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France: Our Embarrassing Ex Friend, Monsieur Ben Ali  · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.
It has finally dawned. After decades of state amitié (friendship) with the Zeinabidine Ben Ali regime and indifference from French politicians and mainstream media, French bloggers and twitterers are now aware that France has been living in a prolonged state of denial.  The resounding silence of the French government and long complicity with the Ben Ali regime are now questioned at last.
Nicolas Sarkozy and Zinedine Ben Ali during a state visit, on the Tunis tarmac, 2008 (Screen capture of official video)
[All links points to FR sites, unless otherwise mentioned] Late on January 14th, when news broke that ousted president Ben Ali and his family were fleeing Tunisia after massive demonstrations in the capital, Tunis, and a month of bloody repression, the French government issued a statement saying it “acknowledged” this “transition” change and sat back in a silence that has been its strategy for weeks. The French public understood that the Elysée  Palace was facing deep embarrassment. News surfaced first on Twitter that some of Ben Ali's relatives had landed earlier that day in France.
rosselin  #mickeys #pathetique RT @mathieuge: une partie de la famille Ben Ali refugiée à Disneyland
Ben Ali was then expected to seek asylum in France. It was later revealed that he had indeed tried to seek refuge in France, but was sent on his way (to Saudi Arabia) by his ex friends on account of the “unrest in the Tunisian diaspora” his presence here would cause. A single tweetappeared on the Elysée Palace Twitter account during that night – a sign of deep embarrassment and total diplomatic chaos:
elysee : La France répondra à toutes les demandes des autorités tunisiennes sur les avoirs tunisiens en France
The Ben Ali plane's route: From La vie en rose on Facebook, via Albab blog
Louis Calvero on Le post now stresses the “disastrous management” of the “Tunisian crisis” by French authorities:
On connait l’arrogance de la France, toujours prompte à  expliquer  l’Amérique à Obama, l’Europe à Barroso, et la vie à n’importe  qui.  Pourtant là, alors que Washington convoquait l’ambassadeur  tunisien et  que le monde clamait son inquiétude, Paris se taisait.
There is worse. As the Tunisian protests  intensified,  French ministers and former ministers, continued to support Ben Ali and  his achievements. The French diplomacy made with a hideous statement on January 11th, that will not be forgotten by Tunisians, and which finally shook the French public to pay attention to their government's attitude.
Michèle Alliot-Marie, French foreign minister, Photo Wikimedia
In this video, Michèle Alliot-Marie, Minister of Foreign Affairs, is speaking officially at the National Assembly, stating that France was ready to “offer technical support” and ” the know how of French police to the Tunisian police” .
L'arabe, French blogger of Tunisian origin writing on C'est la gêne, rounded it perfectly the following day:
En gros, vouloir prêter main forte au régime de Ben Ali, c’est comme de  dire qu’on va aller filer un coup de main, comme ça, entre voisins, à un  tueur en train de dépecer sa victime dans une allée, en bas de  l’immeuble.
Hundreds of outraged comments have cropped since, like this one, on  the blog of radio talk show host Jean-Marc Morandini :
Quelle déconnexion inouïe avec la réalité du terrain, à moins que cela ne soit de l’expression d’une incompétence coupable. Ou d’un cynisme incommensurable.
In what is “the day after” the fall of Ben Ali, things are pacing up. French twitterers are now directly challenging \ the Twitter accounts of the Elysee Palace and of  the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which have both  gone silent on Tunisia.
A new  and fast growing Facebook  French group, Ben Ali Wall of Shame , has been created, dedicated to all the French  politicians and personalities who  supported Ben Ali, inviting members to post proof (pictures, videos, quotes).  A video of  Nicolas Sarkozy's speech during a 2008 state visit in Tunisia can be viewed, while he  received honorary citizenship of the capital Tunis:
“Il m'arrive de penser que certains sont bien sévères pour la Tunisie
Dominique Strauss Kahn, current head of the IMF and a possible  candidate to the 2012 French presidential elections, can be heard raving about  the glowing economical progress of Tunisia during an interview with Tunisian state TV, in this video cross-posted by  Rue89 :
Anticolonial.com posted on YouTube a video of Président Sarkozy's inaugural speech, echoing:
To all the oppressed people of the world, we will stand beside you…”.
Hazem Berrabah, on his Facebook account, posted his own video collage entitled ” We will never forget that France supported Ben Ali right to the last minute“,  where president Sarkozy declares:
“I will not support any dictator in the world“
Satyrical blog Backchich, an early whistle blower on the Ben Ali's rapacious family, had listed French political or media moguls who backed or free-lanced for the Ben Ali regime and published a book on “Our friend Ben Ali.”  Another early supporter of Tunisian bloggers, Fabrice Epelboin, editor of ReadWriteWeb France rounded up the  French tech crowd with his  open letter to French Minister of Culture, Frédéric Mitterrand, who defined earlier in January  the Tunisian regime as “not a dictatorship, strictly speaking”.
French television channels are now interviewing Catherine Graciet to update scant  archives on Franco-Tunisian relations. She is the co-author of a previously little known book on Ben Ali's wife, The Regent of Carthage,  portrayed in 2009 the ransacking of the Tunisian economy by  her relatives [see excerpts in French here], later confirmed on Wikileaks by the secret cable of the American ambassador in Tunisia. [video in arabic]
Cartoonists  Maesterbd and Lindingre are having a field day.
And on Daily Motion, a video featuring Ben Ali and Sarkozy  dancing and embracing to the sound of “Endless love” has been posted:
Sarkozy et Ben Ali  ” The Endless Love ! “
envoyé par unknown003. – Regardez d'autres vidéos de musique.
While the Jasmine Revolution tag  is fast becoming popular on  French MSM,  Olivier reminds editors and columnists  in a comment that it was coined  by Ben Ali when he seized power in 1987. Luc Rosenzweig, on Causeur, also advises French  political columnists to calm down with  their new catch phrase,  “Ceaucescu of the sands” (Ben Ali), after years  of silence, in  his  post “How sweet it is to trample a defeated man“.
Meanwhile, a number of Tunisian bloggers  living in France wrote moving posts,  using for the first time their real names, like Chaker Nouri, in The Carthage Ceaucescu has finally gone . Such was their fear that criticism expressed on the French web could  cause problems for their family in Tunisia. Chaker is proud, relieved,  but not happy:
Ma joie n’est pas totale. Ce qui me frappe c’est le  contraste entre la  réaction de la diaspora tunisienne et les Tunisiens  du pays. Les  premiers célèbrent le départ du despote et les seconds  craignent le  désordre ambiant.
Far away in another part of the former French colonial empire, in West Africa, an African blogger engages in wishful thinking:
Bonne nouvelle! On peut rêver la même chose pour notre pauvre pays le  congo-B livré au clan de mpila comme l'était le clan ben  ali-trabelsi.Bien sûr, c'est gartuit de rêver!
Pourtant le bilan de ben ali est largement superieur à celui de Sassou et son clan!
Nawaat.org, the independent Tunisian  information site founded in 2004 by dissidents, has had the number of its followers spike from 4000 to 12 000 in just over a week and remains the hot line Tunisians and French bloggers now trust for verified and contextualized updates on the Tunisian situation in French, Arabic, English.
This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.


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Haiti: “Baby Doc” Back in P-a-P  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From New York City to Haiti confirms the rumour that exiled dictator Jean Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier has returned to Haiti this evening, saying: “I am shocked!”  Several Twitter users also confirm the news.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Hungary: Protest Against Media Law in Budapest · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A discussion of this past Friday's rally in Budapest in protest against Hungary's new media law – at Hungarian Spectrum.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Jordan: Reflections on Tunisia  · Global Voices
Betsy Fisher

Naseem Tarawnah reflects on leadership changes in Tunisia and its potential impact on Jordan. “Today, Jordan, and perhaps much of the Arab world is learning one important lesson from Tunisia: the call for political change from the domestic constituency is unlikely to happen in the region unless the economy gets bad, real, real, bad.”

author: Betsy Fisher


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Tunisia: Fears of Insecurity Overshadow the Joys of Freedom · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.
On January 14, 2011, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali abruptly fled the country he ruthlessly ruled for more than two decades. The people of Tunisia took to the streets to celebrate the dawn of a new independence. The euphoria rapidly gave way to fear about the security situation. News spread about vandals rampaging across major cities, looting shops and homes and setting fire to properties and buildings. The sound of gun bursts echoed in the deserted streets of the capital city, while the Army deployed its troops around key areas in the capital, Tunis. The mood among citizens remained joyful. They formed vigilante groups to defend their families and properties. Some of those have been sharing their thoughts on their blogs.
Picture courtesy Nawaat.org
As the night falls and the curfew is imposed, a few venture outside their homes. Unlike this man, whose joy of freedom has made him brave his fears to chant: “Long live Tunisia! Ben Ali has fled! Don't be afraid! We are free!”  (video [Ar] posted on Youtube by Nawaat):
The blogger Winds of Tunisia writes:
Un peu partout en Tunisie et de plus en plus à Tunis les sbires de Ben Ali organisés en bandes armées sement la terreur chez les citoyens.
Soit c’est leur dernière cartouche afin de créer le chaos dans la population pour un éventuel retour de Zinochet, soit  c’est la politique de la terre brulée.
Ils tentent de s’introduire dans les habitations tout en ravageant les commerces.
Mais les citoyens s’organisent pour défendre leurs biens.
Soyez vigilants  tous ensembles,éloigner les enfants, protéger les accès de vos habitations, le tout sans panique!
Everywhere in Tunisia and increasingly in Tunis, henchmen loyal to Ben Ali, organized in armed gangs, are spreading terror among the citizens.
Either this is their last card to create chaos in the population in preparation for a possible return of Zinochet [Zine El Abidin Ben Ali compared to Chilean dictator Pinochet], or it is a scorched earth policy.
They try to break into homes while others are ravaging businesses.
But citizens are organizing to defend their property.
Be vigilant all together, keep children away, protect access to your homes, all without panic!
Blogger Khannouf calls on people to band together and organize [Fr]:
[H]ier au soir dans la ville de Bizerte, des citoyens ont arrêté une camionnette banalisée dans la quelle des policiers armés [responsables] de pillage et terrorisaient les gens. La milice du RCD, les responsables du ministère de l’intérieur sont les seuls qui ont les moyens aujourd’hui de faire ce qui est entrain d’être fait. Il ne faudrait pas que la révolution soit trahi, soyons responsable ! Alors dressons nos listes, placardons des photos dans les rues, organisons en comité de quartier pour protéger non seulement nos vies, nos biens, mais aussi nos dispensaires, nos hôpitaux, nos lycées et tous les autres locaux de notre administration qui renferment encore des archives utiles pour savoir qui a fait quoi. Notre mémoire, toute notre mémoire même les traces des malversations sont dans ces archives et il est logique qu’il y ait qui voudrait les faire disparaitre.
Blogger and Global Voices contributor, Lina Ben Mhenni, went this morning to Kabbaria in the suburbs of Tunis to investigate the news about an attack perpetrated against the neighborhood. She describes the situation there:
I had to stop in many roadblocks . Indeed, the kabbaria's inhabitants were watching their families, houses and properties as several criminal groups have been attacking different cities in Tunisia after the collapse of Ben Ali's regime. I knew that early in the morning a young man from the Kabbaria was killed by 3 men in an ambulance belonging to Aziza Othmana hospital  […] The inhabitants said that they arrested  one of the gangsters who were in the ambulance . They discovered that they belong to the presidential guard. In fact, they found the identity card of one of them.
Blogger Unlucky Luke explains that despite fears, the mood is still high [Fr]:
Aujourd'hui, malgré l'anarchie et le chaos, on respire, on est mieux, je vois des gens sourire dans la rue, malgré le fait que personne n'est content de la tournure, plus de sécurité, pénurie des aliments essentiels, mais ça valait la peine et le Dictateur est parti. Plus de Ben Ali, plus de Trabelsi, plus de corruption ( malgré qu'il reste quelques brebis gâleuses dans les administrations), plus de pression…. Libre, comme l'air qu'on respire, comme l'eau du fleuve qui accoure vers la mer…Libre
Ismail El Hamrouni calls for unity and caution [Ar]:
But things are improving as blogger Kiffe Grave notes:
[N]otre quartier a recommencé à vivre. Des voisins qui ne se connaissaient pas il y a de ça quelques jours, se sont unis pour se protéger mutuellement.
[N]os nuit depuis 3 jours sont les mêmes: ça tirait de quelques endroits bien précis, on entendait des cris au loin, les hélicoptère survolaient les alentours,… mais El Hamdou l’Ellahy tout va bien.
A la peur des premières nuits à rapidement pris le dessus une farouche envie de se battre et de se protéger. Les barrières sont tombé et tout le monde la main dans la main sans aucunes arrières pensées avons pris les choses en main.
Nous avons érigé des barricades aux différents points d’accès de la cité. Des groupes de 20 personnes s’y trouvant armés de pierres, de massues, de haches,… et de gsm car nous sommes tous reliés entre-nous et nous faisons passer l’information. Nous avons posté des sentinelles sur les toits avec des jumelles,… Bref notre cité est hermétique.
Notre but est simple nous défendre et apporter assistances aux forces de l’odre.
Ce soir, retour aux barricades! Fier de notre pays, fier de nous tous.
Life has returned to our neighborhood  again. Neighbors, who did not know each other before, have united to protect each other.
Our nights for the last 3 days are the same: gun shots heard in the distance, you could hear screams in the distance as well, the sound of the helicopter flying around, but … El Hamdou Ellahy [praise be to God] all is well.
The fear of the first nights is quickly being taken over by a fierce desire to fight and protect ourselves. The psychological barriers between people are now gone and everyone works hand in hand with his neighbor to take matters into their own hands.
We have erected barricades at various entry points of the city. Groups of 20 persons are posted, armed with stones, clubs, axes, and … GSM. Yes, because we are all connected to each other and we pass the information along to each other. We posted sentries on the rooftops with binoculars … Our city is sealed.
Our goal is simply to defend ourselves and bring assistance to the troops.
Tonight we return to the barricades! Proud of our country, proud of us all.
This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Hisham Almiraat


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Bhutan: The Effect Of Salary Increase · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tshering Tobgay shows how the recent salary increase has made a government officer in Bhutan poorer.

author: Rezwan


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Brunei: Popular videos made by Bruneians · Global Voices
Senor Pablo

Tiger Lim, who identifies himself as Brunei's number one “Broken English” blogger, provides a list of videos made by Bruneians, highlighting the creativity of local talent.

author: Senor Pablo


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Brunei: Twitter and tourism · Global Voices
Senor Pablo

Soulkonekshen discusses how twitter facilitated the travel of a US-based journalist in Brunei. Local bloggers also participated in the twitter exchange.


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Bulgaria: Bloggers Discuss the Soviet Army Monument in Sofia · Global Voices
Ruslan Trad

Photo by Ivan Ivanov, Wikimedia Commons
The Soviet Army Monument in Sofia was built in 1954, in honor of the victory over the Nazis in World War II. Today, this monument is the subject of dispute between left- and right-wing political groups. Recently, a group of right-wing activists started a discussion in the Bulgarian society whether the Monument should be demolished or not.
Bulgarian blog DeCommunization wrote:
[…] Who are we? Where do we come from? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?? This is actually one single question: “What do we want”? […]
[…] Everything started with a monument of an army that no longer exists. A country that no longer exists. Or maybe it does. Maybe a new version of that country. Masked and hidden. How else would it have so many apologists? How can something nonexistent be able to mobilize so much human energy every time we attempt to answer difficult questions? No, we can't move forward unless we look back. […]
And some more from DeCommunization:
[…] Why I want the monument of the occupying Soviet army to be moved to the Museum of Totalitarian Art
I appeal again to all of you who hold ‘Red’ feelings and sympathies. There's a monument in the city of Varna for all the fallen Soviet soldiers, who gave their lives for the freedom of Bulgaria. On it, there are written dozens of names and titles. As a teenager, I wondered how and where these soldiers died, when there weren't any battles in our region, nor across the country. Older adults said that many soldiers from the Red Army have paid with their lives for their thefts, murders, arsons, rapes. At the time, infected by the Communist propaganda, young and inexperienced, I didn't believe this was possible. But today, with a lot more knowledge and experience, I can categorically state that the Red Army monuments are monuments praising killers, robbers, arsonists, rapists and other criminals. They did not die “for the freedom of Bulgaria,” but were killed without trial, next to a wall or a tree, by their own regiments, which sought to restrict some of these barbaric excesses by poorly educated and uncultured savages. […]
A Bulgarian historian and lecturer of Political Sciences, Antoniy Todorov, wrote this on his blog:
[…] This debate is actually nothing new, there were already several initiatives to demolish the monument, but all governments since 1989 have refrained from doing so, moreover, Russia has always made it clear that this would be considered an offense.
Both sides have strong arguments. Therefore, the question is political, and its resolution will also be political, regardless of what it is. This means that it's not enough to simply take a side in the discussion (we can assume that both sides have a case). It's a political decision in the sense that it has to fit within the prioritized issues that we consider particularly important for our entire community. […]
[…] So what about Bulgaria? The main question here is: are we committed to honoring the Day of Victory over Nazism, or not? The answer is not an easy one, and it's essentially a choice of civilizational belonging. […]
Nikolay Sisoev, a Johannesburg-based Bulgarian, commented on the Soviet Army Monument in Sofia on his blog, Truden:
[…] Bulgarians have always been cheering for their future and booing at their past.
Thing are pretty much the same with our most recent and “most democratic” history –  the years of our past have gotten quite a lot of boos… None more so than a certain 45-year period. During these 45 years, we have been allied with those who liberated Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule, and Europe – from the fascist dictatorship. For the first feat, grateful Bulgaria raised monuments in their honor.
The second feat was honored the same way. Today, however, it appears that the 20 million Russians who died, do not deserve a monument in Sofia, even in Bulgaria. […] Why? Well, because we are now Democrats, and those who died on the battlefield against fascism were communists. […]
In his personal blog, Ivo Indzev, a prominent journalist who is known for his anti-Soviet stance, wrote:
[…] For the umpteenth time, let me remind the hesitant among us what exactly this monument represents. It demonstrates the Russian imperial hegemony over Bulgaria! It is not even a monument to Communism, much less to the left-wing ideals. It's not a monument of the Soviet Union either, though it carries the name of the Soviet Army. If it was a monument to the Soviet Union, the idea of demolishing it would rile up all the former republics that “equally” constituted the union. Can you imagine Estonia sending a note to Bulgaria to preserve the monument? That sounds like a joke (although a note from Russia is not a joke at all). […]
Pavel Yanchev, another Bulgarian blogger, wrote:
[…] The Soviet Army Monument is neither a Roman amphitheater, nor the house of a wealthy business family from the '20s. It was built (and designed by pretty good architects, by the way) to perpetuate the idea of some nonexistent happiness and joy, and it is pure communist propaganda, which aims to strengthen the local regime and its ideology. However, before we decide to just demolish the monument, we should remember about the incident with Georgi Dimitrov's mausoleum in 1998. We removed a building that no longer served a purpose, other than to personify a totalitarian regime, but we didn't think what to put in its place. Destroying the building took more time than it took to build it. The decision to destroy it was made with a similar totalitarian swing – without asking anyone, not even the citizens of the city. […]
Muiiio, a popular blogger, shared his opinion about Bulgaria's Soviet past:
[…] Hmm… let's tear down all the buildings from the Bulgarian Renaissance, because they are monuments of the Ottoman domination! Let's just eradicate any memories and symbols of our land's past, because it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Or should we leave just the beautiful memories?
Let's ask the question: who will we give the hard task to choose what's “good” and what isn't, and what's going to be destroyed next – the Soviet Army Monument, or the Central Bathhouse?
To those who believe that a monument in memory of the Soviet Army desecrates the center of Sofia today (and/or the Bulgarian people as a whole), let's put in a new plate, well-illuminated, with large letters, telling the story behind the creation of the monument, as well as all the symbols that appear on it. Let's build a museum around the monument – this isn't just an important part of our history, but an interesting thing for many people who haven't seen it before; I'm not just talking about foreigners, but also people from my generation, as well as those younger than me. […]

author: Ruslan Trad


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Cameroon: Inventors, Makers and Creators · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

A post on AfriGadget blog brought to our attention the work of few Cameroonian craftsmen and makers through videos taken by Bill Zimmerman of 27 months, a blog documenting “Cameroon from a technologist's point of view”.
The first group of craftsmen we'll check out are the blacksmiths  Mr. Zimmerman writes about in The Extraordinary Makers of Maroua. They melt down scrap metal to make utilitarian items they can sell for less for a fraction of the cost to purchase their imported counterparts. Not only do they copy parts, but they also modify and improve designs, even making their own tools: notice for example the bellows made with a bicycle wheel at the beginning of the 1st of 3 videos.
Several dozen men with specialized skills are gathered here for a single purpose: to transform piles of scrap iron into finely finished tools, stoves, replacement parts and other useful implements for sale to the local population. Young apprentices learn the craft while operating bellows or shaping wood for tool handles. The production here is performed entirely by hand and on a scale which must be seen to be fully appreciated.
Another one of Mr. Zimmerman's videos was taken during the 2009 Agro-Pastoral Show in Limbe, SW Cameroon. In it, a maker shows his home made, low cost egg incubator:
In the same Agro Pastoral show he also stumbled upon another craftsman that caught his eye:
Amid all the displays, one guy stood apart with some creations that can only be described as a near perfect marriage of form, function, green design and a borderline obsession with bamboo. Lekuama Ketuafor is the proprietor of Bamboo Magic, a one-man cottage industry he’s started to supplement his work as a teacher.
In the accompanying video you can see the eye-catching artist wearing head to toe bamboo showing off  two of his products: a cell phone casing and a laptop case also made out of the woodsy grass.
You can read more about these and other Cameroonian entrepreneurs in Bill Zimmerman's blog 27 months.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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China: Farmer hangs himself against land seizure · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu translates a news story and netizen comments about a farmer from Jiangsu province hanging himself against the CCP village committee's seizure of his fish pond.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: No more award and prize! · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

It is clear that the Chinese government is not happy about the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. However, it is beyond normal people's imagination that the propaganda machine would turn its resentment into the censorship of the terms “award” and “prize”.
According to the latest general notice from the Central Propaganda Bureau regarding news and propaganda in 2011, all news and commercial websites should not initiate any kind of nation-wide selection (listings and awards) of news, people or events. The background of this notice is related to a series of events last year:
Firstly, Chinese political dissident Liu Xiaobo won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
Secondly, the Time Weekly announced a list of “100 Most Influential People of Our Time”, which included food safety activist Zhao Lianhai and several signers of the Charter 08, including Cui Weiping and Xu Youyu. Peng Xiaoyun, who was in charge of the list, was forced to take a leave from the magazine.
Apart from the above two controversial events, there were numerous listings and awards organized by media organizations last December to serve as the 2010 year end roundup.  For example, on 17 December 2010, the Southern Metropolis Daily issued 23 awards to artists, citizens, business leaders, designers, youths and etc.
To stop media organizations from promoting “illegitimate” and “un-orthodox” achievements and practices in the civil society, the government banned Southern Weekend‘s listing of best news report, “Salute to the Media 2010″, last month. Moreover, the Central Propaganda Bureau recently also decides that governmental and party authorities should have a monopoly position to issue “awards” and “prizes”.
In the actual implementation of the general notice, the Chinese character “獎”, meaning “award” or “prize”, is banned in major media outlets and public events without approvals by the relevant authorities.
To challenge the absurd censorship measure, independent media worker Wang Xiaoshan launched a “2010 Wang Xiaoshan News Award” via his blog. There are in total 6 awards and the results were announced on 12  January 2011 via Twitter.
【1】大铁锤奖，获奖者：南方都市报记者：龙志。获奖报道：《安元鼎：北京截访“黑监狱”调查》，http://gcontent.oeeee.com/f/6c/f6c9dc70ecfd8f90/Blog/4a3/c0aee0.html 。
【2】八爪鱼奖：环球时报英文版记者：Wen tao、Song Shengxia 。获奖报道：Twenty artists demonstrate in downtown Beijing ，http://sinaurl.cn/h0yWQ
【3】稻草人奖：河南商报记者 王文凯。获奖报道：76岁菜农遭执法者掌掴 称卖红薯系为儿子挣药费，http://news.sina.com.cn/s/p/2010-11-10/052621444610.shtml
【4】水产蟹奖：成都商报 前记者 殷玉生。获奖理由：成都商报记者殷玉生因报道河北大学飙车案，被自动离职，并遭莫名群殴。
【5】乌鸦嘴奖：时代周报 评论部 彭晓芸。获奖理由：时代周报2010年评论版相当给力，超乎期待。
【6】南美羊驼奖：赵连海。获奖理由，坚持不懈地为结石宝宝奔走呼吁，公民典范。
For individuals and dissidents, they can resist the Propaganda Bureau by this kind of sarcastic behavioral art performance. However, for the entertainment industry, it is hit hard by the new instruction. Prominent film director Feng Xiaogang describes the awkward situation in a recent directors’ award occasion and complains in his Sina Microblog:
导演会颁奖，因不允许说”奖＂字，只能改称＂表彰＂。奖杯因为有奖字，主持人为避开这个奖字只能说：请表彰人向被表彰人颁发被表彰证明物体。请获奖者发表 获奖感言也只能改为：请被表彰人发表得体感言。李雪健说，这么多导演这么严肃评的奖，为躲这么一字搞的这么累，让人心酸。赢得现场全体导演鼓掌。
Feng's micro-blog has received thousands of feedbacks and echoes. This is one of the most classic examples of how the Propaganda Bureau politicizes the apolitical sector with its absurd censorship practices.


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China: Tense days and nights in Tunis · Global Voices
John Kennedy

This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.
The uprising in Tunisia has been widely reported on in Chinese media, and was one of the top stories online over this past weekend. Below are excerpts from a series of posts from a woman living in Tunis, blogging at Sina.com under the name ‘tiger6698′.
突尼斯流血暴乱 (2011-01-13 04:51:54)
突尼斯自上月１７日南部省会城市西迪布基德的一名青年抗议当地城管部门“粗暴执法”而试图自焚，随后抗议民众与国民卫队发生流血冲突，到现在为止，已经造成了６０多人的死亡（官方数字）．
就在上月的２４号我们还到南部的沙漠去了，当时正至突尼斯举办一年一次的＂国际沙漠节＂人还是比较多的，在当时还没有感觉到有任何的暴风雨，人很多，各式各样的人都有，各个国家的人都有，比较鲜见的还是东方人的面孔，所以我们几个的到来也给干涩的沙漠增色不少．
回到家里，就陆陆续续的听到有关骚乱的事情，刚听到的时候还是不以为然，因为突尼斯一向被称为欧洲的后花园，政局相当的稳定，人民也很友善，友好．只是没想到的是，冲突越来越呈漫延的事态，冲突越来越多，骚乱和游行的地方也越来越多，流血事件也越来越多，学校也从本周二开始也已经无限期的停课．
突尼斯是个美丽的地方，现在的这个时候，正是突尼斯的雨季春天，万物复苏，白花待放．只是这一切在流血事件面前都是无力的，真的希望这样的流血冲突早点结束．
On the 17th of last month, a young man in the southern city of Sidi Bouzid attempted self-immolation in protest of brutal treatment by chengguan, which was followed by bloody clashes between the protesting public and the National Guard; as of now, more than 60 have died (official numbers).
It was on the 24th of last month that we went south to the desert for Tunisia's annual “international desert festival”. There was still no feeling then of the storm brewing, we saw many people of every sort and from every country, but with Oriental faces few and far between, our arrival added more than a little color to the barren dry desert.
Once we got home, we started hearing snippets about the unrest; at the time, we didn't think much of it, as Tunisia is known as Europe's own backyard and the political situation has always been rather stable, with friendly and kind people. What we didn't expect was that the clashes would continue to grow and begin to spread. More clashes took place, then riots and protests, then bloodshed, and then this Tuesday schools were closed indefinitely.
Tunisia is a beautiful place; now happens to be Tunisia's rainy season, and with Spring coming, flowers are blossoming and everything is coming back to life. Yet, none of this has been able to stop the bloodshed, and I sincerely hope that these violent clashes end soon.
突尼斯宵禁之夜 (2011-01-13 04:55:13)
傍晚时分得到消息，突尼斯今天夜里从晚上八点到第二天凌晨6点实行宵禁，任何人不得随意在外走动，如果被乱枪扫射或发生其他的意外，自行负责。
晚上到食堂吃饭的时候大家都在议论这些事情，有一部分动作快的人已经开始到超市储备粮食了。不过他们回来所说的情景让我对明天到超市购物的成果不抱太多的希望：所有的肉架都是空，货架上的东西也所剩无几，他们也仅仅抢购了几包的干粮，意大利面条饼干。更让他们担心的是，当他们还没有出来的时候，保安已经要关门了，门口还等着n多的人要进去买东西，一方要关门一方不要关门，双方发生激烈的争执，再加上小孩子哇哇的哭声，争吵声……让本来就紧张的气氛更加的恐怖。他们匆忙付过钱把提着东西从小出口快步离开。
据他们说，停车场里满满的车辆，外面有很多的人都在等着抢购东西。
We heard word this evening that Tunis is now under curfew from 8pm until 6am during which nobody will be allowed to go out freely; anyone caught in the gunfire or any other accident will be responsible for themselves.
Later at the cafeteria, everyone was talking about this, and those quickest to react had already been to the supermarket to stock up on food. But the scene they described leaves the rest of us with little hope of being able to get anything from the supermarket tomorrow: the meat counters were all empty and next to nothing was left on the shelves. They were only able to rush and buy a few bags of dried goods, spaghetti and crackers. What worries us most is that before they'd even gotten out of the store, the security guards were already about to shut the doors, even with hundreds of people waiting outside wanting to come in and buy stuff. One wanted to lock up and the other didn't and there was an intense dispute, the sound of children crying, people arguing….just made an already tense atmosphere all the more terrifying. They hurriedly paid and left quickly through the back door.
According to them, the parking lot was packed full of cars, and outside people were waiting in a panic to start buying.
下午六时左右原本是大街上最热闹的时候，而现在却鲜有车辆驶过，冷冷清清。我们吃过饭也开车回家，所有的商店都已经关门了。我们抱着看一看的心态到一卖菜的小店去看看，其它的都已经关门，而仅剩的一家也正在收拾东西要关门，但是里面却挤满了人。我们赶快下车加入到了行列当中。滩主看见我们就笑了，估计他的小店里也从来没有这么多人。
我买了些土豆萝卜青菜和一根的胡萝卜（仅剩的一颗，估计也是旁边买菜的女人没看到，她则买了很多的各式各样的店里蔬菜），而同车的朋友也买了很多。万一超市不开门，食堂储备的东西吃光光的话，最超码我们还有几天的粮食，不到弹尽粮绝。
回家的路上就只有我们一辆车在路上跑了，根本看到平日此刻的灯火通明和繁华，空气中弥漫着硝烟的味道。
已经到了宵禁的时间，突尼斯已部署了大批全副武装的士兵和装甲车等各种军用车辆。听得外面有救护车的声音，不时地还听到了几声辟雳啪啦的枪响。
Usually around six at night is when the streets are at their busiest, but now you rarely even see a car go buy, everywhere is deserted. We finished dinner and drove home, all the shops were already closed. We were heartened to finally see a vegetable shop still open as everywhere else was closed, but they too were about to close up, even though inside was packed full of people. We rushed out of the car and got in line. The owner laughed when he saw us, I guess their shop has never seen so many people in it before.
I was able to buy some potatoes, turnips, greens and one carrot (it was the last one left, I guess the woman standing next to me hadn't noticed it, she was buying up every kind of vegetable in the shop), and those who came with us bought a lot too. If the supermarkets don't open, and we eat through everything stored at the cafeteria, at the very least we'll have enough food to last a few days, we won't starve.
On the way home ours was the only car on the road, no sign of the bright lights and activity usual for this hour, and the smell of gunpowder had begun to fill the air.
By the time curfew began, the streets of Tunis were filled with fully-equipped soldiers and armored vehicles and every sort of military vehicle. We could hear ambulance sirens outside, with the occasional rat-tat-tat of gunfire.
Hands of Tunisian youth, from Flickr user 3afsa
在突尼斯抢购 (2011-01-13 22:59:45)
早上醒来便早早的打开电脑查看一下有没有最新的消息，结果还真的有，昨天晚上骚乱和暴动已经蔓延至LAC区，而就在昨日夜间，靠近家乐福方向（ADECCO）区域遭到攻击，闹事群众已经将此区域的一家 MONOPRIX超市烧毁，而我们食堂附近的MONOPRIX也从今日起暂停营业；而突尼斯西部和中部已失去控制，军队已撤出此两个城市，表示放弃镇压。昨天夜间，在西部区域发生11名女孩被强奸事件。暴动群众完全失控。外交部领事司及驻突使馆也发出了安全防范，减少不必要的外出，尽量不要前往事发地区或人员聚集场所，务必注意安全的提醒。
真是不知道以什么样的心情看这些信息，总感觉不像是真的，打开窗户走到阳台，一阵冷风吹来，不由得打了个寒战，向下望去。楼下的学校昨天还有一部分被家长送来看护的学生在嬉笑打骂跑着玩，今天却一个也没有来了，只剩下门口的几个小旗在风中挥舞，隐隐约约的听天远处有救护车的声音。
想起昨天晚上我听到到枪声之后告诉老公，老公说像放鞭炮，是啊，真的像放鞭炮的声音，只不过我们的鞭炮是喜庆的心情，而此刻却是一种担心，担心有人因此而受伤，担心“鞭炮”的声音会再响起，而不多大一会儿就听到了救护车的声音。
门口有钥匙开门的声音，是打扫卫生的阿姨来了。我让她看了网上的几张照片，她便开始不断的给我比划有人受伤有人中弹的样子……
I really don't know how I should feel about all this news, it feels as though it isn't real. I opened the window and went out onto the balcony, a cold wind was blowing, I couldn't help but start shivering, and then I looked down. Just yesterday, there were parents watching their children laugh and goof around outside the school downstairs, but not a single one of them came today. All there is are the few small flags flapping in the wind, with the faint distant sound of ambulance sirens.
Yesterday when I told my husband of the gunshots I'd heard, he said they sounded like firecrackers. Yeah, they really do sound like firecrackers, it's just that our firecrackers are for when we celebrate, but right now here we're all worried, worried that people out there are getting hurt each time we hear the “firecrackers” or the frequent sound of ambulance sirens.
The sound of keys in the door, it turned out to be the cleaning lady. I showed her some pictures online, then she started making gestures like of somebody getting shot……
在突尼斯蜗居 (2011-01-15 03:29:21)
今天是突尼斯大罢工，我们家附近很是风平浪静，可能是离市区和总统府比较远的原因吧。
原本以为宵禁只是周四一个晚上，后来听别人介绍了才知道，只要没有通知宵禁解除，便一下处于宵禁的状态之中。昨天中午从食堂吃过饭回来的晚上，看到一路的商店全被铁门死死的封着，玻璃门安静的藏在栅栏般的铁门后，里面，则空荡荡的一无所有。商户们已经转移走了自己所有的东西。平静的空气，平静的房子，平静的马路，不平静涌动的却是人们的心里。
Today Tunis went on general strike, and everything is dead quiet outside our home, possibly because we live quite far from the city center and presidential palace.
I originally thought the curfew was only in place for Thursday night, but I only later heard from somebody that until an order comes down to lift the curfew, it stays in place. Last night as I was coming home after dinner at the canteen, every shop I passed had their metal gates pulled down tight, and behind the glass windows standing quietly behind them, inside was completely empty. Shop-owners have already moved all their goods out. The air is quiet, the houses are quiet, the roads are quiet, the only thing not quiet are people's hearts.
[…]
总统昨天晚上已经发表电视讲话：本·阿里表示，他将尊重国家宪法，保证不会为谋求连任而修改宪法。此外，本·阿里还承诺立即在突尼斯实现“全面而彻底”的新闻自由，任何媒体和记者都可以在遵守职业道德的基础上，自由履行自己的职责。政府接受广大民众的“合法要求”，将立即对国家政治和经济进行“全面、彻底和深入的”改革。但他同时强调，改革需要安定的环境，需要社会各阶层的合作。他承诺政府将立即采取措施，降低生活必需品和基本服务的价格，增加政府对生活必需品的补贴和对困难家庭的救济。
人们听到讲话之后也不管什么宵禁不宵禁的都出来狂欢了。
政府做的表态还真的让人感动，不知道这场风波是不是就此已经结束，美丽的突尼斯就此而进入平静的生活？
Last night, the President gave a speech on TV: Ben Ali says that he will respect the country's constitution, and promised that he won't alter the constitution so that he can remain in power. Ben Ali also promised to immediately implement “full and absolute” press freedom for the country, and that any media or journalist, within professional boundaries, may now perform their duties freely. The government will meet the public's “legal demands” and immediately launch “full, absolute and pervasive” political and economic reforms. But at the same time, he emphasized that reforms require a stable environment and the cooperation of all layers of society. He promised that the government will take immediate steps to lower the costs of daily life goods and essential services, and increase government relief subsidies for impoverished families.
When people heard that, curfew or no curfew, they all came out and cheered.
The government's declaration was truly moving, and I don't know if this storm is over now, if beautiful Tunisia will be able to return to peaceful life.
“不堪一击”的突尼斯政坛 (2011-01-15 16:43:07)
真的让人太不可思议了，我都不知道该怎么形容我此刻的心情。今天一天接二连三发生了很多的事情，而这些事情可能是绝大多数人都无法预料和想像的。
[…]
像突尼斯发生的这类不公平，在中国真的算不了什么。而类似的起端，对中国人来说可能真的不算什么，可这处突尼斯青年作出过很激进的形为，而突尼斯原本平稳的政局却由此一火烧得天翻地覆，改变了突尼斯的政坦，改变了整个突尼斯的历史。而这个青年，则注定永远记入了突尼斯的史册。
而更为让人不可思议的是，政府虽然动用的军队，但军民的鱼水之情却是令人感叹。在游行现场，有人在与军队的人握手，有人在与军队的人行贴面礼……然后接着继续往前走，完全是一片祥和的气氛。
[…]
……说到底，还是他们心太软，要在中国政府，早就把他们杀得片甲不留，还会等到总统先逃，如果在中国，枪在谁的手里谁有理……看来突尼斯人还真的需要跟中国学一学，中国历史几千年，还没有那一个朝代被手无寸铁的没有任何组织的暴民吓跑的。
空中现在不时的响起直升机嗡嗡的巡逻声，明天的突尼斯会怎么样呢？
We keep hearing the drone of helicopters on patrol, what will tomorrow bring for Tunisia?
突尼斯－－危机四伏 (2011-01-16 03:49:52)
总统带着他的部分家人到达沙特，而昨天晚上突尼斯当局已经开始对前总统的亲信开始了逮捕行动。今天原本由总理代管总统职位，但根据突宪法第57条的规定，国民议会议长将在此期间临时代理总统履行职权。二度易权，说明了突权力机构的不和谐，而这种不和谐更加剧了政局和社会治安的不稳定。而同时，又有消息指出，突东部旅游城市莫纳斯提尔一座监狱15日发生火灾，造成至少42人死亡。发生火灾的原因不明。而有朋友打电话给我，好像听说昨天晚上有不明武装分子向民众开枪，甚至连北非“基地”组织现在也对突尼斯有了兴趣……突尼斯全国现已处于无政府状态，政府部门停止办公，国际机场被军队接管，各地频发抢劫超市和打劫民宅等犯罪事件。在首都突尼斯，一些民众自发地组织起来，手持棍棒维护社区安全……
别怕，我有枪！ (2011-01-17 00:53:14)
中午时分，去大使馆开会的人回来了，老公他们便又开始了紧张的布署工作。
而从大使馆得到的消息，昨天晚上有不明身体的人用机枪扫射居民楼，而在突尼斯南部，也有两名中国人被误伤。大使馆提醒我们要尽量减少外出，注意安全。我还以为局势快明朗了，却不料是暴风雨来临前短暂一刻。而此刻，就在耳边，不连串的枪声不断地响起，军用飞机也不时低空飞过，不知道我们附近又发生什么事情了。就在刚才他们同事才打来电话，说离他们家周围已经设了路障不许任何无关人员出入。而他们的房东，一个六十多岁的老汉，手拿两把刀，告诉他们：不要害怕，我有枪，关键时刻要大家齐心协力。
At lunch, those who went to the embassy meeting came back, and my husband and others went nervously back to work.
From the embassy I learned that last night people of unclear identity were firing machine guns into apartment buildings, and in the south of Tunisia two Chinese were accidentally injured. The embassy has warned us to refrain from going outdoors as much as possible and to keep safe. Here I thought the situation was about to clear up, I hadn't anticipated that that was merely a quiet pause in the storm. At this very minute, within my earshot are the constant sounds of consecutive gunshots, of military aircraft flying periodically overhead at low range, I have no idea what's going on outside around us. And just now a colleague rang me up saying that barriers have been set up all around them to prevent people from wandering in. And their landlord, a 60-something year-old guy, holding a knife in each hand, told them: don't be afraid, I have guns, when the time comes we can all work together.
局势越来越朴硕迷离，老总统的拥护者和他的势力范围也在用武装量保卫自己的权力，而新的势力则要用武装保卫自己的权力，最可怕的是，还有趁机捣乱来发展自己的武装，无辜的不明就理的民众可能就成了那篮易碎的“鸡蛋”！
明天就要开始上班了！美丽多情的突尼斯，但愿在安拉在保佑下快点回归安宁！
The situation is becoming increasingly muddled, the ex-president's supporters are using armed force to protect areas where they still have control, and new forces are relying arms to defend their own power too; most frightening are those deliberately creating trouble to take advantage of the situation and stock up their own arsenal, while the innocent public are haplessly left stuck in the middle most probably to end up smashed like eggs!
Tomorrow I go back to work! Beautiful, warm Tunis, peace will return soon, inshallah!
This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: John Kennedy


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Costa Rica: A Sample of Costa Rican Music · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Michael from El blog de Mike [es] titles his post “National music, Who says that there is no talent here?” and then shares with his readers a wide sample of YouTube videos showing what he considers the best of Costa Rican music.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Cuba: Where Do We Go From Here?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“In 2011, the sad thing isn’t that history is repeating itself, nor that they might recognize their mistakes after so much time in power…what is inconceivable is that they keep following the same policies that led them to failure”: Laritza's Laws wonders about Cuba's future.


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D.R. of Congo: Remembering Patrice Lumumba · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Dave Donelson remembers Patrice Lumumba: “Lumumba's death just months after his choice as the Democratic Republic of Congo's first freely-elected leader was akin to strangling the infant nation in its cradle.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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El Salvador: President Funes Prohibits Campaigning by Government Officials · Global Voices
Omar Nieto

President Mauricio Funes in the last days of 2010 declared [es]: “I will not allow my officers to get involved in the electoral process, ministers, deputy ministers and presidents of workers organizations have been prohibited…anyone that wants to dedicate themselves to the electoral campaign must resign.
He said this taking into consideration that 2011 will be a pre-electoral year and that during 2012 El Salvador will be in full presidential campaign mode, setting a precedent regarding the role the executive had played in previous election periods, periods in which even the president of the republic participated in partisan campaigning, allegedly using the state apparatus for these purposes.
Mauricio Funes during the electoral campaign when he won the presidency. Image by Flickr user Amber, rosaamarilla, used under license CC BY-NC 2.0.
In the Salvadoran blogosphere this has caused various reactions such as that of the blog El Trompudo [es] that says the ban qualifies as “a poisoned dart to the heart of the FMLN” [es] (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, the left-wing party of which the President is a member) but strongly criticizes what they see as the tragicomic servility [es] of FMLN leaders complying with what Funes imposes upon them to keep their jobs. El Trompudo challenges them to take a stand “in favor of the party.”
Una preguntita levemente odiosa: cuántos funcionarios del FMLN van a renunciar para dedicarse a la campaña electoral y así dar muestras de fidelidad al partido?
On the other hand, Elizabet Castillo on Neto Rivas’ [es] blog considers that the current position of the President should be appreciated since it is in contrast with the positions of his predecessors.
Esa fue la costumbre de los gobiernos de todos los tiempos, vimos vehículos nacionales participando en las actividades; ahora hace contraste con la posición del actual Presidente y su esfuerzo por desligarse del partido político en aras de mostrarse como lo que debe ser: Presidente de todos los salvadoreños, que incluye por supuesto, a su gabinete. No apreciar ese esfuerzo sería una actuación dogmática.
Oscar Bello, also writing from Neto Rivas’ blog [es], broadened his comments when Funes replied to employees that testified about the possibility to dedicate partisan work after normal office hours or on the weekends.
“Este es un año electoral, es un año donde la dinámica electoral puede distorsionar la actividad pública ¿Qué significa esto? Que cualquier funcionario que quiera dedicarse a hacer proselitismo electoral lo puede hacer, están en todo su derecho, pero tiene que renunciar. Así de claro, no hay más. Ahí no es cuestión de interpretación”
“No es que uno dice que si el partido me lo pide, o que los fines de semana. Los ministros, viceministros y presidentes de autónomas y secretarios de la Presidencia de la República son los siete días de la semana. Yo no conozco un ministro que sea ministro de lunes a sábado y que el domingo deje de ser ministro” M.Funes
“This is an election year, a year where the electoral dynamic can distort public activity. What does this mean? It means that any official that wants to dedicate himself to electoral campaigning can do it but they have to resign. It is clear, there is nothing more. This is not a question of interpretation.”
“It isn’t that one says if the party asks me, or on the weekends. The ministers, deputy ministers, presidents of workers organizations and secretaries of the Presidency of the Republic are seven days a week. I don’t know a minister that is a minister from Monday to Saturday and on Sunday stops being a minister.” M. Funes
For Oscar Bello, the measure is designed in a way to “free” some ministers that by quota should be members of the FMLN or for those whose performance has been questionable.
Paolo Luers of the blog Siguiente Página writes a letter [es] to the officials that find themselves in this dilemma, exhorting them to resign, especially the Vice President of the Republic, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, the Deputy Minister of Health Violeta Menjivar, the Director of the ISSS (Salvadoran Institute of Social Security) Oscar Kattan and Jorge Meléndez, director of the Civil Protection; but he affirms that this measure will not resolve the problem of the conflict of interest.
La renuncia de todos ustedes es sólo un primer paso. No significa mucho. Sobre todo tomando en cuenta que algunos de ustedes de todos modos deberían ser sustituidos al hacer una evaluación seria de su desempeño
Antonio Soriano of Salvadoreños en el Mundo titles his post “Funes marks distance from the FMLN,” [es] and limits himself to reporting on Funes’ message to his officers, without adding any judgments.
Moreover, the blogger Pocote of El Salvador Blog, in the post “Direct and guide with new breath,” [es] opines that when Funes tells his officers that they can not campaign or use state resources to promote a certain candidate, these:
Son palabras justas porque ciertamente no es honesto usar recursos y fondos del Estado para promover o apoyar candidaturas, mucho menos “hacer tiempo” en “horas no laborales”, como solía decir el bachiller Saca, para hacer proselitismo
However, the blogger criticizes the FMLN because it “has lost a lot of encouragement and easily forgets the already traveled revolutionary paths,” invites reflection and self-criticism as it is not enough to participate and be an electorally active element, but one must maintain a steady approach to the population to organize and mobilize it.
At the Tonaca Libre blog they write [es] that Funes has attempted to correct his errors and to not commit the same mistakes as previous leaders, since when he was a journalist he criticized officers that participated in political campaigning and it is as a result that today he launches these guidelines.
Muchas veces, en su época de periodista, el ahora presidente criticaba el hecho de que funcionarios al servicio del estado usaran banderas políticas e hicieran proselitismo y por lo tanto hoy que él es el mandatario debe hacer valer ese lineamiento que el ya ha dado diciendo que cualquiera de sus ministros que quiera hacer proselitismo debe renunciar, algo que nunca harán.
Finally, Luis Aguilar from the blog SportReligionPolitics [es] argues that by prohibiting campaigning President Funes is wrong because its literal meaning is: the “attempt or active and activist effort to convert one or more persons to a particular cause,” which is part of the daily struggle of all politicians, whether official or not. Luis believes that:
No se debe tomar ventaja del puesto de funcionario para tener beneficios personales, pero si se debe tener claro que la lucha sigue y no se termina con la llegada de Mauricio Funes al poder,
Luis continues saying that the transformation of the country is a goal not yet reached, and therefore the politician should campaign according to the presented definition.
These are some of the views circulating in the Salvadoran blogosphere about an issue that has caused mixed reactions, some of them opposing as campaigning on the part of the executive was strongly criticized during previous administrations, especially that of Funes’ predecessor Antonio Saca. Today though the plot is the same, the characters are different.

author: Omar Nieto


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Haiti: Duvalier Visit Political Red Herring?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A little more than a year after a debilitating earthquake practically leveled the Haitian capital and destroyed innumerable surrounding towns, killing thousands and leaving survivors homeless (tent cities are still full, despite millions of dollars in relief aid pledged), exiled dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier returned to his homeland.  Many bloggers are still stunned at this latest political development and remain unclear as to the motive behind his visit.
At first, Twitter was abuzz with what was, at the time, a rumour of his return – but it soon became clear that the rumour was true.  Repeating Islands writes:
My friend Morby from Port-au-Prince, through an sms, reports that Baby Doc has landed in Port-au-Prince…his presence can only complicate the present political situation in Haiti, where he still commands (inexplicably) substantial support. The photo above, which I took back in August, already anticipated his return.
But why has he come back?  Mainstream media are reporting that “he wanted to help in the rebuilding of his earthquake-battered nation”, but netizens aren't buying it.  Very early on, @RAMHaiti tweeted:
The idea that Jean Claude could return to Haiti was impossible to consider after his departure 25 years ago..
#Haiti Radio stations are talking about the return of Duvalier.. Preval needed a distraction
Katlito's Blog posts a short time line of his reactions as the rumour is confirmed, saying:
First off just like everyone else, the question that I am asking myself is, why is he here? what’s the purpose?
No one seems to know. But one thing for sure is that the young people are happy to see him and those who lived under his harsh ruling have quite different feelings about this unexpected comeback…
But one thing we need to ask ourselves, how did Duvalier obtain a diplomatic passport to come back? Who allowed it to be issued?
How does that affect the political situation in Haiti?
@MacMcClelland, who was re-tweeted by @RAMHaiti, posted:
Everyone is in agreement that the Americans and French sent Baby Doc here to fuck with Preval.
Despite Duvalier's wife's assurances that he is only in Haiti for a few days and has a return flight, @RAMhaiti is not taking his presence lightly, reporting his every move via Twitter:
#Haiti Duvalier didn't speak.. Mob scene.. Looked scared.. Looked fragile..Got into car and left
Just drove home..Nothing in the streets. For now Jean Claude Duvalier's return is more media. Live shots on TV of him in a restaurant #Haiti
Live shots of Jean Claude in a reataurant tralking on his BlackBerry.. People who owe him money must be nervous #Haiti
Even as some Tweeple hope that “the next leader/leaders of #Haiti are worthy of its people — strong, resilient, hopeful, visionary & JUST”, @RAMHaiti admits that:
A lot has gone on in Haiti since JCDuvalier left. Hard to paint a rosy picture. Not only physical repression but economic too submergingmkt
He adds:
The 25 years that have passed since Duvalier make him appear more middle of the road #Haiti
That last comment prompted a wave of discussion:
@Only4RM: @RAMhaiti You say Haiti should be “farther along by now”. WISH Haiti was just at status quo since Duvalier left. At least 10 steps BACK.
@RAMhaiti 1 definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over & over but expecting a different result. Haiti needs to look FWD to progress.
And, in response to this tweet:
@RAMhaiti: The Leaders, Namphy to Preval, 1986-2011, who followed the Duvaliers were “students” of the regime.. Its time for a change #Haiti
@DaphneBourgoin responds:
@RAMhaiti But they all promised change. Yet became worse then their teacher!
There has also been some speculation as to whether the United States knew about/may have sanctioned the visit, with @Only4RM categorically stating:
@Joe_Taxi We don't know the US knew for sure. But if they didn't, it would be a HUGE Hillary AND Bill Clinton FAIL.
Either way, the reappearance of Duvalier in Haiti is curious.  this isn't grey's anatomy writes:
Just when we thought life here couldn't get any weirder…Twitter exploded with people reporting that Jean-Claude ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier was on a plane on his way back to Haiti. Soon after that his plane landed, and he is now apparently being driven down Route Frere, waving to people out of the window as he passes by. Others are saying there are rumors that Aristide's Haitian passport has been renewed. All of this while the most recent election's results are still very disputed. Things could get really interesting.
The Livesay Haiti Weblog refers to the development as “a peculiar turn of events”:
Truth has fairly consistently been stranger than fiction here, so maybe the return of JeanClaude Duvalier (Baby Doc) shouldn't surprise us so.
The AP pointed out that more than 50% of the Haitian population is under 21, therefore they don't have their own memories of Baby Doc's reign in Haiti.  Many people seem to romanticize that time stating only that they “had electricity all the time back then”.  Families that were not political say they lived better lives.
We're expats new to the scene but this strikes us as bizarre and scary.  It makes no sense to us that he would be welcomed back right now. (Exile doesn't mean what we thought it did.)
Rumors are swirling. One person speculates the US and France brought him here to arrest so they could set a precedent and arrest Preval when he leaves office in a few weeks. Another suggests he is coming back here to die.  Others say they are going to have a new election and let him run for office again. (In what twisted universe would a brutal dictator from the past be elected democratically?) That seems pretty far-fetched. It is also reported that he has a round trip ticket and will leave again soon. Some say Aristide is on his way back too.  A few prominent personalities say Preval brought him in as a distraction from the failed election mess, a bait and switch of sorts. Baby Doc himself said he came to check on the well being of the country after hearing and seeing disturbing images for the last year.  Irony anyone?
We don't know much.  Only that it is all quite disturbing.
Like you, we're watching and listening.
Karlito's Blog shares an interesting perspective:
As far as I am concerned, I think that Duvalier’s comeback to Haiti might come at a time where we least needed it. A time when we are in serious need to clean up our mess before we can deal with such situation. I have not lived under Duvalier but I have seen videos and pictures of how things were back then, It might not have been Times Square but it was definitely 50 times better then state the country finds itself in these days.
Better or not, HaitiAnalysis.com does not mince words, calling on the Preval administration “to arrest and try Jean-Claude Duvalier for crimes against humanity”:
During his regime, between 1971 and 1986 thousands of people were disappeared, tortured, raped, and murdered in a systemic state-backed campaign of repression.
With the Preval administration's CEP banning of Haiti's most popular political party, Fanmi Lavalas, and over 70% of the voting-age population not taking part in the recent “election”, any new Haitian government will be significantly weak and unpopular.
Duvalier saw his chance to return, as now both the lead candidates in the U.S./U.N./O.A.S. backed elections are on friendly terms with him.
HaitiAnalysis will soon be providing a chronology of human rights abuses, massacres, and killings that took place under the regime of Jean-Claude Duvalier. And we will also be working with others in putting together a petition calling for the arrest and trial of Jean-Claude Duvalier


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Indonesia: Addressing the suicide problem · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Rob Baiton blogs about the alarming rise in suicide rates in Indonesia.

author: Mong Palatino


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Indonesia: Lessons from the football AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Erwin from Indonesia identifies the lessons learned in the  ASEAN Federation Football Suzuki Cup 2010. Indonesia lost to Malaysia in the championship game.


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Indonesia: The coming ASEAN community · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Multibrand from Indonesia reports that government ministers attending the meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to establish and expand the ASEAN Community in 2015.


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Jamaica, Guadeloupe, T&T, U.S.A.: MLK Day  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Dr. King's importance lies in his challenge to expand our moral imagination”: Geoffrey Philp and other regional bloggers pay tribute to the late American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.


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Jamaica, T&T, U.S.A.: Buju’s Mobile Concert  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

mediascape says that “this weekend promises to be an exciting one for reggae lovers”, as reggae icon Buju Banton, who is due to head back to court soon to face drug trafficking charges, will have his Miami concert broadcast via mobile phone, so that “thousands of subscribers will be able to watch…from beginning to end, exclusively through their handsets.”


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Japan: 16th Anniversary of Great Hanshin Earthquake · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Today is the 16th anniversary of the Great Hanshin earthquake, and many prayed for lives lost. Blogger nikisuke quietly reflected on the passing of the years and quotes a Tweet by @hannarry: “That earthquake wasn't a tragedy where 6,434 lives were lost, but an earthquake where the single tragedy of losing your loved one happened 6,434 times.”

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Libya: Gaddafi Wages War on the Internet as Trouble Brews at Home · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage of Libya Uprising 2011.
Libyan leader Muammar Al Gaddafi managed to offend both Tunisians and netizens from across the world wide web in his address to the Tunisian people, following the fall of the Zine El Abidine Ben Ali regime. With trouble brewing at home and Libyans taking to the Internet to vent off, could Gaddafi be foreseeing his doom as a “victim of Facebook and YouTube”?
Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, photo from Wikimedia Commons by Jim Gordon (CC-BY 2.0)
In a televised address, he regretted the end of Ben Ali's 23-year rule, saying that he had hoped the Tunisian dictator would continue to run Tunisia “for life.”
Gaddafi, who has headed Libya since 1970, also brushed off cyber-activism as “lies” fabricated by drunkards and netizens high on drugs, describing the Internet as a “vacuum cleaner,” that had the capacity suck everything.
The Internet, he added, was a tool created by “them” – to ridicule “us.”
In his address he said:
Writing from Boston, Jillian C York notes:
So, while Qaddafi may not be taken seriously, any overtures he makes toward the Internet’s dangers could be well-taken by regional leaders. As we’ve seen with Tunisia (and Iran), this matters…and it doesn’t. Tunisians were operating under a strictly censored Internet, and yet still managed to disseminate information across a variety of social networks. On the other hand, any stakes a government can drive through its net-enabled civil society, it will.
She continues:
Qaddafi sees Tunisian Internet usage during the uprising as an American conspiracy (which I would state very strongly, it is not – such a suggestion is offensive to the large and longstanding Tunisian blogging and social media community).
On Twitter, the mood is that Gaddafi spoke out of turn, catapulting Libya to the forefront of online discussions, especially since Libyan netizens are starting to vent off about troubles of their own online – using the very same tools their leader predicted would make victims out of them.
Libyan Ghazi Gheblawi observes:
Speaking to many Libyan intellectuals, activists and bloggers, all are upset of #Gaddafi ‘s speech about #Tunisia , most r disgusted
Libyana Americana notes:
#Gaddafi is so sad about “Zine” being gone…he misses his friend…
Egyptian columnist Mona Eltahawy weighs in:
Gotta hand it to #Gaddafi though – no other #Arab dictator is mad enough to give a speech about #Tunisia revolution.
And she adds:
Tunisian Haykel Azak reminds us:
It's always a pleasure listening to #Gaddafi speak because you never know what shit will come flying out of that mouth http://bit.ly/huSYxm
And Kuwait-based Aya Kabbara asks:
@CNN are the rumors true? Are producers working on a #gaddafi documentary in anticipation of his fall? #libya
Egyptian Ayman Shweky remarks:
Yazeed, from Saudi Arabia, jokes:
And Razan Saffour, from London, UK, notes:
goodness, I can't believe #Gaddafi is a president. He is an actual JOKE.
From the UAE, Mishaal Al Gergawi observes:
Looks like that Gaddafi speech wasn't that effective after all.
And Jordanian Tololy concludes:
Ah so it WAS Gaddafi who inadvertently sparked the protests in #Libya through a speech! http://tinyurl.com/4devwv3 (Arabic) #Irony
Meanwhile, information is seeping slowly out of Libya about unrest. Just like it was in neighbouring Tunisia, the war is on on the Internet in Libya, with news of websites being hacked.
On Al Bab, Brian Whitaker remarks:
Just two days after the overthrow of President Ben Ali in Tunisia, videos are circulating of disturbances in neighbouring Libya. Needless to say, this is causing a good deal of excitement on Twitter.
He continues:
Almanara, a Libyan opposition website which appears to have Islamist leanings, has posted          three videos of protesters in the city of al-Bayda. There are also a few          more on YouTube          and al-Jazeera has a          report in Arabic.
The facts are still rather unclear, but  Almanara says the demonstrators clashed with security forces, threw  stones at a government building and set fire to one of its offices. The  protesters were demanding          “decent housing and dignified life”, according to the website. Provision of housing appears to be the main issue and there are reports of people taking over apartments and squatting in them.
Today, Whitaker brings us more news. He writes:
Yesterday,  I noted that a Libyan opposition website, Almanara, had posted videos showing disturbances in          Libya during the last few days. After that, something odd happened: the website disappeared. Trying to access          Almanara this morning, I simply got an error          message.
Conceivably this could be just a technical glitch, but I suspect not. A          YouTube video of the protests, which I linked to at the same time, has also  disappeared and there are claims on Twitter that access to social  networking websites inside Libya is being blocked.          Another Libyan website, Libya Almostakbal, reports that it has been attacked twice since Friday.
Several copies of the videos, which I  didn't link to yesterday, are still available on the internet. I won't  provide links to them all, but here is          one of them – just to see what happens to it.
The protests themselves have not been  reported in the official Libyan media, apart from a statement from the  Revolutionary Committee condemning them.
Meanwhile, the cause of the trouble is  becoming clearer. It's about delays in providing subsidised housing, and since Thursday activists in several towns have taken over hundreds of  empty properties.
This post is part of our special coverage of Libya Uprising 2011.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Mexico: Women’s Rights Activist Killed · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Erwin C. in The Latinamericanist reports on the murder of women's rights activist Susana Chávez: “For many years Chavez campaigned against the unsolved murders of hundreds of women in northern Mexico. She helped create the slogan ‘Ni Una Mas’ (‘Not One More Death’), which served as a battle cry for local women’s rights activists against the string of ‘femicidies’ since the early 1990s.”


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North Korea: Drugs Rampant, Even Among Teens · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korean insiders and defectors have testified that drugs are widespread in North Korea. Most recent reports told that drugs are popular gifts among teens and even ordinary middle-class citizens are frequently abusing them. The Kim regime's policy to earn foreign currency by drug trafficking had backfired and undermined already devastated public health.
Image of Opium Poppy Flower, By Alvesgaspar, Creative Commons 3.0
Blogger 푸른깃발 (: Blue Flag) who works in the media field, wrote [ko] how innocent kids have become drug addicts.
아이들도 예외가 아니다. 아이들은「백도라지」, 「약 담배」, 「외화벌이용 약초」등으로 불리는 양귀비 파종, 재배, 채취과정에 동원된다. 어른들은 몰래 훔쳐갈 가능성이 높지만, 저학년일수록 훔쳐갈 가능성이 낮은 탓이다. 양귀비 생산에 동원된 아이들은 아직 피지 않은 꽃망울을 따서 씹어 먹거나 씨앗을 간식으로 먹곤 한다. 생아편을 비상약으로 사용하거나, 상습적으로 물에 타서 마시기도 한다. 마약에 친숙해진 아이들은 점점 마약에 중독돼 간다.
The blogger quoted testimony of Ju Sung-ha, North Korean defector-turned journalist who now works for DongA Ilbo, South Korea's conservative media. Ju runs Nambuk Story [ko] (full name:서울에서 쓰는 평양 이야기, Pyeongyang's Story Writing in Seoul) a famous blog with 1 million subscribers which gives detailed portraits of North Korean society.
위장을 위해 양귀비에 백도라지라는 가짜 이름을 붙이고, 가장 지력이 좋은 땅에 양귀비를 심고 가꿨다…7월이면 어린 학생들까지 총동원돼 아편 원액을 추출했는데, 역한 냄새에 학생들이 쓰러지는 일도 많아 밭머리에 의료진까지 대기했다…원액을 뽑고 난 열매에 좁쌀처럼 생긴 고소한 노란 씨가 가득 차 있어 아이들의 간식으로 인기였고, 아편중독자가 생겨났다.
The North Korean military which are supposed to control drug trafficking are believed to be the most fervent traders of drugs. A South Korean blog, NK Inside posted a video of illegal poppy trade done by North Korean military officials.
썩을만큼 썩어버린 북한 군인의 실태입니다. 국경부근에서 마약 밀매가 성행하고 있다는 것은 이미 잘 알려진 사실이지만 북한 군인이 오히려 더 설치고 있다니. 북한산 마약은 중국에서 쉽게 구할 수 있다고 합니다. 마약과 위폐, 인신매매가 김정일 정권의 체제를 유지하는 강력한 수단이기 때문에 북한 사회는 갈수록 피폐해질 것입니다.
The Daily NK, a Seoul-based online media, is run by many North Korean defectors who have often been blackmailed by the North Korean regime for revealing dark aspects of North Korean society. They reported with a sensational title [ko], ‘Drug, the most popular birthday gifts among NK teens.’ The article claimed that drugs which only the affluent class could afford had trickled down to the middle-class. According to the report, students inhale them from a pen or 5,000 Won bill, which has Kim Il-sung's portrait, and some young girls barter sex to get more drugs. It later added that even after the North Korean government dispatched a censorship task force, no breakthrough has yet been made. North Korean insiders commented that ‘since the drug users are children of high-profile government workers in the ruling Worker’s Union or from the very affluent class, the censorship office is having a hard time in strictly applying the law.
Radio Free Asia(RFA) reported a very similar story [ko], quoting one laborer saying that since the work was too burdensome and people were conscripted in freezing weather, all members of his labor force had drugs. And thanks to the drug's effect, he said ‘they ran, almost flew about 12 kilometer towing sledges.’ This shocking revelation has been partly confirmed by North Korean defectors. One young defector boy is believed to have entered a rehabilitation center right after successfully fleeing to South Korea.
A Seoul-based think tank run by defectors, North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity also posted a similar insider video of the illicit drug trade [ko]. (Posting No. 247, video currently unavailable)
Blogger Citrain64 posted an analysis of the reason for the  drugs outbreak. The blogger wrote that the drugs which the rich class used to buy to show-off their wealth are now consumed by ordinary citizens, out of necessity.
[…]북한은 정부에서 주도적으로 마약을 만들고 해외에 밀수하는 국가라는 점을 알아두어야 한다.[…]이렇게 북한에서 생산된 마약이 외부에 수출되기도 하지만 내부에서 유통되기도 그만큼 쉽다. 따라서 최근 탈북자들은 “북한에서는 마약 구하기가 아스피린 구하는 것보다 쉽다”라고 할 정도이다.[…]북한에 의약품이 절대적으로 부족한 실정을 알아두어야 한다. 마약을 부유층뿐 아니라 중산층 이상의 일반 주민들도 애용하고 있다. […]북한 주민들 사이에 가장 흔한 병은 동상이다…마땅히 동상 치료를 해야 하지만 의약품이 부족하니 순간의 고통을 이겨내기 위해 마약을 찾는 것이다. 동상 뿐 아니라, 결핵에 걸리거나 위장염에도 양귀비 꽃을 끓여 마시거나 잎을 삶아 먹는 방법 등으로 치료하는 경우가 많다고 한다.
The blogger added that the lack of any public campaign on the dangers of drugs has also contributed to the worsening situation. Those stories quoting North Korean defectors or insiders are considered not entirely reliable, since many of them tend to dramatize the real story. But the repetitive confessions about drug abuse mean it is not entirely a made-up story. In January 2002, Japanese officials seized 150 kilograms of methamphetamine from a North Korean vessel, and in July 2002, Taiwan government officials apprehended 9 men carrying 79 kilograms of heroin, according to a Heritage Foundation report.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Pakistan: Prize Bonds Mega Scam · Global Voices
Rezwan

Shakir Lakhani writes about a prize bond draw manipulation in Pakistan where three consecutive numbers won the first three prizes.


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Sri Lanka: Archive of Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) submissions and media reports · Global Voices
Rezwan

Groundviews has launched two archives covering media reports on and submissions to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) of Sri Lanka.


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St. Lucia: Getting Over Tomas  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It will be a long road”: Sun, Rain, Or… says that St. Lucia is still struggling to get back to normal after last year's Hurricane Tomas.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Sudan: Peaceful referendum comes to a close · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Peaceful referendum in Southern Sudan comes to a close: “On the closing day of the elections the lines had all but vanished, wind whipped up dust that blew past the signs at almost empty polling stations. Rare were the southern Sudanese who had left their electoral duties for the last minute.”


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Sudan: Secessionists in North and South: one goal, different thinking  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Hassan Farouk speaks with two advocates of secession in the North and the South: Nhial Bol Aken, owner of the English-speaking newspaper The Citizen, and retired Brigadier Dr. Sati Sorkati, a prominent leader in the Just Peace Forum Party, in the first face-to-face confrontation of its kind.


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Taiwan: Foxconn nominated for the public eye award · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A Hong Kong based NGO Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour has nominated Apple subcontractor, FoxConn for the 2011 public eye award. There are at least 18 workers committed suicide in FoxConn's factories in China in 2010.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Parliamentary Behaviour · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“MEMBERS of Parliament read this carefully: Stop it. Stop it now. You are all killing Parliament…destroying one of the most crucial forums of our democracy…”: Tattoo explains.


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Trinidad & Tobago: The Piano Man?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

After all the brouhaha surrounding a missing grand piano (which has subsequently been found) at the Prime Minister's residence, the fake former PM has his say.


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Tunisia:Animation for the martyrs of freedom · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Fahem Med Ali has created a short animation to honour the martyrs of freedom in Tunisia.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Venezuela: Discussing a New University Law · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Central University of Venezuela. Image by Flickr user chocogato, usaded under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license
Venezuelan public and student opinion is divided once again in the face of a new University Law. The reactions and results have been intense, complex and unexpected. A short time after the law was passed discussions for and against it exploded; and opinions are now shaken after a presidential order to veto the law. On one hand, it is said that the law threatens the academic autonomy and freedom of state universities. On the other hand, it is argued that the reforms open the door to new possibilities that would allow a more fair access to universities and will seal up the cracks that degrade the high level academic institutions in Venezuela.
Citizen media users have reflected several of the turns the discussion has taken. Among these: the rush to approve the law, the social injustices in the academic arena, the characteristics of the law in terms of the ideological thought in the universities, the presidential veto, and finally, the importance of an informed debate where the greatest amount of students, academic staff and general public participate.
@font-face {   font-family: "Calibri"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }  For general information, the law is published in the blog, Viva la U. [es]
The blog Discusión de la ley Universitaria [es] (“Discussion of the University Law”) was created, where the following questions are asked:
¿Cuál es el Objetivo de la Educación Universitaria? ¿Quién debe recibir este nivel de educación? ¿Cuál es el papel del Estado y del Pueblo dentro de la administración de la Educación Universitaria? ¿Se debe elegir las autoridades Democráticamente con la participación de todos? – Reflexionemos – Participemos -
Regarding the acts involving the approval of the law, Martha Colmenares comments [es] on some of the expressed ideas in the assembly:
“¿Por qué una Ley como ésta se está discutiendo a las 3 de la mañana un 23 de diciembre de 2010?”, decía un diputado en la madrugada. Y así, en el proceso de sancionar toda clase de leyes por parte de la Asamblea Nacional conformada por el chavismo sin ser sometidas a la discusión de otros sectores (…)
In the same manner, David, in the blog Venelogía, writes [es]:
Lo primero es la inclusión en agenda legislativa de una serie de reformas y leyes polémicas, que la Asamblea Nacional justamente pretende aprobar antes del fin de su periodo (que sería en enero, justo antes de cederlo a una conformación donde la oposición participará luego de 5 años de ausencia).
The blog El libre pensador [es] (Free thinker)  @font-face {   font-family: "Calibri"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }  points to two other aspects hotly debated about the law and what the blogger sees as “true or false” regarding the intentions of the legal reform:
Mentira: La LEU democratiza el voto para elegir las autoridades, ahora todos los votos cuentan por igual (…)Verdad: El voto en las universidades no se concibe de la misma manera que el voto para elegir al Presidente,  Gobernadores, Alcaldes o Diputados. Las jerarquías universitarias no nacen del voto, sino del dominio del conocimiento (…)
Mentira: La LEU fortalece la autonomía universitaria.
Verdad: De acuerdo con la LEU se asignan 76  competencias al Ministro de Educación Universitaria, las cuales le otorgan un control absoluto sobre las Universidades.
False: The [University Law] democratizes the vote to elect authorities, now all the votes count the same (…) Truth: The vote in the universities is not conceived the same as the vote to elect the president, governors, mayors or congressmen. University hierarchies are not born from votes, but rather from the control of knowledge (…)
False: [The University Law] strengthens the university’s autonomy.
Truth: According the the [University Law], 76 competences are assigned to the Ministry of University Education, which are given absolute control of the universities.
On the other hand, in a tweet, Emily Lopez (@Emy Jaime) says:
Nueva Ley de Universidades, nueva Ley para formar al Hombre y a la Mujer del mañana, con visión socialista, con visión de humanidad!
Juan José Requena, through Aporrea, highlights the circumstances that brought about the current law [es] and believes that to suspend it is an insult to the people and the to the Bolivarian socialist process [es]:
Esta ley, neoliberal que la impuso Caldera, luego de un feroz allanamiento a la UCV, con tanques y todo. Ocurrió un 31 de octubre de 1.969 donde si es verdad que se le violó la autonomía en todas sus formas y maneras posibles a la UCV.
Quizá, la decisión del Presidente Chávez se dirija a que las reivindicaciones de la Ley –que eran bastantes- sean conocidas por todo estudiante y pueblo en general
Mientras tanto los estudiantes universitarios bolivarianos y socialistas se han quedado con un palmo de narices.
Es que acaso tenemos juristas y consejeros tan tontos y tan pendejos, que no sepan estructurar leyes.
Estoy seguro de que miles de estudiantes y no estudiante (sic) que respaldan el proceso hemos quedado por ahora frutados, […]
This neoliberal law, proposed by Caldera, after a ferocious take-over of the [Central University of Venezuela], with tanks an all, took place on October 31st, 1969, where the autonomy was violated in all possible ways.
Maybe president Chavez’ decision is towards the vindications of the law–which were many– so that they may be well known by all students and people in general.
Meanwhile the Bolivarian and socialist university students have been left with a slap in the face.
Is it that we have jurists and counselors so dumb and stupid that they don’t know how to form laws?
I am sure that thousands of students and non-students that support the process for now have been left frustrated, […].
Larrin Rivero (@masnunkvolveran) and Jesús Armas (@jesusalexander) support the law and invite others to discuss it:
Epa no nos olvidemos del debate que hay que dar sobre la Ley deUniversidades,abajo las viejas practicas 4to Republicanas.
Seguiremos discutiendo la ley de universidades y no permitiremos q unos pocos ajenos a la academia decidan por nosotros.
Hey, let’s not forget the debate on the University Law, down with the old 4th republican practices.
We will continue talking about the University Law and we will not allow that a few outside academia decide for us.
Francisco Toro in Caracas Chronicles provides another point of view on the veto by president Chávez:
In a rare bit of (seemingly) good news for the opposition, President Chávez has decided to veto the Universities Law that the 95% chavista outgoing National Assembly just approved.
Only trouble is, the Venezuelan Constitution doesn’t actually give the president veto power!
I realize it’s quaintly anachronistic to turn to the actual constitutional text to argue a political point in Venezuela these days, but I just think it’s funny: the first political victory the opposition has had in ages just came in the form of…an unconstitutional assertion of presidential power!
The following citizen video shows one of the protests against the law:
Noticias 24 published several photos of a student protest.
And this seems to be only the beginning. The problem of a new University Law stimulates debate about the shortcomings of the country’s educational system at the primary and higher levels. One can read between the lines the higher education model that the student body aspires to and the changes that many would like to see within the university structure. As a partial conclusion to the intense exchange of opinions that are expressed in social networks, the need to participate and have a critical discussion by conscious and well informed students remains.
Yuraima Becerra (@yurabecerra) and Mariana Ramirez (@marianaramirezz)  @font-face {   font-family: "Calibri"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }  share two concerns that point to the beginning of what appears to be a long and difficult debate: first, the distrust from the students that oppose the government:
#LaVerdad: Universitarios no se fían delveto a la Ley Orgánica de Universidades
And second, the general misinformation:
Con poca información inician debate de Proyecto de Ley de Universidades

author: Laura Vidal


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Venezuela: Reactions to Comments by OAS Regarding Enabling Law · Global Voices
Patricia Acosta

Venezuela starts the year in the middle of a polemic new “Law of Universities”[es] and a questioned “Enabling Law.” Months ago, the Venezuelan people went again to the polls to choose a new National Assembly where the opposition won a majority of the votes (52%), but not the majority of seats due to the reform of the Organic Law of Electoral Processes.
Under this scenario the deputies were ready to take possession to assume charge and execute their duties in the new National Assembly on January 5th 2011. However, on December 17th the ruling National Assembly approved an Enabling Law that grants President Hugo Chavez the power to  rule by decree until the middle of 2012, electoral year for the presidential elections. Deputy Carlos Escarrá explains that the Chief Executive asked for this [es], “to face in a more efficient and effective way the calamity caused by the rains.” Venezuela was severely affected by strong rains at the end of 2010.
Blogger Miguel Octavio from The Devil's Excrement believes that the Enabling Law is a “pantomime” of president Chávez.
[…] the last thing he truly needs is an Enabling Law to confront and deal with the recent floods.This is all a pantomime by Hugo, a show for the gallery that he expects will make him look like the hero he is not.
Because if he had any clue as to how to attack the emergency and the crisis he would ask some very basic questions: Who, with what and how?
And neither of these requires legislation.
Miguel continues,
He needs the Enabling Bill, because he knows the opposition will cry bloody murder and then he can point to how heartless they are and how they don’t care for the “people”.
The Enabling Law before the OAS
Hugo Chávez and José Miguel Insulza. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
The secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, has put in doubt the democratic character of the law, something that irritated president Chávez who declared [es]: “To mister Insulza I will respond from now on, I will not even ignore you because this is shameful.” The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a member of the Organization of American States (OAS), which has as one of its goals as a regulatory entity to promote and consolidate democracy.
Likewise, the Venezuelan chancellery emitted a press release where it vigorously condemned Insulza's opinion [es]. The text states that these attacks constitute “a new, abusive and opportunistic act of interference that discredits even more the Secretary General of the OAS”.
Under this tense environment between President Chávez and the OAS, on January 12th opposition deputies met in Washington DC with the executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, Santiago Cantón, and with the Secretary General of the organization, José Miguel Insulza. The attendees qualified the meeting as positive. The letter [es] presented by the deputies remarks the “Weakening of Venezuelan democracy, the disregard for the popular will expressed during the parliamentary elections the past 26th of September of 2010″ among other things.
Elsewhere, El Nacional reports [es] on the night of January 13th that Secretary General José Miguel Insulza,
[…] no pidió que se modifique la Ley Habilitante en Venezuela o que el organismo tome alguna decisión al respecto.
“Ahora decidir si se discutirán estas posturas es algo que corresponde a los países miembros” de la OEA.
Twitter user Juan M (@juanMarx66 [es]) refers to National Assembly candidate Jorge Amorin (@jorgeamorin [es]) and deputy for the opposition Ismael García  (@ismaelpodemos28 [es]) who were present for the meeting on January 12th when he says:
ahora hay q ver q van a decir, xq Insulza los acaba d dejar es mal jaja,osea la visita a la OEA fue un fracaso
Twitter user @ladivinadiva [es] observes:
Seamos francos, la OEA en los sesenta, no hizo nada frenta a Cuba, mas que meter la pata, no se va a meter en Venezuela
Twitter user “uranioEduardo madrid” (@eldiafano [es]) says:
José Miguel Insulza.(OEA), le comunico a los parlamentarios venezolanos, ustedes no me trajeron nada fuera de lugar,la habilitante es legal
Maria Belen Otero (@mariabelenotero [es]) declares on Twitter:
La verdad ya no espero nada de la OEA y mucho menos de Insulza
Venezuela finds itself in a conflict where the opposition is looking for support from international entities and expects some reaction from the neighboring countries members of the OAS. At the end it will be them, as indicated by secretary José Miguel Insulza, that will have the last word in this power conflict between the opposing segment of the National Assembly and president Chávez over the “Enabling Law.”

author: Patricia Acosta


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Zambia: Restless Western Province Erupts Over Independence Agreement · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

The Western Province administrative capital, Mongu, on Friday erupted when Lozi tribal loyalists who want to secede from the rest of Zambia fought running battles with police on the day they “declared independence.” Two people were shot dead by the police, a number of people were injured and over 200 arrested and are likely to be charged with treason.
The Lozi loyalists want the Zambian government to restore the 1964 Barotse Agreement which gave formal recognition of the authority of the Litunga, king of the Lozi whose predecessors signed agreements with explorers and colonial governments. These agreements entitled the kingdom to royalties from minerals mined from faraway Copperbelt Province.
Lozi loyalists started clamouring for the restoration of the agreement around 1992, just after the defeat of Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia’s first president who signed the agreement a few months before independence with the reigning Litunga at the time and the British government, the departing colonial authority. Ironically, Kaunda is the one who ignored, constitutionally or otherwise, the provisions of the agreement. He also ran an oppressive one party government which did not tolerate dissent like is arising from the people now calling for the agreement’s restoration.
A few months after the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) under President Frederick Chiluba took over, Lozi loyalists from all walks of life, from within and without the country, including those holding positions in the new government, gathered in Lusaka to discuss the Barotse Agreement.
Most Zambians who had been young or not born at independence heard of the Barotse Agreement for the first time after the Lusaka gathering. The momentum was, however, somehow lost especially after other ethnic groups in the province, notably the Nkoya, indicated that they were not part of the Barotse Agreement. They called for the establishment of a tenth province they wanted called Kafue Province if the agreement was restored.
With the current unfolding events in Western Province, government has recently shut down Radio Lyambai for allegedly broadcasting inflammatory statements inciting violence and promoting the so-called independence of Barotseland. It has also banned radio stations from airing phone-in programmes discussing the Barotse Agreement. The minister of home affairs also said government would not  negotiate with “anarchists” on the issue.
This time around, bloggers have waded into the debate giving their views on the unfolding events in Mongu.
Sity Mwitu, writing on the Zambian Watchdog website in an article entitled “Tracing the Lozi Hatred in Zambia” says:
The debate on the restoration of the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 has exposed the hatrage that exists against the Lozis not only from Bembas, but also from Nyanjas. The hatrage for the Lozis has not just started now; but it is a long story that began immediately when Zambia attained her independence. The basis for this hatrage originated from the fact that at the time Zambia became independent in 1964 many Lozis were more educated than Bembas and Nyanjas. Of course, it may have been natural considering the fact that education first began in Barotseland at Sefula mission in March, 1887.
That is why Dr. Kaunda’s first Cabinet had seven (7) elite Lozis of profound standing; of which six (6) were University graduates. As a result, evil schemes were put in place to deprive the Lozis of their dignity and cultural pride. Therefore, it should not surprise to anyone to hear of PF leader Mr. Michael Sata’s recommendation to the former President Dr. FTJ Chiluba regarding their stance on the Barotseland Agreement and his suggestion to the then President to drop the recognition of the Litunga in 1996. How can someone drop the recognition of state that was founded in 1550? The hatrage for the Lozis is rife in every sphere of life in Zambia and now it has even turned into a terminally illness without cure, hence the justifiable call of the Patriots for secession. For the past 46 years, Lozis have been intimated, suppressed and oppressed, so Lozis are terribly hurt. If you talked to any Lozi hailing from Barotseland from all the walks of life except those whose stomachs are fed by the MMD oppressive regime, they will confess that they are genuinely hurt. Lozis are not seeking attention, but respect and equity in every sphere of life.
The first Republic President Dr. Kenneth Kaunda knows this too well and that is why this issue is now haunting him since most of his colleagues who penned their signatures on the document have since passed on. What this means is that Dr. Kaunda is the solution on this matter and his availability should not being ignored completely. He must not continue to be silent on this matter. He must realize that his continued silence is doing harm to this nation. His guilty of his past actions should not keep him out of what is happening in the country now.
Mwitu’s article attracted quite a number of reactions (the website does not have permanent links for individual comments).
Rhupiaitis wrote:
Well written. Some people may try to downplay the contents of this writeup but the issues brought out are true to the bone. I live in Luapula province and I hear such negative urterances from Ushis and Bembas around me. I am Tonga by tribe and I notice that the hate Bembas have for Lozis is sometimes extended to my tribe probably because of the chimbuya relationship we have with Lozis.
KAPATAMOYO disagrees with the author arguing that tribal hatred comes from Lozi people:
I would have said that if there was any tribal hatred in Zambia, it was coming from some “Lozi” people who are now advocating a seperation from the rest of us, and ordering people from other tribes to leave Western Province of Zambia in the name of Barotseland.
“Let’s start judging humans as individuals and not the tribe they belong to!,” wrote The Dude:
Well, well..well! God forbid that many people read this article! The begining is no good at all. But I must say that super K should break his silence on this issue. I also question as to why I had to learn nyanja as a venacular in Lsk west and my cousins learning bemba in Kabwe. And also why these languages without even translation in some soaps. (He likes of Phiri as a bloger who talks about ‘ a tonger will never rule Zed’ should take a leaf from this article. They manifest hatred and make other tribes regroup and turn against other tribes as a defensive mechanism! Let’s start judging humans as individuals and not the tribe they belong to! Calculated schemes are always unearthed. For now comments reserved!
The author's basic argument is contradictory, declared Ansenga Woyamba:
I find so many contradictions in this article. How can President Kaunda who hated the so called lozis appoint 7 “Elite Ministers” from the ethnic grouping he hated so much?? Bo Mwitu please you are eldery and you seem to be quite learned in the manner you have written this article, but you least understand the dynamics of societal changes and growth. You have a one small problem of distinguishing facts from mere oral history which you have gathered in the archives of your fallen grand parents who meant well though.
Kindly reflect on this very seriously Bo Mwitu, your approach to matters is so divisive for the modern world not the 1550 that you are referring to. Come back to earth and enjoy the realities of life Bondate!!!
mak wrote:
This emotional, unverifiable write is the reason we have a problem in western province. i have not seen a critique on the agreement itself, it therefore means that the writer has not even read the agreement.its quite straight forward,its simply a matter of implementation of the Litunga’s customary powers(like any other traditional leader) to work in line with that of legislation and government policy over tax, fishing and timber rights.Read the writeup at p.16 of the Post of 14/01/11. that is a real appropriate view on the matter not this piece of hogwash.
Zambian netizens have also responded to an article appearing on Lusaka Time website in which the opposition UNIP, the party Dr Kaunda led at independence, is urging government to accept responsibility for the deteriorating situation in Western Province.
Mr. Capitalist was disappointed with the statement from UNIP :
I’m disappointed with the statement from UNIP because this whole Barotse agreement issue started with UNIP. Once again, the MMD has to clean up UNIP’s mess just like they had to clean up the $6 billion USD debt UNIP left behind.
I find this statement interesting though, “In Mongu Mr. Lungu said a group of 20 people carrying matchetes was in the early hours of Friday rounded-up by police. Five other activists from Lusaka believed to be inciting people over the 1964 agreement had also been picked up.” end quote. So they were a danger to other citizenry. Zambia Police had to use whatever action necessary to protect the greater citizenry. I do not support killing but Zambia Police had to use whatever action necessary to calm the situation.
Enka Rasha noted that the government cannot engage anarchists in dialogue:
Heck no.Big NO ,NO.You do not engage anarchists,rioters and killers in dialogue,freedom of speech and such.That is called appeasement and the moment you do that you’re finnished.Remember PM Chamberlain trying to engage Hitler in dialogue-what happened?
Smoothcriminal wrote:
A statesman is a politician who places himself at the service of the nation. A politician is a statesman who places the nation at his service.
Has the shooting and arresting of these activists sorted the problem NO.Only a **** will ignore an issue hoping it will evenually vanish,this issue needs to be faced head on.Someone created this problem many years ago.The significant problem we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.There”s need to refocus and rethink on how best to solve the problem than running in circles,surely there are more wise people in gvnt who can brainstom to finding a lasting solution
Zele warned: God is watching:
People in Zambia may not like the Lozi agreement doc but the truth is that they are the only one who have well documented leadership the missionary found with solid leaders when they come, and above all they are the who have define the map of Zambia. Otherwise, the Belgium would have colonized the larger part of the current national called Zambia. You can see from the stripe that petrudes into Zambia on the C.belt, tells the great Story. The talk with LOVE than hate esp if you claim you are Christian. One wonder the legitimacy of the ZAMBIAN elegance to Christianity when police go out shooting and calling armless man. who is more dangerous Chiluba or that small boy the have massacred? Remember, whatever, we do comes back to us, God is watching, Nebuchadnezzar was send the bush lived
Ichalo Lifupa wrote:
Two wrongs cannot make a right. The police should be restrained by all means from using maximum force on its own people. Its a pity RB, the head of state has chosen to remain mute but only allowing this Mkhondo fimo fimo who cannot see beyond cheap politics to talk bull. RB, you are president for Zambia and not for a few individual provinces. If you are still snoozing, its now time to wake up before the situation in Western province escalate. Where is the ‘Tiyende Pamodzi’ spirit?
The feeling by many people is that government’s position not to engage the loyalists in dialogue will not make the issue go away.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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Zimbabwe: Call for Submissions: “Remembering Marechera” · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A call for Submissions for a new anthology titled “Remembering Marechera”: “To celebrate Dambudzo Marechera’s posthumous 59th birthday this year I will be putting together an ebook anthology entitled “Remembering Marechera”, consisting of essays, reviews, short stories, poems, etc. that follow this theme, to be published by StoryTime Publishing. To this end I invite your submissions until the 6th of April 2011.”


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‘Korean War’ in Cambodia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Mary Kozlovski, writing for The Phnom Penh Post, writes about the reported boycott spearheaded by South Korean tourist operators against a popular North Korean restaurant in Cambodia. The restaurant is owned by the North Korea government.