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Malaysian Fan Girls Threatened With Jail Time Over Public Hugs From K-Pop Stars · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Screenshot of YouTube video by KPop Blitz
K-pop boy bands have enjoyed overwhelming popularity not only in South Korea, but also throughout Asia for many years now. But in Malaysia, not everyone is a fan of the pop stars or their female following.
Authorities in majority Muslim country ordered an investigation into a group of female fans of K-pop boy band B1A4 for alleged “indecent” public acts in violation of the Syariah code of conduct after members of the band hugged and kissed them on the forehead in mid-January 2015.
The pop stars had been re-enacting scenes from a popular Korean soap opera with the young women onstage during a fan meeting. The organizers said the fans were selected randomly and gave their consent repeatedly, but one Malaysian TV channel posted a YouTube video of the event nonetheless with a title accusing the band of having “molested Muslim girls”.
The investigation focused on whether the re-enacting violated the Syariah Criminal Offenses; Section 29 of the law states that “indecent manner in any public place is liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both”. On January 21, the Federal Territory Religious Department (JAWI) of Malaysia admitted that there was no legal basis for sentencing the girls to prison and they could only issue them a warning.
South Korean news outlets picked up the story, especially after Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin tweet on the matter went viral:
Banyak dikatakan ttg Kpop. Harap gadis2 Msia kembali kpd lelaki tall, dark & hensem. Bukan pale, skinny & pretty. Itu bukan lelaki sejati.
— Khairy Jamaluddin (@Khairykj) enero 11, 2015
A lot has been said about K-pop. I hope Malaysian girls return to tall, dark handsome men. Not pale, skinny and pretty [like K-pop stars]. Those are not real men.
The case opened a heated debate online among Koreans over the incident. Some annoyed male Internet users pointed out that the average height of Korean men is actually higher than that of Malaysian men. Many expressed disbelief at the notion that being hugged by a singer could be punishable by law in Malaysia, while others accused the organizers of insensitivity to the religious and cultural norms there.
인도네시아인가 말레이시아인가 b1a4팬미팅 건 터진거 보면서 동남아에 대한 무지로 터질 일이 터졋다고 느낀 건 나뿐인가? 그 여자애들 채찍질이나 자칫 외간남자일로 징역이상 받으면 어떡하냐
— 지는 남자 (@highcrown) 2015년 1월 15일
While watching the B1A4 fan meeting fiasco, is it only me who almost expected to see something like this happen due to people's ignorance of southeast Asia? What if these girls receive heavy punishment like a whipping or something heavier than a jail term?
이번 말레이시아 B1A4 사건을 통해 가장 놀라웠던건, 말레이시아가 이슬람 국가였다는거…… 이렇게 타 문화권을 모르고 있구나 싶었고 막.
— 쭈놈 (@oneNonlyJOO) 2015년 1월 16일
One thing that surprised me most about this whole B1A4 Malaysia controversy was the fact that Malaysia is an Islamic country — which made me realize how shallow my understanding is of other cultural regions.
On the Nate Pann site, a popular South Korean online venue, “Heu” commented:
애초부터 이슬람 국가에서 저런 내용의 행사 자체를 기획한 주최측이 문제지
It's actually the organizer who is to be blamed for this fiasco for coming up with this idea in an Islamic country.
K-pop fans discussed the incident on various sites dedicated to the music genre. On one of the biggest K-pop sites, Soompi, users remarked:
tdjunlimited: i don't blame the girl…i definitely not blaming my boys B1A4. this fanmeeting thing is normal and hugging and the kiss (member Baro kissed the girl's forehead coz it's her birthday that day) happened everywhere in the world and no one talks about it. evn muslim populated countries like istanbul is more likely to tolerate such things. the one to blame are the ones making this whole issue get blown out of proportion..those people on facebook who headline their page “islam girls molested/harrassed by kpop group B1A4″.. .
Zurra Yasmin Shamsul Kamar: its okay. i'm a muslim and a malaysian and i didn't blame b1a4 in this issue. it was clearly the muslim girls’ fault because they are muslims and they should know better what is allowed and what isn't allowed in their religion and culture.
sujin.cho: I'm not exactly blaming the girl, but she should have been more responsible. But you can't blame a teenager and especially one who is a girl in front of her idol :P […]

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Pakistani Lawmaker Offers Dubious Bounty for Charlie Hebdo Owner · Global Voices
Qurratulain (Annie) Zaman

Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, a Pakistani federal lawmaker, reimagined as a member of the Assassin Brotherhood. Images mixed by Kevin Rothrock.
Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, a Pakistani federal lawmaker, recently announced a bounty of US$ 200,000 to anyone who would kill the owner of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for publishing ‘blasphemous’ cartoons.
Bilour did so on the floor of the National Assembly during a debate over the recent attack on Shia mosque in Sikarpur, Sindh, that killed almost 60 people. He is a senior lawmaker of opposition Awami National Party (ANP) from Kyber-Pakhtoonkhwa — a province hit by violence in the recent past. His party ANP claims to follow secular and liberal values and has lost many members of the party in Pakistan's war against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and other armed and violent groups. Earlier in 2012, Bilour offered US$ 100,000 head money for the maker of the low-budget anti-Muslim film on YouTube ‘Innocence of Muslims’.
In his speech in the National Assembly on February 2, Bilour announced that he is ready to offer an additional US$ 100,000 bounty money to the heirs of the three men who carried out the attacks in Paris and were killed in confrontations with French police — two murdered Charlie Hebdo's editor and other cartoonists, while the other laid siege to a Jewish supermarket in Paris. The three men killed seventeen people over the course of days.
One of Pakistan's leading English-language dailies Dawn called it “Bilour's publicity stunt: a reward for the heirs of Charlie Hebdo attackers”.
An editorial in another English newspaper, The Express Tribune, pointed out that:
At a time when the rest of the world is debating the spread of extremism and discrimination, and rethinking assimilation of Muslims, a Pakistani parliamentarian is inciting murder.
According to legal experts, the blasphemy-related provisions in the Pakistan Penal Code do not allow calling for any bounty — punishment has to be administered by the state. If Bailour threatens or harasses someone, he can, however, be prosecuted under criminal law and also be sued in civil law for damages.
$200,000 is a big amount in Pakistan and many Pakistanis are wondering where that bounty money would come from. Bilour's tax returns shows that he doesn't even own that much money.
Omar R. Quraishi is the editor of The Express Tribune:
MNA Ghulam Ahmad Bilour has offered a $200,000 (Rs 2 crores) bounty for the owner of Charlie Hebdo – in 2013 he paid Rs 40,698 in tax
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) February 3, 2015
Bilour family owns an infamous Shama cinema in Peshawar. This cinema is known for running pornographic films in the heart of city. Despite the horrific massacre of students at an army school in Peshawar by members of the Pakistani Taliban in December 2014, it never lost audience and every show is a full house.
Abbas Nasir, the former editor of Dawn and a columnist, sarcastically tweeted referring to Peshawar's underground porn cinema or totas:
I think Bilour Sb should also offer a bounty for Peshawar cinema owners who do the un-Islamic thing and run ‘totas’ in their shows.
— Abbas Nasir (@abbasnasir59) February 3, 2015
Facebook user Javed Akram shares his views
Bilour's Awami National Party or ANP follows the teachings of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, affectionately known to his people as Baacha Khan — a devout Muslim who was follower of Gandhi and preached peace and non-violence as his guiding principles.
Yasser Latif Hamdani, a human rights activist and lawyer, questioned the party policy on this:
ANP Wallahs please explain this: http://t.co/vJX0PQPfNU – whither your “non-violence” your “secularism”?
— Yasser Latif Hamdani (@theRealYLH) February 4, 2015
It is hard to tell if this is a PR stunt or a call from a good Muslim. There is no condemnation from other members of parliament or the ANP about Bilour's statement. Blasphemy laws in Pakistan carry the death penalty for anyone who insults Islam, the Prophet Muhammad or his family. Approximately 1,274 people have been charged under the blasphemy laws of Pakistan between 1986 until 2010.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Qurratulain (Annie) Zaman


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Thai Junta Gives ‘Attitude Adjustments’ to Those Who Dare Step Out of Line · Global Voices
Zashnain Zainal

A soldier attended a civil society seminar on Internet freedom and volunteered himself as a speaker in the panel. Photo from the Facebook page of Santi Pracha Dhamma Library.
Thai civil society and the general public face an uphill struggle to voice their opinions after the coup of 2014. The lack of forum and freedom prevents open criticism against the military-led administration, known as the National Council of Peace and Order.
Freedom in the World 2015, the latest edition of its annual report on political rights and civil liberties in 195 countries around the globe, highlights the worrying trend of violations in Thailand.
Thailand’s political rights rating declined from 4 to 6, its civil liberties rating declined from 4 to 5, and its status declined from Partly Free to Not Free due to the May military coup, whose leaders abolished the 2007 constitution and imposed severe restrictions on speech and assembly.
Thailand saw biggest declines in freedom, leading Libya, South Sudan & Egypt: 2015 Freedom House report pic.twitter.com/EvxDN2pLLe
— Suluck Fai Lamubol (@FaiSuluck) February 2, 2015
Three recent cases exemplify the junta's hostility toward free expression.
It is common for the junta to summon individuals whom they perceive as dissenters or those requiring an “attitude adjustment” for having different views. In a recent incident, the authorities summoned and detained for three days a southern land rights activist, Peerat Bunrit, as part of an “attitude adjustment” after he led a group of local farmers to fight for their land rights. Mr. Bunrit is a leader of the Southern Peasants’ Federation of Thailand in Surat Thani Province.
As expressed by Veera Prateepchaikul in the Bangkok Post, the summons for “attitude adjustments” issued by the junta do little to improve national reconciliation and instead widen the gap between conflicting political opponents. The face-to-face talks with military officials are “used to silence or neutralise opponents,” he wrote.
”This is the sad political reality, the deep mutual distrust between the two opposing camps, which makes reconciliation an uphill task,” Prateepchaikul said.
The junta views political dissent as counter-productive to the vision of coup leader and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha. A former Pheu Thai Member of Parliament was recently summoned to 1st Region Army Headquarters in Bangkok after he denounced the January impeachment of ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
However, the army sent an officer to meet him at his house.
Army Officer Visits Red Leader at Home for ‘Attitude Adjustment’ http://t.co/Ki7U2m7itl pic.twitter.com/sFF6eJH7MI — Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) February 2, 2015
Last Sunday, a civil society group conducted a seminar in Bangkok to share concerns and issues about the drafting of the country's cybercrime laws. Organisers and the participants were surprised at the sudden appearance of soldiers. There was even a soldier who volunteered himself as a speaker in the panel.
Soldiers and government agents were among those who attended a forum on the proposed cybercrime legislation. Photo from the Facebook page of Santi Pracha Dhamma Library.
By imposing severe limitations on expression and preventing active participation in the decision-making process, the junta is taking several steps back from national reconciliation and reforms. Silencing the people in the name of betterment of the country would merely create an unstable future for the “land of smiles” that has lost its humor.

author: Zashnain Zainal


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The Ustashi Legacy: Remembering the Children’s Concentration Camp in Sisak  · Global Voices
Marinella Matejcic

Children sitting in front of one of the barrack's in the Sisak concentration camp. Public domain.
In 1941, the Croatian radical right-wing Ustashi movement came to power and formed the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), led by Ante Pavelić. NDH followed fascist regimes in Europe by forming concentration camps, and killing and persecuting Serbs, Jews, and Romas, not to mention Croatian partisans and their families.
In August 1942, NDH built a camp in Sisak, Croatia, for both adults and children. The children's section of the concentration camp was dubbed the “Shelter for Children of Refugees“ and was the biggest of its kind in the Ustashi-run Independent State of Croatia. The so-called “shelter” was led by Dr. Antun Najžer, under the patronage of The Female Lineages of the Ustashi movement and Ustashi surveillance services. Today we have documents showing that Dr. Najžer and his team performed tests on the children held in the camp, starving to death some, and torturing in various ways others.
A monument in children section's camp graveyard says approximately 2,000 people are buried there, but there's never been an organized effort to exhume the bodies, so no one knows for sure. A recent article on the Croatian news site Portal Novosti describes the history of the camp, bearing the chilling headline “Sisak Also Had Its Mengele” (referring to the Auschwitz concentration camp's infamous physician).
The town of Sisak, subjected to another devastating conflict in the 1990s during the Croatian Independence War, holds an event annually at the graveyard on WWII Remembrance Day, laying wreaths on the memorial and inviting the camp's survivors to speak.
Dobrila Kukolj is one of the children who managed to survive the horrors of the concentration camp. Born in 1931 in Međeđa village, Bosnia-Herzegovina, she was placed in several children's camps during the war. Her life changed forever in 1941, when Ustashi forces attacked her village. In Portal Novosti's article, Kukolj says she best recalls the Sisak and Jasenovac concentration camps, both in Croatia, and describes what arriving at the camps was like:
Ulazak u logor bio je ravan klubu smrti u kojem su vladali bezakonje i ludilo, gdje se čuo samo vrisak, plač i jauk do neba. Prizor od kojeg mi se i danas ledi krv u žilama je bježanje ispred ustaša koji su hvatali djevojčice i nad njima se iživljavali. Tada sam nehotice stala na tek rođeno dijete na zemlji, a taj plač mi i danas zvoni u ušima. Mi preživjeli logoraši smo na izmaku snage, a naša svjedočanstva ne smiju pasti u zaborav i zato molim sadašnju i buduće generacije da se bore da se zlo koje je donio rat više nikada ne ponovi, kako kod nas, tako i u cijelom svijetu.
Entering the concentration camp was the same thing as entering a death club ruled only by lawlessness and madness, where you could hear only screams, crying and moaning, all the way to the sky. One sight that still freezes the blood in my veins is running from the Ustashes who were capturing little girls and then brutalizing them. That's when I accidentally stepped on a newborn lying on the ground. The cry it let out still rings in my ears. We who have survived the camps are at the end of our journeys, but our legacy shouldn't ever be forgotten and that's why I ask the generations who are here and who are yet to come to ensure that such evil brought by war never again returns—not in our country or any other.

author: Marinella Matejcic


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What Does It Mean to Be a Japanese Citizen After the ISIS Executions? · Global Voices
Izumi Mihashi

Images mixed by Izumi MIHASHI
In 1945, advancing American troops and urging by Japanese soldiers drove thousands of Okinawa's civilians to kill themselves to avoid capture. Japanese Internet users’ reactions to the recent executions of civilian hostages Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa by ISIS demonstrate how extreme conditions produce tragedies like the one in Okinawa so many years ago.
Dewi Sukarno, a Japanese television personality and ex-wife of Sukarno, Indonesia's first president, said she wished the hostages had just killed themselves:
私は １９７０年６月、３才３ヶ月になった娘のカリナを連れて、パリからスカルノ大統領の 死の床に殺される事を覚悟で馳せ参じました。その時、只ひとつのことを神に祈りました。「もし私が銃弾に倒れることがあったら、どうか数秒でもいい、 カリナの命を我が手で絶つ力を与えて下さい」と願ったのです。カリナが敵の手におちることなど考えられなかったからです。不謹慎ではありますが、後藤さんに話すことが出来たらいっそ自決してほしいと言いたい。私が彼の母親だったらそう言います。我が子を英雄にする為にも　・・・
In June 1970, I brought my three-year-and-three-month-old daughter, Carina, with me from Paris to the deathbed of President Sukarno, fully prepared to be murdered. I asked God for just one thing: “If I were to be shot and killed, please give me a few more seconds to kill Carina with my own hands,” I wished. I couldn't imagine Carina falling into the enemy’s hands. Knowing this may sound imprudent, if I were to talk to Mr. Goto, I would urge him to commit harakiri. If I were his mother, I definitely would do so — I would want my son to be a hero.
Sukarno's blog entry received more than 50 comments applauding her for echoing their thoughts (though it's worth nothing that Sukarno screens and moderates the comments on her blog). One anonymous comment reads:
ジャーナリストの中には行ったことを擁護する発言をしている人もいましたが、その結果がどうでしょうか？取材の自由も大切かもしれませんが、日本国民全体を敵視される結果になった責任はどう考えるのでしょうか？
Some journalists defended his right to go there, but this is what it comes to. The freedom of press may be important, but what about responsibility for making the entire Japanese people regarded as an enemy?
The Japanese embassy is also widely derided online for abandoning its citizens in foreign hot spots. Asa Nonami, a crime fiction and horror writer. says:
大手新聞社で記者をしていた知人は、かれこれ20年以上前から海外で何らかのトラブルに見舞われたとき、日本大使館が動いてくれたことは唯の一度もなかったと言っていた。いつだって、見るに見かねた他国の大使館が手を差し伸べてくれたそうだ。この国は、そういう国だという覚悟が必要らしい。
— 乃南アサ (@asanonami) enero 31, 2015
A friend of mine was a reporter for a major newspaper company. He kept saying the Japanese Embassy never once assisted him, when he ran into a trouble in a foreign country. The embassies of other countries would always help him because they could not stand by and watch any longer. It seems we should face the fact that we belong to such a state.
Rieko Saibara, a manga artist, recalls what her ex-husband, a war photographer, used to say:
生前の鴨ちゃんが言ってた。ミャンマーで後ろから銃撃されて日本大使館に逃げ込もうとしたら日本人だと確認した上でドアを閉められた。命からがら師匠の橋田さんに報告したら「バカヤロー常識を知らんのか！迷わずアメリカ大使館に逃げるんだよ！あそこはとりあえず助ける！」
— 西原理恵子 (@riezo0608) febrero 3, 2015
When he was alive, Kamo told me he was shot at in Myanmar and tried to escape into the Japanese Embassy. Once embassy staff confirmed he was a Japanese citizen, they shut the door. He barely escaped alive, and reported later what happened to his teacher, who only yelled: “You idiot! How could anyone be as stupid as you! Escape into the US Embassy without hesitation! They would have helped you, whoever you are!”
Masahiko Komura, the vice president of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, didn't even disguise of his lack of sympathy for the hostages.
日本政府の警告にもかかわらず、テロリストの支配地域に入ったことは、どんなに使命感が高くても、真の勇気ではなく蛮勇と言わざるを得ない
Entering terrorists’ territory against the Japanese government's warning was not courageous; it was pure idiocy, no matter how intense their sense of mission was.
Not all Japanese Internet users are so eager to fault the latest ISIS victims, however. Keigo Takeda, ex-editor of the Japanese version of Newsweek, explained his understanding of the state's obligations to citizens:
違うね。セクハラでDVで保険料未納で反日的で興味本位で行って取っ捕まっても国民である限り救出努力義務を負うのが国家。 RT @ararano 個人が危険地帯に行く。それを止める意見も聞かず、自ら勝手にもたらした災い。それに無限責任を政府は追わないのが、道理。なにをトチ狂っているの
— 竹田圭吾 (@KeigoTakeda) enero 24, 2015
No. Even if a sexual-harasser and anti-Japanese man who had not paid his pension insurance went there out of mere curiosity and was arrested, a state is obliged to try to help him, as long as he is a citizen. RT @ararano Goto tuned out others’ attempts to stop him and went off to a danger zone on his own. He brought this trouble on himself. Moreover, the government's responsibility [for its citizens] isn't unlimited be default.

author: Izumi Mihashi


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The Flood of the Half-Century — and You Probably Haven’t Heard About It · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Malawians evacuated after devastating floods in late January wait out another deluge at a makeshift shelter. Roughly 175,000 people have been displaced and crops were destroyed by what the country's president says is the worst flooding in its history. Credit: Sam Eaton. Published with PRI's permission.
This article and a radio report by Sam Eaton for The World originally appeared on PRI.org on February 5, 2015, and is republished as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Even for a country used to flooding, this has been something beyond pretty much anyone's experience.
Roughly 175,000 people displaced, widespread destruction of staple crops like maize, and a looming public health crisis following what observers say is the worst flooding in Malawi in half a century.
A 69-year-old man who’d lived near the banks of the Shire river, the site of some of the worst flooding since the torrents began in mid-January, says he’s never seen anything like it in his life. The floods come every year, he says, people can plan for them, but this time was different.
Families tell stories of watching their homes collapse, sometimes on top of them, and climbing onto termite mounts, the only high ground left, waiting for helicopters  or boats to rescue them. Crocodiles sometimes circled the water around them, they say.
The disastrous floods have largely affected areas along the Shire river in far southern Malawi. The region is prone to flooding, but locals say the recent floods are the worst in at least a half century. Public domain image via Wikipedia Commons
At a camp for displaced people in Bangula, in southern Malawi, everyone I spoke with said they lost everything except the clothes they were wearing.
(See more images from Sam Eaton's visit to the Malawi flood zone at PRI.org.)
In the camp itself, conditions are miserable, with as many as 10 families sharing a tent without mosquito netting and little protection from the continuing rains or blazing sun between downpours. Women cooking over open fires say there isn’t enough food. I heard reports of male camp workers demanding sex in exchange for some of the little food there is, and girls afraid of being raped at night, when there’s little lighting or security.
Meanwhile, thousands remain isolated in places that can’t be reached by road. Crews are trying to deliver food to these areas by helicopter.
The causes of the disaster are a complex mix, including those torrential rains, high population density and deforestation. In the Shire river watershed, the hillsides have been completely deforested, for cooking fuel among other things, so there’s nothing to stop the huge amounts of rainfall from surging down into the valleys.
Listen to rain fall in Malawi: [if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');</script><![endif]
Climate change may also be involved. The intensity of the storm system behind the floods fits cleanly with what climate models have been projecting as carbon emissions trap more energy in the atmosphere. These storms can have devastating effects on poor countries like Malawi, where many families live in simple mud brick homes and farm plots that just can’t withstand this kind of weather.
Observers now fear the story that’s going to evolve here over the weeks and months ahead will be that of a serious food shortage. Many farmers’ fields have been completely devastated, leaving little opportunity to replant before the end of the country’s short rainy season. And the floods come at the tail end of a severe drought that also took a toll on food production.
And the country’s government is hardly in a position to respond to the crisis. Foreign aid, which makes up about 40% of Malawi’s economy, was recently cut off in the wake of a giant corruption scandal. And this week the parliament went on strike demanding higher salaries. So the government is barely operating.
Instead NGOs are largely running the relief efforts, but they’re already running short on cash.
And with more rains in the forecast, the conditions that caused this widespread displacement event are far from over.

author: PRI/PRX's The World


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‘Hate Is Not What Humans Should Do’: Slain Journalist Kenji Goto’s Words Live On Online · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

Kenji Goto reporting outside Kobani, Syria, in 2014. Screenshot from SnapcastNews’ YouTube account.
Freelance Japanese journalist Kenji Goto covered war and conflict in the Middle East and Africa before he was executed by ISIS in Syria on Jan. 30, 2015.
Prior to his capture and murder, Goto filled his website Independent Press with thoughts about his experiences reporting around the world. He wrote about a trip to the Sinai Peninsula in July 2014, a post that perhaps gives insight into why he worked as a journalist:
[To be or not to be]
世界各地で、なぜ、こうも衝突が絶えないのだろう？
その一方で、全世界中にに漂うグローバル化の疲れや失望－「私たちには正直わからない」「私たちだけは安全なはず・・・」「自分の家族が一番大事」といったある種開き直った意識。
“What can I do?”
“To be or not to be…”
Why are there so many conflicts in the world, and why can they not be stopped? On the other hand, I have new understanding about the jadedness and disappointment brought on by globalization.
For example, [when confronted by this harsh reality] most people become defensive and think “there are so many things that we really do not know about” or “we alone are in a safe place compared to the rest of the world…” or “my family is the most important thing to me.”
In situations like these, all I can ask is: “What can *I* do?”
Even before Japan’s Self Defense Force (JDF) was sent to Iraq to support the reconstruction of that country in January 2004, Goto started writing articles on his website from Iraq in November 2003.
Goto discussed why he thought it was important to work as a Japanese journalist in Iraq.
自衛隊を送っているというのに、国民はイラクの実情を知る機会がなくなっていく。材料がなくて、どうやって延長の是非や撤退するか否かの議論を進めていくのか？
イラクは現在進行形だ。「ベルリンの壁崩壊」のような一言で記される史実ではなく、日本の戦後と同じように、戦争-占領-復興（新国家建設）というひとつのサイクルだ。歴史が今生まれていっているのに、それを映像で記録しておきたい、書き記しておきたいと思わないのだろうか。われわれは、過去の記録映像を見て人間の歴史を考察したり、歴史から学んだり、感嘆したり、するのではないか。それが、われわれが後の時代に生きる子どもたちに残してあげられるものではないか。
After the government sent the JDF to Iraq, Japanese citizens did not have opportunity to know what is really happening here.
If we do not have information, how can we discuss whether the JDF should stay in Iraq or come back?
Iraq is changing. It is not as simple as the fall of the Berlin Wall. Iraq is instead in the process of the reconstruction of a new country under occupation.
When the history is being made, wouldn't you want to document images and write down what is happening?
When we explore history by examining images recorded in the past, we learn from history and are moved, aren't we? Isn’t this what we want to leave for future generations?
After civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Goto travelled to that country to interview residents of the war zone. Goto wrote on his website:
街に残るスンニ派の住民と出会いました。
電気や水道を止められ、わき水をくみ、廃材やまきで火をおこし生活していました。
この男性は、妻や子どもを遠くの街に避難させ、家や家畜を守るために、ひとり街に残ったと言います。
「ヘリコプターがこない時に水をくむ。
畑仕事をしているだけなのに攻撃される。」
子供たちが国外に逃れ、家族がばらばらになってしまったと嘆く夫婦もいました。
「こんな生活、もう限界です。
皆追い出されて、息子たちは国外へ逃げました。」
I met some Sunni Muslims who still live in this city.
There is no electricity or water. To live here, the residents need to pump the groundwater and use scrap wood to make fire.
There's a man who remains here by himself because he wants to protect the family house and their livestock. He already asked his wife and children to take refuge in a city far away.
Another couple said that their family has been broken because their children had fled to other countries.
“When there are no government helicopters we pump the groundwater. When we worked in the farm, they attacked us.
We cannot tolerate this kind of life anymore. They will expel all of us from our country. Our children have already fled to other countries.”
Goto also described how Syrians tried to protect themselves:
政府軍は、戦車中心の地上戦から戦闘機による空爆に戦いの方法を大きく転換。兵士たちの姿は街から消え、基地の中から迫撃砲で周辺の町や村を攻撃する。２４時間、東西南北で砲撃音や空爆の音が続く。
「一枚ではない」と揶揄される自由シリア軍。町や村あるいは家族や親戚といった小さな単位でグループを構成し、血の結束の強さと信仰心にもとづくまとまりの良さは政府軍とは違った独特の結束強さがある。しかし、彼らの戦いは「進軍する」というものではない。任務は、あくまでも自分の町や村を「守る」ことなのだ。
The government force changed their strategy from ground attacks using tanks to air strikes using bombs. As a result, the soldiers who used to be in the city disappeared, but the military bases attack villages and cities nearby with mortars.
The sounds of mortars and air strikes can be heard from everywhere 24 hours a day.
People make jokes about the Free Syrian Army: “They are difficult to deal with.” In the cities and villages, family members cling together.
These small groups bound strongly by the blood ties of and their belief have their special advantages compared to the government forces. However, what they fight for isn't domination but for protection of their own city or village.
In the war zone, Goto was forced to face the death of his own local friends, and he expressed how sad it made him feel:
なぜ、彼らは死ななくてはならなかったのか？希望の光射す未来と無限の才能を持っていたのに。これから好きな女性ができて、結婚して、子どもを産み、家族を持てる十分な機会があったはずなのに。戦いに疲れ果てた人たちは口々に言う。「死んだ者は幸いだ。もう苦しむ必要はなく、安らかに眠れる。生きている方がよっぽど悲惨で苦しい」と。皮肉だが、本音だ。[…]
そして、ハムザ。戦争孤児や貧しい家庭1,000世帯に、毎朝パンを届ける慈善団体を切り盛りする天才肌の若者だった。7月10日、空爆の犠牲になった。
彼らは、いつも笑顔でこちらの頼みを聞いてくれた。一緒にお茶を飲み、甘いお菓子を食べた。感謝のしるしに日本製の時計を、コンデジを、プレゼントした。戦時下では、プレゼントできること自体が嬉しいものだ。
世界各地の紛争地帯で、私の仕事を手伝ってくれた人たちが、もう何人亡くなっただろうか？
でも、私はまだ生きている。生きて自国に戻り、「伝える」仕事に集中することができる。
彼らが死ぬなどと真にイメージしたことは正直なかった。
鮮烈に蘇る(在腦帶中可以清楚回憶起)彼らの優しい笑顔。
ボー然としたところで、「なぜ？」と考えたところで、彼らはもう戻って来ない。
どうか、神様。彼らに安らかなる日々をお与えください。
Why must they be killed? They are supposed to have bright futures with hope and great potential. They should have had the opportunity to meet women, get married, have children and build a family.
These people who suffer from the war say, “The dead ones are the lucky ones. They do not have any pain any more. They can sleep peacefully now. Being alive is a horrible thing.” These words are ironic, but this is what they really think.[…]
And then there was Hamza, a young clever fellow who helped charity organizations deliver bread to about 1,000 war orphans and needy families. He was killed by air strikes on July 10. Every time when I asked him for help he always had a big smile on his face. We drank tea together and ate sweets together. To thank him, I gave him a watch made in Japan, a small digital camera, and other presents. During wartime, it is nice to have the opportunity to give presents to someone.
In the war zones, how many people who have helped me have been killed?
But I am still alive. I survive and go back to my country and focus on my work to tell people what is happening here.
I never thought that they would be killed.
Now I can still remember Hamza's smile clearly.
No matter how lost I am in reverie thinking about “why,” they will never come back.
God, please give them peace.
Witnessing so many sad stories, Goto said in a tweet in December 2010 that all he can do is to keep working as a journalist:
そう、取材現場に涙はいらない。ただ、ありのままを克明に記録し、人の愚かさや醜さ、理不尽さ、悲哀、命の危機を伝えることが使命だ。でも、つらいものはつらい。胸が締め付けられる。声に出して、自分に言い聞かせないとやってられない。
— 後藤健二 (@kenjigotoip) diciembre 1, 2010
We need not shed tears when reporting on assignment. I just need to record what I see clearly: the stupidity and ugliness of humans, the injustice, the sadness, and the life-threatening conditions. However, pain is still pain, and it torments my soul. If I do not speak to myself, I cannot do this job anymore.
After Goto’s death, one of his tweets went on to be retweeted nearly 40,000 times in remembrance of his work in the Middle East and his belief in peace:
目を閉じて、じっと我慢。怒ったら、怒鳴ったら、終わり。それは祈りに近い。憎むは人の業にあらず、裁きは神の領域。－そう教えてくれたのはアラブの兄弟たちだった。
— 後藤健二 (@kenjigotoip) septiembre 7, 2010
Close your eyes. Bear it. If we become angry and yell, we are doomed. This is like prayer. Hate is not what humans should do. Judgment lies with God. That is what I learned from my Arab brothers.

author: I-fan Lin


text:
‘Photoblogging Is My Sustenance’, Says Ugandan Photographer Edward Echwalu · Global Voices
Prudence Nyamishana

This is one of Edward Echwalus's photos of a boy pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with jerry cans full of water in Western Uganda. Photo used with permission.
The name Edward Echwalu is quickly becoming synonymous with photography and blogging in Uganda. In an exclusive interview, the amazing photoblogger spoke to Global Voices about his love for photography and blogging.
Prudence Nyamishana (PN): When did it occur to you that photography was your thing?
Edward Echwalu (EE): I was like many Ugandan kids that didn’t know what my career path was headed even when I was in second year at Makerere University and like many Mass Communication students, I attended all the classes hoping that I would discover my passion along the way.
One day, a visiting professor from the USA came with his camera and encouraged us to integrate stories and photos. My life was completely changed. I immediately started taking pictures and compliments came from that direction. My passion was driven by that fact that my father had said that after my final semester at school, I would never see any of his money. I knew I had to earn a living. But I was glad that I had discovered my passion.
I took a bold step and from my tuition, boarded a bus to Nairobi, Kenya to buy a camera. I had been told that cameras are cheaper. I didn’t know anyone but that didn't stop me from going to buy a camera. I was very excited, I took photos of everything that came my way. But then I knew that I had to publicize my photos so I set up a blog and by then not many Ugandans were blogging. Part of my course had a design component so I designed business cards. And just before the semester closed, I was invited by the US embassy for an Editor’s meeting. It was an exclusive meeting with Editors of top-level media houses. I was only a student and the only portfolio I had was a link to my blog. So what I did out of excitement became my defining moment. And thereafter, I got many more emails from people that wanted me to do work for them including the Daily Monitor that took me on as a their photographer.
PN: What has been your best moment as a photoblogger?
EE: They are quite a number of great moments but my best moment was when I received a call from London that I had been nominated for CNN African Journalism Awards. I didn’t know how to respond. The call came in when I was in a car with my friends going to party when I told them, the party started right there. For the first time I felt like somebody appreciated my work.
Night fishing with kerosene lamp is common in Uganda. Photo used with permission.
PN: What challenges do you face as a photoblogger?
EE: In Uganda people don’t appreciate talent. I keep pushing myself to do better work. At the university I didn’t learn much for most of what I know I learned from YouTube.
Equipment is very expensive and not available in Uganda yet photography here is easily unnoticed unless your work is exceptional. In journalism, photojournalists are always on the front line and yet in Uganda, they are not insured. Police have beaten me in my line of duty, I pursued the case but it fell off along the way. In 2009, during the Buganda riots, there was tension everywhere and every scene was a front-line the whole town was ablaze yet I wanted as many exclusive photos as possible. The Army was in charge so they started shooting at people- they arrested me and beat me I was taken to a police barracks where I was flogged. But there was no body to see me being beaten. Fortunately, I had airtime on my phone that was enough for a text message to my editor- who in turn sent a message that spread to many radio stations in Kampala- then the army men started wondering who I was and was released immediately. Then in 2011 during the “walk to work” protests, I was downtown taking pictures of the protesters. The army me shot warning bullets in the sky before I knew it, one soldier opened fire on the crowd and I saw a young man that had been full of life shouting a in front of me dead. I was traumatized and raged. I took more pictures despite the beatings. And all I could do was tell the young man’s story.
PN: What is it like being a Ugandan photoblogger?
EE: Photoblogging has opened very many doors for me. I have power in the camera. I chose ideas that relate to my global audience. I use blogging to raise awareness of issues. For example the nodding syndrome story that I covered in northern Uganda. The disease puzzled me; nobody seemed to have answers to it so I decided to travel to northern Uganda what I found there was shocking- I covered what it takes for a child to live with the disease. The response was overwhelming, people came up with ideas of how to get involved and as a result, there were campaigns to raise funds for the nodding syndrome. Media coverage increased internationally and locally. Photoblogging has helped me tell humanitarian stories that ordinarily would never appear in the mainstream media. Along the way, I found my niche I now do photography for development so I use more pictures and less words.
PN: I have seen many of your amazing pictures that tell the story even without reading the caption. How do you manage to capture these moments?
EE: I go out for emotions yet many photobloggers go for activity. When I capture the emotion I leave the field gratified. It is never easy capturing emotion it requires patience, time and skill. As a photographer you must be humane enough to tell the story. You need to feels what these people are feeling, with the nodding syndrome, I was angry I felt like the children deserved better.
PN: What keeps you going when things are falling apart?
EE: Photoblogging is my sustenance. I don’t have a physical office I have encouraged photojournalists to pursue photoblogging that what I earn on a project is 98% of my annual revenue if I had a daytime job. I decided that the many hours I was giving to my employer, I invest it in my job, I feel that I am yet to tell the best story of my life- I don’t feel like I have taken my best picture yet. And for a long time, I used never to take compliments. Sometimes when I compare myself with other photographers around the world I know that I am not yet there so I have to keep pushing myself to the limits.
Yes, times have been tough when I lost my morale for any work. I felt like my work was not very impactful. I spoke to my mentor who told me to take a step back and for the first time in my career for a whole month, I did not click a camera, I didn’t take any picture and didn’t carry a camera or smart phone. I went on a wild adventure. Temptations came along the way but I used this season to jump-start my life and when the one month was over, I was ready for a fresh start. Then there is a time when my equipment was stolen; all my cameras, backup hard drives yet that was my life. I felt amputated. It took good encouragement to get me back to my feet. Friends organized and fund-raised about 2000 dollars contributions came from allover the world; Brazil, Ghana, Ethiopia US and many other countries. That was another defining moment, because I had global voices that were encouraging me to go on.
PN: What can you tell a blogger out there that is about to give up or has already given up on their blog?
EE: Giving up on a blog is like giving up on life. Whatever reasons made you open up a blog should keep you going. Many bloggers give up because they are not getting enough feedback but you have no idea that your blog might have been changing a life somewhere, even if it was one person that is all that matters. Sometimes we get discouraged over things that do not matter. Don’t lay your tools down; there are people out there that are feeding from your thoughts. Keep going.
Edward's work can be found here.

author: Prudence Nyamishana


text:
Putin’s Daughter Can No Longer Hide from the Internet · Global Voices
Will Wright

Images edited by Kevin Rothrock.
Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, recently had to answer a direct question about the identity of Katerina Tikhonova, a woman said to be the President's elusive younger daughter. Here's what Peskov said:
Я не знаю, кто это. Не могу это оценить, я не знаю. До сих пор много девушек выдавали за дочерей Владимира Путина.
I don't know who that is. I am unable to assess that, I don't know. Up to this point, many girls have posed as daughters of Vladimir Putin.
So, just how did Putin's press secretary find himself sidestepping questions about his boss's daughter?
The story began when the newspaper RBC published an investigation on January 28 into a huge development project in Moscow estimated at over $1.7 billion. RBC's investigation says a mysterious person named Katerina Tikhonova is a key figure behind the project to build a new science and technology center at Moscow State University.
Next, the Russian journalist Oleg Kashin, a prolific tweeter and the survivor of a brutal 2010 attack widely considered retribution for his work, entered the story. In a post to his website, Kashin identified Katerina Tikhonova as none other than Putin's younger daughter.
In his post, Kashin first describes how Tikhonova has begun to appear more in public recently. He notes that Tikhonova attended this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, a high-profile event for the rich and powerful in Switzerland, with Kirill Shamalov, the deputy CEO of the Russian energy company Sibur and son of Russian oligarch Nikolay Shamalov, a long-time friend of Vladimir Putin's. (An anonymous Putin family acquaintance told Bloomberg that Kirill Shamalov is Tikhonova’s husband.)
Kashin then recalls how Putin once said that his daughter Katerina was named after her maternal grandmother, Ekaterina Tikhonovna Shkrebneva, and muses about why Putin's spokesperson sidestepped the question about Tikhonovna.
Next, Kashin points to a video of a young woman named Katerina Tikhonova dancing in an acrobatic rock ’n’ roll competition sponsored by the same financial interests backing the Moscow mega-project of the RBC investigation.
Finally, Kashin cites rumors from last summer that one of Putin's daughters was heading up the building of a new science and technology center in Moscow.
Putting it all together, Kashin argues that these three Katerinas—the dancer, businesswoman, and president's daughter—are one and the same.
Following Kashin's post, an anonymous source “close the Moscow State University leadership” confirmed to Reuters on January 29 that Katerina Tikhonova is indeed the daughter of Vladimir Putin. With this, the story took off.
During his many years in power, Vladimir Putin has closely guarded the details of his personal life. In fact, Putin's two daughters, Katerina, 28, and Maria, 29, have never given media interviews, and the Kremlin has never even published any pictures of them as adults.
Understandably, therefore, this story immediately attracted national and international media attention.
Perhaps the most shared part of the story on social networks has been Katerina Tikhonova's dance moves.
Putin's younger daughter may have found herself in the international media spotlight through the chance combination of an RBC investigation, Oleg Kashin's sharp eye, and a Reuters anonymous source.
Then again, RBC is a newspaper owned by Mikhail Prokhorov, and now seems as unlikely a time as ever for a Russian oligarch to risk Putin's wrath by failing to get permission to publish an investigation into a project being headed by his younger daughter, whose privacy Putin has closely guarded.
Either way, Katerina Tikhonova has become a public figure in Russia. And who knows where connections like hers in Russia might end up taking her now.

author: Will Wright


text:
Yemen’s Political Limbo Continues with Al Houthi’s ‘Unconstitutional’ Declaration  · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

A cartoon by Samer Al Shameri summing up the negotiations in Yemen
After Yemen's uncertainty being in political limbo for weeks, the Houthi militia, who took over the capital Sana'a and forced President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi and the cabinet to resign last month, announced today that they would dissolve parliament, placing their security and intelligence arm, known as the “Supreme Revolutionary Committee (SRC),” as the ruler of Yemen.
Yemen has been without formal leadership since January 22. Houthi leaders held a three-day national conference, which ended last Sunday, February 1 by giving political factions in Yemen three days to reach an agreement to fill the political vacuum or they would take over.
Yemeni journalist Mohammed Al Qadi tweeted:
A hostage government , a hostage president , a hostage country .#Yemen
— Mohammed al-Qadhi (@mohammedalqadhi) February 2, 2015
As no agreement was reached, the ultimatum was followed by a three-day extension which expired today at 4 p.m. Yemen time, with the announcement of the so called “Constitutional Declaration”. The Houthis dissolved parliament replacing it with a Transitional National Council (TNC) of 551 members, a Presidential Council of five members to be elected by the TNC and subject to approval by the SRC, within a two-year transitional period. The full terms of the declaration was televised from the Republican palace, and translated to English by Haykal Bafana:
here.
These were the initial reactions.
Hisham Al-Omeisy tweeted in dismay:
No elections, no process, no nothing..simply that rev committees now in charge “constitutionally” & have say in Everything! #Yemen
— Hisham Al-Omeisy (@omeisy) February 6, 2015
Nadwa Dawsary highlighted who clearly seems to be in charge:
#Yemen: A supreme revolutionary committee headed by Mohammed Al-Houthis is now in control. The rest are just details. #Houthis
— Nadwa (@Ndawsari) February 6, 2015
Sama Al-Hamdani pointed to the military backing that Houthi seem to be enjoying:
One thing is clear from the audience of the #houthi speech at the republican palace, the Yemeni military is in their hands. #Yemen
— Sama'a Al-Hamdani (@Yemeniaty) February 6, 2015
Journalist Hakim Almasmari tweeted what he had forseen:
Remember this tweet I sent out more than three months ago. Well, “I told you so!” #Yemen pic.twitter.com/IV4wggtelk
— Hakim Almasmari (@HakimAlmasmari) February 6, 2015
Former Minister of Information, Nadia Al-Sakkaf tweeted:
KSA working on a new deal that involved both Islah &GPC to turn the table against #Houthis,sounds familiar? history repeats itself in #Yemen
— Nadia Sakkaf (@NadiaSakkaf) February 6, 2015
Haykal Bafanaa tweeted some realpolitik advice:
Here are some tips for the next UN diplomat who wants to try & fix things for Yemenis : In Yemen, Violence Pays. http://t.co/6TsOg2kZWk
— Haykal Bafana (@BaFana3) February 6, 2015
Meanwhile Hussain Al-Bukhaiti tweeted:
Instead of negotiation in movenpiek it will be in republican palace now,doors r open for partnership in pres council,gov&national congress
— Hussain Albukhaiti (@HussainBukhaiti) February 6, 2015
He added:
No statement from GPC&islah cos the waiting 4 G10,GCC and the UN stand, this show u how they depend on the outside not on the ppl of Yemen
— Hussain Albukhaiti (@HussainBukhaiti) February 6, 2015
While there were celebratory fireworks after the declaration as tweeted by Yemen Updates:
Fireworks and gunfire in #Sanaa and Saada in celebrations of their #Houthi Declaration. #Yemen pic.twitter.com/4fH0vrFimw
— Yemen Updates (@yemen_updates) February 6, 2015
Nasser Maweri tweeted there were opposing demonstrations elsewhere:
Another pic for the protests in #Taiz taking place now against the #houthi_declaration #yemen pic.twitter.com/4nzc86kj82
— Nasser Maweri (@NasserMaweri) February 6, 2015
Journalist Peter Salisbary sarcastically tweets:
Seems the Houthi announcement is going down well. Only opposed by about 2/3 of country so far… #yemen
— Peter Salisbury (@altoflacoblanco) February 6, 2015
Yemenis anticipate at some point a showdown between ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis, whom appear to be currently working out a partnership.
Yemen Updates tweeted:
The statement reads: “Partners in Coup; Future Enemies” Saleh facilitated Houthi's takeover of Sanaa. #Yemen pic.twitter.com/0s1g7ps6F0
— Yemen Updates (@yemen_updates) February 6, 2015
Jamal Badr tweeted a chart leading to the ultimate showdown, which some anticipate:
الكلاسيكو القادم : the next clasico: صالح vs الحوثي Saleh vs Houthie #اليمن #Yemen :D pic.twitter.com/sF3eUdx40H
— Jamal Badr (@JamalBadr) February 1, 2015
Life goes on for Yemenis despite the political chaos as highlighted in this article by the New York Times:
Difficult is just how life is in Yemen, yesterday, today and every day. It does not matter that the president and his cabinet have resigned, that the government has not functioned for weeks, or that the gunmen in control of the streets say they plan to set up a new regime to their own liking.
Families have always had to struggle to get through their days in a country where the government has long been incapable of delivering essential services.

author: Noon Arabia


text:
Boko Haram Kills at Least 81 Civilians in Fotokol, Northern Cameroon  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Northern Cameroon border, where Boko Haram operates
On February 4, Boko Haram conducted a particularly gruesome attack on the town of Fotokol in Northern Cameroon, right across the Nigerian border. Hundred of civilians are feared dead, 81 confirmed so far by the Minister of Defense. Local Human Rights Organization believes that close to 370 civilians were killed. Local testimonies mention scores of bodies in the streets with their throats slit.  The town of Fotokol has been subjected to battles between Boko Haram and Camerronian and Chadian armed forces recently: March 2014, August 2014 and October 2014. Cameroonian Blogger Noelle Lafortune reports that the attack signals that Boko Haram might be losing ground in the region:
Au front, la peur est en train de changer de camp. L'entrée en scène de l'armée tchadienne en appui aux armées camerounaise et nigériane semble être décisive, eu égard à la panique qui s'est emparée de Boko Haram.  La puissance de feu des forces coalisées a mis en déroute Shekau et sa bande.
On the frontline, doubt might be switching sides. The emergence of the Chadian army in support of the Cameroonian and Nigerian military appears to be decisive, given the panic moves that has seemingly gripped Boko Haram. The firepower of the coalition forces routed Shekau (head of Boko Haram) and his gang.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


text:
Bot Wave Tries to Remind Russians of Rosier Olympic Times · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Images edited by Kevin Rothrock.
What follows is a full English-language translation of an article by Vadim Yelistratov that appeared in Russian on the website TJ on February 7, 2015.
“Labor, Sports, and Vladimir Putin,” by Vadim Yelistratov
On February 7, the Sochi Winter Olympics celebrated its one-year anniversary. Exactly 12 months prior, one of the greatest sporting events in Russia’s history began. Many Russians experienced a surge of patriotism during the Games (Russia won the medal count, and the spectacle was well organized) and they hoped hosting the competition would improve the country’s reputation on the world stage.
Nevertheless, today in February 2015, Russia is in the midst of an economic crisis, and its relations with the US and European Union have reached rock bottom. Largely because of this, there has been a concerted effort across the airwaves to remind Russians about the anniversary of the country’s Olympic triumph.
TJournal draws attention to a wave of identical tweets, launched on February 7, “written” by bots about the Olympics’ anniversary.
Remembrances
Some of the replicated tweets focused simply on reminding readers about the Olympics’ anniversary. There were a few different versions of this message, which recycled various news headlines.
Критично. Мир, труд, спорт, Владимир Путин…ОЛИМПИАДА!!!
— EllenEverard (@EllenEverard1) February 7, 2015
Critical. Peace, labor, sports, Vladimir Putin … Olympics!
Олимпиада в Сочи. Год спустя
— BoolmanWarren (@BoolmanWarren) February 7, 2015
The Olympics in Sochi. One year later.
Россия: Ну, я пошла. Олимпиада! Всех победили! Урааа!
— Мария (@remendosans) February 7, 2015
Russia: well, I’m off. The Olympics! We beat everyone! Hooraaaay!
Ровно год назад в Сочи стартовала Олимпиада
— Nikodim Tihonov (@adnudaxe) February 7, 2015
Exactly one year ago in Sochi, the Olympics started.
Олимпиада в Сочи: год спустя. Россия сегодня вспоминает об Олимпийских играх …
— CristWhitney (@CristWhitney) February 7, 2015
The Olympics in Sochi: one year later. Russia remembers the Olympic Games today…
Personal testimonies
Other tweets tried to sell the Olympics as a personal event in the life of every Russian.
Олимпиада. Как это было для меня.
— ThorntonPoole (@ThorntonPoole1) February 7, 2015
The Olympics. How it was for me.
Сегодня же #годпослеигр Олимпиада навсегда в моем сердце
— Arina (@arina_novak) February 7, 2015
Today is the #YearAfterTheGames. The Olympics will always been in my heart.
Russian prestige
A large number of the bot tweets stress that the Olympics were a “national triumph” for Russia that produced a “positive impact for the country’s image.”
Олимпиада в Сочи: год национального триумфа 33/13
— CorralJarvis (@CorralJarvis) February 7, 2015
The Sochi Olympics: the year of our national triumph 33/13 [The text “33/13” signifies the medals won by Russian athletes (total medal and gold medals).]
Я смотрела во все глаза) Олимпиада в Сочи великое событие, которое положительно сказалось на имидже страны.
— reyna manayan pacho (@anyereyn) February 7, 2015
I was all eyes as I watched. :) The Sochi Olympics were a monumental event that reflected positively on the country’s image.
Polling results
Very actively and without any hyperlinks to the source material, bot accounts tweeted headlines from articles published at The Russian Times and RBC, drawing on survey results from the polling agencies Romir, Gallup International, and VTsIOM.
Опрос: Крым и Олимпиада сделали россиян счастливыми
— Алёна Козлова (@woodyxt) February 7, 2015
Poll: Crimea and the Olympics have made Russians happy.
49 процентов россиян уверены, что Олимпиада повысила престиж России
— Анна Семенова (@Semenovadextsap) February 7, 2015
49 percent of Russians are confident that the Olympics raised Russia’s prestige.
Quotes from Putin and other world-class athletes
Bot accounts most often recycled extremely positive statements by Vladimir Putin, triple Olympic champion figure skater Irina Rodnina, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, and Russian Olympic Committee President Alexander Zhukov.
Виталий Мутко: Олимпиада в Сочи – длинная дистанция с хорошим финишем
— Ирина Евдокимова (@lambi_tania) February 7, 2015
Vitaly Mutko: the Sochi Olympics were a long road with a good finish
Путин: Олимпиада в Сочи вызвала всплеск положительных эмоций
— Alexey Gryzlov (@Alexeev001) February 7, 2015
Putin: the Sochi Olympics caused a surge of good feelings.
Роднина: Олимпиада в Сочи доказала, что РФ справляется с любой задачей
— Исаак Олин (@taprunch) February 7, 2015
Rodnina: the Sochi Olympics showed that Russia can manage any challenge.
Единая Россия: Фетисов: Олимпиада в Сочи была праздником для всей страны -
— Юля Люц (@Tratdi_Osood) February 7, 2015
United Russia: Fetisov: the Sochi Olympics were a holiday for the entire country.
Жуков: Олимпиада в Сочи дала сильный толчок развитию спорта в России
— Искренне Вашъ (@Nikolasha_A) February 7, 2015
Zhukov: the Sochi Olympics stimulated the development of sports in Russia.
The high price tag
Finally, one identically tweeted message awkwardly tried to diminish the enormous amount of money spent on the Olympics by recalculating its cost in depreciated rubles.
В пересчёте на нынешний курс доллара, сочинская олимпиада обошлась не так уж и дорого…
— DylanDerrick (@DylanDerrick3) February 7, 2015
When you recalculate its cost in today’s rubles, the Sochi Olympics weren't all that expensive…
The Russian mass media
Most Russian media outlets also reported on the Olympics's anniversary in purely positive terms, without mentioning anything about the country’s subsequent economic crisis. Of all the biggest newspapers, only Argumenty i Fakty published anything remotely critical.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Roll Call to Never Forget the Missing Ayotzinapa Students · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

Since the disappearance of the 43 students from Ayotzinapa last September, a group of citizens driven by Mexican journalist and producer Epigmenio Ibarra has decided to prevent the case from being forgotten by conducting a roll call of the names of each student every day at 10 p.m. Mexico Central Time.
Mexicans and foreigners alike have joined this initiative both within and outside of the country.
Los nombramos cada noche.Lo seguiremos haciendo hasta conquistar verdad y justicia.#PaseDeLista1al43 10pm RTxfav pic.twitter.com/LUMIsgZLGr”
— Ara-Ídem (@5AraCoelli) January 27, 2015
We say their names every night. We will continue doing so until we conquer truth and get justice.
Each name is normally accompanied by an illustration from the Illustrators for Ayotzinapa movement to keep the memory of the students humanized. Some also add the phrase “Because if we forget, they win” to remind people about the importance of maintaining their memory alive.
No al carpetazo Vamos con más fuerza, seremos una sombra para EPN #YaMeCanse30 “@epigmenioibarra pic.twitter.com/CnPHjiZIMi 10 pm Pase de lista
— Sussan Buendia (@Buendia_Tunel) February 3, 2015
No to closing the case. We're going to push harder, we will cast a shadow over EPN. 10pm Roll call.
The roll call continues to gain traction.
El pase de lista diario de @epigmenioibarra sigue logrando hasta 500RTs por alumno #Ayotzinapa#YaSeQueNoAplaudenpic.twitter.com/YwwGkBh4Xy
— Alejandro T (@birkut) February 4, 2015
The daily roll call by @epigmenioibarra continues to get up to 500RTs per student.
Cada noche los RTs del pase de lista del 1 al 43 alcanza a miles en sus TLs, es otra pequeña marcha que acompaña. Sigamos juntos.
— Compa Salces (@carlossalces) January 27, 2015
Each night, RTs of the roll call from 1 to 43 reaches thousands in their TLs. It's another small protest accompanying the efforts. Let's continue together.
And every day there is a call to join this roll call where the following hashtags, relevant to the movement, are included: #YaMeCansé (#TiredofThis), #AcciónGlobalporAyotzinapa (#GlobalActionforAyotzinapa), #NosFaltan43 (#We'reMissing43), among others.
Banda: Contra la apatía y el olvido y porque #NosFaltan43 Sumémonos al pase de lista #TodosSomosAyotzinapa con @epigmenioibarra
— Compa MariaIsabel (@wixaritari) February 4, 2015
Group: Those against apathy and neglect and because #We'reMissing43, let's join the roll call #WeAreAllAyotzinapa with @epigmenioibarra
Quien olvida su historia está condenado a repetirla. Listos para el pase de lista con @epigmenioibarra #Nosfaltan43 pic.twitter.com/tCJRhhCWqC
— Frank (@frankcjc) January 30, 2015
Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it. Ready for the roll call with @epigmenioibarra

author: Elizabeth Rivera


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Niger Youth Defiant Following Boko Haram Attack in Bosso and Bombing in Diffa · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Young men in Niger – CC-BY-2.0
For the first time, Boko Haram conducted an assault on Niger's territory and the youth of Niger will not stand for it.
Boko Haram assaulted Bosso and Diffa, two towns in southeast Niger at the border with Nigeria but was repelled by Niger and Chad's army. Boko Haram lost an estimated 100 combatants in the clash but a suicide bomber detonated explosives in the city a few hours later, killing 5 civilians. The youth of Niger was prompt to react to the attacks. Niamey (Niger's capital) High school students got together to condemn the attacks on their country and express in Hausa their support to their troops fighting at the border:


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Tens of Thousands March Through Madrid’s Streets for Change · Global Voices
Elena Arrontes

“The great March of Change”, in Madrid, Spain. Photo by Olmo Calvo, Diagonal newspaper. Republished under CC license.
More than 100,000 people filled Puerta del Sol, a plaza in the heart of the Spanish capital and a landmark of protests in recent years, asking for change on Saturday, January 31. Demonstrators across the political spectrum, of different ages, and from several cities in Spain gathered in Madrid in what is now known as the “Great March for Change”.
The rally was called by Podemos, a political party founded just one year ago that nevertheless won five seats in the European Parliament, positioning itself as a potential winner of the Spanish general elections in 2016. The party has a strong commitment to citizens and has collected ideas raised during the years of outrage and protest following the financial crisis that rocked Spain. Responding to Podemos’ call for the march, citizens turned up by the tens of thousands, giving the party massive support in the streets.
Photo by Wassim Zabad. Used with permission.
The march on January 31 was presented as a political assembly in which the audience was able to attend the interventions by members of Podemos. The audience appropriated the most famous slogans of the Indignado Movement (15M)–the 2011-12 massive protests after the economic crisis. This time, however, unlike previous demonstrations the outrage was not the only reason for the rally–the will to join forces to change the system was also at the heart of the movement. “Yes, we can” was the most heard cry, also chanted in other rallies of recent years, to express that citizens feel empowered to end corruption and the reign of a political elite that does not look out for their interests.
“We dream, but we take our dreams very seriously,” was the most repeated phrase by Pablo Iglesias, the Podemos party leader who organized the march through a viral online campaign. He began his speech by referring to Greece, which has elected the Syriza party, which opposes the European elite, to form a government.
Greece is the first country that will reject austerity measures, according to Podemos, and the party plans for Spain to be the second with it leading the government. Spain faces the problems of inequality, poverty, and exclusion, Iglesias said, denouncing the country's recent governments. He also presented proposals for change as a way of stressing the need to take a left turn: “2015 is the year of change for Spain and Europe.”
Several generations listen to the leader of Podemos. Photo by David Fernández. Diagonal newspaper. Republished under CC License.
The leader paid tribute to activist groups that have fought to defend people's rights in the past and now: the teachers and students that formed a green tide in defense of education, the white coats who locked themselves inside hospitals for public health care, women who fought for the right to abortion, “the tireless grandparents” who have struggled for social justice for future generations, the “deceived people” who have fought against the banks, and migrant workers who have struggled to stop evictions. “Thanks for being the popular movement that will allow the change. Never again a country without its people,” he concluded.
Twitter users have used the social network to share photos and videos of the event, the reasons for their participation in the march, and even their dreams about that day:
El pueblo ha dicho basta ya d estafadores, corruptos y falsos patriotas…el cambio está en nuestra mano! #EsAhora31E pic.twitter.com/rwadufhEj2
— ZBelaus (@ZBelaustegui) enero 31, 2015
The people said enough to crooks, corrupts and false patriots … change is in our hands! #EsAhora31E pic.twitter.com/rwadufhEj2
Este sábado la ilusión y la esperanza por el cambio van a inundar Madrid: > 31E Cibeles-Sol 12H < #LaMarchaDelCambio pic.twitter.com/WHQi0uOs3L
— Luis Rueda Martín (@luisrueda96)
This Saturday the dream and hope for change will flood Madrid:> 31E Cibeles-Sol 12H < #LaMarchaDelCambio pic.twitter.com/WHQi0uOs3L
Madrid, 31E. Se siente el sueño de un pueblo que esta construyendo su futuro con alegría y esperanza pic.twitter.com/IIxfIjNtSU #SonreirEsVencer
href=”http://t.co/IIxfIjNtSU”>pic.twitter.com/IIxfIjNtSU#SonreirEsVencer
— Rafa Mayoral (@MayoralRafa) febrero 1, 2015
Madrid, 31E. You can feel the dream of the people who are building their future with joy and hope pic.twitter.com/IIxfIjNtSU #SonreirEsVencer
href = “http://t.co/IIxfIjNtSU”> pic.twitter.com/IIxfIjNtSU#SonreirEsVencer
Tic, tac. Tic, tac. El sonido del cambio. #EsAhora31E
— Pablo Soto (@pabloMP2P)
Tic, tock. Tic, tock. The sound of change. #EsAhora31E
Poster in support of the change. Photo by Wassim Zabad. Used with permission.
Hoy es un momento constituyente. Es la hora de la gente. No olvidaremos el #31e @ierrejon petandola #EsAhora31E pic.twitter.com/SRcXdLECLZ
— toret (@toret) enero 31, 2015
Today is a constituent moment. It's time for the people. We will not forget the #31e @ierrejon petandola #EsAhora31E pic.twitter.com/SRcXdLECLZ

author: Elena Arrontes


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‘We Need to Be Careful Even of What We Think’: Self-Censorship in Venezuela · Global Voices
Marianne Díaz Hernández

Kilmainham Gaol cell door peephole, Ireland. Photo by LenDog64 via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Loud knocks on the door of my apartment woke me up at 6am one morning. I live in a very quiet building, and I have a doorbell. But these were not normal times. It was March 2014. For a month, people had been marching on the streets, demonstrating against our government, all across Venezuela.
When the protests began causing clashes with police and blockages on major public roads, citizens turned to social media to learn about the events. Venezuelan broadcast television and radio suffer heavily from self-censorship and offered little coverage of what was happening on the ground. Whether intending to participate or just to find out if they would be able to get to work that day, people who ventured out to the streets ended up broadcasting the police attacks from their mobile phones.
Some claimed Internet connections were slower at the peak moments of the protests, accusing the government of throttling the connections. Some said that police brought cellphone signal blockers when they came in to suppress the protests. A Colombian TV channel documenting the protests was taken off air and their web stream was blocked inside Venezuela.
Since the start of the protests, I had been mapping online censorship and helping people learn to use encrypted communication tools. So that morning when the knocks startled me awake, I got up, scared to the bone. I became even more frightened when I peered through the window to the parking lot and saw several men with long weapons and bullet-proof vests circling the building as if it were a SWAT operation. My boyfriend tried to look through the fish eye of our door, both of us making as little noise as possible. The police were raiding the building.
When they came to our building, the police were not looking for us, but amidst the fear and confusion there was no way to know for sure. A few days later, the home of Mildred Manrique, a journalist for the national newspaper 2001, was raided and Mildred taken in for interrogation. There were raids and arrests all over the country, carried out without court orders or any evidence of a crime being committed.
Inside my apartment I stood still and did not open the door. Eventually the police left to knock on the doors of other apartments, because it was not us they were looking for. At Mildred's, no one opened the door either. But the police broke it down with a battering ram. They found a bulletproof vest (which reporters are required to have, in compliance with safety regulations) and a computer “containing material against the government.” That was enough to cause them to take her in for questioning.
A few hours after the raid, I posted on Facebook a jittery, anxious status update on what had happened. My mom scolded me on the phone: “You will get into trouble for doing that.” I usually disregard my mom's warnings—I think she’s overprotective—but I could not shake the feeling that in this case she was right.
There is no coherent policy for online content regulation in Venezuela. Instead, there are waves of detentions and online censorship. Myriad websites have been blocked on and off by the government since 2007, sometimes officially through the telecommunications commission, other times indirectly through CANTV, the state-owned ISP that controls at least 80% of the national market. Not once in the case of any of  these blockages, some of which persist, was a trial conducted.
Online content that “promotes, justifies or incites public disturbances,” to quote an example, is banned, and these sorts of vague definitions have been used to criminalize all kinds of online activities. An e-commerce bill, on the verge of being passed as I write these lines, would forbid the electronic sale of pornography, medicine, basic food items, and several other goods.
Arguments from advocates for free expression and an open Internet largely fall on deaf ears. The concept of net neutrality has been rejected by Venezuelan government officials, who say that “neutrality does not exist, because technologies are not neutral.” Indeed, neutrality is a foreign concept for Venezuela, where everything has a political subtext, even the coffee brand you choose or the color you decide to wear on any given day. And the public politics of the Venezuelan government regarding the Internet, and specifically social media, are not neutral at all. The state has created a “communicational guerrilla”, designed to “combat the lies and misinformation spread by private media” and devoted to creating trending topics and harassing people on social networks. This year, they established a “Deputy Ministry for Social Networks, the true role of which is yet to be seen.
The government has established a stronger and stronger presence in social networks in an attempt to “gain terrain” in the proverbial “ideological battle” in which it is entrenched. Diosdado Cabello, one of the strong men of the late president Hugo Chavez, said in 2010 that “The opposition believes itself to be the owner of social networking,” and claimed they would “assault social networks to counter the views expressed by [their] opponents.”
People have been detained for tweeting indelicate comments about President Hugo Chávez's death. They have been detained over tweets about banking rumors or for posting fake pictures. Twitter users with fewer than a hundred followers have been detained, accused of “destabilizing the country”. These obviously disproportionate measures are not intended simply as a punishment for the perpetrators, but also as a warning sign for everyone else. Moreover, those who voice dissent are portrayed by state media as “traitors”, “rioters” and “destabilizers”, which means that when you voice unpopular opinions in a public environment (like a social network), you could be subject to attacks, not from the government, but from your peers. Your political opinions come into play when you interview for a new job, when you buy from a state-owned store, when you try to take advantage of any financial assistance provided by the State to study, work or purchase goods. This, in turn, becomes yet another reason to self-censor.
There were people arrested, both in 2014 and previously, for comments they had posted online. In 2013, Andrés Rondón Sayago was detained for allegedly spreading fake photographs of burning ballots, and was later made to record a video (uploaded to the YouTube channel of “Venezuela Full of Life,” a government program intended to reduce crime) in which he declares that he published the picture “by mistake” via Facebook, and asks people to “stop publishing this kind of material” and avoid situations of “terrorism”. In the video he is trembling, his voice shaking with fear.
I still cannot watch that video without feeling like crying. That fear, so exposed in Rondón Sayago, lives within each one of us who dares to dissent. We were then, as we are now, afraid to up. And I think this is the most pervasive form of censorship: the one that places the censor inside your own head and makes you review every thought at least twice to make sure that it is something you can say in public.
After the protests, at a meeting regarding the state of the net, someone actually said to me that we need to be careful even of what we think. After all, she reasoned, we say everything we think when we’re online. There's nothing that frightens me more, as we give in inch by inch, than the fact that we are getting used to living with that fear, adapting ourselves to the size of the container in which we have been confined to live.
This essay won second prize in the #GV2015 Summit competition, “How Do Internet Policies Affect Your Community?” Marianne Díaz is a Venezuelan lawyer and fiction writer. She works with Acceso Libre and serves as the Creative Commons lead for Venezuela. She joined Global Voices in 2010.

author: Marianne Díaz Hernández


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A ‘Last Prophet’ Faces Jail for Land-Grabbing and Polygamy in Tajikistan · Global Voices
Abdulfattoh Shafiev

Screen shot from Tajik first channel coverage of Sheikh Temur's arrest, uploaded via Vimeo.
A Tajik man that describes himself as ‘The Last Prophet’ and recruited dozens of unassuming villagers into his sect, has been detained on suspicion of ‘polygamy’ and ‘illegal seizure of land’, state media say.
On Friday, February 6 Tajik state TV showed a half-hour special report on a 65-year-old man known as Sheikh Temur, who, as the report claimed, designated himself as ‘Imam Mahdi’, ‘a saint’ and ‘the Last Prophet’ as he constructed a sect in western Tajikistan that fuses Islamic teaching and local superstition.
According to the report, Sheikh Temur ordered his followers to wear the blue sallah, a hat specific to religious figures and elderlies in Central Asia. Temur and his band thus came to be known as the sallahkabudon (blue hat wearers) in the area. Videos from the sect’s ceremonies show how followers of ‘The Last Prophet’ lay fabrics under the wheels of his luxurious car as a sign of respect, kissed the car's wheels and, according to the report, drank the water he washed his hands with. He is also accused by authorities of illegally grabbing land in several rural districts and ordering his rich followers to build him big houses there.
Temur, who was apparently imprisoned once back in 1986 by a Soviet court for seducing and marrying a teenager while already married, has allegedly amassed seven wives in a country where polygamy is illegal. His latest wife, who he married five years ago, is 45 years younger than him, while the report notes that at least one of her predecessors was confined to a psychiatric institution at Temur's request. None of the 20 children from his seven wives attends school, the report states.
The blackening of Islam in Tajikistan?
The case of Sheikh Temur, was thoroughly-discussed on one of the biggest Tajik Facebook groups dedicated to religious issues, Tarbiyayi Imoni. There many people linked the growth of his sect with a lack of religious education:
Ин хама дастбусию дигару дигар аз бесаводии мардуми мост. Агар саводи исломи медоштанд ягон нафари онхо рафта дар назди ин чодугар арзи дил намекардад ва ё аз тарси дуои бади ин чодугар тарсида духтарони худро хадя намекарданд. Ачаб замоне шуд, инсонхо аз кадом чодугар метарсанд аммо аз Аллохи (ч.ч) наметарсанд. Хама намуди исломсиёхкунонро дар ВАТАН дидед аммо инаш ГАРЕНИ будай. Худоё тавба. Худо бахшад гуноххои моро.
The fact people kissed his hands and did these other things is due to their lack of education. If [people] had Islamic education, they would not go to this quack or give their daughters to him for fear of him cursing them. What a time has arrived, when people are afraid of a quack, but not of Allah! We have seen all types of blackening of Islam in this land, but this is a special one.
Yet other Internet users, such as an anonymous commenter on RFE/RL’s Tajik Service, tried to defend the sheikh, suggesting he had fallen victim to Tajikistan's biased state media:
Агар филмро тамошо кунед, мебинед, ки ин муйсафед аслан худро на пайгомбар эълон накардааст, на махдии охирзамон. Факат номаш Махди аст. Ин филмро боз хам барои сиёх кардани муллохо пахш карда, худашон обуранг додаанд. Агар бисёрзании уро гирем, имруз ягон вазиру раисе нест, ки чанд зану даххо маъшука надошта бошад. Ин муйсафед тавфик доштааст, ки занони беморро никох карда мегирифтааст ва онхоро таъмин менамудааст. Дар мавриди бусидани дасту нушидани оби дасташ, низ ин гуна “чиноятхо” пур аст дар Точикистон. Як мисол, дар дехаи Туркобод вакте падари Турачонзода аз масчид мебарояд, як гурух занону кудакон давида дастони уро мебусанд ва даст ба чомаи у зада ба чашмонашон мемоланд. Дигар мисол, дар Точикобод хамаи мардум дастони Домулло Хикматуллоро мебусанд ва бе гусфанду буз зиёраташ намераванд. Аммо азбаски у президентро таъриф мекунад, ба у чизе намегуянд. Чаро ба дигар муллохо ичозаи таълими дини нест, аммо Домулло Хикматулло садхо муллобачаро дарс медихад.
If you watch the report, you will see that this old man claimed to be neither a prophet, nor Imam Mahdi. Simply his name is Mahdi. The report is an attempt to blacken all mullahs. Regarding his polygamy – many ministers and chiefs now have several wives and mistresses. This old man showed mercy to mentally disabled women by marrying them and taking care of them. Regarding people kissing his hands and drinking the water he washed his hands with — people run to Turajonzoda’s father [religious leader] and kiss his hands in Vahdat, and they do the same with Domullo Hikmatullo [religious leader]  in Tojikobod, but as Domullo Himatullo praises the president, no one says anything of him.
Commenting on the same service, Jomi responded:
Бовар кунед ман хайрон аз он нафароне мешавам, ки гуе акл надошта бошанд. Наход, ки инсон одами олимро аз чохил фарк накунад ин Шайх темур як чохил ва мунофикест, ки дар либоси Исломи даромада аз надонистани мардуми худ беш аз хад истифода кардааст. Бубинед боз як муриди бесаводаш шарм накарда мегуяд, ки амниятихо онхоро мачбур карданд!!! Ман хайронам ое шуморо кормандони кумитаи амният мачбур сохт, ки мошин ва балони мошинро буса кунед? Ое кормандони кумита шуморо мачбур кард, ки таьзим кунон аз назди шайхи чохилатон бароед? Ое дар ислом ба гайри Алох таьзим кардан ба касе дигар куфр нест? Ое кормандони кумитаи Амният шуморо мачбур сохт, ки духтари ба сини шавхар норасидаро ба касе дихи, ки аз худаш зиеда аз 50 сол калонтар аст? Касам ба зоте, ки чонам дар дасти уст ман корманди кумитаи амният нестам лекин ин хакикати ошкор аст.
I am surprised there are people who still consider Sheikh Temur a mullah. He just misused Islam for his benefit knowing that ordinary uneducated people have no information about Islam. A follower of his even says that they were forced by the Special Forces (to testify against the Sheikh)? Did the KGB force you to kiss the wheels of his car? Did the KGB force you to kneel before your fool Sheikh? Isn't it forbidden in Islam to kneel before anyone except Allah? Did the KGB force you to give your teenage girls to someone 50 years older than them?
It is worth mentioning that although most Tajik netizens believe that Sheikh Temur has committed crimes, the report on his activities is well timed, coming weeks before parliamentary elections. It is possible his arrest has been delayed in order to discredit the Islamic Rennaissance Party of Tajikistan, an opposition party government frequently portrays as using religion as a means for self-interested ends. IRPT chose blue as their party colour in 2010.
The final countdown
In Islam only Muhammad is considered the Final Prophet, which is clearly cited in Quran, the holy book of Muslims. Imam Mahdi is the name for the one to be born to rule the world before the Day of the Judgment. Islamic history knows of many examples of people who proclaimed themselves as Imam Mahdi, but who ended up killed or jailed as imposters.
In secular Tajikistan, ruled by President Rahmon for the last two decades, there are no laws forbidding a person from declaring themselves as God's messenger or saint. Taking into account his age, however, a lengthy prison term may not leave Sheikh Temur with much time to rule the world.

author: Abdulfattoh Shafiev


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Bahrain Shuts Down Al Arab TV, Saying it Does Not Have “Necessary Permits” to Operate · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Al Waleed bin Talal's Al Arab TV was shut down in Bahrain a few hours after it went live. Today, almost a week later, the Ministry of Information issues a Press release saying that the channel will be closed as it did not have the necessary permits
Bahrain today officially announced the suspension of Al Arab satellite channel, after nine days of speculation, further cementing Bahrain's reputation as an enemy of free speech.
“The Information Affairs Authority (IAA) has announced the suspension of Al-Arab satellite channel following its failure to obtain the required licensing approval to commence broadcasting in Bahrain,” said a statement released by the government-run Bahrain News Agency.
The statement added:
the Channel had also failed to match the standards of regional and international practice agreements, to take account of efforts aimed at stemming the tide of extremism and terrorism throughout the region and the wider world.
The channel, owned by Saudi billionare businessman Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, abruptly stopped its scheduled broadcast on February 1, just a few hours after its debut, following an interview with opposition figure Khalil Al Marzooq, of Al Wefaq Islamic Society. At the time, the channel said it stopped its programmes due to “technical and administrative reasons” and would be “back soon.”
On February 2, on it's official Twitter account, the channel tweeted:
توقف البث لأسباب فنية وإدارية وسنعود قريبا ان شاء الله .
— قناة العرب (@AlArabNewsTV) February 2, 2015
Al Arab TV has stopped its broadcast due to technical and administrative reasons and we will be back soon by the will of Allah
Online and on mainstream media, many linked Al Arab's suspension to it hosting Al Marzook, who spoke out against the Bahraini government's announcement that it has revoked the nationality of 72 citizens for “damaging national security.” The bulk of those whose nationalities were revoked are political activists and opposition figures, including doctors, religious scholars, and bloggers and journalists living abroad. And thrown in are some 20 Bahrainis fighting under the Islamic State's flag, including Turki Al Binali, a leading IS ideologue.
Bahrain government officials have denied any connection between Al Marzook's appearance, and the closure of the channel. But many did not find the excuse that the channel was being shut down because it did not have the necessary permits plausible.
Bent Al Ajaweed notes:
مقر وتوظيف وتحديد سياسات ووضع برامج وعدّ تنازلي وإعلان مسبق وتواجد إعلامي .. وفي الاخير “عدم إستيفاء القناة للتراخيص”؟ #ايقاف_قناة_العرب
— بِـنـت الأَجـَاوِيـد (@BnT_elAjaweeD) February 9, 2015
They opened a premises, and hired people, and worked on programmes, and had a countdown, and advertised their opening in advance in the media, and after all this [they are shutdown] for not having the necessary permits?
Bahraini columnist Qassim Hussain uses a Who Wants to be a Millionaire allegory to describe the situation:
#bahrain: متأكد ان اغلاق قناة العرب ليست بسبب لقاء المعارض البحريني خليل المرزوق؟ متأكد مئة بالمئة؟ ما فيه حذف اجابتين او استعانة بصديق؟
— قاسم حسين (@kassimhussain1) February 9, 2015
Are you sure that Al Arab TV wasn't shut down because it hosted Bahraini opposition figure Khalil Al Marzook? Are you 100 per cent certain? Would you like to eliminate two answers or phone a friend?
While journalist Adel Marzook, who is in exile, explains:
#البحرين تعلن رسميا إغلاق #قناة_العرب لعدم حصولها على التراخيص اللازمة للبث. علما بأنه لا وجود أساسا لقانون ينظم البث التلفزيوني في البلاد
— Adel Marzooq (@adelmarzooq) February 9, 2015
Bahrain officially announces that it has shutdown Al Arab TV because it did not have the necessary license to broadcast. It is worth noting that Bahrain does not even have a law which regulates television broadcasting in the country
Netizens were also quick to point out that any form of dissent is not tolerated and clamped down immediately in the country that has been rocked with so-called Arab Spring-like protests since February 2011.
According to the Reporters without Borders 2013 country report:
The Bahraini authorities continue to obstruct the work of journalists and to arrest, imprison and prosecute news providers in violation of the international undertakings it gave to the UN Human Rights Council in 2012.
This trend continued throughout 2014, and netizens drew parallels between the shutting down of the station and the Bahraini government's track record in closing in on opposition voices.
Abu Omar Al Shafie notes:
سيكتب التاريخ الإعلامي أن السلطة في #البحرين لم تتحمل ظهور القيادي المعارض خليل المرزوق لتسعين ثانية في القناة فقررت #إيقاف_قناة_العرب.
— أبوعمر- الشافعي (@ALSHAF3EE) February 9, 2015
Media history will stand witness that the authorities in Bahrain could not withstand seeing opposition figure Khalil Al Marzook on television for 90 seconds and shut down the station
Yacoub Al Slaise explains to his 5,000 followers:
1- #ايقاف_قناة_العرب مثال جديد لتخبطات حكومتنا وتشويه لصورة #البحرين وفرصة ذهبية تبددت للاسف الشديد #Bahrain
— Yacoub Al-Slaise (@ysLaise) February 9, 2015
The closure of Al Arab TV is a new example of how our government is tripping up and tarnishing Bahrain's reputation. It was a golden opportunity which has sadly been wasted
Twitter user Ahmed Al Ghasra tells his 3,150 followers on Twitter:
محاربة الاعلام في البحرين من زمن طويل،،، إغلاق مكتب الجزيرة، سحب ترخيص الصحفيين، اعتقال وقتل الصحفيين، اعتقال المصورين تاريخ حافل #Bahrain — A7md Al-Ghasra (@A7mdG) February 9, 2015
Bahrain has been fighting media for a long period of time. They shut down Al Jazeera's offices, they withdrew the permits of journalists, they have jailed and killed journalists and have arrested photographers.
In another tweet, he wrote:
كم استثمار للوليد يمكن اي يتأثر بعد إغلاق القناة ؟! فندق على وشك الافتتاح والثاني تحت البناء وغيرة من الاستثمارات ما انعكاس هذا على الاقتصاد
— A7md Al-Ghasra (@A7mdG) February 9, 2015
How many investments by Al Waleed [bin Talal] will be impacted after the closure of the channel? There is a hotel about to be opened, another one another construction as well as other investments How does this reflect on the economy?
And journalist Mohammed Al Ghasra wonders what will happen to the channel's staff:
380 موظف يعملون بالقناة و70% منهم اعلاميين سعوديين.. وعدد كبير من البحرين . ما مصيرهم وهل يامنوا القناة بعد مغادرتها البحرين؟؟ ستكون مرمى. — mohammed al ghasra (@ghasra) February 9, 2015
380 employees work at the channel, 70 per cent of whom are Saudis, and a large number of whom are Bahrainis. What will happen to them and will they get employed should the channel leave Bahrain?
Meanwhile, Bahraini scholar Abdulhadi Khalaf, whose nationality was revoked too, concludes:
الحاصل:لو عملت المعارضة بجميع اطيافها ليل نهار كي تشرح للعالم تدني سقف حرية التعبير في البحرين لما حققت ما حققته السلطة حين أوقفت قناة العرب
— Abdulhadi Khalaf (@Abdulhadikhalaf) February 5, 2015
In conclusion, if the opposition, with all its factions, worked day and night to explain to the world the demise in the ceiling of freedom of expression, they wouldn't have achieved what the government did by shutting down Al Arab TV.
It also appears that the channel's website has also been shutdown. This is a screenshot from Bahrain earlier today:
Al Arab TV website seems to have closed down as well. Screenshot taken at 8pm Bahrain time, on February 9

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Gardeners Are Repurposing Coconut Waste as Eco-Friendly Plant Pots · Global Voices
Rezwan

Plant vases made of coir fibre and coir piths are eco-friendly and cheap. Image by Subhashish Panigrahi under CC-by-SA 4.0.
Coir pots in the above picture are made from coir piths or coco peats, sourced as a by-product from coconut production. Coir is a natural fibre extracted from the hard, internal shell and the outer coat of a coconut and used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes, mattresses, twist rope, and weave carpets.
Coir fibres make up about a third of the coconut pulp and the remaining portion, called pith or dust, is biodegradable. Coir pith used to be treated as waste material, but is now increasingly being used as soil treatment, mulch and a hydroponic growth medium, e.g. use inside the coir pot. If coir pith is artificially decomposed using biological agents, within 30 days it can convert to be 100% natural organic manure benefitting the plant.
Using coir pots that can be planted directly in the garden can save an estimated 100 million plastic pots from ending up in garbage cans.
The coconut tree (Cocus nucifera) grows in many tropical countries but is commercially exploited mainly in India, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Ropes and rigging made from coconut fibre have been in use from ancient times and are found in the Indian and Arab histories.
This YouTube video shows how coir is made from coconut husks:
India produces 60% of the total world supply of coir fibre. India and Sri Lanka together produce 90% of the coir produced every year across the world. India earned foreign exchange of Rs 2,200 million (approximately $37 million) by exporting coir pith during 2011-12 and aims to boost exports by five times mainly because of the demand in the Gulf countries.
One of the inventions using coir piths is the coir pot, an asset for anyone who wants to start green farming.
Seed Germination Cup or COCO POT : Coir pots are made from coir fiber blended with or without natural rubber…. pic.twitter.com/9NslaI0ySR
— Apex Coir (@ApexCoir) November 12, 2013
After planting trees inside the pot, the roots grow through the coir, so the entire pot and plant can be put into the ground – no wasted plastic pot and no wasted effort.
GV author Subhashish Panigrahi writes in Facebook:
Plant vases made of coir are the new export materials. Surprisingly being quite cheap these eco-friendly materials haven't found a market in India. Coir pith is used as manure in the vases. After two years or so, when the roots start penetrating the vase, it could straight away be taken and planted. What a neat idea!
The benefits of coir pots are that they can replace petroleum-based plastic nursery pots, flats and trays. Although they are lightweight, durable and can be recycled, they usually wind up in the trash causing environmental damage. But things are changing. Plants in biodegradable containers such as coir pots are gradually becoming more available as growers wake up to the environmental consequences of plastics and rubbers.

author: Rezwan


text:
#FreeSavchenko: Ukranian Pilot’s Hunger Strike in Russian Prison Hits Ninth Week · Global Voices
Tetyana Bohdanova

An anonymous image of Nadiya Savchenko circulated online.
Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko, one of the first women to enter Ukraine’s air force, was captured by Russia-backed militants in Donbas in June 2014 and later charged in Russia with complicity in the killing of two Russian journalists during a military operation.
Since her arrest, Ukrainian and international activists have held multiple campaigns in her defense, and the 33-year-old was even elected to the Ukrainian parliament in absentia. Savchenko herself launched a hunger strike on December 13, 2014, in protest of what she considers an unlawful imprisonment.
Yet, none of these measures seemed to have brought her release any closer. As she enters her ninth week without eating, concern for her health is mounting and her fate remains uncertain.
Savchenko was first captured by pro-Russian rebels in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, a June 19 interrogation video suggests. She then appeared in Russian court on July 3 and has remained in Russian detention since, on charges of assisting the Ukrainian military in carrying out an attack that killed two Russian journalists in Donbas.
Her lawyer claims that she was captured before the journalists died and the charges were filed later. Billing data from Savchenko’s mobile phone reportedly supports her alibi.
Months after her arrest, Savchenko was elected and sworn in as a member of the Ukrainian parliament. She consequently resigned from the Ukrainian army, and in December, she was confirmed as a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and granted international diplomatic immunity.
Although some hope had remained that the charges against her would be dropped due to her alibi and worldwide pressure, Russian authorities filed a new charge against her in January, this time into allegedly crossing over the Russian border illegally.
Many observers have pointed out that prosecutors failed to mention Savchenko's capture by Donbas militants and questioned the idea of her being released by her captors and ‘voluntarily’ crossing into Russia as a refugee.
Savchenko has been celebrated as a national hero in Ukraine and come to symbolize both the Kremlin's injustices against Ukraine and the country's defiant resistance. In Russia, media outlets have vilified Savchenko by presenting her in increasingly coarse terms, calling her “Satan's daughter” or the “killing machine in a skirt”.
One of Savchenko's lawyers, Nikolai Polozov, tied the possibility of new charges against Nadiya announced by the prosecutors in October with her respected status in Ukraine:
Логика российской власти такая: ах она герой Украины, ах вы ее избрали депутатом – ну получайте еще одно дело.
— Николай Полозов (@Moscow_advokat) October 28, 2014
The logic of Russian authorities is the following: oh, so she's the hero of Ukraine, oh, so you have elected her as a [member of parliament] – well, there you have yourselves another case.
A screencap of Savchenko's interrogation by pro-Russian militants in Ukraine. Video published on YouTube on June 19, 2014, by user aigu guillotine.
Campaigns for her release
Savchenko does count support in Russia, however. Russian Human Rights Center “Memorial” has recognized Savchenko as a political prisoner, Russian journalists have begun collecting signatures for her release, and several people demonstrated in her defense in Moscow.
Human rights defenders and the Ukrainian government have continuously called on the Russian government to free Savchenko, and international institutions, including the European Parliament and PACE, have demanded her release.
Activists inside and outside Ukraine have held at least two notable social media campaigns aimed at Savchenko's release. The first campaign used the #SaveOurGirl hashtag and produced over 15,000 tweets worldwide, while the second one utilized the #FreeSavchenko hashtag and peaked on the date of PACE's resolution with about 400,000 tweets and over 50 rallies in 33 countries worldwide.
An infographic by EuromaidanPR portraying the number of tweets and location of rallies demanding the release of Nadiya Savchenko during January 26 campaign.
Hunger strike
On December 13, 2014, Savchenko went on hunger strike. About a month later, she wrote an open letter explaining her resolve that has circulated widely on social media:
Well, a person who was born free and not a slave in captivity cannot live in prison. Especially if he or she is innocent. […] I have given my word: ‘Until the day I return to Ukraine, or until the last day of my life in Russia!’ and I will not back down, otherwise what value would my words have?!
The @GlasnotGone Twitter account, set up to appeal for Savchenko's freedom, tweeted both a Ukrainian version of her letter and its English translation to international media:
If U need a reason to Tweet #FreeSavchenko then here it is; Nadiya's Letter from 12th Jan. @AP @Reuters @cathynewman pic.twitter.com/0hinuurLtl
— Glasnost Gone (@GlasnostGone) January 12, 2015
Her lawyers have used social media to publish updates on her deteriorating health. On January 23, Mark Feygin reported on Twitter:
Вышел от Надежды Савченко из СИЗО-6. Она продолжает голодовку и не прекратит. Тюремные врачи сказали, больше 40 дней никто не голодал там.
— Mark Feygin (@mark_feygin) January 23, 2015
I just left Nadezhda Savchenko's SIZO-6 [detention center]). She continues her hunger strike and will not stop. Prison doctors have told me that no one before her had continued on hunger strike for over 40 days.
On February 2, another lawyer, Ilya Novikov, shared a hand-made sketch of what Savchenko looked like on that day:
Всем привет от Нади. Она тут вышла очень мрачной, не верьте, это моя косорукость. Цвет и штриховка ее. #FreeSavchenko pic.twitter.com/cy3iyLU8Ha
— Ilya Novikov (@vertiporokh) February 2, 2015
Nadya says hello to everyone. She looks very grim here, but don't believe it — it's all my [poor drawing skills]. The colors and pencil shading are all hers.
Drawing on the popular parallels between Savchenko's situation (her first name meaning ‘hope’ in Ukrainian) and that of Ukraine, poet, writer and translator Andrij Bondar summed up the worries of many Ukrainians in a February 4 Facebook post:
Неймовірно, якими іноді надіями себе гріє людина. Надія Савченко, яка перетнула нещодавно позначку в 50 днів, повільно вмирає. Медики знають, як відбуваються оці так звані страшні “незворотні процеси”, як атрофуються та відмовляють органи, які жахливі збої відбуваються в організмі, гормони, кров, шлунок, печінка, селезінка, кістки…
[…]
І страшно подумати, що ще сьогодні, ще завтра, навіть через 10 днів щось можна змінити. Але вже, наприклад, числа 15 чи 20 лютого може бути пізно, фатально пізно.
Савченко теж сам-на-сам із байдужістю системи. Тільки тепер за історією Надії Савченко спостерігає весь світ. І нічого не може вдіяти. Нічого. Найточніша метафора України – ця смілива і принципова жінка. Надія вмирає. Надія ще не вмерла.
Unbelievable, what hopes we sometimes choose to console ourselves with. Nadiya Savchenko, who's recently crossed the 50-day mark [of a hunger strike] is slowly dying. Medics know how so-called “irrevocable processes” take place, how body's organs begin to atrophy, what horrible failures happen in one's organism, hormones, blood, stomach, liver, spleen, bones…
[…]
And it is terrifying to think that still today, tomorrow, even in 10 days from now something could change. But, already, let's say on the 15th or 20th of February, it would be too late, fatally late.
Savchenko is one-on-one against the system's indifference. But the whole world is watching. And there is nothing it can do. Nothing. The most accurate methaphor for Ukraine is this brave and principled woman. Nadiya is dying. Nadiya is still alive.

author: Tetyana Bohdanova