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What’s the story behind the samurai walking a cat, anyway? · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

‘Warrior takes an armored cat for a walk’ (着甲武人猫散歩逍遥図) by Noguchi Tetsuya, 2014. Image widely shared on social media.
There's an image that's been shared on social media dozens of times over the past few years, typically without attribution. The image depicts a shoeless samurai walking an armored cat. The samurai has a helmet with cat ears, and the image appears to be weathered and old, perhaps dating back to Medieval Japan.
There are a variety of explanations of what's being depicted:
My most favorite painting of Mongolian conqueror Genghis Khan pic.twitter.com/r2aY26LKTL
— Gautam Trivedi (@KaptanHindustan) June 4, 2018
In reality, the paint is the creation of Japanese artist Tetsuya Noguchi, whose specialty is to depict samurai in bizarre, often comic situations.
He appears to have mastered traditional techniques to create highly-detailed replica armor that would not be out of place in a museum.
Writing for web magazine artscape Japan, which covers Japan's art scene, Alan Gleason dubbed the style “samurai surrealism”. He explains:
Every few years an artist gains cachet with pictures of hamburger-munching geishas and the like, painted in the fashion of ukiyoe or Nihonga. Though the gimmick is fun the first time, after a while it gets pretty predictable — good for a laugh or two, but hardly the trenchant commentary on “traditional vs. modern” that the artist usually proclaims it to be.
The best practitioners of this genre (Masami Teraoka comes to mind) make it work not because of the obvious satire, but because of their mastery of the classical art form used to set up the spoof. And once in a while the artist's technique is so exquisite that it elevates the work entirely out of the realm of parody, however droll the subject matter.
Tetsuya Noguchi's work is just such an example.
Other works by the Tokyo-based artist include a lifelike sculpture of a samurai wearing ladybug-styled armor:
[HAPPENING] Tetsuya Noguchi “ANTIQUE HUMAN” https://t.co/R1XRwSCohA Where the SAMURAI are. Old but new world. pic.twitter.com/XVcrOVKJl1
— Shift Mag Japan (@shift_en) January 21, 2017
Besides frequently popping up on Twitter, Noguchi's work is regularly shown in Japan. His exhibition ‘From Medieval With Love‘ is currently on display at the Pola Museum Annex in Ginza, Tokyo.
【ニュース】ユーモラスな武者像 ── 野口哲哉さん4年ぶりの大規模展、銀座で明日開幕 https://t.co/04nWExboi0 pic.twitter.com/G3htCNmfia
— インターネットミュージアム (@InternetMuseum) July 12, 2018
Humorous statues of warriors: Tetsuya Noguchi displays his large-scale statues in Ginza starting tomorrow (i.e., July 13, 2013).
This short documentary from 2017 outlines his creative process (in Japanese, with YouTube English-language captions):


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Are the people from the former Yugoslavia pleased with Croatia’s success in the World Cup? Yes. · Global Voices
Marko Angelov

A collage of the Croatia national team surrounded by flags of other ex-Yugoslavia countries was posted on Facebook along with a list of things that connect them. The post, titled “Here's why all former Yugoslavia should support Croatia”, received over 10K reactions and 6K shares. Image by Stefan Simić, from Belgrade, used with permission.
Despite losing this year's World Cup final to France, Croatia's success story resonated with fans around the world — after all, who doesn't love to see an underdog defeating some of the mightiest national teams, including two-time champion Argentina?
But praise coming from the former Yugoslavia region felt particularly special. As its only representative to have made it to the knockout stage, Croatia inspired numerous positive reactions from across the Balkans, defying the historical ethnic tension between the neighboring nations.
Such a reaction came, for example, by one of the region's most famous celebrities: Serbian tennis player Novak Đoković, who sealed his fourth Wimbledon title also on July 15. Earlier this month, he told a reporter that he would be supporting Croatia in the then-upcoming World Cup final:
Navijam za Hrvatsku i nadam se da će osvojiti tutulu. A ko je pravi favorit – ne znam. Svetsko prvenstvo je nepredvidivo takmičenje, ispale su Nemačka i Argentina, reprezentacije koje su na prošlom SP-u igrale u finalu.
I [now] support Croatia and I hope they will win the title. I don't know who's the real favorite [for the championship title]. The World Cup is an unpredictable contest, as we can see from the fact that Germany and Argentina, previous finalists, were knocked out.
Writing for Croatian daily newspaper Jutarnji, local journalist Ante Tomić pointed out that Croatia's goalkeeper Danijel Subašić, hailed a hero after defending three penalties against Denmark, is a member of Croatia's minority ethnic Serbian community.
The column, titled “Here's why nationalism is shit“, was shared over 29k times on Facebook.
…Diljem naše zemlje… svi su vrištali od sreće u jednoj kretenskoj zgodi da je, kraj više od pet stotina tisuća registriranih hrvatskih branitelja, domovinu obranio jedan Srbin.
Što god se dogodilo do kraja Prvenstva u Rusiji, meni je, nakon ovoga, iskreno, nebitno. Jer, Subašićeva je obrana tri jedanaesterca sama po sebi jedna velika povijesna pobjeda koja ispunjava oči suzama, to je trijumf čovječnosti nad mržnjom i glupošću. A nije zaista mogao biti bolji trenutak za to jer je Svjetsko nogometno prvenstvo, sa svim onim zastavama, himnama, dlanovima na srcu i licima našaranim ratničkim bojama, jedan prvorazredni nacionalistički događaj. Nacionalizam masu uspaljuje vjerojatno i više od igračke vještine. Više od Modrićevih driblinga i Rebićevih voleja crveni i bijeli kvadratići zaslužni su za rekordnu prodaju piva i čipsa. U takvom nepodnošljivom ludilu krvi i tla trebao nam je Danijel Subašić da se panterski baci ustranu i izbije balun u korner i neporecivo dokaže kako je nacionalizam totalno sranje.
…Across our country… everybody screamed with ecstasy to a paradoxical event when, besides over five hundred thousands registered war veterans, our homeland was defended by a Serb.
Whatever happens until the end of the World Cup in Russia, is irrelevant to me after this. Subašić's defense of three penalty kicks in itself is a great historic victory which brings tears to one's eyes, as a triumph of humanity against hatred and stupidity. There was no better moment for it because the football World Cup, with all its flags, national anthems, hands over harts and faces painted in war paints is a first-class nationalist event. Possibly nationalism inflames the masses even more than displayed sports skills. Even more than Modrić's dribbling and Rabić's volleys, the displayed red and white squares contribute to the record sales of beer and potato chips. In that insuferrable madness of blood and soil, we needed Danijel Subašić to jump as a panther and kick the ball into a corner and irrevocably prove that nationalism is total shit.
Nevertheless, some Serbian nationalists reacted negatively to Serbian support for Croatia. According to one Twitter user, “no Croat would ever root for Serbia”.
In response, many on social media pointed out the fact that in August 2017, the Croatian basketball players publicly supported the Serbian female team after the latter had made it to the finals of FIBA Under-18 Women's European Championship.
At the time, a photo of the Croatian players, wearing the national team's uniform and with the word “Serbia” painted on their faces, inflamed the internet.
Kada vas uce da mrzite druge narode pogledajte ovu mladost Srbije i Hrvatske kako se zajedno raduje ulasku Srbije u finale juniorskog EP 2017. za kosarkasice,i ako imate bar malo ljudskosti u sebi vise necete mrzeti.. https://t.co/3I4GaHQKFQ
— Srdjan (@spartaolimp35) July 11, 2018
New tweet: When they teach you to hate other peoples take a look at these youths from Serbia and Croatia as they together celebrate Serbia's entry into the Junior European Championship in 2017.
Quoted tweet with video: This youth is the future of Serbia and Croatia. Without hatred and evil the female basketball players celebrate Serbia's entry in the EC final.
There is some controversy on how FIFA handles each team's historical record when countries change names and borders.
For example, Russia is considered the only successor of the USSR's victory, in detriment of all other former Soviet countries. Similarly, Serbia is the official successor of Yugoslavia, despite the fact that the Yugoslav national team had players from all the constituent republics, including Croatia.
This contrasts with a rising sentiment of shared heritage across the current nations. In an article by Montenegrin newspaper Vijesti, for example, Croatia's World Cup performance is seen as a continuum of the former glory of Yugoslav football. The article was also widely shared, including by Croatian football coach Mario Kos.
Imala je nekadašnja Jugoslavija mnogo velikih majstora, neprevaziđenih vedeta, fudbalskih ikona kojima se klanjala Evropa.
Od Montevidea 1930, preko Čilea 1962, Šekularca, Skoblara, Jerkovića i ostalih, zatim Džajićeve generacije početkom 70-ih, pa moćnog tima sa Pižonom, Šurjakom i Sušićem koji je razočarao 1982, sve do Stojkovića, Savićevića, Prosinečkog i drugova koji su penalima rasplakani u četvrtfinalu Mundijala u Italiji 1990.
Kakvih je tu bilo i trenera – od Aleksandra Tirnanića, Miljana Miljanića, Tomislava Ivića, Branka Zebeca, Todora-Toze Veselinovića, Anta Mladinića, Vujadina Boškova, sve do Ivice Osima i Ćira Blaževića.
I niko od njih, apsolutno niko, nije uradio ono što su istorijskog 11. jula 2018. godine, u Rusiji, uradili Zlatko Dalić i njegovi fudbaleri.
San generacija i generacija nekadašnje države, koja je voljela i koja se ponosila fudbalom, dosanjali su Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić, Mario Mandžukić, Dejan Lovren, Ante Rebić, Danijel Subašić i ostali momci koji će zlatnim slovima ostati upisani u istoriji hrvatskog fudbala.
Prestigli su čak i “vatrenu” generaciju Hrvata iz 1998. godine – Boban, Šuker, Prosinečki, Asanović, Jarni, Bilić, osvojili su bronzu na Mundijalu u Francuskoj, što je bio uspjeh za koji je malo ko vjerovao da će biti prevaziđen.
Former Yugoslavia had many great masters, big stars, football icons respected by whole Europe.
From Montevideo [Uruguay] 1930, to Chile 1962, to Šekularac, Skoblar, Jerković and the others, the Đajić generation of the early 1970s, and the powerful team of Pižon, Šurjak and Sušić which disapointed in Spain 1982, to Stojković, Savićević, Prosinečki and their comrades who lost by penalties in the quarter finals of the World Cup in Italy 1990.
They had exceptional coaches too: Miljan Miljanić, Tomislav Ivić, Branko Zebec, Todor-Toza Veselinović, Ante Mladinić, Vujadin Boškov, to Ivica Osim and Ćiro Blažević.
And none of them, absolutely no one, hadn't achieved what on the historical 11 July 2018 achieved Zlatko Dalić and his players in Russia.
Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić, Mario Mandžukić, Dejan Lovren, Ante Rebić, Danijel Subašić and the other boys whose names will remain written with golden letters in the history of Croatian football managed to put a closure to the dream of generations of citizens of the former state.
They managed to surpass the “fiery” generation of Croats from 1998 – Boban, Šuker, Prosinečki, Asanović, Jarni, Bilić, won the bronze at the World Cup in France, a success which very few believed can be exceeded.
With Croatia playing in Moscow and Đoković in Wimbledon, subscribers of this new, inclusive spirit truly (and literally, for some) had a field day on July 15.
Saluting the Croatian team, Serbian blogger and writer Igor Čobanović posted a collage with Croatian and Serbian flags with a spoof of the well-known Balkan proverb “may the neighbor's cow croak!” — it means that one should always enjoy the other's misfortune, even when not advancing their own benefit.
Da budemo ljudi malo za promenu pic.twitter.com/9EebZGSeJ6
— Igor Čobanović (@DaZivimSan) July 14, 2018
Image text: May the neighbor's cow be alive and well!
Tweet: Let's act as human beings for a change.
Serbian actress and producer Bojana Maljević also expressed optimism:
Najgore što može da se desi političkim elitama na Balkanu je
da narodi počnu iskreno da navijaju jedni za druge u sportu, da saradnja u kulturi i umetnosti bude u kontinuitetu, te da mediji počnu da proizvode zajedničke programe.
— Bojana Maljević (@BojanaMaljevic) July 14, 2018
The worst thing for the Balkan political elites is if the peoples start to sincerely root for each others’ sports teams, to establish a continuous cooperation in culture and arts, and the media to start producing joint programs.
In turn, Bosnian blogger Srđan Puhalo remained pessimistic:
Braco Balkanci, sutra nema fudbala i tenisa, ostajemo sami sa svojom mrznjom, siromastvom i bijesom!!!
— Srđan Puhalo (@SrkiPuhalo) July 15, 2018
Balkan brothers, tomorrow we won't have neither football nor tennis, we remain alone with our hatred, our poverty and our anger!!!
The mood wasn't shaken by France's victory over Croatia, even less after captain Luka Modrić won the Golden Ball award for the tournament's best player.
Even the Sky is Crying for Croatia today.
You have Won Heart of Millions across the World!
Modric you are a legend!#WorldCupFinal #FRACRO pic.twitter.com/jnjYGPudgj
— Vishal Verma (@VishalVerma_9) July 15, 2018
Ironically, upon its return to the homeland, Croatia's team paraded in the streets of Zagreb with neo-nazi Marko Perković Thompson, whose concerts had been banned in several Western European countries on account of promoting the fascist World War II Ustaša regime.
But, so far, this doesn't seem to have deflated all the excitement around Croatia's team around the region.
Томпсон је њихова срамота, а то не умањује њихов успех.
— алекса011 (@volimtenikad) July 16, 2018
Thompson is their shame. That doesn't diminish their success.
Croatia's feat will likely long resonate with all underdogs, from former Yugoslavia and beyond.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Marko Angelov


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Are these the last Dropka yak herders in Sikkim? · Global Voices
Devika Sakhadeo

Yak herders in Tibet. PHOTO: Matt Ming (CC BY 2.0)
In the hills of northern Sikkim in northeast India, the Drokpa community live peaceful yet difficult lives. The hills resound with the songs the Drokpas have for every activity. These are not your usual villagers who reside in the same place for decades and have a set source of livelihood. Rather, the Drokpas, as their name suggests are nomads—“drokpa” is a Tibetan word that can be roughly translated as “nomad” or “high pastoral people”. For the last several generations, however, the Drokpas have followed an occupation that might soon disappear from Sikkim: herding yak.
Yak herders in Sikkim have faced many challenges, such as climate change, border restrictions, scarce facilities, economic uncertainty and the attraction of an easier and more comfortable living in a town. These challenges have escalated since the 1960s, when Tibet’s borders were closed. Continuing life as a Drokpa yak herder is an uphill task, as a result of which a dwindling number of people are ready to continue this life willingly.
Before 1962, the Drokpas, originally from Tibet, migrated annually from Tibet to the northern areas of Sikkim to graze their yaks. In the winter months, they would settle temporarily in Tibet near Khampa Dzong, where the pasture grass would be longer, more nutritious and would not get compressed by snow. In the summer, they would travel south to the hilly areas of northern Sikkim, settling briefly in areas like Dongkung, Lungma, Kerang and Lachen in Sikkim. In those areas, the Lachenpas of the Lachen Valley would engage in trade with the Drokpas that was beneficial not just monetarily, but also culturally. This trade fostered cultural exchange and promoted peace between the two communities. The Drokpas would in return look after the livestock of the Lachenpas and would sell the surplus left over after supplying their own close-knit community with yak milk, milk products and wool obtained from the livestock. This exchange was facilitated by the accord between Tibet and India, and by the borders being open for the Drokpas to roam freely.
After China occupied Tibet the border was closed, and in 1962 the Drokpas were forced to settle on either side. Since then, the Drokpas have had to limit their migrations to one region in both winter and summer. Dr Anna Balikci Denjongpa, Research Coordinator at The Namgyal Institute of Tibetology in Sikkim, explained that the Drokpas maintain that before the border was closed there were about 1,000 yaks that would migrate for their rotational grazing pattern. At present, there are fewer than 12 families living the traditional Drokpa yak herding lifestyle. Others in the community have found different occupations and most have tried to settle in towns or cities.
A member of the Drokpa community with sheepskin in Lachen village. PHOTO: Karchoong Diyali. Used with permission.
Against the odds
The traditional Drokpa lifestyle is not an easy one. With movement restricted to the state of Sikkim, they face harsh weather conditions in winter, as the northern mountainous areas of Sikkim experience heavy snowfall at times, compromising the green pasture cover that is beneficial to the yaks.
“When it snows, it is very difficult for the animals as well as for us,” explains Aie Chezum in a film made by The Namgyal Institue of Tibetology titled “Drokpa—Grazing on the Border—The YakHerders of North Sikkim.”
The Drokpas have to depend on dried meat during the winters. But increasing heat is a problem as well. According to meteorological data, Sikkim is getting warmer by an average of 2.5 C every year. This has resulted in the thinning of the grass, and for high-altitude yaks, the heat causes discomfort. Malnourished animals end up being a burden, with the Drokpas having to resort to selling them or feeding them with prepared fodder since grass is covered with snow during winters. This means having to bear the additional expense of buying fodder. For this traditionally self-sustaining community, these are comparatively novel economic concepts, as they have always relied on trade for their necessities and supplies.
Since the border was closed the community has also had to rely on the army for medical assistance in this difficult terrain, though for more serious ailments even the army cannot provide help. In such cases, basic survival becomes precarious.
To understand the Drokpas, one needs to remember that yaks are central the community’s self-sustaining lifestyle, providing wool and the milk from which they make various products as well as dung, which is dried and used as fuel. From the wool, they make items such as socks, clothes and carpets. In earlier times they would also weave expensive garments called the sheema and puruk that were worn mostly in Tibet and were a commodity of trade. Due to the border restrictions, most trading activity has come to a halt. The milk from the yaks is used mainly for tea—known in the region as chai—in winter and used to make products like cheese in the summer. After fulfilling their own supply of dairy products, surplus cheese has traditionally been sold in the towns, though according to one shop owner in Gangtok, it is now something of a rarity.
After all these years, the Drokpas are still looked upon as guests and not as the residents of the area. They are trapped due to the border restrictions and have to tread carefully, not just because their livestock might step on to a minefield, but also because they have to abide by rules and regulations imposed by the host communities.
An uncertain future for the yak herding occupation
Yet through all of this, some Drokpas do manage to make a decent living. They bridge the gap by looking after the livestock of the Sikkim villagers from the Lachen valley and by doing odd jobs for members of the army. In addition to fodder for the livestock, clothes, food and other necessities, another expense many Drokpas now bear is the cost of their children’s education. Many have opted for their children to attend schools in towns or cities, from where, once they become educated and get a taste of urban life, they often refuse to return and take up the arduous lifestyle associated with yak herding. “When all else fails, becoming a Drokpa is the last resort for them,” explains Dr Anna Balikci Denzongpa. Young Drokpa men also shun the occupation of yak herding as they would likely not find brides who would accept that profession.
Those who give up on the profession of yak herding end up taking jobs in the army, the government, or other city-based occupations. With Sikkim lately witnessing a surge of tourism, jobs in that sector are also in demand. A last resort for people who do not find jobs is to settle in the Tibetan refugee camps. The help provided by the Government is not enough encouragement for young people to continue the traditional Drokpa lifestyle, nor is the interest shown by a few NGOs.
In spite of all of this, there are still those who continue to follow the traditional occupation and live the life of yak herders in the hilly mountain ranges of Sikkim. But even those who brave the harsh conditions in order to do this are aware of the fact that their children might opt to sell off their livestock and settle down in cities, pursuing other jobs. This particular generation could well be writing the last chapter in the story of yak herding by the Drokpas in Sikkim.

author: Devika Sakhadeo


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World Cup out, pension reform protests in: Russia’s economic woes take the front seat again · Global Voices
Christopher Moldes

“Was born, worked, died. Raising the pension age is genocide!”: Russian protest poster, via leftfront.org
The 2018 World Cup in Russia has ended, and presumably, so too have increased security measures. Aside from limitations on alcohol sales and vehicle traffic, any form of public protest was swiftly met with detention, as shown when even lone picketers were arrested.
With the official end of limitations on public gatherings, a potential wave of protest activity threatens to follow: the Russian government, hoping to avoid mass demonstrations, announced its plans to raise the pension age at the very outset of the World Cup. The maneuver failed to go unnoticed by the online crowds:
Футбол это просто мяч, игра. Пенсии и налоги, эта ваша жизнь. Пока вам дали мячик, вор обкрадывает вас… Поиграйте пока с мячиком.
— Михаил Кочергин (@Alykard28) 7 июля 2018 г.
Football is just a ball, a game. Pensions and taxes are our life. While you're playing with the ball, the thief is emptying your pockets… Keep playing the ball.
Judging by the swift outrage and condemnation from across the Russian political spectrum and population, these measures did little to contain the upsurge of protest activity; almost 100 actions were planned before the end of the World Cup. The Russian government now has little at its disposal to keep protestors off the streets.
With low life expectancy for Russian women and even lower for Russian men, raising the retirement age to 63 for women and 65 for men, up from the current 55 and 60, was bound to aggravate people.
The most imminent and serious challenge is from the Russian Federation of Labor, an alliance of labor unions. Within days of the June announcement on pension age reform, they launched a petition calling on the government to scrap its plans. At the time of writing, upwards of 2,769,000 had signed.
Not limiting itself to online activism, the Federation also announced plans to hold protests all across the country and in Moscow after the World Cup. The Federation’s vice president announced this on Facebook, writing:
Москве шествие и митинг состоятся 18 июля. Выбор даты не случаен: 15 июля заканчивается чемпионат мира по футболу, а рассмотрение проекта в Думе будет не ранее 19 и не позднее 26 июля.
There’ll be a procession and a protest in Moscow on July 18th. The date wasn’t chosen by accident: the World Cup ends on July 15th, and the Duma won’t discuss the reform project any earlier than the 19th and no later than the 26th.
The Federation applied for protest permits in over 50 regions, with various dates being chosen based on what local organizers decided.
Other groups and political parties have also been organizing their own responses, independent of the Federation’s plans.  The leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation announced his plans to initiate a referendum on the question of raising the pension age. With a large base of elderly pensioners and their commitments to improving social conditions being tested, the Communists have been rocked from their slumber into action. A regional parliamentary deputy from the party didn’t mince words at a recent session, saying:
Этот закон не дает право людям работать, он дает обязанность работать. До самой могилы. Нам говорят, что у нас денег нет в стране, но это же ложь! У нас огромные деньги вложены в американскую экономику. Половина денег от добычи нефти достается олигархам. Триллионы рублей нужны на выполнение пакета Яровой. У нас что, дел других нет, кроме как тратить деньги на слежку за своими гражданами? 700 миллиардов потрачено на футбол, показывать кино красивое. Если бы у нас победили Хорватию, я вас уверяю, у нас ввели бы крепостное право в этой стране.
This law doesn’t give people the right to work, it compels them to work. To the grave. They say that the country doesn’t have money, but that’s a lie! We have a bunch of money invested in the American economy. The oligarchs get half of the oil money. They need trillions of rubles for the Yarovavya Packet. What, we don’t have anything better to do than to waste money monitoring our citizens? 700 billion spent on soccer to put on a good show. If we had beaten Croatia, I promise you, they would have reinstituted serfdom here.
The police showed up at his house shortly afterwards to investigate him for extremism.
Other left wing groups have joined the party in its referendum and protest efforts, like the Left Front, a non-partisan activist organization that has been trying to secure permits all throughout the World Cup. They have been particularly unsuccessful in one region, where they are continually denied a permit, a story that has repeated across the country for other groups.
Demonstrating that this is not just a left-wing issue, Alexei Navalny, the ubiquitous Russian opposition figure, was also disturbed by pension reform plans. Calling these plans a “clear-cut crime against the people” announced his own plans for protests, which happened in various cities earlier this month on July 1st.  Even the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party and the Russian libertarians have been organizing protests. These protests are also varied in time. Rather than all the opposition groups uniting on one date for a massive showing, they opted to work these plans independent of one another.  Sean Guillory, Russia watcher and host of the Sean’s Russia Blog podcast, lamented these disparate plans:
So this how the opposition is addressing pension reform-dueling protests: Navalny July 1; Yabloko July 3; Left Front July 4 and the only org with working people as a constituency Labor Federation July 18. That’s solidarity for you. https://t.co/nijPC52s0u
— Sean Guillory (@seansrussiablog) 19 июня 2018 г.
Nevertheless, the fact that so many groups are willing to take to the streets demonstrates the sheer unpopularity of the proposed measure. In the face of such outcry, it was initially reported that the Kremlin was going to “soften” its intended reforms, but the Duma leader for United Russia, the ruling party, recently put an end to this talk, saying the party was not going to discuss any tweaks to the proposed measures.
The Russian government took a multi-pronged approach to convincing people of the necessity of raising the pension age. It used the World Cup to “distract” from the proposed reforms, followed in the list of state media's priorities by reports extolling the wonders of longevity and late-age employment.
Телеведущий Дмитрий Киселев в вечернем эфире программы «Вести недели» заявил, что российские мужчины сами виноваты в том, что не доживают до пенсии. «Ранняя смерть — это ошибка в жизни», — заявил он.
Мужики, не совершайте ошибки, не умирайте… pic.twitter.com/n7XZiSP3UY
— СмутноеВремя (@Durevestnik) 9 июля 2018 г.
Dmitry Kiselyov, a TV host, claimed on his evening show “News of the Week” that Russian men have only themselves to blame for not living long enough to see the retirement age. “An early death originates from mistakes made in life”, he said.
Guys, don't make the mistake — don't die…
In addition to more traditional propaganda efforts, the Russian authorities are widely using their online capabilities. Some social media users found ads to material promoting the value of raising the pension age, accompanied by stock images of smiling senior citizens. Others noticed an uptick in accounts on TJournal, a link-aggregator, reposting an article aimed at showing opposition figures to be hypocrites. The article used out-of-context quotes to show that these figures previously supported pension reform and are now only speaking out because the government has decided to carry it through.
While the article was later debunked, these accounts continued to repost it, and some digital sleuthing showed that these accounts were sock-puppets registered the day the article was published, or else long-dormant accounts that had suddenly “reawakened” just to share the news. Those freshly-registered accounts all originated from the same IP-address and all paid for premium access to TJournal from the same source.
No matter how many bots are deployed or politicians dismiss concerns, it’s clear that the Russian government will have a fight on its hands as it tries to raise the pension age. With even established political parties drawing a line in the sand and taking to the streets as Russian unions promise mass demonstrations, it is a welcome sight of life in an otherwise moribund political system, where opposition parties often talk more than they act.

author: Christopher Moldes


text:
Activist Naïm Touré sentenced to prison over Facebook post in Burkina Faso · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Screenshot from a video of Naim Traoré explaining his case via Droit libre TV on YouTube
Activist Naïm Touré appeared before the criminal chamber of the High Court of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 27 June 2018, where he was convicted on multiple charges related to a Facebook post, including “demoralizing the defense and security forces.” Here is an excerpt of what Touré wrote on Facebook in June 2018:
À toutes les forces de défense: restez là assis seulement bras croisés. Vous risquez fort de tous trépasser ici dans l'exercice de vos fonctions sans que ces politicards que vous protégez nuit et jour ne lèvent le petit doigt pour vous assister en cas de problème comme c'est le cas de votre collègue feu Mdl Yassia (Paix à son Âme). Donc je dis et le répète que le politicien de la majorité actuelle MPP n'a rien rien à foutre de vos putaines de vie.
To all the the defense forces, please make sure you stay put with your arms crossed for a while. otherwise you are likely to be killed while on duty and none of these politicians who you protect day in and and day out will lift a finger to assist you in case of a problem as was the case of your colleague Mdl Yassia, killed in combat (may he rest in peace). So I say it all over again: the politician of the current majority party MPP do not give a damn about your freaking life.
At the end of the proceedings, the public prosecutor called for one year of imprisonment. On 3 July 2018, the final verdict was made public: Touré was sentenced to 2 months in prison without appeal  for “provocation without any ensuing consequences”.
He was arrested and remanded in custody by the national police force on 14 June 2018 for expressing outrage on his Facebook page concerning the fate of a policeman who was injured during an anti-terrorist operation and who, one month later, was still waiting for a medical evacuation.
The Ouagadougou-based website netafrique.net summarized the charges against him as described by one of his attorneys, Prosper Farama:
Il lui est reproché trois infractions : la première, il aurait participé à une opération de démoralisation des forces de défenses et de sécurité (FDS) par une publication sur sa page Facebook. La 2e infraction, c’est d’avoir proposé aux FDS de former un complot contre la sûreté de l’Etat. La 3e ; c’est incitation de troubles à l’ordre public
He is accused of three offenses: first, participating in an attempt to demoralize the defense and security forces (FDS) via a post on his Facebook page; second, making a proposition to the FDS to conspire against State security; third, inciting disorderly conduct.
At the trial, which involved about ten attorneys, Touré pleaded not guilty, according to Armand Kinda on infowakat.net:
Pour l’accusé, son poste en date du 13 juin sur le réseau social facebook n’avait pas pour but de « participer à une entreprise de démoralisation des Forces armées nationales » comme l’estime le procureur du Faso. Selon les explications données par Naïm Touré à la barre, « ce poste a été fait pour informer l’opinion et pour dénoncer l’attitude des autorités (actuelles) qui ont une lenteur administrative », en ce qui concerne le retard constaté dans la procédure d’évacuation du pandore blessé pendant l’opération de démantèlement du réseau de terroristes le 22 mai 2018 à Rayongo où le gendarme François De Salle Ouédraogo y a perdu la vie.
Touré affirmed that the post dated 13 June on Facebook wasn’t meant to represent any “participation in an attempt to demoralize the national Armed Forces” as judged by the public prosecutor. Touré explained before the court that “this post was created to inform the public and to denounce the attitude of the (current) authorities, and their slow-reacting administration,” regarding the delayed evacuation procedure of a cop who was injured during an operation to dismantle a terrorist network on 22 May 2018 in Rayongo, where the police officer François De Salle Ouédraogo lost his life.
Human rights activists and many of Touré's contacts on social media have shown support regarding his legal situation. Burkina resident Rodolphe Somd likened what Touré wrote on Facebook to an exchange between colleagues or friends about the situation in their country:
Des zélés en quête de postes de nomination ont induit nos autorités en erreur. Bien au contraire de mettre Naïm en prison, on aurait dû le remercier du fait qu'il desarme consciemment ou inconsciemment toutes entreprises des fds [Forces de sécurité] allant dans ce sens. Bien entendu son poste anticipe voire dejoue tout projet allant dans ce sens en ce qu il éveille un peu plus la vigilence des autorités sur un probable coup de force. Alors libérez ce morpion qui ne constitue aucune menace contre la sureté de l'Etat… Or facebook est un autre cabaret où ce qui s y dit ne devrait pas avoir plus d importance…
A few zealots seeking political appointments have led our authorities astray. Rather than putting Naïm in prison, they should thank him for neutralizing any plotting along those lines on the part of the fds [Security forces], whether he did so consciously or not. It’s clear that his post preempts and may frustrate any such plans given that it has caused the authorities to become somewhat more vigilant regarding a probable coup de force. So just free this little pest who represents no national security threat… Facebook is another world where what is said should not be taken seriously…
For local media examining the content of Touré's post (which was shared 525 times on Facebook), it was difficult to comprehend the accusations made against him.
The Burkina news site Kelgueka says that such accusations ought to be ridiculed since it would take much more than that for the military to rebel:
De telles accusations pour des militaires déjà en rébellion, c’est l’hilarité. Quand aux causes des révoltes ou rébellions dans les armées, au Burkina comme ailleurs, elles sont pareilles pour la majorité des cas. En 2011 , les mutineries avaient été suscitées par l’humaine condition. Blaise Compaore recevant la troupe s’était rendu à l’évidence de la misère de celle-ci. Chez Ouattara en côte d’Ivoire, les révoltes ont eu pour cause essentielle les impayés de soldes.
Récemment au Sahel, les bruits des mécontentements étaient liés à la non tenue d’engagements pris par l’autorité en lien avec les conditions de vie et de travail dans cette mission périlleuse de la lutte anti terroriste. Jusqu’à preuve du contraire, outre la gestion de l’armée et très rarement les manipulations occidentales pour des visées politiques, l’armée ne s’est jamais mise en situation de révolte par le fait de l’opinion publique.
To make such accusations when the soldiers have been on the brink of rebellion for so long is just ridiculous. The reasons for military revolts and rebellions are in most cases the same in Burkina Faso as everywhere else. In 2011, the mutinies were provoked by the human condition. Blaise Compaore received the troops and was forced to acknowledge the miserable state they were in. In Côte d’Ivoire, the main reason for the revolts was unpaid salaries.
Recently, in the Sahel, the rumors of discontent were linked to the non-respect of commitments made by the authorities relative to the living and working conditions in the perilous struggle against terrorism. Until it can be proven otherwise, apart from the management of the army and, very rarely, Western manipulation to political ends, the army never revolts because of public opinion.
Cette tribune est pour nous, Monsieur le Président, une occasion pour vous demander au nom de tous les Africtivistes pour une clémence pour toutes ces personnes notamment Naim Touré du Burkina Faso…
For us, Mr. President, this platform is a chance to ask you, in the name of all Africtivistes, for clemency toward all the activists currently under arrest, in particular Naïm Touré from Burkina Faso…
Luandino Vieira, a writer based in Sénégal,  argued that arresting a Burkinabe icon of cyber-activism while activists from all over the continent are meeting in Ouagadougou simply creates disorder:
Alors qu’ on va réunir la crème des cyberactivistes africains, avec l’onction du gouvernement burkinabé, ça fait désordre d’arrêter une des icônes du cyberactivisme burkinabè. Naïm, n’a jamais été pris à défaut sur les informations qu’il a livrées. Que lui reproche-t-on donc de dire les choses avec un certain ton. On veut le domestiquer. Or, du peu que je sais de lui, c’est peine perdue. Les autorités burkinabè devraient plutôt le considérer comme un allié et en tant que lanceur d’alerte le protéger au lieu de chercher à le museler. Libérer Naïm Touré !
While the most prominent African cyber-activists will be meeting soon, the arrest of an icon of Burkinabe cyber-activism shows the duplicity of the Burkinabe government and will only create disorder. Naïm was never proven wrong about the information he shared. Why then should he be criticized for adopting a certain tone? They want to bring him to heel. But from what little I know about him, it’s a lost cause. Rather than arresting an icon of Burkinabe cyber-activism, the authorities should consider him as an ally and as a whistleblower – protect him instead of trying to muzzle him. Free Naïm Touré!
Touré's case has inspired a great deal of support from African civil society. Safiatou F. Lopez Zongo, the president of the National Cooperation Framework of Civil Society Organizations (Cadre de concertation national des organisations de la société civile in French), recalls that freedom of expression is a constitutional right:
Je viens d’apprendre l’arrestation du cyber-activiste NAÏM TOURÉ et sincèrement, je suis dépassée, le pouvoir creuse sa tombe chaque jour un peu plus et c’est désolant. La liberté d’expression est un droit Constitutionnel dans notre pays, chers Mogho puissants du moment, libérez le petit NAÏM TOURÉ. C’est tout simplement un abus de pouvoir et tôt ou tard le pouvoir sera entre les mains d’autres personnes et ça risque d’être compliqué pour certains d’entre vous. …
Alors, si consciencieusement vous savez que le peuple est déçu, il n’y a qu’une seule chose à faire, changez votre fusil d’épaule, au lieu de la chasse aux sorcières, travailler à gagner du crédit auprès du peuple qui vous a fait confiance…
I just learned of the arrest of the cyber-activist Naïm Touré and honestly, it is beyond me, the powers that be continue to dig their own graves and it’s devastating. Freedom of expression is a constitutional right in our country. Dear, powerful monarchs of the moment: free little Naïm Touré. This is a plain abuse of power. Sooner or later that power will be in the hands of others, and things could get complicated for some of you…
So, if upon reflection you realize that the people are disappointed, there is only one course of action to take: change tack. Instead of conducting a witch-hunt, work to earn the respect of the people who have put their trust in you….
Burkinabe Facebook user Paz Hien remembers what Naïm Touré once confided to him:
Un jour, Naïm Touré m'a dit ceci : “les gens me guettent. Certains mêmes me l'ont dit ouvertement qu'à la première occasion ils vont me mâter. Mais ça ne m'inquiète pas. Plus ils me menacent, plus je suis engagé. Et s'il arrivait que je meurs un jour, svp ne trahissez pas la lutte. Souvent certains pensent que je suis contre eux, et finalement ils se rendent compte que c'est pour eux que je me suis battu car moi je n'y gagne rien directement. Nous avons un devoir d'honnêteté mon frère”.
Ces propos sonnent en moi depuis hier!
LIBEREZ NAÏM TOURE.
One day, Naïm Touré said to me, “I am being watched. Some people have even told me outright that at the first chance they get, they’ll take me down. But that doesn’t worry me. The more they threaten me, the more committed I become. And if someday I die, please don’t give up the struggle. Often, people think that I am against them, but since I don’t stand to gain anything directly, they end up realizing that it’s for them I’m fighting. We have to be honest, brother. These words resound in me since yesterday! FREE NAÏM TOURE.
This is the third time that Naïm Touré has appeared in court for posts on his Facebook page.
The first case against him was filed in 2016, for a separate attempt to attract the attention of authorities to the case of an injured military serviceman, the Chief Warrant Officer Moussa Nébié, alias Rambo. He was prosecuted again in 2017 for “public injury and defamation” of the then-special counsel to the National Assembly president, Elisée Antoine Zong Naba.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


text:
Bombings in Pakistan ahead of elections kill 170, thwarting hopes of a peaceful vote · Global Voices
Anas Saleem

Signing a ballot paper during the 2013 Pakistan general elections. Photo: Flickr/Olaf Kellerhoff, CC BY-NC 2.0
Pakistan is bracing for the general elections on July 25 after a week of bombings targeting political rallies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces have spread fears of more violence and a thorny power transition.
The attacks have claimed more than 170 lives, including prominent candidates Haroon Bilour and Siraj Raisani, in a campaign that had been thus far peaceful. One attack alone, on July 13 at a rally of the Balochistan Awami Party, killed 129 people and injured dozens. This was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since Taliban shooters killed 141 in an army-run school in Peshawar, in December 2014.
The 208-million strong nation will elect 342 seats at the National Assembly, with the conservative Pakistan Muslim League hoping to secure a majority for a second term. The party was shaken in 2017 after its founder and then Prime Minister was convicted of buying apartments in London by illegally siphoning money from Pakistan, a scandal revealed by the Panama Papers investigation.
The Muslim League is also bound to face fierce competition from the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice) party.
The recent attacks triggered memories of the 2013 elections, when suicide bombings frequently targeted political rallies, killing more than 200 people, 64 on election day itself. The Pakistani Taliban, who claimed most of the attacks, targeted primarily secular political parties, such as the Pakistan People’s Party, the Awami National Party, and the Mohajir Muttahida Quami Movement. The threats of violence prompted the three parties to curtail their public campaign gatherings and resorted to campaigning via social media.
Nevertheless, the 2013 elections resulted in a smooth power transition between the Pakistan People’s Party and Nawaz’ Pakistan Muslim League. Prior to 2008, no democratic government had completed its five years in office in Pakistan.
Militant violence has also declined in recent years after a military offensive in the North-West, where groups such as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Islam, al-Qaeda, and the ISIL-Khorasan operate. However, some still manage to launch attacks with help from across the border in Afghanistan.
July 3, 2018: An explosion in Razmak city, in the North Waziristan Agency, left 10 seriously injured and many more wounded. They had been attending the inauguration of the campaign headquarters of Malik Aurangzeb Khan, a candidate with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
July 7, 2018: An explosion at a campaign rally of the far-right party Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (United Council of Action) in the city of Takhti Khel, in the North-West, injured seven people, including the party's leader and contender Malik Sherein. Initial reports revealed that explosives were planted on a motorcycle which exploded near the convoy.
July 10, 2018: A suicide bomber killed the leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), Barrister Haroon Bilour, killed and 19 other people in a small public gathering in the city of Peshawar. Bilour was the son of Bashir Ahmed Bilour, a senior ANP figure who was himself killed in a suicide attack in 2012 at a rally. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the suicide blast.
Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa condemned the assassination of Haroon Bilour:
COAS shares grief of Bilour family & ANP on condemnable targeting of Haroon Bilour & victims of heinous terrorist attk.“We are fighting against nexus of inimical forces which aren’t willing to absorb a peaceful & stable Pakistan. We remain undeterred & shall IA defeat them” COAS.
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) July 11, 2018
The ANP, which governed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from 2008 to 2013, has been relentlessly targeted by militant groups operating in the North-West. Dozens of ANP supporters, as well as party leaders, were killed over the 2013 election.
July 13, 2018: An explosion at a rally in the North-Western city of Bannu has killed at least four people and wounded 32. The rally was being hosted by former provincial chief minister Akram Khan Durrani, who is running for a seat in Pakistan's upcoming polls. Durrani wasn't hurt in the blast.
July 13, 2018: In the South-West town of Dringarh, about 35km south of the Balochistan provincial capital Quetta, a suicide attacker targeted a rally of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), killing at least 129 people and injuring dozens. The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the bombing, without providing any evidence for such.
Among those killed was Siraj Raisani, who was running for the Balochistan provincial assembly and was considered to be the beating heart of provincial politics.
The bombing was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since militants from the Pakistani Taliban assaulted an army-run school in Peshawar in December 2014, killing 141 people, 132 of them children.
July 16, 2018: The leader of the Awami National Party, Daud Khan Achakzai, narrowly escaped death after armed men shot at him at a guest house in Chaman, also in Balochistan province. He received two gunshots on his right arm. The attackers fled the crime scene leaving the leader injured.
On social media, people have contemplated the motives behind the attacks:
#Violence returned to #Pakistan as soon as the #election campaign began. Some say it's an attempt to sabotage the election process. What could the #terrorists possibly have to gain from postponement of election in Pakistan? pic.twitter.com/sgo8nYsZQO
— NayaDaur (@nayadaurpk) July 17, 2018
Umair Javed at an Op-ed in The Dawn writes:
Intimidation tactics and violence, often in connivance with local state officials, are frequently deployed at the community level to prevent or force a recalibration of voting blocs and changes in electoral outcomes.
What makes this trend particularly salient in 2018 is the heightened sense of competition that will likely take place due to the consolidation of opposing powerful candidates in two (PML-N [The Muslim League] vs PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf — Movement for Justice], or PML-N vs independent), rather than three or four camps. In marginal seats, each and every voting bloc is important, and violence has long been documented as a powerful way to either break up or collectivize a vote bank.
To protect the polling booths, Pakistan’s army will deploy about 371,000 troops on election day, almost three times the number in 2013. Will it be enough to prevent more election violence?

author: Anas Saleem


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‘If it isn’t recorded, it didn’t happen’: Israel moves to restrict photo documentation of military activity · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

If adopted, a proposed bill could ban the filming and photographing of Israeli soldiers on duty. Photo by Flickr user Tal King (CC BY-NC 2.0)
When Israeli police brought in bulldozers to demolish the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar on 4 July, the small community of 200 people did not stand still.
Photos and videos shared online showed local residents and activists climbing into and blocking bulldozers. Israeli forces responded by assaulting and arresting protesters, leaving 35 injured and 11 detained.
One video that made the rounds online showed Israeli military officers ripping off the headscarf of a woman protester as they were beating her, before wrestling her to the ground and taking her away.
Such violent encounters with the Israeli military and security forces have long been commonplace in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory. Documenting and speaking out against such encounters is possible and has become much easier in the past decade, with the advent of smart phones.
But it may soon become more difficult — or even illegal. Israeli legislators are pushing two bills that would further restrict speech by activists and journalists critical of its policies in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory.
The first bill would place restrictions on the filming and photographing of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), prescribing a five-year prison term against anyone convicted of “filming, photographing, and/or recording soldiers in the course of their duties, with the intention of undermining the spirit of IDF soldiers and residents of Israel.” If a court ruled that the photographer's intention was to “harm [Israeli] state security,” the penalty would extend to ten years in prison.
The “Prohibition Against Photographing and Documenting IDF Soldiers” would also criminalise the dissemination of the photos or footage on social networks and mainstream media.
The second bill would streamline processes for government officials to demand that social media platforms remove online content considered “incitement to violence”, and is set to be approved by the Knesset.
Knesset member Robert Ilatov described the first bill as a response to “harassment” of Israeli soldiers by “left-wing operatives” at the Gaza-Israel border, where IDF officers have violently dispersed protests.
Since 30 March 2018, thousands of Palestinians living in the besieged Gaza Strip have gathered at the border with Israel for the ”Great March of Return” protests, marking 70 years since 700,000 Palestinians were forced to flee during the creation of the state of Israel, events known as Nakba in Arabic (translated as catastrophe or disaster).
The protesters are demanding the right to return for those who were displaced and their descendants, along with an end to the 11-year Gaza blockade. Since protests began in late March 2018, Israeli forces have killed at least 138 protesters and injured thousands.
Two journalists were killed and several others injured when they were hit with live ammunition fired by Israel Defense Forces (IDF), while covering the ”Great March of Return” protests.
On 6 April, Yaser Murtaja, one of the founders of the independent news agency Ain Media (“Eye Media”), was shot by Israeli forces. He died later that night of his injuries. “When shot, he was wearing a vest with the inscription ‘Press’ that clearly identified him as a journalist,” Reporters Without Borders said.
On 25 April, Ahmed Abu Hussein, a Palestinian photographer for the Gaza-based Voice of the People Radio, died from bullet injuries to his abdomen after he was shot by Israel forces on 13 April while covering the protests. On 8 June, AFP photographer Mohammed al-Baba was shot below in the leg while covering the protests. Many other journalists were injured as well.
In a 15 May statement, RSF submitted a request to the International Criminal Court to investigate “the direct shots that IDF snipers have fired at some 20 Palestinian journalists during the “March of Return” protests in Gaza.
In its explanatory note, the bill refers to “a worrying phenomenon of documentation of Israeli soldiers” by non-governmental organizations engaged in documenting violations against Palestinians.
One such organization is The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, better known as B'Tselem. On 4 July, B’Tselem’s field researcher director Kareem Jubran was arrested as he was filming preparations for the forcible removal of the community of Khan al-Ahmar, before he was released the same day.
“As an organization, we have had staff members beaten, harassed and arrested,” B’Tselem spokesperson Amit Gilutz told Global Voices. Giltuz views the bill as part of a government led campaign that portrays those who “advocate for the human rights of all people living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea” as ‘traitors’.”
“What is clear is that the documentation of the reality that Israel is trying to hide – instead of changing – will continue nonetheless,” he said.
While the bill's adoption may not stop activists and rights groups from documenting Israeli policies and practices in occupied territories, its impact will particularly be felt among Palestinian communities and activists.
Nadim Nashif, the executive director of the Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, told Global Voices:
This bill aims solely for censorship of commonplace Israeli forces’ human rights violations under the motto of “if it isn’t recorded, it didn’t happen.” If passed, it will dangerously increase the impunity of Israeli soldiers and further endanger Palestinians that have already been stripped of almost all means to protect themselves and advocate for their basic human rights.
Palestinians resisting the occupation already face a myriad of threats and restrictions, including violence, administrative detention, imprisonment and repressive laws. Those who turn to social media to criticise human rights violations and Israeli occupation policies or to simply show the everyday realities of occupation face arrests and prosecution for incitement.
The ‘Removal of Terror-Inciting Content from Social Media’ bill
And there's the second bill. The Removal of Terror-Inciting Content from Social Media Bill would criminalise content the Israeli government considers an “endangerment to personal, public or national security,” or speech that “could severely damage the Israeli economy or infrastructure,” local media reported.
This would double down on existing practices of prosecuting people for online speech and asking social media companies to remove allegedly inciting content. Incitement to violence is already illegal under Israel's 1977 penal code and under the 1945 Emergency Regulations.
#FBCensorsPalestine
In September 2016, Palestinian activists documented numerous suspensions of personal Facebook accounts of Palestinian journalists and media pages. Four editors at the Palestinian Shehab News Agency and three journalists from Al Quds News Network, which both have millions of followers, had their personal accounts shut down. Supporters responded, protesting online under the hashtag #FBCensorsPalestine. Facebook later apologized for the suspension and said that it was mistake.
Critics say the bill represents a threat to freedom of expression. A new report by the Israel Democracy Institute concluded that the bill sets a “dangerous legal precedent” and “opens the door to the dangers of state censorship”.
According to the report's authors Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler and Rachel Aridor-Hershkovitz:
The use of administrative law ex parte, with no admissible evidence to determine whether a criminal act has been committed, is an unprecedented international juridical act.
Social media companies, Facebook in particular, already face accusations of “complicity” in censoring Palestinian speech. One of the bill's initiators Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked declared that Facebook complies with ”most of the state's requests to remove inciteful [sic] content”.
“Instead of protecting freedom of expression online, social media companies are almost blindly following Israeli government requests for removal,” Nashif said.

author: Afef Abrougui


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Michel Gonzalez Nuñez: “I imagine it is shocking to approve a ‘homosexual’ law in a ‘revolution’ so pumped with testosterone.” · Global Voices
Sandra Abd'Allah-Alvarez Ramírez

Michel Nuñez, photograph courtesy of the interviewee. Used with permission.
The following is the last interview in a series of exchanges with Cuban LGBTQI activists working inside the country and citizens living abroad. The previous interviews, that put light on complex issues about the changes in the law and the vision of society around LGBTQI rights, can be read here and here.
Michel Gonzalez Nuñez has a journalism degree from the Universidad de La Habana and is from Pinar del Río, the tenth largest city in Cuba. Although Michel has known that he was gay since he was a young boy, he didn't come out until he was 24. Michel lives with his partner Noelio Hernández, a fellow Cuban from Nuevitas in the region of Camagüey. Michel and Noel have been together for two years, and like many other Cubans in the diaspora, they live in Miami, USA; however, what sets them apart from this diaspora is that Michel and Noel will soon marry — something still not possible in their native Cuba.
Global Voices spoke with Michel about some of the issues affecting members of the LGBTI community who can't exercise the same rights as Michel and Noel, from the legal aspects to his own personal experiences and those of the people he knows:
GV: I assume that you are interested in how same-sex marriage could be recognized in Cuba. In your opinion, how could this possibly be considered?
MG: I came to the United States to start my own family, among other things. It is important to me that people of the same sex can start families in every part of the world — legally and with all the rights. Given its ideology, Cuba should have been one of the first countries to approve and defend marriage equality for everyone. It is what a “revolutionary” government in every sense of the word should do.
The reality has been very different, though. According to the government, Cuban society is not ready to take this step. Also, there is a proposal for a “new” Family Code, but it's been locked away for years in the desk drawer of those who should have approved the proposal in the National Assembly. The only “new” thing there is the fact that they call it “new”.
[In Cuba, the Family Code is a legal text devoted to regulate matters of family rights. This text is independent from the Civil Code and it's created to protect in more specific and direct ways legal areas between public and private law].
I imagine it can be shocking to pass a “homosexual” law in a “revolution” so pumped with testosterone. It would mean, first, to change the people currently in charge of making those kinds of decisions. Then, the new decision makers should possess a better and more complete understanding of the issue. They should be capable of approaching these kinds of matters with an open mind, assuming the role of a State, and not a “macho” man, like it has been until now.
However, Michel also adds:
MG: Since the beginning of its modern society, Cuba's decision making process has been avant-garde. We were among the first countries to have universities (1728) and to apply new teaching methods that turned away from the scholastic rigidity of those times.
Technological advances in production and development such as the steam engine (1796) and the railway (1837) were implemented in Cuba. Society was always in contact with the best and most advanced ideas, both domestically and abroad, and it used this knowledge for its social and intellectual enrichment. We were among the first countries to legalize women's suffrage (1934) and abortion (1968); and it is said that the 1940 Constitution of Cuba was one of the most advanced of its time.
If all this and more was possible, why do the authorities say that Cuban society is not ready to legalize same-sex marriage?
Today, this bill should be taken to the Cuban parliament for a serious and frank debate, but I don't believe that the traditional leadership has what it takes to do this.
GV: Do you know of any cases where gay couples in Cuba have suffered some kind of injustice because they were not legally married?
MG: I have friends who are in stable relationships which have lasted for more than two decades, but they still do not have the right to formalize these unions under the law, not even when they try to make their partner the beneficiary of their estate in writing. Ultimately, it is a decision which depends on the will of close relatives. No legal or moral guarantees exist to ensure that their stated intentions would be fulfilled.
GV: What about cases of injustice faced by partners who were in a legal union?
MG: Some years ago, one of my best friends traveled to Cuba with his partner who is a Spanish citizen. They stayed at the Habana Libre [hotel]. When they got back from walking around the city, the hotel security guards did not allow them to return to their room. The front desk personnel treated my [Cuban friend] like a prostitute. The situation became embarrassing when it was discovered that the reservation (as well as the travel expenses) were paid for by the Cuban man and not the Spanish citizen. A dry “sorry for the inconvenience” was all they received after that.
In any other place, we know that a discrimination lawsuit would have been very bad for the hotel chain. But in Cuba, that doesn't happen. People will always prefer gay people to stay quiet.
GV: We know that in the proposals for the new Family Code, which still hasn't been presented to the Cuban parliament, same-sex marriage is not included, but rather a “consensual union”. What is your opinion about this?
MG: I think that it is one more slap in the face to include in the beatings received by the Cuban LGBTQI community.
If only partially granting rights and liberties makes a society “revolutionary”, then someone needs to explain to me what “revolutionary” means. To me, this is a contradiction.
In an article published in Granma (an entity of the Communist Party of Cuba) four years ago, a commenter named
MG: To Granma I would say that it is an embarrassment to waste scarce space and publish such stupid thinks. And Mr. Martínez Hernández does not deserve a minute of our time. Our energy, effort and thoughts have to focus on the support, defense and promotion of Cuban society's rights and liberties, for all of its individuals, including the gay community…including the rights of Mr. Martínez Hernández.

author: Sandra Abd'Allah-Alvarez Ramírez


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Parkour for peace: Kabul youth turns war-pocked landscape into a playground for dare devils · Global Voices
Getee Ramazan Habibi

Parkour in Afghanistan. All photos used with permission of Abdul Jamil Sherzad.
Parkour, a form of urban acrobatics born in France, has found a welcome home in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. There, in a city that has known no shortage of violence and upheaval, a super-flexible youth collective is reclaiming the landscape from fear and devastation with high octane stunts and a positive message.
Global Voices was lucky enough to catch up with the man that brought Parkour to Afghanistan, Abdul Jamil Sherzad, who spoke to us about peace, injuries and the struggle to find funding to develop this up-and-coming sport in the country.
Global Voices: How long have you been doing parkour and why did you start?
Abdul Jamil Sherzad: I have been training and learning for seven years. I am the founder of this sport in Afghanistan. I have personal and national goals in this sport. Personally, I had a passion to learn something different, unique and action-filled. Parkour makes me more enthusiastic, energetic and confident. I had an athletic background before. I used to train taekwondo, football and fitness. But when I discovered this sport, I understood my future was only in parkour.
GV: What about the national goals?
AJS: We have a vision of representing a positive picture of Afghanistan to the world. We ask that the world pay attention to people in Afghanistan, who are tired of war. Living peacefully is our only goal. We also want to be sufficiently well-prepared and professional to represent the Afghanistan flag in International parkour competitions and win. By participating in international events we want to show the positive attitude and leadership of Afghan youth. We want to unite youth of Afghanistan regardless of ethnicity or background. We want to eliminate negativity among youth in the country, to prevent Afghanistan's youth from using narcotics. I want to motivate and inspire Afghan youth to enter sports, especially parkour.
Parkour in Afghanistan. All photos used with permission.
GV: Why is parkour more inspiring than other sports?
AJS: I train parkour not only as a sport, but also as a way of life. In parkour we are always leaping over obstacles. It is the same in real life, which is full of struggles. Similarly, as a leader in parkour I pledge responsibility to teach more youths to deal with their life obstacles and learn to be hopeful in tough situations.
Parkour in Afghanistan. All photos used with permission.
GV: Was introducing a totally new sport to Afghanistan a challenge?
AJS: There are many challenges but the biggest one is financial. There is no support from anywhere financially whether government or private sector. Therefore, there is not a safe place for us to train — a gym for instance — with professional equipment. Very few organizations are looking to develop sports and help creative youth progress. Injuries are another big challenge! Sometimes they put you out of action for days, sometimes for months.
Parkour in Afghanistan. All photos used with permission.
GV: How many team members do you have and where do you meet up?
AJS: There are more than 50 members and 50 training students in my team aged from 10 to 26. They are all very passionate and very creative. We started to train outdoors in ruined places where we could find walls as obstacles and now we are training on the street using security barriers, open parks and on hills. This is good for learning but to develop new skills we need the gym. We don’t have that at the moment.
Parkour in Afghanistan. All photos used with permission.
GV: Do women and girls also practice parkour?
AJS: Yes. Girls are really interested to learn and there are girls in our team who are undergoing training. If we get a training gym the number of girls will rise. Parkour welcomes gender equality.
Parkour in Afghanistan. All photos used with permission.
Is there anything else you would like to say?
AJS: Yes. When we tried to attend parkour events in Europe our visa applications were refused just because we hold Afghan passports. We were hoping to represent Afghan parkour and come back to spread our experience and skills to others in Afghanistan but they don’t trust us. I would like to convey to ambassadors and people in the outside world that the actions of a minority should not destroy the reputations of the majority. Afghanistan is a victim of extremism not its supporter. Afghanistan is a land of a diversity of traditions and cultures and is full of amazing people. Please support us to make this land developed and beautiful again. Respect for humanity and equal opportunities should be the first priority in (regard to) developing countries like Afghanistan.

author: Getee Ramazan Habibi


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What will it take to #savetheinternet in Europe? The view from Romania · Global Voices
ApTI (Association for Technology and Internet)

Members of European Parliament (MEPs) from Romania who voted in favor of defending the rights of Internet users: Renate Weber, Adina-Ioana Vălean, Laurentiu Rebega and Traian Ungureanu. Collage by Global Voices, CC-BY, incl. Wikipedia PD photo.
YouTube says that every 60 seconds, 400 hours worth of video is uploaded to its servers. From silly cats, to public protests, to soft porn, YouTube is ever-expanding for one major reason: you don’t have to ask permission to upload. If you break the rules, you find out on the other side — for now.
A landmark copyright reform effort proposed in the European Union (EU) could radically upend this system by requiring user-generated content platforms like YouTube to assess the ownership of a piece of content — whether it be video, audio, text or image — before a user can successfully upload the file.
On July 5, the European Parliament rejected the negotiation mandate of the leading committee on the Copyright Directive, JURI. This means that while the proposed directive put forth by JURI has been rejected, debates are still open and any of the 751 MEPs can submit new proposals and amendments. In September, there could be a new vote on this proposal.
Nearly one million people signed petitions and more than 40,000 of European citizens wrote emails to members of European Parliament arguing for modifications to the directive that would ensure protection of their rights and interests.
First put forward by the European Commission in September 2016, the proposed Copyright Directive was intended to be a key part of the EU’s package of measures designed to create a Digital Single Market in the EU, that would streamline networked technologies in order to foster economic and market growth. But this proposal could only detract from the modernisation of the copyright legislative framework within the EU.
Copyright proposals currently being pushed by European governance bodies do not take into account the nature and potential uses of networked digital technology.
By far the most controversial article of the Copyright Directive  is Article 13, unofficially dubbed “the censorship machine” by the open internet advocacy network European Digital Rights (EDRi). The article attempts to hold online service providers liable for the content that users upload. Currently, if an user uploads content that infringes on someone else’s rights or breaks some law, the user is liable and the service provider or platform is protected from liability. If the service provider or platform were to be held liable for the actions of the users, it would become risk-averse. Most likely, this would cause a sea change in the baseline abilities of such platforms, and shift their focus away from user participation and sharing. It would be the end of open sharing.
We have seen a smaller-scale version of this phenomenon play out with the comment sections of various sites: when the site owner/administrator begins to observe undesired behavior on their site, they often  start moderating the comments, lightly at first and increasingly strictly as the times goes. And it all ends up with the author or publication disabling the comment section altogether. In the case of Article 13, online platforms would be forced to implement automatic filtering mechanisms to make sure before every upload that the file being uploaded is not infringing anyone’s copyright.
How would this automatic filtering work? The online platforms would need to implement a filtering based on algorithms used to detect whether a piece of content is infringing or not.
This is very easily said but next to impossible to accurately implement in practice. The number of cases involving content removed in error for alleged copyright infringement are too numerous to count. Two especially absurd examples are  a video of a purring cat was accused of copyright infringement by two record labels,  and a Harvard lecture on copyright issues that was taken down because… claimants said the video violated copyright of a pop song.
The second most controversial article of the EU proposal is Article 11, which introduces a new right for press publishers called “ancillary copyright” (also known as “The Link Tax”).  This is not new in Europe — it was first introduced in Germany and then in Spain, in both cases under intense lobbying from the large press publishers. And in both cases, it proved to be a spectacular failure. Under this new right, the press publishers may need  to ask for payment from people quoting their online content. If the proponents had gotten their way, simply linking to online content would require a fee as well.
This would cause huge imbalance between press publishers and everyone else on the Internet. When ancillary copyright was implemented in Germany, Google News used their market dominant position to negotiate special privileges with press publishers, exempting them from the tax altogether. But smaller news aggregators that didn’t have Google News’ size to swing around, had to close up shop. In Spain, where the law didn’t allow press publishers to waive their fees (similar to Germany), Google News closed up shop as well.
What happened in Spain afterwards was even more striking: A new company appeared, allegedly a dynamic success story of a startup, which provides an Android application on which you can access news articles. While it seemed like a great solution at first, it was soon revealed to be owned by German corporation Axel Springer — the main driver behind this type of legislation in Germany, as well as in Spain and at the European level.
At European level there are large numbers of individuals and organizations involved in this project. We at the Association for Technology and Internet (ApTI) tried to contact the Romanian MEPs, in order to impress upon them the legal, economic and educational effects of some of the articles in this copyright reform proposal.
Out of 32 Romanian MEPs, only four rejected the negotiation mandate of JURI committee, in favor of defending the rights of Internet users both in Europe and in the world at large. Two of them publicly stated their stance on this matter on Facebook.
Renate Weber (ALDE, Independent):
…in opinia mea, libertatea in raport cu internetul nu inseamna ca tot ce e continut de internet trebuie sa fie gratuit. Sunt de acord cu protectia drepturilor de autor si cu faptul ca platformele online trebuie sa gaseasca formule prin care autorii, artistii in general sa fie protejati si platiti in mod adecvat pentru utilizarea operelor.
Problema e ca formularea actuala a art. 13 nu reuseste un just echilibru intre respectarea drepturilor de autor si obligatiile impuse platformelor online. Dar mai ales, ceea ce lipseste din acest articol este protectia utilizatorilor individuali (end users). Pentru a se conforma cerintelor din art. 13 platformele online vor fi obligate sa introduca filtrarea automata a continutului online, asta inseamnand inclusiv afectarea oricarei uploadari, oricat de nevinovata ar fi ea.
Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung a rezumat cel mai bine: uploadarea, urcarea unui video pe YouTube, sau pe Twitter, de la aniversarea unui copil va deveni imposiba daca in fundal canta Beyonce. Aceste instrumente automate nu pot nici macar sa fie conforme cu directiva privind drepturile de autor care prevede exceptii in cazul parodiilor, al criticilor, etc.
Dar trebuie sa precizez ca de fapt uploadarea devine imposibila daca utilizatorul este european. Vad din nou aici tipul de abordare care a fost folosit in cazul ACTA: impunem reguli cat mai stricte pentru europeni in vreme ce utilizatori de pe alte continente vor face in continuare ce vor dori. Nu pot fi de acord cu asa ceva, mai ales ca de data asta ar fi vorba inclusiv de sanctionarea unor comportamente complet nevinovate sau de sanctionarea creativitatatii utilizatorilor individuali europeni.
Asadar, voi vota impotriva unui mandat care sa permita inceperea negocierilor, insa acest lucru nu va fi suficient. Nicio dezbatere in Plenul PE, chiar daca ea e un instrumemt democratic in procedura legislativa, nu este momentan de ajuns. E nevoie de un nou text care sa rezolve toate aceste probleme care sa gaseasca un just echilibru intre libertatea utilizatorilor de internet de a uploada, cu protejarea drepturilor de autor si respectarea dreptului utilizatorilor europeni de internet de a se exprima liber, comparativ cu utilizatorii de internet de pe alte continente.
…I want to point out that, in my opinion, freedom on the Internet does not mean that all Internet content should be free of charge. I agree with copyright protection and the fact that online platforms have to find formulas where authors and artists generally are protected and paid for the use of works.
The problem is that the current wording of Art. 13 does not achieve a fair balance between respect for copyright and the obligations imposed for online platforms. But what is critically missing from this article is the protection of end users. To comply with the requirements of Art. 13, online platforms will be required to introduce automatic content filtering online, including the impact of any uploads, even if it is legal.
Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung summed it up as follows: uploading a YouTube or Twitter video of a child’s birthday will become impossible if Beyoncé is playing in the background. These automated tools cannot even comply with the copyright directive that provides for exceptions to parodies, criticisms, etc.
But I have to say that uploading is actually impossible if the user is European. I see here again the type of approach that has been used in ACTA: we are imposing stricter rules for Europeans while users from other continents will continue to do what they want. I can not agree with this, especially as this time it would include the sanctioning of completely innocent behaviors or the sanctioning of the creativity of individual European users.
So I will vote against a mandate to start negotiations, but that will not be enough. Debates in the EP plenary, even if there is a democratic instrument in the legislative procedure, are not enough. There is a need for a new text to solve all these problems, that will find a fair balance between the freedom of internet users to upload, protecting copyright and respecting the right of European internet users to express themselves freely, as compared to internet users from other continents.
Adina Vălean (EPP, PNL):
I believe the success of a normative act lies in broad support from all those involved. Today we would not be in this situation if the proposal of the Legal Committee were not controversial. This shows us that we need to continue the debate and find the means and legal instruments by which the entire creative industry in Europe is genuinely protected without creating obstacles to innovation and the digital economy. That is why I voted against the proposal of the Legal Committee on the Copyright Directive.
Adina Vălean's statement on Facebook.
At this juncture, we still need to convince MEPs to submit actual amendments that should guarantee the rights of European citizens.
On August 26 there will be Save the Internet Action Day, an event meant to involve as many individuals and organizations as possible, to send a clear message to EU representative in finding the proper legislative measures to be further implemented.


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Access denied: How Uganda’s social media tax is turning news and information into luxury goods · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

A demonstration against the social media tax on July 11, 2018. Photo shared widely on Twitter.
Ugandans took to the streets of Kampala on July 11 to demand an end to a tax scheme that has upended communication, information and payment methods for mobile users across the country. Petitioners are also challenging the constitutionality of the tax in court.
Imposed on July 1, the new law forces Ugandans to pay a daily tax on “over the top” (OTT) mobile apps including — but not limited to — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Viber, LINE, Snapchat, Skype, LinkedIn, Tinder and Grindr.
The law also places a 1% tax on the use of mobile money, which is now the required method for recharging SIM cards.
Taken together, these new policies will make it more costly for Ugandans—especially those living in poverty—to communicate and perform everyday tasks using their mobile devices.
President Yoweri Museveni says the tax on social media is intended to curb online gossip and increase public revenues. What he doesn’t acknowledge is that the tax will do much more than limit conversation.
Ugandans now literally encounter a paywall each day when they set out to use any of the 58 OTT applications identified in the regulation. If they wish to proceed, they must pay a fee of 200 Ugandan Shillings (USD $0.05).
With Uganda's average GDP per capita at USD $604, daily use of social media or messaging apps could eat up three percent of the average Ugandan's annual earnings. This comes on top of the cost of a mobile phone handset, a talk/text/data plan, and the 1% tax on recharging SIM cards.
According to the Uganda-based Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), the tax will cause Uganda’s poorest residents to see their internet connection costs increase by 10%. Using just 1GB of data will now cost nearly 40% of their average monthly income.
It remains to be seen to what extent the new tax will drive down internet use and access in Uganda, where internet penetration was estimated to be at nearly 22% in 2016, according to World Bank data.
An MTN vehicle in Uganda, November 28, 2005, CC BY 2.0
The tax also squarely violates network neutrality, the principle that service providers should treat all internet traffic equally, and not block or throttle access to online content and services.
Uganda does not have legal protections for net neutrality, and both the government and telcos have violated the principle in the past, with tiered pricing and social media blocking.
In addition to censoring social media during elections (at the government’s behest), telcos have offered special packages that give users access only to WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter, for a rate lower than that of a full data plan. Although it is not technically zero-rating, the package has a similar effect: it offers some savings to users who use only these applications. At the same time, it makes the “whole internet” more expensive than just “some internet”, and pushes users with limited budgets towards dependency on these particular applications.
While the new tax violates net neutrality, it simultaneously eliminates the benefits of packages like these — this particular offer was priced at 200 USh per day, but with the new tax, the cost officially doubles. For people who were able to pay the price of the special package, but not much more, the tax may mean they’ll be cut off from these services altogether.
The original rationale for the tax was described by President Museveni as follows:
I am not going to propose a tax on internet use for educational, research or reference purposes… these must remain free. However, olugambo (gossip) on social media (opinions, prejudices, insults, friendly chats) and advertisements by Google and I do not know who else must pay tax because we need resources to cope with the consequences of their olugambo.
Museveni’s categorization of social media use as a luxury activity exposes significant gaps in the government’s understanding of how people use and depend upon these technologies.
As any experienced user in the region knows, WhatsApp is not just a place where people chat and gossip idly. In Uganda (similar to many countries in Africa and Latin America) WhatsApp is a key platform for distribution of community information, news, and public alerts during emergencies. Poorer Ugandans who cannot afford the tax will thus be excluded from these already-existing networks of information and news distribution. While they can build new methods for information exchange, this requires time, labor and know-how that are hard to come by, especially for people living in poverty.
Ugandans showed their opposition to the country's new social media tax at a gathering on July 6, 2018.
The popularity, versatility and usability of apps like WhatsApp and Facebook — combined with discounted offers of service, as mentioned above — also mean that for many people (in Uganda and across the globe), these services are the only online service they know how to use.
As Ugandan activist and Global Voices author Prudence Nyamishana wrote:
The tax ignores a critical lack of digital literacy, particularly among poor Ugandans. When I interviewed women living in Bwaise, a slum in Kampala, I learned that for them, WhatsApp and Facebook are the internet. These are the only platforms they know how to use. So with the new tax, they will be cut off altogether.
Many Ugandans are now using VPNs to circumvent the tax, but the government is also threatening to block these services.
While the government seems to be eager to increase tax revenues coming from the telecommunication sector, Ugandan activists are questioning the government’s real intentions, particularly in light of Uganda’s recent history of online censorship.
Voters line up at a polling station in Nyendo Masaka, Uganda, on February 18, 2011. Photo by Peter Beier. Copyright Demotix.
During the last presidential election in February 2016, the Uganda Communications Commission forced operators to block access to social media services. Over the past few years, authorities arrested several users over posts critical of the government and President Museveni, under the 2011 Computer Misuse Act.
‘’For Ugandans, the social media levy isn’t just another tax’’, wrote Ugandan journalist Lydia Namubiru for Quartz Africa. ‘’It is the latest in the government’s efforts to punish and discourage online expression’’.
After promising to review the new measures last week, the Ugandan government is still standing by its decision to tax the use of OTT services. A bill to amend the 2018 Excise Duty Act, which was submitted to the parliament on July 18, provides for a reduction of the tax on mobile money withdrawals from 1% to 0.5%, but offers no change to the social media tax.
In the meantime, service providers operating in the country have been mostly silent. While one small operator, Smile, offered to pay the tax on the behalf of its customers for three months (in a likely attempt to attract more business), the three biggest providers, MTN Uganda, Airtel India and Africell only released a notice to the general public announcing the implementation of the new taxes.
“The telcos are not reacting because they are protecting their own interests,” Prudence Nyamishana told us. “Being oligopolists, they can behave the way they want without putting people at the centre of their interests.”
With the absence of a strong and independent regulator to defend the interests and rights of users, Ugandan activists are left on their own to fight this tax. While the Uganda Communications Commission, which regulates the telecommunication industry, is  ‘’independent’’ on paper, all members of its board are appointed by the ICT minister and approved by the government. In addition, a bill proposed by the government and approved by the parliament last year eliminated a system of parliamentary checks and balances on the ICT minister’s supervision of the communications sector.
With these regulations in place, the UCC can only obey government orders, and this is best reflected in the commission's support of the social media tax. Ibrahim Bbossa, the UCC’s consumer affairs manager told local media that the government is ‘’right’’ and ‘’has been insightful’’ in implementing this tax because ‘’voice tax is about to disappear’’. The commission also ordered operators to block VPNs to prevent users from bypassing the paywall.
The day after the tax was implemented, petitioners filed a court case against the government, arguing that the tax violates citizens’ rights to freedom of speech and access to information, as defined by the Ugandan Constitution of 1995. These rights are also protected under international treaties including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Uganda is a signatory to both documents.
Online, #Notosocialmediatax campaigns have coalesced on both Facebook and Twitter, with major celebrities and some political leaders calling on the government to reconsider the tax. And in the streets, protests have drawn huge crowds of supporters — and police, who have used teargas and violence to break up demonstrations.
Citizen are awaiting a response to the amendment proposed on July 19, and petitioners are awaiting a court date to challenge the law’s constitutionality.


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Netizen Report: Israeli legislators look at new laws that would stifle speech and surveil the public · Global Voices
Netizen Report Team

Memorial for the victims in Gaza held outside the Palestinian embassy in Bucharest. Picture taken from @RomaniaPalestineSolidarity on Facebook.
Israeli legislators are pushing multiple bills that would further restrict speech by activists and journalists critical of its policies in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory.
The first bill would place restrictions on the filming and photographing of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), prescribing a five-year prison term against anyone convicted of “filming, photographing, and/or recording soldiers in the course of their duties, with the intention of undermining the spirit of IDF soldiers and residents of Israel.” If a court ruled that the photographer's intention was to “harm [Israeli] state security,” the penalty would extend to ten years in prison.
The “Prohibition Against Photographing and Documenting IDF Soldiers” would also criminalize the dissemination of the photos or footage on social networks and mainstream media.
The second bill would streamline processes for government officials to demand that social media platforms remove online content considered “incitement to violence,” and is set to be approved by the Knesset.
A third proposal, the Cyber Security and National Cyber Directorate Bill, would create a government unit tasked with identifying and monitoring cybersecurity threats. The bill would give this unit the authority to access (hack into) private or organizational devices and extract data from them, without prior court approval.
According to Nadim Nashif, executive director of the Arab Centre for the Advancement of Social Media (7amleh), located in Haifa, the unit’s authority to hack into devices and confiscate data has “always been enforced against Palestinians.” Nashif says the government is now trying to legitimize and codify these practices into the law.
Protesters hit the streets of Kampala on July 11, demanding an end to Uganda’s so-called “social media tax,” which puts a levy on the use of 58 different websites and applications, including WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook. Demonstrators reported that police broke up protests using teargas and physical force, and that several protesters were arrested. Petitioners have also taken the government to court over the tax, arguing that it violates Uganda’s constitution and human rights commitments.
Popular singer Bobi Wine has been a leading voice in the protests on the street and on Twitter, where he tweeted:
…there's no amount of bullets, teargas or arrests that will stop us. Some of our colleagues have been beaten up and others arrested. They must be freed for they have nothing against the police but rather the terrible tax.#PEOPLEPOWER_OURPOWER #ThisTaxMustGo pic.twitter.com/cxgo0No7EF
— BOBI WINE (@HEBobiwine) July 11, 2018
On July 9, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting TV network aired video of a series of forced confessions by three high-profile Iranian Instagram users who have been in detention since early May 2018 for posting videos of themselves engaging in “illicit activities” such as dancing. The arrests and subsequent confessions have sparked a broad public outcry.
A man was arrested under Kenya’s new cybercrimes law over a Facebook post in which he described a local legislator as a “devil worshipper.” According to County Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Zachary Kariuki, the post also suggested “County Senator Ledama ole Kina had allegedly sold his soul to the ‘devil’ and that the MCAs were executive’s bark dogs.”
After they stopped William Montanez for a minor traffic violation, police in the US state of Florida searched Montanez’ car and found and seized a small amount of marijuana and two mobile phones, which they later presented in court, along with a search warrant. When the judge asked Montanez to unlock the phones, he refused to do so and was promptly jailed for 180 days. TechDirt blogger Tim Cushing described the incident as a “fishing expedition” that could end with Montanez spending “an indefinite amount of time in jail without ever having been convicted of a crime.” His lawyer is appealing the case.
The satirical Twitter account Crudo Ecuador (currently @CrudoEcuador4), well known for commentary and mockery of now-former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, was suspended for the third time by Twitter this week. The account’s administrator, who spoke with local NGO Usuarios Digitales, shared a screenshot of the notification sent by Twitter, which indicated that the account had been suspended for “demonstrating characteristics consistent with automation” (or bot activity), despite the account being run by a real person, who posts original messages. The suspension may be part of Twitter’s effort to purge bots and other false accounts.
Legislators in Honduras are considering a proposed law on cybersecurity and hate speech that would obligate website operators to block or moderate “illegal content” and “discriminatory expression” on their sites. Failure to follow the law could result in fines of up to USD $42,000. UN Special Rapporteur David Kaye and Inter-American Commission for Human Rights Special Rapporteur Edison Lanza have asked the Honduran government for further information about the law, and Access Now is encouraging followers to tweet about the harms the law could bring for free expression.
It has been less than five months since Apple handed ownership of its mainland China data center to the state-owned company Guizhou-Cloud Big Data. Last week, a peculiar bug in iPhone software raised suspicion among Apple users that the company is bowing to requests from the Chinese government. According to cybersecurity researcher Patrick Wardle, certain iPhone models with a Chinese language setting and China location setting were experiencing device crashes when they typed “Taiwan” or received messages with the Taiwanese flag emoji. Apple has released the latest iOS version  11.4.1 to fix the problem.
Afef Abrougui, Ellery Roberts Biddle, Nwachukwu Egbunike, Mohamed ElGohary,  Weiping Li, Mong Palatino, Elizabeth Rivera, Laura Vidal, and Sarah Myers West contributed to this report.

author: Netizen Report Team