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Are Hazardous Vapors Seeping Into Basements Across the United States? · Global Voices
Ensia

Photo courtesy of Michelle Le/Mountain View Voice. Reprinted with permission.
This post by Lynne Peeples was originally published on Ensia.com, a magazine that highlights international environmental solutions in action, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement
When Jane Horton bought her dream 800-square-foot farmhouse in 1975, she thought little of the semiconductor manufacturing plant across the street. Even after the company’s buildings were demolished and a chain-link fence went up around the campus, she still had no knowledge of the toxic dangers lurking beneath her feet — let alone of the fact that they were invading her home.
It wasn’t until the early 2000s that Horton and other residents of Mountain View, California, heard about the underground plume of trichloroethylene, or TCE — a cancer-causing liquid used at the facility to clean silicon chips. Horton learned that vapors from the TCE were seeping up from the groundwater and soil into local buildings. When investigators tested the air inside her family’s house in 2004, they found concentrations of TCE exceeded a site-specific threshold set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). And that was after approximately 75 percent of the contamination had already been cleaned up.
“Are my kids going to die?” Jane Horton wondered after officials discovered TCE vapors invading her home. Photo courtesy of Michelle Le/Mountain View Voice.
“We’d been over the plume the whole time,” says Horton, whose youngest son was still in elementary school when the vapors were discovered. “I can remember being so outraged that everything took so long. I’m wondering: Are my kids going to get cancer? Are my kids going to die? How am I going to be?” A venting system the EPA installed in her cellar now sucks toxic gases up from the soil, sending them through pipes and out a rooftop stack into the air, where they would be quickly diluted to acceptable levels. Periodic monitoring by the agency has since shown that the TCE levels at the house are safe.
“It took them about a year to get the system working right,” Horton says. “It will be in the house until the house is no longer there.”
Meanwhile, similar stories of toxic vapors intruding into buildings continue to surface around the country — from a mobile home park near San Diego, California, to sites throughout Minnesota, about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away.
The implicated contaminants — most notoriously chlorinated solvents, such as TCE and tetrachloroethylene (known as perc), as well as benzene — can migrate through soil and groundwater from where they have seeped into the earth from a leak or a spill. Common sources include dry cleaners, gas stations, auto repair shops, military bases and industrial sites, even those whose doors closed decades ago.
While exposure to high levels of these vapors can cause immediate effects, such as irritation and fatigue, breathing small amounts over a period of time is more concerning, according to Phil Landrigan, a pediatrician and epidemiologist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. “Babies and small children can especially be damaged by very low concentrations of some of these materials,” he says. Long-term exposure to TCE, perc or benzene is known or suspected to raise the risk of certain cancers and other health effects, although it still remains unclear if intruding vapors reach high enough concentrations to pose a significant threat to human health. Research also hints at a link between a woman’s exposure to TCE during the first trimester of pregnancy and fetal heart malformations — a finding that has added considerable controversy and complication in addressing vapor intrusion.
Soil bacteria readily biodegrade benzene and other hydrocarbons into relatively benign products such as water and carbon dioxide, making these contaminants a lesser concern. The breakdown of chlorinated solvents, on the other hand, can be slow and generate even more toxic by-products. Perc, for example, breaks down into TCE, which in turn creates dichloroethene and vinyl chloride, a potent carcinogen that is particularly persistent and mobile in the environment.
Drawn by air movement above ground, toxic fumes can move from contaminated soils and water into homes and other buildings. Illustration by Sean Quinn/Ensia.
Experts, including EPA officials, are not able to estimate the full scale of vapor intrusion. But it is likely extensive. Amy Graham, an EPA spokesperson, noted 91 existing sites that are part of the EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Initiative — dedicated to cleaning up contaminated land — where unacceptable human health risks associated with vapor intrusion triggered mitigation. Nearly 4,000 other sites are regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, of which the EPA previously estimated a quarter likely have some vapor intrusion.
The EPA does not track the occurrence of vapor intrusion for the estimated more than 450,000 brownfields, another category of contaminated properties, in the U.S. What’s more, in 2002, the U.S. General Accounting Office suggested 200,000 underground storage tanks then in operation were not being managed properly and so could be at elevated risk for leaking. And an estimated 75 percent of the more than 36,000 dry-cleaning facilities currently operating in the U.S. have discharged solvents into the environment. “As more and more sampling is done, more and more vapor intrusion is found across the country,” says Lenny Siegel, executive director for the nonprofit Center for Public Environmental Oversight.
“The thing about vapor intrusion is that people are exposed in their homes, their workplaces, their places of worship, their schools without their knowledge and against their will to dangerous chemicals,” adds Siegel. “That’s intrusion.”
The movement of toxic vapors into buildings, while generally under the radar of public attention, is attracting increased scrutiny from environmental health experts, advocates and agencies. The EPA significantly lowered the level of TCE exposure it deemed safe when it published a final version of its toxicity assessment in 2011. In 2015, the EPA released voluntary guidance for state and tribal agencies on evaluating and addressing vapor intrusion. And in May 2017, the agency added vapor intrusion to the criteria used in determining whether a site qualifies for Superfund status. Still, no consensus yet exists across the country on how to deal with the issue.
Regulators, as well as many scientists, didn’t take much notice of vapor intrusion until the 2000s. At that time, awareness had grown about the hazards of radon, a radioactive, carcinogenic gas that comes from the natural breakdown of uranium or thorium in the ground and was found to be leaking into basements. People had begun to connect the dots.
“The radon problem is essentially the same phenomenon, except it has a source that is natural rather than manmade,” explains Eric Suuberg, co-director of the Superfund Basic Research Program at Brown University.
As with radon, the average person is not likely to detect vapor intrusion. “You can’t smell it, you can’t see it,” he says. “You need sophisticated instrumentation to get to the kinds of low concentrations that are involved.”
Both radon and manmade vapors can enter a building in much the same way that dirt is drawn into a vacuum cleaner. Suction is created when air moves from areas of high pressure to comparatively low pressure. So just as the suction created at the floor by a vacuum cleaner pulls in small particles and traps them inside a bag or compartment, air movement can draw toxic vapors into a house through cracks or other openings in the foundation.
“It’s basic physics,” says William Suk, director of the Superfund Research Program at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “Gases have to go somewhere, and they will find a way to go up.”
In North Canton, Ohio, an even more direct connection between vacuums and vapor intrusion has emerged. The Hoover Company began making vacuum cleaners in the town during the early 1900s. Over the following decades, manufacturing led to releases of TCE and perc.
Today, redevelopment of the approximately 85-acre (34-hectare) Hoover site has prompted increased oversight by the EPA, including efforts to assess and address the historic contamination on and off the site.
In 2016, officials found unacceptably high levels of TCE in Community Christian Church of Canton Ohio, which houses a Sunday school and preschool. Photo courtesy of Chuck Osborne/Ensia.
Community Christian Church abuts the former factory. William Henry “Boss” Hoover, the company’s founder, actually served as a president, preacher and teacher at the church more than a century ago. In 2016, when EPA contractors tested the air inside the church, which houses a Sunday school and a preschool on its lower levels, they found unacceptably high levels of TCE.
“We didn’t know we had a problem until they told us we had a problem,” says Jack Hartley, who serves as treasurer for the church.
Hartley suggests that “not a lot of people” at the church know about the vapor intrusion, but adds that the discovery “wasn’t that alarming.” The bigger concern for the congregation at the time, he says, was keeping the sanctuary cool. The church needed to replace a 40-year-old air-conditioning unit, which they did with financial help from a Hoover trust. The Hoover property developer, meanwhile, paid for the installation of a mitigation system inside the church, and TCE concentrations subsequently dropped.
“No one here wants to acknowledge or talk about it,” says Chuck Osborne, a local resident and activist. “The name Hoover here is revered. It’s hard for people to imagine that they left us a toxic contaminated mess.”
Horton, the Mountain View farmhouse owner, recognizes the conflicting social pressures, too. After the mitigation system was installed in her home, some parents would not let their kids come over to play with her sons. “We probably had the cleanest air in Mountain View,” she says, noting that many families remain in the dark about the air quality in their own homes because they’re concerned that having their air tested would lower property values.
Even with the cooperation of homeowners, regulators, polluters and other stakeholders, the challenges don’t cease. Difficulties remain in knowing where, when and how to look.
Some states use the groundwater concentration of a contaminant to determine whether — and where — to investigate for potential vapor intrusion. But a plume doesn’t necessarily stay in place. It might drift north, south, east or west from the source. Sewer lines can send vapors even longer distances. Companies have been known to empty chemicals directly into sewers, and cracks in aged lines can pick up vapors in contaminated areas. Concentrations at various depths can also change across seasons — or even days. A heavy rain might put a layer of relatively clean water on top of the contaminated water, explains Suuberg. “You can’t just willy-nilly drill a well, pull water up from any random depth and say that characterizes the problem,” he says.
If a groundwater sample exceeds the screening level — a value that can vary by state — the next step is often to test for the gas in the soil just above the water table. But again, that depth can fluctuate. If the soil-gas concentration surpasses another threshold, investigators will sample air inside the building. Some investigators bypass soil-gas testing and go immediately indoors.
This step can be tricky, too. Consumer products, such as paints, gasoline and dry-cleaned clothes, can emit the same vapors and so can obscure results. Further complicating matters, concentrations of contaminants in indoor air can swing by an order of magnitude or more, depending on air pressure, temperature and circulation, explains Laurent Levy, a senior project manager at Gradient, an environmental and risks sciences consulting firm. Taking one 24-hour sample, as is classically done, may miss variations across days and months. Developers are looking into affordable continuous monitoring tools. The EPA now also recommends multiple rounds of sampling.
The indoor air concentration that will trigger a response varies widely by state — despite the finalized 267-page federal guidance and updated toxicity assessments for TCE and perc. When a specified level is reached, even just how to respond is not always clear. However, it usually involves some form of ongoing monitoring or mitigation similar to systems installed at the Hortons’ and Community Christian Church.
In the face of regional inconsistencies, as well as pushback from litigation-weary companies and fearful families, Levy suggests the need to “switch from reaction to prevention.” A tax credit, he says, might help incentivize preemptive installation of mitigation systems in circumstances where there is potential for vapor intrusion — avoiding the need to spend time and money on an investigation. The EPA’s Region 9 now requires that new buildings constructed over the Mountain View Superfund site include vapor intrusion control measures.
Still, he says, it’s important to remember that vapor mitigation measures do not make the problem go away. “You’re just cutting the pathway,” says Levy. “You still need to go back and address the source.”
Mountain View got a head start with cleanup because drinking water regulations had already prompted the EPA to grant Superfund status. The addition in May 2017 of vapor intrusion to the qualifying criteria for the National Priorities List, the hazardous waste sites eligible for long-term cleanup under the Superfund program, may lead to the remediation of more sources.
Fending off future contamination that could lead to more preventable cases of vapor intrusion is also critical, experts say. Updated regulations detail the proper use and maintenance of underground storage tanks, which could help prevent leaks. And the EPA, during the final months of the Obama administration, proposed bans for certain uses of TCE. But while people continue employing the culprit chemicals, fully stopping the unwelcome intruders remains unlikely.
“We’re still using gasoline. We’re still using chlorinated solvents. TCE is still valued as a good gun cleaner,” says Suuberg. “These are not, in any sense, outlawed chemicals.”
Beyond keeping vapor-emitting products out of their home and complying with vapor intrusion testing and mitigation, individuals can further lower their risks with some due diligence.
“Just as we advise people to be wary of lead paint and asbestos when moving into a new house or apartment, people also need to look at the surroundings,” says Mount Sinai’s Landrigan. “Are they buying a home next to where there used to be a dry-cleaning shop?”  Code Embed v2.2.1  End of Code Embed code
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author: Ensia


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Equatoguinean Artist Carmen Bolena Explores Her History and Identity Through Her Drawings · Global Voices
Afroféminas

The following piece by journalist Lucía Mbomío was originally published on Afroféminas and is republished by Global Voices with permission.
“[This] is a self-portrait with a half-finished face, and the other half is sliced, showing the muscles, tendons and mucous membranes. It’s an anatomical analysis, which means that what is essential is not visible to the eye. Europeans, Africans and Asians are all equal under that which is so politicized – skin color. Above all, we are people, members of the same race, the human race.” Original drawing by Carmen Bolena, published by Afroféminas and used with permission.
Carmen Mbasogo Edjang Ezuku is from Equatorial Guinea. She is only 22 years old and is captivatingly talented in many ways. She is a fine arts student, actress, singer and dancer.
Yes, that’s a lot, but today we will “only” talk about her drawings. In her work, I see women who spoke to me, who looked me in the eyes, who burst out laughing and who touched me with their joy and strength. I have also seen a statement, a path, an identity.
With Carmen Bolena, which is her stage name, the experience is a bit similar.
Carmen Bolena (CB): I don’t think being born with talent is enough to be really good at any discipline. Nor do I believe that schools have “the manual” to bring out talent from within. What I do know works is the effort, the hours you dedicate to it, and the interest you have to be outstanding in your craft.
CB: Gosh, this question shakes me to my core, hahaha. Let’s see, people love to ask those of us who have studied art (I have reservations about saying “artists”) what art is. Art itself is an abstract concept rather difficult to define because it is ever-changing. Its definition mutates and is linked to its given era. So, to the question “should art be more than beauty, ideological, transformative?” I will respond from a position of absolute subjectivity: It may be, but not necessarily. I am of those who think that art can make you feel without forcing you to think, but never leaves you indifferent. To me, art is a feeling and metamorphic beauty, because just as I see beauty in [Vermeer's] “Girl with a Pearl Earring” or in [Van Gogh's] “Starry Night over the Rhône,” I see beauty in Goya’s “Saturn Devouring His Son” and in the works of Mark Ryden, Michael Hussar or Edward Gorey. But, specifically, the drawing you mention does make an ideological statement: It is a self-portrait with a half-finished face, and the other half is sliced, showing the muscles, tendons and mucous membranes. It’s an anatomical analysis, which means that what is essential is not visible to the eye. Europeans, Africans and Asians are all equal under that which is so politicized – skin color. Above all, we are people, members of the same race, the human race.
CB: In a lot of ways, too many for a century, which is how long a human life can last. But, mainly, there are two that completely concern me: racism and machismo. I think my work reflects the uneasiness and disagreement I have towards these two ideologies that have done and continue to do so much damage in today’s society.
CB: Essentially, because it is a project that talks about the identity, acceptance, recognition and empowerment of an invisible collective: black people, marginalized and invisible. They are the protagonists and that’s why they’re represented. Also, because I am black. And it was time to denounce and talk about our situation in some way.
CB: I was adopted when I was six and I have always known that I had two families who cared about me. And although my Asturian family never wanted to distance me from my biological one, this was something that happened on its own. Growing up in an essentially white environment, I was also raised with European values, which almost consecutively led me to reject everything related to my blackness. I wanted to deny my identity for a long time, but it exuded through my pores, forcing me into submission through my gestures, my physique, when it came to dancing … in so many things that I could not deny.
Also, I didn’t have any close role models to admire or imitate. Whenever a black person appeared in a public environment, they were prostitutes, immigrants, servants, murderers or, on the other hand, they were always the first to die in movies. I was always the only black person in everything, including entrance exams, which made me very uneasy because I thought I would always be alone. Where were the Africans who were like me in Spain?
Going to study in Madrid and meeting groups like Kwanzza [the afro-descendant student community of the Complutense University of Madrid] and E.F.A.E [A collective devoted to ‘empowering afro-descendant females’ in Spain] was definitely a turning point. I saw that there were many more people like me, I was not alone and that there were many of us! Hahaha. It was fantastic to see that among us there were university students of politics, journalism, philology, art, science …. they spanned, we spanned every field. I began to read and to research, to go to conferences and interact socially and for the first time since I left Africa, I felt like I was part of something I identified with. Except for my status as adopted which, while true, you can count us on one hand.
All of this discovery was restorative for my troubled conscience. It no longer hurts to recognize that I am black. I am and I say it bursting with pride.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Afroféminas


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Human Rights Group Prevented by Police and Anti-Communist Mob From Commemorating 1965 Massacre in Indonesia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Anti-communist protesters surround the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation. Source: Legal Aid Foundation's Twitter account.
Hundreds of anti-communist protesters in Indonesia surrounded the office of a human rights group which was discussing the events in 1965 and 1966 that led to the killing of at least half a million suspected communists in the country.
The mob, which accused Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) of supporting the defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), disrupted the activity and clashed with the police who tried to disperse the crowd.
The day before, on September 16, 2017, the police themselves had prevented LBH from holding a seminar under the theme “Revealing Historical Truth about the 1965-66 Events” by blockading the entrance of the venue in Jakarta, the country’s capital. Authorities claimed the organizers had failed to secure a permit.
Some of the speakers of the seminar were prevented by the police from entering the LBH office as shown in the photos below:
#DaruratDemokrasi
The police didn't allow ths old people to tell the truth abt what happened in 1965/66 in Indonesia@hrw @HumanRightsCtte pic.twitter.com/pKTrBJYytB
— Lusi (@LusiHQ) September 16, 2017
In response, LBH organized the cultural event inside their own office building, titled “Asik Asik Aksi: Darurat Demokrasi” (Fun and Action: Democratic Emergency), which became the target of the anti-communist protesters.
An anti-communist hysteria swept the country in 1965, which led to the rise of General Suharto. During his three-decade rule, Suharto banned the Indonesian Communist Party and the publication of Marxist and other communist books. Even the use of communist symbols like the hammer and sickle is outlawed up to this day.
Suharto also prevented scholars and the public from probing the role of the military and other state forces in the massacre. In recent years, human rights groups have petitioned the government to review the 1965 massacre and give justice to thousands of victims who were imprisoned and killed because of mere suspicion that they were communists. Some of the victims are still living and have already given testimonies about the suffering they endured.
In 2015, the government of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo welcomed the proposal to launch a reconciliation commission about the massacre.
But the protest on September 17 is a reminder not just of the lingering anti-communist sentiment in the country, but also the continuing influence of pro-Suharto elements in the ranks of the police and military.
In response to the incident, activists used the hashtag #DaruratDemokrasi (democracy in a state of emergency) to protest the blocking of the seminar by the police and the failure of authorities to stop the anti-communist mob from harassing members of the LBH.
AJAR supports @LBH_Jakarta & @YLBHI‘s work & demands the State to protect human rights defenders & freedom of expression. #DaruratDemokrasi pic.twitter.com/DYwzRkU8qK
— AsiaJusticeAndRights (@asia_ajar) September 18, 2017
SERUAN SOLIDARITAS. Mengapa pembicaraan soal sejarah harus dicegah? Apakah karena negara memang salah? #DaruratDemokrasi pic.twitter.com/UuGcJjr0sN
— KONTRAS (@KontraS) September 16, 2017
Call of solidarity. Why does discussion on history have to be stopped? Is it because the state is truly guilty?
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI – Aliansi Jurnalis Independen) reported that even journalists were not allowed by the police to cover the seminar.
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance pointed out that the “arbitrary action” of the police to set up a blockade led to the “forceful disbandment” of the seminar. It warned that this “raised concern on the situation of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association in the largest democracy in Southeast Asia.”
The Jakarta Post newspaper published an editorial criticizing the government’s failure to uphold free speech:
We condemn the police for failing to protect our hardwon freedom of speech, with lame excuses that the situation posed a dilemma for them. If the talks had continued, they said, the protesters would have become more restless
The weekend until the wee hours of Monday, which saw the evacuation of the seminar participants, will go down in history as President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s failure to firmly protect our freedom of speech. This constitutional right is vital in addressing unresolved human rights violations, among his reiterated pledges.
The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network urged the government to “end the thuggish threats against Indonesian civil society.” The group added:
The hardline groups of today are alarmingly similar to the paramilitaries of the New Order regime [Suharto era]. Indonesia must learn from the past and ensure that this time these groups do not enjoy any impunity.
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) blamed the police for allowing the mob to surround the LBH building:
The complete inaction of the police to stop this violence, contributes to the erosion of democracy and violations of the rights to freedoms of expression and assembly in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, anti-communist groups countered by using the hashtag #DaruratPKI (Emergency PKI) to warn the public about the rise of so-called PKI elements in society. Groups with military links also spoke of an emerging PKI threat.
However, those accused of being communists are often simply citizens who are interested to know more about the history of the country, especially the period before Suharto became president.
The role of the police in preventing the seminar and the daring action of the anti-communist group could mean that the time when Indonesians finally learn the truth about the 1965 massacre could still be a long way off.
The attack on YLBHI office will create a climate of fear for 1965 survivors to reveal the truth about the tragedy. pic.twitter.com/c69tSuAN6c
— Amnesty Indonesia (@amnestyindo) September 19, 2017

author: Mong Palatino


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In Tanzania, Hepatitis Is a Serious Concern, but HIV/AIDS Remains Deadlier · Global Voices
Belinda Japhet

Credit: PesaCheck.org
This article was originally published on PesaCheck.org, East Africa’s first fact-checking initiative.
In a story published by The Citizen newspaper in Tanzania, Dr. John Lwegasha, the head of the gastroenterology and hepatology unit at Muhimbili National Hospital, was quoted as saying that hepatitis B is responsible for more deaths due to infectious diseases than HIV.
“In Tanzania, the rate of hepatitis B transmission, which is at 8 per cent exceeds the rate of HIV transmission which is below 6 per cent according to recent data availed by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS),” he said. “This is to say hepatitis B is responsible for a number of deaths [sic] than HIV.”
Hepatitis is a potentially life-threatening liver infection, most commonly caused by viruses, but also linked to heavy alcohol use, risky sexual behaviour, toxins and autoimmune diseases.
The hepatitis A and E viruses are primarily transmitted from person to person through contaminated water, food such as shellfish, and uncooked vegetables or fruit prepared by infected food handlers. The viruses circulate widely in populations living in areas with poor sanitation infrastructure.
On the other hand, hepatitis B and C are transmitted through infected blood products, unprotected sex, infected items such as needles, razor blades, dental or medical equipment, unscreened blood transfusions, or from mother to child at birth.
According to the World Health Organization, viral hepatitis affects 400 million people globally and, given the size of the epidemic, anyone and everyone could be at risk.
Worldwide, an estimated 95% of people with hepatitis are unaware of their infection. Hepatitis tests are complex and can be costly, with poor laboratory capacity in many countries, including Tanzania, where diagnostic and therapeutic evaluations cost 470,000 Tanzanian shillings (21 US dollars) and medical care costs 250,000 shillings (111 dollars) per month during the treatment period.
Data from the HIV and AIDS charity AVERT shows that 33,000 Tanzanians die every year from HIV/AIDS-related complications. While HIV-related deaths are relatively well documented, it is harder to find stats on how many people die from hepatitis. One source, a disease burden estimate from health information site HealthGrove, estimates that Tanzania has hepatitis mortality rate of 0.9 per 100,000. Extrapolating this to the country’s population shows that about 500 people die from hepatitis-related causes annually.
The World Health Organization’s data on hepatitis shows that about 1% of persons living with hepatitis B globally (2.7 million people) are also infected with HIV. The rate is higher in Tanzania, with 2.8% of individuals tested in a study published in BioMed Central showing a hepatitis B and HIV co-infection.
Media coverage of the disease in Tanzania has focused on its emergence as a “public health crisis”, with some publications dubbing it a “silent killer” due to the fact that it takes five to 10 years for those with hepatitis to develop a chronic illness.
Various reports in local media, including this article in The Guardian newspaper, state that Tanzanians are almost twice as likely to get infected with hepatitis as with HIV, mainly due to unsafe sex.
Image of The Guardian's article “Doctors warn Tanzanians on outbreak of a new silent killer.”
Doctors are warning that Tanzania could be on the brink of a major health crisis brought about by the outbreak of viral Hepatitis, which has been described as a silent killer, due to its fast rate of infection and late diagnosis.
With Tanzanian media using such alarming rhetoric around the topic of hepatitis, we would like to ask, is the disease likely to cause a “major health crisis” that could threaten the country’s healthcare system?
Pesacheck investigated the claim that hepatitis causes more deaths than HIV in Tanzania and found that the statement is FALSE for the following reasons:
A look at the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s data on leading causes of death in Tanzania from 1990 to 2015 shows that HIV/AIDS was responsible for 12.5% of all deaths in the country in 2015, while cirrhosis and other liver conditions caused by hepatitis B and C accounted for about 0.6% of all deaths in the same period.
Data from HealthGrove also shows that deaths linked to hepatitis B per 100,000 people in Tanzania have decreased by 24.6% from 1990 to 2013, an average of 1.1% a year. At 7.9 deaths per 100,000 men in 2013, the average mortality rate for men was higher than that of women, which was 2.1 per 100,000 women. The reason for this is that hepatitis is complicated by alcohol abuse, which is more prevalent in men than women.
There is no denying that hepatitis is a health issue in Tanzania. The WHO’s World Hepatitis Day 2017 report places the country among 17 others that also have a high prevalence of hepatitis and accounts for 70% of the global burden of the disease.
Local media are right to make the public aware of the threat of hepatitis. However, our argument is that local news stories are overlooking the fact that hepatitis prevalence is declining. This may be due to the fact that local information on the prevalence of hepatitis is harder to obtain than data on HIV/AIDS, making comparison difficult.
Dr. Lwegasha’s claim appears to be based on global WHO data for 2017 which shows that viral hepatitis is becoming more prevalent globally, causing 1.34 million deaths in 2015 — comparable with tuberculosis deaths — and exceeding deaths from HIV, which amounted to approximately 1 million worldwide.
The local situation in Tanzania is different, with HIV/AIDS and related complications causing more deaths than hepatitis A, B and C, and related liver diseases combined.
Therefore, the statement that there are more deaths caused by hepatitis than by HIV/AIDS in Tanzania is FALSE. The data shows that while infection and transmission rates for hepatitis are growing, HIV/AIDS causes more deaths overall. Additionally, Tanzania has achieved a 98% immunization rate for infants against hepatitis B, meaning that prevalence is likely to drop in the future.
Do you want us to fact-check something a politician or other public figure has said about public finances? Fill this form, or reach out to us on any of the contacts below, and we’ll help ensure you’re not getting bamboozled.
This report was written by PesaCheck Fellow Belinda Japhet, a Communications Consultant, Online Editor based in Tanzania. The infographics are by PesaCheck Fellow Brian Wachanga, who is a Kenyan civic technologist interested in data visualisation. This report was edited by PesaCheck Managing Editor Eric Mugendi.
PesaCheck, co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, is East Africa’s first fact-checking initiative. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of so-called ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ or SDG public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. PesaCheck To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.

author: Belinda Japhet


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Lawmakers From Uganda’s Ruling Party Want to Remove the Country’s Presidential Age Limit · Global Voices
James Propa

President Yoweri Museveni. Photo by Foreign And Commonwealth Office via Flickr. (CC BY 2.0)
President Yoweri Museveni is 73 years old. He has ruled Uganda for 31 years and is ineligible to stand for another term in 2021 as he will be above the age limit of 75 set by the country's constitution.
This, however, may be about to change.
Members of parliament from the ruling NRM party on 12 September 2017 passed a resolution to table a bill that lifts the current age limit in Article 102 of the constitution, which currently reads:
A person is not qualified for election as President unless that person is—
(a)       a citizen of Uganda by birth;
(b)       not less than thirty-five years and not more than seventy-five years of age; and
(c)       a person qualified to be a member of Parliament.
The lawmakers would like to amend the rule to allow candidates younger than 35 and those above 75 years to run, arguing that current law conflicts with Articles 1 and 21 of the constitution, which stipulates that all Ugandans are equal under the law.
Critics say that the proposal is aimed at making Museveni president for life. During the meeting of NRM members of parliament, only two members–Monica Amoding and John Baptist Ntege–opposed the motion.
When the discussion started a few months ago, Simeo Nsubuga, one of the members of parliament who openly supports a change to the age limits, was attacked by youths at the coronation anniversary ceremony for the king of Buganda, a region within Uganda, as the video report by NTV Uganda below shows.
Museveni has previously said that he would not run after turning 75 and that he would not support anyone who would wishes to change the constitution to pave the way for him to run. But on 14 September, he seemingly contradicted himself, saying members of parliament are free to decide about the age limit, as reported by the Daily Monitor newspaper:
About the NRM people who were yesterday involved in an activity [of passing a resolution to table a motion].That was not the official NRM caucus. But they are NRM people who have brought their views. In Runyakole, we call them Nyekundire [volunteers]. Originally, they were provoked by malicious people
Musician and member of parliament Robert Kyagulanyi, famously known as Bobi Wine, released a statement on his Facebook page calling on the general public to defend the constitution, pointing out that Article 1 of the constitution states that power belongs to the people of Uganda. He said:
Poverty and these terrible conditions in our country do not discriminate.
We must make the pledge that WE SHALL NOT ALLOW THIS AMENDMENT TO PASS.
Article 1 of that Constitution says that “ALL POWER BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE.” We are the people. If this Constitution is amended today, we shall have only ourselves to blame for eternity.
20 or even 30 years from now, President Museveni will be asking for more terms and you will perhaps be on your sickbed or dead! or still living in this suppressive and oppressive environment. At that time, you will look back and wish you did something today.
WE MUST DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION BEFORE IT IS TOO WEAK TO DEFEND US.
On Twitter, BBC journalist Patience Atuhairwe shared photos of minister and member of parliament Evelyn Anite with other NRM lawmakers wearing yellow t-shirts and captioned them as the constitution mobilisation group.
The Kick Age Limit Out of Constitution mobilisation group is working really quickly. #AgeLimit #Uganda pic.twitter.com/NJqx64L0fM
— Patience Atuhaire (@patuhaire) September 14, 2017
A local television station tweeted a video of independent parliamentarian Muhammad Nsereko angrily speaking against the bill, claiming his party will not allow NRM MPs to read the bill on the floor of parliament. He further called upon the religious and cultural leaders to come out and speak out against the bill.
VIDEO: Hon. Muhammad Nsereko: “No one will read the bill on #AgeLimit in @Parliament_UG, we shall tear it, we are going to gym” #NBSUpdates pic.twitter.com/NiBltDAt2B
— NBS Television (@nbstv) September 13, 2017
NBS again tweeted a video of Evelyn Anite responding to the MPs opposing the bill saying they are ready to take the motion forward because they have 265 lawmakers supporting the motion. She further says it is them, NRM, that is in charge.
VIDEO: Hon. Anite to #AgeLimit removal opposers: We are not intimidated. We have the support, even support of the ‘majje (army)’ #NBSNow pic.twitter.com/Bt0Z7l2Uxa
— NBS Television (@nbstv) September 14, 2017
Evelyn Anite is a strong supporter of President Museveni. She led the NRM party's sole candidature campaign which saw Museveni running for re-election in 2016 without being challenged in the party primaries.
The motion was expected to be tabled in parliament on 21 September 2017.

author: James Propa


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Mexico Earthquake: ‘I Thought I Was Going to Die When Pieces of the Ceiling Began to Fall’ · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

Mexico City employees working on debris removal. Image by J. Tadeo.
Mexico has been hit by two violent earthquakes in September 2017. The first, which registered 8.2 on the Richter scale, occurred on September 7 and caused close to 100 deaths, mostly in Oaxaca and Chiapas in southwestern Mexico. The second, which occurred on September 19, killed at least 250 people and severely damaged parts of Mexico City and five states in country's center.
In the city of Oaxaca, Global Voices interviewed a man named Sergio, who is in charge of a collection center for victims. He warned:
No se puede llegar hasta Juchitán a menos que sea con una persona que conoce el camino, ya que hay grietas. Además, los pobladores de otras comunidades están muy enojados porque no han recibido ayuda del gobierno, entonces asaltan las camionetas con víveres que van hacia Juchitán. Aquí nosotros estamos haciendo el acopio, lo que traigan, lo pueden dejar con nosotros y de aquí lo llevaremos a los más afectados, no como los gobernantes que sólo se roban las donaciones.
You can’t get to Juchitán unless it is with a person who knows the way, as there are crevices.  Also, villagers from other communities are very angry because they have not received help from the government, so they raid supply trucks that are heading to Juchitán. We are doing the collection here, what people bring, they can leave it with us and from here, we will take it to the most affected, unlike the governing class who only steal the donations.
Sergio, in charge of a collection center in Oaxaca. Image by J. Tadeo.
In Mexico City, September 19 will never cease to be an emblematic date. Thirty-two years ago, a pair of strong earthquakes practically destroyed the city and claimed more than 12,000 lives. Coincidentally, on September 19, 2017, an earthquake shook the city again just a few hours after the yearly commemorating drill to raises awareness.
Global Voices interviewed an office worker, who only wanted to be identified as Guillermo:
Había venido al Perisur (centro comercial en el sur de la capital) a comprar unas cosas y fue cuando empezó a moverse. Los de seguridad nos dijeron que no podíamos salir, pero cuando se puso peor hasta ellos corrieron. Había muchas señoras con niños pequeños y los venían arrastrando hacia la salida. Fue horrible, pensé que me iba a morir cuando empezaron a caer pedazos del techo.
I had come to Perisur (a shopping center in the south of the capital) to buy some things and that was when it began to move. The security guys told us that we couldn’t leave but when it got worse, even they ran. There were a lot of ladies with small children and they were dragging them towards the exit. It was horrible, I thought I was going to die when pieces of the ceiling began to fall.
On the streets of Mexico City, workers are clearing debris accompanied by hundreds of volunteers who are eager to help in any way that they can.
The armed forces have been deployed and, at least in Mexico City, they were ordered to take operational control and command in the rescue actions to avoid further casualties.
The Mexican Army and Navy have taken command in the rescue operations. Image by J. Tadeo.
Global Voices was also in the Narvarte neighborhood (central region of the capital), at the intersection of Morena and Nicolás San Juan, where a semi-destroyed housing building can be seen. There, we talked with Margarita, who commented:
Es muy triste ver a la gente que esta aquí afuera y que ha perdido su casa, pero miren bien el edificio, al menos tuvieron tiempo de salir y no hay personas atrapadas. A pocas cuadras hay brigadistas y centros de acopio. Creo que debe hacerse notar que las construcciones han cambiado, y si bien hay decenas de derrumbes, en la mayoría de los casos la gente pudo escapar y ponerse a salvo. Deberían mostrar eso, deberían los medios tradicionales difundir fotos de los edificios que no cayeron, en lugar de estar buscando la nota sensacionalista.
It’s very sad to see the people who are out here and have lost their house, but look at the building, at least they had time to leave and there are no people trapped. A few blocks away, there are brigade members and collection centers. I think it should be noted that buildings have changed, and while there are dozens of landslides, in most cases, people were able to escape and get to a safe place. They should show that, traditional media should broadcast photos of buildings that did not fall, instead of looking for sensationalism.
Damaged building during the September 19, 2017 earthquake in the Narvarte neighborhood in Mexico City. Image of J. Tadeo.
The earthquake happened at quarter past 1 in the afternoon, when most people are working in offices and shops. The desperation to get home caused people to take to the streets, clogging roads as well as telecommunications.
Mexicans terrified after the September 19, 2017 earthquake. Image shared by Raúl Morales and used in this article with permission.
Public hospitals, such as the Mexican Social Security Institute pictured below, used their terraces to attend to the wounded who were arriving.
The Mexican Social Security Institute prepares to receive patients on the front steps of one of its hospitals. Photo by J. Tadeo.
This story is still developing.

author: J. Tadeo


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The Perils of Military Engagement Against North Korea · Global Voices
Jonathan Augustine

A detail from the Mansudae Grand Monument in Pyongyang, North Korea. Photo by Stefan Krakowski via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
The $20 million we spend daily maintaining the US nuclear arsenal could instead be used to provide $1,000 per day for every one of the twenty thousand children who die from hunger. – J. Philip Newell (A New Harmony)
Faced now with the possibility of nuclear war in East Asia, I often wonder what civilians annihilated in the heartless campaigns of modern warfare might have said about their untimely deaths that were ordered by tyrants and presidents far removed from the scenes of devastation.
So many innocent lives have been lost to conventional bombs, atomic weapons and in recent years, drones. Have democratically elected leaders searched their souls and come to terms with what really occurred in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Technology has made warfare impersonal and cruel, yet it seems that the heads of nations are willing to discard their highest principles in exchange for the latest war technologies and weapons of mass destruction.
In the present confrontation with North Korea, the foremost consideration of the U.S. government is whether an attack on North Korea will endanger the American homeland. In theory, the United States is supposed to defend its allies, South Korea and Japan. However, if the authorities are truly concerned with the safety of their allies, provoking a desperate dictatorship that has openly declared its intent to launch missiles against South Korea and Japan is extremely problematic, both strategically and from a humanitarian point of view.
The U.S. military routinely advertises the pinpoint devastation that can be wrought by its ‘bunker-busting’ weapons, with the clear aim to ‘decapitate’ the North Korean regime. Military experts argue that 300 Tomahawk missiles are sufficient to disable North Korea’s military, but this does not guarantee that they can destroy all existing missiles and nuclear weapons, were these to be simultaneously launched from hidden bases, mobile launchers and nuclear-submarines.
It seems that the Pyongyang regime has been forced into a siege mentality—a rational fear that the U.S. will use its conventional forces to eradicate them at any moment. Ironically, however, the world now faces the troubling predicament that the current U.S. administration is itself caught in a similar psychological trap. While Pyongyang pushes ahead with the deployment of nuclear-tipped ICBMs, the Trump administration may conclude that its only recourse is to launch an immediate attack, in spite of expected collateral damage to its allies.
It is unnerving that presidents, prime ministers and dictators alike have the power to detonate weapons of mass destruction. The citizenry of these military powers has not officially sanctioned or granted them this authority through referenda or other democratic means. When one looks back at the Manhattan Project, it becomes painfully apparent how General Groves, the project’s director, swayed President Truman to authorize the dropping of the atomic bombs.
In the decades that followed, few checks were placed on the chain of command to prevent emotionally unstable presidents from acting impulsively on their animosity and fear. Simply put, both Trump and Kim Jong-Un have dangerous degrees of authority that neither the American Founding Fathers nor Marx and Engels could have envisioned.
It is surprising that the South Korean and Japanese heads of state are not more insistent in their opposition to a U.S. offensive against North Korea. Koreans above the age of 70 remember in graphic detail the devastating carpet bombing that wiped out Pyongyang, and are aware that Kim Jong-Un’s army will attempt to wipe out Seoul with equal fury. The Japanese position has remained the same since current Prime Minister Abe has ascended to power. Pledging unquestioning support to Trump’s foreign policies, Abe has repeatedly declared that Japan will soon try to amend the Constitution to allow for its own military to “defend the country”—a development that undoubtedly would destabilize East Asia even further. Instead of trying to seek mutual understanding of the past, Abe and his team of nationalist historians have promoted a revisionist view of the Second World War which denies the coercion of the so-called “comfort women” and downplays the conscripted labor of 600,000 Koreans under brutal conditions. In fact, in both North and South Korea, politicians and diplomats have long felt humiliated by the Japanese government’s lack of sincerity and contrition.
Any country that considers an attack on North Korea must confront the question of who turned the DPRK into such a defiant rogue nation. As much as Kim Jong-Un’s regime is to be blamed for the plight of the country, the three decades of brutal Japanese colonial occupation and the firebombing of North Korea—which exceeded the damage done to German or Japanese cities during World War II—bear partial responsibility for creating this vindictive military regime.
Resolving nuclear confrontation requires self-reflection and relativistic thinking. Looking back a few decades, it’s not difficult to find examples of national leaders who were willing to dispense with bombast to avoid disaster. Notably President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev, who responded rationally to the prospect of a nuclear holocaust by meeting to address their political and strategic differences in the Reykjavík Summit of 1986, which led to a de-escalation of tensions.
To serve one’s nation can also mean to enter into dialogue with the citizens of every nation, and between individuals there is always a hope for healing and transformation. So why should it be impossible to alter the relationships between antagonistic nations?

author: Jonathan Augustine


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Criticism of Trinidad & Tobago’s State Enterprise System Follows Fraud Allegation Against Oil Supplier · Global Voices
Flora Thomas

The Petrotrin oil refinery in Trinidad. Photo by Marc Aberdeen, CC BY-ND 2.0.
At a recent gathering of her political party, the United National Congress (UNC), Trinidad and Tobago's leader of the opposition, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, made a stunning allegation: that A&V Oil and Gas Limited, which supplies crude oil to the state energy company Petrotrin, had defrauded it of almost TT $100 million (close to US $15 million) by inflating the figures for its product.
Referencing an internal Petrotrin audit report, Persad-Bissessar also accused the suppliers of being financiers of the ruling party, the People’s National Movement (PNM).
Given that the twin island Caribbean nation ranked 101 out of 176 in Transparency International's 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index, there was immediate discussion about the issue on social media.
In a post at satire and news site Wired868, attorney Martin Daly called out the entire state enterprise system as faulty:
The State enterprise system is the vehicle by which the unholy facilitations are carried out. It all goes on behind the corporate veil of the State enterprise corporations, which are usually private limited liability companies, incorporated under the Companies Act, and in which the Government is the sole or majority shareholder.
Explaining that this separate legal status paves the way for line ministers to pass the buck, Daly continued:
The end result of this State enterprise system is that vast sums of our money are spent or directed to be spent by persons who are essentially operatives acting at the behest of the political executive and by contact in a manner neither envisaged nor protected by the Constitution.
The conduct of business through a system such as this has not only resulted in imprudent use and downright squandering of our country’s money without checks and balances. It has been destructive of honesty, accountability and transparency. It has irrevocably warped our sense of value for money and created a mocking pretender celebrity class.
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley seemed at ease with having an opposition that could help provide the necessary checks and balances for good governance — however, he responded to Persad-Bissessar's comments bay saying that while the country would be better off for having an “effective” opposition leader, “jamettry is not really the way to deal with these things”.
A “jamette” is a local term referring to a woman of questionable morals.
The women's arm of the UNC reacted swiftly, calling the word demeaning and sexist; they demanded an apology from the prime minister. Social media users couldn't resist weighing in, with many suggesting that between the memes and the feminist outcry, the public focus was in the wrong place.
Twitter user Rhoda Bharath, who comments regularly on political issues, posted a tongue-in-cheek statement from a fictitious jamette association, but called out the double standard in a follow-up tweet:
It is ok to call an Opposition Leader a rapist with no evidence. But problematic to accuse an Opposition of jammetry?#Semantricks
— rhoda bharath (@rhodabharath) September 15, 2017
Back in 2015, during the then People's Partnership (led by Persad-Bissessar) government's no-confidence motion against Dr. Rowley (who was opposition leader at the time), parliamentarian Vernella Alleyne-Toppin made the distasteful accusation that Rowley was the product of rape — and that this inauspicious beginning has made him “aggressive”, “arrogant” and “unfit for public office”.
Bharath later explained on Facebook:
Kamla Persad-Bissessar is essentially accusing a PM, a Petrotrin employee and a private businessman of colluding to defraud the State.
That is a huge accusation and I hope she can back it up. […]
Things soon took a legal turn. A&V Oil and Gas sent Persad-Bissessar a pre-action protocol letter claiming she is “directly responsible for every publication and re-publication of the defamatory words […] and every consequent libel by virtue of such publication and re-publication.” The opposition leader had until four o'clock in the afternoon on Monday September 18, to issue a complete retraction.
The correspondence also accuses Persad-Bissessar of distorting the Petrotrin interim audit report with “malicious intent and to score political points”, and demands financial compensation for the damage caused.
However, Persasd-Bissessar's attorneys have since revealed that she will not apologise because she spoke the truth, saying that the company's claims are “ill-founded, baseless in law and doomed to fail”. As of this writing, the UNC's homepage still carried an article calling on Rowley to “stop the ‘ole talk’ and take action on Petrotrin audit findings”.
Wired868 was unimpressed to learn of the action that the prime minister did take — calling the owner of A&V Oil and Gas personally:
The Prime Minister had good news to report from their conversation.
‘He said [to me] he doesn’t know [about it].’
As far as solid investigative work goes, Detective Rowley can clearly give acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams a run for his money.
The post continued:
Remarkably—blind to the growing disaffection with his government’s performance and his leadership—Keithos was still enjoying his own cool-aid on Thursday night, when he discussed the matter further.
‘No person in Trinidad and Tobago, whether you are PNM or not, you will find no protection or solace at the PNM’s doorsteps,’ said the Prime Minister. ‘We are protecting no one with corrupt action whether you are friend or foe.’
In the next breath, Rowley said he saw no reason to suspend PNM Senator Allyson Baksh—the daughter of the A&V owner—as a result of the furore since she had no connection to the investigation.
Baksh, according to information unearthed last week by the Trinidad Express, is an A&V director and secretary and holds the same number of shares as her father.
In a curious development, a photographer for a daily newspaper, who was dispatched to cover the story and take photos of the A&V Oil and Gas headquarters, was allegedly attacked and prevented from doing his job. The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service ordered an investigation into the allegation, since a senior officer was said to have taken part in the assault.
Wired868's Mr. Live Wire was all too happy to add his two cents’ worth:
De Silva, according to the Express, is the third media worker to be assaulted outside the A&V compound this week, which should surely be enough for the company to be declared a ‘hot spot’ and its management […] detained under the anti-gang legislation.
The post also questioned whether any probe into this matter would be trustworthy, given “the close relationship shared by the Prime Minister and the persons close to the centre of the investigation”:
Rowley did not suggest any concerns about the competence of PNM chairman and Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Franklin Khan although, just four months ago, Khan singled out A&V for praise in Parliament. […]
Can the public feel confident that the Ministry of Energy will treat the Petrotrin Audit report as seriously as it deserves with Khan as line minister?
For its part, A&V Oil and Gas issued an apology to the media and invited them to tour its facilities. The Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago advised its members not to attend, as it was clear from the company's track record that their safety could not be guaranteed.

author: Flora Thomas


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Mozambique’s President Answers Citizens’ Questions Online, but Avoids Difficult Ones · Global Voices
Dércio Tsandzana

A screenshot of one of the “Ask the President” videos on Facebook.
The president of Mozambique, a country where less than 5% of the population has internet access, has adopted a new method of communicating with citizens online, named “Ask the President”.
Filipe Nyusi has held the top office since 2015, coming to power at a time when the country faced a political crisis characterized by a military conflict between the government and opposition party RENAMO.
Nyusi’s government also faces serious economic woes, sparked after the discovery of a billion dollars of hidden debt contracted by the previous president, Armando Guebuza. These debts led to donor countries suspending financial assistance on which Mozambique depends heavily.
On Facebook, Nyusi has been recording videos inviting Mozambicans to ask him what they want to know. So far, he has answered three people's questions, replying to Meque Levi, Lara Chicha, and Daudo Saide. Two were complimentary of his performance and the third, asking that the president come see poor local living conditions, was met with the president's vague promise that “someone would be there.”
But although the videos were positive, the questions posed in comments below contained numerous criticisms. Marcos Miony wanted to know about the scandal over the hidden debts:
Até quando se espera o esclarecimento da dívida pública, que até no olhar dos cidadãos suspeita-se que a lentidão deriva do facto de uma das siglas ABCD possa pertencer a sua excelência!
When can clarification of the public debt be expected, as even in the citizens’ eyes it is suspected that the slowness comes from the fact that one of letters ABCD [an acronym which refers to the initials of those suspected of being involved in the fraud] may belong to his excellency!
Fatima Mimbire, from the Centre for Public Integrity, a local research institute which investigates corruption, asked:
Senhor presidente, quando é que vamos ter uma auditoria aos projectos de exploração de recursos minerais no país, para assegurar que as empresas estão a pagar o que devem pagar ao Estado? Neste momento de crise há que apertar o cinto e isso implica que temos assegurar que todos pagam o que devem pagar ao Estado, em termos de impostos.
Mr. President, when is it that we will have an audit of the projects involving mineral resource exploitation in the country, to ensure that the companies are paying what they should pay to the state? At this time of crisis it is necessary to tighten our belts and this implies that we have to ensure that everyone pays what they should pay to the state, in terms of taxes.
Lucas Chave questioned the president about the high cost of living:
Excelência Sr. Presidente da República, espero ser a sua conta oficial da rede social, tenho uma preocupação muito pontual a colocar que merece uma atenção especial, falo sobre o custo de vida que levamos, ate quando o povo moçambicano vai se sentir aliviado? Preço dos produtos alimentares tende cada dia que passa a subir, para não falar dos impostos e serviços.
Your Excellency Mr. President of the Republic, I hope I am at your official social media account, I have a very pressing concern to raise that deserves special attention, I’m talking about the cost of living that we face, when will Mozambique’s people feel relief? The price of food products tends to increase every passing day, not to mention taxes and services.
Similarly, Cris Smart Ebenezer Malate asked:
A minha pergunta é simples: porquê é o Sr Presidente deixa o seu povo morrer a passos galopantes assim? o povo que o elegeu, a qual o Sr apelidou de patrão está a sofrer e muito. O preço de pão subiu, os produtos alimentares de primeira necessidade subiram, a EDM agravou as tarifas de energia, o chapa está prestes a subir. Será que o Sr Presidente se alegra pelo sofrimento do seu povo?
My question is simple: Why is Mr. President letting his people die rapidly like this? The people who elected him, for whom he is the leader, are suffering, and a lot. The price of bread rose, [prices of] food products of basic necessity have risen, EDM [Electricidade de Moçambique, an energy company] has worsened energy prices, the [price of] transport is about to rise. Is Mr. President pleased by the suffering of his people?
Valentim Victor, a resident of Zambézia province in the centre of the country, was concerned by the quality of the roads:
Parabéns Excia, Moçambique já merecia um Presidente com esta humildade, interractividade com com o povo, mas gostaria de saber se existe um plano de reabilitar a estrada N1 em especial no troço Gorongosa-Caia? E se existe também um plano asfaltar o estrada Morrumbala-Zero?
Congratulations, Excellency, Mozambique finally deserved a president with this humility, interactivity with the people, but I would like to know if there is a plan to renovate the road N1 especially in the Gorongosa-Caia section? And if there is a plan to asphalt the Morrumbala-Zero road?
And some, such as Julião João Cumbane, defended the notion of criticism in and of itself:
As perguntas e a crítica, ainda que sejam mal feitas e nos causem alguma irritação à primeira, são melhores que os elogios, porque nos obrigam a reflectir. Os elogios têm o seu valor, quando são genuínos, porque nos informam de que trilhamos um bom caminho. Mas nem sempre é possível distinguir um elogio genuíno de uma adulação. Já a crítica, mesmo que motivada por inveja, encerra sempre algo de bom. Eu valorizo mais a crítica e os questionamentos do que os elogios, porque com eles aprendo mais.
Questions and criticism, although they may be badly formed and cause us some irritation at first, are better than compliments, because they oblige us to reflect. Compliments have their value, when they are genuine, because they tell us we are taking a good path. But it is not always possible to distinguish a genuine compliment from flattery. Criticism, even that motivated by envy, always contains something good. I value criticism and questions more than compliments, because with them I learn more.

author: Dércio Tsandzana


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Saudi Arabia Eases Restrictions on Messaging Apps, But WhatsApp and Viber Are Still Blocked · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

The Saudi capital Riyadh at night. Photo shared by user apriltan18 on Pixabay under a Creative Commons Licence (CC0)
After more than four years of heavy censorship, Saudi Arabia has eased restrictions on the use of internet-based call and messaging (VoIP) applications.
In a tweet on 13 September, Saudi minister of communication and information technology Abdullah Al-Swaha announced that the ban on VoIP will be lifted within a week, a move that was welcomed by Saudi users who have been fiercely critical of the kingdom's VoIP censorship policies.
من اليوم و الرايح، هذه حتكون الصفحة الرئيسية للجوال.@STC_KSA @Mobily @ZainKSA #السعودية #فويب #مبروك_تطبيقات_المكالمات #VOIP pic.twitter.com/8obL62NX5F
— Mohammad Hafzah (@TycoonJe) September 14, 2017
From now on, this is going to be the home screen of my mobile phone
Saudi Arabia started blocking VoIP applications in June 2013 when it banned Viber for failing to comply with local regulatory requirements. At that time, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), which regulates telecommunications in the country, did not specify what these regulations were. Media speculated that the move may have been motivated by the Saudi government's attempt to monitor these applications and to protect local telecom operators from revenue losses, or both.
Since then, the government has partially or fully blocked several more applications including WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger and FaceTime. By September 2016, the calling feature on LINE was also blocked.
The CITC explained in a statement this week that easing these restrictions “comes in line with modern trends,” reasoning that “reliance on the revenues of (mobile) data and added services is the international trend that operators in the kingdom should follow.”
Tasked with regulating the communications and information technology sector with the aim of achieving “a highly competitive environment for the provision of superior services to end-users and an attractive ecosystem for investors,” the CITC is responsible for censoring thousands of websites and sending requests to social media platforms when authorities wish for them to censor sensitive posts or other content.
The CITC has often been the subject of criticism from Saudis, who have accused it of advancing the business interests of telecom operators by blocking VoIP apps, instead of protecting users’ rights.
In a separate statement, Al-Swaha, who acts as the minister of communication and information technology and CITC chairman, said that the policy change came to offer users “the best services that meet their aspirations and satisfy their needs,” and to “develop a digital society in line with the objectives of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.” Vision 2030 is an economic reform plan by the kingdom aimed at diversifying the economy and decreasing its dependence on oil revenues.
A partial lifting of the ban came into effect on 20 September, and users in Saudi Arabia are now able to make calls using apps such as Line, Snapchat, FaceTime, Skype, Telegram and Tango.
However, other apps including Viber and Whatsapp remain blocked, users and local media reported.
هاذي البرامج التي تم رفع عنه الحجب #تقنية#رفع_الحجب_عن_التطبيقات pic.twitter.com/Pi8PjZ4Oam
— الايفون  &الاندرويد (@Android_iPhone4) September 21, 2017
These are the applications that have been unblocked
ويستمر التخلف في استمرار حظر مكالمات #واتساب
التعقيد سمة في حياتنا ومافيه تغيير يجي بسهولة@aalswaha@CITC_SA#رفع_الحجب_عن_التطبيقات خرطي
— AmMaR (@ammar1415) September 21, 2017
the retardation continues due to the ongoing blocking of Whatsapp calls. Diffuculties are part of our lives, and no change comes easily
On Twitter, CITC spokesman Adel Abu Hameed said that the ban was lifted on applications that “have met regulatory requirements” in the country. He added that these requirements include: clear mechanisms and measures when dealing with users’ personal data in the kingdom, removing content that violates local laws (a complex task in Saudi Arabia), and the app provider's cooperation with the CITC to handle emergency cases.
It remains unclear how the VoIP apps that have been unblocked meet the above-mentioned “regulatory requirements”, and whether there have been negotiations between the companies that own them and the Saudi government.
Snapchat's recent decision to remove Al Jazeera's Discover Arabic-language channel inside Saudi Arabia at the request of CITC raises concerns that the Saudi government is increasingly pressuring social media platforms and applications to comply with its repressive cybercrime laws. In the midst of a diplomatic Gulf crisis that saw Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Egypt cut ties with Qatar accusing the Gulf nation of supporting “terrorism” and Islamist groups, the Qatar-owned Al Jazeera was also targeted. Saudi Arabia and its neighboring allies issued a list of demands to Qatar, including the shutting down of Al Jazeera.
This is the first time Snapchat finds itself embroiled in a controversy of politically-motivated censorship. According to the company's latest transparency report, Snapchat received no government requests to remove content that would otherwise be permissible under its Terms of Service or Community Guidelines during the second half of 2016.
As Saudi Arabia eases restrictions on VoIP applications, to what extent will the unblocked apps be wiling to comply with the Saudi authorities’ requests for content removal and user data? Saudi Arabia's anti-cybercrime law is one of the most restrictive in the region. It punishes by up to five years in jail the storage and dissemination of content “impinging on public order, religious values, public morals, and privacy.”
“Users cannot in any case use applications for audio or video calls without the supervision and monitoring of the CITC” the regulator's spokesman said in an interview to the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel.  Such measures, he added, are for benefit of users and the public.

author: Afef Abrougui


text:
The Earthquake that Revealed Mexico’s Strength and Solidarity · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

Rescue crews photographed in Mexico City, September 19, 2017. Photograph used with permission.
Mexico is just beginning to tally the damage caused by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that shook central Mexico, including the capital as well as the states of Morelos and Puebla, on September 19.
The quake occurred exactly 32 years after a disastrous 1985 earthquake that took hundreds of lives and left its mark on the capital and its residents. The death toll has risen to 248 and is expected to rise further, yet the devastation has mobilized solidarity, drive, and creativity among residents, both Mexican and international.
Teams have quickly organized various rescue missions, zone-mapping, observation and information-sharing to assist the wounded, taking front stage both on and off social media. Online networks have acted as critical communication hubs in moments when misinformation or missed connections have hindered rescue services.
Recent Twitter posts reveal the ways in which everyday citizens have made an effort to support those in crisis:
Facebook of Cheko Macías. Shared with permission.
In moments like these, I continue to think that a people's greatness isn't in its institutions. Because it is out there, in the streets. Face to face. Hands holding hands. Heartbeats that don't give up, and ask that others don't fade. Instances in which we look ahead and realize that we are not as different as we thought. People looking for what is theirs: nobility, hope, solidarity, happiness and the near future. Giving up is not an option. Until the last breath.
In fact, citizen rescuers have taken a leading role by offering diverse forms of support and activating creative participation to help victims:
Albañiles, chavos del barrio y vecinos levantaron una plancha y salvaron a una persona en Santa María Nativitas. #fuerzacdmx#sismopic.twitter.com/gu922geILI
— Jesús Robles Maloof (@roblesmaloof) September 20, 2017
Masons, young people from the neighborhood, neighbors lifted a cement slab and saved a person in
Santa María Nativitas. #fuerzacdmx#sismopic.twitter.com/gu922geILI
— Jesús Robles Maloof (@roblesmaloof) September 20, 2017
Acuérdate del México chingón. pic.twitter.com/YKJEop2X5p
— baxter (@elbaxter) September 20, 2017
Remember that good Mexico. pic.twitter.com/YKJEop2X5p— baxter (@elbaxter) September 20, 2017
Help has varied from transportation and mapping to repairs, medical attention, and psychological support as well as search-and-rescue missions with sound-tracing teams:
Brigadas de reparto de donaciones/equipo en bici. pic.twitter.com/cIiLwC8t0K
— Cd México en bici (@CdMx_enbici) September 20, 2017
Brigades distributing donations/teams on bikes.
pic.twitter.com/cIiLwC8t0K
— Cd México en bici (@CdMx_enbici) September 20, 2017
estamos repartiendo víveres y botiquines en un escuadrón de 12 motos por toda la ciudad. vamos hacia ustedes. pic.twitter.com/EmLxBbcVJq
— raquel miserachi • (@salvenseustedes) September 20, 2017
We are distributing supplies and first aid kits in a squad of 12 motorcycles throughout the city. We are coming to you.
pic.twitter.com/EmLxBbcVJq
— raquel miserachi • (@salvenseustedes) September 20, 2017
Amigos, si hay grietas en sus casas mándenme fotos para ayudarlos a evaluarlas.
— Jonás (@fooonts) September 20, 2017
Friends, if their are cracks in your house, send me photos and I'll take a look at them for you. — Jonás (@fooonts) September 20, 2017
Estamos ofreciendo primeros auxilios psicológicos gratuitos para los afectados por el terremoto. Contáctanos al 5662-66-28 o al 5661-39-65.
— Gabriela De la Garza (@gadelagarza) September 20, 2017
We are offering free psychological first aid to those affected by the earthquake.
Contact us at 5662-66-28 or 5661-39-65.
— Gabriela De la Garza (@gadelagarza) September 20, 2017
Mapa con ubicaciones de edificios afectados tras #sismo en #Puebla y #CDMX
¡Si tienen datos de #Morelos ayuden!https://t.co/305qXvgLY9pic.twitter.com/7qSZTUFOKV
— #GastosPendejos (@GastosPendejos) September 20, 2017
Map with locations of affected buildings after the quake in Puebla and Mexico City. If you have information about Morelos, help!https://t.co/305qXvgLY9pic.twitter.com/7qSZTUFOKV
— #GastosPendejos (@GastosPendejos) September 20, 2017
SismoMéxico.org organized another map collaboration by providing open information searchable by the kinds of help offered and the needs of specific areas. Verification initiatives have also been organized to fix information and keep it updated. For example, hashtags #Verificado19S and #Terremotomexico:
Programadorxs y verificadorxs llevan desde la mañana haciendo el mapa más útil y validando la información. Aplausos. #Verificado19Spic.twitter.com/F0uHmbnJRp
— Horizontal (@horizontalmx) September 21, 2017
Programers and fact-checkers have been making this map more useful and validating its information since the morning. Applause.
#Verificado19Spic.twitter.com/F0uHmbnJRp
— Horizontal (@horizontalmx) September 21, 2017
Many migrants in Mexico have pushed aside their fears over their legal status to show unconditional support to people affected by the earthquake. Siete24 reports that many migrants have come out on the streets, facing possible abuse or extortion, “with borrowed shovels and without receiving anything in return. They were the heroes of this earthquake.”
No importa donde nos encontremos, somos hermanos y debemos ayudarnos. Hondureño ayudando en Oaxaca. Aguante #Chilango Carajo! #Sismo#CDMX
— Rogelio Estrada (@reztrada) September 20, 2017
It doesn't matter where we are, we are brothers and we should help each other. Honduran helping in Oaxaca. Stay with us, #Chilango (Mexico City residents) damn it!
#Sismo#CDMX
— Rogelio Estrada (@reztrada) September 20, 2017
Pets and other animals were also rescued:
Ojo, lista de veterinarios que darán atención gratuita a animalitos: pic.twitter.com/sH4fP8feJV
— Cess ?? (@cessleon) September 20, 2017
Check it out, list of veterinarians that will help animals for free:
pic.twitter.com/sH4fP8feJV
— Cess ?? (@cessleon) September 20, 2017
Momento del rescate en un #perro con vida, que se encontraba dentro de los escombros tras el #Sismomexico#sismocdmx#cdmxsismo@MtyFollowpic.twitter.com/CE4m3VQqsC
— YankuikMx (@yankuikmx_) September 19, 2017
Rescue moment when dog was found alive under rubble after
Sismomexico#sismocdmx#cdmxsismo@MtyFollowpic.twitter.com/CE4m3VQqsC
— YankuikMx (@yankuikmx_) September 19, 2017
Hay héroes sin capa.
Para aquellos que dicen que no hay que rescatar ?, recuerden que hay ? rescatando humanos.#AyudaCDMX#SismoMéxico2017pic.twitter.com/l3UIKsyrKe
— DoNNoVaN Mendoza (@do_ovan_) September 21, 2017
There are heroes without a cape. For those of you who say we don't have to rescue dogs, remember that there are dogs rescuing humans.
#AyudaCDMX#SismoMéxico2017pic.twitter.com/l3UIKsyrKe
— DoNNoVaN Mendoza (@do_ovan_) September 21, 2017
Prior institutionalized neglect has compounded the damage in surrounding areas of the capital in the aftermath of the earthquake. In many cases, the most vulnerable populations, already in need of support, have suffered the most serious consequences:
@EPN Sr presidente en Morelos no han prestado la atención necesaria me hicieron llegar estas fotos es Jojutla Morelos..
pic.twitter.com/LyQWoXLTHs
— Persianas Vanglezz (@PVanglezz) September 19, 2017
@EPN Mr president, the necessary attention has not been paid to Moreles these photos were sent to me  of Jojutla, Morelos
pic.twitter.com/LyQWoXLTHs
— Persianas Vanglezz (@PVanglezz) September 19, 2017
This earthquake will go down in history as one of extreme devastation that also revealed the strength of Mexico's people. At a time when trust in Mexican institutions has been rocked by corruption scandals and state espionage, the behavior of its citizens leaves no doubt as to who holds the reins as they rebuild their city:
Personas cantan el “Cielito lindo” mientras participan en labores de rescate en la Ciudad de México. #FuerzaMéxico??#Mexicanosfuertespic.twitter.com/tyf1JVV9gh
— Karina Bastida (@BastidaKarina) September 20, 2017
People sing, “Cielito lindo” while they help with rescue efforts in Mexico City.
#FuerzaMéxico??#Mexicanosfuertespic.twitter.com/tyf1JVV9gh
— Karina Bastida (@BastidaKarina) September 20, 2017
It doesn't matter how far you are, you can still help Mexico ??#MexicoStrong #FuerzaMéxico #AyudaCDMX #HoyPorMorelos #SomosPuebla pic.twitter.com/AaPg9ma3W9
— pictoline (@pictoline) September 20, 2017

author: Elizabeth Rivera


text:
As Italy and Egypt Strengthen Diplomatic Ties, Will Giulio Regeni’s Murder Case See Justice? · Global Voices
Salma Essam

Amnesty International campaign which reads ‘Truth for Giuliu Regeni.’ Used with permission.
On September 5, Egypt and Italy officially resumed diplomatic relations after a year and a half, installing Italian Ambassador Giampaolo Gantini to his Cairo office soon after on September 14.
Bilateral relations between Rome and Cairo deteriorated when the tortured body of Italian Cambridge Scholar Giulio Regeni was found in Egypt, a murder widely believed to have been committed by state security forces. In response, Italy recalled then Ambassador Maurizio Massari and appointed Gantini as a non-resident in May 2016.
Regeni had been researching trade unions in Egypt when he was kidnapped, tortured and ultimately killed. It was revealed that Egyptian police had detained Regeni and then transferred him to a compound run by Egypt's homeland security the day he was kidnapped, a fact previously disputed by Egyptian security services.
Despite the lack of progress on Regeni's case, Rome officials have cited ‘progress in cooperation in the investigation.’
Meanwhile, Egypt's security forces have reportedly targeted the Regeni family's legal team, arresting Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy, the family's Egyptian lawyer, on his way to a United Nations meeting on enforced disappearances.
Hegazy was charged with “managing an illegal group, spreading false news … [and] cooperating with foreign organizations” and faces up to five years in prison.
The arrest led to suspicions that Rome may have ulterior motives in downplaying Regeni's case. Critics have argued that Italy's lenience toward the Egyptian government's handling of the case is a sign of their growing interest in Egypt's influence over North Africa and its role in migration control.
Screenshot showing Italy (Top Left), Libya (Center) and Egypt (Center Right). Source: Google Earth
Why would Italy want to silence the murder of one of its citizens in Egypt? The links are complex.
Like the rest of the EU, the topic of migration in Italy remains a sensitive topic. A steady influx of migrants to Italy comes predominantly from Niger and Libya due to proximity. Italy recently proposed the Migration Compact to improve cooperation with African countries through a plethora of schemes in an effort to strengthen border control and reduce migrant flow.
Italy must maintain strong diplomatic ties with Egypt in order to negotiate migration flow with Libya through the Libyan coastguard. This involves a complex process under the authority of Libya's Government of the National Accord (GNA) which receives Italian ships and EU training.
Khalifa Haftar, head of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), is known to be one of Egypt's strongest allies. Haftar and the LNA currently exercise full control over the Eastern part of Libya that stretches from Benghazi to the Egyptian border.
If Italy wants to block or curb migration from Libya, it will need to secure friendly relations with Haftar and his Eastern government in order to establish diplomacy with the Italian-patrolled Western zone.
Therefore, Italy aims to capitalize on Egypt’s alliance with Haftar without risking an explicit intervention that could trigger discontent from Libya’s Western GNA.
Rome officials acknowledge Egypt as “an unavoidable partner” with whom it is “impossible not to have high-level political and diplomatic relations,” explained Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, according to Human Rights Watch.
Normalizing ties between the two countries along with Alfano's statements led to questions about Italy's complicity in silencing Regeni's murder investigation.
Human Rights Watch Director Kenneth Roth argued:
Did Italy give up on the quest for Giulio Regeni's killers so Egypt would help stop migrants to Europe? https://t.co/wabZHKNF01 pic.twitter.com/arFexQ9JoS
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) September 21, 2017
Similarly, journalist Edward Cousin questions Italy's motives:
#Egypt is migration wise simply too important for #Italy to let #Regeni‘s murder continue to dominate relation
— Eduard Cousin (@EduardCousin) September 14, 2017
Regarding Regeni's murder, the Egyptian government strongly denies any culpability from its security forces and has accused other parties of the crime.
In March 2016, five Egyptian men were shot dead after being convicted of kidnapping and murdering Regeni, only to be later found innocent.
Given Egypt's stifling approach to the investigation and Italy's motives for maintaining diplomatic ties with Egypt in favor of an effective migration policy, supporters of Regeni worry that these formalities will frustrate justice and the case will be eventually disregarded.
Regeni's parents condemned Italy's move to reestablish relations with Egypt and described it as a “dressed-up surrender” while activists such as Saverio Giagregorio demanded justice for Regeni on social media:
605 giorni senza Giulio.
La verità alla famiglia #Regeni gli è dovuta.
Non ci sono interessi che tengano.#veritapergiulioregeni #Metwaly pic.twitter.com/0IS5C8xGld
— saverio giangregorio (@saveriolakadima) September 22, 2017
‘Truth for Giulio,’ an Italian account, called out a meeting between Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, situating Regeni's murder among many crimes against humanity in Egypt:
Mr. @eucopresident meets @AlsisiOfficial. UE can't forget the crimes against humanity and #Regeni and thousand Giulio in Egypt. #UNGA pic.twitter.com/qCPc2KsFsr
— Verità Per Giulio (@GiulioSiamoNoi) September 19, 2017

author: Salma Essam


text:
Is Ex-Soviet Georgia Backsliding on Justice? · Global Voices
Guest Contributor

Georgian Policemen on Duty. Photo by Flickr user jb via Wikimedia Commons. (CC BY 2.0)
by JUSTINE DOODY
The following article was written for Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) and published on Global Voices with permission. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Global Voices.
On June 10, 2017, thousands of Georgians protested on the streets of Tbilisi, the country's capital, in support of two members of the rap group Birja Mafia. The young men were arrested on drugs charges they allege to have been trumped up. The protests marked a further step in the decline of Georgians’ trust in their law enforcement system.
Former president Mikheil Saakashvili’s successful police reforms in the first decade of the 21st century served as a model for reform in transition countries, but the gains may have been short-lived. By April 2017, only 38% of Georgians rated police performance good or very good, down from 60% as recently as November 2013. Meanwhile, only 13% rated the performance of both the courts and the office of the Chief Prosecutor good or very good; 27% said the courts performed badly or very badly, and 19% said the same of the Office of the Chief Prosecutor. Is the rule of law in Georgia on a downward trend?
Georgia scored 6.5 on the “Rule of Law” criterion in the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2016, a respectable showing that placed it in the “Sound” category alongside 22 other transitional and developing countries. Georgia was ranked lower than the nine countries ranked as “Excellent”, but higher than the remaining 97 countries designated “Fair”, “Flawed”, or “Poor”. However, the report notes problems in the country both with the prosecution of abuse of office and the independence of the judiciary, two issues that are contributing to the current deterioration in public confidence.
The Birja Mafia affair is not the only high-profile case to hit the headlines. In May, Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli was abducted in Tbilisi and transferred to prison in Azerbaijan, and accusations of complicity among the Georgian police led to the suspension of the head of the Border Police and the chief of Counterintelligence in July. Mukhtarli’s lawyers and wife say that the journalist’s abductors wore the uniform of the Georgian police. In June, one of Tbilisi’s police chiefs was suspended after Georgian media released a video showing apparent police abuse, in a March incident in which a man called Shota Pakeliani ended up in a coma after injuries received while in police custody. In both cases, the authorities took action after the public outcry, but critics say that this happens too rarely, and that even when it does the consequences are insufficiently severe.
Difficult Reforms
In 2015, the Prosecutor’s Office announced plans for the creation of a Department for Investigation into Crimes Committed throughout the Judicial Process. But as the Prosecutor’s Office is frequently accused of having political motivations, this department might not represent a real solution to the problem. In 2016, investigations were opened into 173 cases of alleged police mistreatment; but none of these for police brutality or torture, only for the less serious crime of “exceeding official powers.” Only five investigations led to criminal proceedings, and only two resulted in guilty verdicts. In its 2016/2017 annual report, Amnesty International raised concerns about the Georgian government’s failure to move on legislation to create an independent mechanism for investigating human rights violations by law enforcement bodies.
Georgia received visa-free travel to the European Union in March 2017, and its Association Agreement with the EU entered into force in July 2016. Georgians overwhelmingly support eventual EU membership. In a poll taken in February and March this year, 90% of respondents favored EU membership. So, although accession is not on the EU’s radar just yet, the Georgian government should be strongly motivated to comply with the Association Agenda, which includes reforming the prosecution service. Efforts to do that are in progress. The Prosecutor’s Office was separated from the Ministry of Justice in 2012, and in early 2016 a Prosecutorial Council and a Consultation Board were established to increase the office’s independence. In a January 2017 report, the Council’s anti-corruption body, the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), praised Georgia’s progress in reducing corruption, and welcomed the country’s efforts to reform its prosecution service. But GRECO noted that further work was needed to fully implement reforms and reduce the influence of the executive and the legislature on high-level prosecutorial appointments and on the activity of the Prosecutorial Council.
De-Politicization of Justice
The same kind of political linkages contribute to the problems within the police force. The appointment of top police officers is dependent on the will of the interior minister, which undermines the independence of the force. In the courts, too, the legacy of politicization left over from the Saakashvili administration persists, although the new government has taken some steps to improve the situation. The Public Defender’s Office is one bright spot. Responsible for overseeing human rights and freedoms in Georgia, it enjoys broad public support, although its recommendations are not implemented often enough.
De-politicization of justice needs to be a priority of the ruling Georgian Dream party, for the sake of the public at large, the country’s EU hopes, and perhaps even the party’s own political fortunes. The former governing party, Saakashvili’s United National Movement, found, to its detriment, that failing to provide adequate support for the rule of law can have political consequences. Widely publicized cases of prison abuse and police violence contributed to the party’s loss of public trust and eventual ouster in 2012. If the current government cannot improve public confidence in the system, it might find that history can repeat itself.
Justine Doody is an editor and analyst. She writes for the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s BTI Blog and SGI News.

author: Guest Contributor


text:
Myanmar Government Vows to Address Refugee Crisis in Rakhine State, but Avoids Saying ‘Rohingya’ · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A Rohingya camp for internally displaced persons in Rakhine State. Photo by Mathias Eick. Source: Flickr page of EU/ECHO (CC BY-ND 2.0)
On September 19, 2017, Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi delivered a widely anticipated speech in front of diplomats, United Nations officials, and members of the media to speak about what the government is doing to address the refugee crisis in Rakhine State.
Since August, about 400,000 Rohingyas have escaped to Bangladesh after the Myanmar government intensified its crackdown of insurgents belonging to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which attacked several police and military outposts.
The crackdown involved clearing operations that displaced thousands of Rohingya families. Both the ARSA and government troops accused each other of committing widespread abuses such as looting and burning of houses, beating and killing of women and children, and instigating religious violence. The conflict has affected various ethnic groups in the Rakhine state.
The Rohingya people are an ethnic group in western Myanmar, but the government considers them to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and denies them citizenship. Most are Muslim, and living in a country with a Buddhist majority population, they suffer from discrimination. Many are deprived of basic social services.
In her speech, Suu Kyi assured Myanmar's ethnic groups that the government is thinking about their welfare. Unfortunately, she failed to mention the Rohingya, a move in line with the government's refusal to recognize the Rohingya as an official ethnic group. In fact, her whole speech avoided reference to “Rohingya” and instead she referred to them simply as Muslims:
We feel deeply for the suffering of all the people who have been caught up in the conflict. Those who have had to flee their homes are many – not just Muslims and Rakhines, but also small minority groups, such as the Daing-net, Mro, Thet, Mramagyi and Hindus of whose presence most of the world is totally unaware.
She also said refugees who fled to Bangladesh can return to Myanmar — but only after undergoing a verification process:
Those who have been verified as refugees from this country will be accepted without any problems and with full assurance of their security and their access to humanitarian aid.
With regard to the recent spate of attacks in Rakhine, she spoke about punishing groups responsible for spreading violence:
Action will be taken against all peoples, regardless of their religion, race, or political position who go against the laws of the land and who violate human rights as accepted by our international community. We have never been soft on human rights in this country.
Suu Kyi, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her promotion of democracy, has been criticized for her silence regarding the issue and her alleged inaction to prevent the persecution of Rohingya. Her September 19 speech was regarded as a crucial moment for her to clarify once and for all the government’s position on the matter, in particular the forced exodus of thousands of Rohingya to nearby Bangladesh. Suu Kyi is not the head of government but she is the leader of the ruling party.
In her speech, Suu Kyi emphasized that Myanmar has a fragile democracy that is undergoing transition after five decades of experiencing direct military rule. She added that the new government has been in power for only 18 months and it has been struggling very hard to enforce reforms while keeping peace and restoring democratic processes.
Meanwhile, Vice President U Henry Van Thio addressed the United Nations General Assembly on September 20 and echoed Suu Kyi’s point that the majority of Muslims in Rakhine have decided to remain in the country:
We would need to find out the reason for this exodus. What is little known is that the great majority of the Muslim population decided to remain in their villages. We share the need to ensure that vital humanitarian assistance is provided to all those in need.
Suu Kyi’s speech was beamed live across Myanmar and groups of people even watched it in the capital while holding placards with the words, “We stand with Aung San Suu Kyi.”
Gleeful crowds outside Yangon's City Hall just before Aung San Suu Kyi's speech on #Rakhine. pic.twitter.com/COln9PdU8M
— Coconuts Yangon (@CoconutsYangon) September 19, 2017
Historian Thant Myint-U thinks the speech will resonate with the domestic population, but international critics will not be satisfied:
My guess is that the harshest international critics of the government will be far from satisfied; but that the vast majority of Burmese people and at least some foreign governments will feel she’s steering the only realistic course she can under very complex circumstances.
Indeed, local media highlighted how global news reports about the refugee crisis focused on the Rohingya but neglected the situation of other ethnic groups. Some even complained that rich countries are unduly interfering in Myanmar’s domestic affairs.
Netherlands Ambassador to Myanmar Wouter Jurgens tweeted his disappointment with Suu Kyi’s speech (ASSK stands for Aung San Suu Kyi):
ASSK's speech on Rakhine: we feared denial and hoped for a message of compassion and justice: neither has come true. #Myanmar @DutchMFA pic.twitter.com/EUspUREdfm
— Wouter Jurgens (@WouterJurgens) September 19, 2017
James Gomez of Amnesty International wondered about Suu Kyi’s “silence about the role of the security forces” in the attacks against the Rohingya:
Aung San Suu Kyi today demonstrated that she and her government are still burying their heads in the sand over the horrors unfolding in Rakhine State. At times, her speech amounted to little more than a mix of untruths and victim blaming.
Writing for news website Coconuts Yangon, Jacob Goldberg witnessed how an enthusiastic crowd welcomed the speech of Suu Kyi.
Generalizing a problem in order to ignore a specific emergency works like a charm for people in power when their followers are on board.
Watching the crowd outside City Hall throw a mini-rave before and after they heard Aung San Suu Kyi trivialize the pain of the world’s most persecuted people made it clearer than ever that the struggle for real justice inside Myanmar will be long and torturous. But it will only begin once at least one person in the crowd suggests that death and displacement are no occasion for a dance party.
After weeks of being quiet about the issue, Suu Kyi broke her silence but failed to appease everyone, especially human rights groups. Worse, by avoiding to mention the Rohingya, Suu Kyi’s speech could in fact reinforce negative views about the ethnic group. Meanwhile, as Myanmar rebuilds the shattered villages in Rakhine, the situation of Rohingya refugees staying in makeshift camps in both Bangladesh and Myanmar continues to deteriorate.