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Taiwan: Social Media Makes Indigenous Voices Loud and Clear · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.
Taiwan's indigenous population are often flattered by politicians as being the country's “real masters” or “original inhabitants”; they have been used to promote Taiwan tourism in television commercials around the world.
But stories about their struggle for identity, sustainability and dignity are missing from the Taiwanese public sphere, as a result of relative social and political domination by the country's Han Chinese population. Now, thanks to social media, indigenous youth are making their voices heard and reconnecting with their traditions.
Indigenous Taiwanese. Photo by Senayan, used with permission.
“Tribal Grid”
A group of ambitious indigenous Taiwanese writers and bloggers first started a group online blog called Blogger Check-in (部落客報到) [zh] in October, 2010. In Taiwanese the word “blog” in fact translates literally to mean “tribal grid” (部落格) and the word “blogger” into “tribal people” (部落客).
Besides the blog, the group have multiple outlets to effectively spread their news, including social media such as networking site Facebook and micro-blogging site Twitter, as well as independent online media sites such as Lihpao [zh] and PNN [zh].
In the past, in order to enter mainstream society, many indigenous people preferred to register their name in Han Chinese when processing official documents, such as identity cards. However, practices such as this have only served to further marginaliz ethnic minorities in Taiwan.
Snaiyan (思乃泱) talks on Blogger Check-in about the benefits of using ethnic names on Facebook [zh]:
原住民人口比例佔臺灣總人口比例極少，常使得原住民在做的事情、所關心的事情經常被忽略。使用原住民姓名的人數若更少，就更會讓人忽視原住民參與在大社會與各式社群的存在，成為隱姓埋名的一群人。我可以理解，現實生活中要改名的困難，尤其是對於年紀越大的人來說，不只身分證、駕照、帳戶、護照、戶籍等等，還包括已建立的知名度等等，要重新開始一個早該經營的開始，實在有困難。那麼若從網站社群的世界開始使用原住民名字，應該也可以當作是另一個開始。
使用FB以來，我發現一個很有意思的改名現象。例如某位原住民年輕人向來使用漢名，可能之後他會在漢名後面括弧註明自己的原住民羅馬拼音名，讓人認識他的族群背景；或者一夕之間就把羅馬拼音名直接取代成正式的註冊姓名，後面才括弧漢名。改名後，他的原住民朋友因此感到好奇，詢問要怎麼改名呢，於是也跟著把自己的名字改為與家族有連結的姓氏。很可能現實生活中，他們身分證上的名字仍舊是漢名，但是透過FB開始改名，讓周邊以及往來聯絡的朋友先習慣這個名字的存在，也習慣連結他們及其背後部落族群的存在，也是一種在社群當中公開表明自己身份的方式。
更有意思的是，我有好幾位很愛跟部落在一起的白浪朋友，在FB註冊時根本就是直接註冊自己被部落族人給予的原住民名字；或是在漢名之後括弧註明自己的原住民名，標明了他們與部落之間的緣分與關係，這些都有助於連結原住民群體標示的存在。
Protecting Indigenous Rights
Snaiyan also reflects upon the condition of Taiwan's indigenous people  after watching “Ryomaden“, a Japanese television drama about Sakamoto Ryoma (坂本龍馬), a visionary hero:
不講整個臺灣政治，就單一部落來講，我們更是欠缺像龍馬這樣不為自己只為部落的人才，願意致力以部落未來為前提去與大家溝通，在部落四分五裂的矛盾意見中統合出一個可以前進的作法。常常看到的是，部落有各種協會、組織等山頭，或是以各家族勢力與利益為處事前提，或是以教會派別區隔傳統行事參與，中青輩可能不信任長老輩做的決定，長輩認為年輕人努力得不夠，於是不願意朝彼此接近、只是用自己的想像持續去猜測對方……明明外面的人看到的是一個部落，然而內部卻是暗潮洶湧、驚濤駭浪。在缺乏共識的結果下，當部落需要達成一個可以對內對外表達集體決定的時候，因此延宕，造成被局勢決定的命運。
Senayan (斯乃泱) from the Likavung Tribe is more optimistic about her own group because of the active participation [zh] of enthusiastic community members in the public affairs of the tribe:
在部落從事公共事務，來參與清掃的這群人幾乎是基本咖，活動中幾乎都會看見他們熟悉的身影，「部落」就是要有這樣的一群傻子才可以成事。部落組織運作目前雖不完善，但有這樣一群願意為部落付出的人，大家應該感到欣慰與給他們多多鼓勵或回以美麗的笑容或問候或一起參與。
It is very important for indigenous groups in Taiwan to reach build solidarity among themselves as many of the policies, manipulated by legislators and politicians in central government, are threatening their joint future survival, such as the new Eastern Taiwan Development Act, which justifies the de facto seizure of indigenous people's land under the pretext of “development”.
Shih Shen-wen (施聖文) criticizes the new Act [zh]:
在《東發條例》中，簡化土地處理的程序，並不是拉近人與土地之間相互依存的親近性，反而是將這套商品生產剝除了神祕面紗，轉變成為權力、資訊與資源的爭奪場域。可以想見，未來在所謂「東永小組」還是其他的上位組織，來決定未來花東地區的「重大建設」時，決定的是各種開發提案的文件工具的齊備，以及如何完備、符合條例用畫大餅的政治語言勾勒出來的目的。
Stone hotpot of Chih Mei Tribe. Painting by Shauwen Tsai, used under permission
Many Taiwan Han Chinese enjoy “helping” the indigenous people by introducing modern development plans or teaching the children modern culture. Ligelale Awu (利格拉樂．阿烏), who was a college professor, criticizes  the College Students’ Mountain Services, a student society which mobilizes students to do voluntary work in indigenous areas.
Awu points out that, instead of appreciating the indigenous culture, the Han college students keep teaching the kids “how to play” with city toys and how to speak Taiwanese.
Falahan (法拉汗) from the Chih-Mei Tribe invites his readers to visit his tribe and explore the origin of Amis people through their natural cuisine, as a way to develop the understanding of indigenous cultures.
As the indigenous blogoshere in Taiwan grows, the communication barricade between Han people and indigenous peoples is gradually being lifted. Yet more mutual understanding is absolutely necessary.
With the help of bloggers from Blogger Check-in and other indigenous friends on social networking sites, I will help by bringing Taiwanese indigenous voices to the readers of Global Voices from time to time.
This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.


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Thailand: Prime Minister Admits He is British · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

UK-born Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva has admitted in a parliamentary session that he has not yet renounced his British citizenship:
“…You are not curious whether I hold Thai citizenship, but “you’re curious if I hold British citizenship, I’ll answer you directly that”. “You ask have I ever formally renounced my British citizenship, I admit I have not renounced my British citizenship because it is understood legally that if the nationality laws are conflicting, the Thai law must be used”.
“My intention is clear. I was born in England but I consider myself a Thai. I studied in England but I intended to return to work and live in Thailand, to work for the country’s interest and didn’t think of anything else.”
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva. Image in public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.
(Translation provided by blogger Bangkok Pundit)
Abhisit became prime minister of Thailand in 2008. His admission that he is still a British citizen does not disqualify him as a member of parliament since his parents are Thai citizens and this legally makes him qualified to hold public office.
It was the opposition who first questioned the citizenship of Abhisit because they intend to bring the Prime Minister to the International Criminal Court for allegedly committing crimes against humanity. Thailand has not yet ratified the ICC Statute but the United Kingdom is a signatory.
Abhisit is accused of of ordering the military to violently disperse anti-government protests in Bangkok last year which resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries.
Tony on Thailand muses why Abhisit was reluctant to admit his British citizenship:
As a British Citizen myself it almost seems madness that anyone could renounce their citizenship! As far as I am aware there is no British legal way to do this even if you wanted to. And why would you want to?
The whole debate on whether or not Mark A Vejjajiva is British or not is a nonsense. He is. He may have dual nationality, that’s fine, nothing wrong with that.
The reason he is trying to say he is not a British Citizen is firstly because he is worried he might fall foul of any Thai law that says foreigners can’t be in politics but mostly he is worried that he could be arrested if he left Thailand by the International Criminal Court, if action against him personally is successful. And we all know how Mark hates to take responsibility.
Robert Amsterdam, the lawyer of ousted Thai leader and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is the person who filed a case against Abhisit in the ICC:
First, given Thailand’s long history of granting state officials complete impunity for massacres of this kind, and the ongoing attempt to whitewash this most recent incident, the ICC still represents the best hope to bring Thai generals and politicians to justice. Second, given the Thai media’s reluctance to demand the truth, their unwillingness to engage in any kind of investigative journalism, and (in the case of the English-language press) the zeal with which they have defended the regime’s impunity, it was important to collect evidence to rebut the government’s lies and expose its empty promises of “reconciliation.”
Tasty Thailand believes that Abhisit can use his British citizenship to flee Thailand in the future:
The simple fact of the matter is, he doesn't want to renounce his British citizenship because, after all, if things go pear-shaped in Thailand and he has to flee the country like Thaksin did, unlike Thaksin who was pretty much asked to leave the UK, Abhisit, as a British citizen, would have every right to stay there.
Tulsathit Taptim, writing for The Nation newspaper, believes the citizenship issue will continue to haunt Abhisit:
What Abhisit said in Parliament on Thursday is on the record. Shall we presume that he was well aware what it would be like if he were to be caught giving distorted information or telling a lie? The citizenship issue has opened him up to new scrutiny.
A few days ago, the opposition formally asked the British government to review if Abhisit has used his citizenship rights in the past. The video showing the confession of Abhisit in parliament is available online (February 24, 2011).

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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The Forgotten Palestinian Refugees of Libya · Global Voices
Ammoun AAY

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.
Libya's civilian population, currently engaged in pro-democracy conflict against long-standing leader Muammar Gaddafi's repressive forces, have endured weeks of deadly attacks. Waves of civilians have fled the country via its borders with Tunisia and Egypt, where refugee camps providing emergency aid have been installed.
Palestinian students set fire to a poster of Libyan leader Gaddafi in Gaza City. Image by Mohammed Othman, copyright Demotix (22/02/11).
More than 10 percent of Libya's inhabitants are immigrants. Among them, there are reportedly up to 70,000 Palestinian refugee settlers.
Most are unable to return to Palestine: their identity cards – and therefore right of residency in their homeland – were revoked by Israel in its ‘quiet deportation’ policy. Between December 1995 and March 1999, Israel started to revoke residency rights for individuals who had moved outside Jerusalem's municipal boundaries, but no warning of the policy was giving to those Palestinian residents living outside the city.
Border Refugees
In the previous weeks, over 10,000 migrants have fled to Tunisia border, where they have been evacuated by their respective national embassies.
The Palestinian Authority has tried to coordinate the evacuation of the Palestinian community in Libya; Israel has offered to allow 300 into the occupied territories as a “humanitarian gesture”.
The first flow of Palestinian refugees were evacuated after reports were released of Gaddafi’s mercenaries detaining a group of 43 Palestinian students in Misurata after they refused to join the pro-regime forces. By the end of February 2011, a total of 104 Palestinian students had left Libya.
On March 1, 2011, the Palestinian Embassy informed its nationals in Libya that they had been granted safe passage to Egypt, in cooperation with the Egyptian authorities. They blamed the difficulty experienced in the evacuation of Palestinians compared to citizens from other countries, on the Authority’s limited means.
However, as the first Palestinians arrived at the Salloum crossing on the Egyptian border, entry into Egypt was denied. Users on microblogging website Twitter commented:
@Abou_3ali [Yemen] From friend in Salloum: Egypt denies entry to Palestinians and took 70 back to small empty village, some things never change.
@El_Deeb [Egypt]: All nationalities allowed to cross the borders from Libya to Egypt except Palestinians! This is disastrous! 70 Palestinians asked by Army to get on buses supposedly to go to Rafah Border Crossing then to Gaza strip. Buses took them back to Libya!
@altahawi [Egypt] For not having a valid residence in #Egypt, 42 Palestinians pushed back from Salloum port to Libya last week!
Egypt Entry Denied
Approximately 1,500 Palestinians have tried to cross into Egypt since Monday 7 March, 2011, but the Egyptian military have received clear instructions to not let Palestinians refugees in [ar]. Many Palestinians who had travelled to the border returned home, to the Libyan cities of Benghazi and Tobruk.
On Tuesday 8 March, 2011, 15 Palestinians were still in Salloum demanding to cross, while hundreds of other Palestinians refusing to go back to their homes, had chosen to wait in the homes of Libyan host families in a village near the crossing.
It has been reported that Palestinians without national identity cards or valid residency in Egypt were not allowed to cross, whereas even Asian labourers without papers [ar] managed to get into the country. Palestinians in Gaza have reacted to the situation on their private Facebook profiles:
Ibtihal I have my uncle in Misurata, he doesn’t have an ID, he can’t go to Egypt during a normal situation. Now it’s much more difficult. Basically, Palestinians without IDs don’t have the permission to go to Gaza, I guess the Egyptian authorities are still following the same procedure. Because of the internal situation in Egypt, they must think that Palestinians will be a sort of threat. They don’t care about emergency.
Ibrahim Those Palestinians have no IDs, the other refugees have a country, a homeland that will care about bringing them back home. Palestinians don’t; if they cross to Egypt, they have nowhere to go, neither to Gaza, nor to the West Bank, and Egypt don’t want to take responsibility of them. What’s more worrying is not the situation of Palestinians East of Libya, but of those West; we don’t even know if they tried to reach border with Tunisia.
As to how many Palestinians have reached the Tunisian border, there does not seem to be any update. A Palestinian aid convoy has reportedly set off from the Embassy in Tunis to help with the humanitarian crisis emerging at the Tunisian-Libyan border.
Arrangements are being made, where possible, for those Palestinans who have had to stay in Libya:
@libyansrevolt: There is a Palestinian that lives in a house at the bottom of our farm in Tripoli – we don’t charge him rent.
Intervention Urged
The blog Uprooted Palestinians has issued a call for help from Palestinians refugees who used to live in Lebanon and fled the civil war there to come to Libya, asking for a coordinated Lebanese-Palestinian intervention to allow them to depart Libya:
We are lost because no one is caring about us or following our news.
We the Palestinians living in Libya for more than 35 years have come from Lebanon to flee (civil) war and resided among our brothers in Libya where we got married and worked. However, after the 17 February revolution and the worsening security situation we tried to leave the country via its ports but were not allowed because of inadequate travel documents. We are now stranded and sell our belongings to eat; we do not have work or shelter and do not know what to do or where to go.
The situation is fast becoming critical. Latest reports state that soldiers loyal to Gaddafi have blocked some 30,000 migrant workers from fleeing into Tunisia.
It is urgent to shed light on the fate of those refugees locked up in a country that is currently on the brink.
This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.

author: Ammoun AAY


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Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival Results  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Results from the most talked-about Carnival competitions here and here, while Lisa Allen-Agostini weighs in on show-stealing at the hotly-contested Soca Monarch contest.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: The CL Collapse  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In an attempt to make sense of the “financial fiasco” of the CL Financial collapse, Afra Raymond says: “Our House needs a serious cleaning and we need a new commitment to serious retrospection if we are to succeed in understanding this scandalous situation.”


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Yemen: Saleh “declares war on Yemen” (Videos)  · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
Yemeni police and security agents fired at protesters at the  University of Sanaa on Tuesday, March 8, killing three and wounding an estimated 50 people, five of them seriously.
The shooting apparently started when security forces attempted to stop a group of “thousands” of protesters from entering the area of the University of Sanaa where students have continued a three-week sit in. However, one local journalist says the Yemeni government claims the security forces were attempting to stop  tribesman from smuggling in weapons to the sit-in.
Yemeni protestor outside White House, USA. Image by Flickr user messay.com (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
The protesters have been calling for the dismissal of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years, and leads an ineffective government in an oil producing country with little economic development.  Since protests began in early February, an estimated 27 people have been killed and many more wounded. Both Pro- and Anti-Saleh peotesters have continued to gather mostly peacefully throughout much of the country. However, violence towards anti-government protests has been escalating at an alarming rate.
Tuesday's protests were especially large because many women and children had joined to celebrate international women's day. Jane Novak reported soldiers attempted to stop medical professionals from helping the wounded. BBC reported government agents also used stun guns and tear gas to dismiss the protesters. One Tweep, @Leemtee, said the gas has harmful effects.
Medics in Sana'a say that the gas used on protesters has been banned internationally. Causes nerve paralysis and breathing problems.
Warning Some graphic content: Here is a video uploaded by journalist Iona Craig of a hospital where some of the shooting victims were brought. People at the hospital placed the number of wounded between 23 to 50, and said the wounds came from gunshots.
This video, uploaded by EBNSHAMS, shows a wounded protester receiving bandages.
During and immediately following the shootings, Tweeps attempted to cover the events.
@kasinof: clashes at sana univ right now. live bullets being used on protesters
@YERevolutions: #Yemen #sanaa attacks still taking place by thugs and security forces to the moment, and lack of blood and medical… http://fb.me/Xiq0VmXJ
@tm464: Sources from sana'a Security forces and Republican Guard firing live bullets at demonstrators in the change… http://fb.me/ROglelqr
@Leemtee: Ambulances transporting those critically injured from Square of Change
@Leemtee: Medical team in Square of Change has also been targeted by security forces. Live bullets shot.
@alguneid: #SANAA SOURCE EARLIER EVNNG REPBLCN GUARDS DRESSED AS CENTRAL SECURITY WERE POSITIONED.CENTRAL SECURTY WERE NOT KEEN THUMBING DOWN PROTESTRS
@WomanfromYemen: security refused medical aid to enter #sanaa univ square thats where most injured ppl are being treated! #yemen #yf
@yemen4change: many injuries are critical near Sanaa university #Yemen
@WomanfromYemen: doctors needed in #sanaa university square right now.. #yemen #yf
@WomanfromYemen: most protesters being treated in the “room turned hospital” inside the square, some critically injured taken to the hospital #yemen #sanaa
@ArabsUnite: I REPEAT BLOOD SHORTAGE IN #SANAA ESP A- BLOOD GROUP.. DOCTORS ALSO URGENTLY NEEDED AT THE SQUARE OF CHANGE IN #SANAA
@kasinof: tonight was the first time soldiers (in uniform) shot live ammunition at protesters in sanaa
In the aftermath, Tweeps worried about another assault and started to piece the story together.
@listeningseeing: Yemenite state tv outlet songs and dancing while gvt forces kill and hit protesters in Change square in #sanaa #yemen
@Malanesi: Groups of armed security men dresses as civilians enters the gates of sanaa uni from the back Gates and prepares now for another assault.
@Leemtee: Thousands head to Square for Change in Sana'a after security forces shot at protesters.
@Malanesi: Four thugs were caught and they admitted that they were ordered by officers to attack protesters mentioning the officers names. #yemen
@YERevolutions: #Yemen #sanaa Breaking news: more young citizens joins the their injured brothers bringing their shrouds with them… http://fb.me/TsBr5GEB
@spatialshak: Not only has #Ali Saleh refused to adhere to the ppl & peacefully reconcile;BUT DECLARES WAR ON #Yemen PPL using CSF,specialFORCES,RepGUARDs
@yemen4change: I thought #AliSaleh would be more wiser than #Gaddafi, using force against peaceful protesters only puts him in bad situation #Yemen
@Leemtee: Breaking news from Sana'a: Tribes in Sana'a have joined the protesters and injured asking for fall of Saleh's regim
@WomanfromYemen: protesters in #sanaa chanting against regime, and shouting “we wont leave” #yemen #yf
Many agree the attack will affect the country's political situation and will enrage other protesters. First, the group Saleh was to meet with to help form a government of national unity:
@alguneid: DIALOGUE COMMITTEE(JMPs &ASSOCIATES) CONDEMNS CONDEMNS ASSAULT OF SALEH FORCES ON PEACEFUL PROTESTERS
Now, the protesters:
@alguneid: #YOUTH ACTIVIST-ALJAZEERAH TV, THIS ATTACK FROM #SALEH WILL MAKE US MORE STUBBORN . WE SAY IT AGAIN, NEVER TO DIALOGUE, ONLY GO
@spatialshak: The outrage in #Sanaa #Yemen will trigger armed retaliation and gr8 rage against army&police 4 their inimical acts.
@alguneid: #SANAA PROTESTERS PLEDGE WILL NOT LEAVE THE SQUARE TILL SALEH LEAVE. LOUDLY CHANTING FALL UPON #SALEH
@dia_assada: After receiving the news from #Sanaa, people pour in2 Freedom Sq in #Taiz, & “security” forces multiply its presence #Yemen #yf
Some worry about how the outside world will view these fresh killings.
@Leemtee: International community SILENT about killings in YEMEN!!
@WomanfromYemen: Stop military aid to #yemen NOW. Any govt that supports this regime is contributing to the killing & oppression of the people of Yemen. #yf
The blogger leloveluck criticizes governments who continue to prop up the Saleh regime even after its forces attacked protesters in such a public place, in a city where much of the international media is forced to congregate.
One would hope that such a public act of regime brutality will provoke international condemnation. Sadly, this remains unlikely. The past week has seen the initiative slip away from the protesters and back into the hands of the regime; where American and European responses were previously emphasising a need for restraint and reform, the narrative of the previous decade has reemerged, suggesting that Yemen must be viewed through the suspicious lens of counterterrorism. On Sunday, Hillary Clinton alleged Iranian involvement in the protests (unlikely), and shootings in Marib province allowed President Saleh to play the Al Qaeda card. Both events have served as reminders that Yemen remains a place where US foreign policy is defined in terms of geopolitical fear. Despite all this, one hopes that tonight’s events will attract condemnation from the donor community who continue to prop up Saleh’s ageing regime, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.

author: John Liebhardt


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Africa: African language Wikipedia update · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

African language Wikipedia update from South African blogger Greeman: “The process for forming a local chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation was jumpstarted at a workshop at Wits University in August last year, and is now nearing the final stages.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Africa: Sandbox Launches in Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sandbox is proud to announce the opening of its first hub in Africa. Based out of Nairobi, its aim is to unite the continent’s most inspiring young leaders, and to connect them with like-minded peers all over the globe.


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Azerbaijan: Online activism under fire · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Writing on East of Center, Transition Online editor in chief Jeremy Druker comments on official attempts to discredit Azerbaijani youth activists using social media to prepare for pro-democracy protests on 11-12 March.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Cameroon: Netizens React to SMS-to-Tweet Ban · Global Voices
Julie Owono

International Women's Day 2011 will be remembered in Cameroon for more technological reasons.
Bouba Kaele, a marketing manager at the South African MTN telecom company in Cameroon,  announced on social network Twitter that the Cameroonian Government banned access to twitter via SMS  for MTN customers [fr] :
According to Edouard Tamba on his blog, customers received information via  SMS from the MTN Cameroon saying [fr]:
Cher client, pour des raisons indépendantes de notre volonté, l’accès au 8711 est désormais suspendu. Merci de votre compréhension
Contacted on Twitter about the reasons for the ban, MTN's the Chief Information Officer, @GeorgesMpoudi replied:
This news caused anger among the Cameroonian online community. A hashtag was immediately created by @Kasbig [fr]:
These netizens’ surprise is understandable: after all on March 5 2011, the 9ideas conference was organised in Douala, Cameroon. The technology-driven conference was sponsored, by MTN, among others and the floor was given to African and Cameroonian innovators for them to introduce their ideas aimed at helping to develop the continent. The subject of Internet censorship had been dealt with at this occasion; as @champico explains:
Cameroonian online portal Mboablog posted on its Youtube channel a video of the 9ideas conference:
@mambenanje is more than upset:
@etumnamboa is even more sour:
For many, “security reasons” mentioned by the authorities  are related to the recent revolutions and uprisings that have taken place throughout Africa since the beginning of the year. This unrest also affected Cameroon, though to a lesser extent than its African counterparts, on February 23, 2011. It's the opinion shared by @mambenanje:
But according to blogger Dibussi Tande, the Cameroonian Government got it all wrong:
Obviously, the government has failed to learn the lesson from North Africa. (…) It was information obtained via mobile phones, regular SMS and email which ended up on Twitter and not real-time tweets from activists on the ground. Thus, banning the Twitter short code does little to change the balance of power online.
Cameroonian netizens seem nevertheless resourceful. Blogger Djia Think posted an article on “OpenMesh, the ultimate weapon to keep our freedom of communication”  that introduces the OpenMesh project:
C’est dans l’optique de lutter contre ses coups portés à la liberté de communication que Shervin Pishevar proposait le 27 Février 2011, le projet OpenMesh qui consiste à former un réseau maillée, où les hommes joueront le rôle des routeurs Internet

author: Julie Owono


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China: Power disparity · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Johan Lagerkvist from China Roader examines the political agenda of the 11th National People Congress in stability control.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Côte d’Ivoire: Fear of Medicine Shortage Looms  · Global Voices
Anna Gueye

This post is part of our special coverage Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011.
The political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire is ongoing, without any prospect of a solution in the short-term. Currently the country's two opposition leaders, Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, both claim to have won the November 2010 presidential elections.
Risks are not only confined to the possibility of a conflict; the Ivorian population is also being exposed to social problems as a result of the unrest.
Demonstration at the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Côte d'Ivoire. Screenshot of the Ivorian National TV channel RTI.
On the Twitter hashtag #civ2010, Ivorians netizens have been worried about the medical situation [fr] in their country for some time.
@damsy2009 wrote [fr] on February 28, 2011:
Côte d’Ivoire : L’embargo sur les médicaments, crime humanitaire:
A la suite de l’interdiction des navires sur les ports du pays décidée par l’union européenne, les cargaisons de médicaments destinées à la Côte d’Ivoire ont été détournées vers le port de Dakar. Ces mesures de rétorsion mettent en danger de la vie de millions de malades en Côte d’Ivoire.
This post also refers to an article ‘Côte d'Ivoire: Warning against first-aid medicine shortage amidst crisis‘ [fr] published on February 3, 2011, on the website of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in which the author Patrick Slavin fears that a shortage of malarial medicine could happen within a period of two to four weeks. Malaria is the main cause of mortality for children aged five years and under [in the country].
Roadside businesses in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Image by Flick user CJR836 (Creative Commons License).
Parfait Kouassi, president of the Côte d'Ivoire's College of Pharmacists, says he has between four to six weeks worth of supplies remaining [fr] in his [medicine] stocks. He adds in this interview [fr]:
Les ruptures avérées concernent, à l’heure actuelle, les produits de dialyse. On nous signale aussi dans le secteur public des manques concernant certaines associations d’antipaludiques. Il y a certains antibiotiques qui ont atteint les stocks d’alerte. Les stocks sont en train de baisser dangereusement, mais il est encore possible en cherchant bien d’en trouver dans le pays.
But talk of “embargos on medicines” has caused strong reactions among some netizens. @nightsnake1975 writing on Twitter reminds that such embargos are forbidden:
@nightsnake1975: Non car il n'y a jamais d'embargo sur les produits médicaux c interdit. Même en Irak de SADDAM il n'y a pas eu :)
@wexez agrees, but wonders if EU sanctions contribute to this shortage:
@wexez: Vrai mais les sanctions sur les importations aussi des navires de l'UE en partie y contribue peut être
@wexez also reminds that medicines are still able to enter the country via land [fr]:
@wexez: Il n'y a pas d'embargo sur les médicaments car ils ont le droit de rentrer par voie terrestre. Embargo sur navires oui.
@youmchan insists on the fact that:
@youmchan: Les médicaments, par leur fragilité, voyagent par avion. Et il n'y a pas d'embargo aérien actuellement.
All this does not reassures @neoliss who issued a call to Human Rights Watch, and French television channels, Itélé and BFM TV:
@neoliss: @hrw @itele @BFMTV: en côte d'ivoire – plus de médicaments pour les malades suite à l'embargo maritime de l'UE – on meurt ici
@nightsnake1975 insists on three points:
@nightsnake197: #civ2010 Il n'y a pas d'embargo sur les médicamente en CI. Le blocage est lié à la suspension de l'activité bancaire. Arreter les confusions
@nightsnake197: #civ2010 Les pharmacies ivoiriennes pourraient se faire livrer depuis le GHANA, le TOGO ou le BENIN. Cela ne se fait pas pr des pb financier
@nightsnake197: #civ2010 La réquisition de la BCEAO à des conséquences incommensurables. J'avais prevenu certains ont jubilé. Who's wrong now?
@nightsnake197: #civ2010 There is no embargo on medicines in Côte d'Ivoire. The blockage is related to the supension of banking activity. Stop the confusion.
@nightsnake197: #civ2010 Ivorian pharmacies could have their products delivered from Ghana, Togo, or Benin. This cannot be done because of financial problems.
@nightsnake197: #civ2010 Requisition of the BCEAO (Central Bank of West African States) has incommensurable consequences. I warned, some rejoiced. Who's wrong now?
And the same tweep reminds us one last time:
@nightsnake197: @chikouach #civ2010 Une fois pour toute. Compte tenu de la fragilité de la plus part des médicaments, les pdts pharm voyage par AVION
After requisition by official Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo [fr], the BCEAO [essentially] became the victim of a hold up and closed. Following this, other banks in the country closed [fr] one after another. In a press release from February 28, 2011, the BCEAO explains why it is maintaining the “temporary suspension of its activities” [fr].
The issue also brings tweep @nightsnake1975 to bring up the political situation again:
@nightsnake1975: #civ2010 Petit rappel : Ils sont où le chantre du repli sur soi. “En CI il y a tout on a pas besoin des autres” qu'ils disaient. WAKE UP
In the meantime, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has suspended [certain] operations [in the west of the country] for security reasons [fr].
This post is part of our special coverage Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011.

author: Anna Gueye


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Côte d’Ivoire: Ushahidi gaining popularity among citizens · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Collins discusses the deployment of Ushahidi platform in Cote d'Ivoire: “The website is rapidly gaining popularity among the Citizenry of Cote d'Ivoire as Users update via Facebook and Twitter on incidences of violence,events ,humanitarian crises ,unusual occurrences …etc.”


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Cuba: Hunger Striker  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Just like Sisyphus forced to push his stone uphill for eternity, Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina is enduring his latest arbitrary incarceration as a punishment for his unwavering commitment to civil disobedience”: Crossing the Barbed Wire fears that another Cuban hunger striker may be close to death.


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Cuba: Privacy Protection  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“On this Island…where every gesture of privacy is interpreted as evidence of a conspiracy, to take steps so that a message or information on our computers is protected has been turned into something obscene and illegal”: Generation Y blogs about the new “black beast”.


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Guatemala: First Lady Announces Her Candidacy for President · Global Voices
Renata Avila

Picture under a Creative Commons License Attribution, Non Commercial, Share alike by Guatemalan Government.
Intolerance was exhibited through social media when the President's wife, Sandra Torres, announced she will lead the official party in the run for the Presidency. But these comments are not new; words of disapproval and hate by her critics were spread long before she announced her candidacy.
On Facebook there are at least two pages directed against Torres: one for people who hate Sandra Torres [es] and another page for those that reject her candidacy [es] –the latter with more than 21,000 “likes.” On Twitter, the same sentiment is expressed under the hashtag #novotoporSandraTorres (I will not vote for Sandra Torres). Comments on Facebook and Twitter are centered on her looks, her “evil intentions” and how she could become a Guatemalan version of Argentine Evita Perón.
Critics on blogs have focused on two topics: the Social Cohesion programs she has led, and an Article in the Guatemalan Constitution which would prohibit her candidacy.
Her social programs
El Crunch Chapin [es] strongly criticized her social programs and said he would rather vote for Laura Bozzo, the Peruvian talk show host in ‘Laura in America’, than for her.
Cierto, las dos son unas “mujeres del pueblo” pero a diferencia de la esposa del presidente, Laura Bozzo en su programa no les regala una   bolsa solidaria a la cada persona de la clase baja. Ella en cambio les da un CARRITO SANWICHERO. Lo que significa que en ves de regalarle las cosas, así por así, les da trabajo para que esta gente solita salga adelante y no se acostumbre a vivir de promesas vacías.
There are legitimate concerns that she will abuse her position as the  leader of the Council of Social Cohesion and that she will force  people to vote for her. The blog Santa Cruz Barillas [es] reports that some people from Northern Guatemala were mislead when members of  the first lady's staff warned them that they have to  vote for her if they  want to keep their social benefits. Unfortunately, connectivity in rural areas is  extremely slow and incidents like these are only reported by small  digital news outlets like the blog Santa Cruz Barillas [es].
However, it is important to note that other candidates have stated that they will continue these social programs.
A constitutional impediment
Journalist José Valdizán comments that the Constitution forbids [es] the president's relatives to become President. However, he also adds that the Constitutional Court might interpret the text in a flexible way, authorizing her to participate in the election, as it did in the past with former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt. Such views are shared by Luis Figuero in Carpe Diem who also highlights her poor results in a recent poll that gave her only 11% of votes.
Mike at Central American Politics explains,
On the one hand, the constitution prohibits a Torres candidacy because she is a close relative of the president (Article 168).  On the other hand, Torres’ lawyers can claim that she is allowed to run  because the constitution has another clause that guarantees the rights  of all to participate in the elections. You can't prohibit someone from  running for the presidency because a close relative of theirs had  previously occupied the post (Washington Post). (Sorry, you just can't say that my lawyers told me it was legal. Where have we heard that one before?)
Neither President Colom nor Sandra Torres have said much about the  constitutionality of her candidacy other that it's not a concern. The  Guatemalan constitutional court, however, will most likely have to  determine whether Torres can run.
Sandra Torres has a vast number of supporters from underprivileged sectors. But those supporters will hardly have a voice and a space in social networks. Connectivity in Guatemala is as low as 10% and only few households in rural areas own a computer. Furthermore, indigenous communities are easily reached by radial spots in their language. During the elections, the campaign will be very different online and offline.

author: Renata Avila


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Guyana: Grabbing Glee  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana-Gyal is full of glee!


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International Women’s Day Marked in Ghana with Awards Ceremony · Global Voices
Mac-Jordan

Every year around the world, International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. Hundreds of events occur not just on this day but throughout March to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women.
Ghana and her women were not left out of this important day. A series of events took place which lead to bloggers and civil society organizations in Ghana express their opinions/comments about them online.
The Ghanaian Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs mandated that the Day should be commemorated with the Ghana Women of Excellence Awards Scheme which saw the First Lady Ernestina Naadu Mills been the Guest of Honour.
The theme of the Awards Scheme was “Empowering the Ghanaian Woman for National Development”. The Award Scheme aims at motivating Ghanaian women to strive for excellence in their various walks of life and to take their rightful place in the national development process. The scheme formed part of the celebration of International Women's Day and the 1st Awards ceremony was held at the Accra International Conference Centre yesterday, 8th March 2011.
Ato-Ulzen Appiah, author of “The Vim Views & Versions – Blogs of a MIghTy African” blog wrote a well detailed post about the ceremony which saw Dorothy Gordon, Director of Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT been honored for her role in ICT development in Ghana.
Dorothy K. Gordon receiving her ICT Award
Edward Amartey-Tagoe interviewed Farida Bedwei, the author of “Definition of a Miracle” as his International Women’s Day contribution article:
Farida got diagnosed with cerebral palsy and in a community where people suffering from this disease are routinely misunderstood and viewed as incapable of contributing meaningfully to the society; Edward decided to feature her by way of seeking answers to some questions from her.
This is part of the interview:
1. What has been your biggest dream?
My biggest dream as a writer is to win a Booker and a Pultzier. My biggest dream as a software engineer/ entrepreneur is to head the first Fortune 100 company in Ghana. My biggest dream as a Ghanaian woman with a disability is be able to change perceptions on disability in Ghana and Africa.
2. Would you describe yourself as a writer or as a programmer?
I would describe myself as a Software engineer with a natural flair for writing.
3. What is your book about and what motivated you to write it
The book is about contemporary Ghanaian society through the eyes of a disabled little girl. I wrote this book to change perceptions; perceptions about those of us in Ghana, Africa and other third world developing countries and, perceptions about persons with disabilities. We are much more than AIDS, Child-Soldiers, Hunger and Corruption and it is about time we made this known to all. It is time we told our own stories and changed the image the rest of the world has of our beautiful continent.
Below are tweets about International Women's Day:
Dorothy K Gordon. Is the only awardee in the ICT sector. Trail blazing is not easy. Congratulations. #Internationalwomensday via @nnenna
RT @nnenna: Mrs Affei-Dadzie was the first lady President of the Ghana Journalists Association #Internationalwomensday via @ArriannaMarie
Happy International Women's Day to all the special “ladies” in my life. By “special” I mean ALL you who support my dreams/aspirations… This is your day! Enjoy :) via @MacJordan
Shout outs to all the amazing superwomen out there! happy women's day! #internationalwomensday via @Xhumonne
54% of the Rwandan parliament is women!!! Next stop is the presidency! Empower women Empower a nation! #internationalwomensday #iwd via @BeautyOfRwanda
The first Ghanaian woman to qualify as a Computer Programmer. Founded Camelot. Elizabeth Joyce Villars #Ghana #internationalwomensday via @nnenna
Photo Credit: Nnenna Nwakanma

author: Mac-Jordan


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Iran: Female Police for International Women’s Day Protests · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

On Tuesday, March 8, 2011 – International Women's Day – Iranian protesters (both men and women) went to the streets in defiance of their country's Islamic regime.
MetalBoys says it was the first time he also saw female security forces with batons in their hands and masks on their faces in Tehran. They were in groups of five and six.
Peikazadi writes that security forces around 18h in Azadi Street in Tehran attacked protesters, including Iranian women who were chanting slogans.
Protesters scared in Tehran
Security forces in Tehran
Run do not stop
Security forces asked people not to stop in the street.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Jamaica: On Lent  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“My view on Lent is that it is really meant to be a time for personal renewal”: Grasshopper Eyes The Potomac considers ways in which he can best honour the Lenten season.


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Kenya: Women and political office · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The next election will be a good one for women candidates in Kenya: “According to the poll 60 percent of those surveyed would vote for a woman candidate. Women’s performance in public office gets a 62 percent approval rating at parliamentary level, 29 percent at ministerial level and 24 percent in the civil service. Only 21 percent would not vote for a woman president.”


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Kenya/Nigeria: It feels good to be queer and African · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyan filmmaker and activist, Kagendo Murungi talks with Nigeria Queer performance poet and dancer, Yvonne Fly Onakeme Etaghene and filmmaker Selly Thiam project director of None on Record. They talk about their art, coming out and what it means to be Queer and African.


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Latin America: A Cartoonist’s Rendition of Today’s Political Figures  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

In I'm crazy for you, Latin America!, Vitor Taveira previews a series of drawings of current Latin American political figures by cartoonist Luke Fontana. The set begins with drawings of Subcomandante Marcos from Mexico, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, and Bolivian President Evo Morales.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Libya: Group Occupies London Mansion Owned by Gaddafi’s Son · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

Squatters moved in to Saif Gaddafi's house in North London by Alex Milan Tracy © Demotix (09/03/2011)
This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.
A London-based group is now occupying a house it says is owned by Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi, the 38-year-old second son of Muammar al Gaddafi.
In what could become a new method to repatriate stolen funds from long-serving and corrupt leaders and their families, members of Topple the Tyrants said they would occupy the eight-bedroom house in sympathy with the people of Libya and to ensure the money used for its purchase is returned to the country's treasury.
In a press release, the group said:
Our aim is to make sure that the assets stolen by Gaddafi are returned to the Libyan people and don't disappear into the pockets of governments or corporations. In the meantime we want to welcome refugees from the conflict in Libya and those fleeing tyranny and oppression across the world.”
Topple the Tyrants said they are taking matter into their own hands because they don't “trust the British government to properly seize the Gaddafi regime's corrupt assets.”
Here is a photo of the house — with members of Topple the Tyrants on its roof — uploaded to Twit Pics by nusibab.
The house, reportedly worth £10 million (about $16 million), is situated in Hampstead in north central London, home to some of the most expensive properties in the United Kingdom. According to press reports, the house also contains an indoor swimming pool, a sauna, jacuzzi and a private movie theater.
Saif earned an MBA from IMADEC University in Vienna and famously received a PHd for his dissertation on global governance institutions from the London School of Economics in 2008 (Some claim much of the dissertation was plagarized.) Saif seems to hold a tremendous amount of unofficial power within the Libyan government, being the first member of the government to speak to the public after the regime began its violent crackdown on protesters. During that speech he blamed Facebook, foreign mercenaries, Islamists, drug addicts and a poorly trained army for the violent crackdown on protesters.
Saif bought the house in 2009 and recently tried to put it up for sale, taking it off the market when anti-Gaddafi protests spread through much of the country. A spokesman for Topple the Tyrants  told Agence France Presse: “When we found out one of the world's most brutal dictators owned property in north London it seemed like an obvious thing to occupy it for the people of Libya.The group complained that members of the regimes of Gaddafi, Mubarek and the Saud family use “front companies” to protect their anonymity and dodge taxes.
On the Twit Pic  page hosting the photo,  there were plenty of positive comments:
From Prince_Philip:
Yay for A_B..! When's the house-warming? :-))
mahjobi:
can i come and live there?
GavinLynn:
brilliant direct action from Topple the Tyrants. Shame on those who have courted the Gaddafis…
Richie_365:
If all freedom fighters did things like this western government would never house dictators #WellDone
Case_Orange:
In keeping with ancient tradition, it's entirely appropriate 2 make public privy of this house!
In a UK-based news site on the housing crash, a group of commenters had plenty to say:
Mark said:
if it is a civil matter to remove them, will they ever leave? lol
can't see gadaffi appearing in a court any time soon
icarus blamed the offshore system:
The offshore system was devised around secrecy and anonymity, and funds can be shifted so quickly that it's all but impossible to freeze and seize kleptocrats’ loot.
drewster said there may be many more houses like that.
Local councils have lists of empty houses (since they're claiming council tax discounts or exemptions). All we need now is for someone to Wikileak those lists, and we'd have a squatters’ paradise.
The Tweeps have also been documenting this issue:
@Percefal: ‘Topple The Tyrants': #Gaddafi's London home – “palatial, flatscreen TVs in almost every room. We've got them all tuned to #alJazeera now.”
@wickedfairysad: @Arabic_News well done Topple the Tyrants!
@Umm_Issa: Loving Topple the Tyrants occupying Saif al-Islam Qaddafi's £10m mansion. They said they don't trust UK govt to seize Qaddafi assets #Libya
@sunnkaa: A group called ‘Topple The Tyrants’ have occupied the £10m London mansion of Saif Al Islam Al #Gaddafi, in solidarity with the #Libyans.
@salahhaddad: Topple The Tyrants say: “We've taken it so that it will be returned to its rightful owners who are the Libyan people.” http://t.co/zAlirxL
@bintlibya: Am loving the Topple the Tyrants group! They're squatting in #Zaif $10m pound mansion in #London. #Libya
@dana_hughes: Hmm…There r tyrant-owned mansions in Nice, Malibu: AJE ‘Topple The Tyrants’ occupies London mansion of Gadhafi's son http://bit.ly/ifZLER
This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.


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Morocco: King’s Speech Tweeted · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

This post is part of our special coverage Morocco Protests 2011.
Inspired by Tunisia and Egypt, Moroccan youth have been taking to the streets since February 20, asking for a reform of the constitution which currently provides the king with absolute powers. On Wednesday, King Mohammed VI gave his first address to the nation since the beginning of pro-democracy protests. Without referring explicitly to the protests, he promised “a comprehensive reform of the constitution” and a referendum on an “advanced regionalization,” aiming at providing regions with greater autonomy from the central authority of the government –a reform that he says would guaranty the separation of powers and strengthen the role of an elected Prime Minister and Parliament.
The speech was closely followed on Twitter under the hashtag #khitab, which translates to speech in Arabic. Here are speech minutes and first reactions:
@citizenkayen: renforcement du role de la femme #khitab
@Lamialaz: Discours du Roi Mohamed VI : Régionalisation et Constitution. #khitab
@Takhouar: Machrou3iyat tatalou3at référence au #feb20 #khitab
The king then says he was willing to engage in a process that would lead to a comprehensive reform of the constitution, based on 7 principles:
@mcherifi: #khitab RT @citizenkayen: refonte constitutionel complete: 1 identite nation auotur amazighia
@crowd42: #khitab : séparation des pouvoirs
@Hyperconnard: #khitab un nouveau gouvernement issu du parlement et 1er ministre issu uniquement du parti vainqueur
@citizenkayen: renforcer le role des partis et loposition aprlement et la soc civile #khitab
@Hyperconnard: #khitab lajnat mouraja3at dosstor.
@RedaBlog: et nous voilà, une autre commission… #khitab
@Takhouar: ASSEMBLEE CONSTITUTIONNELLE (non élue) présidée par Abdeltif Mennouni #khitab
@mounirbensalah: #khitab 1 projet de const avant juin 2011
First reactions were mostly positive:
@DrSwEeToO: hadshi ki beshar bel kheir #Khitab
@meryemefaris: Super! #khitab
@didacasa: #khitab so prouuuud !
@: 3acha lmalik #khitab du siecle
@mounirbensalah: #khitab #feb20 a gagne
@YassBerraoui: HISTORIQUE #khitab
@ManusMacManus: It sounds like the British electoral system #Maroc #Feb20 #Khitab
Some however are calling for caution:
@Hyperconnard: #khitab un discours assez vague. Des déclarations d'intention. De très belles intentions.
@Hyperconnard: #khitab le #feb20 mais aussi les soulèvements arabes ont servi a quelquechose au maroc
@abmoul: Si j'ai compris, la monarchie garde la main haute sur le processus de révision constitutionnelle. #khitab
@: le discours du Roi ne garantit rien. La vigilance est plus que jamais de mise.
View the story “Morocco: King's Speech Tweeted” on Storify.
This post is part of our special coverage Morocco Protests 2011.

author: Hisham Almiraat


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Mozambique: Where streets have no name · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A photo of where streets have no name in Mozambique: “There is a city where there are signposts everywhere. And each signpost is empty of language. The citizens decide on the names of the streets by consensus at 8am each morning. Poets run the naming sessions..”


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Paraguay: Citizen Journalism Project by ABC Digital · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Mabel Rehnfelt, the editor of ABC Digital, writes a guest post in Journalism in the Americas Blog on how newspaper ABC has implemented a citizen journalism platform on their site: “Day by day, user participation is continuing to grow. People submit their stories (with text and images), we provide the space, and together we publish this citizen journalism that allows our reporters to be everywhere.”


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Russia: Putin, Piano and Vanishing Foundation Create Controversy  · Global Voices
Dmitry Davidov

Piano, photo by me5otron/Flickr
Vladimir Putin's cute – and unexpected – performance at a charity concert has been covered by many Russian and foreign media but a foundation that allegedly vanished with the charity money was put on the spot by energetic Russian bloggers.
Growing influence of online communities on Russian politics and media agenda is illustrated by the recent story that involves Hollywood stars, singing Putin, charity donations and mysterious “Federaciya” (“Federation” – GV) foundation.
It all started with a wide PR campaign in Moscow advertising many international stars and their willingness to help sick children in Russian hospitals. Billboards would show the names of Hollywood movie starts and cite their commitment to help Russian children in need. Tickets for the charity event with the celebrities (Sharon Stone, Mickey Rourke, Monica Bellucci and many others) would claim that the purpose of all this was to “gather enough money to help sick kids.”
The arrival of the stars in Saint Petersburg on December 8, 2010 was continued with their visits to children hospital and, as a climax of the campaign, a concert in the Ledovy Place where sweating and nervous Vladimir Putin played piano and sang “Blueberry Hill” song.
But two months later, Russian bloggers resurrected the story by claiming that “Federaciya” charity foundation responsible for organizing the event mysteriously disappeared and sick children – many of them with a terminal form of cancer – have yet to see any money donated by the generous western celebrities.
Matvey Ganopolsky, a famous anchor on Echo Moskvy radio, published a letter from Olga Kuznetsova [RUS], a mother of one of the kids who have cancer and who were expected to receive the money from the charity event. Kuznetsova writes:
Средства на этом благотворительном концерте собирал некий фонд  «Федерация», который не числится ни в одном списке благотворительных  фондов. Он нигде не зарегистрирован, у него нет сайта, о нем никто  ничего не знает. С того самого момента прошло почти три месяца. Ни денег, ни помощи, ни самого фонда.
68 thousand people read Kuznetsova's letter on Ganopolsky's blog. More than 200 comments show people posting links that provide additional information about the foundation and about the issue in general.  Some people suggested to help Kuznetsova's daughter with money.
Other bloggers begain enthusiastically re-posting the information with their own take on the situation. The issue has started spinning online slowly acquiring its tangible forms in “real life.”
Many Russian and foreign media outlets picked up the story. Although the story of some foundation stealing money from children may not be particularly newsworthy for a lot of Russians, the connection to Vladimir Putin seemed to be obvious. Putin's press secretary claimed that the prime minister had nothing to do with “Federaciya” foundation and he simply attended the event to help raise money. But the headlines almost unanimously connect Putin with missing money: “Money Raised by Putin ‘Missing'” (The Moscow Times), “Where's the money? On Blueberry Hill?” (The Economist blog), “He ‘Found His Thrill,’ But the Cash Is Still Missing” (RFE/RL).
As it is often the case, the most lively discussion of the failed fundraising was happening on Russian blogs. Netizens discovered that the president of “Federaciya” foundation Vladimil Kisilyov used to work with Vladimir Putin (Kisilyov earlier denied knowing the prime minister). Bloggers also offered their interpretation of the scandal. Blogger oleg-kozyrev writes [RUS]:
Меня не удивляет, что облапошили и родителей детей, и западных звезд. Меня не удивляет, что в сомнительном мероприятии лично поучаствовал Путин. Меня   удивляет, что ради того, чтобы замять очевиднейший скандал не нашлось   срочно несколько миллионов, которые передали бы, наконец, в эти   многострадальные семьи – ну хотя бы просто, чтобы скандал утихомирить.   Ведь когда вскрылась афера с заповедным лесом в Крыму – мгновенно дворец   перепродали. Видимо, количество афер, вскрываемых блогерами и СМИ, превышает уже возможности по их прикрытию.
Bloggers oreh thinks [RUS] that Putin is just a victim of a simple fraud:
Понимаете, когда мероприятием занимается организация, о которой никто  ничего толком сказать не может, у которой нет, оказывается, даже  расчетного счета для сбора средств, когда комментарии дает гражданка по  фамилии Сникерс, то все это похоже на жульничество с элементами издевательства. А зарубежных знаменитостей и самого Путина при этом,  получается, использовали в качестве лохов, чтобы срубить бабла и  растворить эти деньги в нагромождении всякой лабуды.
LJ user wapkin noted [RUS] the dual nature of the scandal:
И что может быть  хуже для страны, чем премьер, в роли то ли лоха, то ли  афериста –  делающего себе дешевую популярность на людском горе, и  укравшего  последнюю надежду и у детей и у родителей?!
The story is far from being over but it certainly adds to the apparent trend in modern Russia: the blogosphere became a primary platform for many “hot” issues that were later picked up by traditional media. It is unlikely that the “vanishing foundation” story would have been noticed by newspapers and TV if it wasn't for the Internet and thousands of people who read and re-posted the information. There are also elements of crowdsourcing  in the story as many people dig out and share additional information on the foundation and provide the names of people who may have been involved in the scheme. As we have seen in similar cases previously covered by GVO, ordinary Russians start using the Web to reach wider audience and draw attention to the issues not covered by mainstream media.

author: Dmitry Davidov


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Russia: The Dead Journal · Global Voices
Marina Litvinovich

Social networks strongly tie a person to themselves. The person opens a page under his/her name, puts out photographs, indicates interests, joins groups and communities, writes notes, shares impressions and thoughts. What happens to this page when the person dies?
Being a recent phenomena, social networks haven't yet worked out how to reflect a user's death. A person dies but his/her profile remains and he/she continues to smile on photographs and the life is still present in his/her friend feed. One can even write on a wall of the diseased. The person doesn't exist and real life buts still lives on the Net.
Very often, especially if we are talking about LiveJournal [Russian most popular blogging platform – G.V.], the last entry of a person who passed away becomes a book of condolence. For instance, after the death of Ilya Kormiltsev, a famous Russian poet and author of many popular songs, one his last posts [RUS] with just a phrase “A personal request. Is there anyone going to London these days? The medicines are needed. For me.” has received 1,752 comments. In general, the comments were short – R.I.P – but not all of them [RUS]:
Goodbye, Ilya. Thank you for being.
Poet Anna Yablonskaya died in a terrorist attack in Moscow airport Domodedovo in January 2011. Once this became known, many people visited her blog, [RUS] to leave condolences. The readers found in her blog a post dated back to December 21, 2010 [RU] where Anna, as it seemed, had anticipated her death:
I have a feeling that I have very little time…
Some online media outlets even posted articles entitled “Anna Yablonskaya Anticipated Her Death.”
The topic of death and social networks has got its development last week.
Online media found out a tragic story that happened on February 27, 2011 in the village Beliy Yar of the Tomsk region in Siberia. Vladimir Ignatenko, 26, has been locked in a backoffice and lit on fire. Apparently it was done by police officers. The young man could not get out except through the door that was blocked. Realizing that the fire is spreading, Vladimir started writing posts on his profile at «Оdnoklassniki», a popular Russian social network, and chatting online with one of his friends Yevgenia. The first message is dated back to 2.23 AM and the last one – 3.04 AM. The interval between the messages was 5-7 minutes when Vladimir had probably tried to extinguish the fire.
Last chat with Vladimir Ignatenko, screenshot from Odnoklassniki.ru
Last chat with Vladimir Ignatenko, screenshot from Odnoklassniki.ru
Vladimir Ignatenko:  Good bye. Sorry that I have no time to heal you.
Yevgenia: What happened?
Vladimir Ignatenko:  the door is locked and I’m on fire!!!
Yevgenia:  What? Why can't you call anyone?
Vladimir Ignatenko:  No, they told me at the local emergency department: ah, that’s you!!! Well [that's – GV] for Misha!!!
Yevgenia: What are you talking about? Who is Misha?
Vladimir Ignatenko:  I am trying to fight the fire here, but the second room is burning.
Yevgenia:  The room is burning and you are chatting here with me, go and handle the fire or jump out of the window!!!
Vladimir Ignatenko:   Windows are barred, and there are policemen outside. They did it… And I know that I will die.
Yevgenia:  I’m shocked. How can this happen? Do something!  It’s not possible.
Vladimir Ignatenko:  I am doing something, I am not an idiot!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, farewell!!!
The young man had been burned alive. During the fire Vladimir Ignatenko wrote two status messages at his Odnoklassniki page. The first one was:
Waiting for the death is worse than the death itself!!!!
And the second entry, which was also the last one:
The life is good, goodbye my friends. The death is beautiful. Sorry for this nonsense!!! I punished myself for Galina only and only for one mistake the policemen killed me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vladimir Ignatenko’s mother found out this posts on his page, turned to the police and this story became known on the Internet.
Last week, “Mother’s right,” an NGO defending the rights of servicemen, has launched a new project at the Odnoklassniki.ru. They created accounts of young men who died serving in the armed forces during peace time as a result of hazing or  commanders’ mistakes.
Accounts of dead soldiers, screenshot from Odnoklassniki.ru
There are 30 accounts. Each has a photo with a mourning ribbon and a soldier’s story. All stories are written after the court decisions have been made, all mentioned facts have been proven correct. The places of studies have been added for each young man so his classmates can find out about their tragic fate.  There is one example:
Evgeniy Shamukhin.
I died in the Academy of the Ministry for emergency situations.
Place of study: school 391, Saint Petersburg.
Employment: Research institute Transmash (Transportation Machinery – GV), Saint Petersburg
Evgeniy Shamukhin, courtesy of "Right of Mother" Foundation
I was drafted in November 2007 and served in the Academy of the Ministry for Emergency Situations in Moscow region. On May 13, 2008, I was brutally beaten up by my fellow soldier Alexandr Revyakin. He was beating my head with his feet regardless of my appeals to stop it, and at the end I lost consciousness. Suffering serious injuries and not coming to my senses I passed away in a hospital on May 19, 2008. On August 14, 2008, the military court of Solnechnogorsk city sentenced Revyakin to 6 years and 6 months of detention.
This project has received great attention on the Russian Internet. No one has ever created accounts for dead people in Russia before. The fact that the topic of death is entering the social networks, a space originally perceived as private and intimate, makes the death equally private for people. This way the Internet users attract attention to the cases of death in the army during peace time.
There is no field “date of death” in the profiles of social networks yet. And who would fill this out? Recently, Livejournal has started “freezing” the journals of dead people for comments by writing the following: «This journal is a memorial. New entries cannot be posted to it.»

author: Marina Litvinovich


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South Korea: Blurred Photos of Diplomatic Officials who Fell for Chinese Spy Woman · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

A spy scandal in Shanghai has rocked South Korean Twitosphere. Two Korean diplomatic officials have been involved in a three way sexual relationship with a Chinese woman spy. Net users criticized how most conservative newspapers used the image. They have blurred out the officials’ faces, while leaving the woman's face identifiable. WikiTree posted photos here.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Trinidad & Tobago: 2011 Carnival Winners · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bloggers report on the big winners of this year's Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, here and here.


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U.S.: Flood Damage, Recovery in Cedar Rapids’ Czech Village · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

At CzechPosition.com, Rosie Johnston talks to business owners in the Czech Village in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, one of the areas damaged most by the June 2008 flood.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Azerbaijan: Youth Protest in Baku · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Inspired by pro-democracy protests in Egypt and Tunisia, youth activists in Azerbaijan took to the streets in actions encouraged and coordinated by social media. Although small in comparison to similar events in the Middle East and North Africa, it was enough concern for the authorities in the oil-rich former Soviet republic to attempt to discredit social networking sites such as Facebook as well as detain those who might be using them ahead of today's actions. However, writing on The World Affairs Blog Network, Karl Rahder was unsure how many would turn out.
The organizers sent out more than 35,000 invitations for people to support the event, but as of the early hours of 8 March (Azerbaijan time), only 3200 or so had clicked the “I’m Attending” button, with 5,577 saying they would not attend.  That sounds like much ado about very little, but we shall see.
[…]
As I’ve said before, I don’t really buy the idea that most people in Azerbaijan are champing at the bit for revolution or even mass rallies.  For example, see these public opinion polling results from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation which indicate, among other things, that if protests occurred, a little over 10% of respondents would join the protesters.  (This was in January of 2010.)  Sixty one per cent would remain neutral, and roughly 22% would “help the authorities to establish order.”  […]
Nevertheless, with the amount of online support far higher than that in neighboring Armenia for a demonstration which amassed over 10,000 in the physical world, the authorities in Baku seemed to be taking the protests seriously enough, alleging that it had actually been ‘orchestrated by hostile countries,’ something that few believe. One Azerbaijani posted a photograph of dozens of police vehicles parked in Baku's Freedom Square illustrating that the government wasn't leaving anything to chance, while another contemplated the day on the eve of the protest itself.
Azadliq Square, 10 March 2011 — photo by Daniel McIntosh
Arguably the most Internet-savvy activists in the region, with networks also extending to Azerbaijanis living outside the country, Twitter was also used relatively extensively leading up to the protests as well as on the day itself. Indeed, there had also been attempts to hijack the #11mart hashtag for the protests although that was less evident as the day wore on.
Interestingly, most of the tweets from the youth activists were in English while government supporters preferred to write mainly in Azerbaijani. Regardless, to begin with at least, most of the activists’ tweets detailed numerous arrests.
Eventually, however, more descriptive tweets started to appear along with reports of disruptions to public transportation and commentary on official explanations as to why.
On the same day as an earthquake and tsunami in Japan there were also some poignant tweets from one young Azerbaijani living outside the country.
As the early evening approached, tweets once again returned to the subject of those detained and why. According to news reports and other information spread via Twitter, 43 people had been detained by the time the protests died down of which 20 were taken to court and 23 released.
Nevertheless, activists and supporters appeared in buoyant mood despite concerns over others unaccounted for. In particular, a photograph by Abbas Atilay, who was also reportedly assaulted by police, was widely shared and commented on.
RT @TurkanHuseynova #11mart youth!!! http://twitpic.com/48g1up badass #azerbaijan
At time of writing there is still activity on Twitter updating followers on the status of those taken to count. Tweets seem to indicate that most are being sentenced to 6-7 days imprisonment as activists await planned demonstrations by opposition parties tomorrow. Whatever happens then, however, today's protest represented the largest youth action Azerbaijan has seen since the 10 May 2009 Flower Day protests.


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Bhutan: Verdict On Raising Taxes · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Supreme Court of Bhutan has made a landmark verdict ruling that the government violated the Constitution by raising taxes without seeking the Parliament’s approval. Tshering Tobgay has more.

author: Rezwan


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Brazil: Where Violence Has an Age and Skin Color · Global Voices
Atilio Baroni Filho

On February 23, 2011, Brazil's Justice Department published the Violence Map 2011 – The Brazilian Youth [pt – for links unless noted otherwise], a study aimed at following trends in youth mortality (from 15 to 24 years of age) from violent causes.
The conclusions are frightening: the proportion of homicides in this age group increased from 41.7 per 100,000 in 1996 to 52.9 in 2008. In the states of Alagoas, Pernambuco, Bahia, Espírito Santo and Distrito Federal, homicides were responsible for more than half of juvenile deaths in 2008, way above the national average of 39.7%.
Even with big diferences between states, a general trend observed since 2002 is a decrease in the absolute number of homicides in the white population and an increase among the black population – in 2008, proportionally 103.4% more black people died than white people.
Violence Map 2011
Deep-Seated Racism
The deep-seated racism in Brazilian society thus shows its awful consequences, but the study's results are far from being a surprise to those who live daily with this violence.
Back in 2009 Global Voices published [en] an article about considerable internet controversy [en] surrounding a case of racist violence.
Lio Nzumbi, a sociologist currently graduating in law, writes at Correio Nagô (Nagô Post) about the ongoing genocide of the black population through a criminal public safety policy:
A política criminal do Estado brasileiro, travestida historicamente sob a função anunciada de “segurança publica” e armada pelo aparato de controle penal e o poder estatal de policia, empreende, deliberadamente, através de todos os poderes deste Estado, um processo seletivo (discriminatório e/ou discricionário) de criminalização, que por sua vez, adota critérios sócio-raciais para eleição de um padrão de sujeitos a se suspeitar, perseguir, penalizar e enfim eliminar: jovens negros. Se assimilarmos a semântica dada pelos dicionários da língua portuguesa, o termo “genocídio” significa “eliminação de um povo”, de um determinado tipo de gente. Em nossa análise entendemos ainda que este processo de criminalização resulta em duas formas históricas e flagrantes de genocídio no Brasil: a execução sumária, empreendida pela polícia e grupos para-policiais e o encarceramento massivo de jovens negros.
Blogger Ana Paula comments the case of a young black man of only 15 years of age being beaten by two police officers on February 10, 2011, while going on his motorcycle to the garage where he works in the city of Feira de Santana, in Bahia state:
Esse episódio lastimável não é um fato isolado. A polícia militar, da Bahia e da maior parte do país, é conhecida por seu tratamento ‘especial’ concedido a qualquer um que não aparente ser o filho ‘de alguém importante’.
Hudson Carlos de Oliveira in hospital. Image taken from the blog 'O biscoito fino e a massa', licensed by Creative Commons.
Protesting against the oft-repeated idea that “in Brasil we are not racists”, blogger Idelber Avelar tells of the unprovoked beating of Brazilian rapper Hudson Carlos de Oliveira, director of the  Center of Hip Hop Brazil, teacher in the Department of Arts, and founder of the project ‘Hip Hop Education for Life’. The incident happened in a bar, on November 28, 2010, in the state of Minas Gerais:
Pelo caráter discriminatório do ato que motivou o crime, é visível sua condição de delito racista. Pela sanha covarde que se manifestou no crime, vários profissionais do Direito e da Justiça consultados pelo blog concordam que ele é enquadrável como tentativa de homicídio e não simplesmente lesão corporal — e Hudson ouviu, sim, e há testemunhas disso, a frase mata que é bandido durante o espancamento.
On the blog Pai de Menina (A Girl's Father), the journalist and graphic designer Felipe Barcellos describes the torment of his two daughters after they were discriminated upon during their own birthday party, on February 16, 2011, by an employee of the venue their parents had rented for the celebration:
Aos nos prepararmos para ir embora, às 22h30, a funcionária Loi impediu minhas filhas, Lia (9 anos) e a aniversariante Dora (5 anos) de entrarem no quiosque ao retornarem do banheiro. O motivo: alegou que seriam crianças de rua, por serem negras e terem cabelos crespos. (…) Não queiram saber a dor de um pai ao vivenciar tais cenas em um dia de festa. A dor não vai embora quando fecho os olhos. Me vem a imagem de minha filha, minutos antes extasiada de alegria e em seguida chocada com uma realidade distorcida. Estou sentindo muita dor. Uma dor que não vai embora.
Logo of the Carnival Group reads "What the F*** is That?". Image by Ziraldo, available in the public domain.
Racism's Roots
The recent controversy regarding alleged racism in the work of famous children's book author Monteiro Lobato, covered by Global Voices [en], inspired Brazilian writer Ana Maria Gonçalves to publish an open letter of complaint to famous cartoonist Ziraldo.
Ziraldo created an image (see right) to be the official logo of a carnival group called “Que M* é Essa?” (“What the F*** is That?”), which shows Lobato hugging a black woman as if there were no such a thing as prejudice.
Gonçalves describes the way that racism's roots, even when found in the important and much-loved personalities of our country's past, are often ignored by many, and that physical violence is not always the worst kind of violence:
Em uma das cartas [trocadas] com seu amigo Godofredo Rangel, Lobato confessou que sabia que a escrita “é um processo indireto de fazer eugenia, e os processos indiretos, no Brasil, ‘work’ muito mais eficientemente”. (…)  No tempo em que linchavam negros, disse Lobato, como se o linchamento ainda não fosse desse nosso tempo. Lincham-se negros nas ruas, nas portas dos shoppings e bancos, nas escolas de todos os níveis de ensino, inclusive o superior. O que é até irônico, porque Lobato nunca poderia imaginar que chegariam lá. Lincham-se negros, sem violência física, é claro, sem ódio, nos livros, nos artigos de jornais e revistas, nos cartoons e nas redes sociais, há muitos e muitos carnavais. Racismo não nasce do ódio ou amor, Ziraldo, sendo talvez a causa e não a consequência da presença daquele ou da ausência desse. Racismo nasce da relação de poder. De poder ter influência ou gerência sobre as vidas de quem é considerado inferior.
Quoting several examples of this kind of constant reinforcement of prejudice on the blog Jornalismo B (B Journalism), Alexandre Haubrich shows how mainstream media outlets make fighting this kind of ideology even harder:
O discurso ideológico da ascensão social pelo esforço pessoal é mais um elemento a contribuir irremediavelmente para a intolerância e a discriminação. Afinal de contas, seguindo a lógica desse discurso, o pobre é pobre porque quer, e a inferioriorização social de negros, homossexuais, mulheres e usuários de drogas é culpa deles próprios.
Fighting against the normalization of prejudice on our daily lives is as current an issue as ever and its everyone's responsibility. We should constantly ask ourselves: where do you keep your racism?

author: Atilio Baroni Filho


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Cameroon: Twitter Ban Will Stifle Innovation and Development · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The government of Cameroon has forced mobile operator MTN to end its five-month old partnership with the microblogging site Twitter and to discontinue its Twitter short code service, Cameroonian blogger Dibussi Tande reports.
The partnership between Twitter and MTN Cameroon allowed MTN subscribers to receive tweets for free and send tweets at the standard SMS rates.
The good news is that, as White African observes, Twitter is working on expanding its relationship with African countries. In 2008 Twitter decided to shut down all operations in Africa:
Over 2.5 years ago Twitter shut down all operations in Africa. Back then, in August of 2008, it really didn’t matter too much as the penetration rates for the service in Africa, and most of the world, were negligible. A lot has changed since then as Twitter has become a defacto communications too, and in many ways a new communications protocol, all over the globe.
Cameroon has banned mobile Twitter as the country moves towards elections. Image by Flickr user ant.photos (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
The popular microblogging site,White African notes, is slowly coming back to Africa:
In Africa, three countries have it working; Nigeria, Kenya and Madagascar (Note: there used to be a fourth, but Cameroon has banned mobile Twitter as they go towards elections). Just send a text message with the word “start” to the following shortcodes in each country go get started:
Nigeria: 40404 (Airtel); 20644 (Glo Mobile)
Kenya: 8988 (Safaricom); 40404 (Airtel)
Madagascar: 40404 (VIP)
What is the value of Twitter in a country like Cameroon where very few people know about it? The real power of Twitter in Cameroon, Dibussi Tande argues, is “in its ability to drive innovation in a vast array of non-political fields.” The move by the Cameroonian government to ban Twitter will stifle innovation and development in the country:
Before today’s ban, very few Cameroonians were even aware that Twitter was available in Cameroon via SMS, and the majority of those who were did not even grasp its potential as a tool for political activism. In fact, the groups and individuals who used this service were either folks in the IT fields of organizations such as the Buea based Agro-Hub which used the Twitter service to provide tips to famers in rural areas and also help them market their produce.
That the Twitter short code could be used for political activism was simply incidental in the Cameroonian context. Its real power was in its ability to drive innovation in a vast array of non-political fields.
Dibussi points out that the potential “threat” to national security lies in standard SMS and smartphone and not Twitter, which was used by a handful of people:
Every Cameroonian with a cell phone (that is about 6 million individuals) knows what a text message is, and/or has texted at least once before. Increasingly smartphones are making their way into Cameroon, and practically every phone in the market has a camera. The combination of standard SMS and smartphones is  where the potential “threat” to national security (i.e., the Biya regime) really lies, and not on a service that was used by only a handful of people; the police brutalization of Kah Walla, for example, was captured on a cell phone, uploaded onto the internet and also distributed via email before it ultimately found its way on Twitter. Even without Twitter, the video would have still gone viral.
A reader, Cadmun, leaves a comment on Dibussi's post disputing the story:
As a Cameroonian, and one of the majority who doesn't use Twitter, i depend on official press releases from companies concern, especially MTN for information.I keep hearing “an MTN Official” is quoted as saying or tweeting. Is the MTN Official speaking on behalf of the company or is s/he expressing a personal opinion?
“…the person who says he prefers the devil he knows to the one that he doesn't is not for any type of change but for the status quo.” Maybe you miss the essence of my arguement or you deliberately want to contradict my statement.
I am advocating for a change in Cameroon,but a genuine change. Hence we must be cautious of the change we advocate for……
There is a difference in these statements;
Better the devil you know than the devil you do not know.
Better the devil you know than the angel you do not know.
I am talking of the former while you are talking of the latter.
Oncemore don't get too emotional..
Howard responds to Cadmun's argument:
Cardmun,
Official press releases must not be soviet-stlyed press released read over radio or published on a newspaper center spread. Corporations and governments now post official statements on Social media sites to reach more people and to cut down costs. MTN Cameroon is one of the first Cameroonian companies to do this, so when the MTN Chief Information Officer tweets about something concerning his company, he is doing so in an official capacity.
Check out the following timeline on Global Voices online about the MTN Twitter Saga. https://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/03/10/cameroon-netizens-react-to-sms-to-tweet-ban/
You can also check out Le Monde and The Washington Post blog for more insider info
Reactions from Twittersphere (hashtag #MTNCameroon #SMSTweets):
@JulieOwono:
JulieOwono: RT @GeorgesMpoudi: @AGROHUB @JulieOwono We can't comment further than “security reasons” on #Government instructions for #SMSTweets suspension #MTNCameroon.
@GeorgesMpoudi:
i@mambenanje @AGROHUB We do understand #SMSTweets frustration, but #MTNCameroon had 2 stop by #Government instruction until further notice.
@GeorgesMpoudi:
@JulieOwono @bubakaele #MTNCameroon had no intention disconnecting #SMSTweets but didn't have other options neither. #Cmr #Government
@KonWomyn:
Hey @AyobaMTN do you know that #MTNCameroon is complicit with govt ban of SMS-es in #Cameroon? That's not AYOBA. #SMSTweet cc
@africatechie:
RT @KonWomyn: @africatechie get pple 2 send emails & tweets 2 MTN SouthAfrica, parent company of #MTNCameroon demanding an explanation 4 aiding censorship
Finally, let's turn to a blog post written in 2007 by Malawian blogger Soyapi Mumba about the potential of Twitter in Africa:
So the launching of Twitter provides a good alternative considering that the use of mobile phones is much higher than that of computers. In Malawi for example, there are about 50,000 Internet users against about 700,000 mobile phone users out of a population of about 12 million. Twitter allows users to post a small update via SMS, instant messaging client and the web. Anyone who chooses to follow you will get that update on the Twitter home page, or their mobile phone of they choose to. Unlike most mobile phone web services, you can update via SMS from anywhere in the world and from virtually any handset.
How can Twitter be used in Africa?:
Here is what I can think of now:
* General announcements to friends and relatives all over the world like illness, death, weddings, engagements, academic and professional achievements, births and maybe even Kitchen Top-ups :)
* Scores, fixtures and general updates on of soccer games live from the stadium or after the game. Everyone is crazy about soccer, right?
* General news and gossip including crazy odd news (e.g. “Nkhani za m'maboma” in Malawi)
* Political Campaigns and news. Politics can be fun, you know.
* Scripture reading and notes from a religious service. This can be our adaption of SXSW twitters where conference participants updated their friends on what was happening ;) I don't know if they'll even allow you to look at the phone during the service, though.


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Cuba: “Could Cuba become the next Egypt?” · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

Throughout February, popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa had members of the Cuban blogosphere wondering: could Cuba become “the next Egypt”? Reports and footage from Cairo inspired many posts devoted to this question, but few bloggers were optimistic that a similar movement could take hold in Cuba today.
Ernesto Morales Licea wrote that while he saw many parallels between Cuba and Egypt, Cuban broadcast and telecommunications policies would make it difficult to build a movement. “[The] control of information in my tranquilized country is,” he wrote, “aberrantly, more fierce than in countries such as those that have just exploded.” He continued:
[T]his massive revolt in Egypt was planned and organized through communication via Twitter and Facebook…[This] is the reason why there is no freely accessible internet in Cuba. And the reason why the brand new fiber optic cable…rather than liberate Cubans, rather than connect them to the world, will suffocate communication. As of now I bet on it. And I would be delighted to lose. […] This is why in Cuba [there is much] worrying [that] telephones are tapped and…conversations recorded. The reason international television is exuberantly blockaded…They know what’s at stake: The survival of the system.
Regina Coyula commented on this comparison on La Mala Letra. Like Morales, she felt that Egyptians’ access to information and ICTs marked an important distinction between the two places, but noted other important factors as well.
I find notable coincidences between Egypt and Cuba, [but] there are also profound differences. Egypt was governed by a dictator, but it was not a totalitarian state; opposition parties and civil society found themselves structured and inside the limits of legality. The officer corps in the Army seems to be professionally trained, many graduated from institutions in the West, and when posed with the dilemma of supporting the government or the people, opted for the second…Egyptians find themselves familiar with communications technologies…and through [these] they found themselves structured by affinities beforehand with the call of Wael Ghonim from Facebook.
Bloggers also had much to say about the Facebook group “Por un levantamiento popular en Cuba [In support of a popular uprising in Cuba],” [es] which, according to multiple bloggers, was organized by Cubans in Miami. The group became a space not only for those calling for a social uprising, but also for mourners of the deceased Cuban prisoner of conscience and hunger striker Orlando Zapata Tamayo. The group page listed a number of rallies set to be held at Cuban embassies in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and Mexico, to honor the one-year anniversary of Zapata’s death, but also scheduled protest events that were to take place in Havana during the week of February 21. It seems that these events did not turn out as group members hoped they would: most didn't happen at all.
Cuba's Capitol Building in Havana/By stephendl CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
It is difficult to ascertain whether Cubans on the island responded to these calls to action. Several bloggers in Cuba criticized the effort, writing that it was naive of group members to do this while sitting comfortably at their computers in other parts of the world.
On Sin Evasión, Miriam Celaya criticized the Facebook group, pointing out that Cuba is simply not wired enough for a revolution to develop through “virtual channels.” She wrote:
Let’s discreetly review how questionable it is to call for civil demonstrations in Cuba from abroad, given that the masterminds (or “cyber-messiahs,” as befits the information age) have not given us their confirmation that they will land in Cuba to place themselves at the head of the imaginary uprising….Readers who have placed their faith in this new “now’s the time!” that has arrived from afar, forgive me, but if the matter were not this serious, it would even be laughable. Just look at a few small details, like the fact that there is virtually no Internet access in Cuba or that not too many Cubans have access to social networks. This makes it almost impossible for the democratic liberation to start via the virtual channels, through the use of computers — or perhaps simply through cell phones — by…experienced cyber-leaders of [today].
Regina Coyula also called the effort ill-conceived, because of the lack of Internet access in Cuba, and the lack of public knowledge about opposition movements on the island. She wrote of an informal experiment she conducted to test the validity of her assertion:
Since last Monday, I have approached a considerable group of youths with different interests — some I know, others I don’t, and I have asked them three questions. The first, if they have a Facebook account — which surprised me, everybody (!) responded yes. The second, if they knew of the initiative launched from abroad for the anniversary of the death of Orlando Zapata, to which everyone answered no. The majority had gone days without being able to log on to their accounts. The others hadn’t received anything (I don’t exclude that some had indeed received it and hadn’t wanted to give themselves away)…I don’t know about those who read this, but that says something to me.
Claudia Cadelo, a leading blogger for Voces Cubanas, wrote of her emotional response to the news from Egypt. She expressed little faith in an eminent change in Cuba, but spoke to the unique power of experience that she has found through her life in virtual space.
I want to know what’s happening in Egypt but on Cuban television they manipulate everything. I look out the window again and remember the photos of the Green Revolution in Iran. I feel nostalgic. It’s ridiculous to feel nostalgia for something I didn’t even experience. I remember November sixth and everyone on the sidewalk at G and 27th staring, mouths agape, eyes stupid, as a group of men in plain clothes forced three young women into a car. I laugh. I can’t imagine the streets of Vedado* flooded with young people demanding democracy.
I’m not going to get pessimistic: I always have the Web. When I connect to the Internet the bad taste in my mouth fades. There’s a sensation that the world is changing and I’m on another planet…Again I feel that it’s possible, that one day change will come, that the freedom of my life on the Web will one day be matched by my life on the street. It doesn’t matter how much we lack. I will know to hope.
* Vedado is the neighborhood where the University of Havana is located.

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


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Cuba: Brother of Hunger Striker Detained  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The joy of the announcement Thursday evening that Cuban prisoner of conscience Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet was about to be released from jail, was tempered by the news that another dissident, Rolando Rodríguez Lobaina had been arrested”: Uncommon Sense has the details.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Cuba: The Release List  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Cuban Triangle has the list of the most recent Cuban prisoner releases.


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Gabon: Two Rival Presidents, One Accused of Embezzlement · Global Voices
Julie Owono

This post is part of our special coverage of Gabon Unrest 2011
After spending one month in refuge at the offices of the United Nations Program for Development (UNDP) in Libreville, Gabon, self-proclaimed president André Mba Obame and his government finally left the building on February 27. An agreement was reached with the official government of President Ali Bongo thanks to mediation by the UN, but this has not stilled the movement for change in Gabon. The unrest has been ongoing since January 25, when the unofficial president Mba Obame took his oath.
Bongo in trouble at World Bank
As the power struggle continues, Ali Bongo now stands accused of “misappropriation of shares for personal profit” during his time as the chairman of the board of directors of the Office of Ports and Harbors of Gabon (OPRAG). French businessman Jacques Dupuydauby filed a legal complaint on February 22 with the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). According to the news weekly ‘Jeune Afrique’, deals Bongo made regarding two Gabonese ports are under scrutiny (via A bas le masque [fr] ).
(Dupuydauby is a historic rival of another French businessman dealing in maritime trade, Vincent Bolloré, who is a friend of President Sarkozy, and has spoken favorably of Bongo's standing.)
In France, Bruno Ben Moubamba, a Gabonese politician who was appointed minister of foreign affairs in the unofficial government, held a rally on March 7 in front of Ali Bongo's €150 million mansion in Paris. In a speech in front of the property, which is located in one of the city's most luxurious areas, he urged the French government to stop being tolerant of African dictators like Bongo. On March 3, Moubamba posted a video of himself speaking, wondering where the money used to purchase the expensive property comes from (in French with English subtitles):
Has Ali Bongo used OPRAG funds to serve his own interests, for example to acquire this “palace” in Paris: Pozzo di Borgo?
The ICSID already ruled in May 2010 that President Ali Bongo's government should pay €240 million to a Belgian consortium [fr] in an suit related to fraud in railway contracts.
This new trade dispute comes at a time of an already unfavorable context for Ali Bongo.
Uneasy truce as Mba Obame leaves the building
Only one day after Mba Obame left the UNDP building, Bongo's government announced that all members of the unofficial government would soon face “justice”. According to a post by Camarade on the website Koaci [fr], some were already summoned by Gabonese intelligence services for questioning.
Upon Mba Obame's exit of the UNDP building, many supporters offered caustic and suspicious reactions online. LVDPG (‘La voix du peuple gabonais‘ – Voice of the Gabonese people) was one platform where netizens shared their concerns [fr]. Some, like ‘Le Début‘ assume there must be a deal between Ali Bongo and André Mba Obame:
Transparence oblige, il y a forcément une contre-partie, c'est la logique des négociations et du prix à payer pour sortir d'une termitière!!! AH POLITIQUE QUAND TU TIENS!!!
Alors on attend le véritable compte rendu.
Suspicions like these have only been reinforced by the fact that Mba Obame has not issued any official statements since his exit from the UNDP. Diplomatic rumors aired in Camarade's post [fr] on Koaci.com seems to confirm this theory:
Une source interne au PNUD-Gabon a également affirmé que la sortie d’exil du gouvernement Mba Obame n’est qu’une première étape du processus de décrispation du climat politique gabonais. [Ce] qui expliquerait l’annulation de la déclaration envisagée par les exilés le jour de leur sortie du PNUD.
For others, like @chrisseminarist on Twitter, Mba Obame is a strategist who put an end to his exile to continue the struggle for revolution:
@chrisseminarist (March 1): André Mba Obame continue le combat pour être reconnu président du Gabon
Revolution ahead
In spite of the alleged incapacity of the Gabonese opposition to lead a revolutionary movement, Charlie M. writes on his blog, ‘Le Gabon Enervant‘ [fr] (The Irritating Gabon) that he is convinced a revolution will happen in the country, no matter what politicians do:
Au Gabon il est clair pour tout observateur averti, que si les tenants du pouvoir n’apprennent pas à servir leurs peuples avec justice et dignité, et non tout le folklore qu’ils font en ce moment, le Gabon aura sa révolution, tôt ou tard. C’est inévitable.
This post is part of our special coverage of Gabon Unrest 2011


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Ghana: Follow Ghana Internet Governance Forum on Twitter · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

You can follow Ghana Internet Governance Forum on Twitter using the hashtag #GhIGF.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Haiti: At the Intersection · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Throwing Down the Water witnesses a scene which reminds her that “we contain infinite possibilities. And that if we accept the excuses most easily available to us, we are selling ourselves – and the world – short.”