text:
As Tajik Rap Gets Political, Authorities Resort to Bans and Pressure  · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Photo from Tajik Rapper Master Ismail's VK (Russian social network) account.
[8 minute read]
The mayor of Dushanbe, Tajikistan banned rap and rock music from the capital's buses, minibuses (marshrutkas), and taxis, suggesting that the genre was “alien to national and universal human values,” earlier this year. The initiative received the full backing from the country's Minister of Education who stated [ru] that tunes which “do not conform to national culture” should be banned.
Since the late 1990s, rap music has gained popularity among young people in Tajikistan. Some rappers have used the new musical genre to voice political issues. The authorities have responded by imposing limitations on hip-hop and forcing homegrown rappers to censor their lyrics. These restrictions have met with little public resistance, as many people in the country loathe rap.
Tajik rap began among young people influenced by American hip-hop, mainly in the capital, Dushanbe. By the late 2000s, a vibrant rap underground emerged in the country's main urban areas. A number of Tajik rappers held well-attended concerts, recorded albums, and produced music videos. In a country where everyone owns a mobile phone and mobile Internet is affordable, young people shared and listened to homegrown rap on media sharing platforms and social networks.
Three of Tajikistan's most popular rappers (from left to right): Aslisho, Bakha 84, and Master Ismail. Screen capture from YouTube video uploaded on October 21, 2012, by TojTV.
Bitter lyrics
Compared to other musical genres in Tajikistan, rap has gone much further in its honesty and willingness to tackle thorny subjects.
For example, the “founder” of Tajik-language rap, Master Ismail (aka M.One), has many compositions that are heavy in political content. In one of his songs, the rapper who now lives in Russia, sings [ru]:
Политиканы с набитыми животами,
не насытятся они банковскими счетами.
А народ все молчит и терпит, тупо верит,
что когда-нибудь на их улице будет праздник.
Я сын этого города и этой бедной страны,
и кто, если не мы, сможем выйти из тьмы?
Вокруг – стройки, отели, модные магазины,
и в то же время нет воды и света, и все без причины.
Почему народ должен быть рабом в чужой стране,
кто-нибудь в этой стране может ответить мне?
Моя родина тихо плачет и ждет, ждет,
пока ее спасет его народ…
Politicians with full stomachs
Never get fed up with money in their bank accounts.
Meanwhile the people remain silent and believe stubbornly
That one day the holiday will come to their streets.
I am the son of this city and this poor country.
If we can't escape this darkness, who can?
We are surrounded by construction projects, hotels, and fashion boutiques,
While our homes have no water or electricity, for no reason.
Can someone in this country tell me
Why our people have to be slaves in a foreign country? [alluding to Tajik migrant workers in Russia]
My motherland is crying silently and waiting
To be liberated by its people…
Another rapper, hiding his name under the alias ‘Tadzhik iz Novosibirska’ [Tajik from Novosibirsk], asks [ru] in a song:
Скажите, пожалуйста, Ваше Величество, где газ, где вода, где электричество? Где экономика, где стратегия, где вами обещанная клятва? Почему Россия должна нас содержать? Где наши права? Где свобода слова? Люди хотят правды, хотят справедливости, но вы их пугаете, они боятся мести.
Хватит пытать народ, мы хотим перемен. Даже вне Родины я остался патриотом своей страны. Наш народ достоин жить лучше
Your Highness [formal greeting to the President], could you please tell me where our natural gas, water, and electricity is? Where is the economy, strategy, or the oath of office you took? Why does Russia have to feed us? Where are our rights? Where is freedom of speech? People want the truth and justice, but you are intimidating them, and they are afraid of revenge.
Stop torturing people. We want to see change. Far from the Motherland I have remained a patriot of my country. Our people deserve a better life.
Some rap performers also infuriated the authorities during the government-led security operation in Khorog, eastern Tajikistan, in summer 2012. Challenging the official narrative, Russia-based rappers who had come from the area affected by violence blamed [ru] events leading to the security operation on injustice, corruption, and arbitrariness in the country's law-enforcement agencies.
Censoring “unpatriotic” content
Such lyrics have made the authorities increasingly suspicious of homegrown hip-hop, particularly because the bitter tunes contrast sharply with the cheeriness of official propaganda. In a recent interview, Master Ismail claimed [ru] that the authorities warned him repeatedly against “crossing the line” in his rap while he lived in Tajikistan.
Aside from issuing bans on hip hop in public places, government officials have also urged rappers to be more “patriotic”. In November 2012, the head of the country's Union of Composers asserted [ru] that American-style rap music posed a threat to “national identity”. He also urged [ru] performers to create an “authentic” and more “patriotic” hip-hop style, while pledging to keep rap off radio and television.
It is not clear whether the authorities would be able to enforce the ban on rap music. While they can put a stop to hip-hop on state-owned buses, they will most likely be unable to monitor music in private taxis and minibuses. However, the informal nationwide restrictions on rap music still seem to be effective in silencing bitter lyrics. Most rappers in Tajikistan choose [ru] to steer clear of political content, self-censoring their lyrics and avoiding the remotest allusions to sensitive issues. In return, the authorities allow them to earn money by holding concerts. Those few rappers who refused to censor their lyrics have mostly left the country.
Although there is no formal music agency in Tajikistan, the authorities have other mechanisms for silencing critical tunes. Singers deemed too controversial are not allowed on state television or radio. Nor do private FM radio stations play their music, for fear of repercussions. Such performers are also denied permits to hold concerts, while underground shows are extremely rare in the country. The authorities have also reportedly begun [ru] to monitor the performances of Tajik singers abroad in an effort to ensure “patriotic” content.
The censorship of rap music appears to be part of a broader pattern in the country. As one observers suggests, “Tajik authorities are trying to stamp out any form of freethinking under the vague pretext of patriotism”.
‘Barking like a dog, behaving like a monkey’
The restrictions on rap seem to enjoy broad popular support. Online reactions to a recent interview [tj] with a popular Tajik rapper Shon MC published on Radio Ozodi's website suggests that hip-hop hits a raw nerve with many people. The interview includes a recent music video [tj] by the rapper.
Young fans greeting Shon MC at a concert in Dushanbe. Screen capture from YouTube video uploaded on November 21, 2013, by ‘Made in Tajikistan.
Many social media users found the rapper's performance too hard to square with their opinion of what music should be like:
Чавонмарде саг барин аккас мезанаду маймун барин рафтор мекунад. Чояш касалгох, на сахна. http://t.co/SDNLujzZMx
— Мардикор (@mardikor) January 24, 2014
The young man is barking like a dog and behaving like a monkey. He belongs in a hospital, not on stage.
@mardikor Таъсири ғарб мардуми тоҷикро маймун мекунад. Уро бояд аз Тоҷикистон дафъ кунану шиносномаша кашида гиран ки гашта наояд.
— Хайрхоҳ (@khairkhoh) January 28, 2014
The western influence is turning Tajik people into monkeys. He should be thrown out of the country and his passport should be taken so that he doesn't come back.
@mardikor Реп ин мусикии точик нест, элементи фарханги точик нест. Ин як чизи бегона аст. Инро хатман манъ кардан лозим.
— Tajik Land (@tajikland) January 30, 2014
Rap is not Tajik music or an element of Tajik culture. It is an alien thing. It should be banned by all means.
On ozodi.org, ‘Antirepist’ writes [tj]:
Мусикии милли кучо шуд? Илтимос, инхоро бояд табобат кард, беморанд бечорахо…
What has happened to the national music? These people should be treated by doctors; the poor things are ill..
Benom adds [tj]:
Ин “санъатро” хатман” манъ кардан лозим аст дар Точикистон. Ин барои чавонони точик гайр аз зарар чизи дигаре нахохад овард.
This “art” should be banned in Tajikistan. It cannot bring any good to the young Tajiks.
Several other readers carped at the rapper's use of colloquial and dialect Tajik as opposed to the “literary” form of the language. For instance, Ormon claims [tj]:
Агар холи насли хозир хамин бошад, чанозаи забони модариро бояд рузе хонд… Забонро, фархангро мекушанд инхо бо репашон…
If this is what this generation is like, a eulogy for our mother tongue should be read one day… They are killing the language and culture with their rap…
‘True patriot’
At the same time, many young Tajiks enjoy rap music and take pride in the success of local rappers. Hundreds of fans leave positive comments under music videos by Tajik rappers on YouTube. These fans also disagree with the designations of rap as “unpatriotic” or “alien”. On the video [tj] of Shon MC mentioned above, young fans can be seen waving a Tajik flag at his concert.
Fans waving a flag at Shon MC's concert. Screen capture from YouTube video uploaded on November 21, 2013, by ‘Made in Tajikistan.
Master Ismail, many of whose compositions the authorities would find especially “unpatriotic”, has recently recorded a song titled “Vatani Man” [My Motherland] [tj]. The song speaks about the importance of national unity, patriotism, and the need to love and respect one's home country, even when living abroad. Ironically, these values are no different from those espoused by the authorities in Tajikistan. Commenting on the video, ‘Tojiki Daidu’ wrote [tj]:
Патриоти асли ту, бародар! Айнан ки аз лубой хукумат Ватаната бисёртар дуст медори. Хар як гапат дурустай. Мувафакият ба ту, бародар!
You are a true patriot, brother! It is evident that you love your Motherland more than any government [official]. All that you say is true. I wish you success, brother!
This story was commissioned by Freemuse, the leading defender of musicians worldwide, and Global Voices for Artsfreedom.org. The article may be republished by non-commercial media crediting the author, Freemuse and Global Voices and linking to the origin.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Can Trinidad & Tobago Rise Above Race-Based Politics? · Global Voices
Flora Thomas

The Hon. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, speaking in Washington, D.C. last year. Photo by Juan Manuel Herrera/OAS, used under a CC license.
Satnarayan (Sat) Maharaj can be a divisive religious and political figure in Trinidad and Tobago. Statements he has made in his capacity as the Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, the country's largest and most active Hindu organisation, have often polarised the country's other major ethnic group, Trinbagonians of African descent. (Indo-Trinidadians have historically voted for the party Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar now leads, the United National Congress, while Afro-Trinidadians mainly vote for the People's National Movement.)
Most recently, Maharaj's comments at an event the Maha Sabha hosted to commemorate Indian Arrival Day – and the Prime Minister's silence about them – made headlines. (Indian Arrival Day observes the anniversary of the first arrivals of Indian indentured labourers to the island. The branding of the public holiday – which was once simply called Arrival Day – is controversial, since people from the Indian sub-continent were not the only ethnic group that migrated to work Trinidad's agricultural estates and were just one of the groups that arrived and made valuable contributions to society. The twin island republic, to this day, is one of the most multi-ethnic territories in the region.)
In his speech, Maharaj contended that generations of civil servants loyal to the People’s National Movement (PNM) (a party with an African support base that formed the country's first ever government independent from colonial rule in 1956) have prevented any other political party from getting a second term.
The comments upset a great many people, one of whom is Reginald Dumas, former head of the public service who spoke out about it, asking that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar issue a statement about whether or not she agrees with Maharaj's claim, noting that the implication could racially divide the country and alienate hard working civil servants. According to the Trinidad and Tobago News Blog, Dumas went further, calling Maharaj's statements a “serious assault on the public service.”
Maharaj's comments did not go unnoticed on social media either. Although Twitter users were preoccupied with the festivities of Indian Arrival Day, Facebook was full of discussion about Maharaj's statements, which were deemed to be enough of a hot topic for the Trinidad Express Newspapers Facebook page to make it the day's “big question”:
What do you think of the claim by Sat Maharaj that some pro-PNM public servants are working against the Government?
There was a slew of responses. Kevin Niles suggested that “no one [was] bringing this government besides themselves”, while Allan Joseph asked:
How old is Sat? How long again does he have to be dividing T&T the way he does? He must [cry] when he remembers that his reign must one day come to an end…and in case he didn't know, many jobs changed hands in May 2010, so [it's] probably his own people working against them right now, just saying.
Joy Thompson thought it was just more of the same old tribal politics:
Divide and rule. That's their mantra. Their days numbered.
Sapphire Mohan, however, thought the premise wasn't so far-fetched:
It's true…and as [there] are pro PNM public servants there are also pro UNC/COP/ILP servants as well. It's when they apply their political agenda in the workplace does it become an issue and I am sure it happens because if persons can accuse any govt. of nepotism etc., why can't they accuse those opposed to the govt. of pursuing their own personal political agenda?
Other commenters on the thread, like Nadiyah Sarransingh, found Maharaj irrelevant:
Why does the media give this man so much attention? Time to change the topic.
Changing the topic was one thing that political blog The Eternal Pantomime was not prepared to do, calling the Prime Minister's close association with the Maha Sabha head a sign of political desperation:
Imagine you playing a high stakes game of politics, winner gets all, and the only card in your hand is Sat Maharaj?
That is pretty much the predicament in which Kamla and her government have found themselves.
Both Labour and Jack Warner have abandoned them: so the popular support and the deep coffers Warner (once) had have both disappeared. The COP [Congress of the People, one of the other political parties in the coalition government] we all know, is a dead and riderless horse.
The numerous other civil society groups that sung Kamla[‘s] praises and supported her have all but disappeared and several of them now march against her in very public rallies. In short, all of the public good will that Persad-Bissessar had garnered…has disappeared.
This, the blogger surmised, leaves the People's Partnership government between a rock and a hard place come national elections, which are due next year:
At this point the PP or UNC, whichever name it chooses to go into election 2015 with, is reliant on two groups: the criminal element and die hard UNC supporters.
Even supporters of Kamla have grown fed up of her style of non-governance. Why else would you need to pull out your trump card of Maha Sabha religious leader, on Indian Arrival Day, in a predominantly Indian electoral seat unless……Sat is your only trump card and things so bad, you need to rally your base?
The post reminded readers about the current government's campaign promises back in 2010:
1. Good Governance, Transparency and accountability. The country still waiting.
2. An end to wastage of public monies and Squandermania. Have you read the last two Auditor General Reports on the spending of Public Monies? We are $30 billion dollars in debt. Yes. $30b.
3. An end to violent criminal activity and white collar crime. Two words: Dana Seetahal.
4. The right to recall MPs if they are underperforming. Cabinets shuffling and reshuffling and realigning every year, but no talk of the right of recall anymore. I wonder why?
The blogger addressed what she called “the criminal element”:
Abu Bakr of 1990 coup fame has often alluded to the role his organization, the Jamaat Al Muslimeen, has played in mobilizing votes for political parties.
As reports on the Life Sport Programme have shown [read more here], Kamla’s government has gotten very cozy with a group that has criminal shadows over it. As an electorate, we have to ask ourselves how many other groups like this is the UNC govt bankrolling and at what cost.
She was dismayed at what the use of Sat Maharaj as a political tool could mean for the nation and hoped that Trinbagonians – Afro, Indo, or Other – would transcend race and put country first:
After running a slick PR campaign in 2010 that pretended to be about issues, Persad-Bissessar has gone back to basics and is going to run a race platform. In reassuring herself of her heartland base Kamla has resorted to reactivating the Race Bogey. We are back in 1961 all over again [when the ruling PNM did pretty much the same thing]. Sat Maharaj remains one of the most polarizing and divisive individuals the country has produced. His racist comments are now being described by the PM as free speech. And the PM is yet to apologize for the many instances she has used race baiting and prejudiced comments on the campaign trail during last year’s 4 elections. When calypsonians and satirists practise the same freedom of speech I hope she is just as openminded.
It is now up to us, right thinking citizens, to reject race rhetoric and force the coming political campaigns to be about the glaring issues that are sinking us daily.
It remains to be seen whether the Prime Minister's United National Congress, whose logo is an image of the rising sun, can rise above playing the race card. The electorate, no doubt, will be watching whether the opposition rises to the occasion as well.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Flora Thomas


text:
Did You Share Those Images of the Indian Girls Who Were Gang-Raped and Hanged? · Global Voices
Manasi Gopalakrishnan

‘Never Again’ calls a protester outside India House, India's consulate in London. They are demanding justice for the gang-rape victim in Delhi. Image by Rob Pinney. Copyright Demotix (7/1/2013)
Last month, India woke up to graphic images of the lifeless bodies of two of her teenage girls hanging from a mango tree. These shocking and tragic images were widely shared across the world, but should they have been?
Two girls of the Dalit community, 14 and 15 years of age, were brutally raped and hanged from a mango tree in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The incident occurred on the night of 27 May, 2014 when the two girls, who were cousins, went to a nearby field to relieve themselves, because they did not have a toilet at home. The lack of toilets is an issue in rural India ignored by many. The girls were allegedly abducted by some men of higher caste from the village Katra Sadatganj, Badaun, where the rape took place.
The local politicians and media were quick to exploit the situation.
The rape story went viral in social media in India, where several users shared the graphic images of the girls hanging from the tree by their necks. The disturbing images of the hanging shook citizens all across the country and was soon followed by public protests, both offline and online, against the recurring incidents of rape in India.
The girls’ family alleged that the two teenagers were raped and tortured before finally being hanged from a mango tree in a nearby orchard. Incensed by alleged police inaction, the families refused to take down the bodies from the tree for several hours. Finally the local police registered a case of rape only after several members of the girls’ community protested in front of the police station.
Sharing graphic images on social media
A local newspaper first published an article about the gang rape, torture and lynching of two minor girls including a graphic image which is a violation of the law. Social media picked up the picture and it was shared widely and soon went viral.
Many Indians found the images disturbing and cautioned against sharing them. Others pointed out that sharing such images were against the law.
Seriously, the Badaun images are very disturbing. Kindly think before RTing. We are all aware of the heinousness of the crime.
— Shivani Sahay (@Savitri4Ever) May 29, 2014
#Badaun #Khairlanji the depiction of images of rape victims is a criminal offense according to section 228, 376A IPC @kuffir @_pharhana
— Fightforjustice (@Neiltiss) May 30, 2014
Others saw the indiscriminate sharing, not only as a form of voyeurism and disrespect but also as objectification and exploitation of women, a “pornography of rape”, extended even after death.
Badaun. Alarmed at these images of the teenage girls splashed everywhere. Hideous voyeurism.
— Noopur Tiwari (@NoopurTiwari) May 29, 2014
Getting disturbed by images on the internet does zilch. This is one more way to objectify women, even in death. #Badaun
— Farzana Versey (@farzana_versey) May 29, 2014
After the first gut reactions, came the analysis. In her article at News Laundry, journalist Noopur Tiwari  questioned what purpose is served by the sharing of these images – is it merely to sensationalize and incite mob violence? She asked:
The news media uses such images to “sell” its stories and garners instant pity or outrage. But does this really translate into concerted action leading to justice? Or is there a risk that this will simply incite crowds into asking for the lynching of the accused?
The image depicts a cruel reality with full force. Perpetrators of sexual violence often want to make a public display of their victims’ corpses to strike terror in the community they are trying to intimidate. It’s humiliation, revenge or even the marking of their “victory”. This is degrading for those who have suffered the loss. In viewing the spectacle, aren’t we, to some extent, participating in this humiliation?
Critics have condemned the circulation of graphic pictures of the two girls hanging, but many see the point why they may be effective. In her News Laundry post, Noopur Tiwari added:
The rape and killing of these teenagers would otherwise not have been registered as “truth” in public knowledge since the police were hostile. Is the circulation of such images the only way out then, for those who feel they’ve been abandoned by the state and local authorities?
In his article on First Post, Sandip Roy wrote that shocking content is often the only way to shake people out of their ennui :
We are so inured, so numbed by the never ending horror story of rape that it seems we need to descend ever lower into the pits to be shocked to attention. It’s as if faced with a rape story, the media has to ask the question “What’s new about this one?
However, in the same article he reflected that images such as these should not be the stick to beat a a nation's conscience awake. He wrote:
The gang rape of the young woman in that bus in Delhi touched a national chord and spurred the government into action into passing a stricter anti-rape law. That did not require us to see her brutalized body. If indeed we now need to see the “strange fruit” on our mango trees to be shocked, it begs the question about what kind of people we have become anyway.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's comment on this incident incited further outrage in Social media.
In NirUttar Pradesh,on rapes Akhilesh Y: You are safe,aren't you? #MullahMulayam: लड़के हैं, गलती हो जाती है। #Badaun pic.twitter.com/r9FEtROqoB
— Mriganka T (@mriganka_t) May 30, 2014
The logical Indian summarized the reactions of the state's leading politicians in a Facebook post:
Image courtesy The Logical Indian
Some netizens noted the timid reactions from the civil society and the lack of focus by media on this news. Interestingly, the view was shared by some leading journalists too.
We won't hold candle night vigils & street protests for #Badaun and #Bhagana will we ? Speak, shout, rant. For once OUTRAGE in short supply
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) May 30, 2014
How grotesque should a rape outside the municipal limits of Delhi be for it to qualify as headline ? #Badaun
— Siddharth Mazumdar (@mazumdar_sid) May 30, 2014
A candle lit vigil to protest against the gang rape of two teenage girls was held on Saturday, May 31, 2014 in New Delhi, India.
What comes next?
All the five accused and the two policemen who allegedly failed to file a report despite repeated requests from the girls’ family have been arrested. The recently elected Union Minister for Women and Child Welfare, Maneka Gandhi, has said that a rape crisis cell will be constituted to deal with such cases on a speedy basis.
y cant we stop it from happening.To me,arrest of accused after an innocent has been tortured & killed means nothing #stoptheshame #Badaun
— Richa Chaturvedi (@Wrricha) May 30, 2014

author: Manasi Gopalakrishnan


text:
An Ex-Guerilla is Now Ruling El Salvador, Can He Stop the Killing? · Global Voices
Jamie Stark

Inauguration of President Salvador Sánchez Cerén on June 1, 2014 in San Salvador. Photo by Jamie Stark
Salvador Sánchez Cerén donned the presidential sash this Sunday in a modest inauguration event. His party loyalists call him “profe” [short for “profesor”, teacher in Spanish] in honor of his beginnings as a teacher, while the press typically dubs him a “former marxist guerrilla commander.” But few are concerned with his political ghosts at the moment. In recent weeks, the murder rate has spiked to double digits each day in this tiny Central American republic of six million.
El Salvador's powerful gangs, MS13 and Barrio 18, are accused of violating the truce quietly signed two years ago with the government, perhaps to pressure the incoming president for new concessions.
President-elect Cerén inherits one of the world's most dangerous nations, a situation compounded by poverty. Over a third of Salvadorans live under the local poverty line. Nearly another third have immigrated, and the money they send back props up 16 percent of the Salvadoran economy.
But as the new government starts out, people want to know if smiling, grandfatherly Cerén can stop the killing. For Cerén, it may have been easier to know the enemy when he was leading rebels in a more traditional war.
Typical of a new political chapter, the nation seemed to pause on June 1 for the patriotic celebration, highlighted by El Salvador’s search for stronger foreign relations.
In comparison to inauguration day in the United States, which is all American flags and 21 gun salutes, El Salvador’s swearing in prominently featured the flags of the attending heads of state and government (as well as a 21 gun salute).
Latin American presidents from nearby made up much of the international delegations. Rafael Correa, the outspoken and sometimes controversial leader of Ecuador, received some of the loudest applause during the introductions, along with Bolivian President Evo Morales.
Correa mentioned slain Catholic Bishop Oscar Romero, a hero of the left in El Salvador and much of Latin America.
Llegamos de El Salvador, que tiene nuevamente gobierno del FMLN. Mucha suerte al Pdte. Salvador Sánchez y al heroico pueblo de Mons. Romero.
— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) junio 2, 2014
We’re back from El Salvador, which once again has an FMLN government. Much luck to President Salvador Sánchez and to the heroic people of Mons. Romero.
Domestic commentary found its way to Twitter, as well, highlighting that the new president has instilled more hope for non-partisan dialogue than his predecessor. Many in the opposition party have accused outgoing President Mauricio Funes of exercising an abrasive communication style. Enrique Valdés, a conservative Congressman from capital San Salvador, tweeted:
Que bueno que Sánchez Ceren habla de diálogo y entendimiento. Esto rompe con la prepotencia de Funes
— Dr. Enrique Valdés (@doctorvaldes) junio 1, 2014
It’s good that Sánchez Ceren [sic] talks about dialogue and understanding.
This breaks with Funes’ arrogance.
No matter the politicization of social media commentary, the majority of posts couldn’t get away from two points: the new president was once a rebel guerrilla leader, and violent crime is his number one problem as head of El Salvador.
El excomandante guerrillero Sánchez #Cerén asume la Presidencia de #ElSalvador http://t.co/L3ZlsDIiEe
— EFE Noticias (@EFEnoticias) junio 1, 2014
The ex-guerrilla commander Sánchez #Cerén assumes the Presidency of El Salvador.

author: Jamie Stark


text:
Europe’s Far Right Are Inspiring Russians · Global Voices
Marina Smolnikova

French politician Marine Le Pen has filled many Russians with the hope that they aren't alone in skepticism about the EU. Images mixed by Kevin Rothrock.
With the relationship between Moscow and Europe tenser today than at any time in the past twenty years, Russians have followed with interest the recent electoral success of far-right parties in the European Parliament. While this development worries some in the European community, many Russians have welcomed the surge in Euro-skepticism as a vindication of Moscow’s anti-EU posturing.
The day after voting throughout Europe and Ukraine, pro-Kremlin blogger and columnist Maxim Kononenko wrote on Facebook:
Общечеловеческие ценности это, конечно, прекрасно, но в первую очередь у людей существуют свои собственные ценности, которыми они не хотят поступаться неизвестно ради чего. И процент, получаемый партиями евроскептиков от года к году неизменно растет. То есть, Украина голосует за интеграцию с Европой, а Европа в тот же день голосует за собственную дезинтеграцию. И не знаю, как вам, а лично мне кажется, что это движения в несколько разных направлениях.
Common human values are wonderful, of course. But there are, first and foremost, personal values, which people aren’t willing to sacrifice in the name of something uncertain. Percentage points gained by Euroskeptics grow year after year. That is, Ukraine votes for integration with Europe, while Europe, on that very same day, votes for its own disintegration. And I don’t know about you, but to me personally this seems like movements in opposite directions.
French politician Marine Le Pen drew wide attention on the Russian Internet back in March 2014, when she recognized the results of the secessionist referendum in Crimea. Within hours of Le Pen’s announcement, popular Russian microblogger Konstantin Rykov launched a “Merci Marine!” Twitter campaign, urging his followers to send her words of gratitude. According to a Kharkov-based news portal, thousands of Russians actively supported Rykov’s initiative, flooding Le Pen’s Twitter feed with thanks. The leader of France’s National Front has been popular among Russian bloggers ever since. Indeed, Rykov has even created a dedicated Twitter account, where he publishes updates about Le Pen’s pro-Russia public comments. Other Russian Twitter users are fond of translating her comments about the right of the “great Russian people” to seek “reunification.” One such translation (see below) on May 26, 2014, for instance, attracted almost 300 retweets.
Марин Ле Пен: французы проголосовали за отказ от Евросоюза http://t.co/lTjm8cWi4H pic.twitter.com/PHHJKSDfrT
— SU-27 (@Den_Suharev) May 26, 2014
Marine Le Pen says the French voted to reject the European Union. [Picture reads, “We should all recognize the great Russian people's right to reunification. They live both in Russia and on the left bank of the Dnieper.”]
Despite Russians’ general excitement, however, few demonstrate a thorough grasp of right-wing European politicians’ actual agendas. Russian mass media carefully downplay issues like Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and so on. It seems that many pundits, rather than explore the nuances that complicate the image of “pro-Russia Euro conservatives,” instead depict Europe’s right-wingers simply as patriots defending national sovereignty. Opinion pieces appear with titles like “British Independence Day” and “The Liberation of a ‘Europe of Nations.’”
With coverage like this, it’s not uncommon to find among Russians the expectation that Europe’s right-wing parties are on track to unite into a single coalition, which would then pursue major reforms in the EU. Whether or not this presumption is at all realistic, Russian civil society is already primed to hail such a turn of events.
It is also perhaps true that this year marked the first time in history that Russians followed the European Parliament’s elections with any significant interest. In one small example, Paris-based Russian LiveJournal blogger Tutuskania achieved momentary popularity on Election Day, after posting a satirical photo-report that included pictures of Femen activists trying to “inoculate” against Le Pen’s “fascism.”
До ее прихода, около школы, где был избирательный участок, полуобнаженные представители Фемен со шприцами уговоривали избирателей сделать прививку против расизма. Когда Марин пришла голосовать, их уже не было. Журналисты забросали ее вопросами, видела ли она Фемен. “Вам повезло, а мне нет”, отшутилась Марин.
Before [Le Pen’s] arrival, near a school that served as a polling station, half-naked Femen activists carrying syringes encouraged voters to get vaccinated against racism. When Marine showed up to cast her vote, they were already gone. Journalists rushed to find out whether she had seen them. “You were lucky [enough to see them], but I wasn’t,” Marine joked away.
Concluding her post, LJ user Tutuskania asks:
Если интересно, могу поподробнее рассказать, как Францию и Европу колотит от этой победы ; отмечайтесь в каментах.
If you guys are interested, I can tell you all about how Europe and France are reeling from [Le Pen’s] victory. Let me know in the comments.
Dozens of Tutuskania’s readers responded, affirming that they do wish to know more about the impact of the right wing’s successes in the EU. While the sophistication of these RuNet conversations about Europe’s right wing remains low, Russians do appear to be showing new interest in European politics. In the new era of heightened tensions between Russia and the European Union, it seems reasonable to expect that Russians’ interest in this subject will continue to grow in the months and years ahead.

author: Marina Smolnikova


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Solana Larsen Steps Down as Global Voices’ Managing Editor, Sahar Habib Ghazi Takes the Helm · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Outgoing Managing Editor, Solana Larsen (L) will be succeeded by Sahar Habib Ghazi (R)
At the end of May we said good-bye to our long-standing Managing Editor, Solana Larsen, and welcomed our newest volunteer contributor, also called Solana Larsen.
Solana steps down from the Managing Editor position after seven years at the helm of Global Voices’ editorial section. “Personal reasons” is often a euphemism for other things, but Solana is genuinely relinquishing the post in order to devote more time to family, notably her two year-old daughter. “It's best both for me and Global Voices,” she wrote in an e-mail to the community, “to step down now and allow for brand new things to happen.”
Solana's deft handling steered Global Voices’ editorial through a rapidly shifting media landscape that saw blogging eclipsed by social networks as the primary platform for citizen expression. We're happy she'll continue not only as a volunteer contributor, but also to work on special projects and represent us at conferences.
Solana leaves Global Voices’ editorial in the excellent hands of Sahar Habib Ghazi, who joined us as Deputy Editor in June 2012.
Sahar, a journalist, blogger and activist who divides her time between the US and Pakistan, helped launch DawnNews TV and has reported for the New York Times. While a John S. Knight Journalism fellow at Stanford University, she launched Hosh Media, an online youth journalism platform.
Sahar has been instrumental in developing Global Voices’ style guides, codifying many of our editorial processes, and building our sub-editing team. Most importantly, she's a highly skilled and deeply committed member of the community, whom we trust will take our editorial section forward, to the places it needs to go.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Ideological Clichés Among Republic Supporters · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Paco Prieto writes [es] on La vida como yo la veo [Life as I see it] about religion, politics and freedom after reading some tweets criticizing the presence and looks of some individuals at the rallies for republic after abdication by Juan Carlos, King of Spain.
No entiendo tantas cosas de cierta gente que vive anclada en los clichés del tiempo que me parece que aún vivo en el año en que nací. Hoy el mundo nos conecta a todos a través de Internet, hay avances tecnológicos, mejores coches, mejores televisiones, mejores transportes, y sin embargo, lo que llamamos LIBERTAD, no existe realmente. No existirá mientras se nos tache a los que somos creyentes y cofrades de “Fachas”, ni a los que vestimos como nos da la gana o lo más informal posible de “Perroflautas”, o que por llevar una bandera republicana en una manifestación o no estar de acuerdo con un sistema de monarquía parlamentaria ya no se pueda llevar un antifaz de nazareno o ponerse un costal o trabajar en una junta de una hermandad.
There are so many things about some people that live tied to the clichés of time that I think that I'm still living oin the year I was born in. Today, the world connects everybody through the Internet, there are technologic improvements, better cars, better TVs, better transportation and yet, what we call FREEDOM does not really exist. It won't exist as long as those of us who are believers and members of a brotherhood are still called “Fachas”, or those of us who wear whatever we like to wear are called “Perroflautas” [hippie-like], or because we carry a Republican flag during a rally or disagree with a parliamentary monarchy system we can no longer use a penitent mask nor wear a sack or work at the board of a brotherhood.

author: Juan Arellano


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“Let Spain Decide” · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

IsabelOn writes [es] on her blog De sonrisas y espadas [On smiles and swords] about Juan Carlos, King of Spain, abdication:
ahora que se abre un debate de “Monarquía vs República”, “Felipe sí, Felipe no”, “Referéndum sí o no”, todos pongamos de nuestra parte
[…] now that the debate about “Monarchy vs Republic” is open, “Felipe yes, Felipe no”, “Referendum yes or no”, we all shall give 100% and let's use one of Juan Carlos and [recently late former president] Adolfo Suárez mottos: everybody is in, even those who think differently, let's leave Spain be who decides.


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Live Tweets of Trial of Human Rights Lawyer and Journalist in Swaziland · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

MISA-Swaziland is live tweeting the the trial of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko and journalist Bheki Makhubu for contempt of court in Swaziland. The two were arrested on 17 March 2014.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Man Arrested for ‘Insulting’ Tajik President on Facebook · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Security agencies in Tajikistan have detained a Facebook user on charges of “insulting” the country's president. According to a local news agency, the 30-year-old man was arrested [ru] after posting “slanderous” images and texts on the social networking website.


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Other Abdications in Spanish History · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

In relation to the abdicaton announced by Juan Carlos, King of Spain, Adrián Yánez recalls history [es] and other abdications in the Spanish kingdom:
Carlos I era el nieto de los Reyes Católicos. Fue el hombre más poderoso de su época y en 1556 decidió abdicar. Dejó a su hijo Felipe II la Corona de España. A su hermano Fernando lo postuló como emperador del Sacro Imperio. Después de eso se retiró al monasterio de Yuste, donde lloró la pérdida del amor de su vida, su esposa Isabel.
Charles I was grandson of the Catholic Monarchs. He was the most powerful man of his era and in 1556 he decided to abdicate. He left the Spanish Crown to his son Phillip II. He nominated his brother Ferdinand as Holy Roman Emperor. After that, he retired to the monastery of Yuste, where he moruned the loss of the love of his life, his wife Isabella.
More about abdications by other Kings of Spain on the blog post [es] by Adrián.


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Rehabilitation & Re-integration in Jamaica  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

When you observe the discipline and care of these Jamaicans, it is a call to never give up on anyone, especially those who have paid their debt to society and deserve a second chance.
Jean Lowrie-Chin visits the Horizon Park Remand Centre and blogs about the creative talent of prison inmates throughout Jamaica.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Russian City Hosts Pole Dancing Performance on International Children’s Day · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

What would conservative Russian politician Yelena Mizulina say about Tolyatti's entertainment on Children's Day? Images mixed by author.
The Russian city of Tolyatti, an automobile-manufacturing center not unlike Detroit in the United States, recently celebrated a dual holiday. The city turned 277-years-old last Sunday, June 1, 2014, the same day as the International Day for Protection of Children. In honor of the two occasions, there were several public events throughout Tolyatti. Not all the attractions were family-friendly, however. The city also hosted an outdoor car show that featured scantily clad women pole dancing. Unsurprisingly, images from the spectacle have both captivated and outraged many Russians online.
Vkontakte user Mikhail Kalashnikoff, a self-described Tolyatti native, appears to have uploaded to the Web some of the first video footage of the pole dancers. His recording and a (graphic) photograph by another eyewitness have allowed Internet users to view the performance with their own eyes, adding to the scandal a mix of voyeurism that has only boosted public interest. The story is currently trending on the Russian image board Pikabu.ru, where it has attracted over 100 comments and more than 900 “up-votes” in the past 11 hours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnswgvnK45E&feature=youtu.be
Holiday footage from Tolyatti on June 1, 2014.
Many RuNet users have been quick to mock the irony that Tolyatti hosted lewd dancing in broad daylight on a holiday dedicated to keeping children from harm. Some commenters posted images of Yelena Mizulina—the Russian politician responsible for laws against “gay propaganda,” obscenities online, divorce, and foreign adoptions of Russian orphans—implying that her conservative social campaign has failed. Others quoted a popular sketch by the troupe Comedy Club, where a character, the corrupt mayor of the fictional city of Ust-Olginsk, defends the decision to build a strip club on the ruins of a schoolhouse, arguing, “What’s the big fuss? Strippers are kids, too. They walk around in underwear and sleep during the day.”
Still others have battled over semantics, insisting that pole dancing isn’t the same as stripping. Indeed, there is a whole body of literature delineating the differences between stripping, exotic dancing, strip dancing, striptease, pole dancing, and so on.
RuNet users have been happy to debate the nuances.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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The Importance of Maths in Education · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Carlos Thompson from The Chlewey Blog writes [es] about the importance of teaching Maths in Colombia in relation to the poor performance the country had in international tests of quality of education [es]:
Las matemáticas dan mucho más que la capacidad de contar las vueltas en una tienda; o las destrezas específicas para entrar a una facultad de ingeniería. Las matemáticas generan una estructura mental que benefician también al médico, al comunicador social o al sociólogo, no específicamente para tener éxito en su profesión sino cómo ciudadano en una democracia y como una persona que influye en una sociedad.
Maths provide much more than the ability of countng the change at the store, or the specific abilities to be admitted into Engineering School. Maths generate a mental structure that also benefits the physician, the social communicator or the socióogist, not specificlaly to be successful in their profession, but as citizens in a democracy and as individuals that have influence in a society.


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University Student Posts Suicide Note In Facebook, Friends Fail To Save Him · Global Voices
Rezwan

Suicide is a long term social issue of Bangladesh and of all the people reported dead due to suicide worldwide every year, 2.06% are Bangladeshis.
Mahbub Shaheen, a student of Dhaka University, posted a suicide note in Facebook at 7:08PM on 2nd of June, 2014. He wrote:
I am lying on Rail Line. The Train is coming. And I am going to kick out bloody myself, the useless eater.
Once I've posted a comment “I should leave” then after I posted “I have to leave”. Some of you asked me- “From where & where will you go?”
I don't know where I am going. But I am leaving. Leaving useless myself forever.
Good bye, good bye forever.
In the comments section of the above post it is revealed that his friends tried to locate Shaheen who was supposed to reach Dhaka, the capital by a train by the evening. His mobile was unreachable so they tried to inform police and his family but did not know how. A few hours later someone confirmed that his body was found near Kamalapur Railway Station.
This shows that Bangladesh desperately needs an effective suicide prevention hotline to act quickly and save people like Shaheen.

author: Rezwan


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Waiting for the New King in Spain · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Elisa Rodríguez from ISIS 3.0 writes [es] about the abdication by King Juan Carlos of Spain and she says that in spite of the demands of a Republic on Twitter and on the streets, there will be a new king:
todo parece indicar que en breve tendremos nuevo rey: Felipe VI. Hasta ahora Príncipe de Asturias y casado con una asturiana (hay que hacer patria…). Además, ya lo dijo Sabina en una de sus canciones: “tan rubio, tan fino, tan tieso, tan alto, tan cachas…”. Perdemos un rey aparentemente merengón para ganar uno colchonero. Pues oye…¿qué más queremos? Que ya que le vamos a pagar con nuestros impuestos, que todo le vaya bien para que a España le vaya mejor. Con esto los de mi generación viviremos la primera coronación en nuestro país.
[…] everything seems to indicate that in no time we will have a new king, Felipe VI. Until now Prnce of Asturias and married to an Asturian lady (we have to fy the flag…). Besides, as Sabina already said in one of his songs: “so blond, so fine, so stiff, so muscly…”. We lose a an apparently Real Madrid fan to acquire an Atletico de Madrid supporter. Well, what else do we all want? If we are going to pay them with our taxes, may everything go well for him so Spain. This will make my generation go through the first coronation in our country.


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Would the Republic Have a Yes in Referendum in Spain? · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

On Lo que me pasa por la cabeza [What goes around in my head], Elena Padrones analyzes [es] King Juan Carlos of Spain abdication, and all that has to happen to make it real in the next days. Then she concludes:
hay muchísimas personas que no están dispuestas a aceptar este hecho, por entenderlo como una imposición, cuando vivimos en una democracia, en la que teóricamente habría que consultar a los ciudadanos. Así, rápidamente se han convocado […] numerosas concentraciones para exigir, de forma pacífica, la realización de un referéndum a través del que los ciudadanos puedan manifestar si quieren vivir en una monarquía o en una república. Hay que reconocer que la consulta es lo más democrático que podría hacerse ahora mismo, pero antes de votar hay que informarse, no vale reclamar la III República únicamente por aborrecer la monarquía, como hacen muchos, sin tener idea siquiera de las diferencias entre ambos modelos de Estado. De tener lugar el referéndum, creo que a pesar de las críticas a la monarquía, los republicanos podrían sorprenderse con el resultado.
[…] there are so many people who are not willing to accept this fact, as they understand it as an imposition, when we live in a democracy, where theoretically there would have to be a consultation to citizens. Thus, […] numerous rallies have been called on to demand, pacifically, a referendum so citizens might be able to express if they want to live in a monarchy or a republic. We have to acknowledge that the consultation is the most democratic thing that can be done right now, but before voting we have to inform ourselves, it's not enough to call for the III Republic just because we abhor monarchy, as many people do, without having the slightest idea of the differences between both State models. If a referendum is carried out, I think that in spite of criticisms to monarchy, republicans might be surprised with the result.


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Celebrating Russian Crimea with a Candy · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

A Russian chocolate company in Novosibirsk has released a new candy bar called “The Crimea” with the slogan, “Just try to grab it!” A product announcement shared with the press features a super-hero character wearing the colors of the Russian flag, standing before a map of Crimea, with the following tagline:
Даже в то время, когда страна принимает непростые решения, мы не перестаем улыбаться. Потому что мы—Россияне!
Even in times when the country is making difficult decisions, we never stop smiling. That's because we are Russians!
The company responsible for this new confection, “Chocolate Traditions,” has produced other specially themed sweets. Earlier this year, it announced a fudge bar called “the Viagra.” There are also several holiday-themed candy collections, for Victory Day, Women's Day, and so on. One kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the Crimea chocolates costs 130 rubles (about $4).
Russian Internet users have showed great interest in the new Crimea-themed candy bar. According to Yandex's blogs search engine, the past few hours have seen over a thousand posts on the subject. Many Russians have noticed that the chocolate bars expire after ten months, leading several bloggers to joke that Russia's occupation of Crimea won't last another year.
В российских конфетах “Крым – а ну-ка, отбери” срок годности 10 месяцев. В январе Крым вновь станет украинским. pic.twitter.com/10y2Zhd4uu
— Льовочкинъ (@slevo4kin) June 5, 2014
The Russian candy “Crimea—just try to grab it” has a shelf life of 10 months. In January, Crimea will become Ukrainian again.


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China: Chronology of Tiananmen Crackdown Revealed in Wikileaks’ Cables · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Students in the data journalism class at Northeast Normal University searched Wikileaks for references to the 1989 demonstrations at Tiananmen Square and organized the diplomatic cables into a chronology of the protests since April 19 1989 till March 26 1990.

author: Oiwan Lam


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What Does Puerto Rico’s First Out-and-Proud Supreme Court Nominee Mean For LGBT Rights? · Global Voices
Ángel Carrión

Maite Oronoz Rodríguez. Screenshot from video.
*All links lead to information in Spanish, unless otherwise noted.
The Governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro García Padilla, has nominated Maite Oronoz Rodríguez to fill a seat on the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, making her the first openly lesbian lawyer to have been tapped for the most powerful judicial body in the country.  If confirmed, Oronoz Rodríguez will also be the highest ranking member of the LGBT community in the judicial branch of Puerto Rico's government and the fifth woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Oronoz Rodríguez's sexual orientation came to light when she herself publicly thanked her partner Gina Méndez for her support. The moment was captured in the following video from Noticias 24/7, who covered the press conference where her appointment was announced:
On Twitter, many people praised Oronoz Rodríguez's honesty, among them the journalist Benjamín Torres Gotay:
La acción de Maite Oronoz de agradecer públicamente a su pareja es un gesto de una extraordinaria valentía.
— B. Torres Gotay (@TorresGotay) June 4, 2014
By publicly thanking her partner, Maite Oronoz has performed an act of extraordinary courage.
With this nomination coming on the heels of measures approved last year extending greater legal protection to same-sex couples, Governor García Padilla's administration is clearly trying to distance itself from the hostility shown to the LGBT community by the previous government under Luis Fortuño of the Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP) [New Progressive Party]. Some of the most virulent hate speech against the LGBT community was made by PNP politicians, perhaps the most famous being that of former Senate Leader Thomas Rivera Schatz.
In order to be confirmed as a justice, Oronoz Rodríguez will still have to undergo the scrutiny of a hearing in the Senate, which is currently controlled by Governor García Padilla's Partido Popular Democrático. LGBT rights activist Pedro Julio Serrano urged the Senate to confirm her and congratulated her and her partner via Twitter:
Felicito a Maite Oronoz y a Gina Méndez por vivir abiertamente su amor. Por amar tanto a esta patria y por amarse libremente. ¡Qué orgullo!
— Pedro Julio Serrano (@PedroJulio) June 4, 2014
Congratulations to Maite Oronoz and Gina Méndez for living their love openly. For loving this country so much and each other freely. How proud we are!
The fact that Oronoz Rodríguez decided to reveal her sexual orientation is encouraging, as prominent public figures usually choose not to, for fear of their nomination being rejected. If the appointment is confirmed, it will be interesting to see what future decisions are rendered by the Supreme Court, given that the last administration named six conservative judges, some of whom have publicly come out against marriage equality and adoption rights for same-sex couples.
Nevertheless, it is worth drawing attention to the article written by Érika Fontánez Torres for the digital magazine 80 grados last April:
Cada vez que surge una vacante al Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico se mencionan “nombres”. Usualmente, los nombres están vinculados en su trayectoria profesional con el partido en el poder, herederos de alguna tradición familiar en la abogacía, ubicados en algunos de los lugares comunes de la marca de cotejo del llamado éxito en la profesión. Ninguno es neutral. Su trayectoria, la mayoría de las veces, ha estado ‘limpia’. Pero esa limpieza cuesta porque por lo general se refiere a una práctica que aunque ‘exitosa’ conforme a los parámetros de la profesión, ha sido deliberadamente cautelosa en no incomodar demasiado el estado de cosas de injusticias que prevalece, o incluso, en mantenerlo.
Every time there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, “names“ are mentioned. Usually those names reflect a career path closely related to the party in power, heirs to some familial legal tradition, found on the check list of places commonly associated with so-called professional success. None is neutral. Most of the time, the path is “unblemished”.  But this comes at a price because it usually means that, although the legal practice has been ”successful” in conforming to the parameters of the profession, it has been a deliberately cautious one that sought to accommodate or even perpetuate the injustices of the status quo.

author: Ángel Carrión


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Fundraisings by Children Protection Foundation in Argentina · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

On the blog section of Argentinian newspapaer La Nación [es], Daniel Balmaceda tells us on his Unexpected tales [es] the origins of the fundraising campaigns by the Children Protection Foundation [es] (Padelai, by its Spanish name) in Buenos Aires:
A comienzos del siglo XX, en Berlín y Copenhague se realizaba una fiesta que involucraba a toda la comunidad. Era el “Día de los niños pobres”. […] Jorge Williams, vecino de Buenos Aires e integrante del […] Padelai, conoció los pormenores de la actividad en las ciudades europeas, por una carta que le envió un amigo, acompañada de fotos ilustrativas. En septiembre de 1904, Williams presentó la idea en la comisión y planteó un proyecto osado: repetir la experiencia en Buenos Aires.
By early 20th century, in Berlin and Copenhague there used to be a party that involved the whole community. It was the “Day of poor children”. […] Jorge Williams, a Buenos Aires resident and memeber of […] Padelai, heard about the details of the activity in the European cities, through a letter sent by a friend, along with some pictures. In September 1904, Williams presented the idea at the commission and suggested a bold project: to repeat the experience in Buenos Aires.
The idea was successful in Argentina and Balmaceda ends up his piece wondering:
Si tenemos en cuenta que [la colecta] se fundó en 1892 y que por sus casas pasaron cerca de dos millones de chicos, nos preguntamos: ¿cuántos argentinos estaremos vinculados, en forma directa o indirecta, con esta institución?
If we consider that [the fundraising] started in 1892 and that almost two million children stayed in their houses, we wonder: how many of us Argentinians are related, directly or indirectly, with this institution?

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Informal Wedding “a Small Victory” for Gays in Tajikistan · Global Voices
Mahina Shodizoda

LGBT flag (Wiki image)
A small, informal wedding was recently held [ru] in Dushanbe. Although weddings in Tajikistan are regular events, this ceremony was different in one important aspect: the newly wed were both men. The two young persons, both in their mid-twenties, held the ceremony to announce that they intend to live as a couple, despite the fact that there is very little tolerance towards sexual minorities in Tajikistan and no legal means of registering a gay marriage.
On Twitter, @gaytajikistan celebrated [ru] the event:
Наша маленькая победа: Свадьба геев в Таджикистане http://t.co/Svg7OQvAKS #Таджикистан #лгбт
— Gay Tajikistan (@gaytajikistan) June 4, 2014
Our small victory: A gay wedding in Tajikistan http://t.co/Svg7OQvAKS #Таджикистан #лгбт
Some other social media users were in a less celebratory mood. On Blogiston, Sarbaland reacted [ru] angrily to the news, referring to gay men as “sodomites” and blaming the West for “encouraging” homosexuality in the country:
Я никогда не думал что доживу до такого дня когда в нашей родине содомиты будут проводить свадьбы и будут еще другим об этом говорить. Я ошибался. Оказывается и мы таджики попали под влияние запада и его политики поощрения всякой дряни.
I never through I would live to see the day when sodomites would be holding weddings in our country and telling other people about this. I was wrong. It appears that we, Tajiks, have also come under the influence of the West and its policy of encouraging all kinds of crap.
He continues [ru], suggesting that members of the LGBT community are not part of Tajik society and should be expelled:
Это даже читать противно. Не могу понять как эти содомиты позволили себе в нашей мусульманском обществе так себя вести и даже проводить свадьбу. Не могу понять как их родители и родственники не остановили их. Если об этом написали журналисты значит многие об этом знают.
Западные организации и посольства а также журналисты защищают содомитов. Многие наши граждане тоже подверглись их влиянию и теперь выступают за защиту этих нелюдей. Я думаю что нужно поднять вопрос с западными странами: если вам нужны такие люди и вы их защищаете, то забирайте себе. Пусть правительство даже деньгами поможет таким людям уезжать из Таджикистана навсегда. Им нет места в нашем обществе. Они не часть Таджикистана!
I am disgusted at reading this. I cannot understand why these sodomites dare to behave this way and hold a wedding in our Muslim society. I cannot understand why their parents and relatives don't stop them. If journalists write about this, many people know this.
Western organizations, embassies and journalists protect the sodomites. Many of our citizens have also been influenced and now protect these non-humans as well. I think we should tell western countries that if they need this kind of people and want to protect them, they should take them. Let the government help people like this to leave Tajikistan forever. There is no place for them in our society. They are not part of Tajikistan!
As Global Voices author Iskandar wrote back in February:
Tajikistan, a conservative Central Asian nation where over 95 percent of people are Muslims, has been described as “hell for gays”. Social media is increasingly enabling members of the country's LGBT community to push back against homophobic attitudes.
Comments under Radio Ozodi's coverage of the exchange of vows were overwhelmingly negative, with several referring to LGBT and “western propaganda”, although there was one well-wisher [ru]:
Pozdravlyau so svadboy!!!!!!! jelau vsego samogo nailuchshego!!!!
eto ix sudba, ix jizn, kajdiy immet pravo jit kak on xochet! selyavi!
I congratulate you on your wedding!!!!! I wish you all the best!!!! It is their destiny, their life, everyone has a right to live as he or she wants! C'est la vie!
Alexander Sodiqov contributed reporting to this article.

author: Mahina Shodizoda


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Jen Psaki, the Russian Internet’s Public Enemy No. 1 · Global Voices
Aric Toler

Is US State Dept Spokesperson Jen Psaki Russia's new Enemy No. 1? Images mixed by Kevin Rothrock.
Russian Internet users love making fun of American political figures. For the past several years, President Barack Obama has undoubtedly been the RuNet’s favorite target, but the tide of mockery has recently shifted to another person in the US government. Russians’ newest victim isn’t the Secretary of State, John Kerry, who has sparred with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, for months now over tensions in Ukraine. And it isn’t Senator John McCain—the hawk who rallied protestors at Kiev’s Independence Square. Neither is it Vice President Joe Biden, whose son accepted a position on the board at Ukraine's largest private gas firm.
The answer is a far less notable figure: Secretary of State Spokesperson Jen Psaki.
As the Ukrainian crisis has developed, Psaki has taken the brunt of anti-Americanism on the RuNet, becoming the subject of numerous photoedited images and videos. Psaki has gained notoriety for her daily press briefings, where she has revealed certain gaps of knowledge, given tangled explanations, and showed her irritation with Russia Today (RT) correspondents. A slideshow on RT’s website shows Psaki’s so-called “most embarrassing fails,” highlighting moments from her press briefings that Internet users have mocked and criticized.
Two of the instances in RT’s montage have received particular attention online. On May 12, Psaki denounced the practice of “carousel voting” during the separatist referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk. When a reporter asked her to define the term, however, Psaki was unable to do so. (Russians are understandably more familiar with this form of voter fraud, as it was widely reported in the 2011 parliamentary elections.)
The Western media largely ignored Psaki’s slip-up, but Russian news agencies offered the story as proof of the US government’s incompetence.
On April 10, Psaki misspoke and immediately corrected herself, when describing energy flows in Europe.
And what that means is there are flows of gas, of natural gas I should say, that go through, from Western Europe through Ukraine to Russia, and we—or I’m sorry, the other way—from Russia through Ukraine to Western Europe.
Again, Russian news outlets jumped on the gaffe as evidence of the State Department’s ignorance about Russia’s relationship with Europe.
On the Russian Internet, Psaki’s public persona has taken on a life of its own. Not content with the things Psaki has actually said, some bloggers have scripted fictional statements, imaging how the State Department’s spokesperson might respond to certain news. One such parody depicts Psaki’s reaction to Russia’s victory over the United States in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Championship.
Этот матч не имел ничего общего с настоящим хоккеем. В 21 веке нельзя играть в хоккей так, как будто на дворе век 20-й. Имперские амбиции сборной России наглядно продемонстрированы в самих методах ведения игры, как это было в худшие годы существования СССР.
This game had nothing in common with real hockey. In the 21st century, you can’t play hockey as though it were still the 20th century. The Russian team blatantly demonstrated its imperial ambitions in the very way it played, just as it was during the worst years of the USSR.
Several Russia media outlets reprinted this statement, sometimes omitting the fact that it is a work of fiction.
Others have pretended that Psaki doesn’t understand the basics of European geography.
In the event of a Belarusian invasion of Ukraine, the 6th US Fleet will immediately be deployed to the shores of Belarus.
“Psaki” has become a stigmatizing catch-all term for everything Russians dislike about US foreign policy (especially America’s involvement in Ukraine). And Russians’ Psaki-mania is still growing. On June 2, the pro-Kremlin website Odnako published a blog post titled, “Brave New World, or the Psaki Problem,” where the author quoted Futurist poet Mayakovsky to assert that Jen Psaki, the “archetypical fool,” is the culmination of a problematic Western view of the world. Elsewhere on the Internet, there is a new Russian verb: “psaknut’” (“to Psaki” or “Psakiing”), which means roughly “to say something stupid with an air of cleverness.”
Today, June 5, reports spread through the RuNet claiming that the State Department has fired Jen Psaki, replacing her with Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf. There appears to be no truth to the rumor, which seems to have begun after Harf started delivering the Department’s daily press briefings on June 3, but this hasn't stopped Russian users from flooding Twitter with condolences about the loss of so entertaining a public figure. Thousands have posted messages with the hashtag “#SavePsaki,” feigning support for the RuNet’s Public Enemy No. 1.
Even Russia’s Permanent UN Representative, Vitaly Churkin, got in on the fun today, telling reporters that he “doesn’t know where Psaki has gone off to,” but hopes she will “appear again,” as he’s always “found it very interesting to listen to her.”

author: Aric Toler


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One Year After the Snowden Revelations: How the NSA Violates International Human Rights Standards · Global Voices
Katitza Rodriguez

Cartoon by Carlos Latuff, shared via Web We Want/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Today, June 5, marks the first anniversary of the beginning of the Edward Snowden revelations—a landmark event in global awareness of the worldwide spying machine.
Over the last year, the world has learned specific details of how the NSA and its four closest allies in the Five Eyes partnership (United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) have constructed a web of digital communications surveillance systems at the technical and operational levels spanning the entire globe. We have learned the details of the extent of cooperation and intelligence-sharing among these countries, and have witnessed how material gathered under one country's surveillance regime is readily shared with others.
The dispersed locations of the Five Eyes countries enable them to surveil most of the world’s Internet traffic as it transits through their hubs and is stored in their various territories. Moreover, they have partnered with over 80 major global corporations to leverage their spying capabilities. The scope and reach of their cooperation and intelligence sharing has shocked the world.
In a leaked internal document, the NSA defined their “collection posture” as being to “sniff, know, collect, process, exploit, partner it all.” This proves what many privacy advocates had suspected for a long time: The NSA has strayed far from its legitimate goal of protecting national security. In fact, we have seen the NSA participate in economic espionage, diplomatic spying and suspicionless surveillance of entire populations. Even worse, it surreptitiously weakened the products and standards that many people use to protect themselves against online spying.
While the Snowden revelations have proven invaluable in confirming the existence of global, cross-border spying by the NSA and its four primary allies, the governments of the affected billions of Internet and telephone users have been slow to fight back. In some cases, United States's allies might be holding back because of their own tangled complicity in this shared network. Others, like Russia and China, have their own pervasive surveillance networks and arrangements to protect.
Even before Snowden leaked his first document, human rights lawyers and activists were concerned about law enforcement and intelligence agencies spying on the digital world. One of the tools developed to tackle those concerns was the development of the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance (the “Necessary and Proportionate Principles”). This set of principles was intended to guide governments in understanding how new surveillance technologies eat away at fundamental freedoms, and outlined how communications surveillance can be conducted in a manner consistent with human rights obligations. The Necessary and Proportionate Principles are intended to work as a resource for citizens to measure government surveillance practices against international human rights standards.
To mark the first anniversary of the Snowden disclosures, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is releasing Unnecessary and Disproportionate, a report detailing how some of the NSA spying operations violate both human rights standards and the Necessary and Proportionate Principles.
The report finds that NSA surveillance programs…
Lack “legality”, in that NSA surveillance laws are largely governed by a body of secret law developed by a secret court, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), which selectively publishes its legal interpretations of the law;
Are neither “necessary,” nor “proportionate,” in that the various programs in which communications data are obtained in bulk violate the privacy rights of millions of persons who are not suspected of having any connection to international terrorism;
Are not supported by competent judicial authority because the only judicial approval, if any, comes from the FISC, which operates outside of normal adversarial procedures such that the individuals whose data are collected lack access to the court;
Lack due process because the FISC presents no opportunity for a public hearing;
Lack user notification: those whose data is obtained do not know that their communications have been monitored and hence they cannot appeal the decision nor get legal representation to defend themselves;
Lack the required transparency and public oversight, because they operate in secret and rely on gag orders against the entities from whom the data are obtained, along with secret, if any, court proceedings;
Damage the integrity of communication systems by undermining security systems, such as encryption, requiring the insertion of surveillance back doors in communications technologies, including the installation of fiber optic splitters in transmission hubs.
The report also concludes that the US surveillance framework is illegitimate because it applies less favorable standards to non-US persons than its own citizens, a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The United States justifies the lawfulness of its communications surveillance by making reference to distinctions that, in the context of modern communications technology, are irrelevant to truly protecting privacy in a modern society. The US relies on the outmoded distinction between “content” and “metadata,” falsely contending that the latter does not reveal private facts about an individual.
The US also contends that the collection of data is not surveillance—it argues, contrary to both international law and the Principles, that an individual’s privacy rights are not infringed as long as her communications data are not analyzed by a human being. It’s clear that the practice of digital surveillance by the United States has overrun the bounds of human rights standards. What our paper hopes to show is exactly where the country has crossed the line, and how its own politicians and the international community might rein it back.
Now that a year has passed it’s clear that we need to update both our global technical infrastructure and local laws, consistent with long-standing international human rights standards, in order to regain any reasonable degree of privacy.  Specifically, we must end mass surveillance. Politicians in every country need to stand up to the NSA's incursions on their territory. The United States needs to reform its laws to recognize the privacy rights of innocent foreigners.
Human rights activists, technology experts and open Internet advocates in every country must work together to push for digital communications privacy protections at national and international levels around the globe. The Thirteen Principles on Communications Surveillance represent one robust global effort to tackle this challenge. Visit the Thirteen Principles site to learn more about the project and find out how you can get involved.
The contents of this post originally appeared on the Electronic Frontier Foundation website.

author: Katitza Rodriguez


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Pre Historic Remains Found in Chile · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

They spent millions of years hidden, until 21st century, when a group of paleontologists discovered the remains of 46 ichthyosaur at Torres del Paine National Park [es], in southern Chile:
#Adictos_a_lo_Jordan Descubren en Chile cementerio de ictiosaurios: El proyecto comenzó con la … http://t.co/KDvFkJPADB [ #Luispokel ]
— POoiint BeeSa BuenO (@MOreniitO_POiNT) Mayo 31, 2014
In Chile, an ichthyosaur cementery was found. The project started with the…
Hallan en Chile un cementerio único de ictiosaurios http://t.co/x4nzZXgl1V /QUE VERGUENZA que nos enteremos de esto por medios extrajeros
— Rodrigo Gourdet (@rgourdet) junio 4, 2014
In Chile, a singular ichthyosaur cemetery was found. It's SHAMEFUL that we have to find it out on foreign media.


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It’s a Risky Business, But Russians Are Fighting For Their Environment · Global Voices
350.org

Canadian Greenpeace members rally to free 30 colleagues and crew members held in Russia for ‘piracy’ after they allegedly attempted to board a Russian oil rig as part their Save the Arctic campaign in 2013. Photo by Victor Biro, 27 September 2013. Copyright: Demotix.
[8 minute read]
In this article, environmental analyst and journalist Angelina Davydova reports on the rise of home-grown environmental activism in Russia. The original version of this article was written for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and is published here with the consent of the author through 350.org, an organization building a global movement to solve the climate crisis.
Nina Popravko, one of the few professional environmental lawyers in Russia, is in court defending a group of a dozen activists in the small town of Kozmodemiansk, in the Mari El Republic on the Volga River. The activists have been fighting for years against plans to build a domestic waste landfill, which they say is too close to a residential block.
Straight after the court hearings Popravko jumps on a train to Ufa, a city of more than a million inhabitants in the south Urals, where several hundred people are trying to organise an independent public hearing about the construction of a wood-processing factory.
And back at home near St. Petersburg, where Popravko lives and works for the environmental non-governmental organisation Bellona, another fight is under way. A group of activists has begun mobilising since the felling of almost 200 large pine trees to make way for a new luxury residential development. As part of a drive to stop further logging in a larger forested area, the activists are filing a lawsuit against the development company, which they believe acquired the plot of land illegally.
“I really notice the growing involvement of many ordinary people in the environmental movement,” Popravko says.
City-dwellers across Russia are getting organised and fighting for their environmental rights at a more professional level than before, the lawyer says. In addition to building protest camps and obstructing construction sites, they are learning to file lawsuits, organise public hearings, and work with journalists and social networks.
Many such local initiatives get support from larger, established environmental NGOs such as Greenpeace and WWF Russia, but many also are fighting on their own—with varying degrees of success.
What works
There is no clear recipe for victory, says Alexander Karpov, an expert with the ECOM centre who has spent over a decade supporting local environmental and urban initiatives throughout Russia.
Karpov recently began working as a consultant with the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, drafting laws and doing other legal work, and offering much-needed insight and expertise to the regional parliamentarians.
Karpov argues that the success of any environmental cause depends on the amount of time and energy activists are prepared to spend on protecting their rights. He also maintains that expertise is crucial, and that the more “professionally” activists interact with local administrators, draft legal documents and engage in high-quality lobbying for their causes, the better their chances of success.
Public interest in environmental issues has been rising in Russia over the last few years. Some experts link this with the growing financial well-being of Russian citizens, which affords more people the opportunity to travel abroad, and to plan their future and that of their children.
Corruption and Governance Link
Other experts say it is a reaction to mounting corruption and “bad” governance, often at a local level, involving local authorities who make dubious alliances with local or national companies at the expense of local residents.
The push toward greater environmental activism has been met with a mixed response by Russia’s leaders.
Nikolay Gudkov, a spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said his ministry is “actively working with citizens, environmental initiatives and activists—both through our community liaison office and through further online resources,” such as the website Nasha Priroda (“Our Nature”). The website was launched in late 2013 and allows people from all regions of Russia to report environmental violations in their neighbourhoods, using geo-location technology.
Gudkov said ministry representatives have also organised meetings with environmental activists working on notorious local conflicts, such as the fight over the wood-processing facility in Ufa, and a case in central Russia where residents are fighting plans to introduce nickel and copper mining.
But the State Duma, Russia's parliament, has recently initiated a number of bills that threaten to hinder the rights of local activists and limit opportunities for wider public participation in city planning and regional development.
In late December, members of parliament tried to pass a draft law cancelling public hearing procedures for a number of infrastructure construction projects. After civil campaign initiated by activists and environmental lawyers, however, the draft “got hung up,” according to Nina Popravko. In mid-March another bill significantly reducing the number of instances in which public hearings must be held passed in its first review. Environmental lawyers say the bill contradicts Russian and international rules of law.
“The Russian Parliament is moving forward draft laws which seriously limit public participation,” a group of environmental lawyers said in their public appeal. A campaign against the bill is ongoing.
Urban Focus
One of the most popular environmental issues in Russia at the moment is urban ecology, which studies the environmental aspects of urban development. Urban ecologists focus on issues such as clean transport, air and water quality, the protection of green zones and parks, and sustainable consumption and lifestyles.
Such movements are centred mainly in large cities with populations of over half a million, but has begun springing up in small towns as well.
Roughly speaking, most of these civil initiatives fall into two groups, experts say.
The first comprise protest actions, against new construction of infrastructure or housing, for instance, or the destruction of a park. Such groups form quickly, and their success often depends on the solidarity and energy of their participants, as well as on the resources they can invest.
Groups of this kind initiate legal cases or public hearings, work with media and social networks, and organise protests. Quite often the group disbands after the case is won, or lost.
The most complicated efforts are long-running ones that last several years, which can result in activists becoming burned out, losing energy and interest in the case.
Risky Business
Activists face a variety of threats, including physical violence and legal prosecution. Activist Evgeny Vitishko, from Tuapse in southern Russia, was jailed for three years for writing protest slogans and sticking posters on a fence around the villa of the Krasnodar governor.
Vitishko alleged the villa had been built illegally in a forest reserve, and its owner had fenced off a stretch of the coastline.
A Vitishko support campaign has been launched. “It is particularly important that we also get international support for the case,” says Dmitry Shevchenko, a Krasnodar-based activist with the NGO Environmental Watch of the North Caucasus. “Both for Evgeny Vitishko himself and for the growing environmental movement in Russia.”
Filling the Vacuum
Another group within Russia’s growing environmental movement consists of community and civil society activists trying to develop bottom-up initiatives to substitute for failing state regulation, in the absence of an environmental agenda and policy mechanism at both federal and regional levels.
These groups develop environmental and volunteer networks in areas such as garbage collection, recycling, tree-planting, park and shoreline preservation, and promoting eco-friendly agriculture and green lifestyles. One of the best known of these is the movement Musora bolshe net (meaning “no more rubbish”), which started as a volunteer initiative to remove trash from forests and lakeshores. Today it's a full-scale network organisation, active in projects ranging from community recycling to environmental education.
Such groups gather annually at Delai Sam (Do it yourself) Summits,  to exchange practices, technologies and skills. Initially held only in Moscow, these events now take place in other cities as well,.
And it's not only the young and trendy, who take part in such urban initiatives. In some cities, groups are led by female pensioners who devote their free time to building do-it-yourself community groups.
Activists sometimes shift focus from one issue to another. Tatyana Kargina, originally from Irkutstk and now living in Moscow, is one of Russia’s best-known environmental activists. Kargina spearheaded the first eco-housing project in Moscow, one of the first Russian networks for environmental-friendly living and consumption, as well as other initiatives. But during the last couple of years she’s also been active in a civil society protest action against plans to begin nickel mining in the Voronezh region in Central Russia, an agricultural region with fertile black soils, rich in nature reserves and biodiversity.
Sustainable Cities
Growing environmental activism in Russia also is focused on the need for more sustainable and inclusive urban and regional development. An Open Urban Lab uniting around 30 young professionals involved in urban planning, architecture, public participation and sustainable development, has been trying to introduce participatory principles into city and neighbourhood planning in Russian cities.
The organisation works with regional administrations and businesses, and sees participation as “a technology to transform social groups previously not included in decision-making into included ones, in order to create and sustain public good,” according to spokesman Oleg Pachenkov.
The process of civil society development is hardly smooth or quick, but it's definitely an upward trend, experts say.
“Quite often ordinary citizens don’t really want to become activists, don’t want to spend all their free time campaigning, protesting, talking to media, promoting the case in social networks 24 hours a day,” said lawyer Nina Popravko. “But after realising that they can’t really appeal to anyone—not to city authorities, not to control bodies—they just have to become activists themselves and try to influence the situation, which they reckon affects their lives and living environments.”


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The World After Snowden, as Seen from Colombia · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Colombian activist Pilar Sáenz [es] writes on Las 2 Orillas [The two shores] an article titled Year 1 AS (after Snowden) [es], in relation to the first anniversary of the leakings by Edward Snowden.
El 5 de junio de 2013 fue el día en que algunas de las teorías de conspiración más descabelladas se tornaron realidad, cuando los paranoicos supieron a ciencia cierta y con evidencias irrefutables que tenían la razón. Ese día sentimos que la ficción de Orwell plasmada en 1984 podría ser dolorosamente superada por la realidad. Hace un año confirmamos que el miedo y la falta de control llevan fácilmente al abuso del poder y que el gran peligro que acecha a las democracias no es el terrorismo sino el autoritarismo que justifica la violación permanente de los derechos humanos en la búsqueda de una supuesta seguridad nacional.
On June 5, 2013 was the date when some of the most ridiculous conspiracy theories came true, when paranods knew for sure and with irrefutable evidence that they were right. That day we all felt, painfully, that Orwell's fiction captured on [his book] 1984 could easily be surpassed by fiction. A year ago, we confirmed that fear and lack of control might easily result in power abuse and that the great danger that stalks democracies is not terrorism but authoritarianism that justifies a permanent violation of human rights in pursuit of an alleged national security.
Edward Snowden, by AK Rockefeller on flickr. Used with a Creative Commons license  (CC BY-SA 2.0).
After noting that Colombia itself was one of the most surveiled countries [es] in the region, Pilar reviews the cases of intern surveillance known in that country.
En 2009 se reveló el escándalo conocido como “las chuzadas del DAS“, cuando ese organismo interceptó ilegalmente las comunicaciones de periodistas, políticos, jueces y ONG […] En 2013, apareció Puma, la Plataforma Única de Monitoreo y Análisis de comunicaciones para investigaciones criminales, parte de la implementación de la Ley de inteligencia […] En febrero de 2014 un nuevo escándalo expuso la fachada de una operación de inteligencia militar denominada “Andrómeda“. Su objetivo principal: periodistas, opositores políticos, el gobierno y los negociadores del proceso de paz con la guerrilla en La Habana.
In 2009 the scandal known as “the DAS wiretapping“ [DAS is the Spanish acronym of the Administrative Department of Security], when this entity illegally intercepted communications of journalists, politicians, judges and NGOs […]. In 2013, Puma [es] was released, a Platform for Communications Monitoring and Analyzing for criminal investigations which is part of the implementation of the intelligence Legislation […]. In February 2014, a new scandal disclosed the facade of a military intelligence operation known as “Andrómeda“ [es]. Its main target: journalists, opposition políticians, government and negotiators for the peace process with guerrilla in Havana.
At the end, she reflects: “On Year 1 AS the only clear thing is that there is still a long way to go to guarantee the rights of the citizens who also live in the cyberspace”.


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Thousands of Spaniards Demand a Republic Following the King’s Abdication · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

View of Puerta del Sol (Madrid) during the demonstration on June 2. Photo uploaded to Twitter by Danips.
Monday, June 2, 2014, will go down in Spain's history as the day that King Juan Carlos I abdicated his throne. According to his own words, “A new generations is claiming the leading role (…). Today, a younger generation deserves to move to the frontline.” Within hours, hundreds of thousands of citizens hit the streets throughout the country calling for a referendum that would allow them to decide whether to keep the monarchy or to replace it with a republic in which they could elect a head of state.
Many observers see the crown's attempt to maintain the monarchical system in this abdication, and consider the fact that it is taking place while a conservative party governs Spain with an absolute majority to be a move to ensure that the succession is carried out smoothly.
But the feeling on the street seems to be quite different. Following the abdication, social networks witnessed an avalanche of comments that broke all records. Together with hashtags like #ElReyAbdica (#TheKingAbdicates) and #VivaElRey (#LongLiveTheKing), others like #IIIRepublica (#IIIRepublic), #EligeTuRey (#ChooseYourKing), #ProcesoConstituyente (#ConstituentProcess), #AporLaTercera (#FortheThird) and #ReferendumYA (#ReferendumNOW) began to stand out and became Trending Topics practically all day. Of these, #ElReyAbdica, #IIIRepublica, #AporLaTerceraRepublica and “Felipe VI” were TT worldwide.
Es hora de hacer historia queremos + democracia #ElReyAbdica #ReferendumYA #QueElPuebloHable #APorLaTerceraRepublica pic.twitter.com/8NAC3mj6Qf
— José Manuel Corrales (@JoseMCorrales) June 2, 2014
It's time to make history, we want + democracy
Si es cierto que “La soberanía nacional reside en el pueblo español”, ¿por qué el Rey puede abdicar en favor de alguien? #ElReyAbdica
— Luis Miguel Artabe (@lmartabe) June 2, 2014
If it's true that “National sovereignty resides with the Spanish people”, why can the King abdicate in favor of someone?
Discurso del rey. Dice que apostó porque los ciudadanos “eligiesen su propio destino”. A su hijo nos lo impone sin votarle #elreyabdica
— Ángel Calleja (@angelcalleja) June 2, 2014
The King's Speech. Says he bet on citizens “choosing their own destiny.” He imposed his son on us without voting for him.
On Change.org, two petitions were created to ask for a referendum on the monarchy which reached more than 23,000 [es] and 15,000 [es] signatures, respectively, after one day of being opened. Another petition on Avaaz.org [es] exceeded 265,000 signatures at the time of writing this article.
The decline in the king's popularity has been increasingly evident in recent years, as shown by the chart that accompanies this tweet from Europa press [es]:
Así ha evolucionado la nota de los ciudadanos a la Monarquía desde los 90 http://t.co/0OT96yx833 #ElReyAbdica pic.twitter.com/NyhGIhhjZe
— Europa Press (@europapress_es) June 2, 2014
This is how the citizens’ view of the monarchy has evolved since the 90s
Undoubtedly, the scandals that have hit the royal family head on in recent years have contributed to this drastic loss of support from the people: the trial of the king's son-in-law, Iñaki Urdangarín, the charges against Princess Cristina in the same case, the luxurious hunting trips in times of crisis, the appearance of the king's alleged mistress, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who used an extravagantly decorated house belonging to the National Heritage [es]… Although the Spanish monarchy happens to be one of the least expensive in the world, in recent months there have been rumors about the king's personal fortune, which NBC calculates to be more than 2 billion euros:
Thirty-nine years after he took the throne, the outgoing king is now seen as a man deeply out-of-touch with the social landscape of post-economic-meltdown Spain.
Some estimate the king's worth could exceed 2 billion euro, a galling sum for a country that has been one of the hardest hit in Europe by the financial crisis.
Some estimate that the king's assets could surpass 2 billion euros, an offensive figure for a country that has been one of those hit hardest by the financial crisis in Europe.
Actual cost of the Spanish monarchy. Image uploaded to Twitter by Silvia Prieto.
The king's friendship with big entrepreneurs and bankers – some jailed for corruption –, quite favored by the king's official travels [es] around the world in search of business opportunities for the elite, has also been criticized. A few months ago, the role of the crown in the transition was also questioned following the publication of a book entitled “The great forgetfulness” by Pilar Urbano, in which the journalist claimed that the attempted military coup on February 23, 1981 was organized by the king himself [es] to win the loyalty of the Spanish people.
Spanish citizens also disagree with the opacity surrounding the monarchical institution, not required to detail accounts under the new transparency law [es]. The constitution states that “The King's person is inviolable and not subject to liability,” meaning he cannot be held accountable for any of his actions, which becomes difficult to understand in a democracy, as is the new Judiciary Law that grants the condition of immunity to the queen and the until the moment princes of Asturias.
For many Spaniards, the fact that the Constitution has not been amended since its adoption in 1978 is a testament to the stagnation of the Spanish political class – including the monarchy – and its remoteness from the citizens. Andrés Gil [es] expresses it as such on eldiario.es:
La Constitución de 1978 responde a 1978. Pero 2014 ya no es 1978. (…) Una ciudadanía que se organiza, debate y hace política, principalmente sin partidos, y que este lunes ha salido a la calle en toda España para pedir un referéndum sobre el modelo de Estado mientras los políticos dominantes se aferran a los jirones del régimen de 1978.
The Constitution of 1978 responds to 1978. But 2014 is no longer 1978. (…)  A citizenry that organizes itself, debates, and creates policy, mainly without parties, and has taken to the streets across all of Spain this Monday to demand a referendum on the state model while dominant politicians cling to the shreds of the 1978 regime.
And jhr cronos wrote the following on the MACanime forum [es]:
(…) El fin de la monarquía debe darse por la idea en sí misma, porque es una desfachatez tener un rey por supuesto derecho divino (o el dedo del dictador Franco en el caso español), y es una tontería que se vaya heredando el asunto, como si fueran sangre azules que siempre nacen adecuados para ser dirigentes o reyes.
Yo no sé si sea ahora cuando se empiece a abolir la monarquía española, pero de que se abolirá ténganlo por seguro. La república volverá y terminarán con ese legado de oscurantismo que debió caer cuando el siglo de las luces. (…)
(…) The end of the monarchy should come about by the idea in and of itself, because it is an affront to have a king by a supposed divine right (or the finger of dictator Franco in the Spanish case), and it is silly for for it to be inherited, as if they were all blue bloods that are always born suitable to be leaders or kings.
I don't know if the Spanish monarchy will start being abolished now, but abolishing it is surely the way to go. The republic will return and this legacy of darkness that should have fallen during the Age of Enlightenment will end (…)
The demonstrations calling for a referendum on the state model have not ended just yet: new protests will be held this weekend [es].

author: Lourdes Sada