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Let’s Tour the Lima and Mexico City of Yesteryear · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Lima's Park of the Exposition. Photo: Flickr / Alejandro. CC 2.0.
Every place has a story to tell, but the stories of some places go untold for centuries. Thanks to photography and the speed and reach of the Internet, some of Latin America's oldest stories are now available to everyone.
In this text, Global Voices presents historical photographs from two Latin American cities: Lima and Mexico City, the capitals of the two largest civilizations Spanish conquistadors encountered in the 16th century. It was in these cities, too, that Spanish conquerors established viceroyalties to manage a Latin American empire that would last three centuries.
The photograph above depicts the Park of the Exposition in Lima, located where the Gate of Guadalupe used to stand, on the south side of the Walls of Lima. When the walls were demolished, the park was built on that same location with the Exhibition Palace at one side, where you can currently find Lima's Museum of Art.
Below is a picture of La Colmena (“The Hive”) Avenue, which currently goes by the name of late 19th century President Nicolás de Piérola, was located at the southern limit of what's known now as Damero de Pizarro (“Pizarro's Checkerboard”). After years of decline, now it's a commercial zone.
Old La Colmena Avenue in 1946, currently named Nicolás de Piérola Avenue. Photo: Flickr / Alejandro. CC 2.0.
The Limean district of Miraflores is a residential and commercial area, and home to many tourist spots. The photograph below, taken in 1980, shows the local main square.
Old Miraflores Main Square. Photo: Flickr / Municipalidad de Miraflores. CC 2.0.
In this image, San Martín Square and Gran Hotel Bolívar stand in the distance. San Martín Square is located at Nicolás de Piérola Avenue, within the zone declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1988. The Gran Hotel Bolívar is located on one of its sides.
Portada de Belén (Facade of Bethlehem) Street, 1940s. Photo: Leon Deurgel / Flickr / CC 2.0.
In Lima, it's said that the only person capable of facing up to José de San Martín is Simón Bolívar—both larger-than-life figures of the region's history who led independence movements in Peru.
Independence leaders are an important component to identity throughout Latin America. While Simón Bolívar is seen as the historic leading figure par excellence in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia, it's José de San Martín who's considered the most important historic leading figure in Chile and Argentina.
Decisive battles fought during Peru's independence movement are largely responsible for how these leaders are remembered today. This is how the tradition was born, and—as Limean people like to say—that's how the hotel got its name.
There are more photos available at the Facebook page Lima Antigua.
For photos of Mexico City, the Facebook page La Ciudad de México en el Tiempo (“Mexico City Along Time”) offers images of a city that is no longer there, but for its photographic remnants.
The photograph below, taken in 1928, depicts the old Hombres Ilustres (“Illustrious Men”) Avenue, currently Hidalgo Avenue. It currently hosts Mexico's Tax Administration Service, and leads to Valerio Trujano Street.
Avenida de los Hombres Ilustres (Ilustrious Men avenue), currently Hidalgo. Photo: La Ciudad de México en el Tiempo page / Facebook
The next photograph shows the corner of 20 de Noviembre and Venustiano Carranza avenues, also in Mexico City. On the left, there is the Church of San Bernardo, and on the south side is Constitution Square, known as the Zócalo.
Corner of 20 de Noviembre and Venustiano Carranza, late 1960s. Photo: La Ciudad de México en el Tiempo page / Facebook
The next photo was taken in 1967 at the intersection of Balderas, Arcos de Belén, and Chapultepec, when the city's metro has just begun operating. To the left, we see Arena México, known as the “Cathedral of Mexican lucha libre” (wrestling), and part of Televicentro, now Televisa Chapultepec.
The intersection of Balderas, Arcos de Belén, and Chapultepec. Photo: La Ciudad de México en el Tiempo page / Facebook
This last photograph shows Bucareli Avenue in 1978. (It's no longer a two-way road.) To the left, we see the El Universal newspaper building and to the right the Excélsior newspaper building. The building in the background, on the corner with Morelos, was demolished after the 1985 earthquake.
Bucareli Avenue in 1978. Image from Facebook page La Ciudad de México en el Tiempo.
There are more photos available at the Facebook page La Ciudad de México en el Tiempo.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Netizen Report: Uganda and Nigeria Seek Stricter Controls for Social Media · Global Voices
Netizen Report Team

“We are all Ugandans….voting should not divide us.” Poster in Uganda, 2012. Photo by pixelthing via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
On the heels of a forced social media shutdown during presidential elections in February 2016, Ugandan parliamentarians may soon impose new levels of state control over social media. According to Minister for the Presidency Frank Tumwebaze, regulators want to amend the Uganda Communications Act 2013 in order to “regulate what goes on in the communication sector for the good of Ugandans and their security,” though the exact provisions of the regulation are unclear at this stage.
What has been confirmed is that supporters of the change would push to remove a clause that requires the communications minister to obtain approval from parliament before making any change to the Communications Act. In short, this would remove a critical check on the minister’s power, broadening his abilities to change policy unilaterally.
In an interview with Nigerian tech news site TechCabal, opposition Member of Parliament Kassiano Wadri warned that the amendment could have disastrous consequences for the country:
“The decision to grab the power of parliament is intended to instil fear in the population because President Museveni wants to be a big brother. Parliament is there as a checking mechanism, and removing this mechanism will lead to a dictatorship.”
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Senate has revived a contentious social media bill that could endanger free expression in the country. Known by its critics as the “Frivolous Petition Bill” and the “Anti-Social Media Bill,” the legislation imposes harsh penalties for sending tweets or text messages that contain false statements against a “group of persons” or an “institution or government.” Violations are punishable by fines as high as N2,000,000 (US$10,000) or two years in jail. The bill remains contentious within the Nigerian government, with the nation’s chief justice supporting it and the attorney general of the federation opposing it. Digital rights advocates and various public figures have widely criticized the initiative.
Three Egyptian teenagers, all of them minors, were sentenced to five years in prison and a fourth was placed in a juvenile facility on blasphemy charges for posting a video online mocking ISIS. Relatives of the teens, who are Coptic Christians, said their teacher filmed the video in 2015 following a video release by ISIS showing the beheading of 21 abducted Christians.
Bahraini activist Zainab Al Khawaja was arrested by government officials along with her one-year-old baby, on the fifth anniversary of the arrival of troops from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to crush pro-democracy protests in the country. It’s unclear what triggered her arrest, though Al Khawaja has over three years’ worth of prison sentences against her — including for ripping a picture of Bahrain’s monarch and for allegedly “insulting” a police officer — that have been pending since last year.
Kurdish reporter Hayri Tunç may be facing years in prison for posts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube documenting the plight of Kurds in Turkey. He was placed on trial detention in February on charges of “terrorism propaganda”, “abetting criminal acts” and “glorifying criminal acts”. The first hearing in his case was held on March 11 in Istanbul, where the court ordered him released from detention before adjourning his trial until May 24.
Saudi Arabia sentenced an unnamed Twitter user to ten years in prison, 2,000 lashes, and a fine of 20,000 riyals (US$5,300) for posting tweets that it says “spread atheism.”
UN Special Rapporteur on Privacy Joseph Cannataci warned UK officials that the country’s draft Investigatory Powers law on surveillance “undermines the spirit of the very right to privacy” and would have “negative ramifications far beyond” its shores. Cannataci presented his first annual report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, highlighting the bill as one of the most important global privacy-related issues in the last year.
A Chilean court of appeals banned the use of video surveillance balloons by two municipalities in a unanimous decision. The surveillance balloons in question were created in Israel and are used on the Gaza Strip and in the Mexico-US border. They employ a 360-degree camera with night vision and a laser pointer, capable of recognising a moving person from a distance of more than 1.5 kilometers. The court found that neither security nor public transit policies were reason enough to violate the right to privacy and the sanctity of homes.
Bahraini officials are taking an alternative approach to uncovering the content of WhatsApp messages: the Education Ministry recently ruled that secondary school heads examine the messages of all teachers and students, threatening to take action against anyone sending messages that “insult authorities”.
Google confirmed its plans to extend the scope of the Right to Be Forgotten beyond European search engines. It will restrict access to delisted information on all Google Search domains while still targeting the removals by country, using IP addresses and other geolocation signals to identify users’ locations. The company will automatically apply the change retroactively.
The German federal competition authority announced plans to investigate Facebook under antitrust measures, claiming Facebook is using unlawful terms and conditions related to its collection of user data, which it says may constitute an abuse of a dominant market position.
Twitter’s latest transparency report revealed that Russian authorities’ requests to take down content grew more than 25 times in the second half of 2015, compared to reports from previous periods. Only six of the requests were accompanied by court orders, with the rest coming directly from government agencies or the police. Twitter withheld some content in only 5 percent of the cases.
Meanwhile, Google says that the number of requests it has received to remove copyright-infringing content has doubled over the past year, soaring to over 76 million requests.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers submitted to the US government its plan to transition the management of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority out of the US Department of Commerce and over to the global community. The result of a controversial two-year negotiation, the plan will now undergo review by the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which must get it approved before ICANN’s contract expires in September 2016.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Netizen Report Team


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‘Nude’ Photos of Australian Aboriginal Women Trigger Facebook Account Suspensions · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Aboriginal women from the remote Central Australian community of Ampilatwatja performing at a public ceremony in 2010 to protest against the Northern Territory intervention. Source: Chris Graham, At Large Media, used with permission.
Facebook is facing scathing criticism down under, after suspending multiple accounts for sharing the above photo of Aboriginal women performing a public ceremony.
In a speech honoring International Women's Day on 8 March 2016, feminist writer and indigenous rights activist Celeste Liddle spoke about women of the central Australian Arrernte Aboriginal group, to which her family belongs, and their representation on the Internet.
When the speech was published by independent news website New Matilda, Liddle shared the article and its accompanying image (see above) on her public Facebook page, Black Feminist Ranter. Shortly thereafter, her account was suspended.
Facebook cited its “Community Standards” on nude images to justify the suspension:
The reason we restrict the display of nudity is because some audiences within our global community may be sensitive to this type of content – particularly because of cultural background or age.
This is not the first time Celeste has found herself on the wrong side of Facebook's standards. As she explained in her Women's Day speech, she had posted a video trailer, which included naked women, “to call out Facebook’s ridiculous standards”:
This trailer was banned by Facebook because it featured topless desert women painted up for ceremony engaging in traditional dance.
Facebook saw these topless women as “indecent” and in violation of their no nudity clause. On hearing this, I was outraged that Arrernte woman undertaking ceremony could ever be seen in this way so I posted the trailer up on my own page stating as such.
Following the more recent suspension, Liddle launched a Change.org petition entitled Facebook: Aboriginal women practicing culture are not offensive. In the petition, she writes:
The only reason I can see Facebook is doing this is because the header image on my transcript, which was added by the editor of the news site and not myself, contains Aboriginal women painted up for traditional ceremonial dancing. I fully support the use of this image to accompany my keynote as it is incredibly fitting. New Matilda – the news site which published this keynote – were also temporarily locked out of Facebook when they shared it.
Over 18,200 people had signed the petition as of March 16.
In a subsequent statement published on New Matilda, the US-based social media giant offered further elaboration on the policy, claiming to be “aware that people sometimes share content containing nudity for reasons like awareness campaigns, artistic projects or cultural investigations” but citing a need for uniformity in global policies due to the company's broad reach. Facebook encouraged users to share Liddle's speech “simply removing the image before posting it.”
Liddle's account has been suspended at least twice for posting such images. And she is not alone:
Facebook keeps banning Australian writer @Utopiana for sharing photos of Aboriginal culture https://t.co/edRNE0GMVe …
— The Daily Rupert (@TheMurdochTimes) March 14, 2016
@Utopiana @facebook @DailyMailAU @abcnews @newmatilda
Also now blocked on FB. No notice, but have shared articles with ‘the photo’. #FUFB
— Ian Law (@kinabalu1955) March 14, 2016
On Twitter, observers are accusing Facebook of cultural ignorance and hypocrisy:
@WgarNews @Utopiana @clementine_ford
Its a travesty. Face book is deliberately discriminating against these woman &their culture Wt insult
— Richard (@rmabennett) March 15, 2016
@Utopiana @facebook When I report hate speech, they tell me the posts do NOT breach their standards.
Funny, that.#misogyny #racism
— Jane Pepper (@Maintenonmadame) March 12, 2016
.@facebook are notorious for refusing to ban the most racist of racist pages & posts… but they banned @utopiana! 😡 https://t.co/kyKOAbgSLS
— Pearson In The Wind (@LukeLPearson) March 13, 2016
A female musician from the US commented on a blog post by Celeste about the ban, demonstrating a positive result of the incident:
..I would not have heard your voice -half a world away – but for the controversy, so I am grateful for it. I'm the richer for reading your words and thru them gaining a tiny, more personal window into the issues of racism and sexism as practiced in Australia. Thank you. TRULY, I thank you.
In a parallel story comparing an Esquire article featuring a nearly-nude Kim Kardashian to the article on Liddle's speech, New Matilda suggested that Facebook does not apply equal treatment to images of women's breasts.
Facebook posts by New Esquire and New Matilda.
Meanwhile, over in Hollywood, Kim Kardashian has also ‘painted up’, for a story published by Esquire magazine and promoted on their Facebook page. It remains there this morning, apparently without objection from the social media giant.
Among others, Esquire's page stands out as a curious example of how Facebook does (or doesn't) apply these standards evenly across its platform:
A post on the official Facebook page of Esquire men's magazine featuring the naked buttocks of model Nina Agdal.
Facebook's Community Standards on nudity read as follows:
We remove photographs of people displaying genitals or focusing in on fully exposed buttocks. We also restrict some images of female breasts if they include the nipple, but we always allow photos of women actively engaged in breastfeeding or showing breasts with post-mastectomy scarring.
The current policy reflects some changes that have taken place in recent years, perhaps due to criticism from users. In 2013, 20,000 people signed a petition urging the platform to allow users to post photos of post-mastectomy scarring. In 2014, the company's position on images of breast feeding changed after years of controversy on the topic, and waves of users posting breast feeding images as an act of protest. These shifts in policy suggest that Facebook can bring greater sensitivity to such issues.
While it appears not to have pushed Facebook to update their policies on nude images, online conversations about the issue prove that Liddle's experience has brought greater public attention to the ways that Facebook treats nudity on its platform.

author: Kevin Rennie


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Russian Online Service Asks Women to Pay to Remind Their Boyfriends to Buy Them Flowers · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Image edited by Kevin Rothrock.
Visitors to Russia’s new “I Want Flowers” service are greeted with the following question: “Has it been a while since your boyfriend gave you flowers?” The website then assures its audience that it can help. Before explaining how, it offers four explanations for why boyfriends don’t gift their ladies flowers: he’s too busy, he doesn’t think it matters to women, he thinks flowers are a waste of money, or he thinks flowers are only necessary on holidays.
With this brainstorming out of the way, “I Want Flowers” explains what it does: it doesn’t send anyone flowers, it spams targeted social media accounts with advertisements about buying flowers for their girlfriends.
“Using modern Internet-advertising tools,” the website says, ”we delicately remind your boyfriend that it’s been some time since he’s gifted any flowers, and point out that flowers are important to women.”
Customers can buy three different tiers of “reminders,” ranging from 50 rubles (about $0.75) to 150 rubles ($2.20), spending more cash for bigger, more intrusive advertisements. Along with the payment, all the service needs is a link to the boyfriend’s account on Vkontakte, and the automated romance takes over from there.
“Drop the boyfriend a hint,” reads the main button. Image: I Want Flowers service website.
According to the news site TJournal, the service launched in late January. It’s headed by the marketing agency AddZIP, which is based in St. Petersburg and Veliky Novgorod. The agency told TJournal that the website is an entirely commercial project that’s already generating revenue. AddZIP says it’s planning similar services, directed at both boyfriends and girlfriends, designed to remind partners to perform various acts for one another. (There doesn’t appear to be any talk of appealing to same-sex couples.)
Some Vkontakte users have indeed taken notice of the service, though not all women are jumping at the chance to spend money on Internet ads meant to improve their relationships. For example, Elena Ochkova wrote [post is now hidden] about the “I Want Flowers” website on her Vkontakte page, “I’d rather just buy myself some little tulips than waste money on this pointless, demeaning crap. No?”

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Two Writers Publicly Resign Amid the Chinese Communist Party’s Tightening Grip on Culture · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Literature and art has been at the core of ideological struggle in Chinese history since the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art in 1942. Historical photo.
Two Chinese writers, Jing Ge and Ye Mi, stepped down from their public positions as the vice presidents of the China Writers Association's Suzhou branch last week. Both their resignation letters were posted on popular Chinese social media platform Weibo and attracted many reposts, comments and messages of praise.
The China Writers Association is a national union for writers led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). With 9,301 members spread out among its 44 branches, the association's mission is to promote literature and socialist thought.
Some have interpreted Jing Ge's and Ye Mi's resignations as a way to express discontent with the idea that literature and art ought to serve the CCP, which has been stressed in recent years by the government of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Jing Ge uploaded a screen capture of his resignation letter on Weibo on March 12 with a note:
辞职声明，广而告之。
Resignation statement, please help spread the word.
In his letter, he emphasized that the decision was based on a subjective feeling:
我當蘇州巿作家協會副主席，忽忽已十多年了吧。在最初的新鮮感之後，漸漸審美疲勞，直到今天主動請辭，欲棄之若敝履。一無工資，二無權力，三並不能為蘇州的文學事業效犬馬之勞。於人於己，全無益處。無為無益之事，浪得虛名，常常深夜想起，羞愧難當。近來，又突然對這個職務（僅限於我）有不潔之感。這感覺，純屬主觀，與事實無涉。但是既有了愧疚感、污濁感，便要給出一個解決的辦法。否則，像得了強迫症似的，惶惶不可終日。值此蘇州巿作家協會換屆之際，鄭重聲明，自今日起，辭去蘇州巿作家協會副主席一職。曾有一夢，夢見自已竟要當上正主席，嚇醒之後，一身冷汗。今日思之，委實可笑，主席之位，誠非洪水猛獸，何以驚恐至此！副主席亦然。當便當了，不當自去。
I have been the vice president of the Suzhou Writers Association for more than 10 years. The novelty of the position has gone and I feel tired of aestheticism. Today I resign and give that up like old shoes. For one, I am not paid. Secondly, I don't have any power. Thirdly, I am incapable of contributing to the development of literature in Suzhou. The position has generated no benefit for myself and others and what remains is just a title. This feeling has frequently popped up in my mind at night and I feel ashamed. Recently, all of a sudden I feel dirty about the work that I do. This feeling is purely subjective and has no factual basis. But I need to resolve the feeling of being ashamed and dirty or I will be restless like those with a compulsive disorder. Now that the term of the officials in Suzhou Writers Association is about to be up, I have to make a solemn statement that starting from today, I resign from my position as vice president of the Suzhou Writers Association. I once had a dream that I became the president of the association, I was so scared and woke up with sweat all over my body. This is laughable. The position of president should not be viewed as a disaster, but I was that scared. The position of vice president is the same. I was the vice president and now I'm gone.
Ye Mi's statement was posted on social media the next day, March 13. A note was attached:
為別人，更為自己。為文學，更為生活。我的辭職聲明。（因怕人干擾我寫作與做家務，馬上關機、鎖門。請朋友們諒解。）
For the sake others and more for the sake of myself. For the sake of literature and more for the sake of my life. Here is my resignation statement. (For fear of further disturbing my writing and house work, I am turning off my communication devices and locking my door. I hope my friends understand.)
She expressed her frustration over the current climate for art and literature in her resignation statement:
我與蘇州的作家們幾乎沒有往來。但我並非不關心世界。我看到世界已缺失真正的温暖，世風日下。蘇州是個尚文的地方，從古至今有追求理想的好傳統，但這些好傳統快要消失殆盡了，今我這個沉浸在文學世界裡的人深感懮慮而無能為力。考慮到我是閒人，年齡也偏大。亦已擔任江蘇省作協副主席。偶思多占位置而無所作為，雖是偶爾思及，總免難忘與難過。正值蘇州巿作家協會換屆之時，決心辭去蘇州巿作協副主席一職，希望補充新鮮血液滋潤蘇州文壇。
I seldom socialize with writers in Suzhou but I also pay attention to what's happening to the world. This world has lost genuine warmth. The culture is degenerating. Suzhou has been a place where literati gather since ancient times. It has a very good tradition of pursuing the ideal. But these traditions have almost vanished now. As a person living in the world of literature, I am extremely worried but helpless. As I had no other duties and I am getting old, I took the position of vice president of Jiangsu Writers Association. Sometimes I feel I have done nothing in this position and I feel sad. Now that the term of the officials in Suzhou Writers Association is about to be up, I am determined to resign from the position of the vice president of the Suzhou Writers Association with the hope that new blood can nurture Suzhou's literature scene.
Their resignation won applause from many Chinese netizens. Below are two of the comments left underneath their statements:
两位作家的辞职，至少可以让自己从“行道树”里挣脱出来，去僻静的乡野里，冷眼旁观，自由思想。苏州，出现这样的“自然风”，文坛上空的乌烟瘴气，有了消弭的希望
By resigning, the two writers can free themselves from playing the role of “roadside trees” [trees that are artificially planted to define the direction of the road]. Back to the quiet countryside, they can observe with a clear mind and think freely. This “natural wind” in Suzhou gives hope against the lingering smog in the worlds of literature and art.
好样的！写作的人，原本是忠诚于并服务于自己良善的心，又几人能像您这样守住自己？
Courageous! Writers should be loyal and serve one's pure heart. But how can other people safeguard their principles like you?
Media, literature and art have been at the core of an ideological battle waged by party authorities, as reflected in Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the Beijing Forum on Literature and Art back in 2014. During the forum, Xi praised Zhou Xiaoping and Hua Qianfang, two controversial Internet commenters who launched smear campaigns against public opinion leaders, for their contribution to “spreading positive energy”.
Since then, Zhou's writings have frequently appeared on party-affiliated media outlets including People's Daily, Xinhua and Global Times.
On Twitter, @laoka01 mocked Xi's literature policy with a poem and a political cartoon by biantailajiao's:
自贡周带鱼，
抚顺花养鸡。
霾都争舔菊，
五岳怨妇啼。 pic.twitter.com/Cedniw7nLc
— 老卡 (@laoka01) October 16, 2014
Zhou Daiyu [Zhou Xiaoping's nickname] offers himself, Hua Yangji [Hua Qianfang's nickname] enjoys a caress. Fighting hard to kiss ass. An old lady mourns the fall of the five great mountains [China].
The promotion of the two rising stars, who built their careers as paid Internet commenters known as 50 Cent Army, have shaken the Chinese worlds of literature and art. Together with 2014 forum, they indicate that under Xi's leadership, literature and art will be viewed as the party's political tools.
In fact, Xi's speech echoed a talk given by Mao Zedong, who oversaw the creation of the People's Republic of China and whose rule was characterized by violent ideological struggle, at the 1942 Ya'nan Forum on Literature and Art. That event marked the beginning of Rectification Campaign, a political campaign to consolidate Mao's leadership within the party. Is history repeating itself? Time will tell.

author: Oiwan Lam


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A List of Hope: Is Electoral Politics All That’s Left for the Iranian Opposition? · Global Voices
Mira Nabulsi

Photos on the left and top right from Mehr News Agency. Bottom right from Twitter user @Halehhyd
To vote or not to vote. That was one of the primary questions debated in the run-up to the recent elections in Iran. On February 26, Iranians went to the polls to elect members of both the parliament and what is known as the Assembly of Experts, a body of clerics who are assigned the selection and overseeing of the Supreme Leader.
Boycotting the vote was discussed for a number of reasons that are discussed in this post. One prominent reason for boycotting was because of the lack of approved reformist candidates. There were not enough reformist candidates approved for a majority victory in either the parliament or Assembly of Experts. After a public outcry, a number of reformists were approved. Most of them were inexperienced in politics and names that were not familiar to the Iranian electorate.
The election was seen as important for a number of reasons. It is believed that a win for reformists would solidify the position of the current centrist President Hassan Rouhani. The win would show Iranian elites that the population supported the opening to the west that Rouhani's administration fought for. It was under his administration that the nuclear deal was signed.
Many in Iran have high expectations that the economy will flourish as a result of the nuclear agreement. The United States has promised to lift many of the economic sanctions it placed on Iran and companies doing business with Iran. The sanctions placed by the United Nations would also be lifted. Many in Iran voted for job creation. Economic concerns are, perhaps, the single most pressing issue for the Iranian citizenry.
Reformists managed to create a list of candidates that were seen as somewhat supportive of political reform. Dar Sahn (The Floor), a project monitoring both the parliament and Assembly, wrote:
At the last minute, Reformists announced a list of candidates. That list included all the Reformists running, plus members of other parties that might be more receptive to Reformist policies. Then again they might not. The fact is, the cobbled together list provided many in Iran with an opportunity to express themselves through voting. As one Iran analyst told Dar Sahn, “Voting is a way for people to show that the social movement in Iran is still alive.”
The pro-Rouhani reformist list of candidates was called the “list of hope.” Hope was certainly not missing in the images we saw coming from polling stations.
Man in a t-shirt featuring the US flag votes in Iran. From MEHR News
In the tweet below @DorsaJalalian shares the image of voters dancing at a polling station while others wait to cast their votes. Dorsa Jalalian tweeted:
عکس محبوب انتخاباتی من تا به این لحظه:
رقص کردی درشعبه‌ی اخذ رای pic.twitter.com/Cj90wMlV3U
— Dorsa Jalalian (@DorsaJalalian) February 26, 2016
My favorite election photo so far: Kurdish dancing at a polling station
@hooshmandk remarked on a funny scene in the station where former President Khatami voted. A man in the crowd managed to take a selfie of himself with the former president:
این آقاهه عالیه :)))
تو اون شلوغی داره سلفی می‌گیره pic.twitter.com/B79MV5xkHL
— هوشمند (@hooshmandk) February 26, 2016
“That guy is great! :))) He's scoring a selfie [with Khatami] in all this hubub
And this tweet by journalist Mohammad Hasan Najmi talked about the high turnout:
استقبال بي نظير در حسينيه ارشاد؛ صفي به طول حدودا ٤٠٠ متر با تراكم دو سه نفره در عرض صف pic.twitter.com/nkyTKYWIxB
— Mohammad Hasan Najmi (@mhnajmi64) February 26, 2016
Great voter turn-out at Hoseyniye Ershad: The queue is approximately 400 meters with the density of 2-3 people in width.
Many, especially in western media, celebrated the results of the elections. About 80 seats were won for the moderate-reformist bloc. There were 64 for the hardliners and 73 for independents. Sixty-nine seats remain to be filled in runoff elections in early April.
Journalist Negar Mortazavi warned that those so-called reformists weren't the top of the reformist bloc. The list was a compromise that included moderate conservatives and even some moderate hardliners. This was because many of the more prominent reformists had been disqualified.
Some believe that the election will not change the status quo and, worse, legitimizes the government of the Islamic Republic. Columbia Professor Hamid Dabashi, writing in Al Jazeera, supported a boycott. He wrote:
Those who did not advocate voting – and with all due respect to those who did I was among them – argued that this was a travesty of an election: It was already rigged from the get-go; it would cast an inevitable vote of confidence in the ruling apparatus of the Islamic Republic; it would make a mockery of those who sacrificed their lives asking the now historic question “where is my vote?” back in 2009; and Ayatollah Khamenei and the ruling elite of the Islamic Republic would use the vote to prove that he was right all along to call the Green Movement a seditious seed planted by foreigners.
The rich Iranian social media scene responded with a mixture of opinions. On Twitter some explained why they chose not to vote. Here is a sample of those opinions.
@iomid1333 wrote that the people in Arak, the capital of Iran's Markazi Province, were sleeping rather than voting:
اراکی ها همه خوابند درخيابانها هيچكس نيست. مردم به دروغهاي اينها پي بردند.#رای_نمیدهم#مجلس#خبرگان#انتخابات
— شفق پرتوی (@iomid1333) February 26, 2016
The people of Arak are asleep. Nobody is on the streets. People are seeing right through [the system]'s lies. #IWillNotVote #Parlaiment #Assembly  #Elections
Nevaan wondered how people can vote for a government that suppresses them:
چشامو كه وا كردم حس روز عيدي رو داشتم كه هنوز سفره هفت سين رو نچيده بودم ! يه جورايى هولم و استرس دارم !!نميدونم چرا…#انتخابات_مجلس
— نسوآن (@nesvaan) February 26, 2016
It's horrifying to see a nation voting jubilantly while strengthening a regime with the goal of violating their rights and freedom #Parliamentary_Elections
@P00R1A doubted that the elections can be fair:
هرچقدر فکر میکنم امکان اینکه شهاب‌شنگ بخوره به زمین بیشتره تا اینکه جنتی رای نیاره فردا |:
— ساز مخالف (@P00R1A) February 26, 2016
I think there's bigger chance of an asteroid hitting the earth tomorrow than [Ayatollah Ahmad] Jannati losing |: [Implying that the system won't allow a prominent person such as Jannati lose]
Saman Salari wondered how he can trust reformists:
من میخوام بدونم واقعا چجوری میشه به همین اصطلاح طلب ها اعتماد کرد؟ بعضیاشون گرگ ان توی لباس گوسفند !هنوز تصمیم ندارم رای بدم #انتخابات #مجلس
— سامان سالاري (@saman_salari) February 24, 2016
I want to know how can I trust the reformists? Some of them are wolves in sheep's clothes. I still have not decided to vote #Elections #Parliament
In many images circulated online, voters showed off their index fingers covered in ink. This marks their participation in the election so that they cannot vote more than once. Many wore green head scarves or hand bands.
Wearing green marks the demonstrations that followed the flawed 2009 presidential elections in Iran. What became known as the Green Movement reached its peak when about 3 million people took to the street to protest the quick announcement of a landslide victory by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The protester’s slogan was simply “Where is my vote?” The Iranian government responded with mass arrests and even the killing of some protesters.
@Halehhyd donned a green headscarf, a symbol of the 2009 Green Movement:
چارقد سبز رو كشيديم سرمون و رفتيم #راي داديم.#انتخابات #انتخابات_مجلس pic.twitter.com/1KtITINjJX
— ه دو چشم ح جيمي (@Halehhyd) February 26, 2016
I put on my green scarf, and went down to vote.
The participation of many activists and supporters of the Green Movement may indicate two things.
First, there may be renewed hope in the electoral process and its ability to bring change. After all, the 2013 presidential election brought Rouhani, who brought about the nuclear deal, promising an era of reduced tension with the West and more economic prosperity. Such promises constituted the platform the “list of hope.” They were used in their electoral campaigning.
Second, their participation is also indicative of the adaptability and pragmatism of these dissidents and of Iranian voters in general. They chose to work from within the system as opposed to outside of it. They seem to be taking a step-by-step approach to change.
Some observers say that Iranians are not ready for another massive protest movement like that of 2009. They believe the human loss is just too large. This is especially true for those looking at the aftermath of the “Arab Spring.” Iranians, including those opposing the government, lean towards more gradual change.
This approach isn’t without its cynics. Some believe that change is just too slow and electoral politics further entrenches the political system. They state that it even involves those supposed reformists (who some see as opportunists) in the repressive measures of the government.
@D0wn_Under tweeted sarcastically:
رای بدین که اوضاع بصورت تدریجی بهتر بشه. مثلا الان نسبت به ۲۰ سال پیش رد صلاحیت کمتر، اعدام کمتر، زندانی سیاسی کمتر و فقر کمتری داریم
— کمال الپتک (@D0wn_Under) February 26, 2016
Go vote so that things gradually improve. That's why in comparison to 20 years ago we have fewer [candidate] disqualifications, fewer executions, fewer political prisoners, and less poverty!
But even Dabashi, who favored a boycott, wrote that the healthy debate around voting or not voting demonstrates a fresh political culture which the Green Movement shaped. Even if the Green Movement did not attain its goals directly, political culture in Iran is changing. It's a culture characterized by a social intelligence which “takes what the theocratic regime throws its way, breathes new life into it, and creates their own leaders.”
This debate is also reflected on Twitter.
خانومایی که میخان رای بدن
یادتون میاد تیر ماه همین امسال، اینهمه کمپین راه انداختین که برین استادیوم والیبال ببینین!
راتون دادن؟!
— جانی (@depp_II) February 20, 2016
Ladies who are going to vote! Remember last June, when your campaign to allow women to enter volleyball stadiums?
How successful was that?!
هم دلایل موافقان شرکت در #انتخابات قابل درکه و هم مخالفان. هم دیگه را به بی‌اخلاقی یا نداشتن درک سیاسی متهم نکنیم. باید متحد باشیم @Vahid
— در راه مانده (@hepatic_tanager) February 22, 2016
Both for and against voting are understandable. Let's not accuse each other of immorality and lacking political intuition. We have to be united.
To read more tweets that reflect the debate around the elections, and why Iranians voted or did not vote, check out more translations on Bridge done by Farhad Souzanchi and Arta Shams from ASL19.

author: Mira Nabulsi


text:
Europe Negotiates With Turkey to Slam the Door on Refugees · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

Refugee camp in Turkey. Photo from Syria Freedom at ebc.com, through a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 BR licence.
European and Turkish authorities meeting in Brussels reached a draft agreement on 8 March whereby the European Union (EU) will be able to forcibly return all new asylum seekers arriving on Greek Islands back to Turkey. According to the agreement, Europe promises to resettle one Syrian refugee from Turkish camps in the EU for each asylum seeker turned back to Turkey. Refugees from countries like Iraq or Afghanistan who reach Europe by the same route are not covered by the agreement and will not be able to ask for asylum in the EU.
With this deal, Europe is essentially closing the doors on any refugee who is not Syrian, and even Syrians will be subject to quotas. This means that the EU will institute on-the-spot deportations — the immediate expulsion of potential refugees without giving them any chance to request asylum.
European authorities claim to be trying to alleviate the situation in Greece, a country inundated by the flow of refugees coming from Turkish coasts. A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report describes conditions at the Idomeni refugee camp in Greece, where the cold and rain are exacerbating the suffering of thousands of people:
Crowded conditions are leading to shortages in food, shelter, water and sanitation. Tensions have been building, fueling violence and playing into the hands of people smugglers.
In exchange for accepting the forcible return of refugees to its shores, the EU pledges to provide an as yet undetermined amount of money to Turkey, aimed at caring for the 2.7 million refugees it is housing within its borders. Likewise, the EU will stop requiring visas of Turkish citizens as of June 2016 and will open “new chapters” in Turkey's EU accession negotiations.
Numerous human rights organizations have questioned the agreement's legality. Social action ministries within the Catholic Church of Spain issued a press release (in Spanish, information in English here) deploring that “the image of a Europe for the merchant class has reemerged as a scandalous conclusion to the long series of chaotic, confusing and repressive actions that have been adopted over the last few months against refugees on the Eastern Border”:
A child attempts to warm herself on the Greek coast after a dangerous journey on a overloaded dinghy. August 15, 2015. Photo:  Freedom House on Flickr, public domain
El acuerdo adoptado con Turquía viola los convenios internacionales y europeos ratificados por los Estados miembros que prohíben expresamente la devolución de personas que son objeto de persecución o víctimas de guerra. (…) Además, supondrá un incremento mayor si cabe del inmenso saldo de sufrimiento, dolor y muerte por parte de quienes siguen arriesgando cada día sus vidas mientras buscan bienestar, seguridad y protección a las puertas de Europa.
The agreement adopted with Turkey violates international and European conventions ratified by Member States which expressly prohibit the refoulement of persons who have been subject to persecution or are victims of war…. Furthermore, it will assuredly lead to a great increase in the immense amount of suffering, pain and death amongst those who are risking their lives every day in search of well-being, safety and protection at Europe's doors.
Vincent Cochetel, European director for the UNHCR, said in an interview:
The collective expulsion of foreigners is prohibited under the European Convention of Human Rights. An agreement that would be tantamount to a blanket return to a third country is not consistent with European law, with international law.
Children's rights organization Save the Children expressed its concerns over the direction being taken by European countries:
Europe’s concern goes no further than guarding its external borders and containing people within Turkey –  depriving vulnerable people and children fleeing war and persecution from seeking asylum in Europe, which is a violation of both international and refugee law.
Iverna McGowan, director of Amnesty International's European Institutions office, warned that according to European leaders, turning back refugees “would be possible under EU law once Turkey [is] designated a ‘safe country'”. She expressed doubts as to what kind of safety Turkey could offer the refugees:
Turkey has forcibly returned refugees to Syria and many refugees in the country live in desperate conditions without adequate housing. Hundreds of thousands of refugee children cannot access formal education. By no stretch of the imagination can Turkey be considered a ‘safe third country’ that the EU can cosily outsource its obligations to.
Emigrants and refugees try to escape the rain as they wait to cross the border between Greece and Macedonia in Idomeni, 10 September 2015. Photo from Freedom House on Flickr, public domain.
Web users have also harshly criticised the EU's decision. As journalist Íñigo Sáenz de Ugarte writes in an article entitled “The Collapse of Europe“:
Es el triunfo de las posiciones xenófobas y racistas de varios gobiernos de Europa del Este, aunque estos no hayan conseguido todo lo que pretendían.
(…) la UE ha optado por convertir a Grecia en un inmenso campo de internamiento y poner en marcha un proceso por el que los que no tengan el derecho a ser acogidos sean devueltos a Turquía. Y para ello, ha firmado un pacto con el diablo al hacer varios regalos al Gobierno turco, embarcado en una deriva autoritaria y represiva del mismo tipo que los países europeos denuncian en otras zonas del mundo.
It is a triumph of the xenophobic and racist positions of Eastern European governments, even though they haven't managed to achieve everything they wanted.
…The EU has opted to convert Greece into an immense internment camp and enact a process by which those who do not have the right to be accepted will be turned back to Turkey. And to that end, they have signed a pact with the devil by giving various gifts to the Turkish government, embarking upon an authoritarian and repressive path of the same type that European countries have denounced in other parts of the world.
Journalist and war correspondent Ramón Lobo expressed similar opinions in his column on InfoLibre:
Ganan Marine Le Pen, Viktor Orban y Pergida; gana la Europa xenófoba. (…) Hay un tufo antidemocrático, y por qué no decirlo, fascistoide, en muchas de las cosas que se dicen y hacen, en las justificaciones para expulsar refugiados como si fueran ellos los que violan la ley cuando la ley la violamos nosotros al impedir el refugio a los perseguidos por la guerra.
As Marine Le Pen [of France], Viktor Orban [of Hungary] and [German movement] Pergida win, so wins a xenophobic Europe…. There is an anti-democratic, and why not say it, a fascist stink, in many of the things being said and done, in the justifications for expelling refugees as if they were the ones violating the law when we ourselves are violating the law by refusing refuge to those fleeing war.
On Twitter, many web users also expressed their outrage:
Lo que acaba con los valores de Europa no son unos miles de refugiados, sino la crueldad con la que los tratamos pic.twitter.com/ovRIM7umy6
— Eterno Primavera (@SiPeroNo1) March 7, 2016
What European values have led to is not the thousands of refugees but the cruelty with which we are treating them.
Seguro. La hostia que nos dará la Historia no tendrá atenuantes. Idomeni. #refugiados pic.twitter.com/8gK6ECbCKf
— Miguel A. Rodríguez (@Marodriguez1971) March 6, 2016
Sure. The beating that history will give us for this will be merciless. Idomeni.
Europa es una asociación de empresas que no tiene por qué preocuparse de los refugiados y esas tonterías que no afectan a las bolsas.
— gerardo tecé (@gerardotc) March 7, 2016
Europe is a business association that doesn't care about refugees and these stupid things unless they affect the markets.
Meanwhile, negotiations continue and it remains to be seen if European politicians will bow to the pressure and modify the agreement's purportedly illegal proposals before talks close permanently on 18 March.

author: Lourdes Sada


text:
Georgia’s ‘Sex Wikileaks’ Revives Fear of Government Snooping · Global Voices
Eurasianet

Videotape sex scandals have given Georgians the impression they are living in a surveillance state.
The following is a partner post from EurasiaNet.org written by Giorgi Lomsadze. Republished with permission.
Dubbed moral terror, the latest instalment of Georgia’s “sex Wikileaks,” online sex-videos that target prominent public figures, has created a sense among many Georgians of living in an Orwellian reality, where ubiquitous secret cameras record the most intimate moments of citizens’ private lives.
“Everything you do in your bedroom can be used against you,” some Georgians joked in online debates after the latest recordings appeared on YouTube on March 11 and 14.   “You could be next!” warned a headline in the daily Rezonansi.
Who runs the control room in this perceived dystopia is open to debate. It is believed the security police possess a vast collection of sex-tapes, but the two videos posted since March 11 have targeted members of both the government and opposition.
The public consensus, though, clearly is that this latest video campaign was coordinated at a higher level. That puts extra pressure on the government, particularly in a parliamentary election year, to show its investigation is unbiased and thorough. It has asked for the FBI’s assistance in tracing the origin of the videos.
So far, five individuals have been arrested for alleged involvement in the scandal; one, Nikoloz Khachapuridze, is a Saakashvili-era employee of the interior ministry’s secret-police branch, the Constitutional Security Department. Another, Zurab Jamalashvili, is the father of a former employee of that same service, Vitali Jamalashvili, who came to prominence  after supposedly hacking into Ivanishvili’s personal computer during the 2012 parliamentary campaign.
(A 2013 EurasiaNet.org investigation found that the interior ministry allegedly offered to rehire Jamalashvili after the Georgian Dream took over the government. The ministry declined to comment.)
Along with those detained, much of the public attention about the scandal has focused on the pro-Western, opposition Free Democrats Party, headed by 42-year-old ex-Defense Minister Irakli Alasania. The group is shaping up to be an alternative to the ruling Georgian Dream coalition and the country’s largest opposition party, the United National Movement, in this year’s parliamentary vote.
Two members of Alasania’s party have been depicted in the videos, one of which threatened that Alasania himself was coming up next.
In March 15 comments on a TV talk show broadcast by the UNM-friendly Rustavi2, the ex-minister blamed both the Georgian Dream and the United National Movement, its predecessor under ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, for secretly filming the private lives of high-profile citizens to ensure their loyalty.
“The blame belongs to the old government [UNM], which began making such tapes, and also to the new government [the Georgian Dream], which failed to protect the public from the spreading of these tapes, and itself also is engaged in doing the same,” Alasania charged.
He connected the latest releases to a recent opinion poll which revealed sagging support for the coalition. Alasania and the Georgian Dream parted ways in 2013 over the then minister’s soured relations with its founder, ex-Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, who, sensing a potential political rival, once publicly hinted about an alleged tryst between Alasania and the wife of a senior UNM member.
On March 14, Alasania’s wife, Natia Panjikidze, the sister of ex-Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze, took Ivanishvili to task for what she sees as his role in the video-scandal. “I am really surprised that you attach so much importance to my role and that you believe that destroying my family would weaken Irakli [Alasania],” Panjikidze wrote on Facebook.
Ivanishvili has not yet responded to the allegations against him.
Accusations against the billionaire ex-premier also have come from Rustavi2’s general director,Nika Gvaramia, who, last fall, was embroiled in a bitter ownership dispute over the station that supporters argued masked a government takeover-attempt. Gvaramia has claimed that he also has been targeted by video-threats.
On last night's Rustavi2 talk show, senior Georgian Dream MP Eka Beselia charged that Gvaramia himself, as a former general prosecutor and justice minister under Saakashvili, shares the blame for the disturbing practice of videotaping sex, which, she claims, began under the former president.
Yet prominent TV journalists Inga Grigolia and Eka Mishveladze have said that they received, respectively, threats to expose their private lives both before and after the Georgian Dream’s 2012 advent to power.
Mishveladze's husband, former State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Alexi Petriashvili, one of the leaders of Alasania's Free Democrat Party, was recently brutally beaten and shot in Tbilisi. Petriashvili survived the attack, which rumors link to either a political or personal vendetta.
Mishveladze did not specify if she suspects a connection between the video threats and the attack against her husband.
Human rights watchdogs have expressed skepticism about the authorities’ ability to get to the bottom of a video-scandal, however,  that, they claim, may involve high-ranking government officials.
Meanwhile, nerves are fraying over the affair in parliament, where a tussle broke out on March 16 between Georgian Dream and UNM members.

author: Eurasianet


text:
How a Cyber Heist Ended the Career of Bangladesh’s Respected Central Bank Governor · Global Voices
Rezwan

Atiur Rahman, governor of the Central Bank of Bangladesh. Image from Flickr by IMF. CC BY-NC-ND
His origin story has achieved almost myth-like status in Bangladesh. Born to a poor, landless farmer. Quit schooling early to help his family make ends meet. Defied the odds by obtaining a PhD in the UK.
Perhaps that's what makes Atiur Rahman's resignation from his position as the 10th governor of the Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank, so anti-climatic. Atiur Rahman, a notable Bangladeshi economist, writer and banker, stepped down on March 15 over his failure to inform the finance minister that hackers had made off with $81 million from an account within the US Federal Reserve Bank. He was due to retire in four and half months.
The hackers were able to make transfers worth that much into the accounts of four men in the Philippines. They apparently took advantage of the fact that Friday was the weekend in Bangladesh and Saturday and Sunday were the weekend in the US.
Another unauthorized transfer request for $20 million to a Sri Lankan non-profit organisation got held up by an intermediary bank because the hackers misspelled the name.
In the meantime, the US Federal Reserve Bank had alerted the Bangladesh central bank about a series of suspicious requests to transfer money and around $850 million in transfers were prevented.
Here's How Hackers Stole $80 Million from Bangladesh Bank https://t.co/ehI9zmcCOw #malware #hacking pic.twitter.com/wnhiyM2qz8
— The Hacker News (@TheHackersNews) March 14, 2016
Bangladesh Bank kept the news of the theft quiet for more than one month, not informing the finance ministry. Instead, it hired Silicon Valley-based international forensic unit FireEye to investigate.
Bangladeshi blogger and computer security expert Ragib Hasan explained on Facebook two possibilities related to the heist. One is the use of malware, which could be installed by a small device like pen drive and later the information was hacked via keystroke recorder. And the other possibility is “an inside job” because you cannot tempt a machine, but can crack a human being:
তাই যেকোনো সিস্টেম হ্যাক করার সবচেয়ে সহজ এবং বহুল প্রচলিত পদ্ধতি হচ্ছে কারিগরি দিকে হাত না দিয়ে সিস্টেমের ব্যবহারকারীদের বোকা বানানো।
[…] the easiest way to hack a system is fooling the users of the system, instead of cracking the system.
Bangladesh Bank is investigating eight officials who deal with foreign exchange transactions. It was revealed that the CCTV of the room was out of order and some of the officials found a SWIFT code enabled computer (the transfer requests were sent from a SWIFT code enabled computer) not working when they arrived at work the following day after the hack, but they didn’t inform their supervisors immediately.
Once news broke of the heist, Bangladesh's finance minister vowed to take action against Bangladesh Bank for not being informed earlier. The finance minister also blamed the US Federal Reserve Bank for not alerting Bangladesh Bank in time.
On social media, some pointed fingers at Atiur. Ragib Hasan wrote:
বিশ্বের ইতিহাসে এতো বড় অংকের ব্যাংক ডাকাতি আগে হয়নি বলেই মনে হয়। আত্মসম্মানবোধ ও বিবেক থাকলে এই পদে আর বাংলাদেশ ব্যাংকের গভর্নর সাহেবের থাকা উচিৎ না।
It seems such a huge heist from the central bank is a world first. If the governor of Bangladesh Bank has some conscience and sense of responsibility, he should resign.
Following the tremendous pressure created by the finance minister's remarks, Rahman resigned on March 15. Despite this blight, his tenure was hailed in some international news outlets who credited his policies with helping Bangladesh become one of the world's fastest growing emerging markets.
In an emotional farewell speech, he talked about how he worked to increase Bangladesh's foreign currency reserve to $28 billion from $6-7 billion when he took the job six years ago. He said he was working to bring back the stolen money.
Blogger Rana Meher reacted on Facebook to his departure, saying it was unfortunately the right thing to do:
আতিয়ার রহমানের পদত্যাগে আমি কষ্ট পেয়েছি। কিন্তু বাংলাদেশ ব্যাংকের প্রধান হিসেবে এই দায় তার ওপর আসে। আর তার সাথে যুক্ত হয়েছে তার উপযুক্ত মহলে সময়মতো যোগাযোগে ব্যর্থতা।
I am hurt that Atiur Rahman resigned. But as the head of Bangladesh Bank he needs to take the responsibility. And added to that was his failure to communicate to the concerned authorities.
Shabhanaz Rashid defended Rahman:
What a fantastic man to lose over a national financial shortcoming, that is in no way one man's responsibility. It's a systemic fault, one that cannot be fixed if the the one honest and radical public servant has to resign over it — instead of receiving bureaucratic support to fight it and strengthen our security. Who'll do the dirty work now, or will it be hastily swept under the rug with a resignation?
Renowned TV anchor Abdun Noor Tushar questioned how his resignation would solve anything:
ড. আতিউর রহমান পদত্যাগ করেছেন, সেটি তার সাহসী ও সৎ পদক্ষেপ।
কিন্তু চোর ধরার ব্যবস্থা কি হলো?
কি করে সার্ভার হ্যাক হলো?
সাইবার নিরাপত্তার বিষয়টি কারা দেখছিলো?
অপরাধী ধরার কাজটি কে করছে?
চোরধরার চেয়ে আতিউর স্যারের নামে গীবত করাই যেন সকলের কাজে পরিনত হয়েছে।
Dr. Atiur has resigned, that's his bold and honest move.
But what happened to nabbing the thieves?
How was the server hacked?
Who was looking after the cybersecurity?
Who is investigating the case?
It seems everyone is happy with only racking up allegations against Dr. Atiur.
According to Rahman, the Bangladesh Bank has already recovered some of the transferred money, and is working with anti-money laundering authorities in the Philippines to try to recover the rest.
If any good can come of this, it's to remind financial institutions around the world to take security seriously, Indian blogger Professor Jayant R Varma wrote. They need to improve their internal systems to combat patient hackers:
Cyber security is still thought to be the responsibility of some computer professionals. The reality is that security has to be designed into all systems and processes in the entire organization. Institutions like central banks that control vast amounts of money need to defend in depth at all levels of the organization. Physical security, hardware security, software security and robust internal systems and processes all contribute to a culture of security in the whole organization.

author: Rezwan


text:
Moroccans Rally for Unity, While Sahrawis Push for Independence After Ban Ki-Moon’s ‘Occupied’ Remark · Global Voices
Salma Essam

Screenshot of an Al Arabiya video report on the protests in Morocco.
For more than 40 years, the strained relationship between the kingdom of Morocco and the people living in West Sahara have sustained a simmering conflict over the region's governance. Earlier this month, tensions were re-inflamed when UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon flew to south Algeria, where he visited refugee camps populated by indigenous Sahrawis.
On Sunday, March 13, tens of thousands of Moroccans took to streets in a rare display of popular anger, protesting Ban Ki-Moon's remarks about the disputed land. The Moroccan government accuses Ban of violating the United Nations’ neutrality for describing Western Sahara as “occupied” land. A spokesperson for Morocco's Foreign Ministry told reporters that the UN official had “attacked” the nation's “feelings.”
Morocco claims Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, as its territory, while Sahrawis led by the indigenous Polisario Front want independence for what they call the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic. The two fought a bloody war over the land from 1975 until 1991, when the UN managed to broker a a ceasefire agreement.
As a result of the conflict, thousands of Sahrawis were deported and live in refugee camps in Tindouf in neighboring Algeria until this day. An estimated 165,000 Sahrawi refugees reside in the camps, according to the UNHCR. Opportunities for self-reliance are scarce, and most rely on humanitarian assistance.
The people of Western Sahara, which has a population estimated to be 570,866, want a referendum to determine their independence as promised in the ceasefire, while Morocco rejects the idea.
Morocco believes the integrity of their country is at stake; Western Sahara believes independence is rightfully theirs. Passions surrounding the issue, unsurprisingly, often run high.
Upset with the UN secretary general, Idriss Lashkar, a prominent member of the Moroccan parliament, called on people to take part in demonstrations across the country.
Several political leaders endorsed the marches that began in Bab Chala, in downtown Rabat, encouraging young people to attend. On the bustling city streets, protesters referred to the marches as “Milyoneya”—an Arabic term for a protest by millions of people. Moroccans chanted slogans and carried banners to boost the zealous national atmosphere. Leaders also directed harsh criticism at Ban Ki-Moon, asserting the unity of the people and Moroccan sovereignty.
On social media, some Moroccans directed their frustration at Algeria, which backs the Polisario Front, as well as the rest of the world for what they perceive as taking Western Sahara's side.
In a Facebook post, Hajar Maky posted a photograph of a group of Moroccans wearing the country's flag on their backs. She stressed the importance of unity:
“نحن لسنا أفضل شعوب العالم من ناحية التسامح و احترام و تقبل الآخر. نحن أصلًا لا نملك مواقف نحو قضايا شعوب العالم و لا نعلم عنها الكثير إن لم نستثني القضية الفلسطينية.. كذلك أغلب شعوب العالم لا تعلم شئ عن قضيتنا. و تأخد مواقف نتيجة جهلها بالواقع. والشقيقة الجزائر حفظ الله شعبها من كل شر مهمتها الديبلوماسية الاولى توفير الامكانيات اللوجيستكية بشكل مستمر لقيادات البوليساريو لنشر اكذوبتهم التاريخية …
لا تنتظروا من شعوب العالم ان تبرمج في مقررات مادة التاريخ لتلامذتها تاريخ تحرير المغاربة لارضهم من يد المستعمر الاسباني
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We're not the best nation in the world when it comes to tolerance, respect and acceptance of the other, etc. We don't even have stances towards issues that take place in many of the world's states, neither do we know much about them, with the exception of Palestine. Also, most of the world's states have no knowledge about our case, and they take stances on it as a result of their ignorance of facts and reality. Our neighboring country, Algeria — may God protect its people from all evil — tries to maintain its diplomatic endeavors by affording the logistics for leaders of the Polisario Front, Sahrawi armed movement, in order to promote a historic lie.
On Twitter, Azhar said:
@France24_fr Que vous le vouliez ou pas,que l'Algérie et ses alliés le veuillent ou pas,le Sahara est marocain… pic.twitter.com/Ky653UtxQm
— Azhar fm (@agourram77) March 13, 2016
Take it or leave it, whether Algeria and its allies want it or not, the Sahara is Moroccan
A popular Arab Moroccan singer, Saad lmjarrad, posted a photograph on his Facebook page that read “the Sahara is Moroccan” and supported the protests, saying:
المغرب في صحراءه و الصحراء في مغربها ، قسما بالله ايمانا و احتسابا، لن نتنازل عن ذرة رمل من ارض وطننا.
نسأل الله العظيم ان يحفظ بلادنا من الفتن ، وأن يعم الأمن والسكينة ربوع وطننا العزيز من طنجة الى الكويرة.
Morocco exists in its desert and the dessert exists in its Morocco. We swear to God, we will not give up on a single grain of sand in our homeland. We pray to the great God to preserve our country from disputes, and bestow safety and tranquility upon our beloved country, from Tangier to Queira
Fatma Ezzahraa, an active Moroccan Twitter user, posted tweets and photographs in solidarity with the demonstrations:
الله عليك يا بلادي وولاد وبنات بلادي #الصحراء المغربية#مسيرة الرباط اليوم??????#مغربية وافتخر pic.twitter.com/BjQbk8xqRg
— Fatima_ezzahra (@Fatimae06) March 13, 2016
Oh, my country. Oh, people of my homeland. Today's marches in Rabat. #MoroccanAndProud
Ban Ki-Moon was reported to be angry at the protests. Morocco, in turn, announced it would cut support for the UN's peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara.
Nevertheless, the UN secretary general's visit to the refugee camps seemed to inject some hope into Sahrawis's struggle for sovereignty.
In a reaction to the protests in Morocco, Sahrawis expressed their indignation against what they called the “Moroccan occupation”. Malainin Lakhal tweeted:
#Morocco-is-a-colonial-power let s remind the Moroccan gov and the world that Morocco is a power of military occupation in Western Sahara
— Malainin Lakhal (@melakhal) March 12, 2016
Lakhal is a human rights activist who says he was subjected to enforced disappearance in Moroccan prisons. He considers himself a fighter for the independence of Western Sahara.
Abdullah Saleh posted a photograph on Twitter showing a gathering in front of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Spain. The group members were holding flags of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, demanding the liberation of Western Sahara:
الحملة الدولية للتضامن مع المعتقلين السياسيين الصحراويين تنظم مظاهرات امام الخارجية الاسبانيhttps://t.co/3gb7EGaCxj pic.twitter.com/ARHTxw6LRC
— saleh (@AbdullahSale6) March 13, 2016
The international solidarity campaign for Sahrawi political detainees in front of the Spanish ministry of foreign affairs.
Former official diplomat of the Polisario Front, Emhammad ALghazi, encouraged Western Sahara inhabitants to unify against the Moroccans, saying:
#RASD sumar fuerzas para vencer al invasor https://t.co/PKDoDKBXZL pic.twitter.com/beAh5Dwj07
— Emhammed Ali AlGhasi (@EAlghasi) March 14, 2016
Join forces to defeat the invaders
Mille Neumann posted a photograph with activists from Afrika Kontakt, a Danish-based solidarity movement that collaborates with African movements, expressing their support for the people of Western Sahara and calling for a secession referendum to be held:
@Afrikakontakt Support #ReferendumNow #freewesternsahara pic.twitter.com/h0y0Vk2X0W
— Mille Neumann (@mille_neumann) February 23, 2016
Ghaly Ahmed personalized his homeland describing the occupation as a person bleeding. He said:
مَتى مِن طول ِنـَزْفِكَ تَستـَريحُ ؟سَـلاماً أيـُّها الوَطـَنُ الجَريحُ !#وطني_محتل_الصحراء_الغربية
— غالي احمد (@galiahmed8) March 16, 2016
When will you be relieved from your prolonged pain? Oh, my homeland. Peace be upon you
Meanwhile, Sahrawis are organizing a peaceful demonstration for March 19 that demands the release of political detainees in Moroccan prisons.

author: Salma Essam


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Russia Plans to Fine Websites for ‘Propaganda’ of Circumvention Tools · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

The Kremlin is so worried about internet circumvention tools it now seeks to make mere mentions of them illegal. Image edited by Tetyana Lokot.
Tor. VPNs. Website mirroring. The mere mention of these and other online tools for circumventing censorship could soon become “propaganda” under proposed amendments to Russian law.
Russian state media regulator Roscomnadzor plans to introduce fines for “propaganda” of online circumvention tools that allow users to access blocked webpages. The changes also equate “mirror” versions of blocked websites with their originals.
According to news outlet RBC, which claims to possess a copy of the draft document, Roscomnadzor would punish “propaganda” of circumvention tools online with fines of 3,000-5,000 rubles (USD $43-73) for individuals or officials, and fines of 50,000-100,000 rubles (USD $730-1460) for corporate entities. While the proposed fines may not be exorbitant, they set a dangerous precedent for the future.
Beyond restricting tips on accessing blocked websites, the bill also defines “mirror websites” and allows copyright holders to ask the court to block both the original website containing “pirated” content and all of its mirrors—”derivative websites” that have similar names and content, including those translated into other languages.
In February 2016, Russian copyright holders suggested a similar draft bill mandating a fine of 50,000 rubles (USD $730) for ISPs that published information about circumvention. At the time, the bill's creators claimed Roscomnadzor supported the bill, but the state regulator denied it.
On the surface, Roscomnadzor's new bill seems to be aimed at protecting copyright holders and limiting access to pirated content online. But the implications of banning circumvention tools would be far greater. Russian officials have debated restrictions on VPNs and anonymizers for quite a while, but have so far stopped shy of branding the tools—or information about them—as illegal.
As with other Internet-related legislation in Russia, experts see the new amendments as deliberately overreaching and broad, making them ripe for abuse and further restrictions on free speech.
…if the legislative changes were applied “literally,” many innocuous pages with mere mentions of circumvention technology could be branded as “propaganda.”
Irina Levova, director for strategic projects at the Institute of Internet Research, told RBC that if the legislative changes were applied “literally,” many innocuous pages with mere mentions of circumvention technology could be branded as “propaganda.”
Levova believes Roscomnadzor and Russian copyright holders are deliberately pressuring ISPs in order to excessively regulate access to information online. According to her, Internet providers in Russia are technically capable of blocking up to 85% of websites on the RuNet, and any additional restrictive capability would involve mass IP-address blocking, which means even more law-abiding websites could suffer.
To date, the biggest row around circumvention tools on the RuNet erupted after the website of RosKomSvoboda, a Russian Internet freedom and human rights organization, was blocked.
In February 2016, the RosKomSvoboda website was added to the RuNet blacklist registry because of a page on the site that educates users on how to circumvent online censorship and access blocked materials. RosKomSvoboda said the blocking and the court ruling were absurd, since neither information about anonymizing tools, nor the services themselves, were forbidden by Russian law.
Vadim Ampelonsky, Roskomnadzor's spokesman, stressed that the ruling against RosKomSvoboda created a precedent, since the prosecutor in the case who was “in charge of enforcing anti-extremist legislation was able to prove that this information creates conditions for users to access extremist materials.” Ampelonsky said the ruling could inform the future work of prosecutors and courts, when it comes to policing information that helps Russians circumvent censorship.
It is worth nothing that just a month earlier, in January 2016, Ampelonsky told the news agency RBC TV that circumventing online censorship does not violate the law.
RosKovSvoboda's website was eventually unblocked after they changed the contents of their page with circumvention instructions. It now contains their report on the court battle and an official Ministry of Communications letter, which provides explanations for some of the circumvention tools that the page previously linked to and explained. The activists also moved information and links to some other anonymizing and encryption tools to a separate page for their Open RuNet campaign.
For now, Roscomnadzor's spokesman Vadim Ampelonsky has confirmed to RBC news that the regulator worked with a group of copyright owners in Russia to draft the amendments to Russia's law “On information, information technologies and protection of information” and the Administrative violations code. On March 17 the draft was discussed with Internet industry representatives at a Roscomnadzor roundtable on regulating the RuNet, with companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Yandex and MailRu in attendance. The bill will now go to the Communications Ministry on March 21 before it moves to the Russian Duma for voting.

author: Tanya Lokot


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Street Artists Paint Equilateral Triangles on Earthquake-Damaged Buildings in Nepal · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

Triangolism in Kathmandu. Italian street artist Riccardo Ten Colombo painted equilateral triangles on buildings brought down by the earthquake. Image by Sunil Sharma. Used with permission.
The streets of Kathmandu have become a canvas for a new form of art – equilateral triangles painted onto the dilapidated buildings brought down by the April 2015 earthquake.
Italian street artist Riccardo Ten Colombo collaborated with the Sattya Media Arts Collective — a resource centre for artists, filmmakers, photographers, activists, and other creative types in Nepal — and local artist Rupak Raj Sunuwar, known as Thugucheaa, to put up the equilateral triangles on buildings in the Thamel, Freak Street and Basantapur areas of Kathmandu.
According to Riccardo, the equilateral triangles symbolise stability and strength, and a wish for sturdy future construction of the neighbourhood.
Nearly 9,000 people were killed in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, and countless buildings were brought tumbling down. Riccardo said he was impressed by the Nepalese people's resilience following the tragedy. On Instagram, he recalled:
Here, where the inhabitants have lost relatives, friends, their homes and all their belongins, preliminary rebuildings are now taking place. As I looked around, stunned, unable to understand what might have really been the shakes, a man approaches me smiling, and pointing to some heaps of bricks he cries “welcome to my home.” Thats when I painted the rubble of the first triangle.
Welcome to my home “Triangolism in Kathmandu”  for @kolorkathmandu  Equilateral triangle, a symbol of stability and strength, a wish to the future reconstruction of these neighborhoods. I decided to paint in this area, in the center of Kathmandu, brought to its knees by the 2015 earthquake. Here, where the inhabitants have lost relatives, friends, their homes and all their belongins, preliminary rebuildings are now taking place. As I looked around, stunned, unable to understand what might have really been the shakes, a man approaches me smiling, and pointing to some heaps of bricks he cries "welcome to my home." Thats when I painted the rubble of the first triangle. Tnx to @thugucheaa @sattyamedia @kolorkathmandu #nepal #eartquake #triangolismo #kathmandu #italianstyle #triangolism #streetart #urbanart #ten
A photo posted by Riccardo Ten Colombo (@riccardo_ten_colombo) on
Working with Riccardo was a “great” opportunity, Thugucheaa said.
Screenshot from Instagram – See more images with hashtag #triangolismo
The Sattya Media Arts Collective is currently running a project titled Kolor Kathmandu to transform Kathmandu into an “open gallery”, so keep an eye out for more street art to pop up in Nepal.

author: Sanjib Chaudhary


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Colorized Photos Show Street Scenes of Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines During the 20th Century · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Photo by Vo Anh Ninh, taken from the Flickr page of manhhai (CC License)
Search around the Internet, and you'll find several hand-colored photos and postcards of Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines offering a peek at everyday life in the major cities of these countries during colonial rule in the early 20th century.
These images are clearly historically significant and useful for imagining what life was like in the previous century. Let's take a look, shall we?
The photos below were taken by Vo Anh Ninh, one of the founding fathers of Vietnamese photography, and feature shots from the 1950s during the waning years of French colonial rule. They provide a rare glimpse of life in Vietnam in the 1950s before it was engulfed in a long and bloody war in the next decade.
The Saigoneer website posted some of these photos, which are colorized and uploaded on the Flickr page of manhhai.
Photo by Vo Anh Ninh, taken from the Flickr page of manhhai (CC License)
Photo by Vo Anh Ninh, taken from the Flickr page of manhhai (CC License)
Photo by Vo Anh Ninh, taken from the Flickr page of manhhai (CC License)
Photo by Vo Anh Ninh, taken from the Flickr page of manhhai (CC License)
The Philippines was a colony of Spain for more than 300 years until a revolution ended it in 1898. But the United States immediately invaded and remained a colonial ruler until 1946. The images below show the capital city of Manila in transition. Spanish heritage is still evidently strong but American influence is already making an impact.
E. S. Sison colorized these photos from the digital collection of John Tewell. These colorized photos were uploaded to the Facebook page of Kinulayang Kasaysayan (Colorized History).
Binondo, an important religious and commercial center in old Manila. Image from the Facebook page of Kinulayang Kasaysayan, used with permission
Crossing the Escolta bridge. Escolta was the premier business center in old Manila. Image from the Facebook page of Kinulayang Kasaysayan, used with permission
Washing clothes in Manila during the early 1900s. Image from the Facebook page of Kinulayang Kasaysayan, used with permission
Luneta Park in the early 1900s. This place, then and now, is famous for its spectacular view of the Manila Bay sunset. Image from the Facebook page of Kinulayang Kasaysayan, used with permission
Hand-colored postcards from the public domain collection of the New York Public Library include several images of Singapore during the early 20th century. The postcards give a few hints of the eventual rise of Singapore as a busy harbor and vital trading post in the Asia-Pacific region.
Native sampan, Singapore. 1907 – 1918. Photo from The New York Public Library Digital Collections.
Finlayson Green, Singapore. 1907-1918. Photo from The New York Public Library Digital Collections.
Hill Street, Singapore. 1907-1918. Photo from The New York Public Library Digital Collections.
Victoria Street, Singapore. 1907-1918. Photo from The New York Public Library Digital Collections.

author: Mong Palatino


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Jamaicans Adopt a ‘Wait and See’ Approach to New Political Leaders · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

Jamaica's new Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith (left), and Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte (centre) speaking with Rwandan Member of Parliament Juliana Kantengwa during the Jamaica-Rwanda Exchange at the University of the West Indies Mona campus in November, 2015. Photo by Emma Lewis, used with permission.
As Jamaica's youngest ever prime minister, 43-year-old Andrew Holness, gets down to work with his newly appointed Cabinet, the jury is still out on his Cabinet choices. As popular radio talk show host Emily Shields noted just prior to his announcement, his administration was in a “pickle” — thanks to his Jamaica Labour Party's slim 32:31 margin of victory, anyone slighted in his selection process could walk across the political aisle and force elections.
On March 7, the administration unveiled its 14 ministries and 18 Cabinet-level ministers. The most striking aspect of the new-look administration is the Office of the Prime Minister has absorbed a number of heavyweight ministries that formerly stood on their own.
In addition to being prime minister, Holness is minister of defence and of economic growth and job creation. The former ministry of land, environment and climate change and the housing, water and works portfolios will also come under the prime minister's capacious umbrella. Three ministers without portfolio (ministers who don't head a particular ministry) have also been appointed to help manage the concentration of responsibilities.
This appears to be an unprecedented and bold step, and it remains to be seen whether it pays off. Jamaicans were mixed on the set-up as well as the appointments.
Environmentalists have expressed concern that, with the pressure to generate growth and jobs (growth in the last quarter was a mere 0.6%), environmental issues may be swept under the carpet without a dedicated ministry. Marine scientist Peter Edwards blogged:
Conspicuously absent in the list of Ministerial Portfolios is any mention of Environment, Sustainable Development or Climate Change. This is somewhat concerning given that page 31 of the JLP’s manifesto was dedicated to Environment and Climate Change. […]
[…] I would implore the government to please end the cycle of paying lip service to the environment. If indeed it will be housed in the [Office of the Prime Minister] then it needs to be applied across all portfolios not just Land, Housing and Water. Jamaica cannot achieve sustainable economic development without embedding Environmental Best Practices across all government agencies. One could argue that the environmental portfolio warrants its own Super Ministry but since this will not be the case how about each ministry having its own Environmental Unit, Office or Directorate?
Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica. Photo by The Commonwealth, used under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.
The appointment of two women to high-profile ministerial positions has also sparked comment and general approval. The astute Senator Kamina Johnson Smith is Jamaica's first ever woman Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. She shared a YouTube video on her ministry's “First Week on the Job” via her active Facebook page. Jamaicans seemed to appreciate her social media outreach efforts. As one commenter wrote:
Keeping us up to date with the happenings -now that's transparency and accountability! fantastic start!
Johnson Smith is in good company: Yale World Fellow and former judge Marlene Malahoo Forte is Jamaica's second female attorney general.
Their appointments come after the Lower House of the legislature saw the number of women increase from 13% to 17% after elections, according to the 51% Coalition of women's organizations — still low, but a small step in the right direction.
With the Jamaica Labour Party's emphasis on young Jamaicans during the campaign, youth activist Kemesha Kelly blogged her approval with the education and youth Cabinet reshuffle:
I am happy that the ministerial portfolios of Education and Youth have been placed together once again. If for no other reason, it gives me hope that the fire in the student movement will be rekindled and students’ participation in school governance will be secured.
The youngest minister in Jamaican history, 34-year-old State Minister for Youth Floyd Green, is also tweeting support for student leaders:
I know how difficult offering oneself for student leadership can be, but it teaches tremendous lessons… life long lessons
— Floyd Green (@floydgreenja) March 15, 2016
Some Jamaicans were uncomfortable with the prime minister's new mega-ministry. One woman, writing in a letter to the Jamaica Observer newspaper, asserted:
The ministers without portfolio have no real strategic power, but are implementers or mere managers. All strategic and policy power rests in, is rolled up into, and must be approved by Andrew Holness, the minister with the portfolios.
Additionally, outside of the traditional departments/agencies for defence and the Cabinet, Andrew Holness now controls departments with large budget allocations and reach. He has more combined ministries, departments and agencies under him compared to his other ministers with portfolio. That is unheard of, except in Cuba, Russia or China. Could the prime minister tell Jamaicans why he has given himself so much power? Does he understand that in doing so he has created a communist-style governance structure? How can Jamaicans be assured that he will not use this large concentration of power to his advantage?
The new administration has shown signs of greater openness, transparency and a greater accessibility to the media, and more officials are becoming aware of the need to communicate via social media. This is in contrast to the former People's National Party (PNP) government; former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller was generally wary of media interviews and tweets infrequently.
Unusually, Prime Minister Holness invited media to sit in on a part of his first Cabinet meeting; details of these weekly deliberations have always been secret, but followed by a press briefing.
The new minister of education, youth and information, Senator Ruel Reid (the former principal of a leading boys’ high school), opened a Twitter account a few days ago and tweeted from the meeting:
NOW HAPPENING: Prime Minister @AndrewHolnessJM addressing 1st Cabinet meeting of the new JLP administration. pic.twitter.com/2GWDFA5v0t
— Abka Fitz-Henley (@AbkaFitzHenley) March 15, 2016
Good communication on the issues — especially via social media, although the influence of Facebook and Twitter may have been somewhat over-emphasized — was widely considered one of the key factors contributing to the success of Holness's party in the polls.
The others were the party's clear appeal to youth and an apparent recognition that times are changing.
As young blogger and public relations strategist CorveDaCosta put it:
On the contrary, the new voter in Jamaica will not vote because of loyalty to a party or what you have accomplished. What’s next is what they ask!..The new voter in Jamaica is screaming “I am forever undecided” — being resolute and bolstered in the belief that on both sides in Gordon House [Jamaican Parliament] there is good and voting issues-based has become the new standard.
The new voter wants Jamaica first, party last.
With the Cabinet in place, the Holness administration can now get down to governing. But just as CorveDaCosta said about voting, many Jamaicans won't be judging the new government's performance based on party loyalty. Combine that increasingly demanding and critical electorate with its ultra-slim majority, and the Jamaica Labour Party administration's honeymoon is likely to be a short one.

author: Emma Lewis


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Nigerian Police Beat Up Yomi Olomofe, Who Was Assaulted Last Year Over His Corruption Reporting · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

Yomi Olomofe, Nigerian journalist that was physically assaulted by the police. Photo by SaharaReporters Media. Used with permission.
Yomi Olomofe, a Nigerian journalist, was brutally assaulted and detained on March 17 by the Nigerian police. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), police moved against Olomofe after men who he had said beat him up last June accused the journalist of assault and attempting to extort money from them.
CPJ offered more details on the case:
On June 25, 2015, Olomofe, who publishes the monthly community magazine Prime Magazine, and McDominic Nkpemenyie, a correspondent with the state-funded Tide Newspaper, were investigating allegations that customs officers at Seme, on Nigeria's border with Benin, were complicit in smuggling, when more than 15 men attacked the two journalists, Olomofe told CPJ. The men hit Olomofe on his face and body with their fists and sticks until he lost consciousness, the publisher and witnesses told CPJ days later,after Olomofe regained consciousness.
Peter Nkanga, CPJ's West Africa representative, commented: “Arresting magazine publisher Yomi Olomofe for beating the men he says beat him to a pulp is nothing short of obscene. Rather than blaming the messenger, police should energetically pursue those responsible for the crime.”
Nigeria @PoliceNG arrest victim of attempted murder to favour his attackers & @CustomsNG https://t.co/JeH2mpZdAJ pic.twitter.com/D9d7Sl9mCX
— Peter NKANGA (@nkanga_p) March 11, 2016
This “mockery of justice” was decried by Sue Valentine of Open Society Foundation (which is a Global Voices sponsor):
First he is beaten up, then lays charges against his assailants, yet HE is the one arrested. A mockery of justice. https://t.co/3rW5DZTWCM
— sue valentine (@stumblestone) March 11, 2016
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has petitioned the Inspector General of Police about Olomofo's continued detention. NUJ stated that “the inability of the Police to bring the perpetrators of attempted murder to justice for nine months was a monumental scandal”:
The NUJ and Olomofe are seeking for a public apology, assurance of Olomofe’s safety, N100 million compensation for breach of fundamental rights. Olomofe has been admitted to the hospital for urgent medical attention due to the shock of his harassment by the police. He has been told by his doctors that he has relapsed into a state of depression with his blood pressure alarmingly high
The NUJ earlier had filed a lawsuit seeking damages of 500 million Nigerian naira (about 2.5 million US dollars) against the Nigerian Customs Service over Olomofe's assault last June.
Nonetheless, in a question-and-answer session with the Guardian, Olomofe said he was not deterred by the violence attempting to gag him in late February:
I am a Nigerian. A proud Nigerian. I believe our country shall get it right. I believe impunity is on its way out of the psyche of top government officials. I believe we will conquer corruption. I appreciate the global demonstration of support I got in my trying moments. Peace to the world!

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


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The Amazonian City of Pucallpa Has Been Protesting For Days, but Peru’s Media Isn’t Taking Notice · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Fourth day of the indefinite strike in Pucallpa. Photo shared on Twitter by @carlos1cd.
This post was originally published on the blog Globalizado by Juan Arellano.
The normally calm Amazonian city of Pucallpa, in the region of Uyacali in Northeast Peru, is being shaken by a regional strike that began on March 9, 2016. However, in Lima — the capital city — people don't seem to know much about it. Perhaps this is the consequence of the unusual presidential race playing out in the country, which is enjoying the undivided attention of the media.
El Frente de Defensa de Ucayali (The Ucayali Defense League) is the organization behind the general strike, which is attracting people from many different walks of life. It is demanding a price reduction in electricity, gas, fuel and waste sanitation. They are also calling for the restitution of cuts made to the region's, provinces’ and districts’ budgets; and a solution to the issues of land ownership titles and services for informal settlements in the area.
The strike has received intense support in the city, and some of the neighboring provinces have joined in. The first day of the indefinite strike, which saw massive demonstrations, left one person injured. According to witnesses, the injury was the result of rubber bullets shot by the police. The demonstrations continued for a second and third consecutive day and lead to the arrest of 21 protesters. On the fourth day, 15 indigenous communities joined the strike. In addition, closed businesses and blocked roads began to have an effect with a growing shortage of basic goods, forcing some residents to create communal kitchens.
#Pucallpa preparándose para la Huelga de mañana. pic.twitter.com/BzfYuoTSy1
— Carlos Cavero (@carlos1cd) March 9, 2016
#Pucallpa prepares itself for tomorrow's strike.
During the wee hours of Tuesday, March 9, the day the protest began, members of the Frente de Defensa de Ucayali (Ucayali Defense Legue) marched through the streets accompanied by the police.
y empezó la huelga en #Pucallpa. #Ucayalazo pic.twitter.com/WjQtyhBaE4
— Carlos Cavero (@carlos1cd) March 9, 2016
and the strike has begun in #Pucallpa. #Ucayalazo
The next day, different users tweeted photos and videos of what they saw in the streets of Pucallpa:
Segundo día de UCAYALAZO en Pucallpa. Se torna más intensa y puede desencadenar en algo grave…. pic.twitter.com/TEyFGy9Gif
— Alimber Sandy (@SandyZarria) March 10, 2016
Second day of the UCAYALAZO in Pucallpa. It is becoming more intense and could trigger something more serious….
@RPPNoticias @atv_noticias @Latina_Noticias @noticias_tvperu @atvmasnoticias @canalN_ #Ucayalazo #Pucallpa pic.twitter.com/iNEC8nlxRt
— Jack Benedetti (@arrozconlenteja) March 11, 2016
#HuelgaUcayalina continúa con una marcha en exigencia de sus reclamos al Gobierno. #Pucallpa pic.twitter.com/Nw0e2zt3rj
— Josep Zamudio (@josepbzn) March 10, 2016
#HuelgaUcayalina continues with a strike demanding the government meet their claims #Pucallpa
The following days brought more protests:
Carretera bloqueada por el #Ucayalazo #Pucallpa se defiende, pucallpa no se vende pic.twitter.com/6gHrEGeL1K
— Ollenkita Sharmelly (@Sharmelly15) March 12, 2016
Road blocked by the #Ucayalazo#Pucallpa defense, Pucallpa is not for sale
En otros temas, continúa el paro en Pucallpa por cuarto día. Piden hablar con ministros @canalN_ pic.twitter.com/uvzyhqw6AJ
— Jimmy Chinchay (@Jimmychinchay) March 12, 2016
In other news,the strike in Pucallpa is in its fourth day. They are asking to speak with ministers @canalN_pic.
Sigue la huelga en Pucallpa.#Ucayalazopic.twitter.com/zcxjsvPT9U
— Mirko Rojas Mego (@mirkosoft) March 12, 2016
The strike continues in Pucallpa. #Ucayalazo
@VeroLinaresC Verito lo que esta padando en Pucallpa con el pero ya van 4 dias. Saludos pic.twitter.com/nU4Hsw6PnE
— Melissita Ibarra (@IbarraMelissita) March 12, 2016
@VeroLinaresC Verito, this is what's happening in Pucallpa. The strike has already been on for four days.
#Ucayalazo día 04 #Pucallpa pic.twitter.com/GGL9FqkOaH
— Carlos Cavero (@carlos1cd) March 13, 2016
#Ucayalazo day 4 #Pucallpapic.twitter.com/GGL9FqkOaH
Pucallpa es un caos. pic.twitter.com/K1M7FV9LCD
— Carlos Cavero (@carlos1cd) March 13, 2016
Chaos in Pucallpa.
Little by little, violence began to creep into the protests.
5to día de huelga #Pucallpa #Ucayalazo pic.twitter.com/6N67JsbC23
— Fantasmita✌ (@Tufantasmita) March 13, 2016
Fifth day of strike #Pucallpa #Ucayalazo
En Pucallpa esto no es huelga es violencia. Las autoridades donde están? @renegaste1 @americatv_peru @elcomercio pic.twitter.com/2AUhaQVroa
— Katia Ch Villacorta (@kattyc9) March 13, 2016
This isn't a strike in Pucallpa, this is violence. Where are the authorities?
Cono sur de Pucallpa pide – https://t.co/b3UBLE2TWI pic.twitter.com/p4Obp2VfQG
— Diario Ahora (@diarioahora) March 14, 2016
Southern cone of Pucallpa demands – https://t.co/b3UBLE2TWIpic.twitter.com/p4Obp2VfQG
#ucayalazo!!! Pucallpa en pie de lucha pic.twitter.com/bbmQk2SvUl
— diana G. Martin (@CarolGm2728) March 14, 2016
#ucayalazo!!! Pucallpa fights
The lack of television coverage in Lima is strange not only for the locals in Pucallpa, but also for people in Lima who have found out about the events from other sources.
SEXTO DIA de paro regional en Pucallpa y ni una noticia en los programas del domingohttps://t.co/qbSrKmFQB2#Prioridades
— Camilo Deza (@CamiloDeza) March 14, 2016
Sixth day of regional strike in Pucallpa and there isn't one news story in the Sunday programmes. https://t.co/qbSrKmFQB2 #Priorities
There are even rumors that two people died during clashes with the police, however this has not been confirmed.

author: Juan Arellano


text:
Why One Elephant’s Long Walk Is a Hopeful Sign for War-Torn Somalia · Global Voices
Faaris Adam

An African bush elephant. Photo released under GNU Free Documentation License by Wikipedia user Muhammad Mahdi Karim.
A lone male elephant named Morgan has shocked conservationists after walking 220 kilometres (137 miles) from Kenya to Somalia. The animals have rarely, if at all, been spotted in Somalia in the last 20 years due to the country's civil war.
Morgan, who is in his 30s, was wearing a tracking collar, which allowed conservationists to see his three-week-long trek northwards. Some reports called it the first confirmed sighting of an elephant in Somalia since war broke out in the 1980s, although Al Jazeera quoted local Somalian authorities in September 2015 saying elephants along with lions, leopards, giraffe, buffalo and ostriches had already crossed the border at that point.
“Out of all the tracking we’ve done in Africa, these movements –- and these circumstances –- are exceptional,” said Iain Douglas-Hamilton of the Save the Elephants organization. “The wandering of this one bull across the entire expanse of Lamu district, from the Tana river to the Somali border, no-one has seen anything like this before.”
Morgan left the Tana River Delta in Kenya in mid-February and arrived in Somalia early this month. The elephant only spent less than 24 hours in Somalia before turning back.
The Somali Civil War, an ongoing civil war that started in the 1980s, has not only displaced thousands of people, but also wildlife in the country. As people were fleeing to refugee camps in Kenya, Ethiopia and elsewhere, many wild animals, especially the Big Five (the African lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, African leopard, and White/Black rhinoceros), migrated to game reserves in Kenya.
Apart from conflict, animals in Somalia such as elephants suffered from poaching, which was used by militants as a source of income.
The southern part of Somalia was a sanctuary for Big Five animals before the collapse of the central government of Somalia in 1991. The region is arable, compared to the rest of Somalia which is arid and semi-arid, and two largest rivers in Somalia, Jubba and Shabelle, pass through the area.
But that same area was one of the most lawless, under the control of the militant group Al Shabaab before they were removed by Somali government forces backed by Kenya. The brief return of Morgan is probably an indication of stability returning to the region.
As expected, many people have received the news with joy and excitement. On Twitter, the Wildlife Conservation Society noted:
#elephant‘s epic walk, Lamu to Somalia, shows importance of conserving habitat & corridors. https://t.co/VAUf398zDL pic.twitter.com/cPAqjRQFZ7
— WCS Congo (@wcs_congo) March 10, 2016
Reacting to Morgan's story posted on the Save the Elephants Facebook page, some readers wondered why the story was not kept secret for the animal's safety. Poachers could use the publicity to find Morgan, they argued, though the current location of Morgan has not been reported other than the fact that the elephant walked three kilometres inside Somalia before turning back.
Adrienne Hesford wrote:
the very best thing for Morgan, would have been to keep silent about his existence and whereabouts. I now fear for the safety of him and any other elephants in his area.
Julie Goodison advised:
the BEST thing you can do for Morgan is to please SHUT UP about his whereabouts for heavens sake!!!! and dye his tusks of course
Christie Haskins questioned the logic of the publicity around Morgan's long walk to Somalia:
This post and publicity is bad because it places this magnificent elephant at unnecessary risk. I'm very worried about him.
African elephants are considered a vulnerable species, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with poaching and habitat destruction being the two biggest threats.
Reflecting on the story, Barbara Thomson remarked:
Miracles happen, now we must keep an eye on this elephant, and the Somalis should be encouraged toward conservation and not killing.
Julius Mbuyi suggested that Kenya is the best place for Morgan:
That elephant need to be returned to Kenya at the earnest time possible!
Nilmini Lekamge suggested a guard for the elephant
Can they put a guard for him? He is tagged after all. If there is only one, it shouldn't be hard. I hope!!
One Somali Facebook user, Young Ak, used the opportunity to ask Kenya to return Somali elephants to the country:
Sweet home sweet welcome back home civil war is over! Kenya should return the remaining Somali Elephants or share 10% of Tourist revenues for 200 years with Somalia.

author: Faaris Adam