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“Shame for Brazil” Forest Defender Couple Murdered · Global Voices
Paula Góes

This post is part of our special coverage Forest Focus: Amazon.
“The same thing they did with Chico Mendes in Acre (environmental leader murdered in 1988) they want to do with me, the same thing they did with Sister Dorothy Stang (American missionary murdered in Pará in 2005) they want to do with me. I may be talking with you today and in a month time you can read on the news that I already died.”
(José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva)
This prophecy became a reality six months after the prediction made before an international audience at TEDx Amazônia. [All the links in this post lead to Portuguese language pages except when otherwise noted.]
The recent murder of environmentalists José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espirito Santo, a couple known as the “defenders of the forest” due to their struggle that began in 2008 against deforestation and illegal logging in Brazil, has shocked the country.
T-shirt reads: "Life, Dignity and Hope". Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva and José Claudio Ribeiro da Silva – CNS Archive. Published with permission.
Ambush
The couple was shot dead in an ambush near the house where they lived in Nova Ipixuna in the state of Pará, on Tuesday, May 24, 2011. It is suspected that the killers were serving the loggers from the region, troubled by the surveillance that the couple exercised for the preservation of forests around the agro-extractivist settlement of Praia Alta Pirandeira, an area of 22 thousand hectares, where the subsistence of 500 families depends of Brazil nut collection and forest essences extraction.
Bloggers don't hide their regret. Guilherme Nascimento Valadares, who met da Silva at TEDx Amazônia in November last year, emotionally recounts:
Zé Cláudio acha que matar árvores é assassinato. […] Sujeito simples, com mais coragem do que  jamais sonhei ter. Falou pouco menos de 10 minutos. Ele e sua mulher  lideravam a associação de camponeses no Projeto de Assentamento  Agroextrativista Praialtapiranheira, em Nova Ipixuna, sudeste do Pará. O  casal cutucava um vespeiro perigoso. Denunciavam as madeireiras ilegais e estavam sendo ameaçados de morte. Pediram proteção da polícia, nunca recebida. […]
Hoje fico sabendo que, como ele mesmo previu, foi assassinado junto com sua mulher. Não consegui rever sua palestra até o final, tenho certeza que vou chorar como um idiota.
Zé Claudio believes that killing trees is a murder. A simple person, with more courage braver than I ever dreamed to have. He spoke a little less than 10 minutes. He and his wife led the peasants association in the agro-extractivist settlement of Praialtapiranheira in Nova Ipixuna, southeastern Pará. The couple poked a dangerous hornet's nest. They denounced illegal logging and were being threatened with death. They asked for police protection, never got it.
Today I learned, as he himself predicted, he was assassinated together with his wife. I could not watch his lecture again until the end, I'm sure I'll cry like an idiot.
Karina Miotto, who also met him at TEDxAmazônia, explains why Zé was known as a symbol of the fight for the Brazil nut:
Graças às denúncias de José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva, pelo menos 10 serrarias de castanheiras foram fechadas no ano passado na região, cinco delas em Nova Ipixuna. As árvores, protegidas por lei, têm sido insistentemente derrubadas por madeireiros e carvoeiros para produção de madeira e carvão vegetal. Serrarias já foram autuadas pelo Ibama por beneficiar madeira retirada ilegalmente do assentamento Praia Alta da Piranheira, onde ele morava. Não fica difícil concluir o tipo de pessoas que há tempos o ameaçavam na tentativa de calar suas denúncias. Após os tiros, disparados desde uma moto, cortaram um pedaço de sua orelha, em uma demonstração além de crueldade, “prova” do pistoleiro ao mandante que o “serviço foi cumprido”, algo comum no violento Pará.
Rodrigo Ferraz says that the country counts on “two less warriors”:
Enquanto o nosso congresso permanece num debate que ninguém compreende sobre o novo código florestal, pessoas que vivem da floresta de maneira digna e com a preocupação em mantê-la de pé são assassinadas – por madeireiros que, não raro, apresentam ligações com políticos – simplesmente por sua defesa dessa floresta. […]
Tudo que nos resta agora é tentar assimilar um pouco da mensagem que ele passava em vida, em prol de uma floresta que não durará muito, do jeito que vem sendo tratada.
While our Congress remains in a debate that no one understands about the new Forest Code, people who make a living of the forest in a dignified manner and with the concern to keep it standing are murdered – by loggers who, often, have connections with politicians – just for defending this forest. […]
All that remains now is to try to understand a little of the message he passed on in life in favor of a forest that will not last long, the way it has been treated.
“It's not enough to kill, you have to heckle”
The crime happened on the eve of Brazilian National Congress’ approval of the New Forestry Code [en], that provides amnesty for deforesters and reduces the protected area. Many were watching the voting on the TV when the news on the environmentalist couple's murder was read. Instead of reverent silence, the announcement was received at the Chamber of Deputies under boos. Wilmar Ferraz reacts on Twitter:
As vaias vieram das galerias e também do Plenário da Câmara de integrantes da bancada ruralista. É a grotesca banalização da morte!!
Also on Twitter, João Paulo Izoton comments:
Bancada ruralista aprova código da motoserra e vaia ambientalistas mortos no Pará. Da série “desgraça pouca é bobagem”
On the blog Conexão Brasília Maranhão reads the sentence “Não basta matar, tem que vaiar” (Do not just kill, you have to heckle). According to Rogério Tomaz Jr., the heckling is because the ruralists are very “used to impunity and to low impact of their criminal acts”:
A vaia não era apenas para o deputado e o anúncio que este fazia. Era, sobretudo, para a luta que movimentos sociais e entidades da sociedade civil travam no dia a dia contra a razão das armas e do dinheiro (que compra até comunista).
O caso me faz pensar em uma pergunta para a qual é difícil encontrar resposta racional: que tipo de pessoa é capaz de se comprazer com o assassinato covarde de alguém.
The heckling was not only directed to the deputy and his announcement. It was mainly directed to the daily fight by social movements and civil society entities against the reason of weapons and money (that even buys communists).
This case makes me think of a question which is hard to find a rational answer to: what kind of person is capable of indulging in the cowardly assassination of someone.
Heroes of the Forest
In the Amigos do Parque Central blog, the headline of a post says the murder of the environmentalist couple brings “One more Shame for Brazil”:
No Brasil terra sem lei onde reina a impunidade, quem defende o nosso patrimônio ambiental e contraria os interesses ecônomicos, tomba junto com a floresta.
Many bloggers took the chance to remember the deaths of rubber tapper Chico Mendes [en], in 1988, and of the missionary Dorothy Stang [en], in 2005. For them, José Cláudio goes into the history of the Amazon as another fine example of courage for the life of the forest. Adilson comments:
No recorrente da situação,  já não perceberam que  morte não cala? Não atentam que as idéias continuam a pulsar pelos caminhos antes abertos pelo idealista? Que o melhor para todos é que o idealista viva?
Mendes and Stang, however, are  the only two cases in recent history that had the appropriate impact and media attention. Counting the anonymous heroes of this list, the number is large: 1,614 people, according to a report by Comissão Pastoral da Terra, were murdered in the last 25 years due to conflicts in the field. Only 91 cases were tried in court, resulting in the condemnation of 21 principals and 72 murderes. In a comment on Combate ao Racismo Ambiental (Fight Environmental Racism), the blogger says, indignantly, the number of victims he recalls:
Só nos últimos meses posso recordar, de  cabeça, duas lideranças de fundo de pasto, na Bahia; os quatro  ambientalistas do Paraná; Zé Maria, da Chapada do Apodi, Ceará; e os  números que tornaram Mato Grosso do Sul o recordista absoluto de mortes  de índios no País (mais de 50%).
Juliana Gatti Pereira calls on everyone not to let so many deaths bein vain, by signing Avaaz online petition to pressure the Senate and urge President Dilma to veto the most dangerous amendments of the new Forestry Code [en]:
Fortes e corajosos, vamos nos inspirar  neles para não deixar que hoje façam o que quiserem com a nossa  floresta, que é garantia da nossa própria vida!!
A floresta é sua vida!! A floresta é sua mãe, as árvores são nossas irmãs!!!!!
Strong and courageous, we will be inspired by them and not allow them to do what they want today with our forest, which is a guarantee of our own life!
The forest is your life! The forest is your mother, the trees are our sisters !!!!!
This post is part of our special coverage Forest Focus: Amazon.

author: Paula Góes


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Caribbean: FIFA Foul · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Regional bloggers congratulate the Bermudian and Bahamian football representatives – now being lauded as whistleblowers – who refused to accept bribes from FIFA; Globewriter republishes suspended vice-president Jack Warner's statement on the FIFA ruling and Plain Talk says that he is not as concerned with Jack Warner the FIFA rep as he is “with Jack Warner the politician…and the further destruction to the integrity in public affairs his presence at that level brings.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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CEE Bankwatch Network campaign against EBRD practices · Global Voices
Bernardo Parrella

The CEE Bankwatch Network, an NGO monitoring activities of international financial institutions, has just released a video sharply criticizing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's 20th anniversary of activities in former Soviet Bloc countries, and its intentions to extend to north Africa. “The EBRD has in fact a poor track record of keeping up with its mission to protect human rights and the environment and promote justice.” The Network campaign requests the EBRD to promote “environmentally-sustainable, socially-just, renewable energy-based societies rather than just market economies.”

author: Bernardo Parrella


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Chile: 5 Great Moments of Chilean Hip-Hop · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Music blogger Roberto Carreño lists “5 great moments of Chilean hip-hop” [es]. He includes a brief description and a video of each song.

author: Silvia Viñas


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China: Sex, nation and cultural traitors · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Siweiluozi has written an excellent piece, in response to the State's interrogation of Li Tiantain's sex life, to discuss the formation of China as a nation through discourses about sex and women as cultural traitors.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Côte d’Ivoire: Is Charles Blé Goudé alive ? · Global Voices
Julie Owono

After weeks of uncertainty about his whereabouts, an alleged audio recording of Charles Blé Goudé [fr], the former Ivorian Minister of Youth under ousted president Laurent Gbagbo, has appeared in the Facebook group, “RESEAU MONDIAL FACEBOOKERS POUR GBAGBO” (Worldwide Network of Facebookers for Gbagbo). In the recording, posted by Cyrius Oscar Chic Choc, Blé Goudé says: “I've experienced the symbolism of my own funeral in my lifetime, which my grandfather often told me about,” and affirms, “I am alive.”

author: Julie Owono


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East Africa: New Investements for Startups in East Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Emeka blogs about Fanisi Venture Capital Fund which “focuses on a segment of the market that has to date been outside the ambit of most venture funds in the East African market. Fanisi makes equity investments of $0.5 million – $3 million per transaction in high growth businesses, including start ups and early stage companies…”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Global: Amnesty International Celebrates 50 Years · Global Voices
Simon Maghakyan

Global human rights champion Amnesty International celebrated their 50th anniversary on May 28, 2011. The organization has 3 millions members and is credited for supporting the release of thousands of prisoners of conscience. See photos of celebrations on Flickr, and a special birthday present by Dutch designer Maarten Baas: a giant empty chair.

author: Simon Maghakyan


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Haiti: A Different View of Cite Soleil  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“We want to showcase local talents, and change the image of the youth in Cite Soleil. We want to get people planting again and eating Haitian food”: Throwing Down the Water profiles “a neighborhood committee called ‘La Difference’ [which] formed a movement to clean up their few blocks” and is hoping to effect real change.


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India: Media Biased About Elite And Middle Class · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sans Serif comments: “although it is easy to find instances of media manufactured struggles in India if the victims are elite, educated or middle class but to say the same for this very media taking up the causes of the underprivileged, oppressed or rural masses is difficult.”

author: Rezwan


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India: Missing Children, Trafficking And Growth Of Child Slavery · Global Voices
Rezwan

Amrita Paul at Youth Ki Awaaz  opines that it is time to get serious about the issues of missing children, trafficking and the growth of child slavery in India.


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India: New Internet Rules – Unregulated Power To The Government · Global Voices
Rezwan

Law And Other Things debates the proposed new Internet Rules in India, which grants unregulated powers to the Government.


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Jamaica: Garvey’s Good Name  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp has begun an online movement to clear Marcus Garvey's name – his aim is “to get 10,000 signatures and to deliver the petition to President Barack Obama.”


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Mexico: Blogger Interviews Teacher Who Sang to Students During Shooting · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Martha Rivera Alanis, the teacher who sang to her students during a shooting in Monterrey, México was given an award for her bravery. In an interview with Regioblogs [es], Martha describes what happened before, during and after the shooting. She explains she decided to sing to the children to try to drown out the noise from the shoot-out.


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Nepal: So Rich And Yet So Poor · Global Voices
Rezwan

News Views And Reviews Of Nepal points out that although Nepal has a huge potential to generate hydropower up to 43,000 megawatts (MW), it is generating only 1.47% of its total capacity and further investments in this sector has stalled.


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Nepal: The Difference The Maoists Have Made · Global Voices
Rezwan

Maila Baje at Nepali Netbook discusses about the difference the Maoists have made in Nepali politics.


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Pakistan: Journalist Disappeared · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chowrangi reports that Journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad, correspondent of Italian news agency Adnkronos International (AKI) in Pakistan, has disappeared recently in Islamabad. In 2006 he was kidnapped by Taliban militants while on duty and was later released.


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Philippines: Online campaign to defeat Reproductive Health measure · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Catholic Church has turned to cyberspace in its bid to defeat the proposed Reproductive Health bill now pending in Philippine Congress.

author: Mong Palatino


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Thailand: 9 Film Festival · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Wise Kwai reviews the 9 Film Festival in Thailand. The event features “nine short films, each nine minutes long and incorporating something about the No 9 in them.”


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Thailand: Foreigners banned from getting religious tattoos · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Saksith Saiyasombut reacts to the order of a Thai government official banning foreigners from getting religious tattoos in Thailand


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Thailand: Free bilingual business newspaper · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Launched this year, Business Plus Thailand is Thailand's only free bilingual business newspaper that focuses on local news.


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Thailand: Tourism woes · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Khon Kaen advises the Tourism Authority of Thailand to learn from the aggressive tourism campaign of Laos to revitalize the country's tourism industry


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Twitter monitor of Thailand election · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The twitter account @ThaiElection11 provides English news updates about the July 3 general election in Thailand. The news source is from The Nation, a leading broadsheet in Bangkok.


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Africa: Following TED Fellows · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Emeka follows TED Fellows around Africa: “…Alexandra Graham, cofounder of Lagray Chemicals, the first vertically integrated pharmaceutical manufacturing company in West Africa; Mohammed Bah Abba, innovator behind the pot-in-pot cooling device;Ainea Kimaro, biogas evangelist, whose work has reached from Rwanda to Tanzania; and Segeni Ngethe, founder of Kenyan e-commerce pioneer Mama Mikes…”


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Chile: How Many Marched Against the Hidroaysén Hydroelectric Station and Why? · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

This post is part of a series of posts about the approval to construct the Hydroaysén hydroelectric power station, Chile.
Read about the project, the positions in favor and against it, and the initial reactions following the ruling. Also review the testimonials from the first protests.
Last Saturday, May 28, 2011, a new massive protest took effect against the Hydroaysén hydroelectric project. The event was the third convened by Acción Ecológica [es] and the fourth massive protest in Santiago since the project's approval on May 9. Unlike previous protests, this one ended without any major incidents.
Online daily El Dinamo also spoke regarding the festive and familiar atmosphere [es] that was felt throughout the event. Nevertheless, one doubt remained — how many marched? The numbers varied so much according to the source, that the topic was commented on throughout various social networks.
View of the Alameda from the protest vs. Hidroaysén. Photo from Twitter user @esopino
On Twitter, Ivan Rebolledo (@OscuroSer), technician in computational networks commented:
Marcha contra HidroAysén: Organizadores aseguran que fueron 100 mil personas http://bit.ly/iAZ1gW [FOTOS] #Hidroaysén #NoaHidroaysén #ERNC !
On the other hand, Roberto (@fuznet) pointed out the differences in estimates:
Las cifras según… Terra: 5 mil participantes, La Tercera :20 Mil, Cooperativa: 80 mil, Emol: 0 detenidos. Juzgue ud. #Noahidroaysen.
As for the mass media, webpage Radio Bio-Bio [es] also noted estimates that went from 18,000 to 90,000 people.
Beyond the disparity between official numbers and that which participants and organizers reported, it is interesting to analyze that which is calling so many people to the streets for so many days, and why Hidroaysén (after Barrancones, in Punta de Choros [es] in 2010) has caused such an uproar in all spheres, including social networks. With respect to this, there are many known points of view.
Professor Marcelo Mena explains some reasons in his column “Nature at man's service” [es] published by online daily El Dinamo [es]:
El rechazo a Hidroaysén es solo la manifestación de la  desconfianza que tenemos frente a grandes proyectos pintados de verde.  Subestimamos a la gente al pensar que rechazan el proyecto porque Patagonia Sin Represas mostraba las Torres del Paine con cables. […] Viene porque la mayoría de la población ha sentido problemas de  contaminación  en su vida (de acuerdo a una encuesta que hicimos el 2010  junto con  Opina). Viene de que encuentran irracional destruir algo  único como la Patagonia para satisfacer demandas energéticas teóricas  (proyectadas linealmente) que ni siquiera aseguran una baja de tarifa.  De hecho, de acuerdo a encuestra Opina, 70% de los chilenos está  dispuesto a más por energías limpias.
On the other hand, Victor Hugo Barrientos, in his column “The environment and sustainable development: pending” [es] from El Quinto Poder argues [es]:
Hemos visto en los últimos meses una tremenda rebelión social y  mediática por el poderoso rechazo que provocan la ejecución de proyectos energéticos en nuestro territorio. Primero fue “Punta de Choros” y la  historia de la planta termo-eléctrica y ahora Hidroaysén, las que han excitado el fervor popular, llevándolo a máximos históricos, que incluso  han comprometido la seguridad nacional. […] Esa misma muchedumbre inquieta no  tiene una conducta “ambientalmente coherente”, no propone soluciones reales, ni tampoco define responsabilidades al fenómeno en discusión. La  historia de “Dr Jekyll y Mr Hyde” (novela de Robert Stevenson, 1886)  aplicaría para definirnos; por el día consumimos energía por toneladas y por la noche protestamos para impedir proyectos energéticos.
Aside from criticisms, however, online users have also begun proposing solutions. One example is that which consultant on the carbon footprint, Ricardo Torres, proposed in his column “Renewable, not conventional, energies: a real alternative” [es]:
[…] Estas oportunidades se podrían materializar al  incluir estos desarrollos  de generación eléctrica bajo el Mecanismo de  Desarrollo Limpio (MDL),  dependiente de la ONU, el cual permite crear  proyectos de reducción de  emisiones de Gases de Efecto Invernadero en  países en vías de desarrollo. Al  certificar estas reducciones se  obtienen bonos de carbono que pueden ser  vendidos a empresas de países  industrializados. Los recursos generados por la  venta de los bonos  permiten financiar una parte importante de los proyectos.
The protest participants, on the other hand, talk about the diversity of opinions and reasons for starting the demonstration, which have been expressed in the slogans and banners that range from criticisms of the capitalist system up to support for the ERNC (Renewable, Not Conventional, Energies)
Writer and blogger Andrea Elgueta [es], in her story entitled “What mobilizes those who join the demonstration against Hidroaysén? [es] in El Quinto Poder tells us [es]:
March against Hidroaysén. Photo from Luis Fernando Arellano, Flickr user reports (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Salí de casa con una cámara de fotos y me dispuse a intentar develar si  este movimiento tiene ideas y tiene una visión propia. De más está decir  que desde el inicio de nuestra  imperfecta y discutible democracia que  no teníamos 40.000 o 100.000  personas en las calles manifestándose. ¿Se  manifestarán por moda? ¿Será  realmente entretenido asistir sólo para  “pelearse con los pacos”? ¿O  es una masa inconsciente que se vuelcan a  las calles porque sí? […] Al llegar al  lugar de reunión de los manifestantes, me sorprendió la  cantidad de  gente: niños, abuelos, jóvenes, adultos, mujeres y  manifestaciones  artísticas variopintas. […] Claro, pensé, no se trata de “bandos”,  como se empecina en creer el  gobierno, sino que se acercan más a una  manifestación genuina de  ciudadanos con opinión que esta vez buscan ser  escuchados sin  mediadores.
“Reasons for Hidroaysén,” a short documentary by Amparo Baeza, Antonio  Fernández and Claudio Rivera, that has been amply broadcast through the internet, provides an’ inside look’ in 15 minutes into the diversity of social actors, investigative reaction, different meetings and principal reasons that people have had to take to the streets to protest.
LAS RAZONES CONTRA HIDROAYSEN SALEN A LA CALLE from Revista Lecturas on Vimeo.
REASONS AGAINST HIDROAYSEN TAKE TO THE STREETS [es] from Revista Lecturas [es] on Vimeo.
Perhaps, as Patricio Herman, President of the Defendamos La Ciudad [Defend The City] Foundation, highlights in an interview with online daily El Mostrador [es], one of the major achievements of the protests is that: “All Chileans already talk about renewable, not conventional, energies and so many other terms that, prior to the environmental ruling of the five HidroAysén reservoirs in Patagonia, very few knew.”

author: Elizabeth Rivera


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China: Another Self-immolation over Forced Eviction · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

DJH from China SMACK translated a local report and netizens’ response on another forced eviction and demolition self-immolation incident in Zhuzhou, Hunan province.


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China: First ‘Jasmine’ Sentence Handed Down · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The first sentence has been handed down today following the many arrests and detentions this spring, to 47-year-old Chengdu legal rights activist Li Shuangde.
Following his detention on March 23, Li was convicted Wednesday on charges of credit card fraud and sentenced to four months in prison and fined RMB 20,000. According to legal rights organization Chinese Human Rights Defenders, Li's prison sentence applies retroactively and his term will be up in late July.
Li Shuangde
Li's day in court was originally scheduled for Tuesday morning, but according to Li's supporters and former lawyer, Ran Tong, the trial was postponed after the presiding judge learned that Ran intended to plead not guilty on Li's behalf.
Supporter Xing Qingxian was at the courthouse Tuesday, and wrote this account:
5月31日,我8点50就早早来到了锦江区法院门口,锦江区法院在装修,门口和往常一样没有像我们开庭时候那样搞得很紧张,后来才从律师口中得知法院通知的是11点开庭,我和一起去的朋友们只好在附近的茶馆喝茶等待,10点45分,我和朋友们一起通过了法院的安检门,进入法院二楼大厅,在大厅里,我们见到了李双德的母亲,一起聊了一会儿天,就进入了二楼的第五法庭,法庭很小,我们大约去了十多人，就已经坐不下了。
Jijiang Court summons to court for the date May 31, 2011
一进门就看见一个小女生在哪里整理文件，可能是书记员，法官此时还没到庭，等到11点15分左右，看见吕姓法官进来了，去法官席上看了看案卷，就出去了，又过了一会，来了一个男法官，说先开他的庭，让我们出去，此时看到带了几个年轻的罪犯进来，我们在法院的大厅里等候，又过了一会，那个女法官通知我们，说今天不开庭了，让我们回去等通知。冉彤律师问为什么，法官说：既然你要做无罪辩护我们需要通知公诉人到庭来支持诉讼， 冉彤和家属朋友都向法官表示：我们并没有表示一定做无罪辩护，我们只想知道李双德认罪，是他的真实意思表达，因为冉彤律师认真研究了证据，认为李双德是无罪的，李双德作为法律工作者不可能不知道自己的行为构不成犯罪，从整个公诉方提供的证据来看，李双德的认罪到底是怎么回事，我们还不清楚，由于冉彤得到开庭通知时间十分紧迫，没来得及见李双德，因此冉彤律师才希望当庭询问李双德，如果李双德认罪，是他自己的真实意思表达，冉彤律师向法官表示，他将不再为李双德辩护；可法官没有同意。
[…]
匆匆吃过饭后，冉彤律师马上赶到看守所，希望会见李双德，询问他的真实意思，并告诉他现有证据的情况，但看守所说李双德已经调监，不允许会见，更蹊跷的是，不久李双德的母亲打电话给冉彤律师，让冉彤律师不要再去会见李双德。
Ran returned Wednesday morning to the detention center where Li had been held, and was told by staff there that Li had already been taken to the Jijiang District court and assigned a new lawyer.

author: John Kennedy


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Egypt: Breaking Red Lines; Speaking Up Against the Military Tribunals  · Global Voices
Lilian Wagdy

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.
A few months ago, just walking too close to the Military Prosecution Complex in Cairo’s district of Nasr City could have landed you in jail. But on May 31, the area surrounding the complex was the stage for a demonstration in solidarity with OnTV’s presenter Reem Maged, socialist activist and blogger Hossam El Hamalawy, and journalist Nabil Sharaf El Din.
The three were asked to appear in front of the military prosecution following remarks El Hamalawy and Sharaf El Din made against what they said were military police violations against civilian detainees and what they saw as an ambivalent attitude from the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF)  towards the revolution.
Military police outside the military complex during the protest. Photo by Sara Carr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The gathering in front of the military facility was not the first of its kind. However, it was the largest in number (around 500 people took part in the demo) and it was the first time that fearless and fierce chants against the army and Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi were heard near a military establishment, let alone one as vital as this building, which is dubbed C28.
And while mainstream media sufficed with providing a watered-down coverage of the demonstration, social media activists, especially on Twitter, were updating their followers of the demo with tweets, pictures and videos.
On Twitter, activist Gigi Ibrahim (@GSqaure86) states that:
“The chants haven't stopped once since 10:30 all against military rule and Tantawi . No military trials #NoSCAF”
While activist student Noor Noor (@noornoor1) provides the latest update on the status of the three under interrogation:
“A lawyer just came out and said that there will be no “official investigation” opened with reem. Hossam, or nabil”
Journalist and activist Sarah Carr (@sarahcarr) provided high quality photos of the demo on her flickr account .
By midday, what started as a summon for formal investigation ended with an “informal chat” and Maged, El-Hamalawy, and Sharaf El Din were released without being charged. Protesters cited their gathering and their chants that stressed strong refusal to the notion of a Military-Ruled Egypt as the reason for the three’s release.
Gigi Ibrahim (@GSquare86) asserts that:
“Twitter + Media + people in street turned an interrogation into ‘a chat’ ..the power of the people is all we got..hope for the revolution “
And even El-Hamalawy himself seems to share this belief on his Twitter account @3arabawy:
And I'm sure today's protest, as well as the public campaign, are the only reasons I'm out today.
Although all three were released, activists say they will keep lobbying for the rights of thousands of Egyptian civilians who received swift and tough sentences by military tribunals and are now in military prisons. In doing so, these activists are, as well, increasingly challenging what the military establishment deems as its ‘red line’ asserting that the only Red Line in post-Revolution Egypt must be the Egyptian people themselves.
This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.

author: Lilian Wagdy


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El Salvador: 20 Soldiers Indicted for Jesuit Murders · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“On  Monday, a Spanish court indicted 20 Salvadoran soldiers for their  involvement in the murders and subsequent cover-up of six Jesuit priests  and their housekeeper and her daughter at the University of Central  America in November 1989”: Mike explains the story behind this report in  Central American Politics.


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France : Two Moroccan Actresses Turned Away · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

Two Moroccan actresses, invited to the Cannes Film Festival for Leila Kilani's movie “Sur la planche” [On a Plank]” were turned away at Nice airport on Thursday, May 19. They were authorized to return afterwards. In Morocco, blogger kechmania commented [fr] :
“In a perfect world, official apologies would have been offered to the two artists who were denied entry at the gates of their dreams.”

author: Suzanne Lehn


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Hungary: A Picnic for Democracy · Global Voices
Marietta Le

Authors of Kettős Mérce (“Double Standard”) blog held a ‘picnic for democracy‘ [hu] last Sunday in the capital of Hungary. They also shared a video from the event, which was organized in solidarity with the recent protests in Spain.

author: Marietta Le


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Iran: Environmental Blogger Sued by Authorities · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Houman Khakpour, an environmental blogger in Iran has been sued by the state run Bureau for Environmental Protection in the Chahrmahal Bakhtyari province, for warning about the the dangers of a gas pipeline project for the region's environment.
Khakpour explained in his blog, Dideh ban Tabiate Bakhtyari (Bakhtyari nature watcher) that he stands accused of “disturbing public opinion” and “spreading false news.” On Saturday May 28, 2011, he  wrote [fa]:
After I wrote a post about the construction of a road in order to pass a gas pipeline through the protected natural area of ‘Tang-e- Sayad’, The Bureau of Environmental Protection in Chahrmahale Bakhtyari sued me and I must go to trial before a judge in Shahre Kurd city. My post on this topic was republished by several websites.
Iranian environmental blogger Houman Khakpou.
In the controversial post from about a month ago, Houman Khakpour argued [fa] that the Bureau for Environmental Protection had not offered any resistance to allowing a gas pipeline and a 10 kilometer road pass right through a protected natural area.
Mojgan Jamshidi, a leading environmental journalist and blogger, was surprised by the news and says she has not experienced such action in the last 40 years. She writes [fa]:
It is unbelievable that the head of Bureau for Environmental Protection who claims to have 11 years of experience with the media, complains about a blogger and accuses him of disturbing public opinion and publishing false news. It is amazing that the authorities are very tolerant towards the ones who destroy nature, while they sue the nature lover and environmental activist.
Animal Persian says [fa] Houman analyses environmental issues with a critical eye in his blog. He has 19 years of experience in this field. The blogger says that it seems that the authorities now not only filter (censor) environmental blogs, but also target the bloggers themselves.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Women’s Rights Activist Dies at Father’s Funeral · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Haleh Sahabi, an Iranian women's rights activist died yesterday morning as a result of rough treatment by security agents during the funeral of her father, Ezatollah Sahabi, a veteran patriotic political leader.
Haleh was leading the procession with flowers and a picture of her father when plain-clothed agents charged forward and tried to tear away the picture. Eye-witnesses said the security agents used batons and that she collapsed and died on the way to hospital.
Ezzatollah and Haleh Sahabi
Her untimely death made headlines in several news sites. The photos of Haleh and her father (above), lifeless body and films of mourners made their way through Facebook and blogs.
Iranian blogger Zede Kodeta (Anti Coup d'Etat)encourages [fa] people to go to the rooftops and chant anti regime slogans, in order to protest against what happened to Haleh.
Another blogger Artenoos writes [fa]:
Haleh was a 56 year-old women's rights activist and a Koran researcher. She was arrested on August 5, 2009 when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was inaugurated for a second term. She was one of the protesters present beside the Parliament of Iran. She was beaten by security forces… She believed you can find equality between men and women, if you read The Koran through a woman's prism and concerns.
Blogger Tweatter writes  [fa]:
How many Haleh Sahabis should be killed until we finish with our indifference? How long we should wait, and be pleased to see Obama say, “the first demonstrations in the region began in Iran”? Why we should not be inspired by Egypt, Tunisia, and the heroic people's movement in Syria? Does no one remember [the Iranian proverb] ‘you do something if you finish it'?


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Kenya: Masai Mara’s Vanishing Animals · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

What is the future of wildlife species in Masai Mara reserve in Kenya?: “Most wildlife species have declined toward a third or less of their previous abundance within the overall Mara region between 1977 and 2009, with these decreases being almost as severe within the reserve as in the adjoining ranches.”


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Malaysia: Mobile vendor issue · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

KW Mak from Malaysia discusses how the government deals with mobile vendors or street hawkers.


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Malaysia: Sarawak vote buying allegation · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

democracy4now presents evidence of vote buying in the recent Sarawak state election in Malaysia


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Mexico: Documentary ‘Barrios, Beats, and Blood’  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Daniel Hernandez, in his blog Intersections, posts “Barrios, Beats, and Blood”,  a shot documentary on the hip-hop scene in Ciudad Juárez which “offers a  direct window into the worldview of youth in a U.S.-Mexico border city  that is drowning in death”.


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North Korea Tweeting Back at South Korean Governor’s Criticism · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Korean politician and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, Kim Moon-Soo harshly accused North Korea of the regime's 3rd generation succession and its reclusive policies in a conference in Beijing, China. North Korean Twitter @uriminzok fired back at Kim, calling his comment  ‘a reckless remark’. South Korea's citizen/blogger news, Wiki Tree [ko] posted. [ko]

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Peru: 2011 Elections: Candidates Tied, Peruvians Divided · Global Voices
Isabel Guerra

The second round [es] of presidential elections in Peru reaches its final leg in the midst of unresolved social conflict and the polarization  [es] of an electorate so large that it has generated not only public statements but also citizen mobilization, through the collection of signatures and public demonstrations against each of the candidates, the conservative Keiko Fujimori [Fuerza 2011] and the nationalist Ollanta Humala [Gana Perú].
Peruvian election candidates Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori. Photos: TVCultura (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) and Congress of the Republic (CC BY 2.0).
The issue that has been heating up in recent weeks are the charges of alleged fraud made by Gana Peru, which accused government authorities of not observing the neutrality required by law and instead pulling strings, both at the political level and through the media [es], to allegedly favor Keiko Fujimori [es]. There have even been attacks on some journalists [es], demanding more plurality and objectivity in their coverage.
The other social conflict that has dominated headlines this week due to the high level of vandalism [es] that has been reached is that of Puno, a dispute [es] that has been cleverly used by candidates to make public statements that prop up their popularity. Humala says it is unfortunate that this happens precisely at this juncture in Puno, a region where  his party is leading the polls [es], while Fujimori directly accuses Humala [es] of being behind these riots. (At the end of writing this article, it appears that negotiations were reaching and initial agreement) [es].
The candidates have based their strategies not so much on the presentation of new proposals as on the disqualification of their opponent, where they have even resorted to appealing to the fears of Peruvian society [es], swearing on the Bible [es] and even showing support or adherence to intellectual or media personalities, since Peru's political parties  are  so discredited that they have lost virtually all capacity for endorse a candidate.
With just a few days left until Sunday June 5, 2011, the date scheduled for the second round of elections in Peru, the latest poll on voting preferences also reflects this division of the electorate, as they provide somewhat different results; although all agree that the difference between the candidates has narrowed to a draw, not only do they give different figures but some put Fujimori in the first place, and others Humala.
Polls published on Sunday 29 May (1) give the following results; Ipsos-Apoyo [es] indicates 50.5% for Keiko Fujimori  and 49.5% for Humala, IMASEN [es] reports 43.8% for Ollanta Humala and 42.5% for Keiko Fujimori;  on the other hand CPI [es] counts 44.6% for Fujimori and and 41.5% for Humala.
That is to say, that neither candidate has achieved a decisive majority, given that the difference between the preferences for each candidate oscillate between 1% and 3%.
A poll carried out just a few days before these by the Institute of Public Opinion of the Catholic University [es] already predicted these results [es] giving 44.2% to Keiko Fujimori and 43.7 to Ollanta humala, consigning 12.1% white or null votes.
Graffiti against Keiko Fujimori, Lima. Photo: courtesy of Juan Arellano.
What no poll has been able to measure beyond the numbers is the degree of polarization of Peruvian society and its geographical correlation.
Until now, Keiko Fujimori has the largest acceptance in Lima, Callao and the large capitals of the coast, places where the economic and financial activity of the country is centered; while Ollanta Humala leads the polls in the Andean regions of Peru, most of all in the center and south, areas where the largest pockets of the population are living in extreme poverty.
José Enrique Escardó, of El Quinto Pie del Gato [es], criticizes the form in which the candidates have managed their social networks and echoes the sentiments of many Peruvians in a post titled “Neither Fujimori Nor Humala”:
Reafirmo, además, que votaré viciado en la segunda vuelta y mi compromiso de mantener una actitud vigilante frente al próximo gobierno, ya que considero que ambos candidatos reúnen las características psicológicas necesarias para convertirse en gobernantes autoritarios y tienen un pasado y formación que no les permite gozar de mi confianza.
Others, like Marcona Digital Noticias [es], don't hesitate to express their support for Ollanta Humala:
…siendo objetivos, la mayor amenaza a la democracia y a las libertades individuales representa el fujimorismo: los diez años de dictadura lo avalan, la corrupción generalizada, la destrucción a las instituciones, latrocinios, violación de los Derechos Humanos, etc. De Humala se tendrá dudas, pero de Fujimori hay pruebas certeras.
But Keiko Fujimori has also inspired her supporters, whose posture is summarized by El Asterisko 22 [es] in a post titled “I will vote for Keiko!”:
Porque Keiko es honesta.
Porque Keiko tiene un buen equipo de gobierno.
Porque Keiko no se ha  vendido a ningún extranjero y porque no recibe órdenes de Chavez, Fidel u otro comunista.
Because Keiko is honest.
Because Keiko has a good governing team.
Because Keiko hasn't sold herself to any foreigner and because she doesn't take orders from Chavez, Fidel or any other communist.
The polarization of Peruvian voters is very visible not only in blogs but also daily on the streets, markets, research centers, offices, even within families, and is obviously even stronger on social networks, where it seems nearly all express their preferences, encourage others to vote for their candidate and are openly harassing those who say they will vote for the other.
Jeroónimo (@chipana40) expresses his preference for Keiko Fujimori:
@noakeiko DEJEN DE ENGAÑAR AL PUEBLO, EL PUEBLO QUIERE PROGRESO, GRACIAS A FUJIMORI HOY TENEMOS UN PAIS EN CRECEMIENTO
Meanwhile, Diva ✔ (@Samanfu) tweets:
Gente q vota x Keiko: Los que no quieren votar x Humala, los de ultra derecha y a los que les gustó el gobierno de Alberto [Fujimori]
Others are more aggressive, like Juan Pablo Limachi:
TODOS LOS IGNORANTES,,,, STAN CON KEIKO,,,,,,,,,,,BUENO PERSONAS,, QUE NO TOENEN CEREBRO COMO PARA TODO LO QUE HIZO,, LA KEIKO COMO 1ra,, DAMA Y CONGRESISTA,,,,
Angélica Quintana (@Angieliquita) makes it clear that:
Ojoo mi votoo no es por keiko, es contra Humala
Edgar Zárate opines on his Facebook wall:
La gente conciente y los intelectuales con moral han decido votar por Ollanta y el resto por Keiko.
Yosseline Enriquez (@YosselineHazel) assures that:
Lastimosamente el Sr.  Humala confunde todo con un  campo de batalla. Pena de verdad por los que  crean que ese Sr. es lo  que Perú necesita.
Giulia Razzeto (@bluegiulia) posts his disenchantment with both options:
@P_blo_ Keiko es hja de un corrupto y asesino pero Humala,es asesino de  policías y golpista frustrado. Entre otras perlas. No le creo nada.
Considering the narrow statistical margin separating Fujimori from Humala, local political analysts believe that the public debate between the candidates (which took place on Sunday, May 29, in Lima) will be critical to tilt the high percentage of undecided voters in favor of either candidate.

author: Isabel Guerra


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Puerto Rico: New Legal Blog · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Law professor and blogger Erika Fontánez has launched her most recent digital project, the blog Observando el Derecho: Miradas desde la Teoría Social [es], which will offer in-depth analyses of the law through social theory.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Puerto Rico: Teatro Breve Online · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The acclaimed group of artists and comedians “Teatro Breve” has gone digital: twice a week they are live through their new online radio program RadioBreve [es].


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Puerto Rico: The Hipster-ricans in NYC · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The New York City-based blog El Punto Es [es] posts the video of the interview of a group of some cool and young Puerto Ricans [es] living in the city, called Hipster-ricans.


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Russia: Civic Activists Launch ‘Anti-Seliger,’ Open Air Civil Society Forum · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Alexey Navalny and Yevgenia Chirikova, famous civic (and digital) activists published [ru] a video-invitation to Anti-Seliger (reference to the annual event organized at Lake Seliger by pro-Kremlin youth movement “Nashi”). Anti-Seliger website [ru] describes itself as a festival of artists, bloggers, environmentalists, human rights defenders and promises 4 days of picnics, public lectures, debates, and modern art exhibitions.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Exposing the Private Side of Lawlessness · Global Voices
Will Partlett

On April 3, 2011, in a sleepy Moscow suburb, Natalya Seibel decided to go out and walk her dogs.  As she was walking, a blue Land Cruiser pulled up next to her and the driver drunkenly tried to flirt with Natalya.  Natalya ignored him, but he jumped out of the car, grabbed her by the hair, and punched her in the face.
Her attacker?  None other than the Chief of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Unit.
We frequently hear stories about this kind of official abuse in Russia.  In fact, the recent Pulitzer Prize went to a brilliant series of New York Times articles focusing on this very topic: the shadowy role of the Russian state in repressing journalists, businessmen, and citizens. And there is no doubt plenty of truth in this.  A recent poll suggested that almost half of Russians do not trust the police and almost a third actively fear the police.
A policeman and a security guard at Evropeyskiy shopping mall in Moscow. Photo by Ilya Varlamov/zyalt.livejournal.com.
Bloggers’ mission
There is more to Russian lawlessness, however.  Indeed, with the help of a digital camera and a copy of the applicable law, some young Russian activists have exposed another side to the arbitrary exercise of power in Russia. These bloggers – many of whom prominently feature photography on their blogs – have made it their mission to expose the anti-photography bans in many Russian supermarkets and private malls as illegal.
Ilya Varlamov and Dmitry Ternovsky, prominent photo-activists, have led this charge, heading to a Perekryostok supermarket at the Evropeyskiy shopping mall near Kievsky Train Station and the Moscow-City business complex to challenge these bans.  After a few minutes taking photos in both places, they were approached by private security guards telling them that they were not allowed to take photographs.  In both cases, the private guards were wholly uninterested in the legality of the ban on photography; their main interest was in ensuring compliance with their own “private” rules.
At Moscow-City [ru], after it became clear that Ilya and Dmitry were not going to leave, the guards – who Ilya later determined worked for a Turkish construction consortium named ENKA – used verbal and physical threats to force them to leave.  One typical exchange went as follows:
- Я имею право попросить вас не снимать здесь, – грозно сказал мужчина в костюме.
– Это незаконные требования! – уверенно парировал я мужчине в костюме,
– Вы знаете что, ребят, это частная территория! – стоял на своем мужчина в костюме…
– И что? У вас законы РФ не действуют? – поинтересовался я,
– Здесь многие законы не действуют! – шокировал нас своим ответом мужчина в костюме,
After the police arrived, the private guards were much more “polite.”  Ilya later opened a criminal complaint against one of the private guards for assault; the police never followed up.
At Perekryostok/Evropeyskiy, Ilya and Dmitry again faced [ru] a phalanx of irate and threatening private guards.  One addressed them:
Ты вообще знаешь, кто владелец этого торгового центра? Ты думаешь, он сюда с воздуха упал? Нет, он не с воздуха, он из-под земли вырос! Ты же все понимаешь, ты сейчас на улицу выйдешь, тебе не камеру разобьют, тебе шею сломают, а менты смотреть будут и ничего не увидят. И никогда ты тут ничего не докажешь. У нас тут район такой, опасный, вокзал… понимаешь?
After the police finally arrived, the private guards ceased their physical and verbal intimidation. A policeman then made a show of arresting Ilya and Dmitry, but released them as soon as they were outside the store.  He told them:
Хорошо, пройдемте. Ну и зачем вы с ними спорили? Вы что, не видели, кто это такие? Зачем вы нарываетесь! – это говорит мне сотрудник полиции, который от таких “бандитов” должен нас защищать.
The policeman apparently thought he was doing Ilya and Dmitry a favor.  As Ilya commented,
Как мне показалось, полиция не особо хочет спорить с охраной ТЦ, . . .Видимо владелец установил здесь свои законы, против которых господа полицейские идти не могут.
In Krasnoyarsk, two photobloggers tried the same thing [ru] in a local supermarket.  After being confronted by private guards, they insisted that they had a right to take photographs and demanded that the police showed up.  The police refused to arrest them, agreeing that they had a right to take photographs.  After the police left, however,
…из подсобки выскочил взъерошенный мужчина в спортивном костюме, который представившись начальником службы контроля, резво попытался вырвать у приехавшего в самый разгар разбирательства Коновалова видеокамеру. После чего он набросился на меня с кулаками.
These encounters reveal a hidden side of Russia's problem with lawlessness: the private individuals – often associated with powerful business interests – who have no regard for the formal law and who enforce their own private laws almost exclusively through force (or the threat of force).  These shadowy, non-state actors are a symptom of Russia's weak and corrupt state and a powerful sign of a governmental apparatus where the government's reach is either limited or coopted.
Almost fifteen years ago, the famous political scientist Stephen Holmes noted that
Today's Russia makes excruciatingly plain that liberal values are threatened just as thoroughly by state incapacity as by despotic power. “Destatization” is not the solution; it is the problem. For without a well-functioning public power of a certain kind there will be no prevention of mutual harm, no personal security, and no “standing rule to live by,” to use a Lockean phrase.
The experiences of these photo-activists therefore remind us that the fight against lawlessness in Russia is as much about making law matter for powerful private interests as it is for officials.

author: Will Partlett


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South Sudan: The Challenges Ahead · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Abeje discusses challenges facing South Sudan: “Lack of peace and security in Darfur and Abyei, as well as the presence of Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and Ethiopian and Eritrean resistance groups in its jurisdiction are few of the major challenges that will defiantly affect relations between South Sudan and its neighbors.”


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Uganda: Gay Activist Granted Asylum in US · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ugandan gay activist has been granted asylum in the US, Bridgette reports: “Uganda’s “Kill The Gays” Bill may have had a positive effect, if for at least one man. Kushaba Moses Mworeko must now be relieved that he is no longer facing eminent return to Uganda where he faces incarceration and possible death through non-governmental violence. Mworeko now has asylum.”


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Argentina Approves Anti-Tobacco Law · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Legislators approved a law that bans smoking in “indoor work spaces, schools, hospitals, museums, clubs and public transportation systems,” The Argentine Post reports: “It also places strict limits on the sale, advertising and promotion of cigarettes in these and other places while forcing tobacco companies to put warning labels on cigarette packages.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Argentina: Controversy Over Debate With Opposition Intellectual Beatriz Sarlo on TV Show ‘678’ · Global Voices
Fanny Rahmouni

The appearance of the famous literary and cultural critic Beatriz Sarlo in the popular television program 678 [es] on May 24 triggered a burst of reactions on Twitter and in blogs, as it was the first time the program, notorious for its position in favor of the current government, invited an opposition figure to debate.
Beatriz Sarlo, who recently published a critical biography of the former Argentine President Nestor Kirchner called La Audacia y el Calculo [es] (Boldness and Calculation), plays an important role in Argentina as a public intellectual and as one of the voices of the leftist opposition to President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. A former member of the Revolutionary Communist Party and co-founder of one of the dissident review Punto de Vista during the dictatorship of the Proceso (1973-1983), she is also well-know for her academic work, especially on the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges.
#Sarloen678 immediately became a trending topic on Twitter, producing almost ten tweets per second during the peak of the polemic. Many of the tweets assessed Sarlo's performance during the show, which placed her in a panel of journalist and two other guests: the philosopher Ricardo Foster and the President of the Federal Authority of Audiovisual Communication Services (AFSCA), Gabriel Mariotto.
Julieta Castagna (@Julietacastagna) praises Beatriz Sarlo's courage, who accepted to appear in front of a panel hostile to her ideas.
Sarlo no solo sorprendió a los televidentes y hasta a los mismos panelistas, sino que asombró el mismo 678 por aventurarse a un democrático debate mano a mano con alguien que piensa distinto. ¿Se repetirá?
dani (@avila32) expresses the same feeling:
#SARLOEN678 Beatríz Sarlo los conquistó. En el sentido de los antiguos guerreros. los fagocitó. Se convirtió en la estructura del programa
Yet Gastón Maranesi (@gastonmaranesi) has a different opinion:
ah antes de olvidarme la participación de #BeatrizSarlo en #678 lejos de lograr en mi un desencanto con el kirchnerismo me convenció más.
For Luciano Mancebo (@LucianoMancebo), it's easy for Beatriz Sarlo to criticize without involving herself into politics:
@beatrizsarlo … Lo de ponerle freno a 678 es un buen comienzo, pero gobernar en este país no es sencillo.
In view of the overwhelming polemic about the show, many Twitter users informed their readers of its latest developments. Yet others, such as Fabian Martin (@fabianmartinAR), ridicule the buzz:
Descubrimos, horrorizados, que Beatriz Sarlo tiene ego, es de la oposición, y acaso tenga uno que otro esqueleto en su placard! #sarloen678
In the blogosphere, the reactions are not less virulent. On La Cosa y la Causa [es], Eva Row sharply criticizes the intervention of Beatriz Sarlo, which she regards as a mere game of rhetoric:
Beatriz Sarlo no vino a 678 a debatir honestamente, vino a mostrar sus artes de esgrima en el debate… No, Beatriz Sarlo no vino a debatir. Vino a mostrar cómo ella puede eludir el debate. Y vaya si lo demostró. Salió indemne como alguien que muestra que es capaz de caminar sobre el fuego sin quemarse los pies. Y no cualquiera se puede arriesgar a hacerlo. Para eso hay que ser un as.
For his part, Jocobino, on the blog Artepolítica [es], does not agree with Sarlo's critical stance:
¿Qué defiende Sarlo? Si ella aclarara qué defiende sería más responsable con sus críticas… y sería menos Sarlo. La vemos ahí, sola, aislada, con su super ego y soberbia como apoyo y fundamento, con su responsabilidad de ser una intelectual “en el borde de todo”. Sarlo no necesita de mitos como los de Kirchner y el Eternauta, ella sabe qué teoría puede deconstruirlos, ella sabe qué funcionamiento maligno y sospechoso subyace en esas construcciones políticas calculadas.
On BlogBis [es], Jorge denounces what he thinks is a false debate between leftist intellectuals:
No entiendo mucho el entusiasmo provocado por la presencia de Beatriz Sarlo en 6,7,8. Para mí no se trató más que un debate entre “ellos”, los del mismo palo. Otro cantar hubiera sido tenerlo de invitado a José Benegas, Martín Krause o Carlos Rodriguez Braun. Ya sé que estoy delirando. Pero es lo que realmente habría sido interesante para mí. No un debate entre los izquierdosos de toda la vida. Nada nuevo se puede aprender de eso.
On their blog Sin Quorum [es], the journalists of the newspaper La Nación highlight the amusing side effects of the polemic:
Las repercusiones por la participación de la ensayista e intelectual Beatriz Sarlo en el programa oficialista 678, de la Televisión Pública, llegaron a lugares insospechados. Ahora, en los celulares se podrá bajar un ringtone en el que se escucha  “Conmigo no, Barone”, una de las frases célebres del caliente cruce que se dio entre la escritora y los panelistas… Pero allí no quedó todo. Los videos y canciones se multiplican en la Web aún dos días después de la visita de Sarlo…
They give the example of the video “Conmigo no, Barone” uploaded to Youtube by user danielubisch, who mixed Sarlo's sentence with a song of Dominican singer Chichí Peralta:

author: Fanny Rahmouni


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Bahamas: Which Path to Economic Success?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Bahamians can become successful in a growing economy but to think we can get along by trading within our borders only, rather than the outside world is a pipe dream”: Rick Lowe takes issue with the phrase “The Bahamas is for Bahamians”.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Barbados: Police Brutality Allegations  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press comments on revelations of police brutality from the country's Bar Association President: “The Royal Barbados Police Force doesn’t have to be third-rate, but it will remain so until the politicians decide that policing and citizen safety are priorities, and back it up with the funding to hire, train and retain the quality of police officers that Barbados deserves.”


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Bhutan: Do Not Ignore Facebook · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tshering Tobgay writes about the growing influence of social media in Bhutan and comments that the Bhutanese government should use Facebook, not ignore it.


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Brazil: After All There is a Place for Belo Monte Dam · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Despite the disastrous social and environmental impact in the Amazon, the brazilian government has allowed for the construction of Belo Monte dam. Netizens are raising awareness by sharing a photo of the indigenous leader Raoni, but the association of the image with the recent news is false, as Candido Cunha explains [pt].

author: Sara Moreira


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Caribbean: WICB Hypocrisy  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

WICB Expose calls out the West Indies Cricket Board for its hypocritical behaviour: “WICB director Hilary Beckles compares Chris Gayle to a criminal and gets away with it. Shivnarine Chanderpaul speaks his mind and the WICB is setting the stage for disciplinary proceedings. Hypocrisy 101.”


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China: Tom Doctoroff on Chinese Ad Industry · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Daniel Gilroy from China SMACK interviews Tom Doctoroff, CEO of JWT and writer of Billions: Selling to the New Chinese Consumer on the development of Advertising Industry in China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: Female Dissidents · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Without Evasion explains why credibility is such an important asset to dissident bloggers, while Pedazos de la Isla profiles the plight of female dissidents, here and here.


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Egypt: Ma’zouns to go on Strike  · Global Voices
تاليا رحمة

Commenting the strike Ma'zouns (officials who officiate marriages) in Egypt, intend to observe in June, director Amr Ghaleb  tweets [ar] on May 28 :I don't know what's the plural of Mazoun, …. but they are going on a strike next month, so anyone planning to get married or divorced, there are 3 days left.  Sarcastically, Mostafa El Habashy says in a another tweet [ar] on May 26: Even uncle Ma'zoun intended to observe a strike ….thus separating two hearts. Oh uncle Ma'zoun you're horrible!

author: تاليا رحمة


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Egypt: More Information on Jailed Blogger Mikel Nabil Needed  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Caledoniyya complains there isn't much information about Mikel Nabil – an Egyptian blogger sentenced to three years in prison for insulting the Armed forces. “With so many bloggers being persecuted by the regimes for broaching  crucial issues; in Nabil's case, the Egyptian military; it can be a  challenge to keep track,” she notes.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Egypt: Phone Company Gets a Hate Site  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Mahmood Salem tweets: “http://ihatevodafoneegypt.com/ @vodafoneegypt , the only mobile provider whose antics inspired a hatesite against them. Good job u guys! :)”


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Interview with Egypt Author, Tarek Amr · Global Voices
تاليا رحمة

Tarek outside Santiago's Library, Chile
Tarek Amr [en] is a young Egyptian data networks architect and blogger  [ar] in addition to being an author  [en] and a translator in Global Voices Online, which he joined in 2007. In this short conversation, he tells us more about himself, about his contribution in GV and most of all about his experience in the Egyptian Revolution.
Hello Tarek, you state in your Arabic blog that you don't really like talking about yourself, but that step is a must in order to introduce GV authors and translators to our readers. Therefore, we would like to ask you to tell us, who is Tarek Amr? A Muslim engineer? An Atheist doctor ? A socialist barber ?
Hello Thalia, well in my blog, I was kind of mocking those who tend to place themselves and more than that, they place others in specific frames and judge their writings, based on those frames. Speaking about myself, I am engineer school graduate and I'm working in telecommunications and networks security. Besides my interest in blogging started from the fact that it represented a new technology, that I should experiment. My first posts focused on technology issues and then, bit by bit, I started writing about myself and about the society around me and how I perceive it to the point that I seldom blog about technical matters now. I also joined Global Voices four years ago or a little bit less.
Our second traditional question: tell us about your journey with GV
I joined GV in the second half of 2007. At that time, Egyptian bloggers had an electronic mailing group and we heard that GV needed new authors from Egypt. Before that, I used to hear a lot about GV and read articles there or noticed their logo on many blogs and the idea of presenting what is in blogs to people in Egypt or abroad appealed to me a lot. My enthusiasm hasn't stopped since then because I always considered that conveying our voice to the world as a bright idea especially with the huge number of fallacies spread on our society by traditional media outlets and the failure of our media to promote the right image. Of course, I don't know if I succeeded in doing so. This, I leave to GV readers to decide. What I am sure is that I am benefiting each day from my presence in such a project, because I am getting to discover daily new things about parts of the world, I wouldn't have known about, if it wasn't for GV. Also during those years, I met a lot of wonderful people from all over the world [en].
GVers at the GV Summit in Chile. Photo taken by David Sasaki used under (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Sometimes, I cover countries other than Egypt [en], when there is something worth writing about and there is no one available at that moment such as Yemen and Iraq [en] for example. I wrote once about the Argentinian football team for the only reason that I support that team and I wanted to do so. So as you notice, one of GV's most important merits is the margin of freedom given to authors in selecting the topics and events they report and I believe this makes us closer to the reader than the mainstream sources, because ultimately we are just conveying people's opinions to the readers.
I also tried translating a couple of articles into Arabic, within the Lingua Project framework [ar], but it's obvious that my skills in Arabic translation [ar] are not that good. Translating is time consuming for me and I think it is evident given my rare participation in that project. Nevertheless, it's a pretty good experience, and I will repeat it in the future.
You are very active on the net especially in social media (three blogs, one flickr account, another one on Facebook, needless to mention GV and maybe other platforms). What place does the internet in general occupy in your life and those tools in particular ?
I forgot to tell you, that apart from blogging I am also into painting and taking photographs, therefore my use of accounts such as Twitter, flickr, Good Reads  and last fm  is mainly to satisfy personal hobbies such as photography or to learn about new books or even new musical bands worth listening to, and this possible with Good Reads and other platforms that I use to communicate with others. At the end, I consider myself, to be connected 24/7 on the net, especially that my job as a telecommunication engineer tightens that link and I believe that most of us are in this situation in one way or another. Accordingly my hobbies and activities in the virtual world are somehow the reflection of those in the real one. Besides that, having more than one blog is also due to my desire to separate what I write in Arabic  from my English  from  pure technical posts, so that the reader who doesn't command one of the languages or is interested in a certain categories of topics doesn't get turned away. It is true that as a result of that distinction, I don't give each blog the necessary time as it was when I had just one blog, but that is inevitable.
You say in one of your blogs that didn't write a diary until you started blogging, i.e. 6 years ago and that you only resorted to the pen writing when the authorities blocked the internet  [en] in the beginning of the revolution in Egypt. What do you have to say about this experience [en] ?
As much as I owe our educational system my ability to read and write for a long period of my life, I also owe it my aversion from reading and writing for a long period. We got used that the one who expresses what's inside school books is the one who obtains the highest grades, and not the one who expresses himself. So I wasn't accustomed to write and read topics that are not in the curriculum. But blogging saved me from this years later, because I learned how to write about topics not taught in the curriculum and thanks to it, I discovered creative bloggers and I also discovered books worth reading, but for a long time, writing remained associated with internet and the keyboard, until the internet was blocked during the revolution so I found myself resorting to the paper and pen for the first time in my adult life to write about what is happening around me using paper slips and a forgotten agenda.
How do you manage to conciliate between your work in internet security and others and the fact that you are an activist on the internet, based on freedom and breaking barriers ?
Actually I don't see much antagonism between networks security and freedom principle, since my job consists mostly of providing security means to individuals and companies against spying and penetration. It is true that those same techniques can be used for instance to block sites, but in the end, like any of the technology tools, it is a two-edged weapon, and no matter how long governments might try to block information, ultimately the will of the people will be victorious either by using counter-techniques or by developing new tools to make themselves heard. When internet was cut off in all Egypt, some resorted to dial up from some neighboring countries for example and Google provided “Speak 2Tweet” service [en].
Speaking of the Egyptian revolution, what is that distinguishes someone who is covering the  events for GV right from the scene of events from those who report those events from abroad ?
I think it is the same difference between social media and conventional one, since relaying the information straight from the mouths of those who truly witnessed it makes somehow more dynamic and swift in conveying the news and also gives the topics we write about a human trait. This year for instance, the Pulitzer prize was withheld for the breaking news category.Times magazine explained this [en] by saying that the new media such as Twitter outstripped mainstream sources in this regard and they considered that the jury should take into account non-traditional media from now on. For example, when  the former president pronounced a speech, conventional media focuses on analyzing the discourse itself, while we are more interested in the bloggers opinions and comments on it and most of the time their sarcastic remarks. Moreover, and  many will disagree with me on this, but I don't believe in the impartiality of the media, because from one side I think that the reporter should ensure accuracy and clarity when conveying the various opinions without dropping or altering any element but I also don't see any problem in expressing one's opinion and bluntly, maybe this is due to the fact that I have never studied  journalism and am used to blogging. In general, its true that we in GV, do not communicate our own point of view as authors, but at the end I am reporting bloggers’ views as it is without considering any editorial policies or political equations. I for example don't see a significant effect on our articles from a propaganda model and filters perspectives as described by Chomsky and Herman [en].
Is there anything you would like to end at the end of this interview ?
It might look as if I am siding with the social media against the traditional sources. It is true that deep inside I love social media, but the problem between old and new media dates back to the time I got involved with blogging and that debate hasn't been settled so far. Both genres are staying even if each influences and is influenced by the other, so I think both will persist at least in the near future, because each has its characteristics and deficiencies.
Thank you Tarek


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Greece: Another victim of police brutality · Global Voices
Asteris Masouras

Greek journalist and blogger Modestos Siotos on Protagon recounts being roughly accosted by police [el] when he tried to defend an immigrant they were beating. “Be more careful with your democratic sensitivities next time, you fake revolutionary rich kid!” they said, and threatened him with arrest for obstruction. Amnesty International has noted in their annual report that excessive use of force by police is a persistent problem in Greece.

author: Asteris Masouras


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Honduras is Readmitted to Organization of American States · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

On Wednesday, June 1 Honduras was readmitted to the Organization of American States following Manuel Zelaya’s peaceful return to the country. Only the Ecuadorian representative voted against Honduras’ reinstatement into the organization, as The Latinamericanist reports.


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Lebanon: Security Forces Attacked over Illegal Bar Construction  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Security forces were attacked by local residents in a Beirut neighborhood during their attempt to bar an illegal construction,” reports Now Lebanon.


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Mexico: Afro-Mexicans Protest After Death of Nigerian Immigrant · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Daniel Hernandez in La Plaza explains the case of Nigerian immigrant Isaac Chinedu that “has led to demonstrations among Mexico City's African and Afro-Mexican communities, which are laying blame on the police officers who allegedly beat the 29-year-old before he apparently ran into traffic on a busy highway.”


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Moldova: Liga Islamica and the (Limited) Religious Tolerance · Global Voices
Diana Lungu

The Islamic League (Liga Islamica) was officially registered early this spring in Moldova [en], after having been denied this right for several years. [All links in Romanian unless otherwise noted.]
Moldova's Muslim community is rather small, numbering around 17,000 people in a country of about 4 million citizens. Approximately 95 percent of the Moldovan population is Orthodox Christian and, according to the latest opinion poll (May 2011), 82 percent of the people have the highest trust in the church (in comparison: the army – 50 percent; local authorities – 47 percent; the government – 23 percent).
The Orthodox Church of Moldova has solicited the government to withdraw its decision and to revise the religious law (Legea cultelor), so that the population can be consulted beforehand. Reactions have varied, from politicians declaring that the registration of the League is a “blasphemy” and “can bring prejudices to the society,” to priests stating it is a “degradation to the official religion” and a “humiliation to the Orthodox believers in Moldova“, to religious protesters equipped with bells and crosses who marched through the city center in Moldova's capital Chişinău, voicing their discontent (photos are here), ending with the prime minister promising to look into the matter.
Blogger Nicu Popescu has come up with arguments combating the “main false statements” that have been circulated within this debate.
False argument 1: “How many churches are in Saudi Arabia and why do we have to allow mosques in Moldova”
He argues:
I do not want Moldova to imitate in any way Saudi Arabia. I want the women in Moldova to be able to drive cars, go out, and the state to be separate from the church. Whoever wants to imitate Saudi Arabia are the people who do not desire good for this country.
He brings up the example of the Christian communities in Syria and Egypt, where approximately 10 percent of the population are Christian and churches are fully functioning:
It is regrettable that some Moldovan citizens have a higher degree of religious intolerance than the Syrian or Egyptian authorities – authoritarian states, which in the last months have killed their own citizens, but which at the same time recognize the Christian religion and have on many occasions protected the churches from attacks by radical Muslims.
False argument 2: “Islam does not correspond to the history and traditions of this land and the Christian majority is against its recognition (?)”
I disagree. I believe Moldova has to respect the religious minorities, including the Muslim one; and the non-Christian states like Syria or China have to respect the rights of the Christian minorities.
False argument 3: “Muslims and terrorism”
Let’s be serious. Does anyone really believe that fundamentalist Muslims need to be legally registered in order to commit terrorist attacks? As if Bin Laden tried to register his prayer house in the U.S. before September 11. Absurd.
And the connection between religion and terrorism/radicalism is a bit more complex. The Middle East is a complex region where all communities have committed a number of crimes – Muslims, Jews, Christians.
False argument 4: “Stefan cel Mare [en] and our ancestors fought Muslims/Turks, and we cannot allow them to now legalize their religion”
Historical argument is not relevant. And if Moldova had fought against Russia, do we have to interdict the Russian church?”
Popescu concludes:
The church of Moldova has to combat the ideas promoted by other religions by demonstrating that it is better, closer to the citizens, has smarter, more educated and less corrupted priests, etc., and not through hysterical pressures on the Moldovan state, which has to be neutral in religious affairs.
Another blogger, Vlad Cubreacov, brings into the debate the idea that putting Muslims outside the law would only degrade the religious climate in the country, but also could lead to some tensions with external partners:
It is a generally-known fact that states like Israel, the Russian Federation, Armenia or Azerbaijan are sensitive to the way their minorities are treated in other countries. We can assume that cancelling the registration of the Islamic League in Moldova can raise problems in the relations between Chisinau and Baku or Moscow.
Cubreacov concludes:
We believe that a Muslim community maintained within the legal system and integrated into the society is preferred to one that is left on its own account, an easy target to all kinds of integralists and Islamic fundamentalists.
Vlada Ciobanu does not understand:
Why when there are so many Moldovans abroad, and many churches and Orthodox priests can hold their services around the world, do we have to go out with icons, crosses and not let other people enjoy freedom.

author: Diana Lungu


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Russia: 13 Non-Political Claims to the Government · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

LJ-user skitalets sums up [ru] common claims to the Russian government: hypocrisy and amorality, lack of vision, amateurishness, fear of change, ‘psychology of a petty hooligan’ towards neighbors, deafness in a dialogue with civil society, stand on ignorant majority, denial of other countries experience, historical complexes, dropping support of culture and education, redundant centralism, and, weakness as a resulting vector of all these shortcomings.


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Russia: Freelance Researcher Reveals Skype Source Code · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Efim Bushmanov, Russian ‘freelance researcher’ and a programmer, publishes reverse-engineered source code of Skype internet messenger. Bushmanov explains: “While “Wall Street Journal” makes politics and skype today's trend, i want to publish my research on this. My aim is to make skype open source. And find friends who can spend many hours for completely reverse it.”


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Russia: Social Networks and Civic Mobilisation · Global Voices
Marina Litvinovich

This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.
A few days ago, I participated in a seminar organised by the Liberal Party of Sweden on the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections in Russia.
The section of the seminar in which I was a speaker was devoted to the question of how the Internet and social networks can help to promote democratic values in Russia. It pleased and heartened me greatly that the issue of the Internet's influence on politics has ceased to be a ‘trivial’ topic, considered until now by very many people a passing fad without any substantial influence on political and public life. Evidently, recent events in the countries of North Africa have forced politicians and public figures to examine more closely the influence that the Internet and social networks have on the formation of public opinion and on civic mobilisation.
Reconnecting society
Member of the Blue Buckets Society, a civil society movement organized via Internet, photo by Flickr user quirischa
Indeed, society unified by social networks and online communities is starting to operate in a more organised and effective fashion. People find others who are like-minded on social networks, start to think of themselves as members of a particular, organised community, take part in collective activities and invite their friends. Social networks, without exception, help society to feel like a political actor. In Russia's case, networks also help citizens to overcome the post-Soviet trauma that led to disconnection and atomisation within Russian society.
At the same time, we must not consider social networks a universal determinant of civic action. It is a mistake to think that the growth of social networks necessarily leads to revolutionary events such as those in Egypt. The new-found social connectivity of people through networks is important, but only one of the conditions is necessary for social transformation.
I would like to recount briefly below my speech at this seminar in Stockholm. Since my main task was to respond to the question of how exactly civic mobilisation can be helped and supported through social networks, I structured my speech as answers to five key questions:  “What?”, “How?”, “Who?”, “When?” and, finally, “What is to be done?” What is the status of social networks in Russia today? How do they affect political and public life? Who exerts influence over and acts through the Internet? When can the growth of social networks and connections produce an effect on society? Finally, what is to be done to help the process of public mobilisation via networks?
What?
According to the  statistics of the Public Opinion Fund [ru], the monthly Internet audience Russia during winter 2011 was 50.3 million people, or 43% of the population over eighteen years of age.
The growth in the number of internet users. Statistics: "Public Opinion" fund.
Apart from that, the growth dynamic remains consistent, insofar as the number of users continues to grow each year.
Russian interest in social media is also at a consistently high level. According to the findings of the international project TNS Digital Life 2010 (an online survey of Internet users in 45 countries), 85% of Russian Internet users visit social networks at least once per week.
By comparison, roughly just as great a percentage of the Chinese and Brazilian populations (87% and 85% respectively) are frequent visitors to social networks. In Germany and the U.S.A., this figure is considerably lower: 61% and 70% of the population respectively.
How?
In discussing the influence of social networks on public life, we must be guided not only by the number of visits but, to a greater extent, by existing experiences and examples of such influence. By this criterion, the LiveJournal blogging platform has the greatest influence on the political agenda in Russia. On LiveJournal, public events and occurrences are brought to attention with the help of user-generated ‘blogwaves’ [ru], and the media permanently monitor what is emerging there.
If we are talking about potential for mobilisation – that is, the capacity to assemble an informally integrated group under the banner of a particular issue – then the most successful platform at the moment is the social network VKontakte (In Contact). True, it is worth noting that VKontakte can delete a group – of which there are already examples. In the second place in terms of potential for mobilisation I would rank LiveJournal. Other networks – Facebook, Odnoklassniki (Classmates), Moi Mir (My World) and so on – have not succeeded so far, with the exception of certain cases, in becoming instruments of sociopolitical influence.
Who?
Who are these people who manage to launch ‘blogwaves’ and influence the agenda, as well as resolve emerging problems? Most often, they are the most frequent users. Neither professional journalists nor public or political figures, they are new citizen journalists – people who discover and publish information of public interest on their blogs.
Due to re-posting and links from a large number of bloggers, as well as support of particularly popular bloggers and media, an issue can very quickly attract a lot of attention and become popular. One such example occurred recently, when the driver of the head of Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations, Sergey Shoygu, threatened to kill the blogger archeornis who recounted the story on the LiveJournal page of the Society of Blue Buckets and also uploaded a video.
As far as potential for mobilisation is concerned, we almost always see a similar phenomenon here: the organisers and initiators of civic groups on social networks are more often than not ordinary people, not members of any particular party or organisation.
A classic example of this is a VKontakte group called Informal Public Association – Healthcare for Children! [ru], which was created by Daria Makarova, a young mother from Novosibirsk who lost her child. The goal of this group is to promote changes in the area of children's healthcare in the Novosibirsk region. Within a few months of existence, six thousand people had already joined. This group is leading an active campaign: holding meetings with the directors of Novosibirsk's healthcare system, employing experts, monitoring the condition and requirements of the region's children's hospitals, and carrying out fundraising activities.
The leaders of social networks’ communities and groups are a new kind of public figures, emerging directly from within civic society. Practically anybody with a desire to act, the energy to gather supporters, and basic social networking skills can become one of these new leaders. New groups such as these are not required to register with the Ministry of Justice – a feat that is currently almost impossible for new parties or public organisations. Online groups do not require an office, support staff, etc. All their funds, which they can easily raise via the Internet, are spent on concrete action.
As well as these pluses, there are some minuses. Existing on a network, informal organisations are less stable and can quickly cease to exist since they are based not on formalised structures but on the efforts of their members and organisers.
When?
What effect can the rapid development of social networks, the growth of the number of users, and the strengthening of their capacity for social impact and mobilisation have, and when?
In regards to internet users in Russia, the Public Opinion Fund predicts that by the end of 2014 (assuming present trends in the growth and spread of the Internet continue), they will number around 80 million, or 71% of the population over eighteen years of age. In turn, according to the estimates of J’son & Partners Consulting [ru], the share of the Internet audience using social networks will reach on average 76.5% of the total number of Internet users by the end of 2015. Furthermore, by 2013-2014, ‘blogwaves’ will develop and become more widespread and effective.
The growth in the number of users sooner or later will yield a qualitative effect, that is, in terms of the impact of blogs on the authorities and society as well as the potential for mobilisation via the Internet. People will be used to interacting via the net, they will see the advantages and feel the zest for life in online communities, and they will take part more often in the activities and operations of such groups. Social networks will help Russian civic society get on its feet and develop a new quality: society will be structured not by parties and public bodies but by informal network communities involving a greater number of participants.
What is to be done?
How is it possible to help this process of the reinforcement of civic society through social networks and the Internet? It seems to be that there are two main ways:
I will underline one important point: such support requires new people, new leaders who must be sought not in pre-existing organisations but in new media and network communities. Yes, of course, the advantage of online communities is the lack of registration, bank accounts and offices – all things that cause problems even for international institutes that are used to interacting with legal entities. But this problem is easily resolved if the emphasis is placed on specific people: citizen journalists and social leaders, who would benefit from training, an exchange of experiences and the expansion of connections.
To sum up, I want again to underline that the development of social networks and civic mobilisation in Russia has a very marked and positive effect on civic society and Russian political life in general.
This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.

author: Marina Litvinovich


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Sri Lanka: Presidential Intervention · Global Voices
Rezwan

Freedom Of Expression In Sri Lanka reports that “the head of the President’s media unit has pressurized all newspaper institutions to remove the head line they had in their news papers on the FTZ employee who died in a police shooting on a demonstration held at Katunayake.”

author: Rezwan


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Syria: Opposition Drafts Declaration in Antalya · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
Just a day after President Bashar Assad announced a general amnesty for political prisoners, a varied group of Syrian opposition members are meeting to create what one report referred to as a “‘roadmap’ for a peaceful and democratic transition in Syria.”  The group is comprised mostly of exiles, including members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
Syrian-American academic Dr. Mohja Kahf, a professor at the University of Arkansas, is live-tweeting the event, which is taking place at a resort in Antalya, Turkey.
Syrians attend the Antalya conference, flanked by images of Syrian martyrs
Late Wednesday, she wrote of the event: “Antalya:This is not your daddy's old opposition conference #Syria New groupings forming, young faces,fresh energies.”
Dr. Kahf also tweeted that the members of the meeting would be holding a day-long hunger strike in solidarity with their fellow Syrians.
Also on Twitter, @abulyas was quick to point out that the conference was not an “opposition conference,” noting:
“#Antalya conf isn't “opposition” conf. It brought many independent Syrians from the world united in purpose to end Syrian regime #march15″
Though the conference attendees are united in their cause, the conference has not been without its disagreements.  Dr. Kahf noted a conversation she witnessed in the hotel lobby:
“Younger generation that is carrying this rev:don't care abt old lines of diffs:Ikhwan,secularists” -lobby conversation Antalya conf #Syria.”
An article in NOW! Lebanon notes a young/old divide as well.  There have also been reports that some Syrian opposition members refused to attend the conference, as well as some expressions of disappointment on Twitter from Syrians in the country.
But while the conference was well-attended, pro-regime protesters managed to make their way to Antalya, just a few hundred kilometers from the Syrian border, to demonstrate against the opposition meeting.  But as CNN reporter Ivan Watson points out on Twitter:
“Antalya deputy police chief says he's keeping hundreds of pro-regime demonstrators at a distance from Syrian opposition conference.”
The conference attendees were preparing a declaration to be released on June 1.
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.

author: Jillian C. York


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Trinidad & Tobago: The Beginning of Warner’s End?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Conflicting stories about suspended FIFA vice-president Jack Warner's actions: ttgapers links to a report that suggests in-fighting between Warner and Blatter, while B.C. Pires wonders whether “With Sepp Blatter duly reelected unopposed…and with Chuck Blazer, who brought Jack Warner’s corruption allegations to the FIFA table, suggesting that Jack’s emails to the Caribbean Football Union to vote for Sepp today were in breach of his suspension, could this be the start of the end of Trinidad & Tobago’s world football heavyweight?”


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Tunisia: Inevitable Postponement of the July 24 Elections  · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.
Ever since the ousting of former president Zeine El-Abbidine Ben Ali, Tunisians have been looking forward for one thing: free and fair elections, which to them represent the only guarantee for a transition to democracy. On March 3, Interim President Foued Mbezaa announced that on July 24 Tunisians will cast their votes to elect a constituent assembly. Recently, however, many started to express their worries that logistically speaking the country is not ready yet to organize its first ever free and fair elections, and news about delaying the elections started to spread.
On May 22, the head of the independent election committee  Kamel Jandoubi proposed the delay of the elections to October 16.  The chairman of the committee claims that the reasons are mainly logistic and technical, and that the country “lacks in adequate conditions for organizing elections on July 24 as planned.”
No for Postponing the Elections
On May 23, following a cabinet meeting, the government issued a statement in which it expressed its commitment to July 24 as the day of elections. Later on the same day, the  committee again insisted on postponing the elections.
In the midst of this disagreement, the street is in total loss and confusion, as uncertainty hovers around the exact date of the elections, and the responsible parties seem unable to reach an agreement.
@Atriki:Le ping-pong continue entre gvt et #IIE. L'1 insiste sur le maintien, l'otre sur le report wa7na nkawrou binethom #TnElec
@MoezTwit:Bon on peut espérer que d'ici le 24 Juillet ils se mettent d'accord sur la date des élection ?
The vast majority of bloggers are against delaying the elections and they think that any postponement would take the country to the nowhere, and spread chaos.
Mokhtar Yahyaoui tweets:
Tout report des élections n'a qu'un seul sens: Un saut dans l'inconnu et conduire le pays vers le chaos
He adds:
Il faut revenir à la rue et clamer haut et fort : “الشعب يريد الإنتخابات” ” le peuple exige les élections
Others chose to lay the blame on the interim government and Prime Minister Beji Caid Sebsi.
@Arabasta1:أطالب باجي قايد السبسي بتحمل مسؤلياته و إحترام تعهداته و الإستقالة من اليوم بسبب عدم قدرته على تنظيم الإنتخابات يوم 24
@dr_heny:Si #BCE ne respecte pas ses echeances #tnelec il est appelé à partir.necessité d'un vrai gouv d'union nationale puissant. #Tunisie #kasbah
Blogger Hussein Ben Amer writes:
لا أشك لحظة واحدة في نزاهة وأمانة سي كمال الجندوبي. تاريخه يشهد له، ولكل أعضاء الهيئة المسؤولة على الإنتخابات. هم يريدون الخير للبلاد، لا شك في ذلك. لكن لا بد لنا من تحمل المسؤولية، من طرف الهيئة العليا التي تأخرت في إنجاز القانون، والحكومة التي ماطلت طويلاً قبل المصادقة على القانون الإنتخابي، وكل الأطراف التي شدتنا إلى الوراء بجدالاتها الجانبية العقيمة. كل هؤلاء مسؤلون. والشعب لن يسامحهم إن اضاعوا علينا فرصتنا التاريخية. اليوم مصيرنا بأيدينا، كل يوم يمر يزيد من خطر الرجوع إلى الوراء، وعودة الدكتاتورية، ونكسة الإقتصاد، والإنفلات الأمني، وكل ما يندرج عن غياب الشرعية والخوف من المجهول. فلتعملوا ليلاً نهاراً. إن إلتزم الأمر، أطلبو المساعدة من الخبرات والمنظمات العالمية، لا عار في ذلك. لكن نترجاكم، بروح من إستشهدو، بروح تونس، لا تخذلونا… لا تخذلونا!
Fatma Arrabica raises a major question:
وهل تأجيل الانتخابات لمدّة شهرين سيكون كفيلا بانجاز كل المسائل العالقة ؟؟ انّ كلّ ملف من الملفات العالقة يلزمه ثورة
Mehdi Lamloum does not make a big deal of postponing the election. He tweets:
Je ne pense pas que retarder les élections soit une catastrophe. D'ailleurs, peu de tunisiens semblent s'en soucier…
It has become obvious that elections on July 24 will not take place, and all eyes are now on the reaction of the street.
This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Afef Abrougui


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Armenia: Not so SuperJet · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Russian LiveJournal user Zyalt [RU] posts photographs and comments on his arrival in Yerevan, Armenia. In particular, though, the blogger notes that furnishings inside the new Sukhoi SuperJet 100 he flew on were falling apart at the seams. Local online media publication ePress carries an English translation of his comments on the $23 million plane operated by national carrier Armavia and delivered less than a month ago.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bahamas: Beyond Naipaul  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In response to Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul's comment to a British journalist that he considers no female writer his equal, Womanish Words writes: “We do not wish to be equal to you. We are far more ambitious than that.”


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Bangladesh: Derivation of the Name ‘Dhaka’  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ershad Ahmed tries to find the origin of the name “Dhaka”, the capital of Bangladesh.


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Bermuda: Why the Homophobia? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“While I understand that some people…find the thought of gay relationships and physical sex abhorrent, I don’t understand the level of hatred that they express”: Breezeblog thinks that Bermuda's current attitude to gay rights “is a sad and unacceptable state of affairs.”


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Bhutan: A Photo Story · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bridge To Bhutan posts a photo story introducing Bhutan to the world readers which has some breathtaking pictures from Bhutan.