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Spanish Court Case Tests the Challenges of Universal Jurisdiction on Syrians · Global Voices
Syria Untold

“Alepponica” by Vasco Gargalo, used with permission.
This story is republished here as part of a partnership agreement with Syria Untold.
For many years now, Syrian activists have been risking their physical and psychological well-being to document the Assad regime’s violations. Thanks to these efforts, the Syrian conflict “is going to be one of the most documented national conflicts in history, more than the Holocaust,” say lawyers for Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers, a legal advocacy group.
Nonetheless, the road to justice for the victims and their families is fraught with political and legal obstacles, as the case of Amal H. in Spain has proven.
Amal's brother, Abdul-Mumen, disappeared during the war, and like thousands of other Syrians, the only source of information she had about the fate of her loved one were photos leaked by a former Syrian military photographer known as Caesar.
Abdul-Mumen happened to hold Spanish citizenship, which allowed Guernica 37 to invoke universal jurisdiction in Spain against regime officials responsible for his abduction, torture, and consequent death.
Official logo of ‘Guernica 37′. Source: Official Website
There is no one definition of universal jurisdiction; definitions seem to vary between the many academics, treaties and laws related to it.
But one salient definition of universal jurisdiction defines the concept as criminal jurisdiction based solely on the nature of the crime, without regard to where the crime was committed, the nationality of the alleged or convicted perpetrator, the nationality of the victim, or any other connection to the state exercising such jurisdiction.
This is particularly relevant to cases of grave international crimes such as torture, genocide, forced disappearance, crimes against humanity, war crimes and state terrorism.
However, as Guernica 37 lawyers Almudena Bernabau and Maite Parejo told Syria Untold, things in Madrid are not ideal.
They spoke to us about the labyrinth of limitations on universal jurisdiction in national Spanish legislation, as well as the international and Syrian efforts that finally led them to Amal. Stephen J. Rapp, former United States ambassador at large for the Office of Global Criminal Justice, established contacts between Amal and Guernica 37.
Despite their efforts to keep Amal a confidential source, her family in Syria had to relocate from regime-controlled to rebel-controlled areas, which now live under constant risk of shelling.
In this video interview, Parejo explains why they had to find a victim with a Spanish nationality:
The provision of universal jurisdiction [in Spain] was reformed in 2014, and they legislated with a lot of requirements for the crime of ‘terrorism of the state’. We need to have, or the victims must have, the Spanish nationality.
Bernabau explained that finding Amal was key:
They told me there's a woman we believe has the country code, 34 [Spain's Dialing Code], which means she lives in Spain and I told them ‘give me the phone number!’ I called and [Amal] was wonderful, and ready. She was ready to do something [about her brother].
Despite her Spanish citizenship, Amal’s case has not progressed smoothly.
Judge Eloy Velasco decided to accept the case, but the Spanish state prosecutor quickly appealed. The prosecution contested the decision to consider Amal a victim, despite having forcefully lost her brother without trial and endured the consequences of his incommunicado disappearance for over two years, before a photo of his tortured corpse was identified by his son in the leaked Caesar photos.
According to international law, families of those disappeared or killed without trial are also considered victims. Spanish laws tend to have a broad definition of victimhood, even more so after the latest amendments of 2015. The Spanish Constitution also upholds the victims’ right to access justice.
However, Parejo explained that some previous cases against countries like China and the US have left Spanish prosecutors with very conservative tendencies towards such legal actions. It even led to legal reforms (in 2009 and 2014) limiting the jurisdiction in international cases to a great extent.
Although Syria does not enjoy the same leverage of the aforementioned countries, the laws are the same for everyone. But this does not mean it’s the end of the road, because even a Tibet case against China has now reached the Spanish Constitutional Court.
In the above video, Parejo told Syria Untold that others prosecutors wanted ‘direct victims’ like Amal's brother to be present in Spain with a Spanish nationality, which she found to be ‘absurd’ as he is among the disappeared in Syria.
Bernabau argued that it is ‘ridiculous’ and ‘unconstitutional’ to to dismiss Amal's case because she wasn't a ‘direct’ victim as international law defines families of victims as victims as well.
Although universal jurisdiction and a wider definition of victimhood could allow the case to be filed, the actual trial proceedings need the accused to be under custody at the time in order to take place.
The nine accused Syrian officials are:
All of them have been carefully maneuvering their travels abroad since the Syrian uprising begun in 2011.
That makes it difficult for Spanish police to detain any of them, but the mere filing of the case allows for international arrest warrants to be issued against them, further limiting their mobility and risking their assets abroad being confiscated.
This means that such a case “starts a process of accountability,” according to Stephen J. Rapp, the former United States ambassador at large for the Office of Global Criminal Justice.
As Assad regime officers have been administering organized violence with impunity for years, the mere existence of such legal investigation hinders their confidence and adds hurdles to committing further violations.
After Judge Manuel García Castejón took over the case from Judge Velasco, the prosecutor’s appeal was accepted by the majority of a panel of high ranking judges on July 21, for reasons relating to the definition of victimhood. This reasoning has not yet been officially communicated to Guernica 37, whose lawyers thus preferred not to comment on the verdict yet.
However, they confirmed to Syria Untold that “if the Spanish National Court’s decision is based on the arguments put forward by the Office of the Prosecutor, that were contested by our legal team, the decision could be subject to appeal before the Spanish Supreme Court.”
They added that the acceptance of the appeal does not constitute a defeat:
[Our legal team] will exhaust all available means and legal resources at its disposal to pursue justice for the thousands of victims of the Syrian conflict. This is a setback and we are of course disappointed, but this is just a step in the legal process. We remain confident in the strength of our case and its firm jurisdictional basis.

author: Syria Untold


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‘Deer Woman: An Anthology’ Sheds Light on Violence Against Native Women in North America · Global Voices
Andrea Chong Bras

“Deer Woman: An Anthology” artwork by Weshoyot Alvitre. Used with permission.
Native women across North America are disproportionately vulnerable to violence. According to the US-based Indian Law Resource Center, “One in three Native women will be raped in their lifetime, and three in five will be physically assaulted. Native women are more than twice as likely to be stalked than other women and, even worse, Native women are being murdered at a rate ten times the national average.”
The statistics are stark, as is the silence that too often surrounds issues affecting Native women. In response, some Native women artists and writers are working to put faces to these numbers. One such example is the upcoming “Deer Woman: An Anthology,” a collection of illustrated stories which deal with violence and pay homage to the strength and resilience of Native women.
Deer Woman is a figure who appears in numerous Native traditions across North America. Although her story takes on different shapes and forms, in many versions Deer Woman “is a powerful, spirit-being meant to remind us (People of creation) to remember our responsibilities, to tend the fire, and to be aware of the powerful forces that exist beyond the homeplace.”
The original idea behind the anthology was born out of the success of artist and writer Elizabeth LaPensée’s comic, “Deer Woman: A Vignette,” published by Native Realities Press in 2015. It features a female survivor of sexual assault transforming into a superhero-like Deer Woman and taking on would-be attackers. Although a comic, the images it contains can be quite disturbing as they expose a dark reality that affects women in Native communities. The comic also includes self-defense techniques from Arming Sisters Reawakening Warriors, an organization that promotes self-empowerment and defense as tools for healing.
According to Native Realities Press founder Lee Francis, the free digital copy of LaPensée's comic, available on their website, is the highest downloaded book on the site.
To create the anthology,  Elizabeth LaPensée joined forces with artist Weshoyot Alvitre, and the two called on artists and writers to share stories inspired by Deer Woman. Their efforts were supported by a successful Kickstarter campaign which raised more than $18,000.
Three days to go. Over 200% funded. Let's shoot this #kickstarter through the roof these last few days!  Link in my profile: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1532301108/deer-woman-an-anthology/description #indigenous #women #visiblewomen #deerwoman #folklore #empowerment #feminist #feminism #missingmurderedindigenouswomen #riseup #art #graphicnovel #inks #writing #comics #sequentialart #editorial #portraits #healing #truth #reconciliation
A post shared by Weshoyot Alvitre (@weshoyot) on
Co-editor Weshoyot Alvitre spoke with Global Voices about “Deer Woman: An Anthology,” activism in the digital age and the importance of Deer Woman for women everywhere:
Global Voices (GV): How has the digital era allowed for more conversations about issues affecting Native communities?
Weshoyot Alvitre (WA): The American Indian movement was so censored back in the day because they didn’t have access to video cameras. They didn't have access to free press. They were very easily controlled by the fact that people, except for international news, just wouldn’t cover the issues and in that they managed to control people being aware of the issues. Nowadays there are ways of working around [this control] because there is almost instant feed. If you can get a small amount out there and spark people’s attention, then people will want to look further into an issue.
GV: Who is Deer Woman?
WA: The story varies from tribe to tribe. I think this book is really interesting in that, in some tribal affiliations, she is looked at as sort of a temptress. If men are doing something wrong in their life, she extinguishes their life force and brings them back to the truth and the good ways. And in other traditions she is a reminder that if you don’t follow the ways, you will be lost. In Native mythology, the natural world and the spiritual world are intertwined. There is almost an empowering aspect to her. She is the figure that has sole control over whatever it is that she is doing and over other people's lives, as well.
GV: How does the figure of Deer Woman connect to the modern day?
WA: There is a lot of hurt and a lot of broken feminine ideals in Native culture, especially currently. And I am hoping with what I’ve done with the book, and what I have seen in the other stories in the book, is to take that broken lost figure, who is almost mythological, and have her deal with modern issues. So it touches real issues and touches real Native women.
GV: What does “Deer Woman: An Anthology” hope to accomplish?
WA: I think through the stories it brings awareness. It can bring awareness and make people look into it further. More importantly, it is giving voices to these indigenous women and not placing any judgement on the story they want to tell through this figure of Deer Woman. She is working as a muse to allow women to talk about these issues. I think deer woman teaches us self-strength […] I think she represents a raw essence of what it means to be female.
“Deer Woman: An Anthology” is due out in November 2017.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Andrea Chong Bras


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Mexicans Turn to Social Media to Call Out Abuse and Irregularities After Earthquake · Global Voices
Elvira Herrera

Photograph by the author. Used with permission.
Following the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Mexico on September 19, civilians have been working around the clock to form medical teams, collection centers, rescue groups, and perform reconstruction work. It is an impressive social mobilization effort, reminiscent of Mexico’s reconstruction following the disastrous 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck in 1985. These days, hashtags like #VerificadoS19 (#VerifiedS19) are the latest in a series of new online tools developed to more efficiently channel support to areas in need.
However, in the midst of this impressive display of solidarity throughout Mexico, reports have surfaced of politically-motivated hoarding, rescue protocol violations, attacks on civilians, refusal to publicly release crucial information, a general lack of sensitivity and an absence of response from different levels of the Mexican government.
Voices began chiming in on September 21, under the hashtag #RescatePrimero (#RescueFirst), in protest of the army and navy’s efforts to start debris removal with heavy machinery before the 72-hour wait period recommended by international rescue protocols. This prompted the intervention of the National Human Rights Commission and the filing of legal proceedings to halt building demolition so the search for missing people could continue uninterrupted.
#RescatePrimero si ya se cansaron los marinos o militares, hay muchos topos, brigadas y personas que tenemos fuerza y ganas de ayudar
— Daniel Maldonado (@danymoto7) 21 2017
#RescatePrimero [“#RescueFirst”] If the navy or the military have exhausted themselves, there are still many diggers, teams, and people who have the strength and desire to help
Apoyamos este comunicado de la #CNDH de México | Vía: @gomanego. #NoALaMaquinariaPesadapic.twitter.com/WIMW26L4Wi
— Adán González (@rpkampuchea) 22 de septiembre de 2017
We support this statement from the #CNDH [The National Human Rights Commission] of Mexico | Via: @gomanego. #NoALaMaquinariaPesada [“#NoToHeavyMachinery”] pic.twitter.com/WIMW26L4Wi
Jueces otorgan suspensiones con las que no se podrán derribar edificios dañados, si es posible ubicar sobrevivientes https://t.co/FW861mKTrQ
— AnimalPolitico.com (@Pajaropolitico) 25 de septiembre de 2017
Judges grant suspension orders to stop demolishing damaged buildings, if it is still possible to locate survivors https://t.co/FW861mKTrQ
A textile factory in Colonia Obrera is another location where irregularities have been reported, from refusals to disclose the identities of female employees or details about their working conditions, to physical and verbal aggression by troops sent from the nation’s capital. Sadly, there are painful similarities shared between current events and the earthquake that hit 32 years ago, when saving factory equipment was prioritized over the recovery of human lives. This is one of several cases that has revealed ongoing evidence of negligence and a relationship of corruption between the real estate industry and the government. Tensions in Colonia Obrera touched off confrontations between the military and civilians.
¿Hubo muertos en la fábrica que cayó en la Obrera? ¿Qué pasó ahí? Limpiaron el predio, no las dudas https://t.co/UmQc2ftQhE
— Wendy Selene Pérez (@wendyselene) 25 de septiembre de 2017
Were there any deaths at the factory in Obrera? What happened there? They cleaned the premises, but not the doubts https://t.co/UmQc2ftQhE
Mujeres obreras, muriendo en las fábricas en las que trabajan, en condiciones que no conocemos. No es la primera vez. #Chimalpopoca
— Ani (@Panoptismo) 22 de septiembre de 2017
Women workers, dying in the factories where they work, in conditions we don't know about. It's not the first time. #Chimalpopoca
RT #Urgente#Chimalpopoca
—>Las trabajadoras dicen que hay sótano.
Sacaron a brigadistas.
Hay cerco policial y maquinaria. pic.twitter.com/UXtBgvAjMw
— Cintia Bolio (@cintiabolio) 22 de septiembre de 2017
RT #Urgente [“#Urgent”] #Chimalpopoca
—>Workers there say there is a basement.
Troops have withdrawn.
There is police fencing and machinery. pic.twitter.com/UXtBgvAjMw
Anger and pain flared once more when it was discovered that information about the collapsed buildings on Álvaro Obregón and Gabriel Mancera Avenues in Mexico City was withheld for over six days, even though signs of life were detected as late as September 25. It is presumed that about 40 people may still be trapped. Demands from family members and rescue groups, directed at all levels of government, are increasing while critical time is running short.
Familias en #AlvaroObregon286 están desesperadas, denuncian graves irregularidades y falta de información.#Sismo… https://t.co/YDyo6kA3CG
— Román Borrego (@RomanBorrego) 26 de septiembre de 2017
Families in #AlvaroObregon286 are desperate, report serious irregularities and lack of information. #Sismo [“#Earthquake”]… https://t.co/YDyo6kA3CG
La falta de información en #alvaroobregon286 es inhumano…
— Love Only (@Maizinha_RBDyLS) 26 de septiembre de 2017
The lack of information from #alvaroobregon286 is inhumane…
Hace días se atrevieron a pedirles a los familiares que no tuvieran contacto con medios de comunicación y redes sociales.
— elisa (@tannnit) 26 de septiembre de 2017
A few days ago they had the gall to ask family members not to have contact with news media and social networks.
Facing grim realities such as these, the online community is reminding others to stay alert, not just in Mexico City, but in other earthquake-affected parts of the country. They urge others not to forget about equally important areas with less media coverage, like Santa Rosa Xochiac, Iztapalapa, Tláhuac, Xochimilco, and camps of indigenous populations in settlements around the Roma and Juarez neighborhoods.
Social media users are urging affected residents, neighbors, and civilians to report irregularities and insist that institutions comply with minimum security and transparency protocols. They are demanding that the public be informed about issues in an honest and time-sensitive manner, that international protocols regarding the use of heavy machinery are being upheld, that there are no undue arrests or obstructions to rescue work, that construction companies are held legally responsible for damaged buildings, that all civil protection regulations for reconstruction be complied with, and that aid can and will arrive to affected areas:
Repito: aún falta mucha ayuda, pero luego habrá que pedir cuentas sobre cuántas mujeres trabajaban en #Chimalpopoca y en qué condiciones.
— Tania Tagle (@Tania_Tagle) 22 de septiembre de 2017
I repeat: there is still a lot of help needed, but we have to ask about the number of women who worked in #Chimalpopoca and under what conditions.
Soy de Morelos y nadie me lo contó yo lo vi, están bien densas las cosas y todos salimos ayudar con miedo que nos detengan con la ayuda
— Montserrat (@monts___) 25 de septiembre de 2017
I am from Morelos and no one told me, I saw it for myself, things are really intense and we all head out to help, fearful that they will stop us from helping.
Toda edificación colapsada NO debe ser demolida antes de que un peritaje permita deslindar causas y responsabilidades. ?No a la impunidad?
— René Coulomb (@ReneCoulomb) 23 de septiembre de 2017
Any collapsed building should NOT be demolished before an expert's report can identify causes and responsibilities. ? No to impunity ?
Now that talks of rebuilding have started, the public wants to closely monitor the use of all resources directed towards reconstruction.
Empresarios de la CdMx exigen abrir a la sociedad el manejo del dinero para la reconstrucción https://t.co/PwdkEwgD0cpic.twitter.com/7CmvCg5UdY
— Sin Embargo MX (@SinEmbargoMX) October 3, 2017
Businessmen from Mexico City demand public transparency in the handling of the reconstruction money.
Ahora viene la prueba de fuego. Ya pasó la hora de los héroes ocasionales. Lo que ahora se requiere es mantener el espíritu cívico de los imprescindibles. #ReconstrucciónSinCorrupción
— Claudio X. González (@ClaudioXGG) October 2, 2017
The moment of truth has come. The time of transitory heroes has passed. What we need now is to keep up the civic spirit. #ReconstrucciónSinCorrupción (Reconstruction without corruption)

author: Elvira Herrera


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Peru’s World Cup Chances Cause Stir As Some Fans Hoard Tickets to a Qualifying Game · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

National Stadium in Lima, Peru, where the match between Peru and Colombia's national teams will take place on October 11. Image on Flickr by user Christian Córdova (CC BY 2.0).
Lately, “We depend on us” is the most heard phrase all over Peruvian media, whether sports-related or not. After 35 years of watching World Cups from afar, the Peruvian national team has a real chance to qualify for the 2018 Football World Cup in Russia.
However, as the excitement over Peru's chances sweep the nation, a incident occurred when fans complained that tickets for a 10 October qualifying match between Peru and Colombia — to be sold at a BBVA bank branch — were bought by bank employees before they were available to the public.
In spite of Peru's long absence from the World Cup competitions, and although whole generations have never cheered for the white-and-red beloved T-shirt on a football World Cup pitch, Peru is considered a football-loving country. Some say it's the most football-loving country in Latin America. Others note that Peru doesn't really play football, instead they just kick around a ball. In other words, people don't play soccer, but they play “julbo”. The word “julbo” comes from the deformation of the football, and, in jest, it can be seen as a illness that attacks the quality of the sport.
Although Peru has had great success in other sport disciplines, football remains lord and master over all other sports in the country and many believe that Peru can beat the odds and make it to the coveted competition:
Ubicados en el cuarto lugar con 24 puntos y a dos fechas para el final de las Eliminatorias, la Selección Peruana se encuentra con grandes posibilidades de clasificar a Rusia 2018 […].
Nuestras opciones crecen sobre todo porque en las siguientes dos jornadas visitaremos a una golpeada Argentina y cerraremos de local contra Colombia, que para esa fecha ya podría estar clasificada y jugaría sin presiones.
Ranked in fourth position [among South American national teams] with 24 points and with two matches left for this qualifying round to end, the Peruvian national team has great chances to be part of Russia 2018 […].
Our chances are higher, especially in the next two matches, because we'll visit a defeated Argentina and we'll close this stage confronting Colombia, that by then, might already be qualified and playing without any pressures.
Just days ahead of the match between Peru and Colombia, set to be played in Lima on October 10, a local bank offered to sell tickets in advance through several ATMs in Lima and other cities. The option, valid only for account holders of that bank, was only available from 9:00 to 10:00 am on 25 September and 26 September.
Some football fans even slept outside the designated bank branches, just to be among the first to purchase their tickets. However, there was a mix of excitement from those fans who managed to buy their tickets, and outrage from some other fans who, after long hours spent waiting, noticed several clerks were purchasing tickets before opening the bank doors.
?https://t.co/6ZCqJiqHrV?
¿Que problema hubo en BBVA por venta de entradas? #bbva #peruvscolombia
Resulta que BBVA lanzó una campaña… pic.twitter.com/Y5xYr6qS2V
— Preguntall (@preguntall) 26 de septiembre de 2017
What was the problem at BBVA for ticket purchasing?
The bank launched a campaign for an anticipated sale of tickets for the Peru-Colombia match (October 10) through their ATMs to strengthen Peruvian football image, but they didn't foresee their clerks would take advantage of their positions and would buy tickets before hundreds of fans who slept outside the bank just to buy a ticket on time.
——–
?http://www.preguntall.com ?
What was the problem with the bank for the ticket sale?
As it happens to be, BBVA launched a campaign…
Que mal que los trabajadores de bbva sea los primeros si en realidad los hinchas estaban haciendo su cola x dos entradas
— pedretti-821 (@Pedretti821) 26 de septiembre de 2017
While BBVA Continental bank apologizes to unfortunate fooball fans, employees must return the tickets they bought for Perú v Colombia match.
————-
It's terrible that bank employees were the first ones, when actually the fans were in line to buy two tickets
Soon, memes making fun of the situation appeared:
#PeruVsColombia | Indecopi multarían con S/1.8 mllns al
Banco BBVA por venta de entradas a sus trabajadores. pic.twitter.com/t9KxDnGgwp
— CNMemes (@CNMemes) 26 de septiembre de 2017
Hey, young man, what do you do for a living?
Just days ago, I used to be a clerk at BBVA. Now, I'm my own boss.
——-
#PeruVsColombia | Indecopi would fine BBVA with S/1.8 million [USD551,000] for employees purchasing tickets.
The National Institute for the Protection of Competition and Protection of Copyright, Indecopi, is a state institution in charge of several tasks, among them, customer protection.
As a consequence, the bank announced that the reported four employees involved with keeping the bank closed to purchase tickets, would be removed from their positions:
BBVA despedirá a empleados que compraron entradas antes que client… – @SEMANAeconomica https://t.co/BL3rgc63u1
— Ricardo Guzman (@ricardoguzmam) 26 de septiembre de 2017
BBVA will fire employees who unlawfully purchased tickets before the clients, during anticipated ticket sale for the football match confronting Peru and Colombia.
According to that same news piece, the unlawfully purchased tickets will be donated to a child foster care institution so “children living in vulnerable situations have the chance to cheer for the Peruvian national team”:
Perú vs. Colombia: #BBVA quita entradas a trabajadores ‘vivazos’ y las donará a niños https://t.co/1k7frUsYA3
— Diario Trome (@tromepe) 25 de septiembre de 2017
BBVA acknowledged that 1% of the tickets were unlawfully purchased by these bad clerks and will be punished. Tickets will have an innovative use.
———–
Perú vs. Colombia: BBVA takes tickets from “clever” employees and will give them to disadvantaged children.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Russians Get Territorial After Chinese Newspaper Tweets Photos of the Remote Altay Region · Global Voices
Alexey Kovalev

Black Irtysh river in Altay prefecture, China / Credit: Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0
On October 2, the English-language state newspaper China Daily tweeted some beautiful photographs of Altay, a remote region in the northwestern part of the country.
Check out some of the autumn scenery in Altay, a remote and sparsely populated part in NW China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. pic.twitter.com/d3frx7h8cx
— China Daily (@ChinaDailyUSA) 2 октября 2017 г.
China Daily regularly tweets promotional photographs from various Chinese regions, but this time it caused an unexpected backlash from Russian Twitter users who thought China was claiming parts of Russia as its own.
This is Russia
— Pasik Plastikbrains (@mrplastikbrains) 2 октября 2017 г.
Most of the replies to China Daily’s tweet were expletive- and argot-laden, in both Russian and English. One particularly colorful response in Russian read:
Рамсы попутали, волки позорные? Дырку от бублика вы получите, а не Алтай. ?
— Беспокойный Пациент (@VIPpatient) 2 октября 2017 г.
You’ve got some nerve, you deplorable wolves, haven’t you? A donut hole is what you'll get instead of our Altay.
Soon, other users were trying to set the record straight. Altay is a mountain range in south-eastern Siberia that stretches between Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. In each country there is a region whose name includes a local variation of the name Altay.
In fact, in Russia there are two separate administrative units of different federal levels: the predominantly Russian-populated Altay Krai and the Altay Republic, also known as the Mountainous Altay.
Округ Алтай – округ в Или-Казахском автономном округе Синьцзян-Уйгурского автономного района КНР
— Дебри ДВ (@debri_dv) 2 октября 2017 г.
The Altay Prefecture is a district in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.
But even after the clarification some Russian users insisted that Russia’s Altay is the best Altay of them all:
Красивые виды пейзажей китайского Алтая! Но российский Алтай многократно краше, ни монгольский, ни казахский Алтай не сравняться с ним.
— Игорь Владимирович (@nis34) 2 октября 2017 г.
Beautiful views of the Chinese Altay! But the Russian Altay is many times more beautiful, the Mongol or Kazakh Altays don’t ever come close to it.
It is possible that Russian Twitter users reacted so strongly due to popular fears that Russia is quietly ceding some of its border territories in the Far East to China. Or it was simply yet another example of social media outrage over something rather trivial. Whatever the case, at least it came with some shots of stunning scenery.

author: Alexey Kovalev


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Serbian Groups Stage Blackout to Protest Media Intimidation By Tax Authority · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Screen shot of the Twitter profile of Vukašin Obradović, owner and editor of Novine Vranjske, featuring a header photo from September 18 “I stand with Vranjske” protest featuring the hashtag.
More than one hundred media outlets and NGO websites staged a website blackout on September 28, in an act of resistance against media control and intimidation in the country.
“This is how it looks when there is no media freedom” – Today 150 media and organizations in #Serbia are going black to alert on the situation in the country#StojimUzVranjske #ZaSloboduMedija #StopMedijskomMraku pic.twitter.com/aZ0GJg0KG7
— Marion Dautry (@MarionDautry) September 28, 2017
The blackout is the latest in a series of events following the September 18  closure of Novine Vranjske (“Vranje Newspaper”), an independent weekly magazine that covered Southern Serbia for 23 years.
Vranjske owner and editor-in-chief Vukašin Obradović explained that the newspaper was forced to close down due to administrative harassment and other forms of state pressure, particularly from Serbia's Tax Authority. In a statement about the closure, the European Federation of Journalists noted:
[Obradović], his family and his colleagues experienced multiple non-investigated instances of harassment and persecution, ranging from repeated direct threats, car tampering, offices robbed, to inspections and controls leading to the economic suffocation of the newspaper, peaking this year.
On the morning of September 19 Obradović locked himself in the newsroom and began a hunger strike. He was hospitalized the next night for health reasons, but then left the hospital on September 20 of his own accord. He soon after published an open letter to the director of the Tax Authority asking for clarification of the closure, citing evidence that the newspaper had paid all its taxes, which came in the form of a state-issued certificate. He noted that his firm had been subjected to selective justice since 1994, including inspections by Tax Authority and Bureau of Labor, with malicious intent to compromise them. The agency has not responded thus far.
Using the hashtag #StojimUzVranjske, meaning “I stand with Vranjske,” journalists and other free speech advocates staged protests in person in Belgrade on September 18, and online. Two print newspapers also expressed solidarity with Vranjske.
Behind a black front page, Danas daily republished a selection of the investigative articles from Vranjske which made it a target of the regime. Vreme featured the hashtag and provided an overview of media freedom issues.
Kupujem samo novine na kojima piše #StojimUzVranjske @OnlineDanas , @NedeljnikVreme pic.twitter.com/1H9ww8jzpR
— Antonela Riha (@RihaAntonela) September 28, 2017
I am buying only those newspapers that stress that they stand with Vranjske: Danas daily and Vreme weekly.
Some leading journalist organizations also joined the protest movement, including Balkan Insight, one of the few independent media outlets that produces news from Serbia in English.
@BalkanInsight Serbia's page will not be available today as we join the campaign to raise awareness of the declining media freedom in the country#StopMedijskomMraku #ZaSloboduMedija #StojimUzVranjske pic.twitter.com/5BRA4TVWdu
— Gordana Andric (@shnjoof) September 28, 2017
Even though the number of websites participating in the blackout action might seem large at first glance, this is just a small portion of the overall number of around two thousand media outlets in Serbia. Most of them keep silent or are openly complacent towards ruling party propaganda.
U Srbiji je registrovano preko 1800 medija. A mrak nikad veci.Vise propagandista nego novinara. #StojimUzVranjske #upitnik
— Dušan Mašić (@dusanmasic) September 26, 2017
Even though over 1800 media outlets are registered in Serbia, the media situation had never been darker. There are much more propagandists than journalists. #IStandWithVranjske #Upitnik [a TV show which dared to conduct an interview with Obradović]
It is an open secret that authorities misuse Serbia's tax authority as a tool for punishing disobedient media.
Independent weekly Vreme (“Time”) noted in its September 28 issue that Kikindske novine (“Kikinda Newspaper”) had laid dormant for three months in 2015, and was blocked for six months due to a reported error of Tax Authority.
According to Vreme, the Tax Authority has failed to respond to journalist inquiries whether it conducts similar controls in pro-government media companies such as Politika and Informer. Both of them had recently published libelous ‘dossiers’ by a secretive organization called Antidot – New Media Network Western Balkans. The dossiers portrayed leading local investigative journalism organizations such as BIRN, CINS and KRIK as producers of “para-media contents” and foreign mercenaries used by the US to “topple Balkan governments.”
Antidot was formerly owned by the lawyer of Stanko Subotić, a well-networked businessman convicted for organized crime perpetrated during the reign of Slobodan Milošević. After the newspaper Blic revealed this connection in April 2015, the Antidot portal changed ownership in attempt to “cover up its tracks.”
Vreme also reported that the bank account of publisher Adria Media Group was also blocked after its tabloid Kurir (“Courier”) started criticizing the regime of President and former PM Aleksandar Vučić, even though their tax debt was confirmed to be zero dinars. “AMG claims that in less than three months they received over 60 tax controls, however the Tax Authority has not issued any public information about the case,” noted the expose.
On the other hand, regime-friendly media companies such as Pink TV suffered no consequences when dealing with the Tax Authority, in spite of owing hundreds of millions of dinars to the state in unpaid taxes.
In 2016, the Center of Investigative Journalism (CINS) discovered that Pink received over 7 million euros in state loans, despite its debts, which legally render the company ineligible for loans.
In Milosevic's times they were killing journalists. Now they are killing journalism. #StopMedijskomMraku #ZaSloboduMedija #StojimUzVranjske
— Srdjan Cvijic (@srdjancvijic) September 28, 2017
Hashtag translations: #StopMediaDarkness #ForMediaFreedom #IStandWithVranjske
Media freedoms have been deteriorating in Serbia in recent years, under the rule of the populist regime headed by President Aleksandar Vučić, who served as Minister of Information in the Milošević's governmet, and who styles himself as a pro-European reformer. His party, the Serbian Progressive Party is a member of the European People's Party (EPP).
The methods of the Serbian Progressive Party echo the practices used in neighboring countries ruled by EPP member parties. For example, Macedonia's former ruling party (voted out in 2017) also used proxy propaganda groups misrepresenting themselves as think-tanks and civic actions to produce libelous dossiers. These were similar to Antidot's efforts to target activists and journalists, and state institutions for administrative harassment of independent NGOs and media, as well as impunity for criminal activities against them.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Aoyagi Bisen’s Beautiful Calligraphy Has Earned Her a Social Media Following in Japan · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Japanese calligrapher Bisen Aoyagi at the Japan Expo in Thailand in 2016. Screencap from official Bisen Aoyagi YouTube Channel.
A recent viral tweet demonstrated how much Japanese popular culture values the art of writing and showcased an up-and-coming calligrapher who has garnered a host of fans because of her personality and penmanship.
In mid-September, Aoyagi Bisen posted a video to her Twitter account that showed how to write what is widely regarded to be one of the most obscure–and complex–Chinese characters: biang, used exclusively when writing “biangbiang noodles” in Mandarin.
From the perspective of anyone who is familiar with writing Chinese characters, known in Japanese as kanji, the character for biang is almost ridiculously complicated, taking 56 strokes to write.
Aoyagi's video has been shared on Twitter so far more than 149,000 times.
最も複雑と言われる漢字の一つ。
中国の漢字です( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ！
「ビィアン」と読みます。麺の種類のひとつで「ビャンビャン麺」と呼ばれる麺を漢字で書く場合に使われるようです(^ ^)！ 美扇筆ー半紙用ーを使用してます。 pic.twitter.com/GXMxPCmBro
— aoyagibisen (@aoyagibisen) September 25, 2017
Here is the one Chinese character that is said to be the most complicated. It's used in China! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ The character is read as “biang”, and is used when writing the name of the noodle dish known as biangbiang-men (^ ^)！
The character was written using an original Bisen brush and hanshiyo paper.
With just 52 tweets so far, 27-year-old Aoyagi is a relative newcomer to Twitter, so her “biang” tweet was truly a sudden viral sensation. Born in Osaka, Aoyagi says in her official bio that she started learning Japanese calligraphy from the age of four from her grandmother.
By the age of 17 she was licensed as a calligraphy instructor, and she has continued her study of the art ever since. Today Aoyagi works as a professional calligrapher, performing in exhibitions around the world, representing Japan, while selling her own brand of calligraphy supplies.
#新しいプロフィール画像 pic.twitter.com/oCWZoa8xKm
— aoyagibisen (@aoyagibisen) July 21, 2017
Here is a new profile picture of me.
On Twitter, Aoyagi regularly posts short videos of beautiful calligraphy demonstrations.
輝いてる！#青柳美扇 #美扇 #美扇筆 pic.twitter.com/Vdaqj0u5sw
— aoyagibisen (@aoyagibisen) August 2, 2017
To shine! #AoyagiBisen
志 pic.twitter.com/7R1utIAxoU
— aoyagibisen (@aoyagibisen) March 20, 2017
“Ambition”
From time to time, she also provides tips and lessons on how to perfect Japanese calligraphy.
美文字レッスン#aoyagibisen #書道家 #青柳美扇 pic.twitter.com/b5AK1O36zG
— aoyagibisen (@aoyagibisen) March 9, 2017
How to write beautiful Chinese characters. #aoyagibisen
And other times, Aoyagi provides virtuoso performances that more resemble abstract art. In this tweet, Aoyagi challenges herself to write a 108-stroke abstract form made up of different kanji elements.
108画の漢字。
煩悩だらけでタイムチャレンジ。
筆で1分以内に書けたら凄くない？ pic.twitter.com/ET1BfhSR9s
— aoyagibisen (@aoyagibisen) October 3, 2017
A kanji with 108 strokes.
To help shoo away some “earthly desires”, here's a time challenge. Wouldn't it be awesome if I could write this in one go in a minute or less?
Follow Aoyagi Bisen on Twitter and Instagram to see more artwork and kanji demonstrations. Her website also features some more of her calligraphy, some of which is for sale.

author: Nevin Thompson


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Tens of Thousands in the Philippines Rally Against President Duterte’s Deadly ‘Triple Wars’ · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

National minority groups lead September 21 protest march to Luneta. Source: Manila Today. Used with permission.
Tens of thousands joined a September 21, 2017 protest in Manila, Philippines, to condemn human rights abuses under the government of President Rodrigo Duterte, who assumed power in June 2016.
The protest was held on the same day when martial law was imposed in the country by former dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1972. The Philippines was under martial law until 1981. During this period, the Marcos government was accused of committing widespread human rights abuses. Marcos was eventually ousted by a peaceful uprising known as People Power. Duterte has repeatedly said that he admires Marcos.
Participants expressed collective indignation over the Duterte administration’s so-called triple wars: the “war on drugs”  that has already killed over 13,000 people, the “all-out war” against communist rebels which has displaced farmers and indigenous peoples, and the “war on terror” in Marawi which placed the whole southern island of Mindanao under martial law.
On top of the rising anti-drug war death toll, rights group Karapatan has also documented 88 political killing of mostly peasant leaders and activists alongside cases of illegal arrests, forced evacuations, aerial bombings, and indiscriminate shootings in Duterte’s counterinsurgency war.
Despite efforts by the Duterte administration to disrupt and discourage protests, organizers estimated around 30,000 people braved the rains to join mass actions in Manila's Luneta Park.
Led by the broad civil society alliance Movement Against Tyranny (MAT), workers, peasant, and people’s organizations, members of national minorities, church groups, artists, students, and professionals were involved in organizing the Luneta rally.
Protesters voiced concern over what they saw as President Duterte’s attempt to impose dictatorial rule in the country. Human rights group Karapatan pointed out similarities between Marcos and Duterte:
The parallelism between the Marcos and the Duterte regimes are becoming more pronounced, as the latter not only aids the political rehabilitation of the Marcoses but also employs the same fascist tactics and anti-people policies of the Marcos dictatorship, including threats to impose a nationwide martial rule. Duterte and his security cluster has utilized narratives and tactics straight out of Marcos’s playbook of repression, repeating and justifying rights violations, with increasing frequency and intensity.
The protest crowd at Luneta Park. Photo credits: Manila Today. Used with permission.
The path to holding the protest was paved with obstacles. Authorities initially declared the holding of a nationwide earthquake drill on September 21. Some believe this was intended to prevent the people, especially workers and students, from joining the rally. Then, rally organizers were reportedly given a hard time securing space in Luneta Park for the protest. Classes and work in public schools and government offices were also suspended, apparently to discourage attendance in the protest. In the Philippines, students and their teachers are able to join rallies en masse if there are classes since they can persuade school officials to join a political activity as a group. Also, politicians often suspend classes to prevent schools and their students from participating in political actions.
President Duterte threatened martial law if the protest were to turn violent. Meanwhile, the national police chief warned that six barges of protesters from Visayas and Mindanao infiltrated by armed rebels were going to join the demonstration. He later claimed that the information he got was wrong.
Just days before the protest, President Duterte declared September 21 a “National Day of Protest” and mobilized a few thousand government employees and supporters for pro-Duterte rallies using government funds to hire buses, distribute food to participants and hire sexy stars to entertain the crowd.
‘Rody's cube’ being burned at Mendiola bridge just outside the gates of the presidential palace. Source: Manila Today. Used with permission.
Protesters burned an 8-foot “Rody’s cube” effigy modeled after a rubix cube but showing President Duterte’s face alongside those of Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, and a puppy signifying the government’s puppetry to foreign powers like the United States. In the Philippines, the use of the term puppy (tuta in Filipino) in politics denotes blind subservience to a master.
Apart from creative effigies, big banners, colorful placards, and fiery speeches, the protest also featured cultural presentations. This included, among others, a Filipino version of “Do You Hear The People Sing” from the “Les Miserables” musical.
Despite the suspension of classes in public schools and in many private schools, thousands of students joined the protest in Luneta. In fact, a Twitter post showing a student joining the rally while strudying went viral:
ISKOLAR NG BAYAN
NGAYON AY LUMALABAN
(AT NAGREREVIEW NG BIO 12) pic.twitter.com/GxzsgLDTFO
— Patrick Wincy Reyes (@incywincyyy) September 21, 2017
SCHOLAR OF THE PEOPLE
ARE PART OF THE STRUGGLE
(AND REVIEWING FOR BIO 12)
In the wake of the strong showing in the September 21 protest, President Duterte backtracked from previous threats and once more changed his stance by extending an “olive branch” and offers of “constructive dialogue” to protesters.
Protest leaders, however, said Duterte's offer was “hypocritical” amidst the continuing anti-drug war, counterinsurgency war, and martial law in Mindanao. They say this only shows President Duterte’s fear of the emergence of a genuine mass movement against his bloody rule.
Various civil society groups have vowed to launch bigger protests against the Duterte government's intensifying human rights abuses and rising tyranny.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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A Yemeni Political Analyst Has Been Held By Houthi Rebels Since August, With No Explanation · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

Hisham Al-Omeisy with his two sons. Photo shared by Iona Craig on Twitter.
Prominent Yemeni political analyst and writer Hisham Al-Omeisy has been held incommunicado since being detained in August.
According to Amnesty International, members of the Houthi-controlled National Security Bureau arrested Al-Omeisy in the capital Sana'a on 14 August 2017. Al-Omeisy's is a crucial voice in reporting the ongoing conflict in Yemen. He has been critical of both warring parties.
For more than two years, a coalition of Houthi rebels and forces loyal to former authoritarian president Ali Abdullah Saleh (who was removed from power following street protests in 2011) have been fighting to seize power from the internationally-recognized government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. In September 2014, the Houthi-Saleh alliance took control of the capital Sana'a, and has since taken over key government agencies and ministries, and other areas mostly in northern Yemen.
In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition fueled by US, UK and French arms trade deals, launched an airstrike campaign to repel the advance of the Houthis and support Hadi's government.
The ongoing war has plunged Yemen into an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Thousands of civilians have been killed and injured, millions are at risk of famine and in need of humanitarian aid.
The human cost of this war has largely gone unreported, save for the work of a handful of outspoken activists like Al-Omeisy.
With more than 32 thousand Twitter followers, Al-Omeisy has been actively tweeting about the humanitarian crisis and violations committed by both warring parties. Prior to his arrest, he had analyzed and spoken about the conflict to international media including the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, NPR and TRT World. Al-Omeisy is also a contributor to The Observers, a collaborative site by France 24 that covers international affairs by verifying and contextualizing eyewitness accounts shared by contributors. Earlier this year, he penned a story on the humanitarian impact of the war, describing how he has attempted to shield his children, two boys aged seven and 11, from the “ugly realities” of the conflict by censoring himself in their conversations.
It remains unclear why Al-Omeisy was arrested. But prior to his arrest, on 12 August, he tweeted in both Arabic and English about “corrupt officials” confiscating real estate by force in the capital Sana'a.
Armed goons backed by corrupt officials are forcefully taking real estate properties in Sana'a. They just showed up at my door. #Yemen
— Hisham Al-Omeisy (@omeisy) August 12, 2017
It remains unclear who these “armed goons” are, and whether this tweet has anything to do with his arbitrary detention, but since Sana'a is under the control of Houthi militias and Saleh forces, one can imagine that he may have been referring to these groups.
Iona Craig, a journalist covering Yemen and a friend of Al-Omeisy, told CBC Radio that “it could be those two events are connected.” She also added that Hisham was previously interrogated by the Houthi-Saleh forces for his outspokenness. She explained:
There's a general sense of paranoia in Sana'a anyway. Anybody who speaks out, particularly to the international media, as Hisham has done, and is an English speaker, there's a lot of suspicion. People are very quick to accuse people of being spies. Most activists and even independent journalists left any of the territory that was controlled by the Houthis because they were being persecuted.
As Al-Omeisy remains in arbitrary detention and without charge, his friends and supporters continue to demand his release. In a statement published on 25 September, the University of Winchester at which Al-Omeisy is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree, called for his immediate and unconditional release.
Mr Hisham Al-Omeisy is a conscientious and very well-respected member of the student community at the University of Winchester, and we are deeply worried about his safety. He is currently a student on our MA in Reconciliation and Peacebuilding, and this reflects his peaceful nature and character, and great desire to bring an end to the violent conflict which is afflicting Yemen.
Our understanding is that Mr Al-Omeisy has merely peacefully exercised his right to freedom of expression through reporting how the fighting in Yemen affects the local population. He has bravely called on all sides of the violent conflict to stop abusing human rights.
On Twitter, rights activists and supporters continue to demand Al-Omeisy's release under the hashtag #FreeHisham.
It's been six weeks since Yemeni activist & commentator @omeisy was detained by Houthi forces in Sanaa. Add your voice to #FreeHisham #Yemen pic.twitter.com/Dt2ax2KmGA
— Sophie McNeill (@Sophiemcneill) September 27, 2017
Dear world, Be a voice for Hisham @omeisy an activist, abducted by Houthi in Yemen. Please tweet #FreeHisham now
— Free Them All (@HerryRodin) October 3, 2017
كانت صفحة #هشام_العميسي تنقل للعالم المجاعه والخراب والدمار الذي يعيشه اليمن تحت العدوان والحصار السعودي مما اغضب الحوثي فأعتقله#FreeHisham
— جـوآآهر (@MsJwaahr) October 3, 2017
Hisham Al-Omeisy's [Twitter] page used to report to the world the famine, destruction and the devastation Yemen is witnessing. This angered the Houthis, so they arrested him #FreeHisham
The conflict in Yemen has come to be known as the “forgotten war.” There is strong reason to believe that the risks journalists and media face while covering the clashes have exacerbated the lack of media coverage and reporting on violations committed by the Houthi-Saleh forces or Hadi and his allies. With Al-Omeisy in detention, another key voice is under threat.
We spoke to Hisham Al-Omeisy three years ago on the Yemeni uprising, in one of our GV Face episodes.

author: Afef Abrougui


text:
Is Free Speech an ‘Empty Promise’ in Singapore? Activists Bristle After Police Detain Performance Artist · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Seelan Palay was standing in front of the Parliament House while staging a performance piece when he was arrested by the police for “unlawful assembly” . Screenshot of video by The Online Citizen.
Artist and political activist Seelan Palay was arrested by the Singapore police on October 1, 2017 for conducting “unlawful assembly” in front of the Parliament House.
Seelan was standing alone before the Parliament House, holding a mirror as an act of performance art. He was led away by the police and detained until he posted bail the next day.
Although he had obtained a permit to stage the event in Singapore's Hong Lim Park, he was not permitted to do so in front of the Parliament building. A special area of the park, known as “Speakers Corner”, is the only place in Singapore where citizens can legally hold protests — within certain limits. Seelan began his performance there, but then proceeded to the Parliament building.
A communications manager with media NGO Engage Media and contributor to Global Voices, Seelan's performance, entitled “32 Years: The Interrogation of a Mirror”, honored former Parliament member Chia Thye Poh who was detained for a total of 32 years without being charged in court. He spent 23 of these years were behind bars and the other nine under house arrest. Chia was arrested in 1966 for allegedly leading pro-communist activities in the country and had become the longest-held political prisoner in the world upon his release in 1998. Chia was also a critic of the ruling party which has been in power since the 1960s.
During his performance, Seelan questioned the detention without trial of an elected official for 32 years. He asked:
Can the liberated human mind be constrained by a state-sanctioned space, and in that regard, can a liberated work of art be contained within a state-sanctioned space?
Seelan's performance art at the Hong Lim Park was announced on Facebook.
After beginning his performance piece in Hong Lim Park, Seelan walked a two-kilometer distance to the National Gallery and finally to the Parliament House, all the while holding a mirror with a drawing that represented Chia Thye Poh's 32 years in detention. After 30 minutes, about 12 members of the police arrested Seelan for “unlawful assembly”, despite the fact that no other person was participating in the performance.
Under Singapore’s strict Public Order Act, a single person can be held liable for participating in an illegal assembly.
The photos below show that Seelan was alone before he was arrested by the police.
Singapore activist @seelanpalay arrested protesting 32 years detention without trial of former Elected Member of Parliament, Chia Thye Poh. pic.twitter.com/uwPaRjxzsy
— Nile Bowie (@NileBowie) October 1, 2017
Nevertheless, under Singapore’s strict Public Order Act, a single person can be held liable for participating in an illegal assembly.
Seelan was released on October 2. He posted this message on his Facebook page:
Thank you all for your kind words of support. Art is unstoppable!
Although he has been threatened for his activism in the past, Seelan told Global Voices that he had never been threatened or arrested for his artwork.
The incident has triggered criticism from social media users and civil society, particularly in the wake of other recent arrests of people engaging in public art and demonstrations. In June, police investigated activists who participated in a creative demonstration on a city metro train, calling attention to a series of detentions by the Internal Security Administration that took place in 1987.
Following Seelan's detention, some criticized the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) for being intolerant of dissent:
PAP's biggest threat comes from defiance and mass protest. So insecure they are that even a protest by a single person is heavily handled.
— Ganesan Narayanan (@nganesan) October 2, 2017
Lawyer and human rights defender Teo Soh Lung, who works with activist group Function 8, commented on police ‘harassment’ of individuals who documented Seelan’s performance. She claimed that the police abused their power by demanding the identification papers of some members of Function 8 who witnessed Seelan’s performance.
What we witnessed and experienced yesterday confirm beyond a doubt that Singapore is a police state and state terrorism is rampant. Freedom of assembly, speech and expression are merely empty promises of the government. When police officers threaten arrests for everything and believe that they have such power, where is the rule of law that our government and judges keep boasting to the world?

author: Mong Palatino


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Sexual Harassment in Greece Is Basically a Woman’s Problem · Global Voices
Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni

Photo: Pixabay. CC0 Creative Commons.
Back in June this year, angry social media debates were sparked after a female student claimed she was sexually harassed by a priest on a public bus in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. The viral Facebook post was corroborated by another passenger who posted photos of the incident. Many reached out with comments of support, while others accused the student of fabricating the situation and posting fake photos to “grab attention and publicity”.
Although the website, Hellenic Hoaxes, later went on to post an analysis trying to prove the veracity of the photos and the story, the immediate public skepticism of the student's claims speaks to the larger issue of sexual harassment towards women in Greek society.
Stories of sexual abuse victims are not only limited to women, but also involve men and underage boys, as seen in the case of a priest texting sexual content to a 14-year-old boy via social media, or this even more shocking episode of sexual and mental abuse of disabled children by the director of a boarding school in Piraeus.
The incident in Thessaloniki provoked online discussion regarding the mentality of a society that incriminates the victim — especially when that victim is a woman. Many felt that most of the online criticism that the student received didn't come from a logical place, but rather a snap judgement based on her purple hair and her personality as a pretext.
The Medium article, “Sexual Harassment in Greece: The Ostrich Policy”, further explores the frequency of this phenomenon in Greek society, going on to say:
…when asked about verbal sexual abuse, one woman in Athens commented that “it happens so often that [she] doesn’t even remember any distinctive incident” to tell us.
According to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), there were 234 reports of rape and attempted rape in Greece in 2013. The 2014 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights survey data results showed that since the age of 15, 1 in 4 women in Greece have experienced physical and/or sexual violence and that 25% of people in Greece knew a female victim of domestic violence within their circle of friends and family.
In 2006, Greece enacted Law 3500/2006 -“For combating domestic violence”- which criminalises domestic violence, including marital rape. However, in March 2017, The Guardian published an article highlighting a report made by Equality Now which found that in Greece — among other countries — perpetrators of sexual violence may be legally exempt from punishment in certain circumstances, if the girl is “deemed too young to consent” to sex.
Greek society, despite the important steps forward in recent years, remains mainly patriarchal. The mentality is still determined by stereotypes relating to traditional gender roles. The women-victims of violence are often accused by the social environment whereas the actions of the abuser are often justified.
In the meantime, some social media users, like this Facebook post by Elena Milioti, are responding to the sexual discrimination faced by women with bitter irony:
Οδηγός καταγγελίας σεξουαλικής παρενόχλησης:
1)Μην καταγγείλετε σεξουαλική παρενοχληση απο πρώην ή νυν ερωτικο σας σύντροφο. Δεν υφίσταται.
2)Μην καταγγείλετε σεξουαλική παρενοχληση αν είστε προκλητικα ντυμενη. Πηγαινατε γυρευοντας.
3)Μην καταγγειλετε σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν ειστε σεμνα ντυμενη. Αποκλείεται να καυλωσατε καποιον ντυμενη ετσι.
4)Μην καταγγειλετε σεξουαλικη παρενόχληση αν είστε αδύνατη. Πηγαίνατε γυρευοντας.
5)Μην καταγγειλετε σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν δεν ειστε αδυνατη. Οι χοντρες δεν καυλωνουν κανεναν αρα αποκλειεται να σας παρενοχλησε καποιος
6)Μην καταγγείλετε σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν δεν το καταγγειλατε απο την πρωτη φορά που σας συνεβη.. Αν σας ενοχλουσε θα το ειχατε καταγγειλει κατευθειαν
7)Μην καταγγειλετε σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση απευθειας. Βιαζεστε. Δωστε του λιγο χρονο
8)Μην καταγγειλετε σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν ο θυτης ειναι υπεργηρος. Δεν του σηκωνεται. Αν καταφερατε να του τη σηκωσετε να ειστε περηφανη.
9)Μην καταγγειλετε σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν ο θυτης ειναι πολυ νεος. Ειναι μικρος και δεν ξερει. Και ειναι και κριμα να καταστραφει το μελλον του για μια απερισκεψια.
10)Μην καταγγειλετε σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση στο εργασιακο σας περιβαλλον. Με τσιμπουκια την πηρατε τη δουλεια in the first place.
11)Μην καταγγειλετε σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν ειστε τουριστρια. Το κανετε για να παρετε επιδομα στη χώρα σας.
12)Μην καταγγειλετε σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν δουλευετε στη βιομηχανια του σεξ. Ειστε πουτανα. Hello!????
13)Μην καταγγειλετε σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν εχετε σεξουαλικη ζωη γενικοτερα. Και εσεις πουτανες ειστε.
14)Μην καταγγειλετε σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν σας συνεβη στο δρομο. Τί κανατε μονη σας στο δρομο;
15)Μην καταγγειλετε σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση σε Τραμ, Μετρο και ΜΜΜ γενικα. Ποιος παρενοχλει μπροστα σε κοσμο;
16)Μην κανετε καταγγελια για σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση σε ερημο σημειο. Τί κανατε εκει μονες;
17)Μην κανετε καταγγελια για σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν εχετε αποδεικτικα στοιχεια. Αν ειχατε δεχθει οντως σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση δε θα ειχατε προλαβει να συλλεξετε στοιχεια. Η ψυχραιμια σας ειναι υποπτη.
18)Μην κανετε καταγγελια για σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν δεν εχετε στοιχεια. Θα επρεπε να εχετε για να σας πιστεψουμε.
19)Μην κανετε καταγγελια για σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν εχετε πιει πανω απο μια μπυρα. Λαθος θυμαστε. Ησασταν καυλωμενη αλλα το ξεχασατε.
20)Μην κανετε καταγγελια για σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση αν ειναι να κανετε καταγγελια για σεξουαλικη παρενοχληση.
Ολες τις αλλες φορες να κανετε. Θα σας πιστεψουν

author: Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni


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Tajikistan Authorities Invite Ridicule with Demand Wikipedia Correct ‘Spelling Mistakes’ · Global Voices
Akhal-Tech Collective

Tajikistan ruler Emomali Rakhmon's Tajik-language wikipedia entry.
Tajikistan's leader Emomali Rakhmon is looking to grow a reputation as a fastidious man who likes his house in order, so it might not come as a surprise that the authoritarian Central Asian country's language committee has blasted Wikipedia over spelling mistakes on its Tajik language entries. That government officials either do not realise that they can correct the mistakes themselves, or are too lazy to do so, might also not surprise.
#Tajikistan urges Wikipedia to correct Tajik content – apparently unaware it could do it itself v @RFERL https://t.co/sATv38xSs4
— Joanna Lillis (@joannalillis) October 4, 2017
Tajikistan's most memorable battle with new media came in 2012 when a top-ranking official summoned Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to meet him “during office hours”. The government had blocked Facebook over “lies and slander” spread by opposition groups at the time.
Now, once again, Tajik authorities are shooting the messenger, this time because of spelling errors allegedly made by contributors to the online encyclopedia. Language committee official Saodatsho Matrobiyon said on October 2 that the mistakes “must be corrected” or Wikipedia might be challenged under Tajik law.
Ibrohimjon Rustamov, a US-based Tajik who is an active curator and editor of Wikipedia called the statement “senseless” in an interview with RFE/RL:
[Wikipedia] is free and public, it's edited by the world community, sometimes anonymously. It's senseless to demand editing from a source that can be edited by anyone, including by Tajikistan's language-committee specialists.
RFE'RL's report also noted:
The language committee has, in the past, warned hundreds of businesses and institutions across the country to correct or change their names according to Tajikistan's state-language law. Dozens of “offenders” have been subject to administrative punishments, including fines.
According to the latest statistics, there are close to 70,000 Wikipedia articles in Tajik. This is the result of hard-working activists such as Rustamov, who have been credited in the past by Rakhmon and other Tajik officials. It is not clear — other than a few misspells — what might have caused the volt-face.
But the committee's protest is consistent with a trend towards petty policy-making in the republic of 8.5 million people. Last month the government issued instructions banning traditional “loud crying” and black clothing among other things at local funerals, while female officials, teachers and students were effectively forced to wear national dress for a month earlier this year.
Such regulations cutting to the core of everyday life have come as Tajikistan suffers under a deep economic crisis linked to low domestic productivity and a dip in migrant remittances sent by over a million citizens working in Russia.
These more important problems — compounded by strident, systemic corruption and nepotism — are apparently problems that the government has no answer for at all.

author: Akhal-Tech Collective


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How People Hang Things Up to Dry In Japan · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

“Gosei-nish 20L.” (A “gosei” is a staff with pleated paper streamers used for Shinto ceremonies). Photo by Flickr user m-louis .®. License: Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
In a post that's been viewed 330,000 times, ppp_com, a member of Japanese blogging site Matomer Naver, has compiled a collection of tweets devoted to what Lifehacker Japan in 2012 identified as “the world's most boring chore” — doing the laundry.
According to the tweets ppp_com has tracked down, the worst thing for many Japanese people is not exactly doing the laundry itself, but the hanging it out to dry part. The tweets the Matome Naver blogger has collected describe the toil of hanging laundry, as well as some fun methods Japanese people have come up with to make the chore more enjoyable.
洗濯物干すの嫌いなんだよなぁ…
掃除とか料理とか整頓とかは手間だと思わないのに洗濯物だけは嫌い。ほんとに。
— かみじるさん (@syl_14cm) April 27, 2017
Man, I really hate hanging up laundry to dry. I don't mind cleaning, cooking or tidying up–I just hate doing the laundry. I really do.
だいっ嫌いな洗濯終わった??
『だって』干すの面倒だから(>_<)
— . . . (@sumusu2) April 27, 2017
The much-hated laundry chore is complete. ?? Why do I hate it so? Hanging laundry to dry. (>_<)
Some people have fun hanging clothes…
干し方… pic.twitter.com/hKMttMdEoQ
— A Y U (@ayunoko) April 22, 2017
How I hang up clothes…
ビブの干し方 pic.twitter.com/vRglgRf19D
— さくらのもり (@sakuranomori09) April 15, 2017
How I hang up by cycling bib shorts to dry.
…while others appear to be indifferent to the task.
たつや干し方えぐいやん
明日着るつもりやた白ティーこんなんじゃ着れへんやん、明日殺す pic.twitter.com/nfrmWmOSvR
— kazuma. (@k_txx14) April 21, 2017
The way Tatsuya hangs up clothes is really gross. There's no way I can put on the white T-shirt I was planning to wear tomorrow.
Some families seem to have their own special way of hanging up clothes:
うちん家の、洗濯物の干し方は、
こうなる笑 pic.twitter.com/RTFtB4DmHk
— mokk♪ (@MokkMusica) April 23, 2017
This is how we hang up clothes at our house, lol.
チビ達に靴洗いの手伝いを頼んだら…。干し方がかなり芸術的?で朝から大笑いw モズの早贄？?に見えなくも無いねっ?^^; pic.twitter.com/Gu9y0nDX67
— Boud (@Boud006) December 31, 2016
What happens when you ask your resident ankle-biters to help with washing their shoes… The way they hung up the shoes is approaching a work of art, and has kept me laughing all morning. An early-morning offer to the birds? […]
Some people pay special attention to some items in the wash, while neglecting others.
左:汎用タオルの干し方
右:大切なタオルの干し方 pic.twitter.com/n7WnPw1I67
— すぎともひろ (@honestman_48) April 17, 2017
On the left: How I hang up towels I don't really care about.
On the right: How I hang up towels I really care about.
[Note: the Twitter user seems to be a fan of AK48 ‘idol’ Ozeki Rika, and is not such a fan of the Orix Buffaloes baseball team, from Osaka in western Japan.]
One of the biggest challenges appears to be how to hang up soft toys to dry after a wash:
ぬいぐるみ洗ったんだけど干し方が分からなかったからこうしました 何か楽しそうな表情じゃない？笑 pic.twitter.com/JQ2tdrUoom
— リョウタ (@juventus_Azzuri) April 22, 2017
When it comes to washing [soft toys], I have no idea how to hang them up to dry, so this is what I did. Although doesn't it look like it's enjoying itself, lol?
しろくまの干し方 pic.twitter.com/qFdoyuwONx
— さとみ (@0stmi) April 4, 2017
How I hang up my polar bear to dry.
More tweets about laundry can be found here.


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Malaysia Bans Books and Cartoons Deemed ‘Prejudicial to Public Order’ · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Political cartoonist Zunar's latest compilation has been banned again by the Malaysian government. Image from Zunar's website.
Malaysia’s Home Ministry has banned the sale and distribution of books by Turkish author Mustafa Akyol and two Malaysians, Ahmad Farouk Musa and Faisal Tehrani, for being “prejudicial to public order.” The order was signed on September 6 but was not reported until September 28. Akyol, Farouk and Faisal all promote a moderate and progressive Islam through their books.
Meanwhile, political cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, popularly known as Zunar, said his latest collection of cartoons “Sapuman: Man of Steal” has been banned by the government again.
Malaysia has a majority Muslim population and a government that claims to promote the harmonious relation of all races and religions in society. But in recent years, some hardline Islamic leaders and political groups have ascended in various state institutions and have used this platform to promote and impose a more strict interpretation of religion in governance.
Case in point is the brief detention of Akyol in Malaysia on September 25 after religious authorities accused him of teaching Islam without getting official authorization from the government. Akyol, a prominent journalist and scholar, was invited by Malaysia’s Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) to give a series of lectures on Islam, human rights, and democracy.
And now… Malaysian authorities ban my book, “Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty,” which was published in Malay a year ago. pic.twitter.com/a704FbIXe7
— Mustafa Akyol (@AkyolinEnglish) October 3, 2017
Farouk Mousa, a member of the IRF, accused the government of bigotry and anti-intellectualism:
By banning books that provoke the mind to think critically, this government of ours showed its true colour of being an authority of bigotry and anti-intellectualism.
Tehrani said the recent ban on books proved that the ruling party which has been in power since the 1950s has already “reached a state of crisis and madness that aims to control society and people’s minds.”
Zunar, who was previously arrested on sedition charges for his cartoons, has won wide recognition for his work, earning accolades from the Committee to Protect Journalists and Cartoonist Rights Network International among others. Zunar's 10 other book titles are still banned by the government.
Zunar demanding the police to return 1,187 books and 103 t-shirts which were seized when he was arrested in December 2016. Photo from the Facebook page of Zunar Cartoonist Fan Club
On Twitter, he urged authorities to respect the freedom of artists.
Malaysian government announce the banning of Zunar's cartoon book, “SAPUMAN, MAN OF STEAL.” So far 11 titles of Zunar books have been banned pic.twitter.com/DPPGECvBrw
— Zunar Cartoonist (@zunarkartunis) October 3, 2017
Referring to the prime minister implicated in a corruption scandal involving hundreds of millions of US dollars, Zunar continues:
I don’t make fantasy cartoons. My cartoons are results from my reaction on current issues, especially on corruption. Do not blame the cartoonist if politicians steal billions.
Zunar said he will challenge the ban in the courts and vowed to continue drawing even if his books are banned:
I would like to reiterate that this ban will not stop me from drawing cartoons to expose corruption and injustice. You can ban my books, you can ban my cartoons, but you cannot ban my mind. When the government is faulty, drawing cartoon is a duty.
Karima Bennoune, United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, warned that banning books “could lead to a failure to engage in much-needed debate.”
concerned 2 hear of the banning of books, incl about moderate & progressive Islam when the government extols those concepts abroad #Malaysia https://t.co/HZ4iOBKbAo
— @UNSRCulture (@UNSRCulture) October 3, 2017
Muslim preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin questioned the basis for banning the books by Akyol and other local scholars:
Likely to alarm public opinion? Only those with weak intellect will feel alarmed.
Such moves (book banning) are done by people who are against civilisation (Malay: tamadun). Those who are pro-civilisation would celebrate and take pride in intellectuals and their work.
In an interview with Free Malaysia Today, Eric Paulsen of the local group Lawyers for Liberty asserted that it is wrong for the government to prevent the public from accessing information:
Why restrict knowledge? Why allow the government to decide what can or cannot be read, and what is the right or wrong interpretation of a particular issue, no matter how sensitive?
The Home Ministry invoked the Printing Presses and Publications Act to justify the banning of books that are deemed harmful to public interest. Last July 2017, the Home Ministry also ordered the banning of a book on Islam and constitutional democracy. Perhaps it is time for Malaysia to review the arbitrary use of the law by authorities in restricting free speech in the country.


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Netizen Report: LGBT People Face Online Censorship and Threats in Egypt, Jordan · Global Voices
Netizen Report Team

Gay pride celebration. Photo by lewishamdreamer, via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Egypt’s broadcast regulator, the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, has banned all forms of support to the LGBTQ community, allegedly to “maintain public order”. The move came after a rainbow flag was raised at a concert of the Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leila in Cairo on 22 September. The band supports LGBTQ rights and its lead singer Hamed Sinno is openly gay.
Egyptian authorities arrested dozens of concert goers and have since launched a criminal investigation into the incident.
Censorship and criminalization of speech supporting LGBTQ rights is not uncommon in the MENA region. One of the MENA region’s first LGBTQ magazines, My.Kali, launched in 2007 and is currently blocked in Jordan. Although the online magazine has been blocked there since July 2016, a recent inquiry ignited a wave of media attacks against the magazine and the country’s LGBTQ community. This prompted Jordan’s media commission to issue a new order in July 2017 banning My.Kali because it does not have a license to operate.
Under Jordan’s Press and Publication law, online media are required to register with the authorities. The magazine continues to publish on Medium.
In response to threats the LGBTQ community in the MENA region faces, dating app Grindr is expected to launch new security features for its users in the region. The features include a passcode and a “discreet app” icon. Although these features have been welcomed by LGBTQ rights groups in the region, users of Grindr and other apps may continue to face threats.
In Egypt in particular, police are known to entrap people using such apps. Recently, Amnesty International reported that six people were arrested for “debauchery” through online dating applications in Egypt’s latest crackdown on the country’s LGBTQ community.
In the days leading up to the October 1 referendum on Catalonia’s independence, Spanish authorities used several different methods to censor internet access. More than 140 domains supporting the referendum remain blocked following a court order, including the Catalan National Assembly. Police raided the offices of puntCAT, the domain registry that manages the .cat domain, seizing computers and arresting the head of IT for sedition.
The .cat domain is popular, and .cat sites not related to the referendum have not been affected, despite the raid. However, .cat domains that are about the referendum, such as refoct.cat (still operational here), have been shut down. The court order also allows authorities to block future content related to the referendum publicized on social networks by any member of the Catalonian government.
Another order required Google to remove an app from the Play Store used to spread information about the vote. We will continue to monitor the situation in Catalonia as events unfold; in the meantime more information on the protection of digital rights is available here.
Researchers in Palestine wrote about the development of a computer algorithm used by Israeli police to monitor and target Palestinian speech on social media, Facebook in particular. This “predictive policing” system, targets Palestinians “based on a probability created by a machine.” The authors argue that “While some western analysts suggest collecting neutral data or building neutral algorithm models as a way to circumvent abuse and discrimination, such recommendations do not resonate in a context of prolonged military occupation.”
Over 100 Serbian media outlets and NGO websites staged a blackout to protest media control and intimidation by tax authorities following the closure of the independent weekly magazine Novine Vranjske. The magazine was forced to close down last month after facing pressure from state authorities for its investigative journalism.
Google reported receiving an all-time high of 48,941 requests for user data from governments in the first half of 2017, the largest number the company has received since it began disclosing this information in 2011. The company complied with 65% of the requests it received, which affected over 54,000 accounts.
Afef Abrougui, Ellery Roberts Biddle and Sarah Myers West contributed to this report.

author: Netizen Report Team


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Achieving Barrier-Free Access Proves a Hurdle in Japan’s 2020 Paralympics Preparations · Global Voices
Michael Peckitt

“Ryuga Akaishi, 15, is a Wheelchair Basketball Player from Japan, the youngest member of the Saitama Lions sitting basketball team in Tokyo.” Screencap from Olympic Channel (YouTube).
Last year I commented on Japan’s poor showing at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics. While the Japanese Paralympic team won 10 silver and 14 bronze, which is no small feat, Rio 2016 was the first time since the Paralympics were officially recognized as a sporting event in 1960 that the Japanese Paralympic Team did not win a single gold medal. So, the pressure is on for Tokyo 2020. Speaking last year, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike remarked that, “barrier-free facilities are by all means important, but I believe that a barrier-free mind is equally vital.”
Well, fast forward to September 1, 2017—exactly three years before the start of the Tokyo Paralympics—and it turns out barrier-free facilities are indeed vital as Japan attempts to build accessible venues. The Musashino Forest Sports Center in the western Tokyo district of Chofu, the venue for wheelchair basketball, badminton and fencing in the modern pentathlon, has yet to be made accessible. According to The Japan News, “[T]he facility failed to meet a preliminary version of accessibility guidelines compiled in January 2016 by the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The guidelines, based on rules set out by the International Paralympic Committee, stipulate tangible standards to ensure barrier-free access, such as the proportion of a venue’s seating that should be set aside for people in wheelchairs and the size of elevators.”
According to one Tokyo Metropolitan government official quoted in The Japan News, when the facility was completed it was “considered barrier-free based on metropolitan government regulations…. [T]he recommended criteria in the guidelines were of a level higher than we had imagined.”
This may have been a case of the government’s left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, as in mid-August 2017, the Infrastructure ministry reported that it was seeking to strengthen a 2006 law that promoted a “barrier-free” society. Most of the statute was concerned with employment, but also access to government and commercial buildings open to the public at large. As Jiji Press reported, “The ministry is discussing ways to encourage municipal governments to make it a priority to map out plans to develop barrier-free infrastructure in areas that host government offices and commercial facilities used regularly by such people…The agency plans to reflect the results of the discussions in a bill to revise the law. The bill will be submitted to the Diet next year at the earliest, the sources said.”
With only three years to go until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, the Japanese government will have to work quickly. The Mainichi reported in April that 80% of the proposed Paralympic venues did not meet the barrier-free standards set by the government, stating that “the number of wheelchair spaces in most existing Olympic venues with permanent seating is below target. Furthermore, all venues that will be used for the Paralympics have failed in this area too.”
Facilities such as train stations will have to be upgraded as well. In a piece for Accessible Japan, Kelly Frost, who runs the Adapating Japan blog, quoted her son Dominick, whose brother Xander has spina bifida:
“My time in Japan was overall very fun and interesting, however one main part was not, train stations. It amazed me how hard it was to find the elevator in some stations, with the Paralympics just around the corner. Some stations didn’t even have them. Luckily my brother could walk, so the stations without elevators were not too difficult, but for a person who couldn’t walk at all, some stations would be impossible. It was just amazing how different it was when I was on the trains without my brother: not trying to find an elevator, as stairs were often closer, easily available, and more well marked in English. I hope that when the Paralympics roll around that more stations are accessible.”
Concerns about the Paralympics are shared by others in Japan. Grace Ohashi, who was a member of the US judo Olympic team before being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and who now lives in Japan, expressed both delight and concern about the Paralympics in a recent television appearance on the NHK Barrier Free Variety Show.
“As a former judoka and disabled person,” Grace said, “being able to welcome the Paralympic Games in Tokyo is a like a dream… I am worried that Tokyo can truly hold the Paralympics. For wheelchair users, it is still difficult to watch such games, wheelchair users are refused access, or the number of wheelchairs are restricted….”
Grace also responded to concerns about the cost of the Olympics and Paralympics, saying, “It's true the Olympics are wonderful, but they cost a lot of money as well. At the same time, I feel that the Paralympic Games are of equal value, too!”
For example, Grace says, whenever a paralympian breaks some sort of record, it represents four years of hopes, dreams and careful preparation—the achievements of paralympians also deserve recognition.
Here’s hoping that the 2020 Paralympics will, with investment from the Japanese government, be truly of “equal value” to the 2020 Olympics.

author: Michael Peckitt


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Farmers in India’s Rajasthan Sit Neck-Deep in Mud to Protest Forceful Land Acquisition · Global Voices
Rezwan

Screenshot from YouTube video by NDTV
Since October 2, 2017, more than 50 farmers in Jaipur, in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan, have launched an innovative protest, taking turns to sit in pits buried up to their waist in mud.
The protesters accuse the state government of forcibly acquiring their land, after providing them inadequate compensation. They want the current acquisition to be stopped, a fresh survey conducted and the compensation and acquisition be set as per the new Land Acquisition Act 2013 promulgated on 01 January 2014.
Before undertaking the current “dirty” protest, which they call the “Zameen Samadhi Satyagraha” (burial satyagraha, a form of non-violent resistance), the farmers had staged a sit-in for 14 days, but received no response from the government.
They have holed up 40 pits and a few trenches. Among the 54 individuals from all age groups shuffling to sit in the pits, several are women including 90-year-old Nanthi Bai.
The land in dispute is in Nindar village near Jaipur, which is part of the 330 hectares (1,300 bigha) the state government had earmarked in 2010 for the Ninder project consisting of 10,000 houses. The houses will be available for lower-income groups, “economically weaker sections,” and the middle-class group.
Since acquisitions of the land for the project began in 2010, Jaipur locals have been protesting in various ways. So far, the Jaipur Development Authority, which is implementing the project, has acquired 150 hectares  from the village; the farmers want to block acquisition of the rest. The Jaipur Development Authority has deposited 600 million Indian rupees (9.2 million US dollars) in a local court for some of the lands. The protesting farmers claim that the rates date back to 2010 as compensation and the current market price is much higher. Approximately 5,000 families, including farmers, will be affected by the acquisition.
What's more, the project was greenlighted before a new land acquisition law was passed in India. Retired government official Laxman Burdak reminded on Facebook:
The government should acquire land of farmers as per new Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act. It's clearly mentioned, that government cannot acquire land if consent from 80% farmers is not given.
In India, 1.3 billion people live with a population density of 445 persons per square kilometer. So land is the scarcest resource in the country. India's British colonial era Land Acquisition Act, 1894 did not give enough protection to the victims of land acquisition. The new land acquisition act 2013 promises:
1) Increased compensation for farmers – market prices are updated
2) Expanded coverage – non-owners facing loss of livelihood are compensated
3) Rehabilitation and resettlement made compulsory
4) Taking informed consent of land-losers – 80% for private projects
5) The requirement of social impact assessments to determine a project's impact on people's lands and livelihoods; more specifically, to identify all affected people.
Raj Kumar, deputy commissioner of the Jaipur Development Authority, however, has told media that the land acquisition process was started in 2010 and the deal was finalized after proper compensation in May 2013. The government has even said that people with “vested interests” are behind the agitation.
That's not a good stance, argued Videh Kumar from New Dehli:
The proper rehabilitation is must and without ensuring proper rehabilitation, schemes, whatever good concept it may have, will certainly invite strong agitation.
The farmers say that their plights are not heard. Indian expat Kazim Ahmed expressed his dissatisfaction on Facebook that the Indian media is not doing enough to highlight the victims plights:
This has been an international news, what has Indian media done other than just reporting? No national television debates, rather we are being deflected by other minor issues!
For whatever it's worth, former chief minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot tweeted about the case:
It is agonising to see how #farmers in #Ninder are agitating burying their bodies,inside the mud. #Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/cbtmC0MeJ2
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) October 3, 2017
These #farmers are not begging for favours or asking for alms, they are demanding what is their genuine right. #Rajasthan
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) October 4, 2017
And journalist Smita Prakash wrote:
Farmers & their families in Rajasthan burying themselves in mud protesting against govt acquisition of their land. 17th day today. pic.twitter.com/f1T7aE7PUs
— Smita Prakash (@smitaprakash) October 4, 2017
It remains to be seen if this protest brings the attention that the participants are hoping for.

author: Rezwan