text:
Macedonia: Name Change to Enter NATO, EU? · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Ever since Macedonia became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991, its name has been the subject of a bitter dispute with its southern neighbor, Greece. Greece claims that the use of “Republic of Macedonia”, as Macedonia calls itself in its constitution, not only violates Greece's historic cultural claim to the name, but also implies a territorial claim to the northern Greek province of Macedonia.
Instead, Greece, and the U.N. by default, have continued to call Macedonia by the name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. As former B92 blogger Lucy Moore points out, “It’s an awfully long name for a tiny country, but you can call it FYROM for short”. To which she adds: “With Greece still hung up on a name from the third century B.C., Serbia's 1389 claim to Kosovo suddenly seems more reasonable”.
Photo by Tigertweet, used with permission.
Now the dispute over the name of the former Yugoslav republic could jeopardize its bid to join the EU and NATO, both of which Greece is a member. An invitation to join NATO is expected at the summit of the organization to be held in Bucharest in April, and after Kosovo's declaration of independence last month, Macedonian officials say the country (which has a sizable Albanian minority) needs membership in the security organization, and later in the European Union, to maintain stability.
However, Greece has threatened to veto Macedonia's membership bid if it does not change its current name (Republic of Macedonia). In addition to NATO, Macedonia is hoping to start accession negotiations with the EU in the fall, based on an EU progress report released last week. The only problem could be, again, its name. In the words of the EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, “If we can't settle this issue, I'm afraid it will have negative ramifications [for EU accession]”. Balkan Baby urges both sides to reach a compromise soon for maintaining stability in the region, with more flexibility on Greece's side:
Given the current instability which looms over the entire Balkan region, it seems highly irresponsible of the Greeks, as a relatively affluent country, to try and hinder the progress of Macedonia, a poor but democratically aspiring country which unlike Serbia wishes to bring itself closer to the West and encourages stability. Greek opposition is likely to infuriate Macedonian nationalists and this in turn could lead to a repeat of the bloody clashes that occurred in 2001 against the republic's Albanian minority. It seems that it is time for Greece to step down from its pedestal and start playing a more responsible and mature role in the region, something which for sometime it has tried to avoid as it promotes itself as a Mediterranean nation rather than being part of the Balkans. Out of defiance maybe Macedonia can ask for Greece to be forced to change its name to The Former Ottoman Hellenic Republic of Athens?
Dieneke's Anthropology Blog describes at great length the intricacies of the name issue, explaining why both sides have a right to the name:
The dispute centers around the issue of the use of the adjective “Macedonian”. This adjective has a geographical sense, describing someone who is from the geographical region of Macedonia. However, for the inhabitants of FYROM [Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia], it also has an ethnic sense, since many (or most) Slavic-speaking inhabitants of FYROM consider themselves to be Macedonian in an ethnic sense. […]
-The people of Greece are justified in wanting to deny exclusive rights to the Macedonian name to FYROM, because FYROM encompasses only part of Macedonia: geographically, the northern part; genetically, a subset of the Macedonian blood; linguistically, a Slavic dialect of the Macedonian region.
-The people of FYROM are justified in wanting to have some rights to the name Macedonian: they inhabit parts of Macedonia, they speak a Macedonian dialect of the Slavic group, and they have come to think of themselves as a separate nation from other Balkan Slavs.
Demonstration in Thessaloniki for the name change of the Republic of Macedonia. Photo by Pappalicious, used under a Creative Commons license.
Both Macedonian and Greek bloggers feel very strongly about the name issue, which external observers like Greater Surbiton, find hard to understand:
…it may be difficult for a sane person to understand what is happening here: try to imagine the English fighting with the Welsh over whether Boadicea was ‘English’ or ‘Welsh’, or with the French over whether Richard the Lionheart was ‘English’ or ‘French’. Try to imagine the French fighting with the Germans over whether Charlemagne was ‘French’ or ‘German’. This is something that no mature, democratic nation would do. Yet in the twenty-first century, it is apparently possible for NATO expansion and Balkan stability to be jeopardized over something like this. In fact, the implications are even more dangerous: if Slavs are not allowed to share in the heritage of Alexander the Great, are British citizens of West Indian or Asian origin allowed to share in the heritage of Boadicea or Richard the Lionheart ? Are German Jews allowed to share in the heritage of Frederick Barbarossa, or Italian Jews in the heritage of Julius Caesar?
UN envoy Matthew Nimetz, who is tasked with helping Athens and Skopje find a solution to their 17-year-old dispute, has been busy since last month, negotiating the search for a name acceptable to both sides. He recently presented a set of 5 possible alternative names and has been meeting representatives of both countries. The proposed names were: Constitutional Republic of Macedonia, Democratic Republic of Macedonia, Independent Republic of Macedonia, New Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Upper Macedonia. The proposals were not very well received: a few Macedonian blogs circulated petitions against a name change, thousands of people protested  in Macedonia, and there have been similar demonstrations in Thessaloniki, the capital of Macedonia in northern Greece.
The blog Say:Macedonia, whose author considers that “it is a basic human right to choose a name for yourself and to express your nationality,” comments on one of the most popular proposals amongst Greek media in an open letter to UN envoy Mathew Nimetz:
In relation to “Upper Macedonia”, while the Greek government has indicated its willingness to agree to this name (as the Greek media has reported in the last few days), it should be pointed out that this name is inconsistent with its official position. If an “Upper Macedonia” exists then logically there is also a “Lower Macedonia.” Therefore having this in mind, how can the Greek government argue, among other things, that the name “Republic of Macedonia” has irredentist claims on northern Greece, but the name “Upper Macedonia” would not?
The Macedonian flag over the town of Ohrid
(Photo by rtw2007, used with permission)
As NATO's summit in April is approaching, time is running out for a deal between Skopje and Athens to solve the 17-year-long dispute, so a few bloggers have made themselves useful by suggesting alternative solutions to the dispute. Here is Greek blogger's Eugenia Loli-Queru idea:
The solution is to make both countries, a single country. Call it “Macedonia and Greece”, or call it “Macedreece” or call it “Greedonia”, I don’t really care. The point is, these two cultures have MORE in common than they think they do. Ancient Macedonians were very similar in their culture and religion with the rest of Greece. It takes guts to merge two countries, but it has been done in the past, and it can be done again, peacefully. […]
My final argument is this: both cultures adore Great Alexander, and each one wants the hero to be their exclusive hero. And yet, all Great Alexander wanted for both, was a united Macedonia-Greece. By not having the wisdom to merge after 2,500 years, neither of you deserve him as its hero.
Other bloggers like Florian Bieber think that, following Macedonia's name proposals, generally republics should be required to add meaningful descriptive adjectives to their names:
“Smallish Republic of Montenegro” (SROCG)
“Kinda Democratic Republic of Serbia” (KDROS)
“Democratic Federal and Sometimes Confederal Republic of Three Equal Constituent People and Nobody Else of Bosnia and Herzegovina” (DFSCRTECPNEBH)
Now there's even a Facebook group where you can contribute to finding a solution for the dispute by suggesting a suitable adjective for Macedonia, which includes proposals like Post-Modern Republic of Macedonia  (PoMoSoMa), The Not Even Remotely, Honestly not even a little bit, Hellenic Republic of Macedonia (NERHNELBHRM) or Ajvarska Republika Makedonija (ARM).

author: Elia Varela Serra


text:
Panama: PRD Elections  · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Luis Polo Roa of Tu Politica [es] writes about and analyzes the elections for the new leaders of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) in Panama.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Eduardo Avila


text:
Afghanistan: List of country blogs · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Afghanistanica offers a list of selected blogs that cover and analyze developments in Afghanistan.

author: Adil Nurmakov


text:
Afghanistan: Why Can’t The Taliban Be Defeated? · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Mohammad opines on the hard issue why can’t the Taliban militant be finally defeated after they withdrew from 95% of Afghanistan in 24 hours, but nobody still can pull them out from Helmand province in six years.


text:
Afghanistan: Women Under Taliban and Now · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Hadi1121 says that women in Afghanistan continue to suffer under the blessings of the Taliban, the tribal militias, religious fundamentalists and the government of Afghanistan. She offers a set of HRW's statistical data for 2006, and doubts that the stats for 2007 will be better.


text:
Africa: Hope Supersedes All · Global Voices
Paula Odhiambo

Women love to share their experiences and express themselves, but no clock will wait for them to sit and share every detail with each other – not even if they do it on their blogs. Life must go on.
Life means the hustle and bustle of everyday activities, the exhilaration of new experiences, and the growth pains that make us want to remain stagnant, but instead teach us that we have got to move forward, no matter what is going on around us. When we get around to sharing all we have learned, we see that experiences and emotions transcend borders and cultures. Not only can we learn from each other, but we can also relate to each other.
“Life is so constructed that an event does not, will not, match the expectation,” Charlotte Bronte said, and, judging by what Christian African women have been posting on their blogs, this is a credible statement.
Take Favored Girl, for example. After a three-month hiatus, she surprised her fans, and pleasantly so, with an update. She continues to chronicle A Girl’s Journey Down the Aisle. Her blog has slowly evolved, it seems, into A Young Woman’s Journey Beyond the Aisle.
Favored Girl tells us about the “inconveniences” she has had to embrace, thanks to marriage:
My friend and I shopped to our heart’s content and when we got tired; we went to a café and sat down to have a bite and a chat. As we sat down, she turned to me and asked, “So, FG I’ve been meaning to ask you. How is married life?”
I wanted to answer the question honestly, so I told her that married life is a lot of fun, but there are many adjustments to make. She asked me what kind of adjustments, and I told her that they were stuff you would never think of if you were a single girl living on your own and accountable to no one but yourself. I told her, “For example, when we were shopping just now, I had to be mindful about the clothes and und****ar I was buying, because someone cares about them”. She found that really funny and said that she couldn’t imagine having to put someone else in the picture when making the smallest decisions such as the clothes she bought or what she wore underneath. I laughed and told her that it does take a long time to get used to…
That's not all. Among other things:
I got a shock one day when, as usual, I was enjoying myself one afternoon when Mr came into the living room and said I was making noise and he wanted some peace and quiet. I stared at him as if he wasn’t making sense. How could he call my music “noise” and ask me to turn it off? Did he not know that listening to music was one of my favourite things to do? We argued for ages but we still didn’t come to a resolution. I just couldn’t imagine giving up listening to music because of him. He suggested that I should use headphones. I grudgingly obliged but it was just not the same. Now though, I have learnt to leave the room he is in when I’ve got my music playing. And I make the most of it when he is not at home and I can turn it up as loud as I want to!
What an inconvenience! But which is worse: Inconveniences, or Disappointments?
mystoriesmytestimonies talks about the guilt people feel about what she calls “chronic disappointment”:
Everyone else seems to be getting on with things. What’s wrong with me? We feel guilty about our chronic disappointment. Why can’t I just learn to be happier in my job, in my marriage, in my church, in my group of friends? You see, even while we are doing other things, “getting on with life,” we still have an eye out for the life we secretly want.
Well, what about Shame and Ridicule – could these perhaps be the worst experiences on the face of the earth? The Girl With A Fro, speaking about these two issues, seems to say that it does not matter – the common denominator is these things cause pain.
I am currently finding myself going back to a place of pain. A situation in my past where someone really hurt me and the feelings surrounding that incident…that time made me feel quite low – and very unloved because of the actions of this person…
I am not ignoring the fact that God was there for me and still is and He alone got me through. What I can’t seem to deal with right now is how to move on. I feel almost as if this incident if not addressed once and for all might carry on forever…and it’s been years already. Ignoring it doesn’t change the fact that it happened and yet that is what the other person is trying to do…I can’t live like that.
Believer has some wisdom to share. She points out that we should not dwell too much on what we are going through – headphones, comparisons and heartache – but rather on the definite HOPE that springs forth from knowing the One that we have believed to be Faithful:
I wonder what would have happened if….
Noah did not build the ark because people were laughing at him (Hebrews 11:7)
Sarah had considered her age (Genesis 21:1-3)
Job decided he'd had enough (Job 14:14)
Joeseph had chosen not to interpret the butler's dream (Genesis 40:6-14)
Ruth had linked arms with Orpah and gone back to Moab (Ruth 1:16-17)
Esther did not take her petition before the king (Esther 4:15-16)…
“Do not be afraid for surely there will be an end to the issues that we face and our expectations shall never be cut off,” she advises wisely. “All that we need is to hold on to God. His Word is true and if He has given you a word concerning something, He can never, never, never fail.”
I could never, never, never have put it better myself.

author: Paula Odhiambo


text:
Albania: Explosion · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belatedly, a link to the coverage of a series of explosions at a weapons depot in Albania by Living in Shkoder.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Armenia: I am Karabakhtsi · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

In light of divisions between ethnic Armenians from Armenia proper and the self-declared [Armenian] Republic of Nagorno Karabakh which were exploited and further encouraged by the opposition during last month's presidential election in the country, Archuk's blog proudly displays a banner stating that he is a Karabakhtsi. The idea for the slogan is modeled after that displayed by many Turks stating they were Armenian after the murder last year of journalist-editor Hrant Dink in Istanbul.

author: Onnik Krikorian


text:
Armenia: Life Continues… · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenian Patchwork reports that life continues in Yerevan even though a state of emergency has been declared. Indeed, the blog posts photographs of the opening of a new Beatles’ themed bar and a rock concert by a local band in a club whose enclosed cafe was used by the opposition as a makeshift headquarters during the recent overnight protests in Liberty Square.


text:
Armenia: Moving Forward? · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on an op-ed co-penned by president-elect Serge Sargsyan and former parliamentary speaker Artur Baghdasarian published by the influential Washington Post. The piece is in response to another op-ed published in the same newspaper by opposition leader and former president Levon Ter-Petrossian.


text:
Azerbaijan: Karabakh Resolution · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Archuk's blog comments on the success of an Azerbaijani-sponsored resolution adopted by the United Nations condemning the Armenian occupation of territory inside the republic and recognizing the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The Armenian Observer also carries the news.


text:
Bahrain: Keywords Shocker · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Bahrain, Silly Bahraini Girl takes a closer look at the keywords which drive clicks to her blog.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Bangladesh: 60 years of the Communist Party · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

black and gray on the 60th anniversary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh.

author: Neha Viswanathan


text:
Bangladesh: Fighting the cycle of poverty · Global Voices
Rezwan

In this week's roundup we will highlight some of the discussions happening in the Bangladeshi Blogosphere on the issues of Poverty, LGBT and Travel .
Poverty:
Bangladesh is a developing country and the main problem of this country is overpopulation. It has one of the highest population density among the worlds big countries. Although the reduction in the growth of population to 1.7 percent (3% in the '70s) is a miracle its vast rural population with their simple style of living are dropping its per capita income average to make it a poor country. It is almost self-sufficient in food for its population of 140 million (over 90%) if no natural calamity strikes in a year. We look at the Blogosphere to see how the country is fighting to get out of the cycle of poverty.
Shawn Ahmed of The Uncultured Project  posts an investigative video report on the young hardworking Poor of Rural Bangladesh. He comments:
If poverty could be eliminated solely by the hard work and determination of the poor, then third world poverty would have ended a long time ago. The poor in the developing world are some of the hardest working people on the planet….I once again point out something I learned long ago: the poor aren’t lazy.
Here is the video produced by Shawn (used under creative commons license):
Bangladesh's fight back to reduce poverty is largely contributed by its clothing industries which flourished from the late eighties. Lower income class women used to have no options other than working as housemaids for food, lodging and a small amount of money, now work in thousand of garments and other factories. And the proliferation of micro-credit introduced by the Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus targeted women to help them get out of poverty. And this had impacted a great deal in empowering women in a predominantly Muslim society.
Dr. Kathryn Ward of Bideshi Blue is a co-founder of Nari Jibon project, a provider of alternative skills for women, which has done commendable job in providing low cost classes in Bangla, tailoring, English, and computers. Kathy informs:
Many of our students have gone on to develop their own businesses, improve their salaries from literacy in Bangla and skills, jobs in offices and NGOs, and pursue their higher education with computer and improved skills in English and Bangla speaking, writing, and reading.
Although there are many such organization working in Bangladesh Nari Jibon has done a bit more. With a Rising Voices grant it has brought working class women of Dhaka towards blogging who are telling the world the stories their lives, struggles and joys. Listen to Kathy discussing the benefits of blogging for Bangladeshi Women in a radio interview.
Gay Community
From Drishtipat blog we are pointed to an article published in Himal South Asian magazine which sheds a light into the Bangladeshi gay community. As homosexuality is still a taboo in the society people are using the internet to form a virtual community and meeting place of the gay-identified men in Bangladesh.
It was in late 2002 that the first online gay group for Bangladeshis – a Yahoo group called BOB, for Boys Only Bangladesh – was started by a handful of educated men. Tired of looking for other gay men in public places such as the Ramna Park hangout, they were hoping to build friendship ties online so as to begin talking about their sexuality comfortably. Since BOB is the biggest congregation of gay-identified men in Bangladesh, it has since come to be seen as something of a barometer of the gay community in the country. As such, BOB helps to gauge the political aspirations of this group – and, more recently, has provided a window into how the past year of emergency rule has affected the gay community of Bangladesh.
Travel:
Joybangla.info, a travel blog from Bangladesh informs:
After many delays, interruptions, disagreements and a fence, the train ride between Kolkata and Dhaka will begin running again on 14 April.
Bodda in Scattered Words Blog had taken a new year's resolution that he will visit places in Bangladesh and blog about it. The blogger visits Kushtia, which is famous for the famous ‘chalan bil’, the largest wetland of the country and Lalon, the singing mystic of Bengal and Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali Nobel Laureate. Raza Rumi has more on Lalon Fakir.
Ahmed Sharif writes a photo essay in his PhotoBlog “Desher Chobi” after his visit to Lawachara Rain Forest & Sreemangal.

author: Rezwan


text:
Barbados, Jamaica: Law and Order  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press weighs in on reports that an estimated 20 percent of Jamaica's murders are committed by police officers.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Bermuda: Freedom of Information · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

When it comes to Freedom of Information in Bermuda, Vexed Bermoothes says: “Sorry, press conferences full of spin, manipulated statistics, and avoidance of substance do not equal a transparent government.”


text:
Bolivia: The Anniversary of El Alto · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Mónica Ticona [es] and Santos Huanca [es] pay tribute to their city of El Alto, Bolivia, which recently celebrates its anniversary.


text:
China and Tibet: Deng Xiao Ping’s Tibet Policy · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Bonnae addressed the Lhasa violent protest issue by reviewing Deng Xiao Ping's Tibet Policy [zh]. Open dialogue and sincerity is the key to peaceful resolution of the conflict.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Colombia: The Results of HiperBarrio · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Victor Solano of ¿Comunicación?  [es] reflects on the positive results that the project HiperBarrio has accomplished in Medellín, Colombia.


text:
Czech Republic: Book on Prague’s City Government · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dr. Sean's Diary reviews Martin Horak’s Governing the Post-Communist City, a “study of city government in Prague in the decade following the collapse of communism.”


text:
Did the Philippine President Commit Treason? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo is accused by her critics of approving an anomalous transaction involving the Chinese firm ZTE. But there is a new allegation that the president is guilty of treason as well.
Journalist Ricky Carandang gives a background of the issue:
“Seven countries claim ownership of the disputed Spratly Islands (in the South China Seas). China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Philippines all claim to own part or all of the Spratlys. These overlapping claims have been a source of tension over the years since the Spratlys (we Filipinos call them the Kalayaan Islands) are believed to contain significant reserves of oil and natural gas. China was the most aggressive in pursuiung its claim. In 1999, the Philippines–under President Joseph Estrada– led an effort to prevent tensions by getting all the claimants to agree not to take actions to provoke other claimants.
“But in 2003, the Philippines–now under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo– rocked the boat that it previously steadied when it signed an agreement with China to jointly undertake seismic studies of the Spratlys and explore for oil and natural gas. Naturally, the other claimants were angry. China’s traditional ally, Vietnam was so angry they it had to be let in to the deal to appease them.
“Aside from angering our neighbors and potentially undermining regional stability, Arroyo’s action may also be illegal.
“What would compel Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to sign a deal that potentially undermines regional stability, possibly grants China parity rights to oil reserves in the Spratlys that we claim to be ours, and likely violates our constitution?
“How about $2 billion a year? After the Spratly deal was signed, the Chinese government committed $2 billion in official development assistance a year to the Philippines until 2010, when Arroyo is supposed to step down from office. My sources tell me that the Spratly deal was an explicit precondition to the loans.”
If the allegation is true, Arroyo has violated Section 2, Article 12 of the Philippine Constitution which provides that “The exploration, development and utilization of our natural resources shall be under the full conrol and supervision of the State.”
Veteran journalist Ellen Tordesillas uploads relevant documents related to the Spratly’s deal. She also included her past interviews with public officials regarding the issues surrounding the ownership of the disputed islands.
Bluepanjeet, who is alarmed by the “large-scale compromise of territorial boundaries,” links several video clips of a TV documentary about the reported agreement. Manila Needs Dextrose uploads an article written by Far Eastern Economic Review correspondent Barry Wain (Manila’s Bungle in The South China Sea) who first exposed the deal two months ago.
TV reporter RG Cruz quotes Philippine government officials who insist that the deal does not include actual oil exploration but only a tripartite Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking “which is part of a strategic alliance to promote regional energy security, to lessen the region’s dependence on Middle East oil.” However, Chinese officials admit that the agreement includes oil and gas exploration.
By Jove reports that the presidential palace gave hints that the Philippines may no longer seek an extension of the Spratly deal, especially if the undertaking would show that no oil is found. The palace also clarifies that the agreement is not unconstitutional since it “refers not to “government to government” basis but to private entities like the Philippine National Oil Company, the China Offshore Oil Corp., and Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation”
Activist lawyers warn that the undertaking is void:
“It is void if signed by Pres. Arroyo and the Chinese government in consideration of fraudulent transactions in the various projects and loan agreements involving Chinese companies. In fact, due to the fraudulent transactions accompanying the loan agreements, the Philippine has every right to demand the voidance even of the loans itself should fraud be proved between the two parties. The Filipino people should not be made to pay for loans, a large portion of which went to private individuals with the knowledge of the contracting parties.”
The Palawan Report is against the agreement:
“It doesn’t make any practical sense, much less a diplomatic justification, for the Philippines to go the extra mile of inviting China and Vietnam to explore Philippine territories that are not even contested by any other claimant country, and are well within our undisputed economic zones.”
Opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes has the same sentiment:
“I am appalled at the extent by which the Arroyo administration and her allies in the House of Representatives are willing to subvert national interest in order to accommodate the interests of a foreign country.”
Political analyst Luis Teodoro describes the Arroyo government as the most rapacious political class in Southeast Asia:
“Reform and even revolution have become so obviously necessary as solutions to the putrid rule of the most rapacious political class in Southeast Asia they can only pretend to be for it themselves. That’s why even some of the most immoral are raising the standards of a moral revolution — and the unreformed waving the banners of reform.”
Bryanton Post wants the guilty parties to be punished today:
“How much more can the Filipinos take? This administration must not get away with this issue this time. If it does–the way it was able to do so in the past scandals –not only do erring officials get away again with their acts of wrongdoing. Worse, as a long-term damage, we allow the growing brazenness of the political class to commit corruption, undermine public and private institutions, escape prosecution, and continue to reign in this sorry land of ours. Not in our name. Not in the name of our ancestors and heroes. Not in the name of our children and the future Filipinos to come.”
Musings of Don Kishote believes the president committed treason:
“I don’t know what else this present government has not done yet to destroy the nation. As if accepting bribe from the Chinese on the NBN deal is not enough, this one on Kalayaan Islands is by far the worst act of this government and should be treated as act of treason.”
Mackybaka! asks if the United States is already displeased over its reliable ally in the Philippines:
“Could it be that the US has gone displeased of this regime because of its developing closeness towards the Chinese? Talks abound that the Arroyo government chose to surrender our territorial integrity and sovereignty (Spratly claim) in exchange for the billions in loan packages from China (NBN-ZTE deal is just one of the many).”
Snippets is disappointed over Arroyo’s inaction and silence:
“Why is Ms. Arroyo hiding her hands with the invocation of the executive privilege? And why is she not pushing for the prosecution and incarceration of those who caused the flaws of the contracts she signed?”
Gabriela Women’s Party notes that “International shame is the price that our country pays for the cover-ups, bribes and lies that this mafia-run government perpetuates.” Achieving Happiness is not surprised that the Arroyo regime has practically sold its claim on the Spratly Islands. All that blogs has an initial roundup of articles relevant to the issue. The Equalizer cites treason as one of Arroyo’s seven deadly sins.
The Odyssey writes about poverty and corruption:
“The people could no longer bear their worsening suffering and poverty. It has become apparent to them that their intensifying hardships are a direct consequence of the Arroyo regime's corruption. The increasingly dismal economic conditions of the broad masses of the people could no longer be obscured by the regime's falsified statistics and media hype about economic progress. The people's growing misery and oppression are increasingly being linked to the regime's reeking corruption.”
Tingog.com thinks the Spratly Islands mess could reveal more illegal transactions involving the First Family:
“The Spratly deal is painting an even more grim picture as to how the prostitution of our land has been implemented in order to garner funds for The Arroyo Regime. And indeed, it seems that the entirety of all these back room deals with China should now be scrutinized. The Spratly Islands deal may have been the start, but it seems that because the Spratly deal went so well under-the-radar, President Gloria Arroyo’s Administration has had the gall to try to implement even more “Executive Agreements” with China after that initial agreement.”
Splice and Dice asserts that the deal is another “monumental reminder of how Gloria failed this nation.” He adds:
“While conferring China the right to dig our backyard, we are abandoned with the duty to pay them stacks and piles of money from our taxes at the end of the day. It's prostitution of the land, literally and figuratively, only that this time around we get to pay them back after humping our lands instead of them paying us, or Gloria for that matter, for allowing them to take what is rightfully ours.”
The Nutbox has several proposals on how the Philippines can resolve the Spratly imbroglio:
“I can say there’s nothing wrong with scrapping the deal and upsetting Beiijing, if only to promote Philippine interests in the region. But before Manila do that, she must first make sure that she would have the ASEAN to back her up once China explodes in anger. That’s because the Philippines alone could never handle China’s wrath. The Philippines needs to stick with the ASEAN and urge the bloc to face Chinese threat as a united group. This has consistently worked in the past.”
Samurai Joe’s Cyber Dojo has lost faith in the system:
“Though I still have faith in President Gloria Arroyo, this has seriously lowered my opinion of her and totally trashed my faith in the system. Are we governed by politicians with no vision of greatness for our country? Why is our government selling out to China and Vietnam?”
In a related issue, it seems the Chinese government is pressuring Philippine Congress not to pass a bill that would officially include the Spratly Islands as part of the Philippine territory. Below is an excerpt from a document which was allegedly sent by the Chinese government to members of Congress:
“If the Philippine side forcefully puts Scarborough Shoal and some other NANSHA reefs and islands inside the baseline of Philippine territorial sea, it will not only be conducive to the stability in the South China Seas, but also disturb China-Philippine cooperation in the area, exerting negative impact on the healthy development of our bilateral relations.”
Notes of Marichu Lambino shows how to indirectly authenticate the document by authenticating the language. Gerry Albert Corpuz condemns the Chinese intervention:
“The move of Beijing is not only undiplomatic. It is actually a foreign intervention authored and executed by the ruling capitalist railroaders and bureaucrat capitalists in China who passed themselves off as communists. They are not communists because these are not the works of communists. The truth is these Beijing top guns are top money makers and exploiters based in Beijing, nothing more, nothing less.”
Related articles: Corruption scandal, A tale of corruption and bribery

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Egypt: Another strike and many protests · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Egyptian doctors and university faculty have joined the crowds and decided to protest against their low salaries.
Hossam El Hamalawy, wrote about the on going protests and sit-ins in front of the Doctors’ Syndicate, which have been organized by Doctors without Rights:
The sit in at the Doctors’ Syndicate, called for by Doctors Without Rights, has started, coupled with protests in several hospitals across the country… The protests are to continue until the 21st of March, when the General Assembly of the Syndicate meets again, amid fury among the rank and file over the Syndicate Board’s decision to postpone indefinitely the strike planned on the 15th….
And quoting Kareem El Behery, Hossam wrote:
كانت نقابة الاطباء العامة بالقاهرة قد اصدرت بيان الاسبوع الماضى تطالب فيه كل الاطباء عن طريق النقابات الفرعية بتنظيم وقفة احتجاجية امس السبت للمطالبة بتحسين الاجر
Last week, the Doctors’ Syndicate issued a statement asking all the doctors to have a sit in last Saturday demanding a raise in salaries.
As for Egyptian university teaching staff, the situation is very similar.
From the blog “Egyptian Universities Strike”, quoting Q & A’s for the March 23rd Strike:
س: ما هي الجامعات التي يشملها الإضراب؟
ج: يشمل الإضراب جميع الجامعات الحكومية المصرية.
س: كيف أشارك في الإضراب؟
ج: المشاركة في الإضراب تعني:
أ. التواجد في محل العمل من بداية اليوم الدراسي.
ب. الامتناع عن أداء جميع الأعمال التعليمية.
ج. إعلان المشاركة في الإضراب.
س: أنا عضو هيئة تدريس بكلية الطب، هل أتوقف عن أداء الخدمات الطبية بالمستشفى الجامعي يوم الإضراب؟
ج: لا، الأعمال الطبية في المستشفيات الجامعية مستمرة ولا يشملها الإضراب.
س: كيف أعلن مشاركتي في الإضراب؟
ج: إعلان المشاركة في الإضراب تتم بإحدى الوسائل التالية:
أ. تعليق شارة الإضراب.
ب. تعليق علامة الإضراب على باب المكتب أو المعمل.
ج. التجمع في مكان ظاهر تحت لافتة الإضراب.
س: كيف أشارك في الإضراب إذا لم يكن لدي واجبات تدريسية يوم 23 مارس؟
ج: يكفي التواجد في الجامعة وتعليق شارة الإضراب.
1. Which universities are included in the strike?
All Egyptian Government universities.
2. How can I take part in this strike?
To take part in the strike means:
a. you would attend your working place at the start of the day.
b. not do any of your educational duties.
c. publicize that you are taking part in the strike.
3. I am a member in the teaching staff in the faculty of medicine, so should I stop my medical duties at the university’s hospital on the day of the strike?
No, the medical duties in the universities’ hospitals should continue.
4. How to publicize taking part in the strike?
You can do so by:
a. Holding up the strike sign.
b. Placing the strike sign on the door of your lab or your office.
c. Gathering near the sign at the protest place.
5. How can I take part in the strike if I didn’t have teaching duties on that day?
It’s enough to be there and to hold the sign.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


text:
El Salvador: The Death of Rutilio Grande · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The priest, Rutilio Grande was murdered thirty-one years ago in El Salvador.  Hunnapuh [es] writes about this death that created a change in Oscar Romero and changed his way of thinking in regards to the Church's role in the conflict in the country.


text:
Georgia: New Protests · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Now that opposition protests in one of the three South Caucasus republics have stopped, new protests are resuming in another. TOL Georgia reports that a few thousand protesters are once again demonstrating in central Tbilisi, but considers that their efforts to force a new presidential election two months after the last one are probably in vain.


text:
Georgia: Sports Ambassadors · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Archuk's blog recounts conversations with English  football fans and concludes that for any country to have a good image abroad they must first have sports and pop stars to export. In this regard, Georgia seems to be doing better than Armenia although the same logic applies.


text:
Hong Kong, China and Tibet: You can’t do this if you are Chinese · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fai Mao pointed out that the so-called “People's War” in Tibet is against Chinese constitution, and Chinese people should speak against such kind of violence.


text:
India: Blogging History · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A round of blogs discussing history at Varnam – the third Indian History carnival.


text:
Iran: Writing about a fictional character can lead  to jail · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Khabgard writes [Fa] Iranian writer,Yaghoub Yaadali, was sentenced to three months in jail, suspended for nine months, last September because of one of his fictional character.In his book, The Rules of Restlessness, a fictional character has an affair with a woman from an ethnic Bakhtiari village.Read more in English.

author: Fred Petrossian


text:
Iran:9 more magazines were banned · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian authorities banned 9 more magazines yesterday. Zannevesht says [Fa] they (authorities) have power and are against these things (media). The blogger writes “I was just reading an interesting article about singer Leonard Cohen in Hafat ,one of the banned magazines, a few days ago.”


text:
Iran:Celebrating Rumi in Rasht · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kourosh Ziabari says [Fa]that a few days ago he and a few other young Iranians organized a conference to celebrate Rumi ,Iranian great poet, in Rasht in the northern Iran.


text:
Iran:First song after Revolution · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Thanks to Enghelab57 blog,you can listen to the first song that was broadcasted on Iranian TV and Radio after Islamic Revolution in 1979.


text:
Iran:”USA Government Encourages Separatism” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to media, USA government is planning to beam Azeri-language radio broadcasts into Iran, in a bid to influence opinion among the significant ethnic Azeri population there. Hezaran Noghteh says [Fa]such a decision means that US government encouraging separatism in Iran. The blogger call it a big mistake for Americans who underestimate Iranians.


text:
Jamaica: Corrosive Column  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Francis Wade is left without words after reading a recent article in the Jamaica Gleaner that deals with US politics, “Jamericans” and race.


text:
Jamaica: Dancehall · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The recent Global Reggae Conference, held at the University of the West Indies, has Agostinho Pinnock blogging about whether or not dancehall music is Jamaica's “solution to civil society”.


text:
Japan: Ancient Toy Design · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

BibliOdyssey selected and reposted some Ancient Toy Design pictures from the Ningyo-Do Bunko Database.


text:
Japan and Korea: History Issue · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

William Underwood (internews) via Ohmynews! has an article on the new era of the Japan and Korea history debate.


text:
Japan: Crackdown on File Sharing? · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Danny Choo writes about an announcement that Japanese ISPs are going to forcibly cut off users who share files over the Internet, pointing out differences between English-language and Japanese-language coverage of the story.

author: Chris Salzberg


text:
Japan: Support for Tibet · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

As fires rage on in the streets of Lhasa, bloggers in another part of the world have been anxiously following developments in Tibet with open eyes and open ears. Over the weekend, as mainstream media [ja] in Japan presented what many criticized as toned-down coverage of ongoing events in Lhasa, the word “Tibet” climbed to number one on Japanese blog search engines with thousands of entries largely in support of the uprising. Meanwhile on the streets, groups of the Tibet Support Network Japan (TSNJ), members of the Tibetan community and other supporters hit the streets on March 8th to celebrate the anniversary of the Tibetan uprising in March, 1959, and a week later on March 16th to demonstrate at Tokyo's Yoyogi park.
As events in Tibet have escalated over the past few days, these and other groups have come together to bring out the message. The TSNJ has put together a blog where they post news updates and messages in Japanese and English. Well-known podcaster [ja], DJ and blogger Morley Robertson has brought attention to Tibet with his project Tibetronica, and over the last few days his listeners have been getting involved through a project called Rave Tibet. [ja] One of the contributions is an embeddable “Tibet Clock” [ja] which, in addition to telling the time, also streams video content about Tibet. Another listener  yayoyi sent in the following map of China:
Listener 筮竹 submitted this skateboard:
Elsewhere in blogs, many were critical of politicians and the mass media for not drawing enough attention to the uprising in Tibet. Blogger yula22 writes:
日頃「人権」を叫ぶ政治家、マスコミ、各種組織・団体に言いたいです。
チベット人に対する中共の、これほどの人権弾圧を黙って見過ごしているなら、
その人たちは紛れもない『偽』人権派でしょう。
This is what I want to say to the politicians, mass media, and every kind of organization and group who cry every day for “human rights”.
These people, who shut up and let the human rights oppression against Tibetans go on, what these people are [talking about] is nothing but “imitation” human rights.
Blogger 酔夢ing Voice points the finger squarely at the Japanese media:
世界中でチベットの抗議活動と支那の弾圧が大きなニュースになっているのに、日本ではＮＨＫが早朝のニュースで申し訳程度に最低限の情報を伝えただけ。新聞はwebで報じているが、速報性が身上のテレビは惨々たるもので、テレビ報道の劣化が著しい。しかも、ＮＨＫのこのニュースは新華社が名指ししてダライ・ラマ14世を非難する謀略報道を伝える一方、ダライラマ14世が支那を警告するリリースは報道していない。一見、支那側を非難する報道に見えながら、巧みにチベット人やダライラマ側の情報を隠蔽しているのである。
(Note: The word “Shina” (支那) is a derogatory term meaning “China”. NHK is Japan's national broadcaster.)
Blogger and former journalist Hara Junjirou meanwhile considers the nature of the demonstration and questions how long the Chinese government can hold on to Tibet:
暴動の映像では中国系土産物店やホテルが襲撃の対象になっている。歴史も文化も違う国を中国の版図に組み入れること自体に無理がある。チベットは庇護すべき少数民族ではない。ウズベキスタン、カザフスタン、キルギスタン。いずれもロシアから独立した。中国政府もそろそろ気づくべき時だ。
In the way that the Chinese government is treating the demonstration, blogger warabidaniyuukoku sees similarities with the Japanese government:
今回のチベット人デモの中にも中共政府のスパイが大量に送り込まれていた。
彼らが自作自演して騒ぎ出し、待ち受けていた武装警官隊がデモ隊を虐殺したのである。日本軍の戦法を真似したのだろうか？
Many bloggers connected events in Tibet with the independence movement in Taiwan. Blogger para1002n wonders what the effect will be on upcoming Taiwanese elections:
今月22日に台湾総統選挙が行われる。やがてチベット暴動の話と、この選挙が結びついて表面化すると思う。台湾が独立しようとすればこんな目に遭うぞという脅しのようなものだ。チベットの自治を訴える勢力が直接台湾選挙を支援しているわけではないが、底流で結びつくように仕向けられてしまう。
Others proposed a boycott of the Beijing Olympics. Blogger shibaken2 describes the boycott:
独裁共産国家でのオリンピックに参加することを反対します。
そして中国製品を買うことも控えましょう。
奴隷のように働かされている子供・女達が作ったことを思うと購入を躊躇します。
なぜそのような国に他の国は群がるのでしょう？
Blogger romery-chan considers the idea but doesn't think it's feasible:
まじボイコットしたくなる人たちの気持ちわかります。
でもね、人間が十億人以上もいる国で、世界各国の企業がビジネスチャンス到来と胸に期待をふくらませてる以上、ボイコットは無理っすよ。
台湾の人たちは、どう思ってるんだろう…？
I seriously understand people who want to boycott.
But in a country with more than a billion people, and corporations across the world inflating expectations of an influx of business opportunities, a boycott is impossible.
I wonder, what do people from Taiwan think about this…?
Blogger asu-he wonders about the Olympics as well:
今日は天気も良く暖かいです、私は元気です。
春らしいなぁと感じますね、穏やかな時間の流れはいいものです。
なのに「中国のチベット暴動」なんて新聞に出ています。
オリンピックも開催されるというのに大丈夫なんでしょうか・・・
Blogger nakahitosi goes as far as to compare the Beijing Olympics to the Berlin Olympics under Hitler:
北京オリンピックは、ヒトラー政権下でのベルリンオリンピックとは比べられないほど、多くの人の血で真っ赤に染まった、血塗られたオリンピックなのである。
Others responded to the blocking of YouTube by the Chinese government. Blogger blue_k_i comments:
「安全上の懸念」でないことは明らかです。
現地の情報が海外へ流出することを防ぐ為の措置でしょう。
そして、目の届かない所で弾圧が行われる。
Finally, one blogger pointed the finger at Japanese peace groups, who they claim do not criticize China enough for human rights abuses:
日本の平和団体は、日本・アメリカは批判しますが中国は一切批判しません。
その証拠に、平和団体ホームページでは一切、チベット虐殺・弾圧問題には触れられていないことがわかりますね。
中国政府がチベット虐殺・弾圧問題を「人民戦争」と表現し、チベット王国・チベット亡命政府に宣戦布告してますが、知らないんでしょうか？
For more Japanese views: hienkouhou comments on Bjork [ja], negaigoto writes about their experience meeting the Dalai Lama [ja], and blogger Fukushima Kaori  (福島香織) gets lots of comments on a piece about why the Olympics should not take place in Beijing [ja].


text:
Japan: Tibet Tibet · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Blogger and artist Takami Toshio writes about the Japanese film Tibet Tibet [ja] at his blog Radical Imagination. He points out the similarity in perspectives between the director, who is Zainichi Korean, and the people of Tibet, both of whom do not have a country of their own.


text:
Jordan: Wife Seeking in the Middle East  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“One of the most hated rituals in the middle east is the dreaded “Wife seeking”. Not only is it nerve wrecking for the potential groom and his family. But it's also considered humiliating for the ladies who find in the ritual demeaning to the woman,” writes Qwaider, from Jordan.


text:
Kazakhstan: Shadow Puppet Master Comes Up as Billionaire · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Sean R. Roberts reports that the Forbes’ list of billionaires has added another Kazakhstan name to its list – Bulat Utemuratov– bringing the country’s “official” members in the elite billionaire club to 8.


text:
Kyrgyzstan: Ban on alcohol and tobacco advertising · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Ayan Dane writes that the Kyrgyz Parliament is initiating a law to ban alcohol and tobacco advertising, although the prospects of this draft law are uncertain as some deputies have business connected with selling alcohol and tobacco.


text:
Macedonia: A Primer on Politics · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Fistful of Euros posts “a brief primer on Macedonian politics.”


text:
Nepal: Campaign Story · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

United We Blog! follows the campaign trail of the Maoist leader Prachanda in Nepal.


text:
Nicaraguan: The Garbage Problem in Managua · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Garbage is piling up in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua, which may lead to greater health problems.  Political tensions between President Ortega and the Mayor Marenco are not helping things writes Nicaraguan Report.


text:
Pakistan: Where’s the Prime Minister? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Despite a round of elections, Pakistan still doesn't seem to have found a Prime Minister. More at All Things Pakistan.


text:
Qatar: Pledge to end human trafficking · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

At a Doha conference, Arab Gulf states have pledged to nip human trafficking in the bud. Or Does it Explode .. asks “Really?”


text:
Romania: A Primer on Election Law · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dr. Sean's Diary posts a primer on Romania's election law.


text:
Russia: Kosovo and Abkhazia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Steady State writes about Russia and “Kosovo's precedent”: “Russia is an ardent supporter of the territorial integrity in the Balkans. When it comes to the Caucasus, those principles change.”


text:
Sri Lanka: Blogging in Sinhala · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

ramblinglankan on blogging in Sinhala in Sri Lanka and if it makes sense to do so.


text:
Tanzania: To quit or not to quit? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Pernille is a well-known blogger from Denmark. She entered the African blogosphere scene when she started working in Uganda and blogging at “I've Left Copenhagen for Uganda”. She now lives in Tanzania and blogs under a new name, Louder than Swahili. Last week she decided to put her blog on stand-by following comments she received via email, SMS, and phone calls, which made her uncomfortable. The issue that has generated such comments is the image of Tanzania she is displaying on her blog:
The reason is that over the weekend I have been receiving comments, e-mails, text messages and a phone call telling me various things, which I am far from comfortable with. Someone even made a Facebook group with the aim of boycotting my blog.
Basic message is that I am not giving the right impression of Tanzania. That the image I display of Tanzania  to the world is damaging Tanzania's image. To me there simply is no right impression, but apparently there is, and I am not meeting these standards. I am highly aware that Africa is not just Africa, that Tanzania differs from other African countries and vice versa. I also know that the image of Tanzania in for instance European media often does not correspond with the one of the Tanzanians. But again 35 million Tanzanians do not make one idea, but many. I am an ex-pat, I blog from my perspective.
I find different viewpoints expressed on different blogs inspiring, which is why I read different blogs. I have only ever intended to reflect my impressions, which I have emphasised over and over. I have also emphasised that my views are mine and do not necessarily correspond with the NGO I work for.
One of her readers posted a message on the popular Tanzanian photo blog, Issa Michuzi, about the page he has set up on Facebook asking people to join in. This person wants her to apologise and promises to expand his campaign:
If you haven't heard yet, Pernille from Denmark and living in Tanzania, an Information Officer at MS Tanzania, posted on her blog, http://pernille.typepad.com/ comments that compared a Tanzanian female traffic officer's legs to ‘tree trunks’.
The purpose of this group is to condemn those unacceptable comments, and demand a formal apology.
SPREAD THE WORD!!
Currently, the group has 62 members. These are some of discussions going on the group's page:
All we Members in this Group are Boycotting the Public Statement of the Girl Pernille.
I wonder how people like KIFIMBO CHEZA join this gruop to try brainwash us on our stands.
I advice you KC, better you open your own Group PROTECT PERNILLE then “get Off” you ideas there, so that they can vary… So plze live us and our Administrator Andrew Shayo Mushi to continue with what we think is right for us.
Message – Report
Alex Kenkuto (Tanzania) wrote
at 5:11pm yesterday
How long these people been in Africa being so-called Foreign Aid Worker, which most of them are SPY. Guys you see them in high life; they are there enjoy life and use Africa like guinea pig, I would love to debate Pernille
ZeBahati Frederick (Toronto, ON) wrote
at 3:00pm on March 8th, 2008
So we are a bit touchy that some creature with a superiority complex dares to compare one of our own's legs to tree trunks..May be we should always laugh about it and be the mature ones, maybe we should forgive her for being human with all human faults..maybe we should just turn the other cheek because the bible says that..afterall, we are more mature than to get offended by such a minor issue..you know what? with a name like SHAYO-MUSHI I will be surprised if he was not offended..matter of fact he like myself should be PISSED beyond reason..For years Africans and if I may say; Tanzanians have been too passive in the way they react to obscene comments/acts and a shit load of other “minor” be-littling things; Slavery, colonization, neo-colonization, economic thuggery and a so on.
After her announcement, her readers had this to say:
This is part of a bigger dynamic wish i hope you will understand. It's okay for you to give up or be quiet. It won't effect you, if things get crazy in tanzania, then you can always pack up and leave, like your doing with the blog. others do not have that fortune.
Posted by: blackstone | March 16, 2008 at 05:42 PM
I didnt see any offense on that statement, may be just because it was written by white, but we should ask our selves how many statement like that appear in our Blogs?
Posted by: Pope | March 14, 2008 at 12:13 PM
Oh, Pernille. I'm so sorry. Please let us know if/when you decide to start blogging again. In the meantime, you will be sorely missed.
Posted by: Rebekah | March 12, 2008 at 10:40 PM
The beauty of blogs by white girls in Africa is that they remind all those bleeding white liberals back home what they are missing.
Are you blogging for Tanzanians or are you blogging for the kids back at home that need to be convinced they can make a difference in Africa?
The Tanzanians want you to stop but the kids back home are spellbound. Who are you gonna chose?
If you asked me, I would say the silly Africans can go fly a kite. After all if they knew the least bit about what is good for them then you wouldn't even need to be hear writing about their issues.
Blog on
Posted by: POTASH | March 12, 2008 at 08:51 PM
I'm very sorry to see you go! I understand why you're going but I'm hoping you wont stay away for too long. All the best. Bye Danish Pernille!
-DeTamble
Posted by: DeTamble | March 12, 2008 at 02:41 PM
Bummer. I'm sorry you're getting flak.
I wish people would realise, it's like television. If you don't like it, you can change the channel.
And I will miss your blog while it's down.
Posted by: Anne-Marie Weeden | March 12, 2008 at 04:15 AM
Pernille,
Putting your blog on stand by as you say it is giving victory to haters of free speech and rights to opinion.
An Information Officer working in Tanzania is not necessarily a Public Relations or Marketing executive for Tanzania.
Don't give up, so your right of opinion a big favour by blogging soonest!
Yours up in arms,
From Uganda, and in Southern Sudan,
Your Peace, Salam Taki
Glenna discussed Pernille's decision on her blog, Uganda Scarlettlion:
This post is not my announcement about switching to moderated comments, as I have long threatened to do when there's too much name-calling using this web page as its forum.

It's about Pernille, who used to live and blog in Uganda, and now does so in Tanzania. Louder than Swahili is her great blog documenting her daily life, work, and impressions of Tanzania. I've enjoyed reading about her life there as much as I did when she was in Arua.

Every blogger gets their fair share of flack, but the higher your blog visibility, the more flack you take. And Pernille has a lot of readers. And apparently, not all of them are happy.
There are a lot of people who take issue with how expats represent Africa, regardless of any disclaimers each blogger may have about a blog representing only his or her views. In general, I think, there are a lot of people who are (rightly) angry about the havoc wrought by the West in Africa, and they tend to take out that disenfranchisement in the form of anonymous comments on blogs. (A statement for which I plan to take plenty of flack.)
Expats in Africa are one of the nearest and most tangible embodiment of that divide. I think it's easy for people here to be mad at bloggers, like me or Pernille, when that's not really the problem. Anger directed at my meager blog, or even Pernille's more robust one, are just the surface manifestations of problems no blog can ever solve.
But it's hard to remember that, when the angry comments are directed at you personally, rather than at a historical legacy or a global divide for which none of us is individually responsible, yet all are complicit.
Pernille, I will eagerly await your return to blogging.
This week, Pernille changed her decision and resumed blogging:
I'm still relatively speechless in terms of formulating an exact written explanation to what happened this week; The Facebook Group and the manic text messages from the US telling me to ‘apologise in a certain way, or…'; the ways I have been quoted on a wide range of Swahili blogs, including photos from my blog being copied and then pasted into other contexts on other blogs. I have definitely realised that here is an outstanding lack of decency in the way people debate on blogs – or for that matter use Facebook. Not to forget the way people just steal text and photos from another without quoting correctly.
It has never been my intention to offend any Tanzanian in particular. And interpretating my blog as an overall offence towards Tanzania is below my understanding. I quite like the place, but there simply is a limit to how many positive adjectives I intend to use, because things are usually more complex than that. Someone wrote that it is okay to be critical as long as you are patriotic. I personally don't believe in patriotism, not even regarding my home country.
And I can honestly say that whatever I've blogged about during my time in Africa, the times where I have felt an actual strong and deliberate intention to insult anyone, it has been targeted towards the xenophobic Danish People's Party and the Danish right-winged government for their treatment of asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants, their admiration for President Bush, for entering the war in Iraq, for not allowing Christiania, and for its massive lack of understanding of what it takes to make decent information about development work in Africa.
As one of my readers commented: Flick the channel – there is a million other blogs out there, why don't you read another one, if you don't like this one?! I won't give this more airtime on my blog. I have got work to do, and real life is taking place out there, not in the blogosphere.
I'm back.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Guarding the Guards · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Notes from Port of Spain asks: “Who will guard the guards?”


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Senseless Murder · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Club Soda and Salt is saddened by news of Trinidad and Tobago's latest murder: “Ultimately, this man was shot for doing what so many of us lack the courage to do: taking responsibility for the children in his community, instead of just ignoring them.”


text:
Turkmenistan: A Central Asian Gas Ultimatum · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Maciula reports on the ultimatum given to Gazprom – and therefore to the Western consumers – by Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and wonders about its impact on the Central Asian geopolitical situation.


text:
U.S.A and Japan: Comparing School Bus · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Englishman compared the school bus designs by U.S and Japan school.


text:
U.S.A and South Korea: FTA · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jae Young Lee from Ohmynews! wrote an update on the development of U.S and South Korea Free Trade Agreement.


text:
Uzbekistan: Foreign Policy Perturbations · Global Voices
Tolkun

The Uzbek regime's violent suppression of the uprising in Andijan in May 2005 was a turning point in the country's foreign policy. The government did not allow EU to investigate the case and then, after the U.S. administration's strong opposition to “non-observation of basic human rights”, Tashkent forced American airbase in Khanabad to shut down.
However, there have been some positive changes in fragile relations between Uzbekistan and the West recently. The consent to let the United States and NATO use airbase in Termez was an expected result of Tashkent's current foreign policy, aimed at rapprochement with the West. As reported, now Uzbekistan allows certain NATO countries, including U.S., to use the airbase in Termez (which has been used by Germany since 2001), although they all can fly to Termez only aboard German aircraft.
Registan was the first in the Uzbek blogosphere to write about this. The author complains over divergence of the information in different sources. This yet again proves the Uzbek government's reluctance to officially comment on the matter. But despite controversy, there are obvious changes in the country's foreign policy:
…there is indeed a substantive change, but it is fairly limited. For the time being, the Uzbek government has not said a word on the arrangement. And I would not expect that it would anytime soon. I do expect that the relationship between Uzbekistan and the West will continue to improve — perhaps US planes will be touching down at Termez in the near future.
Nathan discusses the possible results of allowing Western troops into Uzbekistan.
Unnamed activists say that they fear closer relations will cause human rights to recede into the background as Western governments become too excited about closer security ties. Others say that they anticipate closer ties will eventually result in the end of EU sanctions. In my estimation, that’s almost guaranteed, but I don’t really think the sanctions accomplish much anymore. The statement’s been made.
As usually, Registan's readers are very active in commenting. Brian is concerned that presence of the U.S. troops may eventually “hurt” the locals.
I think that’s what a lot of us may be afraid of [referring to Andijan events when US trained Uzbek Special Forces brutally suppressed the uprising]. Whether we do support the Uzbek security services (again) or not, this may be the impression regardless. Hopefully, the relationship will be cordial but at arms-length… and for god sakes I hope we don’t train or equip them again.
Central Asia blog on reports that official visit of Admiral William J. Fallon to Tashkent has given its results:
It appears U.S. Adm. Fallon visit last month accomplished more than just renewing a dialogue. What should one make of this seeming rapprochement between U.S./NATO and Uzbekistan? German troops have already used this base for some time, so is this really a substantial change in policy for Uzbekistan or the U.S.?
Libertad at neweurasia writes that “the Uzbek government is successfully re-building a bridge to the West three years after Andijan”, adding that Tashkent will get some concrete benefits by having Western troops in Termez.
Today, Uzbekistan needs the West on its territory. First, Uzbekistan will secure itself from emergence/import of “religion-based ideologies”. Second, the Uzbek government partaking in the fight against Taliban also fights Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which is now mainly located in Afghanistan and supports Taliban. Third, close ally and friend of President I. Karimov – Russian leader V.Putin – officially is not in high position any more, and Uzbekistan may need backing from the West. Fourth, Uzbekistan will gain more authority in Central Asian region.

author: Tolkun


text:
Welcome German, Albanian and Macedonian into Lingua Family · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Global Voices Lingua is honored to announce today that German, Albanian and Macedonian have launched officially.  A new chapter is turned.
Since the initiation of Lingua, we have gathered an enormous group of enthusiastic editors and volunteers to translate their passion into words.  Because of their precious efforts, Global Voices is heard by more people in more languages around the world.  Lingua has also reflected the variety and diversity of multilingual World Wide Web.
These translators (not machine translation!) has contributed their time and intelligence to fulfill the mission of Global Voices – to “shine light on places and people other media often ignore.”  Their greate translations have also helped Global Voices reach new audience.
Now, Lingua has a dozen translation versions.  Of course it is not enough!  There are many other languages not covered by Lingua yet, and this is the way we are progressing.  More languages are coming.  Welcome to join us!  If you are interested in getting involved, please visit Lingua page for further information and contacts.

author: Portnoy Zheng


text:
Afghanistan: “The Afghan Star” Fever · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Hadi1121 reports that Afghanistan now suffers from a new kind of fever, “The Afghan Star” fever. This is an “American Idol” type show run by Tolo Television, where contestants sing and mobile phone owners vote them to the top.


text:
Afghanistan: Women’s Day in the Unrest Country · Global Voices
Joshua Foust

March the Eighth was the  International Women's Day, a global celebration of the unsung heroes who make society function. Afghan bloggers noted it was happening, but placed the long struggle for women's rights in a rather historical context.
Mohammed Khairy laments,
In my country, Afghanistan, women are always marching and protesting for their rights. Unfortunately, the politicians never listen to them nor give them any benefit…
The few Afghanistani women who got the opportunity to serve in a high position of the new Government soon became involved in oppositional political games rather than working for women.
The Afghanistan government failed to stop the crimes against women, instead there are many criminals who have been hired in different positions.
Afghanistani women are again left to the injustice of cruel husbands, child-marriage and women trafficking. Men still have the power to do anything to their wives such as torturing and killings. There are hundreds of women being shot to death, sold out to other men, having parts of their bodies cut off, such as ears, noses and fingers, according to the Afghanistan Human Right commission.
M. Ashraf Haidari, on the other hand, sees much to celebrate:
Afghan women have much to celebrate on International Women's Day. Yet their precarious situation still warrants international attention and support. Although Afghan women have now regained most of the freedoms that they lost under the Taliban's gender apartheid, they still constitute one of the most vulnerable groups in Afghanistan…
Afghan women have made notable progress since the end of the Taliban's unforgiving gender apartheid seven years ago.
Nasim Fekrat notices that Afghan women are actually facing more violence today than they were several years ago:
Many times, children at the age of 7, 8, and 9 are forced to marry. The conditions are severe and often they are raped. After marriage they can't go to school anymore and are faced with lots of difficulties from the family and husbands. Many of them can't bear this harsh position, and they burn or otherwise kill themselves…
About 87% of woman complain about the domestics violence, half of them are sexually abused and more than 60% of the marriages are by force.
On the other hand, decades of war left the country with thousands of widows and orphans. Today, most of them are begging in the streets. A few of them have been taken to orphanages and protective shelters.
Hadi1121 offers a similar testimony.
But women’s day isn’t all there is to think about. Sanjar relates the story of a protest in Mazar-i-Sharif over the Danish Prophet Cartoons:
Afghan clerics and the government not only got the crisis wrong, as they usually do with crisis but they are also full of hypocrisy. The government budget and effectively Afghanistan is funded by countries that have published the cartoon. Why do you receive their charity while strongly oppose their values. Cartoon is another pretext for mullahs, as its for the right wing in the west, to strengthen their grip on society. Protests like today is solely the initiative of few mullahs and its primarily aimed at suppressing moderate elements of Afghan society, if such a thing exist.
Hadi1121 notes that the many questions over ethnic minorities is in a way being answered by the Afghan version of “American Idol” show:
We can go on all day talking about how different ethnicities are now represented in the parliament and the government, what each has achieved and/or lost, what is factual is that different groups simply don’t trust and in certain cases don’t like one another. They still view the other as a stalker ready to rid the other of their rights and existence. Be it the presidential, parliamentary or local counsel elections or the one for the Afghan Star, candidates in most cases are viewed as representatives of their respective groups and tribes rather than individual artists contesting based on talent.
And lastly, Kabulistan writes of an art project that is gaining some attention in Holland over the plight of the growing number of drug addicts.

author: Joshua Foust


text:
Albania: Explosion Aftermath · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Living in Shkoder posts an update on the explosion's aftermath.


text:
Albania: Post-Explosion Protests · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Albanian Blogger writes about the protests taking place in Tirana following the explosion.


text:
Arabeyes: Rebelling the Saudi Way · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

On the occasion of the International Women's Day, Saudi activist Wajiha Huwaidar, had herself videotaped driving a car in a rural area in Saudi Arabia, to draw attention to the plight of Saudi women, who are banned from driving, and posted it on YouTube.
Muneeb, from Mideast Youth, sheds light on Huwaider, saying:
She is one of the leaders of the movement to overturn the ban on woman driving [with Fawzia al-Oyouni, Ibtihal Mubarak, and Haifa U.] Infact the petition last September was a brain child of her’s with the other activist. In 1990 some 47 woman drove in the capital Riyad, defying the ban. They were quickly rounded up.. but the difference b/w now n then is alot.. esp w/ all the reforms put in motion by the new King Abdullah n the fact tht lots of ppl are open to women driving. Arab News surveyed 400 women on the issue, and said 282 of them said they would drive alone if allowed to, 44 said they would continue to use drivers, 30 said they would drive, but only when accompanied by a male guardian, and 12 opposed the idea of women driving altogether.
Still at Mideast Youth, Saudi Rasha paints a different picture of women in the Saudi capital.
International women’s day passed unnoticed here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Almost all the women I talked to didn’t even know that the 8th of March was a day to celebrate women’s accomplishments.
In such a strict culture as the one we have in Saudi Arabia, it is very difficult for women to celebrate this event openly without being attacked by the conservative religious group who mostly believe that women should not set a foot outside their door steps without a male guardian in the first place.
Venturing out to a bookfair, on the day specified for families, Rasha and her friend were faced with an ugly situation. She explains:
As I was browsing through some books, I heard a man next to me repeating under his breath (astagfor Allah) meaning Oh Allah I repent.. he was asking for forgiveness for being so close to two ladies who didn’t cover their faces, that being my friend and I!
I got annoyed at his attitude and pointed out not so kindly that if he didn’t like being in a place surrounded by us women he should leave and visit the fair on the day scheduled for men!
She also voices her exasperation with such incidents and writes:
This man and many like him do this when talking or dealing with strange women (non relatives), I have dealt with several in my work. I usually discard this attitude of attempting to belittle me, since a woman is looked upon as something filthy, dirty and an object of pleasure for men to own and possess. I don’t know why I am becoming sensitive all the sudden to such actions.. I am fed up with such insults I guess!
Rasha asks herself: “Do Saudi women deserve to celebrate the International Day for Women?” and her response is:
I was looking at it in terms of us not progressing much then I realized that we are constantly comparing ourselves to everyone around us and that is unfair to our own achievements! I am sure we have progressed although it does seem like tiny little steps compared to other middle eastern countries even.
Our country is holding on to certain traditions as if it’s hanging on for dear life, and many of us are pulling at roots that are so thick and embedded so deep in us that it is almost impossible to just extract. I see many who want to discard it the easy way by chopping at the thick trunk of these traditions not knowing that the roots are still embedded there.. they might still grow with the least amount of water. I would rather invite friends who share the passion and interest I have in this unique event, hand each one a shovel then unite our strengths to dig all around the tree to find its core.. roots.. then loosen it up. It will take more effort, patience and time.. Once I feel the ground loose around this thick, heavy and ugly tree, I will embrace it. I might even shed a tear not knowing if it’s for the pains I suffered because of its sharp thorns that pierced through my skin so many times reminding me with each scar of my womanhood, the shame in being a woman or a tear for so many women who moved on to be buried under the ground after they have been buried when they were above it; without having the chance to witness such a bright day where women embrace and are actually proud of their womanhood!


text:
Armenia: Cultural Protest · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on an open letter signed by a five individuals prominent in their cultural fields including expressing their concern with the political situation in Armenia. The signatories suggest holding new parliamentary elections in Armenia to defuse tensions following the 19 February presidential election and the current state of emergency.


text:
Bahamas: Creation Station  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“There are none so blind as those who do not see,” writes Nicolette Bethel, as she blogs about Bahamian creativity.


text:
Bahrain: Parliament Countdown  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif has places a new counter on his blogs, featuring the number of days left for Bahrainis to “get rid” of their parliament.


text:
Barbados: Jewish History  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Gallimaufry is interested to find that Barbados has unearthed another piece of its Jewish history.


text:
Bermuda: Citizen Media  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Breezeblog keeps track of the annual State of the News Media Report from the Project For Excellence in Journalism and says: “The report notes the nature of news reporting on the net is changing significantly thanks to the influence of ‘citizen media'”.


text:
Bermuda: Sunshine Week  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Vexed Bermoothes, Politics.bm and Breezeblog all blog about Sunshine Week in Bermuda – and no, it's not what you think.


text:
China: Chaotic Democracy? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Yanghengjun pointed out that the mainstream media always describe democratic election in other countries as “chaos” and laughed about it; however, they have neglected the country's own “chaos” and often time “violence” [zh].


text:
China: Planning for Citizen Media Website · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Zoula compared different citizen media websites as a ground work for his future online citizen media project [zh].


text:
China: What’s Wrong with Wiki? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

KJ found out that many netizens couldn't access overseas wiki websites such as wikia and wowwiki [zh].


text:
Cuba: 55 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Uncommon Sense and Child of the Revolution blog about “the fifth anniversary of what has become known as Cuba's own Black Spring…”


text:
Cuba: Absence of Ads · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Circles Robinson says that “Cuba’s policy to live without commercial advertising is clearly one of the things that make it different.”


text:
Czech Republic: Beauty Pageant · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Czech Daily Word reviews the Miss Czech Republic beauty pageant.


text:
Czech Republic: Czech Soldier Killed in Afghanistan · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Czech Daily Word reports on the death of a Czech soldier in Afghanistan.


text:
Ecuador: The Beginning of Holy Week · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Holy Week has begun throughout Latin America and La Voz de Guamote [es] writes about some of the festivities in Ecuador.

author: Eduardo Avila


text:
Egypt: First Woman Islamic Marriage ‘Registrar’ · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“The best piece of news I heard on coming back to Egypt is that the first ever female “Ma’zoun” (the person who carries out the marriage ceremony in Islam) in Egypt and the Muslim world has been appointed by the family court of Al Sharqiyah governorate,” writes Eman, from Egypt.


text:
Egypt: Kefaya Song · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Ahmad Sherif, from Egypt, posts an Arabic song, protesting Mubarak's rule.


text:
Egypt: Looming Bread Crisis  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Arabist, from Egypt, posts links to coverage on Egypt's looming bread crisis.


text:
Egypt: Notorious Fatwas · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Zeinobiya from Egypt lists a few fatwas (religious) edicts by a clergyman, whom she describes as “looking for fame.”


text:
Egypt: Rahho R.I.P. · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“The Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho was found dead in Mosul on Thursday. He was abducted on the 29 of February 2008, when his car was attacked and two body guards and his driver was killed,” reports Ibn Al Dunya, from Egypt.


text:
Egypt: Stop Drug Abuse Campaign Launched · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

“Stop Drugs.. Change your life” was the motto for a new controversial campaign initiated by Amr Khaled in Egypt and other different Arab countries. The campaign primarily aims to fight drug use among youth and to enlighten them about the negative effects of drugs on themselves, lives and countries.
Egyptian blogger ISIS, under a posted titles “Amr Khaled’s Drug Awareness Campaign” writes:
“At last the very popular Amr Khaled does something, in my eyes, truly great, wide scale, and not exclusive to Islam or Muslims. A drug campaign supposedly covering the Middle East, called ‘Hemaya’, which literally translates to ‘Protection’ was launched only last week by the young and controversial evangelist. The campaign aims to get 5,000 addicts to begin treatment.
While wishing the campaign success,ISIS, who describes herself as “an addict in recovery”, warns that secular youth spreading the message, might fare better than their religious counterparts. She explains:
“ I really want this campaign to work and for more people to know about the disease and as a society fight against it. I don't know about other addicts, but these overtly virtuous goody two shoe'ed people freak me out and if I was still using I'd be scared to ask them directly for help out of fear of being judged and ridiculed actually – this is simply because I'd feel that, even though they're making gigantic efforts to openly speak about this specific ill of society, the volunteer youth are obviously devoted Amr Khaled fans who I bet you anything have never missed an episode of Al Janna Fi Beyoutena (Heaven in our Homes) and 3ala Khouta Al Habib (On The Path of the Beloved – a show where Amr Khaled emotionally tells the story of Prophet Mohamed) [**] – and all that means that they are extremely religious – generally that would be okay, but when you're trying to target drug users and addicts and convince them of starting a treatment program, these volunteer seem like have no experience at all dealing with or understanding drug users and their mentalities – and that may be the main problem in reaching their aim. Anyways – maybe if Hemaya was a bit more secular it would make a more successful attempt at actually reaching the twisted and disoriented minds of addicts like myself. I really believe that with just a few adjustments to the campaign themes and motifs of publicity and marketing this project can truly hit the nail on its head. I really may actually think of volunteering… but I'd be scared of all the stigma, cuz in the middle of all the veiled chicks – I will totally stand out as the recovering addict…
In any case, best of luck to Hemaya, really I hope their goals get reached and their plans achieved…


text:
Estonia, Russia: Review of Edward Lucas’ Book · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa reviews The New Cold War by Edward Lucas.


text:
Estonia: “Tallinn Syndrome” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa writes about the “Tallinn syndrome” and “the ‘Western’ European outlook on ‘Eastern’ European countries.”


text:
Guatemala: Public Support for the Death Penalty · Global Voices
Renata Avila

Picture “brooms head romans.. ” by Antigua Daily Photo and used under a Creative Commons license.
One might see a contradiction in Guatemala in regards to attitudes towards the death penalty. On one hand, Guatemalans are heavily devoted and participate in religious festivities of the Catholic and Protestant churches during holy week, which is the time for the faithful to commemorate the execution of Jesus Christ.  However, with the same devotion and passion, most Guatemalans strongly support the death penalty. First, it was announced that death penalty will not be applied to the criminals (there are more than 40 waiting in line), and the international community supported this decision, while several ordinary citizens were really upset. Then the President said that the decree was unconstitutional, and that the law had to be enforced.
Bloggers have divided opinions, some in favor, some against it. But sadly, in all of them you can read the lack of credibility in the system and the loss of hope. Such contradictions are clearly exposed by El Toronteco on his post Overdue Pride, where he argues:
During my quarter of a century growing up in Guatemala the death penalty was a non-issue. It existed, it was enforced every now and then, it was even broadcast on the news at noon. I learned compassion, thought, through the eyes of my Tía Luz who served somewhat as our nanny and to whom I am in debt for who I am almost as much as my parents. Her reaction to anyone being incarcerated or taking in by police, or worse, anyone who was in death row was Pobrecito (“poor little guy”). Compassion for a criminal is something that is not often seen, particularly in Guatemala where the sole mention of the “Human Rights” in relation to common criminals provokes the outcry of the general public as a way of letting people get away with their wrongdoings. Now that I think about it to put it in black and white pixels Human Rights have so many different meanings in Guatemala. On one side we have the issue of the genocide of those who were fighting against the government (blowing up the extremely necessary and scarce infrastructure of the country, I must say to echo my “maternal” point of view); those who are seen by the international community as criminals against humanity, the masterminds and executors of the massacres during the civil war and even after the peace accords of 1996. And then we have the Human Rights of the common criminal (or even the organized one) which are completely disregarded by the common public. Linchamientos (“lynching”) was (is?) a usual way of the people of taking the law into their own hands, as democratic as an open town hall. Out of frustration, the general public chased the criminal (be it someone who was stealing a pair of sunglasses or someone being suspected or trying to kidnap a baby), beat him/her up almost to death, until “the authorities” arrive. Is in this context that Human Rights are looked down by Guatemalans, not in the context of the massacres”.
As blogger Miguel Arriaga said on his post Pena de Muerte en Guatemala [es]:
Mi postura es totalmente a favor de la pena de muerte, y tengo entre otras, dos razones que considero válidas. La primera, es que debe hacerse cumplir la ley, si la ley dice 5 años que se den 5 años, si 10 pues que se den 10, y si la ley dice pena de muerte se debe aplicar; porque de antemano se sabe cuales delitos se castigan con la pena de muerte y el delincuente lo sabe, y si aun sabiendolo delinquio, pues que se le de la pena máxima.
My position is totally in favor of death penalty, and I have, at least 2 valid reasons. First, you should enforce the law, if the penalty is 5 years, then you should apply it, if it is 10 years, then you should give them 10 years, if the penalty is death, you should do so, because one knows in advance which crimes are punishable by death and if the criminal commits the crime regardless, then they should be punished with death penalty.
On the other side is Lucía, who argues on ¡Que pena con la Muerte! [es]:
Por supuesto que hay tipos a los que dan ganas de matar, y mejor si es lenta y cruelmente. Conozco a unos cuantos que merecerían bailar eternamente en la horca. También sé que las cárceles de Guatemala son escuelas del crimen, y que nosotros pagamos la comida de los presos, etcétera, etcétera. Pero de eso a pensar que la pena de muerte es justificada en una cultura hay mucha diferencia. ¿Tiene un ser humano derecho a quitarle la vida a otro.
Of course there are people that you wish you could kill, and is better if the death is slow and painful. I know some that deserve to be hung forever. I also know that prisons in Guatemala are schools for criminals and that we have to pay taxes so prisoners will have food, etc. However, from that to justify death penalty in a culture, there is a huge difference. Has a human the right to kill another human being?
Death Penalty is supported by some Protestant churches, as explained by El Blog de Chapu [es]:
Me referiré con todo respeto a la actitud tomada por la Alianza Evangélica, ellos dicen que: “Dios nos creó a imagen y semejanza y, por lo tanto, el que alguien destruya su propia imagen y semejanza merece el máximo castigo posible. No hay duda de que Dios es no sólo el Creador del hombre, sino creador de la pena de muerte”. El pastor general de la Fraternidad Cristiana dijo que: ” el hombre es una creación divina y cuando alguien atenta contra esa creación, se merece y se gana el derramamiento de su propia sangre”. Recuerda que cuando crucificaron a Jesucristo, había otros condenados a muerte, cuya sentencia fue ejecutada.
I will respectfully refer to the attitude adopted by the Evangelical Alliance, they say: “God created man in his image, so, if someone destroys the image of God, he has to be punished with the highest penalty. There is no doubt, God is not only the Creator of man, but also the creator of death penalty”. The leader of Christian Fraternity said that “Human beings are a divine creation, so when someone acts against such creation, he deserves that his own blood to run”.  He argues that when Christ was executed, there were also other people that were executed.
On his post: Deshojando la Margarita… Blogger Hablando de Guatemala [es] said:
Estados Unidos nos da un ejemplo, ellos no la han abolido y en varios estados aun sigue siendo la pena máxima. ¿Entonces porque aquí no? Álvaro Colom tiene dos opciones ser Nerón o Ser Pilatos las dos opciones son difíciles pero hay que analizar la situación detenidamente y hacer lo que la sociedad demanda, lo que la mayoría demanda. Así funciona la democracia. ¿Y las victimas que pensaran? ¿Acaso no es correcto hacerles justicia? ¿La ley del Talión acaso?
The United States provides us an example, they have not abolished capital punishment, and in several States it is still the highest penalty. Then, why not here? Alvaro Colom can either be Nerón or (Pontius) Pilate, which are the hardest roles, but the situation has to be examined carefully and what the majority of society has to be done. That is a democracy. What about the victims? Is it not fair to rule in favor and for justice for them? Lex Talionis, then?
The streets in Guatemala are covered by flowers and images of Christ during Holy Week. You can see flower vendors, candle vendors,, people in the streets at night, whole neighborhoods making the arrangements for the festivities. In Guatemala, with public support and an ambigious response of the Head of State, the death penalty is still in effect and a couple of criminals will be executed in the next weeks. The discussion took place just before the holidays.

author: Renata Avila


text:
Honduras: Mobile Theater in the Communities · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The Secretariat of Culture, Art and Sports in Honduras is sponsoring a Mobile Theater, where young actors are able to travel to different communities role playing different scenarios that Hondurans face on a daily basis, writes Julia Gómez of Un Souvenir [es].


text:
Honduras: More Football Violence · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Honduras News provides the latest news of those arrested after the disturbances at the Olimpia – Motagua football match, where two fans were killed.


text:
Hong Kong: Too Clean? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

After the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong, the city is getting more and more hygienic, however, Diumanpark wondered if being too clean would reduce body resistance to virus and bacteria [zh].


text:
Hungary: Budapest Airport · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Pestiside writes on what it takes to reach Budapest Airport.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
India: Life in Exile · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Unseen Dharamshala has photographs of life in exile for Tibetans who live in India.


text:
India: Tibetan Parliamentarian-In-Exile · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

My Himachal on a Tibetan Parliamentarian-In-Exile protesting in New Delhi, India.


text:
Iran:Mokarrameh Ebrahimi was saved from stoning · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mokarrameh Ebrahimi had been in jail for 11 years and had been sentenced to stoning.
According to [Fa]Meydaan,finally she was forgiven by authorities and was released from jail.Her partner was stoned last July.They were accused of adultery!


text:
Japan: How to Eat a Bamboo Shoot · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Marie Mockett from Japundit shows the readers how to cook bamboo shoot.


text:
Kazakhstan: South Korean Kookmin Buys Kazakh Bank · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Adam Kesher reports that one of the major Kazakh banks is to be acquired by South Korea’s largest private bank. This is a third such deal in Kazakhstan, by which local banks hope for additional liquidity and foreign banks eye future dividends.

author: Adil Nurmakov


text:
Kosovo: Rioting in Mitrovica · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Balkan Baby writes about rioting in Mitrovica.


text:
Kyrgyzstan: Alternative Trials Indicate General Disappointment · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

The Azamat Report writes that the people of Aksy (southern Kyrgyzstan) are holding alternative court trials in relation to the killing of 6 people during the demonstration on March 17, 2002, when the police opened fire at unarmed demonstrators. This worrying tendency shows that people are losing trust in everything the state is doing lately, says the blogger.


text:
Kyrgyzstan: Maternal Leaves Extended · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

GenderStan reports that the Kygyzstani parliament has extended maternal leaves to three years, and notes that from the woman’s point of view, it can turn into an employment issue, as employers are not generally happy about hiring young women because of the pregnancy risk.


text:
Latvia: New Parties · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Latvian Abroad writes about Latvia's new parties.


text:
Mexico: State of Emergency in Monterrey · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The metropolitan area of Monterrey, Mexico is suffering damage from heavy winds and caused two deaths to date. Most of the city is without electricity.  HJ Barraza is providing updates on his twitter account.


text:
Moldova, Russia: Transnistria · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Public Policy Watch – Politici Publice in Moldova writes about the conditions on which Russia is ready to help Moldova sort out the Transnistrian conflict: “Russia requires Moldova to do just one more thing: to prepare a declaration of neutrality and invite US, EU, OSCE, Russia and Ukraine to co-sign it.”


text:
Morocco: Exoticism in the News · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

A Moro in America laments TV station Al-Arabiya's biased reporting on Morocco, including a news story about bizarre sexual practices in the Saharan provinces.

author: Jillian C. York


text:
Morocco: Fez Festival 2008 · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The View From Fez reports on the program for the 2008 Fes Festival of World Sacred Music.


text:
Morocco: Fouad Mourtada free · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

Fouad Mourtada, the 26-year old IT engineer who has been arrested on February 5th, 2008 and sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of $1350 for creating a fake Facebook profile of King Mohammed VI’s younger brother, Prince Moulay Rachid, has been released about an hour ago. According to a source close to Help Fouad campaign, Fouad got a full royal pardon and left the Oukacha Prison (Casablanca) at approximately  8:00pm and is on his way home.

author: sami ben gharbia


text:
Morocco: Fouad Mourtada Robbed of His Life  · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Fouad Mourtada probably never guessed he'd become a household name.  Arrested on February 5 and sentenced on February 22 to three years in prison (plus a $1,000 fine) for creating a Facebook profile impersonating Morocco's Prince Moulay Rachid, Mourtada is now famous, but unfortunately, that fame has come at an enormous price.
Bloggers in Morocco immediately expressed outrage at Mourtada's arrest and sentencing and continue to do so.  Here are a few examples of what the blogoma is saying:
A Moroccan About the World Around Him, a newcomer to the blogoma, has some advice for Mourtada's prosecutors:
Here is a book I would like to recommend to the prosecutor who indicted Fouad Mourtada on charges of identity theft because he created a fake Facebook profile of HRH Prince Moulay Rachid and the Kafkaesque judge who sentenced him to three years of prison. It is Charles Baxter’s latest and by far his best novel since he started publishing in 1987. The title is “THE SOUL THIEF.” The story tackles the issue of identity and its ownership as the life of a tepid protagonist, graduate student Nathaniel Mason, collides with fellow student Jerome Coolberg’s. The latter is described as a psychopathic attention-seeking and disconcerting individual who becomes obsessed by the persona of Nathaniel. He insidiously, yet cunningly, starts incorporating details of Nathaniel’s life into his own life history; with the complicity of a friend named Theresa, he even hired a thief to break into his room and steal his clothes; he would later put them on and strut in front of Nathaniel mimicking his mannerisms not in a comedic way, but rather seriously. Nathaniel finally succumbs to a breakdown. It takes him thirty years to recover his soul which he feels it was “mortgaged.”
The blogger concludes, “The true victim here is Fouad; he is literally robbed of his life.”
Prolific blogger Myrtus has a permanent post at the top of her blog that will not go away until Mourtada is free, which includes a March 13 update from the Free Fouad Mourtada Committee.
Francophone blogger Larbi has a call for support on his blog:
If you would like to show your support and solidarity, wherever you are, please take a picture of yourself with a sign that includes your message of solidarity with Fouad. Please send the picture to: larbiblog@gmail.com . Please include your name (or nickname) and the name of your city/country…..
Many readers have already sent in photographs.  An example from Tokyo:
This Flickr page has a collection of Free Fouad photos, including those on Larbi‘s blog.
Ironically, a Facebook group has also been created in support of Mourtada.  One comment in the group reads:
We are the change.
Dont just dream about it, become part of it.
We are responsible for what is happening in Morocco, and we are responsible for what happened to Fouad Mourtada.
If you think that some things must change, then do your best to make that wish a reality. I demand Justice, Respect for Rights, Tolerance and Intolerance of intelorance, Education, Peace… These are more than words, many men died and many are in prison because they beleived a better world is possible, not only for us, but for our children and their children.
Finally, Culture Maroc [fr] reminds us that the 43rd day of Mourtada's incarceration is upon us:
Ce n'est pas vraiment en accord avec le but de ce blog, je l'avoue. Mais ce qui arrive à Fouad Mourtada est tellement stupide et malheureux que je me fais , de temps en temps , le relai du comité de soutien.
Aujourd'hui, c'est son 43ème jour de détention…
For more information on Fouad Mourtada's case, visit the Free Fouad Mourtada page.  This BBC article is also recommended reading.


text:
Nepal: On King Mahendra · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nepali Netbook on the legacy of King Mahendra – a reflection of the historical context of domestic and international affairs of Nepal.

author: Neha Viswanathan