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Kenya: Do bloggers hold the key to the future of investigative journalism? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

As fewer and fewer newspapers commit enough resources, time and manpower to produce in-depth investigative reports, many citizen media enthusiasts seem to suggest that citizen journalists can step in to fill the gap. Do citizen journalists hold the key to the future of in-depth investigative journalism? Perhaps.
From time to time we will be highlighting blogs from the Sub-Saharan Africa that are focused on investigative reports. We are starting with Kumekucha, which is arguably one of the most controversial blogs in East Africa. It is known for publishing controversial investigative reports and biting political commentary on Kenya.
Kumekucha is a very popular blog judging by the number of comments left on its posts . It is difficult to verify the truth of information published on the blog. Recently, another Kenyan blog, KenMedia Watch, pointed out that the minister named by Kumekucha as the one who receveid a visa ban from the United States was not correct. Kumekucha reported that it was the Agriculture Minister, William Ruto. The US ambassador to Kenya revealed that it was Joshua Kulei (ex-Moi aide).
This is what Kumekucha revealed before the identity of visa ban minister was made public:
Kumekucha can confirm today that the cabinet minister who received a visa ban from the Americans earlier this week is agriculture minister, William Ruto.
For Kenyans still thinking in terms of ODM and PNU, this clearly underlines the fact that corruption has no party or tribal boundaries, the cancer eats into our society right across the board.
My information tells me that the minister is “very upset” over the news more so because there are indications that his family members and business associates will also be affected.
After the US ambassador to Kenya revealed that it was Joshua Kulei, KenMedia Watch had this to say:
Now that US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger—in an anti-climactic moment, and violating the usual protocol—has revealed the identity of the man the US recently banned from entering its shores (ex-Moi aide Joshua Kulei), should we now expect a series of apologies from those rumourmongers who maliciously fingered Ruto as the banned official? That would be naive. I’m no fan of Ruto, but wouldn't you
Kumekucha explains the error in their reporting:
It’s Ruto… No It’s Kulei. Oops Or Is It Ruto?
It has never happened before and I was totally shocked. Usually this informant gives me A1 information in terms of reliability. In fact the problem with most of the info they give me is that it is too hot to use (sometimes even in my raw notes). But this time round they came back a few days after telling me Ruto was the Visa ban minister to tell me that it was NOT Ruto after all. The name they gave me confused me.
The US envoy had said that the banned person was a senior member of government. The last time I checked Joshua Kulei was NOT a member of the Kibaki administration. My source however assured me that Ruto was next on the dreaded list and as a matter of fact it is highly unlikely that he could ever be granted a visa incase he wants to travel to the United States.
So I made a decision to keep quiet until something happens. Well it happened last night when the Americans told us that the banned person they were referring to was in fact Kulei. Now this is really fascinating stuff because Mr Kulei is a very major investor in the American economy. In fact his entire family is currently based in the United States and his main business operations are in New York ( a place where many wealthy Americans cannot afford to operate from).
Kumekucha has a newsletter, which carries stories that are too sensitive to publish on the blog and also has a twitter account:
Now You can Monitor Kumekucha's Every Move: You can now follow Chris Kumekucha as he receives highly sensitive info throughout the day and even get to know posts he is working on well in advance. You can even have a private chat with him. Follow him at Twitter. Find him in Twitter @KumekuchaChris. You will even get to see a photo of him (never before published on the web but will now be visible ONLY to his followers on Twitter). Remember that a lot of the stuff you will read on Twitter will NEVER be published because, as has been said here before, most of the information Kumekucha receives is too hot to publish or takes too long to verify (or is impossible to verify) and can therefore NOT be published. But you will be able to read it all on Twitter. Get to Twitter pronto, get there now and find Kenya's most popular and influential political blogger @KumekuchaChris
Let's look at some investigative reports that have appeared on the blog:
Moi family problems in securing wealth:
The family lawyer advised the Moi's to keep as much of their wealth and assets as they possibly could overseas. The lawyer pointed out that legally no court order or ruling had been issued declaring the Moi wealth as having been acquired through corrupt or illegal means, which would be required by the government to freeze those assets and bank accounts abroad. They were also advised to use trusts that were experienced in hiding controversial assets on behalf of high profile clients.
However the meeting did not end well. It emerged that Joshua Kulei's own estimates of the amount he held in trust for the Moi family and which he was now required to surrender and estimates of the same by Moi's sons did not tally. The tension got so high that death threats are believed to have been issued against Kulei.
Matters got worse at a meeting later held at Philip's house to try and resolve the misunderstanding over the issue and Kulei made the unfortunate decision to go outside the Moi family to seek for help. It is highly likely that this is the move that caused details of the meeting to leak to those who were not involved. Kulei consulted Mr Tum of the Kenya Seed Company to talk to the former president on his behalf. He told Tum that the crux of the problem was that the president's sons had failed to make any distinction between his (Kulei's) private wealth and that held by the president in trust.
A significant chunk of the Moi assets and fortune in general is now in Namibia where it is under the protection of the former president's good friend and president of that country Sam Nujoma. It is believed that Gideon Moi may transfer (if he has not dome so already) a lot of the family wealth from South Africa to Namibia where the family feel more comfortable and secure to keep their treasure chest.
Gideons trip with his father to banks [Gideons is the son of Kenya's former President, Daniel Arap Moi]:
A fight that took place at a popular entertainment spot in Nairobi between Gideon Moi and the family lawyer Dr Kiplagat, emphasizes this. Evidence seems to suggest that the fight was instigated by the sale of US$ 650,000 property in South Africa which Dr Kiplagat facilitated in behalf of the younger Moi. After the sale was complete the lawyer did not hand over the proceeds from the sale but instead prepared an invoice for $US 1.5 million for various legal services rendered to Gideon over a lengthy period of time that was still outstanding. He then issued a credit note for US$650,000 and demanded that the balance owed to him be paid. Gideon was furious.
Interestingly this appears to be a contradiction of his own well-voiced principals. The same Kroll report talks about a frequent boast Gideon makes to the effect that any deals worth less than US$ 1 million is not worth his while.
Since December 2003, Gideon has been trying to get the money from the sale of the South African property from Kiplagat, but with no success. On several occasions he sent Chepkonga to demand the cash on his behalf from the lawyer. So when Chepkonga saw the lawyers car parked outside Fairview Hotel, he immeditaley called Gideon who quickly arrived and headed straight to the table where Dr Kiplagat was seated. A fierce argument ensued with Gideon making his usual threats.
Eyewitnesses said that what triggered the fight was the point where Kiplagat told Gideon; “…your father is no longer the president of this country and the days you used to order people around are long gone.” To add insult to injury he then ordered Gideon to move to another table. That is when fists and kicks started flying as baffled onlookers watched and other hurried to separate the two men.
Assassinations seasons now here with us:
For months now controversial Kumekucha blogger Phil has been warning of coming assassinations in Kenya’s political landscape. I too have warned in several posts that we are entering an extremely dangerous phase of our politics where we should expect politically motivated assassinations on an unprecedented scale. I called them some of the painful birth pangs for the new Kenya that is coming. The kind of Kenya we all dream of.
I have some information that is so sensitive that it cannot be shared here which makes it clear that there is nothing but plenty of trouble ahead. I really wish there was a way to stop these crazy guys.
But let me back up a little here and discuss the special circumstances in our politics that has brought us to where we are now.
How Kibaki and Michuki plotted the raid at the Standard Group:
The motive behind the March 2, 2006, police raid at the Standard Group offices has remained top secret to date.
However Kumekucha today unveils the secrets behind the raid based on interviews from two of President Kibaki’s aides privy to the “Government operation.”
In February 2006, President Kibaki chaired a meeting at State House, Nairobi, which was attended by the then Minister for Internal Security, Mr John Michuki, Mr Stanley Murage, Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura, NSIS Director General Michael Gichangi, the then CID Director Joseph Kamau, among other State House operatives.
Despite the gravity of the matter under discussion, the Commissioner of police, Maj Gen Mohamed Ali, was not invited. This was purely a Nyumba ya Mumbi affair. The House of Mumbi had been rattled.
There was tension and anger in the room. The NSIS chief tabled two pieces of paper which he told the meeting had two explosive stories the Standard Group was planning to publish. This blogger has seen and read the two “articles” the Standard was alleged to be planning to publish.
The first “article” was about how Kibaki, when he was the DP chairman and was vying for presidency in 1997, allegedly travelled to Southern Sudan to meet with Al Qaeda founder and world’s Number One terrorist Osama bin Laden to solicit funds for his presidential campaign.
In the second “article”, the author was discussing Kibaki’s failing health in January and February 2003, shortly after he was sworn in as president. The “article” even quoted Raila Odinga saying there was going to be a snap election within the year (implying Kibaki was dying/would be dead to warrant a snap election).
Inside story behind strange killing at Sarit Centre:
A couple of weeks ago a man walked up to an ATM machine at Sarit Centre did his business and emerged. Seconds later another man stepped forward and shot him at point blank range. It was clear from the way he was shot that the idea was to make sure he died.
What followed was puzzling. A section of the media reported the incident and even added the critical bit of information that the man had some information on police extra-judicial killings.
Then suddenly the story vanished and nobody seemed to follow up what would appear to be a very big story.
Today I reveal the inside details behind the killing and exactly what happened.
The name of the deceased was Constable Kirinya and he was a driver at the Eagle Squad – a sister squad of Kwekwe which it has been whispered have been given express orders “from above” to execute anyone they IMAGINE is linked or sympathetic to Mungiki.
Constable Kirinya and his team arrested a notorious drug baron from Mombasa, who had Sh4m in cash and drugs of an unknown value. It happened that the drug baron was known to some senior cops – two of them being Nairobi Provincial Police Officer, Njue Njagi, and his deputy, Julius Ndegwa. Insiders say Njue and Ndegwa called for the suspect and shared the loot. Eagle Squad officers who had arrested the drug baron were given Sh200,000 each.
The cops who were tracking him down got wind he was in Nairobi and they trailed him to Sarit Centre where they shot him dead and made the scene of crime to look like he was killed by thugs.
The house in Nairobi that would make the Nyayo House torture chamber look like a kindergarten:
Recently a company by the name of Kingsway Tyres has burst into the limelight. This firm has been mentioned adversely in the ongoing Charterhouse Bank controversy.
Actually the company is situated in a building that occupies a large chunk of both University Way and Muindi Mbingu street in Nairobi, with one side of the building facing the University of Nairobi.
If buildings could speak, then this particular building would have plenty to say from its’ rather notorious history. Especially the side that houses offices which are accessed through a small door that is easy to miss along Muindi Mbingu street.
This building once housed the notorious dreaded Special Branch and what has happened here in the past would make the Nyayo House torture chamber look like a kindergarten. It is said that this is the building where the late JM Kariuki was tortured and interrogated, even shot, before being killed and dumped at Ngong Forest. That was sometime in early March 1975.
It is also believed to be the building where the assassination plot that took the life of one of Kenya's most illustrious politicians, Tom Mboya was planned. A prominent reader of this blog recently passed on this information to this blogger and brief initial inquires and research seem to support this amazing allegation. In later years this building came to house Kenya Times, the Kanu daily paper and I personally visited this building many times over the years.
Samples of political analyses that have appeared on Kumekucha:
Smiling Wako (Amos Wako is Kenya's Attorney General):
He is the wearer of that poisonous smile. Wait a minute, his must be a case of mistaking short lips and long teeth for a permanent grin. Amos Wako is one lawyer who epitomizes everything rotten about Kenya.
Wako is the singular face that captures everything wrong with Kenya. He waxes lyrical and legalistic all loaded with no sensitivity nor relevance to the Kenyan people. And the gatekeepers know him better in partnering with him to defraud us more drawing from his vast expertise in LEGAL FLEECING.
On Obama:
Then there is Obama. The man is not coming to Kenya. I've heard many people castigate Kibaki and Odinga, folks saying that our nation is in turmoil so Obama couldn't visit. Crap. Here is what I say…if he is the kind of a guy who would only visit us because everything was okay, let him stay the hell away. Like his nation that is grappling with racism, classism and periodically the madness of the Bush type, our nation will have issues it grapples with from time to time. Does it mean when we face those issues we should be shunned?
I feel that Barack Obama, by shunning Kenya, has missed a golden opportunity to stand in the middle of Nairobi and proclaim his wishes for Kenya right in the face of Kibaki and Odinga. It would have been a powerful symbol that this son of Kogelo would come here and make it known that he is solidly for reforms. To send some dude called Johnny Carson…and an ambassador who is partly responsoble for the mess we are in makes me sick to my stomach. And may Obama be told that we will have no use for him should he come here after his presidency is over.
*Global Voices Online has not verified the information on Kumekucha blog.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Kuwait: Impressions of Amman · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti blogger ZDisrict visited Amman, Jordan, and shares his impressions in this post.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Malaysia: Reshuffling in the education system · Global Voices
Syafique Shuib

The government recently announced a reshuffling in the education system by requiring students sitting for the SPM examinations to take a maximum of ten subjects from 2010 onwards. SPM, short for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (Malaysian Certificate of Education) is the equivalent to the British General Certificate of Secondary Education. It is an examination for fifth form students before entering pre-university studies.
Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin says, “We want to streamline this as it will also be an easier way to determine the awarding of scholarships.”
In recent years, however, there are students scoring straight A’s for as many as 17 and up to 20 subjects, prompting many Malaysians to query the grading system as well questioning whether students and parents are merely interested to break the record for having the most A‘s.
AhWee.com summarizes the current education system and comments on the Education Ministry’s recent move:
Maximum subjects will go from unlimited to ten and to compensate for that, core subjects will go from six (Malay, English, Mathematics, Science, History and Islamic Studies/Moral Studies) to four to allow more space for electives. All the four core subjects are yet to be determined […] The fact that a limitation of 10 subjects was introduced in SPM also allows me to think it as an act to limit the intelligence of Malaysian citizens. If a student has the capacity to take 15 subjects and score A in every single one of them (scaled or not), let it be. Why limit their potential to excel academically?
The recent move came weeks after announcing that a local student, Nik Nur Madihah, scored 20 A’s in the SPM Examination 2008. Cyza Sector writes:
If you wonder who she is, let me briefly introduce her. Nik Nur Madihah is a fantastic, brilliant and superb girl who scored 20As in SPM 2008. She’s currently the national record holder for SPM candidate with the highest amount of “A”. She’s the oldest of 4 in a simple and poor family dwelling in Kelantan […] Nik Nur Madihah story of success and the way she lead her life should be an example to everybody, I mean parents and children.
While she is an inspiration to many students, there are other Malaysians who think otherwise:
Nik Nur Madihah's Memoir
Vaijanthi: 20 A's! My God! It's almost as if these government exams are becoming meaningless these days. Every other kid is scoring a string of perfect A's. Best part is there aren't enough spots in universities for them all, so I wonder what the point is sometimes.
Pakmet: Before Madihah, there was Nur Amalina, who got 17As (or was it 18? who's keeping count anyway) and she just disappeared. It's a good thing that they're trying to limit the number of subjects now, as these kids have more in them than just studying 24/7.
Alhariesz: She ACHIEVED! Hopefully she won't be having those bad dreams saying “I wish I could have done better,” while end up being a cleaning lady
MySarawak manages to get many viewpoints from Malaysians regarding this recent change in the Education system that will take affect only in 2010:
Teo Eng Hock, a father of three, gave his thumbs up to the move, saying it would benefit the parents as it meant less pressure on the students.“Having less subjects to study will help reduce the pressure and on top of that, can help parents save money as children need not go for additional tuition classes,” he added.
Single mother Catherine Loh, however, felt the move might not augur well for the students as it would deprive children of the opportunity to showcase their talent in their best subjects.With only 10 subjects to take, Loh said some students might have to give up their favourite subjects like Art and Chinese which were not under the compulsory subjects lists.
The Sanctuary questions the purpose of taking more than five subjects:
What do you think? 10 subjects not enough? Pfft. Some people couldn't even get 5 straight As. Yet you want more than 10 subjects? Well, for me taking more than 10 subjects such as Nur Amalina Che Bakri who scored 17 1As in 2004 and Azali Azlan, 21 As in 2007 is rather a personal challenge than to break a record in the country. I mean, 21 subjects? What for? At certain point, 9 As are enough to settle for a scholarship.
Malaysia Rocks agrees with the government decision as it is important for students to understand the subject he/she is studying:
It is time for the education ministry to limit the amount of subject that a person can take in the SPM examination. If swift action is not taken, students might be misled to believe scoring countless of A’s is the key to tetiarary success but the working world has proven it otherwise. I would rather have students scoring 10 A’s who knows and understand what he is studying rather than scoring 50 A’s just to break the previous students record.
Lastly, as scholarships are awarded based on SPM results, Observer thinks it is harder now to award scholarships to the most deserving students:
Let's say you have 2 students, one scored 10 As and another 16As. In the new system, both would score 10A's, does that make it any easier to distiguish one another? Highly questionable in terms of the logic provided.
As the new system will only be implemented starting next year, there will be at least a few students who will be trying to beat Nik Nur Madihah’s record as the top scorer and receive nationwide media attention.  As the new system will eliminate the ongoing rife competition among each other, are Malaysian students really ready for the change?

author: Syafique Shuib


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Nepal: A fresh start? · Global Voices
Bhumika Ghimire

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, Image by Utudanuki, Wikipedia
After weeks of wrangling among political parties in Nepal, veteran Communist leader and  former general secretary of Nepal communist party (United Marxist and Leninist) (CPN UML) Madhav Kumar Nepal was “selected” as Nepal's prime minister. Mr. Nepal's job, especially at this point, brings a heavy baggage of problems-some of which could potentially torpedo his government.
Foreign policy is on top of his to-do list. Neighboring India recently re-elected the coalition lead by Congress party and China is showing renewed interest in Nepal's strategic position in the region. Nishchal N. Pandey  at NepalNews comments on “Prime Minister Nepal’s Foreign Policy Priorities”:
“The manner with which our leaders have cheapened themselves by repetitively making the same mistake of frequently meeting foreign envoys to ask their advice on domestic political developments has taken its toll on the authority and respectability of the Nepali state as a whole. Therefore, the first foreign policy priority of newly appointed Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal should be to invite the Prime Minister of India Dr. Man Mohan Singh and the President of China Hu Jintao to pay an official visit to Nepal at their earliest convenience. [..]
The second priority must be to correct the drift of our conduct of international affairs.”
Mr. Nepal also has to deal with disgruntled Maoists. His party was a member of Maoist lead coalition government but when the issue of army chief Rookmangud Katwal's sacking came up they decided not to backup the former guerrillas-which ultimately contributed to downfall of Maoist lead government.
Robert Lindsay, an American communist, sounds off on the power struggle.
“What’s particularly disgusting is the behavior of other Nepalese Communist parties, who have refused to work with the Maoists and have lined up behind feudalism, the monarchists and reaction. These parties were in parliament for over a decade during the 1990’s and were never able to accomplish a damned thing. Talk about useless.
I think the Madhesis are originally from India and live in the Far South near the Indian border. They are staunch Hindus and seem to harbor secessionist tendencies. I think the Terai  (an ethnic group) may be much the same, but I am not sure.
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) or CPN (UML) is the name of one of the sellout Communist parties.”
The Maoists have been staging protest during constituent assembly meetings, which some say is disrupting the constitution writing process. Mr. Nepal declared immediately after taking oath of office that drafting the new constitution is his first priority.
Here is Mr. Nepal addressing the nation, after assuming his duties-in Nepali. Basically, he stressed on the “new constitution drafting and taking the ongoing peace process to a logical conclusion.”
At Becononline Barun Roy has an article from Express Buzz on the Maoists allegedly stalling the constituent assembly meetings:
“The new Communist Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, who replaced Maoist premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda Monday, has a fledgling three-member cabinet. Bitter infighting in his own party as well as his main allies has retarded the formation of a full cabinet.
Though Madhav Kumar says his top priority is writing a new constitution by next summer, the growing Maoist opposition will make it near-impossible.”
Working with the Maoists seems to be an uphill task for prime minister Nepal. Dealing with expectation of the people is also going to be tough, especially since the people are very skeptical about his “selection” and what he will be able to accomplish in the current environment of political instability.
Here is what the people feel about Mr. Nepal as the new prime minister of Nepal:

author: Bhumika Ghimire


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Pakistan: The Garage School · Global Voices
Rezwan

All Things Pakistan introduces Shabina Mustafa's The Garage School. “She is waging a struggle against the forces of anarchy with her deep love and caring for the children of domestic workers from her neighborhood. And she is winning.”

author: Rezwan


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Panama: HB Beer Celebrating its 75th Anniversary · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Drago of La Boca de Drago [es] provides homage to HB, the Panamanian beer celebrating its 75th anniversary.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Swine flu enters Vietnam · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Vietnam recorded its first Influenza A (H1N1) case. A 23-year old student tested positive for the virus in the southern Ho Chi Minh City. The student arrived from the United States via Hong Kong.

author: Mong Palatino


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Togo: Democratic culture · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

revedafrique, during a trip home to his village in Togo, was disappointed by the democratic spirit of the youth: “Some still believe, for example, that criticizing the government's policies can land you in prison” [Fr]

author: Jennifer Brea


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Trinidad & Tobago: A Sorry Address  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago bloggers are unimpressed with the President's address to the nation over the Integrity Commission fiasco.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Ukraine: Abandoned Village in Chernobyl Exclusion Zone · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Chernobyl and Eastern Europe posts a video of an abandoned village in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Ukraine: Kyiv Days · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Michelle Knisley of Greetings from Kyiv posts pictures from the celebration of Kyiv Days in the Ukrainian capital.


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Ukraine: Notes on Museums · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Uncataloged Museum posts observations on Ukraine and Ukrainian museums – here, here, here, and here.


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Ukraine: Photos of Crimea · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Beautiful photos of Crimea, Ukraine – by Oleksa Haivoronsky, a Crimean historian, writer and employee of the Bakhchisaray Khan Palace Museum.


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Barbados, Haiti: Hurricane Season 2009 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbadian Pull! Push! and Haiti Innovation rue the arrival of the 2009 hurricane season.


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Bermuda, Turks & Caicos: Report Received  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“After months of waiting, the Commission of Inquiry into corruption and official misconduct in the Turks & Caicos Islands has delivered its final report”: Bermudian blogger Vexed Bermoothes provides an update.


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Costa Rica: How to Prevent More Road Accidents · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Worried about the fatalities as a result of car accidents on the roads of Costa Rica, Harol wonders what can be done and what punishments can help prevent even more deaths? [es]


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Costa Rica: Suspension of Activities by the Red Cross · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The Red Cross in Costa Rica has decided to suspend services to urban neighborhoods on the outskirts of San José because two of its ambulances were attacked by delinquents. This decision will affect many who need services as a result of a small handful of people writes Opinion 3 CCV [es] .


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Dominica: Tourism Potential  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Dominica Weekly thinks that “tourism can do more, much more, particularly in meeting Dominica’s need for…sustainable jobs.”


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Ecuador: Evaluating Public School Teachers · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

The reform of the educational system in Ecuador has been a goal of the current government, and now it has its sights on the performance of the public school teachers across the country. The executive branch has signed a new law  (.pdf doc) requiring all teachers to be evaluated during the week of May 25. However, the National Teacher's Union [es] (UNE for its initials in Spanish) is resisting and has openly defied the order saying that it is not clear whether or not such testing is legal. Only a small percentage of the teaching ranks showed up to complete the evaluation, and now it has opened up discussion about how to make sure that the children are getting the best quality education from the nation's teachers.
Unionized teachers marching for a salary increase on the streets of Machala, province of El Oro, Ecuador. Photo used under permission by http://www.diariocorreo.com.ec
Many groups of the Teacher's Union are expressing themselves about the evaluation. The UNE of Carchi [es], for example, have started a protest in support of those schools that refused to be evaluated [es].
David Guamba of  Ecuador Noticias [es] explains what the evaluation consists of and wonders what the teachers are afraid of:
Según el Ministro del ramo, Raul Vallejo, se aplicarán dos tipos de evaluaciones: interna y externa. La interna la realizan colegas, directivos, estudiantes, padres y madres, y el mismo maestro (autoevaluación); además se realiza la observación de una hora de clase. Todas estas evaluaciones internas suman el 50 por ciento de la calificación. Por otra parte está la evaluación externa, que consiste en la aplicación de pruebas sobre conocimientos específicos que tendrán un peso del 30 por ciento, prueba de conocimientos pedagógicos que tendrá un peso del 10 por ciento y prueba de habilidades didácticas que tendrá un peso del 10 por ciento de la calificación total.
Los docentes que obtengan una evaluación final mayor a 90 por ciento (excelente) accederán a becas o pasantías, serán maestros en programas de capacitación, y recibirán un estímulo económico de 1.200 dólares cada año, hasta la nueva evaluación, que será después de cuatro años.
According to the minister, Raul Vallejo, there will be two types of evaluations: internal and external. The internal will be performed by colleagues, supervisors, students, parents, and the teachers themselves (self-evaluation), and it also includes an observation of one hour of class. All these evaluations account for 50 percent of the rating. There is also an external evaluation, which involves testing on specific knowledge that will have a weight of 30 percent, evidence of pedagogical skills that will weigh 10 percent, and a teaching skills test that will have a weight of 10 percent of the total score.
Teachers who obtain a final assessment more than 90 per cent (excellent) will have access to scholarships or internships, they will be instructors in teaching training programs, and will receive an economic stimulus of $ 1,200 each year until the new assessment takes place, which will be after four years .
Teachers that do not pass the first evaluation will be required to take a year of training after which they will be given the opportunity to re-take the evaluation.  Only then, if he or she does not pass, will the teacher be terminated from the teaching post.
Belem Proaño of Temas Para Debatir [es] agrees that refusing to be evaluated has a negative impact on the teachers and that this resistence is being seen as resistence to change, which is something that the country is going through:
La educación es un tema muy sensible dentro de una sociedad porque tiene relación con su futuro. Si los maestros se niegan a ser evaluados, más bien presionados por su sindicato, se enfrentan a una imagen mediocre frente a los ciudadanos. Este es un tema muy comentado en el país pero todo se ha quedado prácticamente en la polémica.
Personalmente pienso que ningún profesional debería tener miedo a una evaluación porque las evaluaciones no son represiones sino un instrumento que permite conocer la realidad de la educación. Con ello las medidas que se tomen o las planificaciones que se realicen serán más exactas o menos propensas al error.
Education is a very sensitive topic within the society because it is related to their future. If the teachers refuse to be evaluated, as pressured by their union, they face a mediocre image in front of their fellow citizens. This is a subject much talked about in the country, but everything has remained controversial.
Personally, I think that no professional should be afraid of evaluation because evaluations are not repressions, but rather an instrument that allows for knowing the reality of education. With those measures, the planning will be more exact or less prone to error.
Much of this resistance is bringing into discussion the role of the teacher's union and whether or not the union is politically motivated.  Even though the blogger at Ecuador Sin Censura [es] is openly against the government of President Rafael Correa, he thinks that it is a good thing that he is standing up to the teacher's union which has a close connection with the political party the Democratic People's Movement (MPD).
Former Education Minister Alfredo Vera Arrata criticizes the MPD in his blog because a group of 30 members of the Democratic Popular Movement (MPD), who are presumably teachers even though they have never been in a classroom, are manipulating the situation and they are collecting salaries.  Vera is one of the supporters, along with current Education Minister Vallejo, who is behind the alternative to the UNE.  The Unitary Front of Education Workers (FUTE) which has been accused to be dividing the larger UNE [es]. This arm of organized teachers has more than 40 thousand members  and presents a dilemma to the UNE.
While support for the evaluation is widespread, there is still some sympathy for teachers across the country. Columnist Fernando Balseca of the newspaper  El Universo says that the government is forgetting that teachers are underpaid and that the country has never had an Education Minister who has come from the classroom. He also notes that it is ironic that the officials leading the charge on the evaluation have come from the same schools and even taught by some of the same teachers that are now threatened with dismissal if they do not take the evaluation.
However, some are still criticizing President Correa for his handling of the protests and evaluation process. Again, the blogger of Ecuador Sin Censura [es] does not see why the government is invoking Article 38, paragraph of the Teacher's Act as basis for firing teachers who refuse to be evaluated. It says that teachers can be fired for proven incompetence, and that refusing to take a test does not demonstrate that fact.
Finally,  Julio C. Enriquez of Ultimatum [es] thinks Correa has some limits and calls for dialogue between both parties. He asks why Correa, instead of challenging leaders and members of the UNE, why doesn't he call for a national dialogue and allows the educators to have a fair hearing and to present their own proposal so that together they can work out what is best for Ecuadorian education:
Siendo así las cosas ¿Porqué Correa aparece altisonante, con una política de amenazas hacia los profesores de la UNE, francamente tonta. ¿Por qué no convoca al magisterio a un gran diálogo nacional para enfrentar juntos el desafío de transformar para siempre el pesado fardo de una educación básica preterida por todos los gobiernos de turno? ¿Por qué Correa no interroga a la UNE acerca de que propuesta tiene para transformar la educación y la compara con su visión del mundo ahora que como máximo representante de su clase social –la pequeña burguesía progresista–,se erige en clase dominante en el poder? ¿Por qué el método de choque?
UNE's leaders are expected to celebrate a National Council meeting on Monday, June 1st to discuss strategies about future actions, and they already are calling for national march on June 11th. Rafael Méndez planned to attend the rally that Correa called in Guayaquil on Friday, May 29 in support of his evaluation proposal.  Méndez believes that it is important to support Correa and cites the reason that 12 thousand teachers (members of UNE) have been cashing their checks without even work.  He adds:
de ser así, ellos no tendrían autoridad moral para dejar de año a los estudiantes que se nieguen a hacer exámenes en los colegios.

author: Milton Ramirez


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El Salvador: A New Era With Funes as President · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Victor of Alta Hora de la Noche [es] writes that “this could be the start of something beautiful” in reference to the new era ushered in by the June 1st inauguration of new president of El Salvador, Mauricio Funes.


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GM Bankruptcy And Its Effect In South Asia · Global Voices
Rezwan

South Asia Blog discusses how the filing of bankruptcy by GM will affect South Asian countries, particularly India.


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Iran: Bloggers react to mosque bombing · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

An  explosion occurred on Thursday, at the Ali Ibn-Abitaleb mosque, the second largest Shiite mosque in Zahedan in Iran. At least 25 people were killed. Three men accused of being involved in the mosque bombing were hanged on Saturday morning. A Sunni militant group called Jundullah, meaning God’s Brigade, took responsibility for the attack on its website and said it was a suicide bombing.
The Iranian government is accusing the United States of being involved in the bombing operation. American officials deny it. After the explosion Zahedan spiraled into chaos and Shi'ite and Sunni populations were reportedly involved in violence. You can see a summary of what happened in the following video:
Pardeh protested against the hanging of three people just 48 hours after the explosion. The blogger says these people should be tried in a court for war criminals, and that a terrorist act should not be an excuse for the government to violate international or national laws.
Amin Sabeti, a Zahedan based blogger, has published several photos of victims of the mosque explosion and asks, “Mr. Terrorist what is our sin to become sacrificed for your ideas?”
Bamdadi has and republished Syed Saleem Shahzad's article in Asia Times where he talks about  al-Qaeda's alliance with the Iranian group Jundullah.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Jamaica, France: Extending Sympathy  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican blogger Life, Unscripted, on the Rock remembers the “families and friends of all those who were aboard Air France Flight 447.”


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Jordan: A Guide to Taxis  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Taking a taxi in Amman, Jordan? Ksharif has some tips to share in this post.


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Kenya: A nation laughing at itself · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Is Kenya ready to laugh at itself? A new blog called Peculiarly Kenyan intends to make Kenyans laugh at themselves. Peculiarly Kenyan is “a testimony to the curiously Kenyan habits, smells, tastes and flavours that make this country of ours hilarious at best and annoying at worst.”
Peculiarly Kenyan:
This blog will be a testimony to the curiously Kenyan habits, smells, tastes and flavours that make this country of ours hilarious at best and annoying at worst.
To begin with, let's look at entering a lift in any building. You stand on the ground floor, waiting for the lift doors to open. Civilization prevails as those around you blankly stare up at the numbers depicting the painstakingly slow descent of the lift. 5, 4, 3….3…..3….3-who the hell is keeping the lift on the 3rd floor for so bloody long??-2, 1…1….1…..arghhhhhh why couldn't that lazy oaf take the stairs one floor down? ahhh finally, ground floor. Lift doors open, all sense of civility vaporizes as the crowd around you pushes and shoves itself into the lift, without waiting for the occupants to empty out. And since you were in the middle of the crowd, you find yourself physically lifted up and into the vestibule, dodging the filthly looks of the visibly irritated occupants trying to extricate themselves out. Oh goodness, somebody left something in the lift, it's a strong distinctly palpable body odour that is almost a living being, an invisible stalker in the corner of the lift that very nearly engulfs you and assaults your nasal passages!
Do you know of a road in Nairobi that miraculously transform itself from a two lane highway into an 8 lane highway in the same speed it takes a Porsche to attain maximum speed 0-100mph in 4 seconds?:
it's official, Thika Road has now been designated Thicker Road. And only because it's the only road in Nairobi that can miraculously transform itself from a two lane highway into an 8 lane highway in the same speed it takes a porsche to attain maximum speed 0-100mph in 4 seconds…or something along those lines. I was driving upcountry to Nanyuki to spend a lovely madaraka day weekend. In extremely typical fashion, a guy in a peugot 504 (which have become extremely rare contraptions in this Toyota country) has car problems on the right lane and makes the utterly wise decision to deal with said problems on the spot. To his right, is the road shoulder, not even 3 feet away where he and the other male occupant of the car could have pushed the problematic car. To his left is a long snake of at least 3 semi-trailers heavily laden with goods en route to the North Eastern frontier that have reduced traffic to a snail pace.
In the time it takes to say, what the bloody hell, sixty four matatus have taken the very space that 504 man should have parked his vehicle to form another 4 lanes of traffic to maintain the Soul II Soul mantra of “keep on moving”. Needless to say, we came to a complete standstill at the bewitching hour of 1 p.m.
What about meeting a client “holding a scrunched up handkerchief, wet with nasal productivity but still full of utility judging by the way he kept wiping his nose as he strode masterfully into the room”?:
Went to see a new client today. He walks into the room holding a scrunched up handkerchief, wet with nasal productivity but still full of utility judging by the way he kept wiping his nose as he strode masterfully into the room. I silently cringed, praying feverishly that he would not proffer his hand for the ubiquitous handshake that is so part of civility in this Nairobi. Frankly speaking, if we had to do without this unhygienic social norm I don't think any one of us would be the worse for social wear. Needless to say, my prayer hit the highway to heaven and was answered in remarkable time (memo to self, send thank you note to God) and he bustled into his seat and started off the meeting with nary a physical acknowledgement.
Do you drive 40 kms per hour on the right lane of a two lane highway in Nairobi? Then, you must be driving a Toyota Vitz and you need to put Peculiarly Kenyan blog on your blacklist:
if you drive a Toyota Vitz, stop reading this right now and put this blog on your blacklist. I hate Vitz drivers. why? every first time driver who's got a pay rise and can therefore afford to take a car loan from a bank defaults to buying a Vitz. so what happens, the person driving at 40 kms per hour on the bloody RIGHT lane of a two lane highway such as Thika Road or Jogoo Road or Mbagathi way is always A VITZ driver…..arghhhh! the person making a U Turn, yes U turn on bloody Ngong road at 5:45 p.m peak driving time is always a VITZ driver, the person who decides to overtake the slow moving lorry and then forgets mid-overtaking that the rest of the cars behind him are also trying to overtake is always a VITZ driver…..


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Kurdistance: Launching the Arab Association for Kurdish Rights · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

On June 1st a new initiative was launched by the Alliance for Kurdish Rights, the Arab Association for Kurdish Rights. In their announcement, the organization is described thus:
We are a group of students, journalists, and activists from various Arab states who are concerned for and supportive of Kurdish human rights as well as the conservation of Kurdish history and culture. Due to injustices faced throughout the Middle East, many Kurds have found a home in neighboring Arab countries, where most Kurdish communities are entirely isolated. We are using this campaign in order to draw attention to not just their plight, but also to raise understanding of the Kurdish culture and allow them to be outspoken members of our communities.
The Alliance for Kurdish Rights is a project of the activists at Mideast Youth, and today I chatted with its Director, Esra’a Al Shafei, about this new venture.
The official launch of this Arab Association for Kurdish rights is today?
We launched it on Twitter last night, but the mailing list went out today. The response so far from the Kurdish community has been amazing.
A few years ago, the Alliance for Kurdish Rights had a petition supporting Kurdish rights, how is this new initiative different?
That petition was a specific one to unblock three websites, and it came from Middle Easterners in general as opposed to Kurds, but also Turks and Iranians. The three websites were prominent Kurdish news sites that people needed to stay in touch with their communities and with current Kurdish events that are never covered in local papers. To block them was a tragedy for many. Through that, we met a lot of Kurdish students and activists who really felt the need to join in and create something better. The Alliance for Kurdish Rights was launched a few years ago, but was hacked and we lost all data. If you remember, a Turkish flag replaced the index page and we couldn't recover the content. We started from scratch and relaunched late last summer. The participants were mainly Kurds. I got together a group of Arabs and said ‘we gotta help them out’ but in a way that officially recognizes the effort…..so Kurds can realize that there are Arabs who believe in their rights.
You've said that the Kurdish response has been positive. Have they been posting their responses on the web? How has their support manifested itself?
Mostly via email. We have a lot of Kurds on our newsletter and they were replying to the email sent saying how this was the first time they have seen Arabs openly supporting Kurds in this manner. There was also this comment: “This initiative step should be appreciated. I, as a Kurd from Iraq, welcome warmly this huge step toward the recognizing the Kurdish rights and remove the decades long of suppression and assimilation. This will also improve bilaterial relations between Kurds and Arabs, and also with other communities. Good job. In Kurdish, destan xosh.”
Turkish hackers have been notorious for destroying Kurdish sites, I would expect that this new site would again make you a target. Are you prepared for another attack?
Yes we are prepared, we have daily backups and are servers are much stronger than before. We are now on a dedicated server and monitor our logs for each error or suspicious attempts for an attack. I mean, it won't be easy, of course there is no doubt that hackers tend to outsmart you pretty fast. In 2007, each time we relaunched again, the hacking would continue- literally within hours or one day. We had no one to help us handle it. We don't remember what was said in Turkish, but Turkish friends said the statements weren't kind, obviously. It wasn't the average nationalist statement, like “long live Turkey”, but things likening Kurds to animals who must be “sprayed to death.” This was two years ago but these brutal statements made us more determined to continue the efforts.
We are working now on a video page of Kurdish content, our own Kurdish video service to archive Kurdish videos, historical, cultural and otherwise. I always felt a responsibility to speak up for Kurds as an Arab. I was appalled at the lack of attention and sympathy they generated within the Arab world. I mean you are talking about a minority that suffered through genocide, severe discrimination, execution, humiliation, refusal to legal or ethnic recognition….
I met a lot of Kurds in the past who kept asking “where are the Arab voices on our behalf”? I had no answer, until now. So really, what I hope to offer is a really strong voice: an Arab one in favor of Kurdish human rights, one that can change the current relationship (or lack thereof!) between Kurds and Arabs. I know this is already happening. The responses from Kurds from Syria or Iraq saying things like, “I have new-found respect and appreciation for Arabs, even if not all of them were responsible for our suffering.” There were racist tensions between Kurds and Arabs in the past. We are answering some crucial questions.
Have you had much Arab feedback? And are the Arabs that have responded living in the Middle East or in the diaspora?
In the Middle East, mostly Iraq. We have a few members already from Iraq; two of the articles were written by Iraqis.
How has this dialogue been carried out between these groups?
We have gathered members from 16 countries so far to serve as sorts of “spokespeople.” Their responsibilities include getting this message across to the Kurdish communities in their own countries. It was hard for many to reject because they are aware of the history. How can you justify genocide and hundreds of thousands people dying tragic deaths for decades on end? All the Arabs I know felt a deep sense of responsibility to speak up. This was their wake up call.
So you are encouraging the ones joining this to go out into their local communities to speak up?
Definitely. I want them to find the Kurdish communities. And as Arabs I want them to lift a hand, express interest in who they are, in their work, recognize their ethnicity, and express their willingness to coexist.
This is definitely a first but a major first step. In a perfect world how would you like to see this project expand?
Well I am a big fan of interactive and dynamic media. I want to see programs by Arabs that discuss Kurdish issues, and then joined up by their Kurdish friends, hence us giving away Flip cameras to make this possible. But we also want to note that Kurds don't only exist in the areas where most originate, many have moved to neighboring countries where they are equally ignored and sometimes discriminated against.
What would you say about this project to those that aren't Arab or Kurdish?
I'd tell them that there are things that frankly only we can solve as members from the region. If a Kurd was abused in an Arab country, or in the name of Arabs (forced to convert his/her ethnicity), whose responsibility is it to stand up for this injustice? Ours, no one else's.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Mexico: Young Graffiti Writers Arrested in Monterrey · Global Voices
Issa Villarreal

Thirteen teenagers and young adults from the metropolitan area of Monterrey, city in the North of México, were sent to prison after a “graffiti attack” on an overpass along one of the busiest avenues in the city. They were part of a group of 300 graffiti “writers” that organized the event through Fotologs (a social network similar to Flickr to upload photos) and websites. During the afternoon of May 17, they covered three lanes on Constitution Avenue with graffiti, with the paintings measuring one kilometer in length on walls on both sides of the lanes, taking on the name “macropinta”  [macropainting].
According to Mexican newspaper Milenio [es], of the thirteen young boys arrested, 7 have paid 20,000 pesos [approx. 1,520 USD] individually in bail and fines in order to be released. However, the ones that have not covered the bail are still in prison and, as newspaper El Porvenir [es] warns, they could spend more than 10 years in jail for causing damage on third-party property, with the aggravating circumstance that it was made as part of a “gang.” In sum, fines and bails have reached 200,000 pesos [approx. 15,200 USD] for these young boys of medium and lower socioeconomic levels.
The event caught media attention because the 300 graffiti writers aged between 11 and 21 years old (in Mexico, legal age is 18) and their “attack” was made in order to record it for their graffiti video series called “Destrucción visual” [Visual destruction] [video]. Publishing flyers in Fotologs [example, es] and invitations as comments in the Fotologs of their friends, they organized meeting points for the “attack” that would take place on a Sunday afternoon.
This is a video taken by one of the participants:
In the coverage of the arrests, the media compared the event to the protests of “los tapados” [“the blockers”] (violent groups that blocked the transit of avenues a couple of months ago) and to the elaborated system of drug-trade and organized crime in the city.
Nonetheless, a week after the “attack,” a debate was held on the television show Cambios [Changes] on local channel 12. In the transmission, government employees, teachers, activists and graffiti artists recognized publicly that the sanctions to the young boys had been inappropriate. It was mentioned that two minors remained arrested for more than two days while the authorities processed the event, violating the Convention On The Rights of the Child.
Alejandra Rangel, President of the Social Development Council of the State of Nuevo Leon, argued the following in the debate [video]:
Somos una sociedad, específicamente en este estado de Nuevo León, muy excluyente. Porque si revisamos a niveles internacionales y en otros estados, aquí hay verdaderamente un exceso y una reacción exagerada frente a los jóvenes [que hacen graffiti] que además están protestando por algo.
Graffiti attack on monterrey. Photo by La Pola. Used following Creative Commons License: www.delapola.com
The reactions of the citizens are mixed: some call for an increase in the sanctions for those who practice graffiti, increased fines and detention time; others consider that graffiti is not a crime that deserves imprisonment.
User @paulinoo shares through Twitter [es] his encounter with the paintings the same day they were made:
Ayer, venta de discos en bazaar. De regreso, me llamó la atención el nuevo macro-graffiti. “Siempre paso y no me había fijado”, pensé.
MexMen writes very straightforward against graffiti   in his blog Mexablog [es]:
Que poca madre de esta gente, pinches cholos vale madre, nada más dan dolores de cabeza a la sociedad. Hasta los padres andan de llorones por su ‘angelito’ como si no supieran lo que hacen, cárcel a todos, hasta a los menores.
In a comment to the article written by blogger SinFUL regarding the macropainting [es], user Roxx considers that illegal graffiti could difficult [es] to obtain more “cultural” spaces and projects for young people:
mientras se sigan haciendo las cosas asi al chile de forma ilegal el gobierno, los fondos de cultura, arte o a quienes correspondan fomentar espacios para este tipo de acciones, seguiran sin tomar en cuenta o realizando apoyos minimos a quienes de vdd quieren hacer las cosas bien. somos una sociedad, debe existir el respeto pero la marabunta esta acostumbrada a arrebatar o perjudicar creyendose en su derecho…
On the other side of the story, YouTube user reggaeesmivida12, advocates for the crew involved in the attack in one of the videos he recorded that Sunday [es]:
No somos delicuentes
Solo expresamos lo qe sentimos con aerosol (Y)
saludos para la bandera qe fue y para loqe a atoraron qe mal pedo pero ps (Y) ni pedo asi es estoo y asi va seguir siento a darle para adelante bandaa sbrs
We are not criminals
We only express what we feel with aerosol spray paint
Greetings to all who were part of it and those who were caught it is a shame… but that is the way it is and that is the way it will be, so let’s move forward you all
Fotolog user Noktur_one, also part of the graffiti attack, questions the younger boys of the group [es] that revealed details of “Destrucción Visual” videos to the media:
ESE DE TODA LA BANDA KE FUE A DEJAR SU MARKA
CHIDO POR AIIER FUE EL ATAKE MAS VERGA NUNKA ANTES VISTO..
(…)
KE MAL PEDO POR LOS KE AGARRARON FUE POR LA KULPA DE LOS MORROS PALETAS KE IVAN Y NO VALEN VERGA..
TO THOSE WHO WENT TO LEAVE THEIR MARK
COOL FOR YESTERDAY IT WAS THE MOST AWESOME ATTACK EVER SEEN
(…)
BAD LUCK TO THOSE WHO WERE CAPTURED, IT WAS THE KIDS’ FAULT THAT WERE GOSSIPING AND ARE NOT WORTH A F*CK
User @ivanramos from Twitter considers that what happened in the overpass of Constitution Avenue is part of a movement in the city [es]:
más que jóvenes divirtiéndose, los graffiteros son una muestra de que mty está viva, hay gente que se quiere expresar y no caer en represión
In the Mexablog article, user LUEGONE comments that there is no way to stop the graffiti movement [es], and taking spaces is similar to what is seen in political campaigns:
Chingon lo que hicieron esos lokos…
LOS POLITICOS HACEN LO MISMO PERO PARA SU PUBLICIDAD
ellos estan dando el ejemplo…
“DE QUE SE KEJAN”
Que legalicen el graffiti o no,
el movimiento seguira
en todos lados,
por todos lados
y siempre!!!
Awesome what those crazy dudes did …
POLITICIANS DO THE SAME BUT WITH PUBLICITY
they are giving the example…
“WHAT DO YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT?”
Graffiti legalized or not
the movement will continue
everywhere
and through every way
and
forever!!!
After the growing attention to the “attack”, several videos have been published in YouTube to encourage the young boys imprisoned because of their participation on the overpass on Constitution Avenue. Their videos include amateur recordings [example] taken with the cellphones by those who were part of the “attack”, as well as photographs of the paintings before they were cleaned by the municipality government. Also, videos of “Destrucción Visual” can be found in YouTube, featuring examples of the graffiti made by them.
At the same time, local television shows focused on recognized “legal” graffiti, street art and murals created with permission from the owners, in an attempt to understand this type of artistic activity.

author: Issa Villarreal


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Nepal: Energy Matters · Global Voices
Rezwan

Nepali Perspectives…. discusses the current situation of the energy Industry in Nepal and its perils and potentials.


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Pakistan: The Plight Of The IDPs · Global Voices
Rezwan

Deadpan Thoughts writes about the plights of the IDPs of Swat Valley region in Pakistan: “Only about 300,000 people have been provided shelter in the camps set up by the UNHCR and Pakistan’s government. This is hardly 10% of the total number of displaced people.”


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Palestine: American Students Visit Gaza · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Gazan blogger Lina describes a visit by a group of American students to Gaza, which she really enjoyed. However she concludes: “This experience opened my eyes…left me really frustrated…I really would like to have the life of freedom. Travel, see the world and know more!”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Peru: Deteriorating International Relations with Bolivia · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Lately, the Bolivian President Evo Morales is not on good terms neither with his Peruvian counterpart, Alan García, nor with Peru in general. The impasse has been caused by the asylum granted to former Bolivian ministers in Peru, as well as some recent statements by Morales about the lawsuit presented at the International Court of Justice in the Hague regarding the maritime boundary with Chile. Morales insinuated that Peru presented this lawsuit to prevent Bolivia from achieving its long-awaited access to the Pacific Ocean. Bloggers have not delayed to give their opinions.
Photo by Journey 1972 and used under Creative Commons license. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thejourney1972/3389473220/
Luis Alberto Chavez of  Polithika [es] writes about his opinion about the position from the Bolivian president, especially after reading an interview in the international press:
Sumiso ante Chile y provocador con el Perú. Así se muestra Evo Morales en la entrevista ofrecida al diario chileno La Tercera. No opina sobre coyuntura política chilena, se expresa con amabilidad cuando recuerda sus primeros tratos con el Presidente Lagos y la agenda de 13 puntos que mantiene con el país del sur. Con el Perú, en cambio, se va de boca. Se encona. Llega al extremo de decir que tiene información de que nuestro país perderá en la demanda por establecer el límite marítimo planteado ante La Haya. Alucinante. Evo está en el mejor momento de su relación con Chile y al mismo tiempo en el peor con el nuestro, traicionando lo que ha sido siempre el comportamiento del pueblo boliviano.
Cesar Reyna of the blog Reserva Moral [es] sees the reason why Morales makes these types of statements:
Si opinó provocativamente fue para crear un incidente que justifique la ruptura de relaciones diplomáticas (al buscar la reacción de las autoridades peruanas). Culpar a Perú de que sus acciones legales obstaculizan las aspiraciones bolivianas de obtener salida al mar también le sirve para transmitirle a su electorado que las negociaciones con Chile se han estancado por motivos ajenos a su gestión. Ambas lecturas de la situación son válidas porque el mandatario altiplánico mencionó que su país podría romper relaciones con el nuestro a raíz de la concesión de asilo a tres ex funcionarios del Gobierno de Sánchez de Losada. Evo ha calculado cada una de sus palabras -aunque no lo parezca- ya que después de retirar a su embajador en Lima el siguiente paso sería desmembrar a la CAN (Comunidad Andina de Naciones).
At El Blog Que Tal Raza [es],  the blogger focuses on previous statements made by Morales on the subject of former Bolivian ministers who were granted asylum in Peru:
Quiere demandar al Perú ante La Haya por conceder asilo a ex ministros. El anuncio del presidente de Bolivia, Evo Morales, sobre una eventual demanda contra el Perú ante la Corte Internacional de Justicia de La Haya, para revertir el asilo concedido a los tres ex ministros bolivianos del gobierno de Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, es considerado “una posición de ignorancia” por parte de expertos y autoridades peruanas, quienes señalan que de concretarse dicha querella el mandatario boliviano hará un “papelón internacional”.
Finally, at the blog Renatto Real Politik [es] doesn't believe that the Bolivian people share Morales’ opinions about their neighbor:
Me causa bastante extraneza que Evo Morales sea tan “amistoso” con los chilenos. Yo no se… pero, ¿Por qué tanto afin con el pueblo sureño? Esta claro que la ambición de todo gobernante boliviano, post “Guerra del Pacifico” quizo, a todo costa, recuperar la salida al mar. ¿Qué dirán los bolivianos? No, realmente no creo que los bolivianos compartan el sentimiento “antiperuano” de Evo Morales.
For more information in Spanish, Guillermo Tejada Dapuetto has collected several newspaper articles [es] on the subject. Also the post by Silvio Rendón at Gran Combo Club [es] provides links to previous posts analyzing the complicated relationship between Peru, Chile and Bolivia. For now, it is still far too early to know the consequences of the above statements, but officially both Chile and Peru have remained cautious in this regard.

author: Juan Arellano


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Puerto Rico: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Blogging from Puerto Rico, Gil the Jenius suggests that “the next time…some church leader destroys a community, remember that the good is out there…and though the media…will rush to the story like dogs to vomit, the good, though often harder to find, is infinitely more worthy of Our attention.”


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Republic of Congo: Nguesso’s reelection campaign · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Congopage [Fr] announces Dennis Sassou Nguesso‘s reelection campaign team.  Nguesso has been president of the Republic of Congo (more or less) since 1979.  Readers lament another sham election.


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Saudi Arabia: Blog Blocked, then Unblocked  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

In Saudi Arabia, Susie's big adventure was blocked by the authorities – and then unblocked. “I am officially up and running now. Whew! I still don't have any answers as to why, but the important thing is that it has been unblocked,” writes the American blogger, who is married to a Saudi and lives in the Kingdom.


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Puerto Rico, USA: Reactions to Sotomayor’s Nomination  · Global Voices
Michael Castro

The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court of the United States has brought mixed reactions from diverse sectors.  Being of Puerto Rican descent, blogger reactions from the island have been mostly full of joy and pride.  Traditional press sources have given the issue wide coverage, partly due to the fact that this is the first time a Puerto Rican has achieved this type of status – but while the mainstream media focused their articles on Sotomayor's qualifications for the post, a funny thing happened in the blogosphere.
Before her nomination, Myrisa, who blogs at En el país de los ciegos… [ES], wrote a post entitled: ¿Una puertorriqueña al Tribunal Supremo de EEUU?
…in response to which some visitors posted positive comments and Hiram Perez cautiously reminded everyone that she was still a nominee:
Nada, que habrá que esperar y estar pendiente e diversas fuentes. A veces los periódicos en PR están más interesados en presentar la noticia más interesante que la noticia más balanceada.
Speaking Boricua, in the post Sotomayor!! Sotomayor!!, said:
Anyways, I'm sure we've all heard quite a bit now on Sotomayor, some of it disturbing, and some really inspiring…it's pretty interesting that Sotomayor apparently supported secession, at least back in her undergrad days. I doubt though that anyone will hold that against her now, unlike some of her rulings.
Neffers, a visitor to the blog, commented:
Although I appreciate the way that she holds on to her Puerto Rican identity, the US celebrating the first Hispanic in the Supreme Court in the 21st century is as ridiculous as celebrating their first black president…
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad for both of them and it's about damn time the US behaved like they were not in the 19th century.
My fear, just as when Sila [Calderón] became PR's fist woman governor, is that as soon as one of them makes a mistake, or even does nothing bad but nothing good, they will blame it on the fact of their ‘condition’ : black, woman, hispanic…
Poder 5 [ES] took a different view:
Obama ha decepcionado a muchos, y las encuestas de aprobación están hundiendo su imágen. Entonces llega la hora de escoger al juez que llenará la vacante en el Tribunal Supremo y de todos los candidatos Obama escoge a una puertorriqueña diabética criada en el bronx.
This post generated an intense debate in the comments section.  The main issue?  Whether or not Sonia Sotomayor is a Puerto Rican, based on her place of birth.
Coloquiando con Don Segundo and Doña Bianca [ES] wrote:
La nacionalidad no se determina en donde naces, sino de donde vienes. Vasta ya con la discriminacion de puertorriqueños contra puertorriqueños.
La seleccion de Sotomayor fue la seleccion de una mujer puertorriqueña, de origen pobre, lo cual realza lo que los americanos tanto nos quieren negar…
Digizen [ES] added:
Para mi lo más importante de la nominación de  Sotomayor es que es una persona  que a pesar de haber crecido en un ambiente poco privilegiado pudo superarse y llegar a donde está en estos momentos. Además,  tiene un historial de lucha por los derechos humanos y una vida profesional caracterizada por la integridad.

author: Michael Castro


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South Korea: Roh Moo-Hyun, 1946-2009 · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ask a Korean! wrote a very informative article on former president Roh Moo-Hyun (1946-2009), his life and contribution in Korea history.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Sri Lanka: Report From The IDP Camps · Global Voices
Rezwan

Indi.ca recently returned from Vavuniya, the biggest town in the Wanni district of Sri Lanka and temporary refuge to approximately 300,000 IDPs. The blogger reports: “My overall impression after talking to people there is that the humanitarian needs are being addressed, but the human ones are not. Specifically, families are separated and they need some means of finding their loved ones.”


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St. Maarten: Book Fair  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands reminds us about the 7th annual St. Maarten Book Fair, which starts this week.


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Taiwan: Restaurant bans Chinese traitors · Global Voices
David Reid

Michael Turton translated an article from the Liberty Times (自由時報) about a restaurant in Kaohsiung that refuses to serve “Chinese and Taiwanese Traitors”. The article attracted many comments from people who reacted with a mix of support and disagreement.

author: David Reid


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Yemen: Humans Vs Baboons  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Yemen, Omar Barsawad takes a closer look at a colony of baboons living in the valley of Hadhramout, near Seiyoun, and notes: “Humans consider baboons – pests; we always overlook the fact that it is us, humans, who are the most destructive and most dangerous here on earth.”

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Azerbaijan: Youth · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

In Mutatione Fortitudo ponders the state of youth in Azerbaijan and says there have been changes amidst a backdrop of falling oil prices and the global economic crisis. However, the blog by Global Voices author Ali S. Novruz concludes, liberal-thinking youth are in short supply.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bangladesh: LGBT News · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tanvir Alim at LGBTI Bangladesh blog, a source of information about the LGBT scene in Bangladesh, writes about the observation of the International day against Homophobia and Trans phobia in the capital Dhaka.

author: Rezwan


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Bolivia: Farewell to Aymara Hip Hop Artist Abraham Bojorquez · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The sudden death of Bolivian hip-hop artist Abraham Bojorquez was especially hard on residents of El Alto, the city from which he hailed. A victim of a traffic accident involving a bus, Bojorquez left behind many fans around the world, but also left behind a legacy filled with memories and lyrics that reflected on the struggles and the hopes of a young city that has been through so much. Many Bolivian bloggers knew him well and in the weeks following his death shared their condolences and stories of how much they respected this artist.
Photo of Abraham Bojorquez by Wara Vargas / www.lamalapalabra.tk and used with permission.
A blogger from El Alto, Alberto Medrano of Letras Alteñas [es] remembers the first time he saw Bojorquez perform in Rio Seco in El Alto and how “many young people were left impressed with his cadenced rhythm of “Hip Hop” with an Andean flavor and with content of political protest and revolution, calling for justice for the bloody events of “October 2003.”
The events of October 2003 played prominently in the lyrics of Bojorquez. During that difficult time in El Alto, approximately 70 residents died during a conflict with the Armed Forces. The events have since become a rallying cry for those demanding justice.
In the early 1990s, Bojorquez emigrated to Brazil where he worked in a textile factory, but at the same time was introduced to hip hop. When he returned to El Alto, he started the group Ukamau y Ké and often rapped in the native indigenous language of Aymara. According to Cristina Quisbert of Bolivia Indigena [es], Bojorquez had “a particular style of combining hip hop with social order content and with valuing the Aymara culture, and won a place amongst the Alteño youth and in the places where he took his music and song.”
However, it was the coverage by the blog La Mala Palabra [es] that provides much of the follow-up after his death and the subsequent displays of homage and remembrance by many who knew Bojorquez.  The blog publishes pictures of the wake and funeral that show the outpouring of sympathy from those that knew him well, and those that simply admired his work. At the wake, many friends and family came to pay their respects:
Su familia está destrozada y era obvio: el humilde hijo de migrantes campesinos (su familia es oriunda de Sapahaqui, provincia Loayza de La Paz) había logrado salir adelante pese a haberse criado solito, quedó huérfano muy tierno, cuando apenas tenía 4 años. Le vendría una vida jodida, en la calle, con tragos, con drogas, con pandillas, con cuates, con el trabajo esclavista en Brasil… Sus primos, sus tíos y allegados se sorprendieron el poder de convocatoria de Abraham porque cosechó con ese carisma astral-andina a montón de cuates y cuatas. Y ese fue uno de los valores que todos coincidían en destacar.
(…)
Varios tomaron el micrófono para recordarlo, para despedirlo, para decirle la buena gente que era, que es, que seguirá siendo.
His family is devastated and it was apparent: the humble son of peasant migrants (his family originated from Sapahaqui, in the province of Loazya in La Paz) was able to get ahead even though he was raised by himself, became orphaned at a young age, when he was only 4 years old.  A very difficult life soon followed, in the streets, with alcohol, drugs, gangs, with pals, and with slave-like work in Brazil…. His cousins, uncles and close friends were surprised to see the power that Abraham had to bring people together because he used that Astral-Andean charisma with many friends. And that was one of the qualities that many agreed upon that he had.
(…)
Many took the microphone to remember him, to say goodbye, and to say how good a person that he was, that he is, and that he will continue to be.
La Mala Palabra [es] also writes about the burial that took place in the public cemetery in La Paz, and which attracted a wide variety of admirers, friends and fellow musicians. With such a diverse group, there was a slight disagreement on how to best pay their last respects:
Palabras póstumas, voces quebradas, cuates que alentaban a cambiar la actitud porque el Abraham hubiera deseado buena onda en su entierro. Lo despidieron sus cuates hiphoperos que escupieron su flow jodidas por las lágrimas. Un charango y una quena hicieron de coro y también los de la Saya Afroboliviana pusieron su canto, uno muy lastimero mezclado con resignación.
(…)
Antes de que el féretro ingrese al nicho hubo una singular disputa. Mientras uno de los familiares se puso a rezar, fue recriminado el hecho de que Bojorquez no era católico y que con el silencio debería respetar la memoria del finado. Sin embargo, otros presentes dijeron que el Abraham hubiera respetado la forma de pensar distinta y diversa a la suya, pues creía en la integración de todos. Todo un dilema.
Posthumous words, broken voices, and friends who encouraged a change in attitude because Abraham would have wanted a good mood at his burial. His hip-hop friends said goodbye with a rap jumbled with tears. A charango  and a quena provided the chorus and even the Afro-Bolivian saya provided their song, one of pity mixed with resignation.
(…)
Before the coffin entered into its niche, there was only one dispute. While one of his relatives started to pray, he was reproached because Bojorquez was not Catholic and the memory of the deceased should be respected with silence. However, others who were present said that Abraham would have respected the different and diverse beliefs of others, because he believed in the integration of all. It was a complete dilemma.
Nevertheless, words of sympathy from all across Bolivia continue to arrive from fellow musician, such as Ronaldo of Animal de Ciudad [es] from Santa Cruz. Bojorquez had performed across Latin America and had shared the stage with many well-known artists like Manu Chao and Bersuit Vergarabat.  Finally, the blogger Pez Fumador [es] sums up his feelings after learning about his death:
No suelo ser muy expresivo en los momentos de dolor, pero la súbita partida de Abraham Bohórquez ha rajado algo en mi alma. Un joven trovador con muchas propuestas, con una lectura justa y visionaria de muchas cosas en nuestro país, el Ukamau y Ké me permitió conocer las vetas políticas y estéticas del hip hop en nuestro país. Además, me ayudó a tender puentes urgentes con mi hija… para poder seguir avanzando en este mundo cruel. Realmente una pérdida jodida para muchos… escuchando las canciones de Abraham, aprendimos sobre la realidad de los jóvenes, de la lucha contra el racismo y de muchas contradicciones nuestras y tuyas también.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Chinese people’s reaction to North Korea missile test · Global Voices
Winglok Hung

While the international society is working hard to maintain the security and peace on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea has conducted the second nuclear test on 25 May and launched several missile tests the following days. As the Chinese government has been in good relation with North Korea, it would be interesting to see the mainland Chinese people's opinions on the recent North Korea’s military provocation.
Yide, a mainland blogger predicted that China would not show a strong military alliance with North Korea as it did during the Korean war. He listed out three reasons as below:
1）與美國再度軍事對抗不符合大陸的核心利益，大陸早就步入了以經濟建設為中心的軌道，實行的是市場經濟，並實現著與世界經濟之融合。大陸的經濟已與美國的經濟密不可分，兩相依賴；其政治權威之的合法性很大程度上依賴于持續繁榮，而繁榮能否保持則在於能否進入美國市場。
2） 自中韓建交之後，北韓便認為中國背離了傳統的社會主義軌道，兩國在意識形態領域出現著巨大分歧，諸多大陸資深評論家已對北韓持嚴厲批評的態度。如張璉瑰 說：“相對於穩定而言，我更關心的是朝鮮半島的無核化。我們的鄰國進行核子試驗不符合中國的利益。”、張玉山則說：“北韓已成為中國的一大問題。它已成為 世界上一個危險的角色。”
3）中韓兩國高層領導多次互訪，並在國際多邊活動中會晤，增進了相互理解和信任，推動了兩國關係的發展。…相比之下，大陸與北韓2008年經濟貿易額僅20多億美元，不足中韓數字的半個零頭。
金正日政權抱著“會哭多鬧得奶吃”的邏輯行事，不顧大陸之感受，逼奧巴馬讓步，這次大約再也不靈。如今的現實是：朝核問題已經成為中國身邊的火藥桶。
Kim Jong Il is indeed following the logic of “crying over spilled milk” to push the Obama’s administration for more concession regardless of Chinese government's standpoint.  However, this tactic can no longer work. Now the fact is: the Korean nuclear problem has become the barrel of gunpowder next to China.
Another Chinese blogger in Shangdong was outraged by North Korea's nuclear test. As she shared in her blog,
正当国际社会最近一在努力争取恢复朝核六方会谈的时候，朝鲜忽然反其道而行之，于5月25 日再次进行地下核试验。到这则新闻时，我真的无语了 。  无赖！ 当前的朝鲜局势看上去是稳定的，但朝鲜拥有了核武装之后，其局势或稳定或动荡，最大的承受方就是中国。当然，朝鲜之所以发展核武器，公开目标是指向美国，日本和韩国，但在客观上，她是中国周边地区的新隐患
On the Qiangguo forum, an official website which is run by China’s state owned The People’s Daily, netizens spelled out their anger over the nuclear test in the comment section:
Fengfeng diandian sen wrote,
朝鲜是唯一依靠别国的经济援助试验核武器的国家。也是是唯一在人员密集区进行核爆炸的国家。中国试验地点在新疆罗布泊无人区，而法国是在国外的一个荒岛，由于造成附近土著人患有原子病，要求赔偿的呼声一直缠绕法国政府。而朝鲜试验地点竟在中朝边境地区….
这种以邻为壑的行为实在令人失望！要知道中国几乎是朝新在世界上仅存的朋友，每年向它无偿提供了大量的石油、粮食。只是靠中国不断的输血朝鲜才能勉强维持至今。但是朝鲜未别国宝贵的援助用于民生，却直接威胁援助国的安全。
Another comment said,
朝鲜核动作，其出发点是要美国的承认，其宿命是核绑架中国

author: Winglok Hung


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China: Twitter blocked, Fanfou sick leave · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

While Twitter and a number of social network and peer to peer communication websites have been blocked since yesterday (June 2), the local version of twitter, Fanfou, has put up a system maintanence notice a few hours ago. It said hopefully its service would be resumed in June 6. (via cowcfj)


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Cuba: The Music of de Salas · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands profiles Claudio Brindis de Salas, “the famous Cuban violinist who was also known as the ‘King of the Octaves’ or the ‘Black Paganini’.”


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Egypt: Is Obama not Welcome? · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Forty-eight hours before US president Barack Obama delivers his much awaited speech to the Arab and Muslim worlds from Cairo University, the Egyptian blogosphere is almost unified by the same feeling. Bloggers are outraged by the massive and exaggerated preparations and precautions being taken by the Egyptian government to secure the visit, and most of them are doubting if the anticipated speech would usher any real change.
The photographer Waleed Nassar, who works near Cairo University, wrote about the preparations taking place in his neighbourhood:
I work next to Cairo University and this area has transformed over night.  The bumpy streets leading to the University are now as smooth as silk.  Even buildings around the area have been given a fresh layer of paint, but not the whole building, just the side that faces to the street.
[…]
That all sounds great but do you know what that means for the citizens of Cairo?   No one is going anywhere on Thursday.  I’ve heard that schools are taking the day off and some businesses are closing.  Since Obama will be criss-crossing through Cairo in a car, police and presidential guard will be closing down streets and areas where he will be expected to be.
Hossam El Hamalawy tweeting regarding the security precautions that will take place. Al-Shrouk daily newspaper adviced Egyptians to stay home, as the streets will be nearly blocked.
Zeinobia wrote about Obama’s schedule in Egypt. She also added an update that the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak will not attend the speech:
- Mubarak will meet Obama at Koubbah Palace only , he won't attend the speech in Cairo University according to Al-Muslamany's TV show on Dream TV 2 !!!!
– I think his absence from the speech will raise many question marks about his condition after the death of his grandchild.
Egyptian Leftist wrote a letter to Obama  (strong language) with an expressive picture saying: "We don't believe you!"
Mahmoud wrote in his blog “Pains and Hopes” a cynical letter [Ar] to Obama, encouraging him to see the “real” Egypt. He explained that what he will see is only preparations for his visit, but if he tried to visit the other universities he’ll find something different; even streets which will not be as beautiful, organized and tidy as what he will see.
Another blogger, Sherif Abdelaziz wrote in his blog “Justice for all” another letter to Obama, and like Egyptian leftist, he expresses his doubt that Obama's visit would bear any fruit:
You know Cairo University you'll be visiting ? Yup…it's my university …I got my degree from there years back ..I also heard that millions of dollars were spent to fix up the place just for you to lay eyes on it for couple of hours …
I have no idea if this visit will do us any good man, I got nothing against it , but I am sick and tired of every thing …I got no faith in no body any more , and am not even so hyped about listening to what you have to say , but I will give it a try ..
On the other hand, Dalia Ziada, a human rights activist who has retained some of her hope towards Obama's visit,  concluded her “Young Egyptian Activists and the Obama effect!” post saying:
For the first time, in tens of years, Egyptians can see an American president who is not eager to establish a relationship with the Egyptian regime regardless of its black record of practices against democracy and human rights. This forced the Egyptian regime to show more tolerance and flexibility towards human rights activists and groups.
Yet, the inevitable question, while waiting impatiently for Obama's visit to Cairo within few days, would be: is Obama willing to live up to the high expectations of young Egyptian activists through supporting them in their struggle for domestic reform and making their dream of change, inspired by him, true?
On a different note, Egyptian movement Kifaya called for a sit-in on the eve of the visit, opposing any intended support by the American government to Israel and the Egyptian regime:
In a reply to the sit-in call,  Ahmed el Gizawy who like Dalia, also believes Obama is coming to Egypt with good intentions towards the Islamic and Arab world,  asked the people to listen first to the speech then decide whether they want to proceed with a sit-in or not.
As a sneak peak to the event, American journalist Robb Montgomery, interviewed some Egyptians about their speculations regarding Obama's visit to Egypt next Thursday.
You can also follow an open discussion on Twitter between bloggers, about the speech and the visit's preparations, using the hashtag #CairoSpeech .

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Fiji: ‘A Christian state’?  · Global Voices
Michael Hartsell

Fiji’s government has canceled this year’s conference of the Methodist church, claiming the week-long meeting would foster instability.
The move was announced from a statement from government police and military forces, arguing that “inciteful issues are going to be discussed at the conference.”
Fiji’s Methodists gather each August at a different location to take part in choral competitions, collect money for the church’s work and discuss social and political issues.
Church leaders hoped to gain an audience to plead their case with Commodore Frank Bainimarama, the country’s military and political leader (and practicing Methodist). Bainimarama, who told Church leaders no conference until politics leaves their pulpits, came to power in a 2006 coup that dissolved parliament and what he termed the corrupt and racist pro-indigenous Fijian government of Laisenia Qarase, also a practicing Methodist.
The coup was immediately criticized by Fiji's Methodist church, the largest spiritual group in the country, comprising 35 percent of the population, where nine out of ten members are indigenous Fijians. However, some other Christian denominations (like the Catholic church) and some Hindu and Muslim groups at least initially supported the new government’s promise to make life easier for the country’s poor and help heal the rifts caused by racial tensions.
That is not to say the Methodist church’s hierarchy has always opposed military interventions on Fiji’s governments. Before Bainimarama’s December 2006 takeover, Fiji’s previous three military coups – all taking place since 1987 – were carried out under the banner of ethnic Fiji nationalism and supported by at least some members of the hierarchy of the Methodist church. (At least one commentator argues that since the 2000 coup that deposed the government of an Indo-Fijian Prime Minister, the Church has changed its approach toward furthering indigenous rights through destabilizing coups.  )
Many think Fiji’s deep-seated political troubles started when British colonial rulers began importing workers from the Indian sub-continent to toil in Fiji’s burgeoning sugar and copra plantations. Yet more than a few scholars will argue religion is a major, if not the major, cleavage between Fijians and Indo-Fijians. Indigenous Fijians began embracing Christianity 180 years ago, after the first missionaries appeared on the islands. The country’s ethnic Indians are largely practicing Hindus, with 15 percent Muslims and six percent identifying themselves as Christian.
The government’s decision to cancel the Methodist conference is another chapter in the dispute between the two parties. Methodist church hierarchy has continually opposed the People’s Charter for Change, the Bainimarama regime’s blueprint for creating a more racially inclusive Fiji, saying the government’s lack of popular support forbids it from concerning itself with constitutional changes. (Former members of the Qarase government attempted to debate the Charter at during last year’s Methodist conference.) The government has argued in the past that church leaders deliberately mislead parishioners by bringing up emotional themes like the government would like to change land ownership laws allowing non-ethnic Fijians to purchase land.
On April 10, Fiji’s President nullified the country’s constitution and provided the Bainimarama government with a five-year mandate. A few weeks later, authorities arrested and held for two days a high ranking member of the Methodist Church, Rev. Manasa Lasaro, for calling for elections and a return to democratic rule. (Church hierarchy also argued for returning to the now-defunct 1997 constitution, a free and independent media and for the government to abide by a court ruling – now invalidated — that declared that Bainimarama came to power illegally and should step aside.) It was during this time, the government warned the Methodist Church against attempting to cause instability, claiming it would defer the conference indefinitely.
As one could anticipate, the conference’s cancellation has become an emotional topic among bloggers, who are debating the role religion plays in the country.
From Soli Vakasama
This move just proves the monster despotic p ig and his illegal regimes  loss of moral standing, not only in Fiji but the rest of the world.
P ig Bhainimarama and the illegal regimes reckless threats toward innocent citizens of Fiji is a sure sign of immense insecurity on their part.
After all, what could a group of Methodists and their choirs, that could hardly be described as dangerous or even mildly violent do or say that we and the rest of the world are already aware of about the cowardly p ig and his cowardly army and coup apologists.
The bipolar despotic p ig controls the stupid army and preserves power by lavishing favours on the barmy army officers and police chiefs whose hands are so steeped in blood that regime change would be their own nemesis.
From Soli Vakasama Worldwide Movement:
Bainimarama has shown by his actions that he relies on his own personal wisdom and power and the might of his Police and army. The true might of any nation is not in its army or weaponry, not in its firepower but in Godes power. The future of Fiji lies in the Church standing up to do God’s work of salvation and implanting God’s truth, justice, freedom and love in the nation.
It is quite clear from the detention of Rev Lasaro and the demands now being placed on the Church by the Bainimarama government and the Police and military that they do not respect the Church, the freedom of belief, and the duty of the Church to be God’s voice of truth, justice, peace and compassion to the nation. Bainimarama is now laying down a challenge to the Church, as the Caesar’s have done in early Christian Rome and oppressive regimes have done to persecute the Church through the ages.
Come what may, the Church will stand firm in its belief that God is the ultimate authority; it derives its  courage from the fact that despite suffering and His death at Calvary, Christ has risen triumphant.
From Semi Meo, writing at Raw Fiji News.
The Dictator must have amongst his advisors seasoned theologians who convincingly quantified the possibility of “inciteful issues are going to be discussed at the conference” of Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma.
This Dictator and the IG must be told that the very ethos of their political and so called legal existence is contrary to the every fundamental tenets of the Christian faith that turned us away from eating each other toward eating outside our species….opps…did not consider pro-IG theologians may be some Pentecostals churches, some Muslim theologians, Hindus, Buddhist and Military’s own cadre of padres.
Since when has this slayer of political democracy, destroyer of social cohesion and robber of economic independence and prosperity promoted himself as supreme spiritual mediator between the rest of us and deities we respectively esteems?
More than a few support the cancellation of this year’s conference.
Kalougata, from Fiji Board Exiles:
I've said it before, the Methodist Church of Fiji stopped being a “christian church” became a “political party” long ago. Now they are about to reap what they have sown. They have long ago changed from planting the seeds of Jesus and the teachings of the Bible to planting the seeds of politics, power, and money grabbing. All pathetic earthly endeavors. The Methodist hierarchy depends on the HUGE amounts of money they raise from the annual conference to line their pockets (it sure hasn't gone to their hospital, they depend on the govt. for that money).
Again, Fiji Board Exiles. This time Alohabula1
Now if you go back to your school books I am sure you will recall the Great Schism and other events that separated religion from politics. There was a good reason for that obviously, because often politics are polar opposites of religious practices everywhere in the world. We all wish it weren't but politics sometimes ends up being the “hatchet man”.. No matter what religion a person embraces the concepts are pretty much the same. When religion and politics mix you get the Crusades and Jihads etc and all matters of dastardly deeds in God's name…
There are a lot of choices being made in Fiji, right now and I seriously doubt that God is going to come down and strike the present administration with pestilence, death or a rain of frogs. If HE were to do that he would have done it to some of the members of previous administrations many of whom quite happily indulged in the Seven deadly sins and broke a few of the commandments like lying, stealing and lots of coveting in the parking lots and other romantic locations.
In a post written when Reverend Lasaro was imprisoned by the government written by IslGirl in Real Fiji News:
Are we heading towards a Christian state? Ratu Soqosoqo a  Kadavu chief said before the 2006 election ‘if we cannot make Fiji a Christian country the we chiefs should make our territories and everyone in them Christians’
One man one vote is obviously and alien concept for the Methodist church as they are dictating to their members what they will and will not accept, democracy is long dead in Fiji. And for all other citizens of Fiji understand this, the Methodist church is blackmailing its followers and amounts to nothing short of  management by fear on behalf of the leaders of the church.
The real battle in this lies between the military and removing the SDL/Methodist power base that was leading this country to ruin.
Methodist Church and the [former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase’s] SDL party are one and the same, they do not want a democratically elected government, they do not want reforms and they most certainly do not want the one man one voting system, as this will mean the end of their power base in Fiji.
From Fiji: The Way it Was, Is and Can Be:
The Christian, and particularly the Methodist, church occupies a unique position in Fiji. It is the repository and major beneficiary of both Fijian traditional values and a colonial heritage that entrenched those values. The Church, respect for chiefs and “being Fijian,” and the State are seen as one. Attack one and all could collapse. A major reason why some Fijians oppose Bainimarama, and what he says he's trying to achieve, is because he has “detached” the state from this trilogy, and in so doing has threatened their privileged position, and the perks that go with it.
Such people (the so-called Taukei element within the church) hold that their church and their values are the only true values in Fiji (non-Chistians presumably have no worthwhile values.) They are lukewarm to the ecumenicalism of Interfaith Search Fiji and the Fiji Council of Churches. They were instrumental in founding the racial, “born again,” fundamentalist Assembly of Christian Churches in Fiji (ACCF). Unlike most Methodist leaders in other countries, they have no honest interest in democracy (or civil rights) except when it suits them to uphold their position.
Many people have good reason to oppose Bainimarama but these people are not among them. They oppose Bainimarama for exactly the same reasons they supported the Rabuka and Speight coups: to retain power and privilege in the name of protecting ethnic Fiijian rights.

author: Michael Hartsell