end slavery was (…) [it can't be won] without suffering [as in] the pangs of childbirth.
Cartes commented on this news on 20minutos.es:
el problema del obispo no es que esté manteniendo una postura en contra del aborto (que es legítima) es que no quiere que nadie aborte, es decir, quiere atentar contra las libertades de otros (y eso ya no es legítimo).
the bishop's problem is not that he maintains an opinion against abortion (which is legitimate), it's that he doesn't want anyone to have access to abortion, that is to say, he wants to infringe upon the freedoms of others (which is in no way legitimate).
«I do not have sex» (on the wall) «Can't think about anything else, can you?». Image from the feminist website nosotrasdecidimos.org
And the Monsignor's anti-gay crusade is nothing new. Back in 2007, the website «Dejar de Ser Gay… es posible» published his interview with the weekly publication Alba, in which he explained what he calls «gender ideology». The bishop's predilection for conspiracy theories becomes clear when among the elements that make «the gay phenomenon» we find:
La teología gay, que es la extensión del lobby gay, infiltrado en todas las confesiones cristianas y en la Iglesia Católica. Sus representantes han elaborado sistemáticamente un cuerpo doctrinal absolutamente herético. Esta teología intenta seducir a algunos, dividir a los católicos y desprestigiar a los pastores difundiendo estas ideas en los medios de comunicación.
Gay theology, an extension of the gay lobby, has crept into all of the Christian confessions and into the Catholic Church. Its representatives have systematically drafted an absolutely heretical body of doctrine. This theology attempts to seduce people, divide Catholics, and to discredit pastors who speak out against it in the mass media.
On Twitter, My Name Is SergiDean and Javier Macho give their opinion on the bishop's most recent conspiracy:
@SergiDean: Según el obispo de Alcalá la ley del aborto es una conspiración contra la población mundial… será que vosotros ayudáis a que crezca…
@SergiDean: According to the bishop of Alcalá, the abortion law is a conspiracy against the global population… you bishops must be the reason it's still increasing, then…
@javiermacho65: Por favor es importante que quien cuide esta noche del obispo de Alcalá acierte con la medicación para evitar que mañana diga más bobadas!!
@javiermacho65: Please, whoever is taking care of the bishop of Alcalá tonight, get his medication right so he doesn't spout any more drivel tomorrow!!
And Alberto offers a practical solution:
@Albert_es_Tweet: Hola Dios: ¿podrías concederle una vagina al obispo Reig Plá para que pueda reproducirse como una coneja y perpetuar la especie? Gracias.
@Albert_es_Tweet: Hello, God: would you please grant bishop Reig Plá a vagina so that he might breed like a rabbit and perpetuate the species? Thank you.

author: Lourdes Sada


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“Drone Strikes are the Face of America in Yemen” · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

A Yemeni testified at a US Senate hearing entitled “Drone Wars: The Constitutional and Counter-terrorism Implications of Targeted Killing” for the first time on Tuesday, April 23, 2012.
Farea Almuslimi is a 23-year-old activist and freelance journalist who comes from the village of Wesab, in Dhamar province, which was hit by a US drone strike on April 18, 2013.
Almuslimi was the last person to testify among the six witnesses chosen by the Senate, but he gave the most heartfelt and powerful testimony, describing the suffering that drone strikes inflict on ordinary people’s lives and their impact on his village and Yemen:
What violent militants have previously failed to achieve, one drone strike accomplished in an instant. There is now an immense anger towards America in Wesab. This is not an isolated instance, the drone strikes are the face of America to many Yemenis.
Farea Almuslim, the first Yemeni to testify at the Drone Wars Senate hearing
In his written testimony he said:
“Instead of first experiencing America through a school or a hospital, most people in Wessab first experienced America through the terror of a drone strike.
Almuslimi, who attended a year at a high school in the US on a state department scholarship, added:
For me personally, it is deeply troubling, astonishing, and challenging to reconcile that the very same hand that taught me English, awarded me scholarships, and dramatically improved my life is the hand that droned my village, terrified my people, and now makes it harder for them to believe the good things that I tell them about America and my American friends. It is especially frustrating to me because all the United States needed to do was identify Al-Radmi as a target, so that he could’ve been arrested without the injuries, destruction, and death caused by the drone strike.
(video uploaded by Senator Durbin)
The full script of his testimony is here.
The full session of the hearing is here.
Having a Yemeni testify at the first-ever public congressional hearing on Obama’s secret drone and targeted killing program was a positive step, yet many Yemenis and Americans were disappointed from the overall hearing.
Anonymous tweeted:
@AnonyOps: After watching the Senate hearing on drones today, we have concluded that Lindsey Graham is totally ok with being a war criminal #dronewars
Jeb Boone, a GlobalPost correspondent, was expecting from Almuslimi a tougher tone in addressing the Senate. He tweeted:
@JebBoone: Expected @almuslimi to give senators a firm scolding at #DroneWars hearing. Instead, he offered a moving plea on behalf of #Yemen. Noble.
Kevin Gosztola tweeted in disappointment:
@kgosztola: Montage of questions asked at Senate subcommittee hearing on #dronewars is incontrovertible proof senators were pathetic #inners
@kgosztola: Too much abuse, corruption, criminality & covering up for one hearing on #dronewars to fully address. Only few senators care to address
Sign held by Amnesty International members outside Senate drone wars hearing bulding via @andreaprasow
Some of the Senators seemed to dismiss Almuslimi's testimony, or as Senator Lindsay Graham, claimed to know more about Yemen, some even moved on to ask more hypothetical questions rather than acknowledge the damaging impact on human lives on the ground.
John Knefel, writer and independent journalist, tweeted:
@johnknefel:Even when a Yemeni is before Congress, most act like he doesn't exist. #dronewars
CODEPINK tweeted:
@codepink: Senator Graham “applauds Obama administration for responsible use of drones abroad.” I think I'm going to be sick. #dronewars #nodrones
Jameel Jaffar, legal deputy at ACLU, tweeted:
@JameelJaffer: Turns out Obama admin *did* send a representative to this hearing. It's @LindseyGrahamSC!
Jeremy Scahill, an investigative journalist and author of the book “Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield“, tweeted:
@jeremyscahill: This hearing on drones is a great illustration of how absolutely pathetic the US Congress is. #dronewars
Gregory Johnsen, author of the book “The Last Refuge: Yemen al-Qaeda and America's War in Arabia”, tweeted:
@gregorydjohnsen 23 Apr
This hearing, for me, illustrates the intellectual shallowness of what passes for a “drone debate” in the US.
Tom Junod, a writer, tweeted:
@TomJunod:
At yesterday's Senate hearing on drones, all witnesses spoke in abstractions, except the one who offered actual human witness, @almuslimi.
Muna, a Yemeni activist, tweeted:
@ArabsUnite: Truly thankful for the contribution of @almuslimi I'm glad that we have had a humane although chilling account of drones #Yemen #dronewars
Mohammed Al-Asaadi tweeted:
@alasaadim: #Dronewars are signs of arrogance and inhumanity. We are all against #drones and out of law killings in #Yemen, #pakistan, #somalia etc.
Noor Mir the Pakistani-American anti-drone campaign coordinator at CODEPINK and Rooj Alwazir, a Yemeni-American activist and organizer with SupportYemen both present at the hearing co-wrote a powerful piece entitled “DRONE WARS: How White Privilege Obscures Real Dialogue”:
Farea spoke beautifully and passionately when he was afforded the chance about the dangers of drones in creating more enemies than friends, but was not allowed to analyze or explain his statement any further, curtailed by a reliance on legal jargon and reining in executive authority. We are thankful for him being there, but we are distressed that the Subcommittee’s treatment of his presence was just that– a cold, removed, and uninvolved treatment markedly different from their involved and lengthy conversations with the remaining witnesses. Why invite a Yemeni to speak about the human costs of drone wars and then cast a shadow of doubt and ignorance over his experiences by adopting a presumptuous tone?
According to many, the US drone strikes, in cooperation with Yemen's government, are a constant terror in Yemeni villages and lives, used under the pretext of fighting “terrorism” instead of capturing the identified suspects. Both governments are accountable for the human cost of this policy and its long-term impact. Drone war debate in the US finally made some progress, at least a Yemeni and human perspective was heard, which made Yemenis proud. Yet many people in Yemen, after viewing the Senate hearing and reactions to the Boston explosions, were left with the feeling that their lives had no value, certainly not as much as American lives. This thought was cynically expressed in the following tweet:
@anatosaurus: When Americans are killed, it's a tragedy. When Americans kill, it's a strategy. #dronewars #p2 #dontbuyit
This Storfiy has more reactions to the Senate hearing.

author: Noon Arabia


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Live Updates on Bangladesh Factory Tragedy · Global Voices
Rezwan

The death toll of the factory collapse in Savar, Bangladesh has risen to 290. Here is a live blog [bn] maintained by the Muktaangon blogging platform curating social media updates on the latest on the relief and rescue effort of the trapped workers inside the collapsed building.

author: Rezwan


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Animal Welfare Included in Singapore School Syllabus · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Good news for animal lovers. Singapore’s Ministry of Education has confirmed that animal welfare will be included in the new ‘Character and Citizenship Education’ syllabus for primary and secondary students.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals cheered the inclusion of animal welfare in the curriculum:
We cannot stress enough the importance of these changes to the education curriculum as we are raising the next generation of young girls and boys to be respectable, responsible citizens, and to live lives of kindness, having compassion for animals and fellow human beings. This is the breakthrough we’ve been hoping for!
A rabbit grooming workshop conducted by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Kwan Jin Yao, writing for the Breakfast Network, recognizes the importance of teaching animal welfare in schools:
The horrific cases of animal abuse, cruelty, and abandonment in Singapore, albeit anecdotal, signals the need for us to have greater respect for animals – and it’s best to start them young.
Yet learning to be kind to animals can build a sense of responsibility, as the young impressionable child becomes more empathetic as he or she expresses concern for others. Compassion can be nurtured, as they learn how to behave and co-exist with it
On Facebook, Rene Ser explains how this reform will be beneficial to society:
This is great news. Besides academic excellence, we encourage our young to learn to respect other living things, because the world is not solely abt humans, and the eco system is made up of many plants and animals and taking a step towards loving animals, is a step towards loving Earth. Looking at a bigger picture, this is definitely beneficial to society and our eco system.
Alycia Lynch shares the good news with her daughter:
My 12 year old will be happy to hear that because she has been telling me that Animal Welfare should be included in every school’s curriculum so children will grow up respecting animals.
Zeus IsCute thinks parents should also be educated about animal welfare:
Honestly, I don't know how kids are going to learn if the parents are the ones who need educating.

author: Mong Palatino


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Chernobyl: “The Most Horrifying Phone Talk of the Century” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

April 26, 2013, marks the 27th anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster. Andriy Pryimachenko of peredova.com has created a video transcript [ru] of the audio recordings of the conversations that took place shortly after the blast between the dispatchers of the plant's firefighting unit and other firefighting dispatchers and officials. On his Korrespondent.net blog, Ivan Mateyko comments [uk] on this “most horrifying phone talk of the 20th century”:
[…] Hard to guess what these people were thinking back then and whether they knew how serious the situation and its possible consequences were, but the horror in their voices is evident. […]

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Chronicler of Saint Lucian History Remembered · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

Historian and conservationist Robert Devaux was laid to rest this week, having passed away on the morning of April 16th 2013, after a battle with cancer.  St. Lucian netizens have been paying tribute to a man many consider to be an environmental hero and national visionary.
A founding member of both the Saint Lucia Research Centre and the Saint Lucia National Trust, where he served as president for many years, Devaux also authored several books on the island's rich history, the last of which was 2012's “A History of Saint Lucia”.
A biography posted by Tony Williams on the Caribbean Book Blog highlighted Devaux's contribution to to research in Saint Lucia:
Born in Castries in 1934, Mr Devaux devoted most of his life to studying and documenting the history of St Lucia and the island’s natural habitat and ecosystems, as well as its rich and diverse cultural heritage. He was a strong advocate for the preservation of the island’s archaeological sites and its historical relics. Along with other local environmentalists he played a major role in helping to raise public awareness of the importance of environmental conservation and the protection of St Lucia’s unique ecology, wildlife and and landscape.
The post also touched on his archaeological work:
A former field engineer, Mr Devaux was an avid participant in archaeological digs. He is credited with re-discovering numerous historical sites, including the ruins of early Arawak and Carib settlements and the forest hideouts of the Brigands, former runaway slaves considered to be the island’s first freedom fighters because of their resistance and rebellion against the brutal oppression of French and British colonists and planters in the mid to late 18 century.
The Facebook page for Lighthouse Road Publications, which was established to publish “A History of Saint Lucia”, also included information about Devaux's work:
In 1961, Devaux founded the St Lucia Research Centre (incorporated in 1994), producing dozens of research papers on a wide range of topics, usually following a request by government, corporate or private entities for information on (occasionally obscure) details of St Lucia's past. The decades of meticulous research spent on those papers were put to good use in ‘A History of St Lucia’, which Robert co-authored along with Jolien Harmsen and Guy Ellis.
According a tribute posted to Facebook, Devaux worked hard to protect Saint Lucia's heritage, even when it sometimes seemed futile:
Sadly, he spent too much time fighting to be heard. Imagine how much more of our heritage would be preserved for future generations if there were more people like him. He lost some of his hardest-fought battles: when he tried to stop the development between the Pitons, he was relieved of his duties on the board of the Development Control Authority; his proposal to create a wetland at La Tourney was shot down by the Port Authority; and his effort to save the east coast trail (four miles of trail that he built single-handedly) fell on deaf ears when the developers of Le Paradis started talking.
The tribute continued:
He had a vision for St. Lucia – one that put conservation and heritage preservation on par with development. He was a realist: he never tried to prevent development; instead he preached sustainable development. He never rejected a project without suggesting an alternative that would accomplish similar economic goals without compromising the nation’s heritage. He despaired of how much we have squandered, but he would want us to fight for what little is left of our beaches, our rainforests, our wildlife, and our historic sites. He believed that it is our duty to make our little piece of the world a little better. He certainly did that.
Robert Devaux was the recipient of several awards, including being named an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1991.

author: Matthew Hunte


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Data Journalism Handbook Now in Spanish · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The International Journalists’ Network, IJNET, recently announced the release of the Spanish translation [es] of The Data Journalism Handbook, “a free, open-source book that aims to help journalists use data to improve journalism.”
Both the original English version and the Spanish translation are freely available online under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, which means that they can be freely downloaded, shared and built upon.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Indigenous People Occupy Brazil’s Congress Over Land Rights Bill · Global Voices
Fernanda Canofre

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages, except when otherwise noted.]
Hundreds of indigenous people stormed Brazil's lower-house Chamber of Deputies to protest a bill that would hand over authority on territorial claims to the National Congress, a change that some fear would give the political upperhand to the country's ranchers who often spar with the indigenous over land.
Gathered in the capital Brasília for the country's Indigenous April – an annual event organized to celebrate the Day of the Indigenous Brazilian on April 19 – representatives of nearly 76 different ethnicities had arrived at the Chamber of Deputies in the morning of April 16, 2013 to discuss the controversial proposal with legislators. Tired of waiting by the end of the day, between 300 and 700 native Brazilians confronted security guards and burst into the session.
The group demanded the end of a proposed constitutional amendment that would pass the power of making final decisions about indigenous land demarcation from the executive branch to the legislative branch. The interruption was broadcast live by TV Câmara, the Chamber of Deputies’ channel, and was later widely shared on YouTube:
This was not the first time the proposal triggered protests; demonstrations followed after Proposed Amendment number 215/00 was deemed admissible by the Chamber of Deputies constitution commission in March 2012.
Currently, indigenous land demarcation in Brazil is done through studies conducted by the government agency National Indigenous Foundation (FUNAI) and established by a presidential decree. If approved, amendment 215, which was proposed by congressman Almir Sá from Roraima state, would do away with FUNAI's autonomy to oversee research on territorial claims and would make it more difficult for land occupied by small farmers be designated as indigenous.
In a video posted by journalist Marcel Frota on YouTube, congressman Ivan Valente, from the Party for Socialism and Liberty (PSOL), defined the indigenous protest as a way of guaranteeing “constitutional rights”:
Passando pelo Congresso, onde a bancada ruralista tem maioria parlamentar, nunca mais vai passar por aqui (na Câmara) uma demarcação de terras indígenas ou a criação de alguma unidade de conservação. Então, esse ato de resistência dos indígenas é uma advertência à Câmara dos Deputados e ao Congresso Nacional.
If it [the proposed amendment] is passed by Congress, where the rural lobby [en] have a majority, the demarcation of indigenous land and the creation of conservation units will never again be approved [by the Chamber of Deputies]. Therefore, this act of resistance by indigenous people is a warning to the Chamber of Deputies and to the National Congress.
The ruralista bloc, as those who support the rural lobby are known, to which Valente refers is the Agribusiness Parliamentary Front, formed by congressmen and senators who have connections with agribusiness. In a meeting held in February, the Front representatives had already defined the discussion about the indigenous land demarcation as one of their priorities.
Hundreds of indigenous people invaded a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies and took the congressmen's seats. Photo by José Cruz, Agência Brasil (CC BY 3.0)
While the indigenous group occupied the Chamber of Deputies, indigenous representatives held a meeting with the president of the Brazilian Supreme Court, Joaquim Barbosa, to discuss the case of the Raposa Serra do Sol [en] reserve. Though FUNAI identified the area as an Indigenous homeland [en] back in 1993, the land hasn't yet been completely handed over because of a series of disputes and deadly conflict between rice farmers and indigenous people. The Supreme Court as a result toughened the demarcation conditions there in 2009.
Later on, the Office of the Solicitor-General proposed an ordinance that would expend the special conditions to all areas of Brazil, but it has not been implemented. On the day that the indigenous groups occupied the Congress, the Front presented a petition calling for it to be put into effect as soon as possible.
The session was closed after Progressive Party congressman Simão Sessim, who was leading the debate, said there were no conditions to carry on. The indigenous people accepted the negotiation and some of their representatives held a meeting with the president of the Chamber of Deputies seeking an agreement.
The next day, in light of the occupation by the indigenous people, besides granting a six-month hold on the formation of a special commission to discuss the proposed amendment, the Chamber of Deputies announced the creation of a work group related to indigenous matters. The group will be formed by ten congressmen, who have already been decided, and by indigenous representatives.
While the indigenous people were satisfied with the agreement, the ruralistas on the other hand were less than pleased. The bloc's congressmen have promised to step up pressure so that the special commission returns to the Chamber's agenda while still in the first semester.
In other words, this conflict is still far from reaching a conclusion, wrote journalist Elaine Tavares on the Brasil de Fato website:
Indigenous people protest in front of government palace in Brasília (18/04/2013). Photo by Valter Campanato, Agência Brasil (CC BY 3.0)
Agora é vigiar porque esse não vai ser um debate fácil. Tanto o governo como os grupos de poder que financiam a maioria dos deputados querem poder dispor das terras indígenas que estão cheias de riqueza. Mas, o fato é que a ação do “abril indígena” conseguiu pelo menos colocar em pauta um tema que já vem caminhando desde anos e não recebe a devida atenção nem pela mídia nem pelos deputados. Foi uma vitória, parcial e temporária, mas ainda assim uma vitória. O que prova por a + b que só a ação direta e organizada faz a vida das gentes avançar. E, para aqueles que estão aí, na luta sempre, a cena do apavoramento dos deputados [no momento que os indígenas entraram no Plenário] deixa muito claro que eles sim, têm medo, embora não tenham prurido de destruir sistematicamente o modo de vida dos povos indígenas. A lição do abril indígena é singela: é preciso fazer com essa gente que não leva em conta os desejos das maiorias voltem a ter medo delas. A luta de classes avança por aqui também…
Now it's time to watch, because this is not going to be an easy debate. The government as well as the power groups that finance most of the congressmen want to have the indigenous land [for themselves], which are rich with natural resources. But the fact is that the “Indigenous April” action was at least able to put in the agenda a topic that has been moving forward for many years and had not yet received due attention by the media or by the congressmen. It was a victory, partial and temporary, but still a victory. Which proves as a + b that only direct and organized action can make people's lives move forward. And for those who are out there, always fighting, watching the scene of terrified congressmen [at the moment the indigenous people entered the plenary session] makes it clear that yes, they are scared, although that hasn't stopped them from systematically destroying the indigenous peoples’ way of living. The lesson learned from “Indigenous April” is simple: It is necessary to work so that the people that don't take the majority's wishes into consideration are scared of them again. Class struggle moves forward here as well…

author: Fernanda Canofre


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Indonesia: Teaching Jakarta’s Street Children · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Sahabat Anak is a non-profit Indonesian NGO which helps Jakarta's street children by conducting tutorial programs and providing an activity center for street teens, kindergarten for street toddlers, and transit house for street kids.


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Introducing Contemporary Indonesian Art · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Adrian Vickers introduces the latest issue of the online journal ‘Inside Indonesia’ which features articles about contemporary Indonesian art.
While politics has dominated the foreground of Indonesian art, the country’s contemporary art world faces a struggle between art’s engagement with society and the forces of commercialisation.


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Female Homicides on the Rise in Mexico · Global Voices
Andrea Arzaba

Violeta, an 18-year-old student, was found [es] dead on a dirt road in the state of Chiapas with signs of violence on her body. Meanwhile, in the state of Guanajuato, the body of another woman named Olga was found [es] partially buried and covered in lime. She appeared to have been strangled.
These two women, who were discovered in April 2013, were just two of the latest victims of a dramatic spike in deadly violence against women in many parts of Mexico.
According to Martha Figueroa [es], from the Women's Collective of San Cristóbal de las Casas, femicides are on the rise this year; so far in 2013, 26 women have suffered violent deaths in Chiapas, and of those at least 20 are considered femicides. In 2012, the same organization registered [es] 85 femicides in Chiapas. This month, Guanajuato's Attorney General Carlos Zamarripa reported [es] 24 femicides “in recent weeks” in that state. While in the northern state of Chihuahua –- a state known for the horrific femicide cases of Ciudad Juarez — 73 women were murdered in one year, from March 2012 to March 2013.
The mothers of these victims as well as women's rights activists are now taking to the street to demand justice as femicides continue unpunished, sometimes risking their own lives in doing so. InCiudad Juárez about six human rights defenders were forced to leave the city this month to protect their lives.
The reason? They demand to know why their daughters were killed.
Anaiz Zamora Márquez, from the Mexican news organization CIMAC, recounted for her readers [es] a recent march against the impunity surrounding Ciudad Juarez's female homicides is not easily forgotten:
“No more femicides.” Photo by Flickr lunita lu, under Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Hace un mes en DF el dolor de las madres y familiares de jóvenes desaparecidas en Ciudad Juárez se extendió por esta capital, y en una protesta de más de cuatro horas el silencio de 20 años de impunidad y autoridades incompetentes se transformó en reclamo de justicia.
One month ago in Mexico City, the pain of mothers and families of missing young women in Ciudad Juarez swept the capital, and in a protest of more than four hours, the silence of 20 years of impunity and incompetent authorities was transformed in order to demand justice.
Anaiz describes the authorities’ response to the march:
La tarde caía y al grito de “¡Vivas se las llevaron, vivas las queremos!” las madres y sus acompañantes se encaminaron sobre Paseo de la Reforma rumbo a la representación del gobierno de Chihuahua.
Al llegar, al igual que hacen las autoridades chihuahuenses, las oficinas –custodiadas por policías de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública del DF– mantuvieron cerradas sus puertas y ventanas.
Ante el silencio, las madres leyeron un pronunciamiento con una sola exigencia: justicia.
Evening was falling and women were shouting: “They took them alive, we want them back alive!” Mothers and their companions made their way to Paseo de la Reforma [famous avenue in Mexico City] towards the representation of the government of Chihuahua in the city.
Upon arrival, just like Chihuahua authorities do, the offices — which were guarded by the police of the Ministry of Public Security in Mexico City — kept their doors and windows shut.
Despite the silence, the mothers read a statement with only one requirement: justice.
Ana Leticia Hernández Julián, from the website Sin Embargo, singled out [es] corruption as the worst enemy of justice when it comes to resolving these cases of violence against women in Mexico:
La impunidad, además, es el principal motor que promueve estos asesinatos, pues en la mayoría de los casos no se lleva a los culpables ante la justicia, reconocen organizaciones defensoras de los derechos de la mujer y el propio Estado mexicano.
Impunity is the driving force that promotes these murders, since in most cases the perpetrators are not confronted with justice, as women's rights NGOs and even the Mexican State recognize.
Finally, Ivonne de la Cruz Dominguez from the blog Matices de Mujer, compared [es] the government's silence towards female homicides with civilians’ loud cries of despair:
En 100 días de gobierno no se ha utilizado esa palabra en ninguno de sus discursos. Incluso, si se teclea en el buscador de la página web de la Presidencia de la República la palabra “feminicidios” te arroja “0 resultados” (lo que no ocurre con homicidios, o secuestros, por ejemplo.)
Mientras, las mujeres que luchan por exigir justicia tras el asesinato de sus hijas en Chihuahua, Guerrero, Edomex, Tlaxcala, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Sinaloa o Sonora, se han levantado nuevamente. Frases como “Ni una más”, “Vivas se las llevaron, vivas las queremos”, “No más violencia contra las mujeres”, se apoderan de las calles de diversas ciudades del país, en forma de gritos o palabras escritas.
In their first 100 days, the government has not used that word [femicides] in any speeches. Even if you search on the government's website for the word “femicide” you will get “0 results” (which does not happen with homicide or kidnapping, for example.)
Meanwhile, women who struggle to seek justice after the murder of their daughters in Chihuahua, Guerrero, the State of Mexico, Tlaxcala, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Sinaloa, and Sonora, have risen again. Phrases like “Not One More”, “They took them alive, we want them back alive”, “Stop violence against women”, take over the streets of various cities, in the form of yelling or written words.

author: Andrea Arzaba


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5 Mobile Games for Cultural Understanding · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Screen shot from the game Ibn Battuta that teaches facts about Muslim culture.
Five new mobile games were chosen by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations as winners in a competition to design apps that promote cultural understanding.

author: Solana Larsen


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Nobel Laureates: On with Ríos Montt Trial · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“If this case does not move forward, survivors of Guatemala’s genocide are being victimized all over again,” says Nobel Peace laureate Jody Williams, co-founder of the Nobel Women’s Initiative. “They have taken a huge risk in testifying, and many have been harassed, intimidated and threatened. To annul the case would turn the clock back on justice—and would be a victory for impunity.”
Nobel Peace laureates are calling on Guatemalan authorities to proceed with the case against Efraín Ríos Montt. The trial against the former dictator and his former intelligence director was declared invalid last week.


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Afghan Leader’s ‘Brothers’ Carry Out a Deadly Attack · Global Voices
Samea Shanori

With about 20 months remaining before the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan, the country's police forces and military assume greater responsibility for security. There are fears, however, that the violence in the country will increase with the departure of foreign troops by the end of 2014. As a recent deadly attack in the western town of Farah shows, the Taliban remains a formidable threat.
On April 3, 2013, nine Taliban insurgents stormed a court in Farah, leaving 46 people dead and almost 100 wounded. Casualties included both civilians and members of local security forces. The attack reportedly aimed to free a group of Taliban prisoners standing trial.
The assault was the most violent and sophisticated in a series of similar incidents that have occurred across the country as Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, continued negotiations with the Taliban. Following the attack, Karzai met with families of the victims. Addressing a crowd in Farah, he blamed unspecified “neighbors” for violence in the country:
All the miseries that Afghans face today are due to the interference of neighbours near and far. Afghans could reconcile with Afghan Taliban, but we struggle against those who are foreigners and who [help the Taliban from outside].
‘Brothers’
Screenshot of TV Tolo News Facebook page with a discussion about Hamid Karzai's trip to Farah.
On April 9, Afghan TV channel Tolo News aired a talk show [fa] in which Karzai's trip to Farah was discussed. During the show, Assadullah Sahadati, an MP, criticized Karzai's “soft” stance on the Taliban and his rhetoric which divided the insurgents into Afghan and non-Afghan ones. Sahadati noted that the Taliban had claimed responsibility for the attacks. He also mentioned that both Pakistani and Afghan elements within the violent movement had been waging a war on US-led forces in the country.
Karzai's attempts to forge a workable alliance with the Taliban in the face of external threats is nothing new – he has frequently spoken of his “brothers” within the movement and blamed Pakistan for many of the country's ills. However, his claims contradict statements made by the Afghan Taliban, including through their website. After the attack in Farah, the Taliban declared that they would continue targeting the country's judiciary if any of their fighters are prosecuted.
The news was also widely disseminated through social media. For example, Dylan Welch (@dylanwelch) tweeted on April 5:
@dylanwelch: #Taliban spox says Farah killings will be repeated, they will continue to target gov judges and lawyers. #Afghanistan shahamat-english.com/index.php/paig…
During the Tolo News talk show, MP Sahadati said [fa]:
The representative of the Afghan Taliban has always openly claimed responsibility for such terrorist activities. When they admit responsibility for such incidents and Karzai [says they should not be blamed], we get confused as to whether to trust what Taliban say or what the Afghan government says.
After the Tolo News posted the video of the talk show on their Facebook page, an Afghan user of the social media service, Farhad Adg Dost, asked on April 8:
Did [Hamid Karzai] also release the other suicide attackers (his brothers) from Farah's prisons???
ریاست جمهوری اشتباه کرده اگر ریاست جمهوری به فکر مردم بیچاره افغانستان بود برادران کرزی را که هر روز جنایت می افریند رها نمی
کرد این مرد دغل باز بخاطر بربادی ملت کمر بسته
The presidential administration has made a mistake. If they really cared about the innocent Afghan people, they would never release Karzai's ‘brothers’, who commit crimes everyday. This dishonest person [Karzai] has taken every possible effort to ruin the nation.
When news agency Khama Press posted on its Facebook page a report about Karzai's visit to Farah on April 8, the report drew many harsh comments. Szamen Hemmat wrote [fa], for example:
به نظرم میره برای مردم فراه میگه او مردم گناه شما نیست گناه من است من دعوت کرده بودم که خوده کاندید ریاست جمهوری کند ولی متاسفانه نفهمیدم که اونا قسم خورده این خاک است و طریقه کمپاین اونا همین قسم است…ومتاسفانه کمپاین را از ولایت شما شروع کرد… اما دگه چه باید گفت؟؟؟ خواهد گفت می بخشیند از اینکه زیادتر از ده سال شده شما مردم ملکی وبی گناه را همرا برادرهای ناراضی ام هرروز، هرساعت، هردقیقه، هر ثانیه وهر لحظه -لحظه زندگی بخاک وخون میکشم و اشتباه سیاست من وغرب است… ؟؟؟
Maybe Karzai will tell the people of Farah that [the attack] was his fault since he always calls upon Taliban to negotiate and participate in political life of the country, ignoring the fact that their methods have always been inhuman? What else can he say to the people??? Will he ask the people to forgive him for the fact that during a decade of his presidency, he and his ‘brothers’ killed many civilians and innocent Afghans? Will he admit that it is because of the policies he and the West had followed?
During the decade-long conflict between the insurgents and the Afghan government, thousands of civilians have been killed and maimed. The Taliban, however, does not see the killed people as civilians. Ahmad Shuja (@AhmadShuja) tweeted on April 14:
Taliban vow to avoid civilian casualties during soon-to-start spring offensive. But their definition of ‘civilian’ is contrary to [international] law.
He added:
Roughly, anyone who isn't affiliated with the [government] or ISAF [International Security Assistance Force], i.e., judges, civil servants, etc. are not civilians as per Taliban.
The Taliban often attack individuals supporting or working with the Afghan government or international organizations. On April 8, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said there had been a rise of civilian deaths in the country since the beginning of 2013. According to UNAMA, more than 200 civilians have been killed or injured in the provinces of Farah, Wardak, and Kunar over the last five months.
Many people in the country fear that the security situation will only worsen after NATO forces pull out in 2014. As Karzai's presidential term draws to a close, Afghans are wondering whether the next president will continue holding talks with the men Karzai calls “brothers”.

author: Samea Shanori


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Anti-Hate Rally Attempts to Tackle Emerging Racism in Sri Lanka · Global Voices
Abdul Halik Azeez

Anti-hate activists in Sri Lanka plan to gather in the capital city of Colombo on the 28th of April. The country has recently seen a spate of isolated violent attacks and broad-based hate rhetoric against minorities. This rally comes just two weeks after a peaceful candlelight vigil by citizens standing outside the Bodu Bala Sena (or Buddhist Strength Force, aka BBS) offices in Colombo was disrupted by the BBS and the Sri Lanka Police (see Global Voices report).
The candlelight vigil, organized by a group known as Buddhists Questioning Bodu Bala Sena was the first public protest organized to decry what many view as a protracted campaign of hate speech by the BBS against minority groups in the country. Blogger Indrajit Samaraiva attributes the politics of the BBS to more complex dynamics within the Sinhala Buddhist community as well. Dr. Vinoth Ramachandra speculates that the activities of BBS are tactics of distraction from other problems plaguing the island nation.
Having started by protesting against the Halal certificate, the BBS moved on to criticize the Islamic dress codes for women, reported veteran journalist and blogger D.B.S Jeyaraj. Many isolated incidents were subsequently reported from across the country of attacks prompted by BBS hate speech.
Though the BBS has been the most vocal of these ultra right nationalistic organizations, the latest spate of Islamophobia and anti minority rhetoric in Sri Lanka started before its emergence into the limelight with the attack on a Muslim shrine in the city of Anuradhapura, followed by an attack on a much larger mosque in Dambulla.
Churches have not been spared either, and some Buddhist temples that do not agree with the specific ideology of these extremist groups have also fallen prey to attacks. Muslim owned businesses have been a special area of focus for hate groups; one was recently attacked in Colombo, with monks featuring prominently in the mob that did the deed. The BBS has also carried out numerous illegal raids with apparent police support, the most notorious of which was a raid on an abattoir in Colombo carried out under the unfounded claim that animals were being slaughtered there against city regulations.
Since of late, there has been a gathering force of anti hate sentiment to counter hate speech, especially apparent in Sri Lanka’s social media sphere. Movements like the Buddhists Questioning Bodu Bala Sena, Love not Hate and this petition have been trying to create momentum to overcome it. Still raw after 30 years of civil war, Sri Lanka’s public sentiment in some areas needs no prompting to associate racial discrimination to potential violence on a grand scale.
A Facebook event to propagate the “Rally For Unity” has got good response. Fazly Mowjood has this resolve:
if the racist groups are not going to stop spreading racism in the country then we Srilankans are going to stop it for them & this coming Sunday is going to be only the beginning, there will be more to come until the last racist group in Sri Lanka is SILENTLY STOPPED!!!
The volunteers who are arranging the protests pooled in some pocket money and bought materials to create these posters:
Posters for Rally for Unity. Image courtesy Rally For Unity Facebook page
Sunday’s rally appears targeted at decrying hate speech in a more generic sense, and does not appear to target any group in particular, a key difference from the candlelit vigil. Increasing support from politicians like former SL cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga and actor turned politician Ranjan Ramanayake is also an encouraging sign of the gathering momentum of the anti hate movement in the Sri Lankan mainstream.

author: Abdul Halik Azeez


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‘Awe-Inspiring Fortresses’ in Eastern Tajikistan · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Caravanistan presents a collection of images of the “awe-inspiriting fortresses” in the eastern Tajik region of Badakhshan (or GBAO). The ruins of these fortresses, some of which are still used by Tajik border guards, suggest that “life was once very different here”.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Chinese Corruption Spreading to Hong Kong “Like SARS & Avian Flu” · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A misconduct scandal implicating Timothy Tong, the former chief of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), has Hong Kong and mainland Chinese people worried that ubiquitous corruption in China has spread to Hong Kong.
The scandal has lead some mainland Chinese netizens including Cheng Hongshing (郑洪升), to urge [zh] Chinese officials not to spread corruption to Hong Kong. He writes on popular microblogging site Sina Weibo:
鄙人对香港廉政公署铁面无私地维护香港的核心利益：廉洁，十分敬佩。[…] 我想说的是咱内地官员就在内地腐败吧，别把腐败像非典和禽流感一样传染到香港与澳门，请阁下嘴下留情，就在内地大吃大喝，保住人家这块干净的宝地吧。
I respect the work of ICAC in defending the core value of Hong Kong against corruption very much. […] I want to tell our mainland Chinese officials to contain corruption within China. Don't spread corruption to Hong Kong and Macau like SARS and avian flu. Please control your mouths and eat what you want in China, leave others’ clean and precious land alone.
ICAC is the most respected anti-corruption organization in Hong Kong and has a remarkable track record in defending the city against corruption. However, a number of recently released government documents, including the audit report and Legislative Council papers, have shown that Timothy Tong was involved in several cases of overspending on lavish meals and gifts for mainland Chinese officials during his five-year tenure. Local newspapers further revealed that two of the dinners were held in November and December 2010 in five-star hotels. The combined bills amounted to HK$77,000 (US$10,000) and average spending per head was HK$1,150 (US$148) and HK$1,275 (US$164) respectively, well above the limit of HK$450 [US$58] per person. The overspending was to cater to the luxurious alcohol drinking culture among mainland Chinese officials.
Hong Kong newspaper headlines said Timothy Tong had hosted officials from the the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong more than 20 times when he was head of ICAC. Screen caption from Now news
Furthermore, the fact that Tong was appointed as a representative of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) by the mainland Chinese authorities upon his retirement from ICAC last year has triggered more speculation about the intentions behind his overt hospitality. He has been openly accused [zh] by a number of news commentators of using tax payers’ money to build personal connections with Chinese officials from the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong, who are responsible for nominations of CPPCC members.
The scandal has not only outraged Hong Kong people but also mainland Chinese. Many mainland Chinese netizens believe that the corrupted political culture in China has spread to Hong Kong like an epidemic. Xu Shaolin (老徐時評), a popular commentator on Sina Weibo, criticized [zh] mainland Chinese officials for dragging Hong Kong into the dirty water of mainland corruption:
俗话说近朱者赤近墨者黑。口碑一直很好的香港廉政公署，被揭发用公款宴请内地官员，喝茅台、XO，吃喝金额人均1100元，超过了450元的标准，并赠送了超过800元的超额礼物，引起香港社会哗然。香港一向引以自豪的一片净土终于沦陷了。内地官员终于把资本主义香港的廉政公属拉下水了。
There is a common saying that when one stays close to something in red, one will be tainted red. When one stays close to the dark, one will be tainted black. The Hong Kong ICAC had very good reputation and now it has been exposed that it used the tax payers’ money to invite mainland Chinese officials for luxurious drinks like Moutai and XO. The meal per head count on average was HK$1100, a lot more than the HK$450 standard allowance. In addition to that, they were presented with gifts that cost more than HK$800. The news has shaken Hong Kong society. The clean city that Hong Kong people have been so proud of has fallen. The mainland Chinese officials have finally dragged the ICAC in the capitalist society into dirty water.
Shi Pu (史璞) echoed [zh] Xu with sarcasm:
资本主义的香港廉政公署不敌社会主义的官僚——事实证明：社会主义一定会战胜资本主义。
Capitalist Hong Kong's ICAC cannot defeat Socialist government bureaucrats — Fact proven: Socialism will defeat capitalism.
Wang Jinlong (王金龙Vav) believed [zh] that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has destroyed ICAC's independence:
廉政公署独立于香港政府架构，廉政专员直接向特首负责，故而其自身廉政可以保全；97香港回归后，我党收回特区，以我党的作风，想必廉政公署前面那个independent徒有虚名了。
ICAC operates independently from the intervention of all government units. The chief commissioner reports directly to the city mayor so that it won't be caught with conflicting interest. After the unification of Hong Kong and China in 1997, the CCP has taken over the special administrative region. According to the CCP's style, the word “independent” in ICAC is just decorative.
Yan Lieshan (鄢烈山), a famous writer in Guangdong province addressed [zh] the power relation between Hong Kong and mainland Chinese government officials:
[怪了，香港廉署怕内地官员什么？]不超标招待内地官员，会被罢官吗？
[This is strange, why does the Hong Kong ICAC have to pay tribute to mainland Chinese officials?] Will they be sacked if not buying mainland Chinese officials extravagant meals?
Qian Zhicai (爱迪凯迅钱志财) pointed out [zh] that the unequal power relationship lies in the appointment system:
中央政府应重新检讨委任香港退休高官做政协委员的政策。一些即将离任的官员，为了得到某些政治待遇，有可能放弃自己的原则，甚至用不正当手段争取利益。香港廉政公署前廉政专员目前被传媒揭发为了做政协委员，三番四次请内地官员吃饭喝酒送礼，尽管中联办主任张晓明认为正常，但是迟早搞乱香港官场
The central government should review the appointment of retired Hong Kong government officials as members of CPPCC. Some Hong Kong government officials who want to gain certain political positions after their retirement may give up their principles or even resort to illegitimate means. Media in Hong Kong has exposed that the former chief commissioner of ICAC, in order to become a member of CPPCC, had bought meals and gifts for mainland Chinese officials. Even though the head of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong, Zhang Xiaoming, believed that such exchanges were normal, [the arbitrary appointment system] will bring chaos to Hong Kong government.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Chinese Dream: To Become the Father of an American · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Seeing Red in China has translated current affair commentator, Jia Jia's Chinese dream. Nowadays, most Chinese middle class want to see their daughters and sons going to the U.S and become Americans.


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#FLISOL 2013: Hundreds of Latin Americans Installing Free Software · Global Voices
Renata Avila

Flisol 2013 Banner.
From the Patagonia to Havana, hundreds of computer users across Latin America are choosing freedom over control by installing free software on their computers. On April 27th, groups of free software enthusiasts will be installing free software in dozens of cities across Latin America as part of FLISOL [es], the Latin American free software installation festival.
Over 20 countries will participate this year, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Even Spain is joining the Festival [all es].
The installation festival is one of the largest simultaneous activities taking place in the region. It is volunteer based, with hundreds of experts donating time and resources. You can follow the FLISOL Tweets, in Spanish, Portuguese or geek here.

author: Renata Avila


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Football and Beer Come Face to Face in Panama · Global Voices
Ariel Moreno

Football and beer, two main interests for many Panamanians, have come into conflict after the Baru-Panamá [es] brewery seized the bank accounts of the Panamanian Football Federation (FEPAFUT), demanding compensation of $7 million dollars for a breached contract.
Cocoas [es] reported it as follows on April 25, 2013:
No malas, son terribles noticias para la Federación Panameña de Fútbol que hoy tiró la bomba de que Cervecería del Barúha secuestrado a la FEPAFUT por un monto superior a los seis millones de balboas. ¡Oye! Ese no es relajo de plata…
This is not only bad, but terrible news for the Panamanian Football Federation, who dropped the bomb today that the Barú Brewery has seized the FEPAFUT for an amount more than six million dollars. Listen! This is no joke with money…
In Panama, beer consumption produces $390 million dollars annually, making the country one of the top producers and consumers in Latin America. According to Central América Data [es]:
El mercado vale más de $390 millones al año y es controlado por dos grandes empresas: la Cervecería Nacional, subsidiaria de SabMiller, y Cervecería Barú- Panamá, bajo el control de Heineken N.V. El año pasado se produjeron 247,2 millones de litros de cerveza, 5,1% más que en 2010, una cifra muy superior a la del seco (6 millones de litros) y el ron (7,2 millones de litros), según cifras de la Contraloría General.
The market is worth over $390 million per year and is controlled by two large companies: the National Brewery, a subsidiary of SabMiller, and the Barú-Panamá Brewery, under the control of Heineken N.V. Last year 247.2 million liters of beer were produced, 5.1% more than in 2010, a number far larger than that of seco (6 million liters) and rum (7.2 million liters), according to numbers from the General Accounting Office.
On the other hand, football has experienced rapid growth in Panama, attracting thousands of fans to matches to watch the Panamanian national team, which finds itself closer than ever to qualifying for the World Cup for the first time. FIFA [es] considers Panama the country that has experienced the most rapid progress in the area of CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football), as they comment on their website:
Football match, Panama. Photo by Eirene Moreno, used with permission.
En cuanto a Panamá, a pesar de caer en la final, volvió a poner de manifiesto que es la nación que más rápido está progresando en el ámbito de la CONCACAF, y obtuvo el pase a su segunda competición mundial sub-17 consecutiva tras realizar varios partidos sensacionales.
As far as Panama [es] goes, despite losing in the final, it came back to show it is the most rapidly progressing nation in the CONCACAF field, and it advanced to its second consecutive Under-17 world competition after having a few sensational matches.
The brewery had a contract until December 2014 with the principal football entity in Panama, but it was suspended in December 2012 when the Panamanian football federation signed a contract with the National Brewery for $10 million until 2018, (the contract with Barú was for $120,000 a year).
The confiscation became known when the members of the Panamanian Under-17 team, recently qualifying for the world cup in their category, tried to collect the prizes they won in the competition. La Prensa [es] quoted the President of the Panamanian Football Federation, Pedro Chaluja:
“Desconocemos la descomposición de estos siete millones de balboas, porque no han recibido formalmente la demanda y no hemos sido notificados. Solo sabemos que hay un secuestro, el cual nos pudimos percatar cuando los jugadores de la Sub 17 no pudieron cobrar sus cheques de premio”
“We do not know the break down of these seven million dollars because they have not formally received the demand and we have not been notified. All we know is that there is a seizure, which we were able to notice when the Under-17 players could not collect their winning checks.”
Reactions on social networks waited for no one and many felt betrayed by the action taken by the Baru brewery.
George Haywood (@25haywood) [es] believes the seizure not only affects the federation but also Panamanians’ future:
@25haywood: Al secuestrar a la fepafut secuestran el fútbol de Panamá y el futuro de muchos jóvenes.
@25haywood: By seizing the fepafut they seize Panama's football and the future of many young people.
The Vía Noticias account (@traficologo) [es] called for a boycott to stop the purchase of any Baru brewery products:
@Traficologo : Fanático panameño: no compres productos de Cervecería Barú y @cerveza_panama. Sus acciones contra @fepafut afectan a la selección de #Panama
@Traficologo: Panama fans: don't buy products from Barú brewery and @cerveza_panama. Their actions against @fepafut affect the #Panama national team.
Rodrigo Tomás (@rodtomas18) [es] believes that Panama's advancement to the World Cup is being put at risk with this measure:
Cerveza Panamá. Photo from Flickr user Daniel Huggard, under the Creative Commons License (CC BY-ND 2.0)
@rodtomas18: Estos extranjeros de @cerveza_panama tendran IDEA de lo q significa La Roja para nosotros? Estan arriesgando nuestros planes de Mundial!
@rodtomas18: Do these foreigners from @cerveza_panama have any IDEA what La Roja [Panamanian national team] means to us? They are putting our World Cup plans at risk!
Nino Mangravita (@ninomangravita) [es], however, believes that what happens between Fepafut and the brewery has nothing to do with attending the World Cup but is rather a business matter:
@ningomangravita: todos queremos que nuestra selección gane, es un sentimiento.. pero lo que está pasando entre Fepafut y CB son negocios, deben solucionarlo.
@ningomangravita: we all want our team to win, it's a feeling… but what is happening between Fepafut and CB is business, they should resolve it.
Jacinto Gonzalez (@JacintoElias) follows the same line of thought and believes that a contract should be respected at any given moment:
@JacintoElias: @lilyvargastv Contrato es Contrato, Fepafut pensó q como era epoca de eliminatorias cerveceria Panama no iba a actuar. Panameño juega vivo
@JacintoElias: @lilyvargastv A Contract is a Contract, Fepafut thought that since it was the qualifiers, the Panama brewery would not act. Panamanians like to have the upper hand
Cevecería Baru has come out in their defense posting a letter on their blog where they clarify that it is not their intention to affect football but rather negotiate [es] and find a figure that will be satisfactory for both parties.

author: Ariel Moreno


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Haiti: “Better Prisons, Fewer Prisoners” · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Haiti does not need more prisons, it needs better prisons and fewer prisoners.
Haiti Chery provides some interesting statistics which support his view.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Kazakhstan’s First Ever Lesbian Wedding · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Vox Populi presents a photo report [ru] about what they call the “first ever lesbian wedding” in Kazakhstan. The photo blog explains:
This was a real wedding. With limousines. With friends and guests. With champagne. With congratulatory speeches. You might ask, “but what about the law?” You see, love does not recognize the law. This is why the wedding took place. However, it was not [registered by the state]. Same-sex marriage are not allowed [in Kazakhstan].


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Malaysia: Which Party Has the Best Election Manifesto? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Malaysia’s 13th General Elections will take place on May 5 and fortunately, the major parties have unveiled their election manifestos which can guide voters in choosing the right candidates. Which party has the best manifesto?
The opposition Pakatan Rakyat published its manifesto on February 25. Titled ‘The People’s Pact, The People’s Hope’, the manifesto seeks the support of voters to dislodge the ruling coalition which has been in power in the past half-century:
Malaysia is a country with immense potential, its people strive for excellence bound by ties of brotherhood and fraternity
However, the power elite hinder our national aspirations. Corruption and greed thrive, while the people continue to live in hardship.
For the sake of the people, let us change and come together to chart the future of a new Malaysia.
The People’s Manifesto is crafted based on four key pillars – Fraternity of the People, the People’s Economy, the People’s Well-being and the People’s Government.
Meanwhile, the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional announced its manifesto on April 7 led by Prime Minister Najib Razak. Titled ‘A Promise of Hope’, the manifesto listed the achievements of the incumbent government and gave a comprehensive and detailed action plan in the next few years:
A supporter of the ruling party listens to the speech of the Prime Minister. Photo by Asyraf rasid, Copyright @Demotix (4/6/2013)
The time has come for us to decide. The future of this nation lies in your hands.
The record of this Government in delivering on its promises speaks for itself. Real changes have taken place, but the journey towards total transformation will take time.
As we head into this 13th General Election, I humbly seek your mandate to carry on this task of lifting Malaysia to new heights. A mandate from you is a promise of hope, a mandate for us to achieve greatness together as one people, one nation, one vision. The best is yet to come!
Sarawak Dialogue compares the two manifestos. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim criticizes the manifesto of the ruling party:
The BN Manifesto also lacks new ideas and is very short on details since many programmes have been rehashed and repackaged into something with a new look, in contrast to our People’s Manifesto. More than 90% of the programmes listed are already known to the people and remain too general and lacking in specifics.
Khoo Kay Peng analyzes the manifesto of the opposition:
Manifesto of the opposition
…the manifesto is silent on how it is going to achieve its promises. It does not explain how this nation is going to be able to afford some new subsidies, grants, freebies and payouts. The coalition left details on revenue streams aside.
However, the manifesto is definitely a political document. It is designed to please housewives, undergraduates, civil servants, retired armed forces members and Felda settlers who are considered important constituents in the next GE
Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia, a non-partisan coalition of 25 Civil Society organizations, identifies the issues ignored by the major parties:
GBM has studied the manifestos of the Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional. As manifestos are designed to attract votes some difficult issues may not be included or dealt with adequately. We identified two major issues:
1.    Poverty and inequality and
2.    National debts
In the run-up to the election we urge both Barisan and Pakatan to spell out clearly their policy and road-map to tackling these two issues as they impacted on the economic and social well-being of our nation.
Lawrence Yong writes about the ‘war of manifestos’
On first impression, both manifestos seem like wide-ranging populist attempts to buy as many votes as possible. Both are easily dismissed as political ploys.
Reading the manifesto has never been more important for anyone who truly cares about democracy in Malaysia and wishes to vote wisely. Neither answers all policy questions, nor can manifestos be expected to.
This is the first time BN has to publish a manifesto to counter the opposition and they took more than a month to respond.
Hishamh points to the dilemma of voters in reading election manifestos:
So here’s the dilemma – assuming you have to vote, which party would you vote for? Each has proposals that you support, yet each also has proposals you don’t like. Both are broadly similar, yet the differences between the two are in areas that you care about. Neither can you judge which of the two parties, if elected, will actually come through with their promises.
Murmurs from the Heart appreciates the move to publish election manifestos:
The nature of politic in Malaysia has matured to some extent, though there is still a lot mindless emotion driven by those who rely and thrive on politic of hate.
At least now, political parties explicitly lay out their promises in a written manifesto.
At the end of the day, it's not “What you said, what I said”, but what is written.
This manifesto will also be used as a report card as to how many of the promises are fulfilled.
BJ Thoughts warns that manifestos can be disregarded by winning parties:
…you have political manifestos flying around with some claiming each other as unachievable. Fine, manifestos may not be contract cast in stone and to some, it is nothing but a convenient way to let the voters to know on what the party intends to do – ideal intentions that may change over time due to political pressures, financial constraints and of course, dirty politics.