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Thailand: Why Pitak Siam Protest Failed · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The anti-government group Pitak Siam (Protect Thailand) vowed to mobilize one million people in the streets of Bangkok last November 24 but managed to gather only 20,000. The rally turned violent and the crowd dispersed in the afternoon without achieving their goal of toppling the administration of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
According to the group, Yingluck has to be removed from power becauseshe is corrupt and a ‘puppet’ of her brother Thaksin, Thailand’s former prime minister who was ousted by a coup in 2006. Yingluck is also accused of disrespecting the King who is a beloved political figure in Thailand.
Bloggers, journalists and academics have written about the failure of Pitak Siam and the political impact of the protest.
Global Voices author Aim Sinpeng underscores the real motive of the group in holding the protest:
Thai riot police clash with demonstrators during a protest organized by Pitak Siam. photo by Piti A Sahakorn. Copyright @Demotix. (11/24/2012)
But this rally is not about the Yingluck government, or the Red Shirts for that matter. Rather, it is an attempt of the former Yellow Shirt forces to recalibrate an identity and position in Thai society
At this stage, the Pitak Siam rallies failed on a number of fronts, be it in terms of leadership, numbers and coordination among various groups. Nonetheless their continued opposition to the “Thaksin regime” and zealous efforts to preserve their vision of royalist-conservative Thailand will not be abated.
Many members and leaders of Red Shirts are associated with Thaksin. The Yellow Shirts are anti-Thaksin groups which organized massive rallies in 2008.
Nick Nostitz covered the rally and shared his observations:
All together, I was happy and relieved that the level of violence on the day was not too bad. There was enough action to raise the adrenaline, but no serious violence, and no really bad injuries as far as I I could see. I thought that the police was very restrained in their response, and disciplined, and I could see that they must have improved their training over the past years. Also the violence from the side of the protesters was not as bad as I have seen in many of the incidents over recent years.
Andrew Spooner noted the failure of global news networks in presenting the ‘anti-democratic’ demands of Pitak Siam:
I’d also ask why, once again, the international media, failed, almost completely, to represent the facts about Pitak Siam. This group had made it clear, repeatedly and publicly, their aim was to destroy democracy and freeze Thailand yet not one foreign correspondent reported that…Why is that? What’s wrong with reporting some facts? Or do said facts get lost as correspondents desperately cling to some forlorn “balance” based on a highly dubious and contrived “neutrality”?
It was a ‘poorly organized’ rally, according to Bangkok Pundit:
The closure of various roads around the protest site and advance news of possible violence probably scared some people away – it may encouraged others to come – but are there any credible stories of large numbers of people being not able to attend?
The rally didn’t achieve its lofty goal of getting rid of the government. The protesters clearly had the momentum after the larger than expected turn-out last month, but they really needed to build on that this time… In this case, the rally failed to meet expectations.
You travel a few hours to get there and well, it fizzles out. How motivated will you be to attend the next time? From all reports and from listening to some of the speeches, the rally was poorly organized with few charismatic speeches.
The Lost Boy discussed the failure of the rally:
The group has no real ideas on how it is going to see this government toppled, short of a military coup. Their protest was called off when it rained and it was evident no more people were coming, which led to some of those in attendance turning their frustrations on their own leadership, highlighting the lack of group cohesion.


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The Richest Village in the World? · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Huaxi village in China's eastern Jiangsu province is claimed to be “the richest village in the world.” Wade Shepard, an Ethnographic Journalist documents his unique experience in the village on his travel blog VagabondJourney.com.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Abby Liu


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Treeplanting Campaign in Yogyakarta  · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A student from Yogyakarta in Indonesia is adorned with bright green paint as he hands out a tree sapling to road users during a treeplanting campaign.
A treeplanting campaign in Indonesia. Photo by Gozali. Copyright @Demotix (12/13/2012)

author: Mong Palatino


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Young Malagasy Maids Raped and Tortured in Lebanon     · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Marie, 14, was forced to move to Lebanon by her aunt to become a maid. Once there, she was regularly raped by her employer. When he realized she was pregnant, he threw her out the house. After giving birth alone, she threw her baby from the 8th floor of a building.
Assanatou Baldé investigates [fr] the plight of young Malagasy girls migrating to Lebanon to escape the social crisis in Madagascar. Other testimonies of torture and physical abuse are collected in the report, including recurring insults, overwhelming working conditions and forced intercourse with animals.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Campaign Against Pro-China Media Monopoly in Taiwan Turns Global · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

After the Taiwan-based media company Want Want China Times Group acquired 60% of the country's second largest cable television service this July, it continued to expand this November, acquiring 32% of the country’s best-selling newspaper Apple Daily [zh], from Hong Kong-based Next Media Ltd.
It is obvious that the pro-China chairman of Want Want China Times Group, Tsai Eng-Meng, aims to extend his influence in Taiwan and its monopoly in media is generating a lot of anxiety among local Taiwanese who are worried about Chinese government intervention in Taiwan politics.
Despite mass students’ protest against media monopoly following the latest acquisition in Taiwan, the government ignored their concerns and demands. Now overseas Taiwanese have organized an online protest across the world.
Yu-Hsi Liu, an economist, explained why she supports this protest. Use with permission.
Yu-Hsi Liu, an economist, explained why she supports this protest:
I know libertarians do not support Anti-monopoly law. But in Taiwan, anti-monopoly has different context: we are facing a exogenous force which threatens our free market and freedom. Its monopoly power does not come from a natural market process; it comes from the rent-seeking of [ruling party] KMT and CCP [Communist Party of China]. It is why we are opposing to monopoly in the media market.
A group of Taiwanese students in Egypt [zh] also explained how media monopoly would bias the audience’s viewpoint:
兩周前加薩砲火再起，西方主流媒體大多單方面的報導以色列政府所發出的聲明，而輕描淡寫報導以色列軍隊造成慘烈的平民死傷……各大西方媒體的不平衡報導是背後有無數政治和資金操作導致。……再反觀台灣，當我們的媒體被中國資金控制，為財團利益屈服，我們該如何能看見真相？
Protester holding protest slogan at Beijing Tiananmen Square. Photo from What's Next Facebook page, non-commercial use.
To protest against the influence of the Chinese government, a Taiwanese protested at Tiananmen square, a place symbolizing the civilians’ resentment and political repression in China.
Protester from Germany. Photo from What's next's Facebook Page, non commercial use.
An online protester’s note [zh] submitted from Germany may summarize the thoughts of these supporters across the world:
趁我現在還能夠說話，言論發表不會被莫名其妙撤掉，趁你現在抓不到我，趁你現在封不住我的嘴，我要大聲說:「不管你是錢賺得不夠多，還是手上握有更多更黑暗的政治利益，長遠來看，這麼做就是出賣了國家的安全，我不願意被你們控制，我不想當個愚民，我只是一個大學生，但我堅持抗議到底。」

author: I-fan Lin


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Election Laws Hinder Japan’s Political Online Activity · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

While Japanese citizens enjoy considerable Internet freedom, in times of election, things are a little different. The country's Public Offices Election Act [ja], restricts political candidates from publishing documents or pictures and forbids ordinary citizens from endorsing political figures – thus in practice the law can extend to blogging, tweeting and even updating Facebook statuses.
Ameba notice
Ameba, one of Japan's most popular blog services wrote an official announcement [ja] reminding Ameba bloggers not to write a blog post or messages that may conflict with the Public Offices Election Act.
Here's an excerpt from Ameba's guidelines[ja],
ガイドライン内禁止行為抜粋
「(3)    社会倫理や法令に反するもの
⑤    選挙の事前運動、選挙運動又はこれらに類似する行為、及び公職選挙法に抵触する行為」
Ameba's Guideline Prohibits
(3) [blog post] against social ethics and law
⑤ Pre-election campaigning of the election, an election campaign or an act similar to these is in conflict with the Public Offices Election Act
According to the post, examples of prohibitions include:
・街頭演説をアップロードする行為
・政見放送をアップロードする行為
・特定の候補者、政党への投票を促す行為
It is not Ameba's guidelines but rather the law of the land itself that prohibits these actions. Ameba users commented on the post [ja]:
People get nervous during election seasons. If you praise a particular party or a candidate, it could be interpreted as promoting a vote for that party/candidate. On the other hand, if you criticize one, it could be interpreted as a negative campaign that leads to discourage people from voting. Maybe we should just be quiet and observe how it goes until elections finish.
So that means, I should not mention anything about elections on Ameba blog.  Certainly good idea so as not to get into trouble later.
Political online ads thrive
While candidates and voters are restricted from publishing documents and images on the web, political online ads are thriving, sometimes even in unexpected juxtaposition, like in the screen capture below:
Image captured from the leader of Japan Restoration Party Toru Hashimoto's Twilog, which shows an ad of rival party DPJ on the right.
Also, you might need to watch an advertisement of Japan Restoration Party [ja] before viewing a video on Youtube. Japan Communist Party's ads appear on Hatena [ja] and on Twitter, and other ads from Liberal Democratic Party and Democratic Party of Japan appear on various blogs and websites through Google's advertising service.
[Note: Online political advertisement may show up differently depending on your location, web cache, according to advertisement service provider companies.]
Twitter troubles
While many political candidates refrain from posting updates on Facebook and Twitter to avoid violating the law, some politicians continue to use Twitter. Tōru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka city who heads Japan Restoration Party (he is not a candidate in this General Elections) continues to use Twitter. Criticizing the Public Offices Election Act, he continues to voice his opinion on Twitter. According to Hashimoto's twilog, a service that archives tweets, he tweeted 60 times on December 9, 2012. Whether his tweet is unlawful or not is up to the police to decide, said Osamu Fujimura, the Chief Cabinet Secretary.
The law impedes ordinary people as well. Some Twitter users warned the following tweet by popular comedian Kenji Tamura, who is not a political candidate, could be against Public Offices Election Act, because it could be considered as promoting a particular party:
@tamukenchaaaaa
自民党が単独過半数の勢い⁈ 自民がダメで民主、ほんで民主がダメで自民⁈はぁ？ この国の大人はどうかしてますね。こうなったら若者の皆さん僕たちの子供、孫たちのために立ち上がって選挙に行こう！狂った大人達に日本任せてたらもうダメ、若者の皆さん選挙に行こう
Now they are saying LDP is the only party leading the vote?! They voted for DPJ because LDP failed and now they want to vote for LDP because DPJ failed? That doesn't even make sense. Grown-ups in this country must be crazy. Youngsters, please! Let's stand up and vote for the future of our children and future grand-sons and daughters. We can not let these crazy adults take over this country. Youth, please vote.
While some users criticized this comment, many have shown support to Kenji Tamura as well. This comment was ReTweeted 3,175 times and 429 users marked it as a favorite tweet.
Twitter user juusou13 commented as follows on the news that most candidates had stopped updating their information online:
@juusou13
公職選挙法の見直しが必要だろう。情報発信のために、実態にあわせるべき。 RT@itmedia_news: 衆院選が公示され、ネットで候補者は一斉に沈黙。ニコ動は一部でコメント投稿機能を自粛など^編 http://bit.ly/UD1rSR
I think we need to take another look at the Public Offices Election Act. It should be updated for more information transmission as well as to fit with today's reality. RT@itmedia_news: As election campaign started off in the Lower House, candidates are suddenly silenced online. Nico Nico Douga has started self regulation on censoring comments partially. http://bit.ly/UD1rSR
Neuroscientist Kenichi Mogi commented on the irony of being silenced on the web while campaign advertising cars loudly pass by on the street.
@kenichiromogi
今、選挙カーが一瞬とおりすぎていった。聞こえたのは、「比例代表は、○○党、○○党へ」という一言だけ。これが公職選挙法上オッケーで、政策を細かく議論できるインターネットがダメ、というのはどう考えても非科学的。いつまで石器時代にいるつもりなんだ、この国は。
The advertising car of political party has just passed me by. All I heard was its party name and that's it. It's unscientific that the use of Internet where people can discuss policies in detail is prohibited for campaign and only these cars are approved of Public Offices Election Act. Is this country in the Stone Age or what.

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Fatal Wage Dispute Sparks Revenge Attacks Against Zambia’s Somali Residents  · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

The shooting of a Zambian worker allegedly by his Somali employer after a wage dispute, on 13 December, 2012, has triggered a series of revenge attacks against Somali residents in Ndola, Zambia’s third largest city, 400 km north of the capital Lusaka.
Reporting on the riots, Zambian Reports wrote:
Ndola residents have taken to the streets damaging property, particularly those belonging to Somali nations following the shooting of a Zambian in a wage dispute.
Somali nationals are also being targeted for beatings as a sign of revenge.
The riots started early this morning in Northrise forcing Copperbelt riot police to descend on the city to quell the volatile situation. The situation was particularly worse in Masala and Ndeke township where majority of Somalians reside in Ndola.
The Zambian Eye also reported:
Zambians are rioting in Ndola the provincial capital of the Copperbelt.
The riot started this morning and by press time 9:30 am local time the residents were still rioting looting a shop of a Somalian in the Second Class area in the Central district. Zambian Eye reporter at the scene says there was no presence of the police yet.
Goods wealth millions of kwacha has been rooted [sic].
“The situation is tense here right now people are looting the shop grabbing assorted groceries such as sugar and cooking oil, Zambian Eye reporters said.
The riot follows the shooting of a Zambian who is reported to have been demanding for his money on Thursday by a Somalian
The story was also picked up by Somali news website, Hiiraan Online.
On Twitter Temwani Nkhata wrote:
@NkhataTemwani: @ caesarcognac yeah we good people bt nw its gettin outa hand…u knw nw they hv become disrespectful and arrogant to us as a peole,enuf!  [yeah, we are good people but now it is getting out of hand… you know now they have become disrespectiful and arrogant to us people, enough!]
Read the earlier tweet:
@caesarcognac @blistic_1 @ NkhataTemwani:  @Kush_411 we tolerate so much  as Zambians these ppl  is [are] taking us for granted. Why do we give [th]em so much power?
On Facebook, netizens disagreed with someone who blamed the entire Somali community for the incident. Richard Banda Lcgi Meiz wrote:
A Zambian was shot dead yesterday by a Somalian national and it has sparked riots /looting in Ndola. The issue is that Zambia is going to be in trouble not many years or decades from now following the influx of Somalians. These are guys who are coming from a war-torn or failed state and came in Zambia without anything. They are bearing children who are sarcastically claiming to be Zambians and so they are considering the provisions of our citizenship clause.
[…] We must have control on the influx of Somalians in this country otherwise our great-grand children will curse us while we will be in our graves for the current failures to set things straight.
The Somalians have their own buses and schools and we dont know whether they are teaching those children of theirs hate for the non-Muslims or not.
Banda was criticized by Emmanuel Mulenga:
Damn you stereotypes! Just because one Somalian commits a crime, you condemn everyone of Somalian decent? Learn to embrace equality and diversity! Deal case by case not this rubbish racism you are posting!
There was no official statement from the police at the time of writing on whether there has been any arrests among looters apart from an earlier statement attributed to provincial police commissioner Mary Tembo on the arrest of the Somali suspected killer.
In July 2012, the Zambian Police thwarted a xenophobic attack on a national who was burnt to death in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. A number of Somali nationals are settled in and around Ndola where they run businesses ranging from transportation to supermarkets.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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Indigenous ‘Idle No More’ Movement Sweeps Canada · Global Voices
Rachael Petersen

Thousands of people across Canada mobilized Monday, 10 December 2012 under the banner “Idle No More” to protest the effects of current and proposed government policies on the nation’s indigenous peoples.
While it has received little mainstream media attention, Idle No More has capitalized on social media networks to spread information about the widespread rallies, protests, and roadblocks, causing the hashtag #idlenomore to trend on Twitter in Canada this week.
The rallies -which continue to take place in major cities like Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary- are the broadest expressions of discontent from First Nations that Canada has seen in years. The movement has been deemed by some as “Native Winter,” in the style of the “Arab Spring” revolutionary wave that overtook the Middle East beginning in December 2010.
Idle No More protestors gather on the Blood Reserve in Standoff Alberta. Photo by Blaire Russell, used with permission.
In one of the more high-profile actions of the Idle No More movement, Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence began a hunger strike on Tuesday which she plans to continue until Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Queen Elizabeth II agree to a treaty meeting with First Nations Leaders.
She stated that she is willing to die for her people unless the Conservative Harper government shows more respect for its indigenous citizens. Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan has offered to meet with Chief Spence. Supporters have vowed to fast in solidarity with Chief Spence and are organizing via Facebook events in Toronto and other Canadian cities.
The Attawapiskat Nation received international attention in October of last year during a winter housing crisis that brought to light dismal living situation of the small Northern Ontario First Nations community. Protestors point out that the Attawapiskat incident is just one example of the Conservative government’s negligence of First Nations’ needs.
A colonial relationship
The Idle No More movement was sparked by events on 4 December, when First Nations representatives were blocked from entering the House of Commons in Ottawa to discuss their concerns about a proposed Bill.
The Harper administration’s omnibus law, Bill C-45, has served as the rallying cry for the Idle No More movement. Also known as “Jobs and Growth Act 2012,” Bill C-45 makes changes to the Indian Act without the consultation of First Nations. It includes extensive amendments to more than sixty laws, including not only the Indian Act, but also the Navigable Waters Protection Act, the Fisheries Act and others. Opponents argue these changes violate existing treaties and weaken environmental protection of land and water.
In her powerful and widely-discussed piece, “The natives are restless. Wonder why?” Métis blogger Chelsea Vowel points out that this movement goes beyond protesting Bill C-45 to resisting a more systemic state-citizen relationship:
What it all boils down to is this. Canada has not committed itself to addressing the colonial relationship it still has with indigenous peoples. Canada is in denial about that relationship.
She goes on to explain the movement:
Today, in cities and communities all across the country, indigenous peoples are rallying together to speak out against a rash of hastily shoved-through pieces of legislation created without First Nations consultation. Legislation that promises to have serious implications for aboriginal rights.  However, that is not the sum total of the issues being addressed. The ongoing and unhealthy colonial relationship Canada has with indigenous peoples is at the root of this, and finds expression in so many problems from environment to health to incarceration to suicide to education to violence and so on.
Rallying under the cry of “Idle No More“, this truly grassroots movement is swelling as people take to social media in a way I can honestly say is unprecedented. If you’re looking for one unified message, you’re not going to find it…unless it’s “hey Canada, you need to start taking our concerns seriously.
But it is not only First Nations who share this view. In fact, in an interview with PostMedia News published on November 30, former Canadian prime minister Paul Martin discussed low levels of health and education among Canada’s indigenous groups. He charged that in Canada:
We have never admitted to ourselves that we were, and still are, a colonial power… And we continue that focus on assimilation. There is no other reason, no other excuse for the discrimination in funding.
The Bill C-45 comes on the heels of other government actions that could weaken indigenous organizations. In September 2012, the federal government announced budget cuts of at least 10% to all national and regional aboriginal representative organizations. Emphasizing the legacy of these budget cuts, McGill University student and Metis-Cree writer Tanya L (@TanyaLalondie) tweeted on December 12:
@TanyaLalondie: I have watched cut after cut to programming aimed at helping our people heal, grow, develop and gain footing in an unequal world #idlenomore
But fellow Métis blogger Aaron Paquette argues that current neoliberal legislation affects all Canadians, not just the indigenous:
This government is attempting to systematically sell off our resources and make even more resources available for exploitation…. This is much greater than angry protesting natives, this is about becoming aware of the world in which you live.
Blogger Nora Loreto has compiled a post suggesting ways in which non-indigenous peoples can support and participate in the protests.
IKEA Monkey versus Idle No More
Idle No More Logo by Dwayne Bird. Posted on Idle No More Facebook page.
Protest participants have criticized mainstream media for failing to cover the widespread protests. Several bloggers noted that the recent story of a coat-wearing monkey in a Toronto IKEA received more attention than the countless First Nations rallies across Canada.
However, Twitter has exploded with activity from the movement under the hashtag #idlenomore. Users have disseminated information about planned rallies, roadblocks and gatherings via social media. As activist and writer Derrick O’Keefe notes, they hope that a continued social media presence will force the story of Idle No More into the mainstream.
For up-to-date information about the nation-wide movement, check out www.idlenomore.ca or join the movement’s Facebook page. For images and updates on the campaign, please follow the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society.
The next major Idle No More gathering is set for December 21.

author: Rachael Petersen


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Jackie Chan: “Hong Kong has Become a City of Protest”  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Actor and Kung Fu star Jackie Chan triggered outrage in Hong Kong after his interview with Southern Weekly was published on Dec 11, 2012. During the interview, the Hong Kong-born film star said:
Hong Kong has become a city of protest, we scold China and its leaders, we scold anything we want and protest against everything.The authorities should stipulate what issues people can protest over and on what issues it is not allowed.
However, this is not the first time Chan has made such statements. In 2009, He commented at the Boao Forum: “I don't know whether it is better to have freedom or to have no freedom. With too much freedom, it can get very chaotic. It could end up like in Taiwan. Chinese people need to be controlled, otherwise they will do whatever they want.”
A screen shot of Jackie Chan from one of the TV shows he attended.
Following Chan’s controversial comment, Hong Kong's netizens criticized him, some even urged Hong Kong's government to limit Chan's freedom of speech in public.
Leung Man-tao, a Hong Kong critic told South China Morning Post:
Chan doesn't bother to understand why some Hong Kong people choose to take to the streets. He just tends to think that whatever the government does is correct.
Chairwoman of the Civic Party Audrey Eu Yuet-mee also commented:
I think it's a shame for the movie industry, because the freedom of expression is fundamental to his line of business, just as the government cannot lay down rules on what movies can be made and what can't, he ought to appreciate that there should be no restrictions on which protests can be held and which cannot, as long as they comply with the law.
Activist Wang Haoxian said:
Shameless! Chan is ignoring human rights and freedom of assembly.
On Weibo, China's twitter, most netizens think Chan is “kissing ass”, joking that he has a good shot to join the Communist Party of China. They expressed their envy for HK's freedom and democracy which Chan himself takes for granted:
黎子Cindy：HK之行，法轮功组织宣传无处不在，有人发放传单，控诉某前国家领导人对其诬陷与迫害，没有谁去阻止他们，即使有反对也是在一旁同样拉横幅让其滚出香港。若在内地，肯定都被灭了。人权与自由离我们还是太遥远了。
黎子Cindy：During my visit to HK, Falun Gong advertisements were everywhere; some people sent out leaflets accusing a former government leader of his framed persecution, nobody stopped them, even if there is any opposition, they would pull the banner and ask them to get out of Hong Kong. If they were in mainland [China], they would be destroyed. Human rights and freedom are still too far away from us.
Keith何：在民主法治的社会，为什么就不能骂领导人? 做得不好便要骂，这是人权和自由，成龙这种人当然不会懂了！谁有本事谁来管？可以吗？难道成龙不知道我们的领导人是怎样出来的吗？人民是没有选择的，有选择的话，中国便不是现在的中国了！
Keith何：Why can’t we criticize our leaders like they do in a democratic society? If they don’t do a good job, we will criticize them. It’s human rights and freedom, someone like Jackie Chan would not understand it! He said that whoever has the ability can manage it instead of scolding the government. Doesn’t Jackie Chan realize  how our leaders are selected? People don’t get to select, if they did, China wouldn’t have been what it is today!
流氓也有爱情梦：内地应该学学了！内地什么都不敢骂什么都不敢游行。
流氓也有爱情梦：Mainlanders should learn from Hong Kong. People here dare not scold or protest.
大彬仔失业状态:香港是自由言论之地，你是行使了这个言论自由的权利，但你不能指责别人的言论自由.真是饱汉不知饿汉饥。
大彬仔失业状态:HongKong has freedom of speech, you[Chan] enjoy the right yet you are blaming it, you are like a guy with plenty of food who doesn’t understand the hunger of others.


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Kazakhstan: Looking Strong, Acting Weak? · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Is Kazakhstan as strong a state as it portrays itself to the outside world? Joshua Foust on Registan.net suggests that it probably isn't:
[A]n unnecessary attack on Kazakhstan’s still-fledgling political opposition is not the behavior of a growing, confident, young, dynamic country, which is what Kazakhstan clearly wants to be. It is the behavior of a weak, insecure, terribly afraid regime. Which could potentially be dangerous in the long run…

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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“Kosovo 2.0 Talks Sex” Launch Party Cancelled Due to Attack · Global Voices
Elena Ignatova

Kosovo 2.0, a website with interactive blogs, articles and multimedia, published in Albanian, English and Serbian, was planning to launch its new print issue at the “Kosovo 2.0 Talks Sex” event on December 14. The topics covered in it included LGBT life in Kosovo and the Balkans, dating, sex education, gender reassignment surgeries in Belgrade, and much, much more.
Unfortunately, shortly before the launch party started, a group of approximately 20 men entered the Pristina venue, destroyed the stage and beat up one of the employees. The event was cancelled. You can watch the footage of the attack here.
Kosovo 2.0 published a statement on their Facebook page after the incident:
Dear readers and friends of Kosovo 2.0:
We want to give you all an update on what happened yesterday at our launch event, and explain why the launch party was cancelled. A day before the event, we began receiving hateful and threatening messages and comments on our Facebook page. On the morning of our event, we presented the comments and messages to the Kosovo Police and officially requested the presence of the police at the Youth Center (Boro Ramizi) throughout the day. We had police officers assigned to us. At around 6pm, a group of approximately 20 men rushed in to the Youth Center’s Red Hall. The police did not react on a timely manner. As a result, the same group destroyed our stage and beat one of our employees. You can watch the footage here. We held our reading session at 7pm regardless.
After the 6pm incident, special police forces were called to the venue. At around 10:30, around half an hour before the launch party, a group of over 100 protesters approached the building, yelling epithets such as “Out pederasts!” and  “Allah u akber!” Despite the police presence, we decided to be safe rather than risk the safety of our staff and guests in the building. We had to be evacuated out by the police in small groups so as not to provoke the crowd.
Our launch event agenda included a screening of two films and various interviews, a discussion with magazine contributors, and a party with music, drinking, and dancing.
Last night’s events reveal more strongly than ever the need for free and critical thought. They demonstrated how easily endangered basic human rights are in the face of religious extremism, hooliganism and narrow-mindedness. Kosovo 2.0 achieved its mission in investigating sexuality in Kosovo and across the Balkans in our Sex issue, and we believe it is a milestone of journalism in the region. We  give our heartfelt thanks to our supporters and those who stayed with us until the end of the night. Rest assured that we will continue to speak out against inequality, hate, and prejudice, wherever and whenever we can.

author: Elena Ignatova


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Magnificent and Unknown Samarkand · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Yard of a private house in Samarkand. Image by Svetlana Astakhova.
LJ user Svetlana Astakhova takes [ru] her readers to a walk through the hidden streets of Samarkand, a city in Uzbekistan that used to be the center of the ancient Silk Road. Instead of posting photos of the city's famous landmarks, she shows what the less known Samarkand is like.


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‘Meet the Stans’: A Journey Through Central Asia · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Still frame from video ‘Meet the Stans’ on Vimeo.
It is unusual for a skate crew to go on a six-week journey along Central Asia's Silk Road. It is even more unusual for such a crew to make a movie about their journey. That's why film ‘Meet the Stans‘ stands out. It is a 30-minute look at a skate crew's journey through China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. “The film is amazing and [is] worth watching,” recommends blogger Bakhrom Mananov.


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Minister Wert Sparks Humour on the Net · Global Voices
Violeta Camarasa

An article on online newspaper Núvol with the title “Send up #Wert” [ca] collects discussions, cartoons, jokes and word games inspired by statements and the education law reform proposed by Spanish Minister José Ignacio Wert.

author: Violeta Camarasa


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On Putin’s Address to the Federal Assembly · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

RuNet Echo contributor Donna Welles compiles [en] netizen reactions to President Putin's Address to the Federal Assembly (ru, en), highlighting which passages best resonated with bloggers and how they interpreted and understood his latest initiatives.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Power of Rumor in Turkmenistan · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

In Turkmenistan, where it is almost impossible to access any news other than those reported by state-run media, rumors have unusual power. A recent Facebook post [tr] about an ‘imminent’ collapse of the US dollar has created panic among the country's Internet users, with some people rushing to exchange their dollars for local currency. NewEurasia’s Magtymguly Pyragy summarizes netizens’ reactions to the rumor.


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Russian Documentary Filmmakers Abandon YouTube After Police Investigation · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

This past week, on December 12, filmmakers halted the online publication of one of Russia's most curious documentary efforts: “Srok” (“The Term”), a video project hosted on YouTube [ru] and LiveJournal [ru], chronicling and capturing the events of the opposition movement. That synopsis, incidentally, fails to capture what Srok actually is, according to the creators’ own words [ru]:
Мы не ведем летопись протестов, не делаем репортаж о происходящем. Мы фиксируем мысли и эмоции лидеров. Мы хотим понять куда они ведут нас. К чему зовут. Даже тогда, когда им самим грозит срок.
We're neither chronicling the protests nor reporting on events. We're recording the thoughts and emotions of [the movement's] leaders. We want to understand where they're leading us. To what are they calling us? [And why do they do it,] even when a prison sentence [srok] threatens them [for doing so]?
What is Srok?
The documentary's title is intentionally ambiguous. Whose term? The term of what? As mentioned above, there is a supposed “prison sentence” (srok) threatening oppositionists. Also in their inaugural LiveJournal post, however, Srok's authors declare:
В мае 2012 года начался новый президентский срок Владимира Путина. За полгода до этого истек срок путинской стабильности.
In May 2012, Vladimir Putin began a new presidential term [srok]. Six months earlier, the Putin Stability era [srok] came to an end.
Viewers are at liberty to define “srok” as they wish, and this vagueness has not been lost on the public. Indeed, LJ users were quick to ask [ru] Srok's creators to explain the project's name. The response was unsurprisingly coy:
Смыслов много. История покажет, какой из них окажется доминирующим.
[The word has] many meanings. History will reveal which of them will be dominant.
Since first appearing on YouTube, Srok has released 271 videos and privately archived over a thousand other “episodes,” all of which will be incorporated into a final feature-length documentary film. In this sense, Srok is hybrid between an online political-art project and a viral publicity campaign. Posting random “episodes” to YouTube has both artistic and promotional merit.
On rare occasions, oppositionists have waved off Srok's cameramen. According [ru] to project member Konstantin Atomaniuk, leftist activist Sergei Udaltsov once told him to go away, saying, “No, no, no. I have my own plans.” Environmentalist Evgeniia Chirikova did the same, it seems.
Still from the “Party Without Putin” celebration, 17 June 2012, YouTube clip.
That said, Srok has enjoyed excellent access to the protest movement's leaders. In the videos available publicly on YouTube, Alexey Navalny appears in over 20 clips, Chirikova is featured nearly a dozen times, Udaltsov at least ten, and a host of other usual suspects regularly grace the screen. The situations are often intimate. We join [ru] Chirikova at home with her family reading books. We follow [ru] Nadezhda Tolokonnikova's four-year-old daughter to the United States, where she meets Yoko Ono and waits bored in a hotel room for her father. We attend [ru] a loud and drunken party with the Navalnys, Ilya Yashin, Oleg Kashin, Tikhon Dziadko, and a cluster of other Moscow intelligentsia. There is even table-dancing and rhythmic chanting against Putin!
Srok has also taken [ru] viewers into the office of Margarita Simonyan (chief editor of the English-language, government-funded RT television network) and to the dacha [ru] of Vasily Yakemenko (the creator the pro-government NASHI movement). Oleg Kashin called [ru] these interviews “either a creative experiment or a compromise with Alexey Gromov,” suggesting that Srok's directors might have been caving to government pressure, when they extended their focus beyond the protest movement to Simonyan and Yakemenko. (Indeed, Srok cameramen—rather incomprehensibly, given the project's purpose—even shadowed [ru] then-Moscow Governor Sergei Shoigu in October 2012.)
The Police Search Kostomarov's Home
Srok is a collaboration between two documentary filmmakers and one journalist: Pavel Kostomarov, Aleksandr Rastorguev, and Alexey Pivovarov. On December 7, in connection with the case against rioting at Bolotnaia Square in May 2012, federal investigators arrived at Kostomarov's Moscow apartment early in the morning and searched his video archives. (Srok's first upload [ru] to YouTube—a clip of Alexey Navalny being arrested violently on May 6 before he could take the stage at a protest—now has over a half a million views.) Later, police called in Kostomarov for questioning as a witness to the May unrest. Immediately following his visit with investigators, he announced [ru] the indefinite suspension of the Srok project. In comments to publicpost.ru, Rastorguev clarified that filming will continue unabated, but no new footage is scheduled to appear online.
Pivovarov, an accomplished NTV news anchor, endeared himself to many oppositionists last winter, when he reportedly refused to appear on air [ru], unless he was permitted to mention in his telecast the mass protest at Bolotnaia Square on December 10, 2011. Last week, nearly a year later, he got another chance to speak truth to power, when he [ru] asked [en] Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev on live television to comment on the investigators’ search of Kostomarov's home:
Но как нам, журналистам […], как нам работать, Дмитрий Анатольевич, если к нам в 7 утра приходят с обыском? Конечно, каждого из нас можно привлечь в качестве свидетеля – не вопрос. Можно стребовать видеоматериалы. Но в 7 утра прийти с обыском – понимаете, это сигнал. Как работать?
But how are we journalists supposed to work […], how are we supposed to work if they come to search our homes at 7am? Of course, they can bring in anyone of us as a witness, no problem there. They can subpoena video materials. But coming with a search at 7am, that sends a signal. How can we work?
At first, Medvedev dodged the question, saying that Kostomarov had yet to submit an official complaint about the search, implying that no scandal existed. When pressed on the subject, the Prime Minister resorted to a 1990s comparison, expressing relief that times now are not as “tough” as during the masked police raids of the Yeltsin era. Finally, in offscreen comments [ru] after the interview (captured by RT cameras and accidentally published online [ru]), Medvedev told Pivovarov “not to worry” and called the investigators “assholes” (“kozly”).
Just some of the videos available from Srok. (Screenshot from Srok's YouTube page.) 15 December 2012.
Kostomarov, for his part, says that the search was conducted respectfully. Speaking to journalists outside the Investigative Committee's headquarters, he explained [ru] that “everything generally was not like it was for [Ksenia] Sobchak” (referring to when police searched her apartment in June, forcing her to remain in her bathrobe during the procedure).
Reactions to Kostomarov & the “End” of Srok
In the aftermath of the apartment search and the suspension of all new Srok videos, RuNet users have responded with a mix of despondency and anger.
“Once again, the winter begins hot-tempered,” LJ user hudson_bay complained on December 7, adding [ru]:
Я не могу поверить, что это происходит в моей жизни, а не какой-то сюжет НТВ. Близкие люди мне рассказывают, кто у них сидит из друзей под домашним арестом, кто – в изоляторе.
I can't believe that this is happening in my life, and not in some [fictional] plot on NTV. People close to me are saying that some of their friends are under house arrest and others are in solitary confinement.
Writer Aleksandr Arkhangelsky wrote [ru] on LiveJournal:
[…] следаки из следокома посылают явный сигнал журналистам: не фиксируйте. Но и в том, что брошен вызов всей корпорации репортеров и документалистов; плоские мозги принимавших решение просто не в состоянии вместить, что они отрезали путь к отступлению целому классу деятельных людей, умеющих рассказывать об окружающей реальности,и даже самые сговорчивые обречены вступить в зону протеста и продемонстрировать презрение к следственному комитету.
[…] these probers from the Investigative Committee are sending a clear message to journalists: don't record. But this challenges the entire body of reporters and documentarists. Flatheads have made a decision that is simply too big to fit in their narrow skulls. They've cut off an escape route for a whole class of active people capable of describing the surrounding world, and [now] even the most incurably appeasable will join the protests and demonstrate their contempt for the Investigative Committee.
In a Facebook comment “liked” by Rustem Adagamov, Yuri Saprykin, and others, journalist Roman Super revisited [ru] the specter of Stalinist repression:
Несколько месяцев назад Александр Уржанов тревожно писал и говорил, что дальше начнут приходить к журналистам, писателям, режиссёрам. Что за бред? Ну правда ведь, шизовато проводить параллели с тридцатыми годамы в конце 2012-го. Чёрт, получается, что не так уж и шизовато?
A few months ago, Aleksandr Urzhanov alarmingly wrote and said that next they'll come for the journalists, the writers, and the directors. What raving! I mean, it's madness to compare the end of 2012 with the 1930s. But, hell, it turns out that it's not madness, after all?
Srok's creators have promised in the coming weeks to clarify the project's future. Whatever they decide in light of Kostomarov's situation (which has transformed him into a subject of his own movie), Srok represents a fascinating blend of documentary filmmaking and Web 2.0 distribution. The film series ranges from on-the-ground, in-the-trenches protest footage to office-room conversations and countryside strolls in the mud. Often, Srok is about Navalny and the leaders of the organized opposition. Other times, though, it's about bloggers freeing migrant-worker slaves [ru] or elderly racists in the street screaming slurs [ru] at dark-skinned passersby.
The Srok series is an amalgam of public life in Russia, and it makes no apologies for its cumulative incoherence. Whether you're crowd-surfing above the Moscow clique or picking flowers with pro-Kremlin ideologists, watching Srok is an entertaining trip and a remarkable look at contemporary Russian political culture.


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Sans Permit, Russian Opposition to Converge at Security Headquarters · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

For the past week, Coordinating Council negotiators have been trying to obtain permits for a “Freedom March” from the Moscow city government on December 15, 2012. Earlier, RuNet Echo described [GV] a Coordinating Council eDemocracy initiative designed to help the negotiators determine their strategy. An overwhelming majority of more than 10,000 people who voted insisted on holding the rally at the Council's preferred location of the Lubyanskaya Square, home to the FSB headquarters, Russia's main domestic security agency and main successor to the KGB.
The strategy appears to have misfired. Negotiations failed, and, as the negotiators have refused offers of less central venues, no rally permit was granted. This means that any organized public gathering on December 15 will be unsanctioned, making it illegal to solicit people to attend it. Nevertheless, it seems that the Coordinating Council has arrived at a sort of work-around. On December 13 it issued the following statement [ru] on its website [ru]:
Координационный Совет российской оппозиции заявляет, что в сложившейся ситуации у каждого гражданина России остаётся его неотъемлемое конституционное право самостоятельно определять место и время своего пребывания.
The Coordinating Council of the Russian opposition declares that in the current situation every Russian citizen still has the inalienable constitutional right to individually determine the time and location of their being.
“Freedom March” website. Screenshot. December 14, 2012.
What does this mean? Several opposition leaders have elaborated in blog posts. Alexey Navalny gave the following explanation [ru] in his blog:
Прийти по любому возможному маршруту, дойти до точки, куда можно дойти свободно. Постоять там некоторое время. Подышать морозным московским воздухом, пойти домой.
Walk along any route, get to the destination where you can freely walk to. Stand there for a while. Breath the wintry Moscow air, go home.
He later expanded [ru] this point:
Ни сцен, ни митингов, ни организованных шествий. Не надо ни с кем связываться – не пускает вас милиционер, ну и обойдите его с другой стороны. Символическое присутствие на Лубянской площади или на прилегающей территории с любой стороны (там, куда можно будет физически попасть) – вот единственное, что требуется от каждого из нас.
No stages, no rallies, no organized marches. Don't get on anybody's case — if the policeman isn't letting you through, just walk around him. All that is required of you is symbolic presence on Lubyanskaya Square or its surroundings from any side (where you can physically get to).
Sergey Davidis's explanation [ru] was slightly different:
[…] очень многие граждане намерены в 15.00 прийти на Лубянскую площадь и возложить цветы к Соловецкому камню в качестве акта солидарности с современными политзаключенными […]
[…] many citizens are planning to come to Lubyanskaya Square and place flowers at the Solovetsky Stone [ru] as an act of solidarity with modern political prisoners […]
Writer and professor Alexander Arkhangelsky preferred an even vaguer description [ru]:
Я лично не буду ни дома сидеть, ни на площадь прорываться; я пойду в МИМОШЕСТВИЕ, вдоль кордонов, ни звука не произнося и никаких плакатов не держа.
I personally won't sit at home, but won't try to break through to the square; I will go on a SIDEMARCH, along the cordons, without making a sound and not holding any signs.
Ksenia Sobchak simply announced [ru] that:
15-го числа я пойду гулять в район Лубянки
On the 15th I'll go walk in the general vicinity of Lubyanka
Essentially, protest organizers are trying to get around their lack of permits by pretending that the rally won't be a rally at all, a transparent loophole similar to last summer's “Control Stroll.” [ru] However, while the Control Stroll was planned that way from the start, this last minute “un-rally” strategy has drawn fire from other figures in the opposition. Some, like Marina Litvinovich and Alexey Blindul, wondered whether refusing to cooperate with the authorities was a smart move. Litvinovich asked the question [ru] on her Facebook profile:
Почему все же нельзя было согласиться на Бульвары, Сахарова, Болотную? Ведь это вполне себе центральные площади. Сказки про “нельзя повторяться”, “было голосование” – это все менее важно, чем согласованная акция – ведь на нее выйдет на порядок больше людей.
Why was it impossible to agree to the Boulevards, Sakharov [Square], Bolotnaya [Square]? These are pretty much central squares. Tall-tales about “we can't repeat the past”, “there was a vote” — these are all less important than a sanctioned rally, since an order of magnitude more people would attend.
Blindul was on the same page [ru]:
Понятное дело, что Лубянская площадь или Манежка намного предпочтительней Бульварного кольца по целому ряду оснований. […] Но ведь на каком-то этапе стало понятно, что никто не собирается пускать марш на Лубянку […] я глубоко убежден в ошибочности отказа от санкционированной акции […]
It's understandable that Lubyanskaya Square or the Manezh [Square] are much more preferable than the Boulevard Ring for many reasons. […] But at some point it became obvious, that no one is going to let the march through to Lubianka […] I am deeply convinced that the refusal to hold a sanctioned rally was a mistake […]
DemVybor Deputy Chairman Kirill Shulika, who blogs under viking-nord, went further than rhetorical questions, accusing the Coordinating Council of being disingenuous [ru]:
Есть вторая стратегия, ее адепт это Лимонов. Ему по фигу, что закон запрещает агитировать выходить на несанкционированную акцию, он выходит сам и призывает других. […] Акцию не разрешили. Можно было отказаться от нее или согласиться на предложенный мэрией маршрут. Если уж есть решение не соглашаться, тогда надо повторить действия Лимонова, описанные выше. Но сейчас происходит удивительное – за внешней решимостью лидеры протеста снимают с себя ответственность за пришедших сторонников и говорят, что мы просто идем погулять, возложить цветы.
There is a second strategy, [Other Russia leader Eduard] Limonov is its adherent. He doesn't give a damn that the law forbids campaigning for unsanctioned rallies, he goes himself and urges others. […] The rally was't sanctioned. One could give it up or agree to the route proposed by the mayor's office. If the decision is to not agree, then one should repeat Limonov's actions, described above. But now something strange is happening — behind an outer decisiveness, protest leaders relegate their responsibility for the supporters who've showed up, and say that we are just going for a walk, to leave some flowers.
Journalist Oleg Luriye agreed, insinuating that the Coordinating Council could have even deliberately engineered the situation, in order to create a more newsworthy protest. He also predicted that [ru]:
Ни Собчак, ни Быков, ни Ашурков, ни Касьянов на несогласованном марше не появятся. А некоторые из особо активно призывавших, вполне возможно, неожиданно «заболеют»
Niether Sobchak, nor Bykov, nor Ashurkov, nor Kasyanov won't show up at an unsanctioned march. And some of those who were the most active in campaigning, will suddenly get “sick”
Luriye is referring to the fact that Alexey Navalny did not attend the recent nationalist-organized “Russian March” because he was down with the flu. Curiously, it appears that Alexey Navalny's newly-founded party “The People's Alliance” is holding a convention on the day of the march [ru], and Navalny himself is scheduled to speak. While it's unclear whether the engagement will interfere with Navalny's plans for a stroll to Lubyanskaya Square, some Coordinating Council members like Georgy Alburov have already announced that they will not be able to attend the “un-rally.” Since convention plans have been in place since the beginning of November, the last minute announcement incensed [ru] DemVybor activist Stanislav Yakovlev:
То есть на КС продвигали дату 15 декабря – ЗАРАНЕЕ ЗНАЯ, что в этот день состоится съезд Народного Альянса. Охуительно, охуительно
So at the Coordinating Council they moved forward with 15 December as a date — KNOWING IN ADVANCE, that on this day there will be a People's Alliance convention. Unf*ckingbelievable
Yakovlev strongly hints that the convention will be an excuse for skipping the unsanctioned march, which will likely result in arrests and detentions.
In the end, the situation remains fluid. Will the “Walk to Lybyanka” be a success? Will people show up? Will the organizers actually attend? How effective are the opposition's online efforts to drum up popular participation? Hopefully today's events will shed some light on these questions.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Saudi Judge: Bashar al-Assad is the Outcome of Democracy · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

This post is part of our Special Coverage: Reformists on Trial in Saudi Arabia
The ninth hearing session of one of Saudi Arabia's rare public trials of two prominent human rights activists Mohammad Al-Qahtani and Abdullah Al-Hamid was held today [Dec 15, 2012] at the Riyadh Criminal Court. In the last hearing session, the defendants presented their defenses, and today, the defendants provided additional clarifications and they were questioned by the judge.  The number of attendees exceeded 100 for the first time, including five women.  Some attendees were not allowed in because the courtroom was full.
In previous sessions, the head of Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association Suleiman al-Rashudi represented Dr. al-Hamid, but he was arrested on Wednesday after giving a lecture about the permissibility of peaceful protests.  Ex-member of the governmental Human Rights Commession Ibrahni al-Mudimig replaced him.  Commenting on the failure of the governmental commission:
#د المديميغ…يقول استقلت من هيئة حقوق الإنسان بعد ربع مدتي لانهم لا يسمحون لنا بزيارة السجون إلا باستئذان #حسم
@nad3m: Dr. al-Mudimig said: I resigned after just a quarter of my [membership] period because they did not allow us to visit prisons without a prior permission.
Dr. al-Hamid read a 40-page-long response to questions that the judge asked in the previous session.  He said that “the fourth Saudi state”, a constitutional monarchy, must be established. Further more, he said that it was anti-religious “for a cleric to remain silent…when he sees the powerful exploiting the weak…like if social justice was not a major religious principle .” It was followed by a debate, ironically, between the judge and the two activists.  al-Hamid cited the support of Saudi government for Syrian opposition to demonstrate that it was legitimate to overthrow oppressive rulers:
#القاضي_حماد_العمر: لا يجوز الخروج على الحاكم المتغلب. أبو بلال: بشار حاكم متغلب. القاضي: الحكم الشوري هو الذي جاء ببشار للحكم. #محاكمة_حسم
@SultanAlfifi: Judge Hamad al-Omar: It is forbidden [in Sharia law] to overthrow oppressive rulers.  [Dr. al-Hamid]:  Bashar [al-Assad] is an oppressive rulers.  Judge: Bashar [al-Assad] is the outcome of democracy.
Dr. al-Qahtani gave the judge a quick history lesson on the military coup that brought al-Assad family.  Dr. al-Hamid said: “[Apparently,] military coup is what you are advocating for.”
Attendees wore badges after the end of the session to demand the release of  al-Rashudi. via ACPRA
The public prosecutor confirmed that prisons are not being inspected:
اعترف ممثل هيئة الادعاء العام ان الهيئة لم تستكمل صلاحياتها ( مثل مراقبة السجون) بسبب عدم وجود الكوادر الكافية. 6
د.الحامد موجها كلامه للإدعاء: لكم في الهيئة عشرون سنة و لم تستكملوا صلاحياتكم للآن؟ عشرون سنة و لم تنجحوا في رقابة السجون؟! 7
د.الحامد : أمضيت فترات طويلة في السجن و لا أنا أو أي سجين قابلته رأى ممثلا عن هيئة الادعاء العام!!! 8
@freedom_Yar: The representative of the Bureau of Public Prosecution admitted that the Bureau has not yet done all of its responsibilities (like overseeing prisons)  because of the lack of manpower.
@freedom_Yar: Dr. al-Hamid said to the public prosecutor:  It has been 20 years [since the Bureau was established] and you have not done your responsibilities yet?  20 years without success in overseeing prisons?
@freedom_Yar:  Dr. al-Hamid: I spent long periods in prison and I did not, neither did any other prisoner that I have met, see a representative of the Bureau of Public Prosecution
The next session will be the last hearing session before the ruling and it will be held after two weeks, on December 29.
This post is part of our special coverage: Reformists on Trial in Saudi Arabia

author: Anas Soliman


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Hungarian Blogger Leaks Secret Video on Illegal Voter Database · Global Voices
Marietta Le

Gery Greyhound published a documentary [hu] on his Tumblr blog, about the ‘making of’ an illegal voter database in Pécs in 2009, when the city held a mid-term mayoral election. A similar leak took place in 2010, when a voice recording of Fidesz party director Gábor Kubatov was published online, revealing that the party had a registry of voting preferences of tens of thousands of voters. The case was referred to as the “Kubatov list.” Mr. Kubatov also appears in the current documentary, which was allegedly published by a person who participated in the production of the video meant for internal circulation.

author: Marietta Le


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I Love Brunei Because…. · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Golden Mosque of Brunei. Photo from Flickr page of Mr Syaf
Delwin Keasberry, more popularly known as @BruneiTweet in the Brunei internet community, asked fellow local netizens to tweet their love for their country:
@BruneiTweet Tweeps, complete this sentence: “I love #Brunei because…” 8)
And below are some of the answers given by Brunei twitter users which reveal a lot of things about Brunei society and its people:
@suzaneeena: I love #Brunei cause it's peaceful, not so polluted, and not to mention…the variety of cheap $1 food we can get!!
@AlHudaaRose Tweeps, complete this sentence: “I love #Brunei because it is a peace country, where we can eat a lot of halal food :-)
@MiQy98 ilove #Brunei because we have awesome food & people which are getting awesome-er day by day
@ninactor I love #brunei because it's home and the culture – especially the food, is simply wonderful, also the people.
@Gold_Book_BN: I love #Brunei because Brunei has an ability to develop their people & country. So, LIKE us..
@AzemahARRR Complete this sentence: “I love #Brunei because…”” If anything ever happens, the whole nation's thoughts are with you.
@debbietoo I love Brunei because the people here are some of the most welcoming and warm people in the world.
@anakbrunei I love #Brunei because it is a moderate country which does not impose its will upon its people regardless of race or religion.

@Ajul_mna@ There is no place like HOME
@ashfarizi Complete this sentence: “I love #Brunei because…”” of the people and peace! plus nasi katok.
@sazikalman Because there is no place like home. Its cheesy but its true! RT @BruneiTweet Complete this sentence: “I love #Brunei because…
@HqahAmin it's the green heart of Borneo :-) “@BruneiTweet: Complete this sentence: “I love #Brunei because…””
@DiyyDiyana I love #Brunei because it's peaceful. Hence, “abode of peace”
@sarahwaffles @BruneiTweet I love #Brunei because it's an exotic place. Friends from overseas hardly heard of it & would love to come visit.
Lastly, @trylobyte reminds everyone to keep Brunei a remarkable nation:
@trylobyte I love #Brunei because of the reasons already mentioned. Now let's work hard to keep it that way so we can continue loving it.
Meanwhile, a Love Brunei Pinterest page was set-up to pin photos exhibiting the beauty of Brunei.


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Singapore: Speaker of Parliament Resigns Over Sex Scandal · Global Voices
Kirsten Han

Member of Parliament for Punggol East SMC (Single Member Constituency) and Singapore's Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer resigned on Wednesday after admitting to having an extramarital affair with a People's Association constituency director of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC (Group Representative Constituency).
Michael Palmer, former Speaker of Parliament
The resignation came as a shock to Singapore, setting the blogosphere abuzz with speculation.
Alex Au questions Palmer's resignation:
Yes, I know he has admitted that he had an affair with a officer of the People’s Association who was indirectly related to his constituency, but if having extra-marital affairs alone disqualifies one from political office, then I think we’re going down a slippery slope. Politicians should not be expected to be saints. If we narrow the qualifications for office to such throttling moralistic standards, then we deprive ourselves of possible talent.
There are enough reasons why a politician should step down, for example, for romantic affairs that create a conflict of interest, abuse of power or a breach of confidentiality. Did Palmer’s affair give rise to one of these situations? The problem at this point is that we don’t know.
Palmer's resignation has also left Punggol East SMC without an elected representative in Parliament. However, the power to call a by-election rests with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, whose press statement was non-committal.
This episode has echoes of an earlier issue in the year, when Workers’ Party member Yaw Shin Leong was expelled from his party amidst allegations of an extramarital affair. The prime minister had also been hesitant in calling for a by-election, although one was eventually called in May.
In its editorial, The Online Citizen criticises the prime minister for not promising a by-election:
Still, blissfully unaware or choosing not to care, the PAP then ignored the key question that its institutional memory should have found impossible to forget: When would a by-election be called? Instead, Teo opted to side-step the question, deferring it to the PM to decide on whether to call a by-election or not. His stand was further supported by the PM.
In the aftermath of the Hougang SMC by-election, the PAP should have guessed that this would have been the question on everyone’s mind. It should have come to the table prepared with a clear yes or no. Being elusive does it no favours and insults the people’s intelligence.
Ng E- Jay praises Low Thia Khiang – Secretary-General of the Workers’ Party – and his reaction to Palmer's resignation:
The relentless attack on WP conducted by both the PAP and the state-controlled media during the Yaw Shin Leong affair contrasts deeply with the fair-handed approach adopted by Mr Low Thia Khiang in the recent Palmer episode.
Mr Low did not take the opportunity to put down the PAP or engage in mud-slinging, but highlighted Mr Palmer’s contributions to Parliament as Speaker, and expressed regret that such an incident had occurred. Mr Low was scrupulously fair to all parties concerned and did not seek to score cheap political points on the back of the personal crisis of another human being.
This is what politics can — and should — be.

author: Kirsten Han


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100,000 March for Rights to Marry for All in France  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

March for Mariage Rights for All in France by Pierre Selim on FlickR. License CC-BY-2.0
Hundred thousands people marched in France in support of marriage rights [fr] for all on December 16.


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Bahrainis Protest on National Day · Global Voices
Mohamed Hassan

December 16 and 17 are official holidays in Bahrain. The first day is National Day and the second is to celebrate the accession of King Hamad. Unofficially, December 17 is also Martyrs’ Day – a day to remember the scores of victims who have lost their lives over the years as Bahrainis continue to struggle for their political rights. While many celebrated, this year, others took to the streets to protest as turmoil continues to rock this restive Arab state.
On Twitter, Sayed Hassan shares this photograph from a protest in Sanabis.
He tweets:
Protesters carrying a banner that reads: “Martyrs Day, Awareness and Giving” [published by @SanabisNews on Twitter]
@WLEXT: People Marching in Sanabis village a few minutes ago
Minutes later, photojournalist @MazenMahdi tweeted that he is being arrested from Sanabis:
@MazenMahdi: Police arresting me #Sanabis #Bahrain
Mahdi was released two hours later – and left to walk back to his car in the rain.
@MazenMahdi: Released from police station media card not returned after being marched with police for hand-over, allowed to walk back in rain to my car
In the village of Boori @Feb14Media tweeted a picture of another protest:
A night protest in Boori. Photograph shared by @Feb14Media on Twitter
The Twitter account, which has been tweeting news of protests and political developments in Bahrain since the start of the uprising in Bahrain on February 14, 2011, explains:
بوري : انطلاق مسيرة غاضبة على الرغم من تساقط الأمطار
@Feb14Media: Boori: An angry protest erupt despite the rain
wahat_almaameer also tweeted pictures of another protest in the village of Maameer.
Female protesters marching through the village of Mameer, photo published by @wahat_almaameer
المعامير/رغم الأجواء الباردة وتساقط الأمطار احرار المعامير يخرجون في مسيرة غاضبة تأكيدا على الصمود
@wahat_almaameer: Mameer: Despite the cold weather and rain the free people of Mameer go out in an angry protest to affirm their resilience
In Karannah village, KarranahNews tweeted a video of a protest that took place in the village:
And in the village of Wadyan, in Sitra, @wadyanmedia tweeted a video of yet another protest:
Human rights activist Maryam Alkhawaja tweeted several pictures [GRAPHIC] of injuries that occurred after police attacked protests today in Bahrain saying:
@MARYAMALKHAWAJA: #BahrainNationalDay: the two who were shot in the eye have lost their eyesight.. These r the type gifts ppl of #bahrain r used to..

author: Mohamed Hassan


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Catalonia: Independence from Spain to Do What? · Global Voices
Violeta Camarasa

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.
Pro-independence rally on Via Laietana (Barcelona) on September 11, 2012. By Lohen11 on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
On November 25, 2012 Catalans headed to the polls for a snap regional election. The polls were staged just two months after a massive pro-independence rally took place in Barcelona. Voter turnout peaked at almost 70%, the highest in 30 years, and the four political parties committed to holding a referendum on self-determination (CiU-ERC-ICV-CUP) got more than twice as many seats as those defending the status quo (PSC-PP-C). Crucially, both of Catalonia’s major parties – the governing center-right CiU and socialist PSC – suffered severe setbacks.
Accordingly, it appears that Catalonia is now set to hold a referendum on its ties to the rest of Spain, and that it does not trust its major political parties to steer the process. Spain, however, will not make it easy for the Catalans to vote, as any attempt to divide Spain can be considered illegal under the country's constitution, written in 1978 after the fall of Francisco Franco's dictatorship.
Cultural differences aside, many Catalans feel attracted to independence because it would provide opportunities to build a new state that is more efficient, democratic, transparent, and innovative. An independent Catalonia could be very different from today’s Spain where economic crisis, opacity and patronage politics are often denounced to be commonplace.
But could an independent Catalonia lead to the break-up of the establishment dynamics that have dominated Spain since the late-1970s? The optimists believe so. For instance, the economic viability of an independent Catalonia has been widely discussed, and is considered possible so long as there are few trade barriers. But viability is not only about having enough resources. Economist Jordi Galí writes in a Catalan newspaper op-ed translated by the Wilson Initiative:
This report [“World Bank's Doing Business”] and other similar ones, such as the World Competitiveness Report, only confirm what is evident for any business manager: the Spanish institutional framework is far from being ideal for the generation of wealth based on productivity. The building of a new State offers, therefore, a unique opportunity to start, from scratch, an ambitious and engaging process that looks to the future without being weighted down by the past.
But how productive a society based on patronage politics can be? Taking inspiration from the book Why Nations Fail by Acemoglu and Robinson, Adrià Alsina writes on e-notícies [ca] on the need to change Catalonia’s power structures:
The extractive elites control public power and the big service companies, and form a caste that takes up the country's wealth just as parasitics do with hosts. They disguise it as national interest, public service or local industry protection, but it is always the same protection of the privileges of a minority over the interest of the majority.
In a follow-up article [ca], he adds:
If Catalonia reaches its own state, it will have the opportunity of getting rid of this yoke, but it could also just replace some extractive elites with for others.
…it is this structure that we have the opportunity to change in the next years: the terrible collusion between economic and political elites that lead us to disaster. To the real estate bubble financed by para-public banks at the service of politicians and construction businessmen, to the fact that most Catalan companies still date back to Franco's times.
Some doubt this structural change is possible with the major centre-right wing party CiU leading the process.
For example, the blog and Twitter account @CiUensRoba (‘CiU is Robbing Us’), with 6,810 followers, says on its Twitter profile description:
Catalunya es mereix una independència sense lladres. CiU ens ha robat llibertats, sobirania, identitat, benestar… i ho continuarà fent!
Catalonia deserves an independence without thieves. CiU has stolen our freedoms, sovereignty, identity, welfare… and will keep doing it!
Others point out that ending corruption generally is far more urgent than independence from Spain.
@Moragasanti: Al Oasi catala no hi han Datils (pel poble, clar) Volem la Independencia, pero amb la motxilla de la nostra corrupció política A sobre? Bdia
At the Catalan oasis there aren't dates (for the people, of course). We want independence, but with that sack of political corruption on our back?
@afarrasc: Els jutges han esperat el #25N+2 x imputar dirigents PSC per presumpta corrupció La indèpendència judicial és més urgent que la de Catalunya
@afarrasc: The magistrates have waited until #25N+2 to charge PSC leaders with alleged corruption. Judicial independence is more urgent than Catalonia's
An independence process would shake the political and economic order of the region. However, it will take much more than a referendum to shake social and power dynamics. Could it be a first step?
This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by the International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide. This post was first published on the ISN blog, see similar stories here.


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China’s Media Mute on Local School Tragedy · Global Voices
Abby Liu

On Dec 14, 2012, 20 children were killed in a gun shooting in Connecticut, US. The sad news was immediately all over China’s CCTV and made the headlines of major newspapers in China.
On the same day, another school tragedy took place in central China: a man stabbed and injured 22 children.
However, the news was soon censored. There was not a single mention of the domestic tragedy in Chinese mainstream media. The only source to find out the news was through Weibo, China’s twitter.
A screen shot of the report on the school stabbing on Anhui TV from youku
CCTV and other major media’s two different attitudes to the news coverage drew netizens’ attention, which soon became the hottest topic on Weibo [zh]. While expressing their sympathy for the children, netizens compared the different approaches to the incidents in the US and China, and questioned the unfair censorship and ignorance of human rights in China. Some netizens tried to report the news themselves by posting pictures of injured children on Weibo.
Below are some comments from famous bloggers and commentators on Weibo [zh]:
大鹏看天下: 【你们不报道，我们自己来！】美国孩子出事，奥巴马垂泪，全美降半旗，中国中央电视台《新闻联播》发头条。中国孩子出事，当地教育局的干部在办公室开着暖气玩游戏，各大媒体全部噤声，无耻地沉默，仅在微博能看到一些零碎消息…这是目前可见的照片集合。
大鹏看天下: If you don’t report it, we’ll do it ourselves! Following the incident in the US, Obama wept and the whole nation put their flags at half-mast. The incident also made CCTV headlines. On the contrary, when the Chinese children were injured, the local education bureau were playing games in the office. All major media were silent, a shameless silence. You can only see bits and pieces of the news through Weibo…here’s a collection of photos of the injured children.
小蝴蝶碎碎念：愚民政策，能愚到哪一天，以人为本，可笑！
小蝴蝶碎碎念：Policies made to fool the people will work for how long? They often say that “People are Fundamental”. This is ridiculous!
韩志国：美国发生校园枪击案，这一消息一瞬间覆盖了中国媒体，大部分是头条新闻；同一天，河南光山县发生校园伤害案，主流媒体似乎都在装聋作哑，只在微博上才能看见。主流媒体如此迥异的态度，是因为中国儿童的生命不值钱吗？
韩志国：The massacre in the US was all over Chinese media, and made the headlines mostly; on the same day, the mainstream media turned a blind eye to the school incident in China, which is only available on Weibo. The mainstream media held two different attitudes, is it because the lives of Chinese children are worthless?
假装在纽约: 不要怪央视一整天都在报美国校园枪击案却对河南的校园砍人事件漠不关心了。领导的孩子都在美国啊。
假装在纽约: Don’t blame CCTV for reporting about the American school shooting all day long, but not reporting about the school stabbing in Henan. All of the officials’ children are in the US!
慕容雪村: 中国和美国同时发生校园惨案，有关部门下达禁令，禁止报道自己家的丑事，于是各报纸，各电视开始大张旗鼓地报道美国惨案，他们做回顾，做总结，做分析，然后异口同声地大叫：看这万恶的资本主义！
慕容雪村: A school tragedy happened at the same time in both countries. The relevant departments banned reporting about the scandal of our own country, so all the newspapers and television stations covered the U.S. tragedy in detail. They reviewed, summarized, analysed, and then yelled in unison: Look at the evil capitalism!
李宪法-：…..记者说封锁消息是各地各级政府应对天灾人祸的标准模式。
李宪法-：Journalists say censorship is a standard government approach in dealing with disasters found at every level of government.
浪子布回头:《新闻联播》头条播出美国校园枪击案，就在同一天，河南光山县发生校园伤害案，22名学生被砍伤，他们却不置一辞！央视这种无视国民生死的恶劣行径，必须批判！必须向国民道歉！
浪子布回头: The American massacre made the headlines of CCTV news; however, on the same day, the news didn’t mention the injured 22 students in China. Such disregard of ordinary lives should be criticized! They must apologize to us citizens!
Among the online rage towards Chinese government and media, there’s one different voice. Hu Xijin, chief editor of the government mouthpiece newspaper Global Times tried to divert netizens’ attention to the US by criticizing the American government [zh]:
胡锡进：美国小学枪击案致28死，不仅这种枪击案的反复发生骇人听闻，美国政府的不作为同样令人吃惊。难道这不是人权灾难吗？美国校园发生枪击案比中国校车出事造成孩子死亡多多了，但美国政府在袖手旁观。我不明白美国的家长们为何能够忍受。可怜那些孩子。
胡锡进：The American primary school massacre resulted in 28 deaths. Not only are such shootings appalling, but the attitude of U.S. government was equally surprising. Isn’t it a human rights disaster? The U.S. school shooting incidents have caused a lot more deaths than [even] Chinese school bus accidents, but the U.S. government just stands by. I do not understand how American parents can tolerate this. Poor children.
Hu’s comment failed to resonate, and resulted in a great deal of criticism instead. One netizen responded [zh]:
段郎说事: 美国政府是否作为，由美国人民去判断和处置，胡操什么心？还是多操心家门内的孩子安全吧！
段郎说事: How the U.S. government deals with the issue will be judged by the American people. Why are you worrying so much? Perhaps you should worry more about the safety of the children here at home!


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Chinese Youth Association of France Sues Magazine for Racial Defamation  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

We are flabbergasted that the (French magazine) Le Point would stigmatize in such manner a category of the French population in the article “The intriguing success of Chinese people in France” [..] No, not all Chinese Frenchmen are criminals. No, not all Chinese Frenchwomen are prostitutes. They are french citizens like any other citizens.
The Chinese Youth Association of France via its representative Sacha Lin is suing French Magazine Le Point [fr] for racial defamation in an article [fr] published on August 22, 2012. The article depicts Chinese entrepreneurs with clichés such as: “a Chinese entrepreneur will not pay its employees because they are members of his family”. Le Point director F-O Giesbert claims that the article was meant to be humorous [fr].


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Ecuador Creates Electoral ‘Code of Conduct’ for Social Media · Global Voices
Daniela Gallardo

[All links lead to Spanish-language pages, unless otherwise noted.]
The National Electoral Council of Ecuador (CNE) has unveiled Voto transparente, Conoce a Tu Candidato (Transparent voting, Know your candidate), a project aimed at familiarizing voters with the campaign platforms of the different presidential candidates. The government portal, www.gne.gob.ec, provides information about the eight presidential tickets, the delegates to the Andean Parliament, and the candidates for national and provincial assemblies as well as foreign postings. Political organizations, social groups, and the media have all contributed to the project, which has coalesced into an electoral Code of Conduct, the Manual de Convivencia. Available throughout social networks and digital media, the handbook is aimed at both political stakeholders and citizens–with the goal of promoting respect and tolerance for differing political leanings and ideologies.
2009 General elections in Ecuador. Photo by Dan Figueroa. Copyright Demotix (24/04/2009)
In anticipation of the presidential elections of February 2013, the Code of Conduct lays down 15 basic principles:
Principle #0: Treat others as you would wish to be treated.
Principle #1: Never forget that the person reading your message is a human being whose feelings can be hurt.
Principle #2: Behave online just as you would in real life.
Principle #3: Help maintain a healthy and informative environment for public debate.
Principle #4: Share your knowledge with the community.
Principle #5: Make sure both your opinions and your contributions are friendly, courteous, polite, patient and respectful–this is also a good rule of life.
Principle #6: Respect the privacy of third parties–ganging up on another person is wrong.
Principle #7: Respect the time and bandwidth of other people.
Principle #8: Show your good side online–don't encourage gossip, smear campaigns, or intolerance.
Principle #9: If you write everything in capital letters, people will think you are shouting.
Principle #10: Respect the opinons of others without insulting them; your replies should be polite and considerate and reflect the truth.
Principle #11: Be objective about topics that are of personal concern to you but not necessarily of general interest.
Principle #12: Respect religious beliefs as well as sexual, ideological, and political orientations.
Principle #13: Be tolerant of people whose opinions you do not share.
Principle #14: Do not use hurtful or derogatory language, and do not violate the personal integrity of others.
Twitter feedback
Shortly after the project was unveiled, the online daily hoy.com.ec reported that Twitter users had created the hashtag #redessocialesCNE [CNE social networks] and were circulating their own assessments and jokes:
@darknitch:#redessocialesCNE, Respete el ancho de banda de las otras personas ??? Perdon ancho de banda por utilizarte para leer pendejadas de la CNE
@darknitch:#redessocialesCNE, Respect other people's bandwidth??? Sorry bandwidth for using you to read the CNE's crap.
@Danku_G:#redessocialesCNE la primera regla del CNE en las redes sociales: do not talk about las reglas del CNE en redes sociales…
@Danku_G:#redessocialesCNE the first rule of the CNE for social networks: do not talk about the CNE's rules for social networks…
@xavoviz: No olvide sonreír mientras escribe su tuit. Un troll alegre es un troll eficiente. #redessocialesCNE
@xavoviz: Don't forget to smile when tweeting. A happy troll is an efficient troll. #redessocialesCNE

author: Daniela Gallardo


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#FastforBassel Campaign Launched for Syrian Netizen Facing Military Trial · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.
Bassel Khartabil, also known as Bassel Safadi, is on military trial in Syria, where he is denied a lawyer. The open source software engineer and Creative Commons volunteer has been in jail since March. Supporters around the world have just launched a #FastforBassel campaign on Twitter to raise awareness about his case.
Spearheaded by Mauritanian activist Naser Weddady, the campaign is likely to gain a lot of momentum, as more people sign up to fast for a day to draw attention to Safadi's grave situation and press for his release.
On Twitter, Weddady first announced he would fast for Safadi in a tweet:
@weddady: I will be fasting on December 19th in solidarity with Bassel Safadi. Who will join me? #FastForBassel #FreeBassel
Bassel Khartabil (Safadi). Photograph by Joi Ito (CC BY 2.0)
Soon, Lebanese blogger Mohamad Najem said he would fast too. Weddady suggested the following:
@weddady: .@MoNajem Mo, how about you fast on the following day so we can have a fast-chain until Bassel is free #FreeBassel
Next a Doodle was up for those interested in fasting in support of Bassel to sign.
Najem writes:
We are launching a chain-fast to support our friend Bassel Safadi & to raise awareness about his plight since his arrest more than 9 months in Syria. The regime security forces transferred him to face the infamous “field courts”– A military summary trial where defendants are not allowed to have an attorney nor the right to appeal their sentences. We we will start fasting from tomorrow until his release. Every day one volunteer will fast to make a fast-chain of Bassel's friends and supporters of free speech
Join Weddady, Najem and Creative Commons co-founder Larry Lessig in this chain fast.
For more information, please check out freebassel.org
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Gujarat Polls 2012 – An Analysis · Global Voices
Rezwan

Offstumped posts an analysis on the recently concluded phase 1 of the assembly elections in the Indian state of Gujarat.

author: Rezwan


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Immigrants March for Equal Rights in Brazil   · Global Voices
Richard de Araújo

On December 2, 2012, a protest organised by foreigners residing in São Paulo took to the streets demanding full access to basic rights such as health, security and decent work. The VI Immigrants’ March departed from the Praça da República in the city centre and passed in front of São Paulo's City Council, where its organisers halted the march for several minutes to make speeches.
The majority of the protestors were of Latin American and African origin, and live in the city where they are fighting to obtain the same rights as native Brazilian citizens. They are men, women and children who have fled poverty and insecurity in their countries of origin and who hope to make a new home for themselves in Brazil.
However, this dream frequently turns into a nightmare and these people end up facing many problems; it is difficult for them to obtain full access to justice due to their status as foreigners, especially when they are in an irregular legal situation. Some of these individuals, especially Bolivians, end up falling into networks which exist to exploit irregular foreign workers, making them work in slave-like conditions: with excessive working hours, salaries far below the legal minimum, lack of basic security and hygiene norms, and filthy and overcrowded accommodations.
“I am a citizen of the world”. Photo by Juliana Spinola copyright Demotix (02/12/2012)
The blog Pandora gives a good description [pt] of this silent yet violent situation experienced by many foreigners:
É muito difícil encontrar, na grande maioria dos bairros da capital paulista, imigrantes de origem boliviana. Porém, a cada dia que passa, o número de pessoas com traços indígenas e falantes de um espanhol mais arrastado que o normal só aumenta na cidade, quase que na surdina. Isso ocorre porque, normalmente, esses imigrantes se encontram nos bairros centrais da cidade – principalmente onde as roupas são mais baratas – enclausurados em fábricas, em condições insalubres de trabalho, ou vendendo seu artesanato em feiras. Esse é o panorama de mais de 200 mil bolivianos, imigrantes legais e ilegais, que vivem na cidade de São Paulo.
In the vast majority of São Paulo's districts, it is very difficult to find Bolivian immigrants. However, with each day that passes, the number of people in the city with indigenous features and a slower Spanish than usual continues to rise, almost in secret. This situation occurs because, usually, these immigrants are found in the central districts of the city – mainly where clothes are cheaper – locked up in factories in unsafe working conditions, or selling their craftwork at markets. This is the situation of more than 200,000 Bolivians, both regular and irregular immigrants, who live in the city of São Paulo.
The fact is that although Brazil is a country which was built using the strength of immigrants, the last great wave of foreigners to settle in the country did so at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, numerous economic shocks caused the process to be reversed and Brazil came to be a country of emigrants. This situation led Brazilian politicians to lay aside the task of updating legislation relating to immigration, which dates to the era of the dictatorship, hindering the implementation of an agreement to allow the free movement of people and merchandise between member states of MERCOSUR, just like in the Schengen Area in the European Union.
“Migration broadens your vision of the world”. Photo by Juliana Spinola copyright Demotix (02/12/2012)
On this subject, the website O Estrangeiro (The Foreigner) republished an enlightening interview [pt] with the coordinator of the Centre for Human Rights and Immigrant Citizenship (CEDIC), Paulo Illes:
No Brasil especificamente, o Estatuto do Estrangeiro é extremamente discriminativo, notadamente pelo fato de ser produto dos anos de chumbo [o período mais repressivo da ditadura militar do Brasil], quando o estrangeiro era tratado como uma ameaça para a segurança nacional e neste quadro jurídico arcaico, marcado pelo autoritarismo e falta de democracia, toda a responsabilidade no tratamento ao migrante é da alçada da Polícia Federal.
In Brazil specifically, the Foreigners’ Statute is extremely discriminatory, primarily due to the fact that it is a product of the ‘years of lead’, [the most repressive period of the military dictatorship in Brazil], when foreigners were treated as a threat to national security, and in this archaic legal framework, characterised by authoritarianism and lack of democracy, all responsibility for the treatment of migrants lies with the Federal Police.
The emphasis placed by governments in the South American bloc on economic factors to the detriment of civil rights shows a little-discussed side of MERCOSUR, which in reality is a customs union rather than a political one. Brazil, for example, fears that once its borders are fully opened to its partners in the bloc huge numbers of citizens of the poorer countries will enter its territory, overburdening its institutions and economy.
“We have the right to choose where to live”. Photo by Juliana Spinola copyright Demotix (02/12/2012)
But this is not all. The Brazilian government is also concerned that the establishment of a system of free movement of people and merchandise may expose the country to security risks which it does not yet feel ready to confront. One example is the possible arrival of criminals who may take advantage of more flexible immigration legislation in neighbouring countries in order to settle in Brazil.
The case of Bolivia is even more complicated, since it is an associate not a member state of MERCOSUR, and its border is considered an important route for drug traffickers. Once inside Brazil, these new ‘immigrants’ would find a huge market for their products, not to mention the fact that they could use Brazilian ports and airports as platforms to export drugs to Europe and the USA.
Immigrants in Brazil take to the streets demanding their rights and improvements in immigration laws. Immigrants’ March in São Paulo. Photo by Juliana Spinola copyright Demotix (02/12/2012)
The path to establishing itself as a state of social justice is still long for Brazil, although it is an inevitable one. If the country wants to maintain peace in its cities and good relations with its neighbours, it will be obliged to think about integration and respect for the identities of migrants who have entered the country legally. At the same time, it is fundamental for it to maintain strict control over who enters the country: being a country which is fair and receptive to immigrants does not mean sheltering criminals.
Protests such as the Immigrants’ March show a step in the correct direction: making themselves known amongst native Brazilians, showing their faces, their accented Portuguese, where and how they live, their working conditions, and strengthening immigrant associations in order to demand their rights with regard to the law. And, finally, promoting awareness as Roque Patusso, coordinator of the Centre of Support for Immigrants (CAMI) points out in an interview [pt] published on the blog Bolívia Cultural:
Um dos avanços conquistados é uma consciência mais crítica do próprio imigrante, de que ele é o sujeito capaz de mudar alguma coisa. O que percebemos é que aumentou o número de pessoas na marcha, mas também a consciência das pessoas quanto aos seus direitos. Esse é o objetivo da marcha, conscientizar.
One of the most significant advances made is a more critical awareness in the immigrant himself, in which he is the agent capable of changing things. What we see is an increase in the number of people on the march, but also a greater awareness amongst these people with regard to their rights. That is the objective of the march, to raise awareness.

author: Richard de Araújo


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In Egypt, the Silent Majority is Still Silent  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptians went to the polls to vote on a new constitution, being pushed for and supported by president Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood Freedom and Justice Party. The first round shows that about 57 per cent of the voters are in support of the constitution, despite concerns from civil society and the opposition that the new constitution, shaped by Islamists, aims to limit freedoms, cement the role of the military, and the further the Islamisation of Egypt. The second round of this two-stage referendum takes place on Saturday.
The controversial votes comes after three weeks of clashes and sit-in across Egypt, which saw 10 people killed, hundreds arrested and at least 1,000 people injured.
Many were worried about cheating. Bassem Sabry notes:
@Bassem_Sabry: I know many of the electoral violation reports are often hyperbolic, but I'm genuinely worried this time. #Egypt
Rasha posts this photograph, allegedly showing a teenager counting votes:
A photograph allegedly showing a child counting votes. Photograph shared by @Rasha_Jan25 on Twitter
She tweets:
#امسك_تزوير طفل يجلس ويفرز الاصوات من داخل لجنة 43 مدرسة النهضة الابتدائية بعين شمس pic.twitter.com/23KMhUCn
@Rasha_25Jan: Catch them cheating! A child counting votes inside committee number 43 in Al Nahdha Primary School in Ain Shams
And Amr Salah says there was a lot of stalling in voting stations. He explains:
اغلب الدواير التي لها سجل تصويتي قوي لصالح القوي المدنية هناك تعمد لتعطيل التصويت بها..الناس بالالاف من الصبح ممنوعين عمليا من التصويت بلا
@AmrSalah: There was an attempt to stall voting in most of the constituencies which have a record of voting with civil society powers .. Thousands of people are being technically barred from casting their No vote
Tarek Amr tweets why he refuses the constitution:
وماله لما الصحة تتخصخص، مش ده سبب أرفض عشانه الدستور، أنا رافض الدستور عشان دستور شرم برم كاتبينه شوية عاهات
@gr33ndata: So what is health care was privatised? That is not the reason I reject this constitution. I reject it because it is a flimsy constitution, written by mentally challenged people
And Egyptian belly dancer Sama El Masry posts this video on YouTube, where she belly dances her reaction to what she describes as a “cooked up constitution”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miMV6SPSC0A
After the first stage count results were announced, blogger Alaa Abdelfattah comments:
الأغلبية الصامتة لسه صامتة
@alaa: The silent majority is still silent
Wael Ghonim adds:
نتيجة المرحلة الأولى: من كل 100 مصري له حق التصويت: 69 لم يشارك في الاستفتاء، 18 موافق على الدستور، 13 غير موافق على الدستور
@Ghonim: The first stage results: Out of every 100 Egyptians eligible to vote, 69 did not take part in the referendum, 18 voted Yes to it and 13 voted No
And Omar Hagrass shows how media covered the results:
لو عايز النتيجة “نعم” افتح قناة مصر ٢٥ و لو عايزها “لا” افتح أون تي في و لو عايز تريح دماغك افتح باب الأودة و ناااااااااااااااام.
@OHagrass: If you want the result to be Yes, open Egypt 25 channel [on TV]; if you want the result to be No, open ONTV; and if you want to take a break, open the door of your room and go to sleep.
Karim Shafei notes:
إللى فرحان بنعم وإللى فرحان بلا.. فرحانين على إيه؟ على دستور ما تنشرش رسميا وبيصوت عليه ناس ما لحقوش يقروه ولو قروه ما فهموهوش؟؟
@KarShaf: Those happy with Yes and those happy with No … what are you happy about? A constitution which has not been officially published and which is being voted on by people who did not get a chance to read it, and even those who did read it were not able to understand it??
Ahmed Atia Aboshosha concludes:
هذا الاستفتاء جرى فى جو ملئ بأكبر قدر من الشائعات والانقسامات ولم يكن هناك وقت لتنظيمه جيدا..والحقيقة كان من الأفضل تأجيله
@AD_Shosha: This referendum was held in a climate full of rumours and divisions. There was no time to organise it properly. In reality, it would have been better if it had been postponed


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International Crimes Tribunals Bangladesh: Justice In Perspective · Global Voices
Rezwan

E-Bangladesh reports on a discussion and presentation programme on the ongoing International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh which took place in London, UK recently. The event highlighted different aspects of the justice process and the historical background and a Q & A session aimed at dispelling confusions and providing clarifications.


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Iran: Khamenei Has His Own Facebook Page · Global Voices
Hooman Askary

Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, has launched his own Facebook page. The news was announced in his Twitter account. Both Facebook and Twitter are filtered in Iran.

author: Hooman Askary


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Korea: Tracking North Korean Satellite · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korea Tech blog wrote a detailed post on the North Korean satellite which many news reports claim to have been put into space successfully. The blogger explains how to verify such claims by tracking the satellite and concludes that it is likely that something went wrong.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Offshore Oil Leak Threatens Protected Lagoon in South West Gabon  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Google Earth image of the South West region of Gabon on Dec 14 2012 where an offshore oil leakage have polluted the Fernan Vaz Lagoon via NGO H2O Gabon
NGO H2O Gabon reported that an oil leak [fr] off the shore of Gabon have polluted the Fernan Vaz Lagoon. Oil Company Perenco later confirmed the leak but it claims that the leak did not reach the lagoon [fr].

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Reserved Seats For Women, Good Or Bad? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Salman Latif exposes the flawed arguments in favor of reserved seats for women in the Pakistan National Assembly.


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Snow Emergency in Western Ukraine · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On Sunday, December 16, 2012 hundreds of vehicles were trapped on the roads of western Ukraine due to severe snowstorms. According to various mainstream and citizen media reports, the situation was critical, as many of those stuck inside their cars were running out of food, water and gasoline, while the weather was not getting better.
Boris Pelekh, whose relatives spent hours freezing inside a bus not far from Lviv, has been posting short dispatches on the situation on Facebook. In his first and second [ru] updates, posted in the morning of Sunday, he was urging his readers to share information about the emergency – and more than 3,000 Facebook users did. This photo of a huge snow pile [ru] on the road, sent to Pelekh by his mother, was shared, along with his message, by nearly 1,150 users:
[…] Mama called, there's a snow pile across the road that is as tall as she is… in a car that is still visible… there are parents with kids… its engine has stopped working!!!!!! Snow has blocked the doors!!!! They are no longer able to open the doors by themselves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Other cars are in the same situation!!!!! More or less….
People please share this…. Maybe someone will be able to do something!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[…]
PEOPLE ARE DYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Some ten hours after the first updates, Pelekh wrote [ru] that the bus and other cars nearby were finally dug out of the snow, and his relatives were on the way to the nearest town. Pelekh's mother told him [ru] that the villagers had taken in the children from the cars, to warm them up, while their parents had stayed behind; some ended up suffering frostbite and were eventually taken to a hospital.
According to the most recent updates (e.g., here and here [uk, ru]) posted in the SOS!!! [uk, ru] Facebook event thread, which was set up by the “Common Cause” Civic Movement [uk, ru], the situation on certain segments of the blocked routes appears to be under control and people seem to have been evacuated from their trapped vehicles. Facebook user Oleg Prots, who knows one of the volunteer rescuers currently at work in an affected area, is asking netizens [uk] not to spread panic:
[…] If you know specific people who need help at a specific location – write about it. Because, damn it, half of Facebook is filled with screaming about “cars are snowed in, out of gas, people are freezing,” but there is zero of specific info on where to go to and where help is needed.
On its official YouTube channel, the Ministry of Emergency Situations posted this video from the Kyiv-Chop highway, noting that 200 rescue workers and 40 vehicles were employed in the relief operation:
Yulia Borysko and Roman Vybranovskyy posted this photo of the snow-related traffic jam 7 km away from Ternopil. Borysko wrote:
Human brotherhood and mutual help are the most important things in moments like these.
In a comment, Oksana Forostyna asked [uk] a seemingly obvious question about the authorities’ failure to prevent the emergency:
[…] I cannot understand how, in our times, it was possible not to warn people against [long-distance] driving in such weather? Especially bus drivers.
Ironically, the latest item posted on PM Mykola Azarov‘s Facebook page is a link to a rather optimistic article [ru] that was published on his website on Friday, Dec. 14, and is titled “Ukraine is Ready for Winter”:
A screenshot of PM Mykola Azarov's Facebook page, with a link to his article titled “Ukraine is Ready for Winter” – and one of the user comments: “Is it really ready for winter??? Please do everything to save the people who are trapped in snow!!!!”
User Oleksandr Tsypnyak left this message [uk] for the Prime Minister:
You were recommending that everyone grab shovels and start working. Now everyone is recommending that you yourself grab a shovel and go remove the snow.

author: Veronica Khokhlova