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Pro-Russian Web Network Digs Up the Dirt on Kremlin Critics · Global Voices
Lawrence Alexander

Some of the sites in the network dig up “compromising information” on “enemies of the Russian state.” Image by Paul Reynolds on Flickr. CC BY 2.0.
In mid-July, RuNet Echo reported on a sprawling network of pro-Kremlin websites, discovered through the use of open-source information such as Google Analytics IDs, domain registration records, and email addresses. In this installment, Lawrence Alexander and Aric Toler collaborate to dive deeper and provide an analysis of the content of some of the websites in the network.
Of the 83 websites in the network identified to date, many promote a broad anti-Western polemic, often in the guise of conventional news sources. A number of others, however, take a more creative and personal approach, attacking key Ukrainian politicians and Russian opposition figures by way of “personal dossiers” and alleged “dirt” dug up on the individuals. Below is a review of some of the most interesting sites with “compromising information” in the network.
[Note: this site contains sexually explicit images.]
Unlike most of the sites we examined, Ya Patriot has a strong focus on original artwork. The homepage features sinister-looking portraits of seven individuals, as well as the Pussy Riot duo (archive), targeting prison reform activists Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Mariya Alekhina, and a section called “Chronicles of the 5th Column.”
Ya Patriot isn't shy about its intentions, openly stating that its goal is “to gather all information about those who, under the guise of social and political activity, operate in a manner that is contrary to the interests of Russia and its citizens.” It continues: “On this site we will not talk about who to choose as our leaders. We will tell you why you cannot trust the statements and promises of some people, and also about who is behind them.”
The site was actively updated during the period from September 2014 through February 2015. It is completely anonymous, with no attribution given for any of its content.
Copy-and-paste plagiarism seems to be common; information on opposition figures is mostly lifted from Wikipedia, with the photos and videos often pulled from news services. There are also longer articles with a mix of seemingly original and borrowed content. For example, pieces on Mikhail Khodorkovsky only appear on the site http://пятаяколонна.рф (fifthcolumn.rf), making it unclear if they first appeared there or on Ya Patriot. Other postings are obviously lifted from other sources, such an article on Pussy Riot (archive), copied and pasted from Gazeta.ru. However, some work is exclusive to Ya Patriot, such as this piece (archive) on Aleksei Venediktov, editor-in-chief of the independent radio station Echo of Moscow.
Ya Patriot is fond of demotivational memes (also known as demotivators), extremely popular with the so-called “troll farms” in Russia. The images generally show the profiled figure in an unflattering pose, often accompanied by anti-American, homophobic, or conspiratorial comments.
The site's most notable feature, however, is a sophisticated set of comics based around depictions of Boris Nemtsov (archive), Aleksei Navalny (archive) and other figures labeled as part of the so-called “Fifth Column.”
A comics page from Ya Patriot, depicting Alexei Navalny as a super hero with Western leanings.
The Nemtsov comics come in a single “issue,” entitled “Nemtsov—The Beginning,” showing the “origin story” of the future Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and anti-Kremlin activist. The “story” is predictably sinister, showing baby Boris with a (literal) silver spoon in his mouth and his supposed corrupt beginnings. The text of the comics is taken from compromat.ru, but the images themselves are original, with good-quality artwork.
The Navalny comics follow a similar theme, but across a whole trilogy. They depict Navalny as a kind of “Superman” working against Russia on behalf of America. In his adventures, he receives instructions via his mail.ru e-mail account from President Obama, writes editorial pieces for the New York Times, and promotes European values of tolerance towards homosexuality. Like the Nemtsov comics, the images are all exclusive to Ya Patriot.
Metadata analysis shows that images on Ya Patriot share the same software version (Adobe XMP Core 5.5-c014 79.151481, 2013/03/13-12:09:15) as those seen on other sites in the network, as well as Nikita Pogorny's own website, Infosurfing (see previous article.)
Who is Who presents itself as a Ukrainian site concerned about the new government officials and politicians that came to power following the Euromaidan revolution. Its contents are supposedly drawn from “OSINT”—open-source information and investigations. However, most of the “incriminating dossiers” on Ukrainian politicians are either copied or half-heartedly rewritten from Wikipedia and a few other sources. Besides the dossiers, the site also has an active news service, with many of its articles betraying a clear bias against the Ukrainian government, the EU, and the US.
On its About Us page (archive), the website states its rationale as the following:
Once new Ukrainian government officials came into power in the country, we came up with this project. Our team very quickly realized that today’s Ukrainian government has made considerable promises of a beautiful life, and has not hurried to carry out its responsibility to these words.
Our project was created with the goal of gathering together all of the information that will help the citizens of our country understand who are these Ukrainian government officials. When dealing with people, we realized that the kompromat [compromising materials] on Ukrainian politicians interest almost everyone, because everyone wants to know what to make of the people who decide the fate of the country.
Actively updated from May 2015 to present, Who is Who credits authors with either ambiguous names or obvious pseudonyms. Some, such as Denis Tashko, seem to be genuine Ukrainians (as Tashko is a traditionally Ukrainian name), but they write only for Who is Who. Others clearly use pseudonyms, such as Eduard Tich (Эдуард Тич), a Russified version of Edward Teach, the real name of the famous pirate Blackbeard. Another example is Khissen Khabre (Хиссен Хабре), the Russified name of the deposed dictator of Chad, Hissène Habré.
Who is Who has two main types of content: dossiers on Ukrainian politicians, and news stories. Some of the material in the dossiers is copied from Wikipedia and other sites, but large portions of the work seem to be original. For example, the entire dossier (archive) on Anatoly Danilenko, the former Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine, seems to be unique content, including both the biographical information and the “compromising info.”
The dossier of Ukrainian government official Pavel Zhebrivsky, however, is mostly lifted from a site called Facenews.ua (archive). Other frequently-plagiarized sites include PolitRada and, once again, Wikipedia.
Most of the news articles appear to be original, many running to around 100-150 words. The most common themes include the alleged corruption of the Ukrainian government and police forces (“[Mayor of Kyiv] Klichko brags about his expensive watch” [archive]), the poverty of Ukrainian people due to a supposedly inefficient government (“Young mother caught stealing groceries in a store” [archive]), and the frame of a “decadent West” intruding into Ukrainian society (“Gayropean Values: now even in Kiev” [archive]).
A strong theme of antisemitism runs through the site, with a large number of articles accusing Ukrainian leaders of being part of a Jewish conspiracy. For example, a recent article from frequent contributor Denis Tashko (archive) talks of possible secret Jewish roots for President Poroshenko, and how Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk may have changed his name from “Bakay” and is part of “the ancient Semitic people.” Tashko goes on to describe to the reader “why people may suspect that the government of the country is part of some sort of Zionist conspiracy,” uncritically listing off standard operating points popular in ultra-nationalist, anti-Semitic conspiracy literature.
Backlink checker tools such as Linkody and Open Site Explorer show that Who is Who is linked to from a large number of external sources. However, much of this can be attributed to an aggressive SEO campaign spreading spam links to the site across unrelated forums. Many of the forum posts seem to have been made under the account name “whosugpiu.”
The next installment of the pro-Kremlin website network analysis will focus on the websites that push a pro-Russian narrative whilst presenting themselves as legitimate news media.

author: Lawrence Alexander


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Protests as Malaysia Suspends Two Newspapers Following a Corruption Expose · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Photo from the Facebook page of Malaysians stand in solidarity with The Edge
More than 300 journalists, activists, lawyers, and concerned citizens gathered in Kuala Lumpur's Central Market on August 8 to protest the suspension of two newspapers and the blocking of a news website by the Malaysian government. The event, which is part of the #AtTheEdge campaign, deplored the action of the government as blatant media censorship.
Last July 19, the Sarawak Report whistleblower website was blocked in Malaysia for posting ‘unverified information’ about the corruption scandal involving 1MDB, a state-managed investment company. A few days later, two newspapers of The Edge were suspended for three months for allegedly releasing fabricated documents related to 1MDB. The issue also implicates Prime Minister Najib Razak after the Wall Street Journal published a report alleging that he got 700 million US dollars in bank transfers through the 1MDB.
After gathering at the market, the crowd marched toward the Bar Council building. The rally demanded the protection of free speech, the unblocking of news websites, the revocation of the suspension order against The Edge, and the recognition of the public right to know all information about the 1MDB.
Below are some of the placards and banners used in the rally:
From the Facebook page of Malaysians stand in solidarity with The Edge
From the Facebook page of Malaysians stand in solidarity with The Edge
Here are some photos on Twitter using the hashtag #AtTheEdge:
Proudly stood in protest with fellow Msians & journos at the #AtTheEdge rally today. #FreeMedia #FreedomofExpression pic.twitter.com/Vuqpcf3Q46
— CIJ Malaysia (@CIJ_Malaysia) August 8, 2015
Feminists support freedom of expression & opinion #AtTheEdge @ivyjosiah pic.twitter.com/uItitSFsHk
— HRC Malaysian Bar (@hrc_bar) August 8, 2015
“Asking questions about #1MDB is not a crime” #AtTheEdge pic.twitter.com/FxwpqJEiCI
— Sumisha Naidu (@sumishanaidu) August 8, 2015
Journalism is not a crime. #AtTheEdge pic.twitter.com/iM2BTof63u
— Khairil Yusof (@kaerumy) August 8, 2015
#AtTheEdge #808 http://t.co/PibBWYtaRn pic.twitter.com/y60xPrsTqv
— Umapagan (@umapagan) August 8, 2015
Writing on Facebook, Aruna Sena expressed solidarity:
Curbing the media and curbing access to media is a blatant act of power to limit us, human beings, to our right to source information and news. It is also a blatant act to curb freedom of speech as well as limiting journalism.
All hope is not lost as I witness beforehand media players standing up for their right to report and deliver information to us the people #atTheEdge event yesterday. And that is a wonderful sight to see.
Good turnout for #808 #AtTheEdge Free the media from political control! pic.twitter.com/k9E0jGC9uB
— Yin Shao Loong (@yinshaoloong) August 8, 2015
.@Ambiga_S: we must never 4get abuses of power 2day. U can suspend edge, sr, but u can't suspend truth! #ATTHEEDGE pic.twitter.com/kyeT2HLaeN
— #AtTheEdge, Malaysia (@AtTheEdgeMsia) August 8, 2015
A bigger rally is being arranged on August 29. This time the issue is no longer limited to media freedom. Dubbed Bersih 4, the rally demands the resignation of the prime minister.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Serbian Intelligence Agency Caught Inquiring to Purchase Surveillance Software · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

Screenshot of one of many emails from Hacking Team account manager to unknown official Serbian State Intelligence Agency email from 2012. Image courtesy of SHARE Defense, used with permission.
Serbian NGO SHARE Defense reported in July 2015 that leaked emails and files belonging to Milan-based software company Hacking Team (HT) published on  Wikileaks reveal that at least one Serbian security service inquired about and negotiated the purchase of surveillance software from this company in 2012. There is also evidence that one or more email accounts from the Serbian Ministry of Defense appear as trial users of the spy software made by the Italian company.
The software in question is the so-called Remote Control System, or RCS, ans essentially works by targeting the spreading of viruses on computers and mobile phones of persons under surveillance. According to SHARE Defense sources, most clients using this software are governments from around the world and their security services.
SHARE Defense's legal team also called attention to which organizations might be able to gain permission and afford the use of such software:
Share Foundation wrote about the legal framework for import of this kind of software in Serbia back in 2013 because of the “Trovicor” case, stating that rules for dual use goods must be applied and that a permit from the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications is obligatory.[…]
If we assume that certain organisations can be authorized to use this equipment, in our legal system that wouldn’t be possible without a court decision in accordance with the law. Using it in any other way would be an obvious violation of human rights which are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and numerous international conventions.

author: Danica Radisic


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Video: How the Green Iguana Came to Outnumber the Human Population of Puerto Rico · Global Voices
Ángel Carrión

Image taken by Bernard DUPONT and uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. Used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License (CC BY-SA 2.0).
Though they are not endemic to Puerto Rico, green iguanas have flourished here due to the absence of natural predators. They were introduced to Puerto Rico through the exotic pet trade and today are considered an invasive species, so much so that in a few decades the 4 million strong population now outnumbers the entire population of Puerto Rico. It is common to see them in trees, mangroves and near the side of the roads.
Known colloquially in Puerto Rico as gallina de palo, which loosely translates to “chicken of the trees”, these herbivores can grow to about 1.5 meters in length, though they can reach lengths of up to 2 meters and can live between 10 to 15 years in the wild.
In some countries of Central and South America, green iguanas are part of the local cuisine, which is why they are protected by laws that regulate their hunting. Because they are such a popular part of the diet in some areas and are much sought-after by the exotic pet trade, they are listed in the CITES Appendix II (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), which means that, even though they aren't quite considered an endangered species, trade has to be controlled in order to make sure their numbers don't go down too much.
In Puerto Rico, some people have decided to hunt the iguanas for free in order to help farmers protect their crops. A group called Los iguaneros de Aguada not only hunts them, but also encourages people to try them as food, showing how to prepare and safely cook the meat.
Some environmentalists have formed teams of volunteers to help control the population of green iguanas in natural reserves. Because one female can lay as much as 75 eggs —more than 90% of which will hatch successfully— the best way to do this is to harvest the eggs from the nest, thereby eliminating it altogether.
This short three-and-a-quarter-minute documentary produced by National Geographic shows biologist Rafael Joglar and environmental interpreter Carlos Rodríguez explaining why the green iguana is such a serious problem in Puerto Rico. Carlos Rodríguez sums up the scope of the work that must be done to successfully control the population in the Las cabezas de San Juan Natural Reserve:
We've eliminated since the year 2008 to the present approximately 13,000 eggs from the population. That's a big number, but this is something that we're gonna have to do for the next 15, maybe 20 years.
You can see the full video below:

author: Ángel Carrión


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Death of Pinochet’s Secret Police Chief Uncovers Chile’s Unhealed Wounds · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

Disappeared detainees in Chile during Pinochet's dictatorship. PHOTO: Rosario González (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The recent death of Manuel Contreras, chief of the feared National Intelligence Directorate—the secret police under the administration of Augusto Pinochet responsible for kidnapping, torturing and murdering thousands of people between 1973-77—reminded Chile that the wounds of the military dictatorship are still far from being healed.
In 1973, Pinochet overthrew socialist Chilean President Salvador Allende, marking the beginning of a military dictatorship that lasted 17 years. During that time, more than 3,000 persons died and tens of thousands were imprisoned and tortured.
After Pinochet, Contreras was the regime's second most powerful man. In 1993, he was condemned by the Supreme Court of Chile to 526 years in jail for 75 kidnappings, three murders, two illegal association felonies and a minor abduction. He was serving his sentence at the Punta Peuco prison until he was taken to the Military Hospital in Santiago because of health issues. He died on the night of August 7, 2015 after a long and painful 10 months.
The Chilean Gendarmerie announced his death with a press release that surprised some in its use of terms that are still controversial in the country, such as the adjective to describe Pinochet's rule: “dictatorship” versus “military regime”.
Bien @Gendarmeria_CL llamando “Interno” al #MamoContreras y usando “dictadura” en el comunicado por su fallecimiento pic.twitter.com/1Zgq0an3Ca
— Ricardo (@Mufaldinho) August 8, 2015
Well done Chilean Gendarmerie calling Manuel Contreras “prisoner” and using “dictatorship” on the press release announcing his death
As soon as the news broke, several dozens of people staged a protest in front of the hospital with flags and chants of disapproval against the high-ranking military officer.
The demonstrations soon turned into festive celebrations in parts of the country's capital city.
AHORA: Gente celebrando la muerte de Manuel “Mamo” Contreras en Plaza Italia. (vía @MegafonoPopular) #MamoContreraspic.twitter.com/QkZkhjGydz
— Radio Villa Francia (@rvfradiopopular) August 8, 2015
NOW: People celebrating the death of Manuel “Mamo” Contreras in Italy Plaza
video clip: crowds in Santiago, Chile chanting “justice, truth, no to impunity” h/t @MegafonoPopular #MamoContreras pic.twitter.com/uBeYnKI8mV
— David Ferreira (@Igualitarista) August 8, 2015
On Twitter, people expressed conflicting opinions regarding the celebrations, condolences, and the meaning that Contreras’ demise could have for a country still struggling to make peace with its past. The news created such an impact that the hashtag #mamocontreras (“Mamo” was Manuel Contreras’ nickname) became a number one worldwide trending topic.
Nada que celebrar cdo un criminal tan siniestro como el #mamocontreras muere y se lleva mucha inform sobre violac a DDHH y paradero de #DDDD
— PrensaRebelde (@RebeldePrenssa) August 8, 2015
There's nothing to celebrate when such a sinister criminal like Manuel Contreras dies and takes with him so much information about human rights violations and disappeared detainees’ whereabouts
Veo wnes pidiendo 1 minuto de silencio por el #mamocontreras . No les basta con los 42 años de silencio de los milicos?
— Francisco Castillo (@fcocastillo) August 8, 2015
I see idiots asking for a minute of silence for Manuel Contreras. Weren't 42 years of silence from the military enough?
Tal como lo predijo el mismo #MamoContreras, no murió en la cárcel. Lloren comunachos ctm!! pic.twitter.com/sF28NXAPD8 — Tía Evelyn (@LaTiaEvelyn) August 8, 2015
Right as Manuel Contreras himself predicted, he didn't die in jail. Cry motherfucker communists!
Celebrar la muerte de un torturador y asesino, no nos hace comunistas. Sépanlo. #mamocontreras — S. (@SebaMarin) August 8, 2015
Celebrating the death of a torturer and murderer don't make us communists. Know that.
Curioso homenaje a los DDHH: personas que perdieron a seres queridos, celebrando la muerte de alguien. En fin…
— Teresa Marinovic (@tere_marinovic) August 8, 2015
Interesting human rights tribute: people who lost their loved ones celebrating the death of someone. Oh, well…
The widest contrast in the discussion was the condolences versus the rejection of Contreras.
Muere Contreras,represor y genocida cobarde e infame,con grado d general para vergüenza del ejército y la sociedad, #sinjusticianohaymemoria
— carmen hertz (@carmen_hertz) August 8, 2015
Contreras died an oppressor, genocidal, coward, infamous man with a title of General  that shames the army and the society.
Asesino siniestro, cruel e inhumano. Que se recuerde como la bestia que planifico y ejecuto torturas y desaparición de miles #mamocontreras
— Denisse Malebran (@denissemalebran) August 8, 2015
Sinister, cruel, inhuman assassin. Let he be remembered as the beast who planned and executed tortures and disappearances of thousands.
Estaba condenado a 530 años de cárcel, y no fue por bonito. Era un asesino cruel y sanguinario. No pidan respeto x 1 CTM. #mamocontreras
— Difamadores (@difamadores) August 8, 2015
He was sentenced to 530 years in jail and it wasn't because he was nice. He was a cruel and bloody murderer. Don't ask for respect for a motherfucker.
Gracias por tus servicios a la Patria, mis condolencias a la familia Contreras Q.E.P.D. Manuel “mamo” Contreras — Julio Andrades (@jandrades) August 8, 2015
Thank you for your services to Homeland, my condolences to the Contreras family. May Manuel “Mamo” Contreras rest in peace.
Q.E.P.D General (r) Juan Manuel MAMO Contreras “Nosotros no matamos a nadie que no fueran terroristas cuando se enfrentaron a nosotros” — Esteban A. Muñoz (@Esteban_Muol) August 8, 2015
May General (r) Juan Manuel MAMO Contreras rest in peace. “We didn't kill anybody who wasn't a terrorist when they were fighting us”.
#mamocontreras ha muerto un soldado que a cumplido con su único deber: Salvar a su patria.
— Carlos Llantén Silva (@cllanten57) August 8, 2015
Mamo Contreras has passed away. A soldier who died fulfiling his only duty: saving his homeland.
Some shared thoughts on the roads that could lead to the country's reconciliation. The independent Congressman Tucapel Jiménez, son of the union leader murdered during the military dictatorship for opposing the regime, said on an interview for the television network TVN:
Los que representamos la defensa a los Derechos Humanos no podemos celebrar esta muerte, eso es lo que nos diferencia de esta gente. Pero no quiere decir que esté triste.
Contreras podría haber muerto más en paz y ayudando a la verdad. Con él se van a la tumba muchos datos relevantes para conocer el paradero de muchos Detenidos Desaparecidos.
Ojalá esto sea un punto de inflexión y hayan militares que rompan el pacto de silencio y entreguen información. Conocer la verdad y hacer justicia da la tranquilidad y si el país quiere sanar el alma, ese es el camino.
Those of us who defend Human Rights cannot celebrate this death, this is what separates us from these people. But that doesn't mean I am sad.
Contreras could've died in more peace and helping the truth. Lots of relevant information about the whereabouts of several disappeared detainees went with him to the grave.
I hope this is a turning point so that soldiers will break the vow of silence and hand over information. Knowing the truth and serving justice brings peace and if the country wants to heal its soul, that's the way.
On the other side, journalist Francisco Mendez offered a more critical vision of what this event means in his column “Manuel Contreras, foreman of the interests of a group who denies him“:
Pensar que una vez que él muera todo el pasado se irá con él es ser ingenuo y no conocer a Chile y lo que algunos están dispuestos a hacer con tal de mantener sus intereses, sus ideas. El Mamo fue un trabajador de quienes hoy todavía disfrutan de una economía que fue impuesta con tal de aniquilar a todo el que pensara distinto u osara en cuestionar las eternas estructuras de poder en nuestro país. (…)
(…) Separar este personaje del interés particular de un sector es mentirle a la gente. Ponerlo como una muy fea anécdota en nuestra historia es no entender debido a qué intereses surgió. Es seguir negándole a la todos los chilenos, sin importar su clase, cuál es la verdadera razón por la que aún estamos mirando hacia la dictadura y por qué nos costará mucho dejar de hacerlo si es que antes no hay un sinceramiento histórico de quienes tuvieron y tienen el poder hasta el día de hoy.
To think that once he's dead all the past will go away with him would be naive and shows an ignorance of Chile and of the lengths some are willing to go to keep hold of their interests, their ideas. Mamo was an employee of people who still enjoy an economy designed to annihilate anyone who thinks differently or dares to question the eternal structures of power in our country. (…)
(…) To separate this character from the particular interest of a group is to lie to the people. To situate him as an ugly anecdote in our history is to misunderstand the interests that created him. It is to continue to deny to every Chilean, regardless of social class, the real reason we are still looking back to the dictatorship and why it will cost us a lot to stop doing it, unless there's an honest review of history from those who had and still hold power up until today.
Finally, amid the different opinions, there were hopeful conclusions like these:
Tu muerte sólo nos deja el compromiso de trabajar por un Chile donde nunca más pueda volver a existir alguien como tu… #MamoContreras
— Max Colodro (@maxcolodro) August 8, 2015
Your death only leaves us with the commitment to work for a Chile where there can never exist again someone like you…
Algunos se alegran y otros se apenan por la muerte de Contreras. Yo ni me apeno ni me alegro: yo miro al futuro, sin odiar ni amar el pasado
— Dip. Gaspar Rivas (@GasparRivas) August 8, 2015
Some are cheerful, some other mourn the death of Contreras. I am neither sad nor happy: I look to the future, without hating or loving the past

author: Elizabeth Rivera


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Eat Your Heart Out, Boston Tea Party. This Is How Russia Destroys Food. · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

A Boston Tea Party of sorts, brought to you by Vladimir Putin. Image edited by Kevin Rothrock.
Following an executive order by Vladimir Putin, Russia has embarked on a campaign of destroying any boycotted foods confiscated on its territory. The bulldozing, incineration, and burial of tons of illegal edibles is taking place in front of cameras, as a spectacle apparently meant to convey Moscow's commitment to punishing foreign food manufacturers for the West's sanctions against Russia, and as a show of strength that the country doesn't need imports from Europe and North America. RuNet Echo collects some of the most poignant jokes and statements from Russian-language Twitter about this new war on banned food.
Many of the jokes surrounding the eradication of confiscated food imports play with Russia's sacred World War II iconography, which the Kremlin has intentionally cultivated in recent years, in its confrontation with the West over the future of Ukraine. The destruction of edible food has been the subject of mockery (Internet users have replaced Soviet heroes with blocks of cheese), and a cause for anger (as the idea of wasting food in a country with a living memory of famine is insulting to many people).
While many of the Russian government's policies seem coordinated to leverage the memory of the Second World War, inciting patriotism as a way of rallying the country to accept certain sacrifices, Putin's decision to burn, crush, and bury hundreds of tons of good food has been an awkward fit with the usual reverence for memories of the war. Indeed, reviewing the popular tweets about Russia's new food policy, it is remarkable how little the Kremlin's supporters have said about it in the past week. So far, it's the critics who seem to enjoy a near monopoly on this conversation, at least on Twitter.
This image re-appropriates a famous painting of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, the celebrated Soviet heroine, executed by the Nazis:
Допрос пармезана. Холст, масло. Москва, 2015 год. pic.twitter.com/R4PsA1bJXg
— Вязаный Твитер (@twitted_knitter) August 7, 2015
Interrogating a parmesan [wordplay on “partisan”—the irregular Russian militants who resisted Nazi occupation]. Canvas, oil. Moscow, 2015.
Alexey Venediktov, the chief editor of Echo of Moscow, Russia's embattled, longest-standing independent radio station, expressed disbelief that Russia's WWII veterans are tolerating the government's new food-eradication policy. Venediktov compares the relative silence about the destruction of food imports today to a scandal in January 2014 that nearly killed the independent television station TV Rain, when it asked viewers if Leningrad should have been surrendered to the Nazis, rather than subjected to a siege that killed hundreds of thousands of people, due to famine.
Ветеранов, которых возмутил вопрос о блокаде, не возмущает уничтожение продуктов. Это что?
— Alexey Venediktov (@aavst) August 6, 2015
The veterans who were so disturbed by [TV Rain's] question about the [Leningrad] blockade aren't bothered by the destruction of [food] imports. What's that about?
Generally pro-Kremlin media personality Vladimir Soloviev, who sometimes ventures to criticize the government (he recently suggested that officials who deny Russia's economic crisis are “incompetent”), expressed shock similar to Venediktov's:
1.Я не понимаю как в стране пережившей страшный голод войны и жуткие послереволюционные годы можно уничтожать продукты питания.
— Vladimir Soloviev (@VRSoloviev) August 3, 2015
I don't understand how, in a country that survived the terrible famine of war and the horrible years of the post-revolutionary period, we could be destroying food.
The political cartoonist Sergey Elkin has had some fun, too, with the military angle of Russia's expanded “war” on boycotted food:
http://t.co/QQNsMHii76 pic.twitter.com/vR2twJDTGM
— Sergey Elkin (@Sergey_Elkin) August 3, 2015
Others have shared personal memories of relatives who fought in the war, and how it shaped their attitudes about food:
Меня прадед, когда я всего лишь играл едой за столом, бил ложкой по голове. Представляю, как бы он отхуярил сейчас Путина.
— Дядюшка Шу (@Shulz) August 6, 2015
My great grandfather used to hit me in the head with a spoon, if I played with my food for only a second at the dinner table. I can only imagine how badly he'd fuck up Putin now.
On what is perhaps a lighter note (or maybe not), many online have joked that Russia's approach to illegally imported food seems to be harsher than its methods of combatting illegal drugs:
Любопытно, что установить оборудование для сжигания контрабандных наркотиков раньше никому в голову не приходило. Сыр – вот настоящее зло.
— Уголок циника (@cynicarea) August 2, 2015
It's curious that nobody ever thought to set up equipment to incinerate contraband narcotics. But cheese—now there's the real evil.
Кстати, наркотики в нашей стране публично не сжигают и бульдозерами не давят.
— Vasily Goncharov (@VS_Oblomov) August 6, 2015
Incidentally, nobody in our country publicly incinerates narcotics or bulldozes them into landfills.
Как узнать, что ваш ребёнок употребляет пармезан.
— Рязанский пармезан (@Judge_Syrova_Ya) August 6, 2015
How to know if your child is on parmesan.
Many Russian Internet users drawing attention to the food-destruction campaign express shame that their country is ruining a vast amount of edible food simply for political reasons. An earlier plan to feed the confiscated food to cattle, rather than destroy it, produced a similar effect:
“Россельхознадзор намерен кормить санкционными продуктами скот” Это, собственно, всё, что нужно знать о современном российском государстве
— Рустем Адагамов (@adagamov) August 3, 2015
Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance is planning to feed sanctioned foods to livestock. That's pretty much all you need to know about the modern-day Russian state.
Совсем ебнулась страна, конечно. Жаль. pic.twitter.com/iB0kWCQiOm
— Рустем Адагамов (@adagamov) August 5, 2015
The country has completely lost its fucking mind, sadly. [Headline: “A Rich Harvest—Our Answer to the West?”]
As food prices rise in Russia and an economic recession promises to last several more months, at the very least, many online seem to believe that the country is in no position to bulldoze or set fire to food that many in the country are finding harder and harder to buy. The popular satirical Twitter personality “KermlinRussia” joked that Russians could be in for a truly rude surprise, if the government's reserves (set up to balance the budget when oil is cheap) become further depleted:
Сейчас люди отойдут от событий с едой и спросят: А где баксы и евро из стабфонда? И Путин такой: А я их тоже сжег.
— Пeрзидент Роисси (@KermlinRussia) August 8, 2015
Now people are going to take a step back from all this news about food [imports] and ask, “But where are all the dollars and euros from the Stabilization Fund?” And Putin will be like, “Oh, I incinerated those, too.”
Others have joked that domestic producers of food (in this case, cheese) must be celebrating the crackdown on foreign imports, which eliminates European competition that presumably allows Russians to observe relatively lax health-and-safety standards:
Омские сыроделы радуются уничтожению нормального сыра и передают вам всем привет прямо из чана. pic.twitter.com/8CCvflHRwI
— Vasily Goncharov (@VS_Oblomov) August 6, 2015
Cheesemakers in Omsk welcome the destruction of perfectly good cheese and pass along a big hello straight from the milk vat.
Some allusions to history are more recent than Russia's experiences in World War II. Mikhail Gorbachev's famously failed effort to bring down the consumption of alcohol has inspired some quips about Putin's apparent effort to suppress the consumption of food:
Страна прошла большой путь: от “НЕ ПИТЬ” — при раннем Горбачеве до “НЕ ЕСТЬ” — при позднем Путине.
— Роза Моисеевна (@ANAKOYHER) August 8, 2015
The country has really come a long way. From “DON'T DRINK” under early Gorbachev to “DON'T EAT” under late Putin.
Other jokes have parodied Russia's recent political rhetoric, which is strongly anti-Western, often on moral grounds. The satirical account “Everything Is Bad” caricatured what an angry Russian patriot might have to say to all the European cheese now crushed and burned in landfills across the country:
НУ ЧТО СЫР ЕБАНЫЙ ПОЛУЧИЛ СВОЕ, ПРОКЛЯТЫЙ ГЕЙСКИЙ СЫР ИЗ ПОДПИНДОСНОЙ ЕВРОПЫ, ГОРИ В АДУ СЫР
— Все Плохо (@sranysovok) August 6, 2015
NOW WHAT, YOU FUCKING CHEESE. YOU GOT YOURS, YOU DAMNED, GAY CHEESE FROM YANKEELAND EUROPE. BURN IN HELL, CHEESE.
In a mix of World-War-II memory and criticism of Russia's modern-day elite (known to fulminate against European decadence, but also send their children to study and live in the West), KermlinRussia joked that these youngsters might finally be put to the nation's use abroad:
Россия создаст диверсионные группы из детей депутатов и чиновников, которые займутся уничтожением санкционных продуктов на территории врага.
— Пeрзидент Роисси (@KermlinRussia) August 5, 2015
Russia is creating guerrilla groups made up of the children of Duma deputies and other bureaucrats who will go about destroying the sanctioned Western products on the enemy's own territory.
The bulldozing and burial of tons of food has reminded some Twitter users of the Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine and carted back to their hometowns in Russia. The secrecy that shrouds these deaths was the subject of research Boris Nemtsov was conducting, before his assassination. A report based on his findings was later released posthumously.
Россия – это такая страна, где солдат хоронят тайком и со стыдом, а сыр – демонстративно и с гордостью. pic.twitter.com/uLUVuKbOeX
— Уголок циника (@cynicarea) August 6, 2015
Russia is the kind of country where they bury soldiers secretly and shamefully, but cheese they destroy defiantly and proudly.
Like an illicit advertisement scrawled on a bathroom stall (“for a good time”), or a musician-for-hire looking to attract business, some enterprising cheese venders (or, more likely, some clever jokesters) are already looking to exploit the black market for forbidden European foods:
Ждал когда появится такая реклама, и вот… pic.twitter.com/xjhsj3kxAH
— Evgeny Kozlov (@ekozlov) August 4, 2015
I've been waiting for when advertisements like this would start appearing. And here we go…

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Girls vs. Princesses: The Pink Dictatorship’s Days are Numbered · Global Voices
La Pública

Screenshot from Bolivian video game “Girls vs. Princesses” which aims to combat female stereotypes developed in childhood.
This post by Mabel Franco was published originally in La Publica and reproduced under a content sharing agreement.
Its proponents say it is more than a game, that it is a virus seeking to expose prejudices, remove imbalances, and hack a world where Disney Princesses exercise dictatorship over girls.
The virtual game “Girls vs. Princesses”, was masterminded by the La Paz-based communications agency Nicobis that “develops programs in film, video and mutimedia and specializes in publishing children's literature.” In the game, characters jump and run to avoid being qualified as a princess according to the “princess meter”.
Via its company branch PICA (Smart Programs for Teenagers), Nicobis is seeking to diversify its market in Bolivia, creating applications and virtual games that exploit growing market niches in a sustainable way. The “Girls vs Princesses” game was funded by the Dutch development organisation Hivos*, and will be available free of charge when it is released in two months time.
After tests with focus groups and subsequent modifications, “Girls vs. Princesses” will be exhibited at the La Paz International Book Fair later this month (August 5 -16), where it will be played on a Wi-like machine that reads real physical movements.
There, at a stand embellished in the style of a teenager's room, girls of all ages will be able to play the stereotype-busting game on a big screen, attempting to escape the mainstream-driven image of perfection associated with young, white/blond, thin girls, dressed in mostly pink costumes and dreaming of the love of a handsome prince.
Emiliano Longo, Nicobis's creative director, is also a father. He has a three-year-old girl “who sometimes I call ‘princess’ and then I want to bite my tongue”.
What concerns Longo most, however, is that his little girl wants to be a princess, no matter what her parents tells her, and has already internalized the princess concept: she doesn't want to dress in any colour but pink, and loves to wear her mother's high heels.
“Do you know what? We are formatted,” concludes Longo, who created the game “Girls vs. Princess” along with illustrator Mónica Carreño, game and application developer Enrique Oropeza and fellow creative director Carlos Mercado.
The game has two levels: a basic one, consisting of running and jumping for little girls, and a more advanced level with obstacles, high jumps and other difficulties for teenagers.
Players can choose what their alter ego is going to look like. You can create your character on the screen and choose their skin colour (from white to purple or any other colour), the hair color and style (whether blond and straight or blue and curly) and  dress the character as you see fit.
Popular archetypes include karate girls, skater girls, graffiti artists and scientific researchers among others. Only the ‘princess’ look is off the menu.
As the game starts, characters proceed  through a forest, a party room and a castle, with the goal of trying to avoid being trapped by the makeup an irritant fairy seeks to smear on the player.
Other hazards players must negotiate are the corseted and pompous figure-hugging dress — it is hard to jump dressed like that — a pink wardrobe that attacks by throwing high heeled shoes at the player, and, ultimately, the kiss of an obnoxious prince.
With a team of allies encompassing books, paint brushes, balls and other functional objects that save girls from being pigeonholed, players aim to keep their score on the “princess meter” as low as possible.
If they cannot, they risk becoming the hated princess herself. Falling into the arms of the prince means game over.
But since the game's premise is a non-discriminatory one, the question arises: Who will defend the princess’s rights?
The team's answer is merciless: for a century, Disney, the movies and the entertainment industry have all defended the princess's rights. Now, her time has come.
Longo believes the princess concepts internalized by girls “and their mothers” — not to mention the associated values — are nothing but sales strategies to promote consumption.
The  ‘princess’ brand, he says, has been a boon to toy manufacturers, producers of clothes of a certain colour and style, “girl” makeup and other gimmicks.
This also contributes to the early sexualization of young girls and pushes them to act in a certain way to please men.
In the focus groups Nicobis ran, it became clear that girls were strongly attracted to the game, that they found the princess idea pathetic, had ambitions to be athletes or scientists and considered girls that behave like princesses ridiculous.
Those responses convince the game's makers they have found a winning tool to combat prejudice.
Boys, however, resented the fact that the game's hero is a woman, meaning that few are likely to play the game, says Enrique Oropeza.
Monica Carreño notes that games where women have leadership roles are few and far between, while female computer game characters are mostly designed to appeal to men:
“I always wondered why women fighters are almost nude and fighting in bikinis, while her male teammates appear behind heavy armor,” she laughs.
The “Girls vs. Princess” game has already taken over six months of work and is slated to be ready by the beginning of October.
Whoever wants to play it will be able to download it from websites in Bolivia and other countries, or find it on Playstore and AppStore.It will also be distributed in schools along with other educational and recreational materials from PICA.
At the upcoming Book Fair Bolivian teenagers will be jumping real jumps to help their chosen characters escape the pink tyranny on a giant screen. The princess's days appear to be numbered.

author: La Pública


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Global Voices’ Marcell Shehwaro is a Finalist for a 2015 Online Journalism Award · Global Voices
Sahar Habib Ghazi

We are thrilled to announce that GV writer Marcell Shehwaro is a finalist for a 2015 Online Journalism Award (OJA) in the category of online commentary, for her piece “In Syria We Have All Become Killers” from the series Dispatches From Syria: Marcell Shehwaro on Life in Aleppo.
The OJA awards have been honoring excellence in digital journalism around the world since 2000 and are administered by the Online News Association. Here's an excerpt from the Online News Association's award announcement, which also says the finalists “push the envelope of innovation and excellence in digital storytelling and distribution”:
A group of 134 industry-leading journalists and new media professionals teamed up to screen 994 entries and select semi-finalists. Fifteen judges representing a diverse cross-section of the industry then conferred to determine finalists and winners.
After learning that the checkpoint where her mother was murdered by Syrian regime soldiers has been obliterated by a bomb, Marcell writes in her nominated piece, “my ability to survive depends upon the death of others…and this is how the murderous regime will ultimately win, regardless of what political change awaits Syria.”
Marcell received strong support from the Global Voices community while crafting the 12-part Aleppo series, which was published in 2014. Her stories were edited by managing director Georgia Popplewell and MENA editor Amira Al Hussaini and the original writing in Arabic was translated into English by Amira AlHussaini and Lara Al Malakeh. Many members of our Lingua community helped in the subsequent translations into Spanish, Hebrew, French, Chinese, Korean, and German.
Ivan Sigal, our executive director explained the importance and relevance of Marcell's series in a nomination essay to ONA. Here's an excerpt:
Marcell is part of a community of writers and digital activists who participated in the original nonviolent reform movement in Syria. They are digitally networked journalists and activists closely tied to reform movements in other parts of the Middle East, and their habits of communication and communities are based in the culture of the Internet. As such, Marcell’s work is emblematic of the idea of online journalism – allowing us to hear voices and stories of people who had previously been subjects in the stories of outsiders. Marcell's voice is that of an insider reflecting her experience of the war in Aleppo for a global audience. Against odds she and her peers continue to insist on the need for human dignity, and on the power of stories about individual lives in the face of extreme violence and geopolitical manipulation.
The framing of Marcell's essays runs counter to a presentation of the Syrian war in which stories about extremism and polarization are emphasized. We rarely hear about the nuances and complexities of the lives of individual Syrians. In her writing, Marcell's voice turns and winds through her days as she struggles to survive and make sense of the collapse of her world, the murder of her mother at a government checkpoint, the dilemmas of her friends and their families, and dreams of a forgone past. She brings us the complexity of Syrian society, showing us the fractures, alliances and impossible choices made by individuals living through war. Her stories again and again shatter upon the reality of those choices, the knowledge that making them requires people who in normal times might be fair, compassionate and caring to choose violence as a means of security.
The Online News Association is a non-profit membership organization for digital journalists. The final award will be announced on September 26 at the 2015 ONA Conference and Online Journalism Awards Banquet.

author: Sahar Habib Ghazi


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HRW Research Finds Media Freedom in Western Balkans Under Serious Threat · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

After almost a year of research in the region and in-depth interviews with over 80 journalists, editors, and independent media owners, Human Rights Watch released a report in July 2015 stating that media freedom in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia are under threat.
The report's findings include impunity and lack of action by authorities for threats, beatings, and even murders of journalists and media workers in these countries, citing that political interference and financial pressure through heavy fines and vague laws are often imposed on independent media in these countries.
In several cases journalists said they have continued to experience physical violence and abuse after their initial attack, again, often with impunity for their assailants. Journalists reporting on war crimes or radical religious groups in BiH, Kosovo and Serbia said authorities downplayed the seriousness of online threats they had experienced.[…]
Inefficiency and severe backlogs in the four justice systems impede timely adjudication of legal cases. Cases tend to drag on for years, creating an environment that can be used to the advantage of those who seek to stifle critical reporting through criminal acts of intimidation.
Human Rights Watch's key recommendations to authorities and governments in the four countries in question following this report include public and unequivocal condemnation of all attacks against journalists and media outlets and assurance of swift and thorough investigations into all such incidents, as well as prompt and impartial investigations into all attacks and threats against journalists and media outlets, including cybercrimes. The international human rights watch dog has also recommended that the European Union, to which all four of these countries are currently aspiring, the OSCE and the Council of Europe pay closer attention and take additional steps to urge relevant authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia to react appropriately to media threats and ensure a safe environment for journalists to work in.


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Jamaicans Stage Milestone LGBT Pride Celebration · Global Voices
Dexter Wharton

Celebrating Pride—the banner at PRiDE Jamaica's opening ceremony / J-FLAG's Facebook page.
In a first for the English-speaking Caribbean, members of Jamaica’s LGBT community made a courageous statement recently when they staged their first-ever gay pride celebrations on the island.
The week-long event included an opening ceremony that featured the raising of a rainbow flag, a flash mob in the island’s capital, and a showcase of the talents of local LGBT members:
Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) hosted a talent show as part of the island's first-ever gay pride celebrations / J-FLAG's Facebook page.
Although Jamaica has an international reputation for general intolerance towards same-sex relations, there were no reports of violence related to the pride celebrations. Strategically scheduled between Jamaica’s observance of Emancipation Day and Independence Day, the celebration, though muted, won the support of some local politicians.Kingston Mayor Angela Brown-Burke gave her support to the event during the opening ceremony:
I’m here this afternoon to support the LGBT and ally community in celebration of their resilience, in celebration of their reaching out over the last decade and more.
Justice Minister Mark Golding called on Jamaicans to refrain from violence against the LGBT community:
I support the right of all Jamaicans, including members of the LGBT community, to express their opinions through lawful means […]
As the LGBT community embarks on a week of activities to build awareness of the rights and needs of their members, I urge all Jamaicans to respect their right to do so in peace.
The event also attracted international endorsements: Canada-born Hollywood actress Ellen Page lent her support in person. Page, who “came out” publicly last year, participated in the flash mob organised by J-FLAG.
.@EllenPage joins the first-ever #pride event in Jamaica http://t.co/o8xjrmHafo pic.twitter.com/ySIXbzy2Nx
— Los Angeles LGBT Ctr (@LALGBTCenter) August 3, 2015
Latoya Nugent, the organisation's associate director, thought the event was a turning point for members of the Jamaican LGBT community, since so many people never thought they would see the day when a gay pride parade could take place on the island—especially without incident:
I think we will look back on this and see it as a turning point because many persons thought that it would never actually happen.
Dane Lewis, Executive Director of J-FLAG, speaking at the opening ceremony of the island's inaugural gay pride celebrations / J-FLAG's Facebook page.
Dane Lewis, J-FLAG'S executive director, added:
The LGBT community remains committed to ensuring that efforts to squash our freedoms, silence our voices, restrict our agency, and derail our progress regarding the recognition, protection, and promotion of our rights will fail. We continue to demonstrate our resilience as a community, our emancipation from oppression, and our right to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people living, working, raising families, and doing business in Jamaica.
The hundreds of posts about the event on Twitter and Facebook were a mixed bag. Some Internet users believed the festival was simply too dangerous to be worth it:
Don't do it Jamaica. Too dangerous. http://t.co/RsZOM8ovH2
— The Great Guanfranco (@ThatGuanfranco) July 29, 2015
By the time the pride celebration was complete, many people could celebrate a second time that no violence occurred:
Bravo, #Jamaica RT “@mklavers81: First-ever #Jamaica Pride celebration takes place without violence http://t.co/1zoV76J2ER“
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) August 5, 2015
Facebook user Martin Carroll expressed his delight at seeing Jamaica “growing up”, and Amandee Mendez questioned calling Jamaicans homophobic, in light of the success of the pride celebrations. Michael Stewart called for a “live-and-let-love” approach, where Jamaica’s LGBT members are left to do things their own way.
There were also many unsupportive comments, often written by individuals who justified their disapproval of gay rights with religion.
A country with strong religious sensibilities, Jamaican society's intolerance of gays has long been regarded simply as part of the island's cultural expression. There is a history of violent crimes against the LGBT community, and colonial-era “buggery legislation” is still on the books. Today, there appears to be a lack of political will to  enshrine equal rights for gays constitutionally.
Despite this legacy, what was recently unthinkable is now a reality in Jamaica—it's hosted a genuine LGBT pride event. Might it happen again? Whatever the enduring prejudices, there are proud Jamaicans willing to risk a great deal for their freedoms and right to be recognised.

author: Dexter Wharton


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Puerto Rican Chorus Brings a Little Joy to the Skies · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Passengers on a flight from Ecuador were in for a surprise when some of their fellow passengers—the chorus of the University of Puerto Rico in Cayey—began to sing a capella Amanecer borincano (the Sunrise of Borinquen) as they were landing in Puerto Rico. Borinquen or Borikén is the name the aboriginal Taíno people called the island.
Some passengers recorded the moment, and the video went viral on social media.
Puerto Rico is currently undergoing a severe economic crisis, and also an extreme drought. “Amanecer borincano,” written by Alberto Carrión, speaks of the beauty of the island and its people, of its traditions, of hope, and the future.
The chorus was representing Puerto Rico at a musical event in Ecuador.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Shanghai Telecom Triples Cost of Access to Overseas Websites · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Shanghai, with Shanghai Telecom tower at far left. Photo by Yhz1221 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Customers of China Telecom in Shanghai, known as Shanghai Telecom, have been all but unable to connect to overseas websites since June. Stemming from a supposed lack of bandwidth, the problem is affecting sites that are not “politically sensitive” and thus are not blocked by the domestic censorship filter of the Great Fire Wall, such as Apple and Microsoft official sites.
The problem now has persisted for over a month and appears to be taking a toll on the city's business sector. Shanghai Telecom claims that the situation resulted from a data overloading problem in the nodes that connect to the overseas network.
To ameliorate the situation, Shanghai Telecom now offers customers an “International nitrogen cylinder plan,” which provides 50MB download and 10MB upload bandwidth to Internet users for visiting non-blocked overseas websites. The monthly fee for 24-hour access to overseas sites is RMB$480 (approximately US$70.00). This is triple the cost of a regular Internet access fee of RMB$150 (approximately US$ 25.00). Each “cylinder” — which provides a stable connection to overseas network for 3 hours — costs users RMB$2 (approximately US$ 0.3).
To visit blocked sites such as Facebook and YouTube, Internet users have to use an additional VPN service.
Ni Eriming, a finance law researcher based in Shanghai, has been calling attention to the situation on China's Twitter-like microblogging platform Weibo since July:
这些天在家里VPN出国，一直非常慢，甚至上不了国外大部分网站。换了好多VPN都不行。今天上网一查，惊了一跳，原来上海电信对出国流量大规模封锁，带宽只保证国内流量，要出国，可以申请出国精品网，每月200元+额外带宽费。不过7月16日起已经不再办理。我真是完全无语了！
These days, I have been trying to access overseas sites through VPN. The connection has been so slow that I could not access a majority of the sites. I kept changing my VPNs, but the situation has not been improved. Today, I searched around online and found out that Shanghai Telecom had blocked overseas access and it only guarantees domestic network access. It previously launched an overseas access plan call “overseas visit gift shop” and charged for an extra of RMB200 yuan [approximately US$30 dollars], but the service expired on July 16. What can I say?
He further explained the problem he encountered:
但我这次访问的是达美航空、订票网站，Booking\hotels，美国政府网站，国外旅游网站，连这些都不上去，(不)用VPN也上不去，我把电脑系统重装了，也上不去。我就纳闷了，到网上一搜，果然是家用的上海电信用户的出国流量整体被封了。我真是惊呆了！！！
This time I attempted to visit American Airlines’ website to book plane tickets, a hotel booking site, US government site, overseas travel advice sites. All failed even with/without VPN. I reinstalled the computer system and still failed. I was so frustrated and searched around for solution. It seems that all domestic Internet plans’ overseas visit have been blocked. I was totally terrified.
As the original Internet connection contract includes overseas Internet access, Ni called Shanghai Telecom to inquire about fixing the network. A repair worker told him the problem “could not be fixed”:
今天向电信报修。电信的员工来了一下，听说是国外网站上不去，直接就说，这个解决不了，全中国都这样，各家运营商都这样，我们没办法解决。现在国际精品网的效果也不好，不过也办不了了……
Today, I called the maintenance service. The telecom repair worker came. Upon hearing my complaint about the problem of overseas access, he told me directly that it could not be fixed. All of China is experiencing this problem and they don't have any solution. The previous “overseas access gift shop” did not work well and ceased to operate….
However, netizens in other regions, such as Guangzhou, say they haven't encountered the same problem. Many believe that Shanghai Telecom's business strategy is at fault.
In April 2015, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang prompted the industry to cut mobile Internet service charges and increase traffic speeds. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the industry regulator, pledged to find ways to lower prices on fourth-generation telecom services. As the country's first free trade zone, Shanghai Telecom's latest move may be a business experiment intended to meet policy objectives by lowering the price of domestic Internet access and then compensating for those losses by increasing charges for overseas access.
Social media users have expressed outrage over Shanghai Telecom's response to customer complaints and the launch of the “International nitrogen cylinder plan.” China Digital Times published copies of some of the online responses to the situation:
spellingford：#上海电信限制外网#这是重大的商业欺诈行为。对消费者的网速擅自加以限制，办理时也不告知消费者更是罪上加罪，真不知道这算不算垄断
Spellingford: #ShanghaiTelecom restrict overseas Internet #access. This is a commercial fraud. It restricts consumers’ connections without telling them. Even when you sign up for the service, they do not notify the consumers. Isn't this an illegal monopoly behavior?
林沛满：上海成天号称要追赶香港，成为国际化大都市，其实连国外网站都上不去。我说的不是政治敏感型网站哦，而是连国外大学官网、企业网、技术交流社区等等都包括在内。花钱买VPN也不行。网络包如下，我想上的是微软的官网，但三次握手根本无法成功。下次改成追赶平壤行不？别侮辱香港了。
Lin Peimeng: Shanghai claims that it has to compete with Hong Kong to be an international city. But it can't even link to overseas sites. What I am talking about it is not politically sensitive sites, but sites such as overseas universities, corporations, and tech communities. Even with paid VPN services, the connection cannot be made. I have been trying to access Microsoft official sites, but failed after three attempts. Let's compete with Pingyang, don't insult Hong Kong.
黄家炜1984：此时此刻作为中国人坚决拥护美帝国主义把长城防火墙给拆了。中国人民水深火热啊
Huang Jiawei 1984: As a Chinese citizen, at this moment, I support the US imperialism to tear down the Great Fire Wall. Chinese people suffers too much.
As Shanghai Telecom is a sub-branch of China Telecom, many wonder if services will soon begin to falter in other cities in China. If commercial restrictions on accessing overseas sites becomes common practice nationwide, the Chinese Internet could become a de facto domestic network for the majority of Internet users.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
The Welsh “Y Wladfa”: A Rare Instance of Peaceful Foreign Settlement in South America · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

The first house in Gaiman, Chubut, Argentina. PHOTO: Pablo Flores (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
On July 28, 1865, one of the world's most curious migrations began. Known in Spanish as La Colonia (The Settlement), or Y Wladfa in Welsh, the 150 individuals that travelled from Wales to the Chubut Province in Argentinian Patagonia, were not looking for wealth, but instead to save a lifestyle that was threatened in their hometown.
In an article titled the History of Patagonia, Ben Johnston explains:
In the early 1800’s, industry within the Welsh heart lands developed and rural communities began to disappear. This industry was helping to fuel the growth of the Industrial Revolution, with the supply of coal, slate, iron and steel. Many believed that Wales was now gradually being absorbed into England, and perhaps disillusioned with this prospect, or excited by the thought of a new start in a new world, many Welshmen and women decided to seek their fortune in other countries.
Usually, the arrival of Europeans on the American continent spelled trouble and violence, but this was somewhat different.
The Wales-Argentina Association sums up the history of this settlement:
Durante el medio siglo que siguió a la migración de los galeses, se fundaron las bases de las que hoy son las ciudades de Puerto Madryn en la Bahía Nueva, Rawson, Gaiman, Trelew a Dolavon en el Valle del Chubut y Trevelin en el Valle Hermoso (Cwm Hyfryd) en los Andes. Muchos de los descendientes galeses también viven en Esquel, al pie de los Andes; en Comodoro Rivadavia, la ciudad más grande de la provincia; en Colonia Sarmiento y también a lo largo y ancho de la República.
Los galeses crearon una sociedad próspera, donde el idioma galés tenía un lugar de privilegio.
For half a century after the Welsh migration, the foundations of what today are the cities of Puerto Madryn at Bahía Nueva, Rawson, Gaiman, Trelew to Dolavon in the Chubut river valley and Trevelin in Valle Hermoso (Cwm Hyfryd) in the Andes, were laid. Many Welsh descendents also live in Esquel, at the foot of the Andes; in Comodoro Rivadavia, the biggest city in the province; in Colonia Sarmiento and all across the Republic.
The Welsh created a prosperous society, where the Welsh language enjoyed a privileged status.
Wales is famous for its valleys, and as Crónicas del sur del mundo notes, it was similar territory in Patagonia that provided a new home for the settlers:
Gaiman es la primera ciudad fundada por aquel centenar y medio de galeses que desembarcó en las afueras de la actual Puerto Madryn y extendió su cultura por el valle del río Chubut hasta la Cordillera, en una colonización de convivencia pacífica con las poblaciones indígenas.
Gaiman is the first city founded by the 150 Welsh people who landed on the outskirts of what today is Puerto Madryn and who spread their culture all through the Chubut river valley up to the Cordillera, in a colonisation based on peaceful coexistence with the indigenous communities.
The settlers of old are fondly recalled in their adopted country:
Fueron especiales las motivaciones que guiaron a estos colonos. No eran aventureros en busca de una hipotética Ciudad de los Césares. Ni errantes buscadores de oro, guiados por el brillo de una riqueza fácil. Tampoco eran científicos con ansias de conocimientos y fama. Era un grupo de personas que deseaba salvar un estilo de vida amenazado en su tierra natal y que buscó, conscientemente, un lugar en el mundo donde poder fundar una nueva nación galesa. Pedían tierra y que respetaran su lengua, su religión y sus costumbres. A cambio, izarían la bandera argentina y se someterían a las leyes del nuevo país.
The motivations that guided those settlers were special. They weren't adventurers looking for a hypothetical City of the Caesars. Nor were they wandering gold seekers, driven by the allure of easy riches. Neither were they scientists yearning for knowledge and fame. They were a group of people who wished to preserve a lifestyle threatened in their homeland, and who were looking, very deliberately, for a place where they could found a new Welsh nation. They asked for land and respect for their language, religion and traditions. In exchange, they would raise the Argentinian flag and would obey the laws of their new country.
Bethel chapel, Gaiman, Chubut. PHOTO: Pablo Flores (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
A characteristic of the Welsh people of Patagonia is their piety, as evidenced by the Welsh chapels tourists can visit on both sides of the Chubut river:
Ellos mismos lo dicen: “Cuando un inglés llega a un lugar lo primero que construye es un negocio. Cuando un americano llega a un lugar, seguramente establece una escuela. Pero cuando un galés llega a un lugar, lo primero que hará será levantar una capilla“.
[…] Las capillas galesas, con sus fachadas sobrias de ladrillos cocidos y sus techos de chapa a dos aguas son el distintivo de todas las ciudades chubutenses que ellos fundaron. […] Eran no sólo centros religiosos sino también civiles, educativos y hasta judiciales.
They themselves say that: “When an Englishman arrives somewhere, the first thing he builds is a business. When an American arrives somewhere, he will surely set up a school. But when a Welshman arrives somewhere, the first thing he will do is erect a chapel.”
[…] The Welsh chapels, with their simple brick facade and their gabled tin roofs, are the distinctive mark of all the Chubut cities they founded. […] They were not only religious centers, but also civil, educational and even judicial.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Welsh settlers to Argentina, a reenactment of the landing of the Mimosa, the ship that brought the first group of settlers, was staged. Overseeing this and other events were the governor of Chubut, Martín Buzzi, and Wales’ Prime Minister, Carwyn Jones, among other guests.
On Twitter, users posted photos and videos of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of La Colonia in Argentinian Patagonia:
La cultura del #Chubut también celebró los 150 años del arribo de los colonos galeses con un gran espectáculo…. http://t.co/9ZYcT7xszh
— Patagonia Azul (@PatagoniaAzul1) julio 30, 2015
The culture in Chubut also celebrated the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Welsh settlers with a great show…
Ayer hicimos 700 km. desde Puerto Madryn hasta Esquel. #Patagonia #Chubut #Argentina #galeses pic.twitter.com/V0Yg9ZKhm5
— Guanaco Volador (@correunpaso) julio 30, 2015
Yesterday, we traveled 700 km. from Puerto Madryn to Esquel.
#Galeses #Chubut 150 años de la llegada a Argentina. Mi artículo y más fotos en Crónicas… https://t.co/SbUPf9nSl6 pic.twitter.com/lYKfZeUNHn — Crónicas desdel Sur (@TourSurDelMundo) julio 29, 2015
Welshmen in Chubut, 150 years since their arrival in Argentina. My article and more photos on Crónicas…

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Trinidad & Tobago’s Election Race Heats Up with Sexual Harassment Allegations · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Just when you think the lead-up to Trinidad and Tobago's general elections couldn't get any weirder, a newspaper reporter has resigned from her job alleging multiple instances of sexual harassment on the part of Dr. Keith Rowley, the current leader of the opposition and the prime minister's main challenger in the September 7 general elections. Rowley has “furiously” denied the charges.
Attacks on Rowley have been a key feature of the election campaigning by the incumbent Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration. And during this year's Carnival celebrations in February, there was furore over Rowley's dancing with a supposedly underage Indian woman. At the time, satirical blog Wired868 cleverly dissected the incident from the opposing perspectives of the two political camps—the prime minister's party, the United National Congress (UNC), and the opposition leader's party, the People's National Movement (PNM):
UNC supporters almost passed out with righteous indignation. […] According to UNC followers, Rowley embarrassed his wife and his post as Opposition Leader and displayed scandalous behaviour for a wanna-be Prime Minister.
PNM supporters suggested Rowley had a civic duty to wine on any bumper [Trinidadian slang for the female rear end] that presented itself without prejudice and called Rampersad [the young lady in question] a poster-girl for racial harmony.
Many felt that the attempt to vilify Rowley for doing what everyone does at Carnival was racist: an attempt to paint him as an aggressive black man. And now there is the resignation of investigative reporter Anika Gumbs, who refers to an April 2015 incident as the impetus for her severing ties with the Trinidad Express newspaper.
Netizens were immediately sceptical about the allegations, in light of both the Carnival incident and the government's attempt in March this year to pass a no confidence vote against Rowley in parliament based on the accusations that he was a child of rape. Some also find the timing—a month before the general elections—curious. Wired868's Mr. Live Wire recounted the timeline:
Well, some time in January, Rowley allegedly told Gumbs that she was ‘looking rosy.’ Three months later, he enquired about a tattoo on her back and removed a bee from her dress with the line: ‘Even honey bees landing on you.’
And, two weeks later on April 21, Rowley was allegedly bareback when Gumbs turned up for a pre-arranged interview, which was done in his kitchen. During the meeting, Rowley supposedly offered to work as a bodyguard outside her bedroom door.
Eh… that’s it. According to columnist Anthony Deyal, it was a case of ‘all Gumbs and no teeth.’
The article also suggested that some of Gumbs’ other activities and interests might conflict with her job as a reporter:
On September 2013, the Sunshine Newspaper reported that Gumbs landed two contracts valued at close to $1 million, which fell under the portfolios of Minister of Works and Infrastructure Suruj Rambachan and Minister of Food Production Devant Maharaj.
Gumbs allegedly confirmed her interest in the relevant companies and declared her dream was ‘to become (a) successful business woman.’
Yet, the Trinidad Express newspapers hired her anyway and allowed her to write investigative pieces on various political figures.
The Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago subsequently issued a statement saying that the Express should have acted on the possible conflict of interest:
This issue has emerged at the politically sensitive period of a general election campaign and would naturally be of concern to media practitioners, political aspirants and the public seeking clarity on the matter.
[…]
Under the headline ‘A figure of controversies’ on August 8, 2015, the Express Newspaper references a possible conflict of interest involving its staff reporter. Ms Gumbs was simultaneously a full-time member of staff at the Express and the recipient of two government contracts.
The statement also made it clear that “this issue also raises a critical discussion on sexual harassment of especially female journalists”, noting:
MATT has received numerous accounts of sexual harassment episodes from journalists who continue to suffer disturbing effects years after the experience.
Despite the government's denial that it had any involvement in colluding with Gumbs against Rowley, Wired868 still had more questions than answers:
Gumbs said: ‘I now feel unable to communicate with Dr Rowley any longer because he betrayed my trust and expectations.’
What does that have to do with the Express? She is not a political reporter. Did someone other than the Express editor-in-chief assign Gumbs to Rowley?
If so, what was Gumbs’ assignment with Rowley exactly? And why did she decide, 15 weeks after her last house call but five weeks before the General Election, that she had enough?
[…]
Did Gumbs quit her job? Or just the cover for her real job?
One Twitter user defended Gumbs, saying that many people make light of sexual harrassment:
People always make light of women's stories of sexual harassment and assault. Women often take time to process what happened. #rowley #gumbs
— WomenSpeak (Simone) (@WomenSpeakPro) August 9, 2015
But it was in taking sexual harassment seriously that Facebook user Rhoda Bharath said:
If this story is as fake as it sounds…it will hurt all women more than one man. Trust and believe that.
In another status update, Bharath gave a mini-history lesson in the correlation between race, sex and politics in Trinidad and Tobago:
Circa the 1961 or 1962 general elections a wave of hysteria swept through St Joseph's Convent one day with the cry that black men were coming to rape girls at the school. Where it originated from, no one knows.
We have the infamous stance of Hulsi (sic) Bhaggan [a former minister of parliament], claiming back in the late 1980s that black men were raping IndoTrini women. That turned out to be a hoax as well. One Hulsi Bhaggan never apologised for.
During the period of the NAR regime fear of rape by black men was also used as reasons to seek asylum in North America.
Carnival 2015 there was the demonisation of Dr Rowley as a sexual predator because young Ravina chose to dance with him during the annual parade.
Then there was Vernella Toppin's debate contribution, claiming that Dr Rowley is a product of rape and so must be hate filled and a rapist himself.
Now…we have Anicka's story. Weeks before an election. In the midst of new found wealth. Herself the beneficiary of govt contracts and state housing. And a close ally of Roodal Moonilal.
The tropes and trends are too clear. Far too clear.
Black male sexuality has historically and contemporarily been demonised and attacked here. For no other reason than blackness.
We sinking ever lower.
#BeatOut2015
The controversy has now come to be called #Butterflygate, in reference to Gumbs’ butterfly tattoo which Rowley is alleged to have commented on. Hashtags like #BarebackMountain are being bandied about on social media. Even the memes have started, like this one, which shows former FIFA-executive Jack Warner on a political walkabout:
Meme being widely shared on Facebook.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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18 Stunning Photographs of the Rana Tharus From the Southern Foothills of Nepal · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

Once rich landlords, Rana Tharus — the natives of Kailali and Kanchanpur districts in far-western Nepal — have witnessed loot, encroachment and discrimination.
Rana Tharus – The silver white looks strikingly beautiful on the bright dress and black shawls. Image by Solveig Boergen. Used with permission
Their isolated villages have been regularly looted by dacoits. They were displaced when the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve was being extended, and many lost their ancestral land during a land settlement programme. The Tharus in Chitwan were reduced to occupying only 14 percent of their area after an anti-malaria programme sprayed DDT (Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane) around their homes. Earlier, they occupied almost 90 percent of the area.
It is hard to find written documents about the Rana Tharus as they have lived in isolation, writes Bikram Rana in his blog:
In India Rana Tharus of Khiri, and Nainital are under scheduled tribes. In case of Nepal in terms of habitats Rana Tharus are the native residents of Kailali and Kanchanpur since 16th century and are the first settlers of the two districts later they were joined by Dangauras of Dang and after the eradication of malaria and resettlement plan of Panchayat regime, Khasiyas [tribes] joined.
However, despite of all odds, they have not forgotten their culture and tradition. Their way of life remains distinct and their traditional clothes and ornaments are a delight to every photographer and designer.
Solveig Boergen, a German photographer who lives and works in Japan, travelled to the Kanchanpur district of western Nepal to capture the daily lives of the Rana Tharus. Here is what she saw:
All images used with permission. A version of the story was published in the blog Voice of Tharus.
As the sun peeks from the window of the mud house, an old Rana lady is busy preparing meal. The mighty rays illuminate the surrounding and the dark corner of kitchen turns into a portrait painted in ochre.
The morning chores comprise cleaning the premises and taking the cattle out in the open.
The morning chores comprise cleaning the premises and taking the cattle out in the open.
The young one is a helping hand in looking after the goats and bringing grass for the animals.
The lady in her bright blouse sits on a rope cot and makes clay figurines for her grandchildren to play with in the upcoming festival. She draws inspiration from the nature, the tattoos on her arms and the bright colours of her blouse.
Like William Wordsworth's Solitary Reaper, the lady reaps the paddy alone. Her bright costume stands out in the sea of yellow.
When her friend joins her, it seems like a competition between the traditional dress she is wearing and the modern dress her mate is adorning. Both the colours burn bright in the yellow field.
The coming together of the community for a bountiful catch is a moment to watch.
The joy of working together and sharing the catch – there’s plenty to learn from them.
The catch is enough for everyone.
It's the marriage season and the ladies show off their ornaments.
Mirror! Mirror! Who is the fairest of all?
Tell me if I don't look good.
And they don’t even leave the legs. They are laden with the silver ornaments.
Like the beautiful patchwork in their dresses, the colours chosen by Ranas form a melange of vivid colours inspired by nature.
The young ones, careless and carefree, play and roam around the village. Their smiles are precious and innocent.
Whether the young ones will follow the footsteps of their forefathers and conserve the rich culture – the future will decide.

author: Sanjib Chaudhary


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As Chad’s Former Dictator Heads to Trial, Impunity for African Despots May Be Coming to an End · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Screen Capture of a video of Hissen Habré at trial / YouTube.
The trial of former Chad dictator Hissène Habré is a historical milestone in African history that many hope signals an end to the days of impunity for authoritarian strongmen. Though the trial was postponed until September, two days after it opened on July 20, it's still a groundbreaking event in Africa. Habre is accused of war crimes, torture, and crimes against humanity.
From 1982 to 1990, Habré's regime was infamous for human rights abuses and atrocities. Known in the international press as “Africa's Pinochet,” Habré's government periodically engaged in ethnic cleansing against various groups and killed thousands of opponents who were deemed to be threats to the regime.
The international nonprofit group TRIAL (Track Impunity Always) is a Geneva-based human rights organization that thorough investigated the crimes perpetuated by Habré's administration. Here is its account of the type of abuses committed during Habré's eight years in power:
Pendant les huit années du régime d’Hissène Habré, de nombreux témoignages font état d’arrestations collectives, de meurtres de masse, de persécutions à l’encontre de différents groupes ethniques dont il percevait les leaders comme des menaces à son régime, notamment les Sara et d’autres groupes sudistes en 1984, les Arabes, les Hadjaraï en 1987 et les Zaghawa en 1989. Une Commission d’Enquête du Ministère tchadien de la Justice, établie par le Président Déby, a ainsi accusé, en 1992, le gouvernement Habré de 40 000 assassinats politiques et de torture systématique. La plupart des exactions auraient été perpétrées par la police politique de Habré, la Direction de la Documentation et de la Sécurité (DDS), dont les directeurs ne rendaient des comptes qu’à Hissène Habré et appartenaient tous à sa propre ethnie, les Goranes…. Le 1er décembre 1990, après une année de rébellion, le Front Patriotique du Salut, force rebelle menée par le Président Idriss Déby, chasse Hissène Habré du pouvoir. Les portes des prisons de sont alors ouvertes et des centaines de prisonniers politiques qui étaient détenus dans différents centres de détention secrets de la capitale du Tchad ont été libérés.
During the eight years of the Habré's regime, there were many reports of mass arrests, mass killings, and the persecution of ethnic groups whose leaders he perceived as threats to his regime, including Sara and other southern groups (in year 1984), Arabs and Hadjaraï (in 1987) and the Zaghawa in 1989. In 1992, an investigative commission conducted by the Chadian Ministry of Justice and mandated by President Idriss Deby charged the government Habré with 40,000 political murders and systematic torture. Most of the abuses were allegedly committed by Habré's political police, the notorious Directorate of Documentation and Security (DDS), whose leaders reported directly to Hissène Habré and all belonged to his own ethnic group, the Goranes. On December 1, 1990, after a year of rebellion, the Patriotic Front Hi, a rebel force led by President Idriss Deby, removed Hissène Habré from power. Hundreds of political prisoners who were detained in various secret detention centers in the capital of Chad were then released.
The following video from Human Rights Watch shows a few testimonies from the victims of the regime:
The current president of Chad, Idriss Déby Itno, is credited with removing Habré from power. Yet Déby himself might not be completely innocent of the war crimes committed by Habré, as he was commander-in-chief of the army between in 1983 and 1984.
Still, Déby requested the independent investigation against Habré that brought forth most of the evidence of war crimes in its 1999 report. The report also included some damning evidence of the role of foreign powers in keeping Habré in office.
Ce rapport dénonce la réhabilitation de nombreux membres de la DDS à des postes clefs de l’administration ainsi qu’au sein de l’appareil sécuritaire de l’Etat tchadien. Cette Commission d’Enquête a été l’une des seules commissions de ce type à s’être intéressée au soutien d’une ou de plusieurs puissances étrangères apporté aux abus commis par un régime national. Le rapport a révélé que les Etats-Unis avaient été le principal soutien financier, militaire, matériel et technique de la DDS. Ce même rapport a établi que certains conseillers américains étaient reçus régulièrement par le directeur de la DDS afin de le conseiller ou d’échanger des informations. Le rapport a également accusé la France, l’Egypte, l’Irak et le Zaïre d’avoir aidé à financer, former et équiper la DDS. La Commission d’Enquête a non seulement inclus dans son rapport les noms des principaux agents de la DDS mais a inséré également leurs photographies.
The report denounces the reinstatement of many DDS members in current key positions in the administration, as well as within the security apparatus of the Chadian state. This Investigative Commission was one of the only such commissions to have looked actively into the support from foreign powers to African dictators. The report revealed that the US, through the CIA, provided major financial, military, material, and technical support to DDS. The same report found that some American advisers were hosted regularly by the Director of the DDS for information exchange and consulting. The report also accused France, Egypt, Iraq, and Zaire of helping to finance, train, and provide equipment to the DDS. The Investigative Commission included in the report the names of the principal DDS agents, but also their photo IDs.
Despite the mounting evidence of abuse, the process to get Habré to trial was long and challenging. The International Federation of Human Rights provides a detailed timeline of the events that lead to the trial.
Screen capture of video of Clément Abaifouta, president of Habre's victims association / YouTube.
There were many hurdles to overcome: the lack of political will from other African despots, raising funds to support the legal fees, and finding a venue to host the trial.  Relwendé Auguste Sawadogo, a jurist from Burkina Faso, unpacks the legal and political challenges that delayed the chance to prosecute Habré:
On a tout l’air que plus l’on s’approche du procès, plus il y a des manoeuvres pour ne pas y arriver. Et l’on ne peut, dans ces conditions, s’empêcher de s’interroger sur la volonté réelle du Sénégal, et partant, des chefs d’Etat africains, de tenir ce procès. L’analyse de cette situation d’impossible procès amène à considérer que le problème réside plus dans une absence de volonté que dans une insuffisance de moyens financiers et juridiques. On a affaire à une justice qui cherche désespérément ses marques et cela s’explique, entre autres, par le fait que beaucoup de dirigeants africains voient leur propre image derrière celle de l’ex-chef de l’Etat tchadien.
It seems that the  more we approach an agreement on a trial date, the more there are maneuvers to not get there. Under these conditions, we cannot help but question the real will of Senegal, and therefore of African Heads of State to hold the trial. A detailed analysis of the current situation that makes a trial  seem almost impossible leads us to the conclude that the problem lies more in the lack of political will than in a lack of financial or legal means. We are dealing with a [sense of] justice that is desperately seeking to break out and the struggle to do so lies, among other factors, in the fact that many African leaders see their own fate in the former head of Chad.
In addition to the resilience of the association of Habré's victims, the push for a trial was possible thanks to the relentless drive of Reed Brody, a legal counselor at Human Rights Watch. Brody had extensive experience dealing with prosecuting former tyrants, as he helped get Chile's Pinochet and Haiti's Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier to trial.
Brody describes why the trial means so much for the African continent:
Avec le procès de Hissène Habré, les tribunaux d’un Etat (le Sénégal) vont, pour la première fois, juger l’ancien dirigeant d’un autre Etat (le Tchad) pour des supposées violations des droits de l'Homme. Ce sera également la première fois que l’utilisation de la compétence universelle aboutit à un procès sur le continent africain. La “compétence universelle” est un concept de droit international qui permet à des tribunaux nationaux de poursuivre l’auteur ou les auteurs des crimes les plus graves commis à l’étranger, quelle que soit sa nationalité ou celle des victimes.
Habré's trial is unprecedented, as it's the first where the courts of one country (Senegal) will prosecute the former ruler of another country (Chad). In addition, Habré's prosecution is the first in Africa to be under universal jurisdiction. Universal jurisdiction ensures that suspects of human rights abuses are not granted impunity by a third state, as national courts can prosecute serious crimes committed by a foreigner or against foreign victims.
Brody also explains the critical role played by the Extraordinary African Chambers EAC in getting the trial on its way:
Les Chambres africaines extraordinaires ont été inaugurées par le Sénégal et l’Union africaine en février 2013 pour poursuivre “le ou les principaux responsables” des crimes commis au Tchad quand Habré était au pouvoir, soit entre le 7 juin 1982 et le 1er décembre 1990. Créées au sein des juridictions sénégalaises, les Chambres appliquent le droit pénal international ainsi que le Code de procédure sénégalais. Elles sont divisées en quatre niveaux : une Chambre d’Instruction, une Chambre d’Accusation, une Chambre d’Assises et une Chambre d’Appel.  Habré a été inculpé le 2 juillet 2013 par les quatre juges d’instruction des Chambres africaines extraordinaires puis placé sous mandat de dépôt. Le 13 février 2015, après une instruction de 19 mois, les juges ont conclu qu’il y avait suffisamment de preuves pour que Habré soit jugé.  Le président de la Chambre d’accusation est Gberdao Gustave Kam, du Burkina Faso. Il siègera aux côtés de deux magistrats sénégalais expérimentés, Amady Diouf et Moustapha Ba.
The Extraordinary African Chambers, inaugurated in February 2013 by the Senegal court and the African Union, is set to prosecute crimes committed during Habré's rule, from June 7, 1982, to December 1, 1990. Created within the Senegalese court system, the chambers follows the Senegalese Code of Criminal Procedure and have four levels: an Investigation Chambers, an Indicting Chambers, a Trial Chambers, and an Appeals Chambers. The president of the Trial Chambers is Gberdao Gustave Kam of Burkina Faso, and he will sit with two senior Senegalese judges, Amady Diouf and Moustapha Ba.
The EAC says it has received 181 accreditation requests from 79 Senegalese reporters, and another 97 from foreign journalists, as well as requests from five film makers and documentary producers. So for, the legal procedures have cost about 7 billions CFA francs (1.2 millions USD) to come this far.
An extraordinary event for Africa, this trial demonstrates what could be the beginning of a new era for the continent, where young politicians stubborn enough to go after war criminals are changing the way the law works.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Australian Parliamentarians Denied Free Vote on Same Sex Marriage Law · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Melbourne Marriage Equality rally – Photo Paul Fry copyright © Demotix (25 July 2015)
Social media erupted on 11 August 2015 as Australia waited for its government's political parties to decide if they would give their parliamentarians a free vote on a bill to legalise same sex marriage. The online temperature rose considerably when the decision went against those pushing for change.
The Twitter hashtag #marriageequality had many thousands of tweets during the afternoon and evening. Prime Minister Tony Abbott was the central figure and main target. He chose not to take the matter first to his cabinet which is split 50/50 on the issue. Nor did the PM allow his own Liberal party room to decide. He blindsided his opponents by referring it to the joint Coalition party room. This includes the National Party, which has a predominantly conservative, rural base. Ultimately, the vote was 66 to 33 to uphold the current policy.
Many tweeters were still trying to influence their members of parliament beforehand.
Melissa B. provided a link to a website where the public can find out where their local MP stands.
Where does your MP stand? Your MP represents YOU. Tell your MP where YOU stand! #marriageequality #wecandothis http://t.co/xrNJHHRLsE
— Melissa B. (@mebbela) August 11, 2015
MPs were greeted by a rainbow and #wecandothis hashtag installation at Canberra airport as they returned after the winter break.
.@CanberraAirport is supporting #MarriageEquaility with rainbow lights greeting politicians on arrival. #WeCanDoThis pic.twitter.com/6b98Kehkle
— Kiera (@KieraGorden) August 9, 2015
Jack Crow used strong appeals to religious belief in many of his tweets:
sodomite marriage is an abomination in the eyes of God #marriageequality @TonyAbbottMHR @WilkieMP #ausbiz #nswpol
— jack crow (@JONOVID1) August 11, 2015
There was even some humour:
#marriageequality @AMEQUALITY if it doesnt pass. I'm gonna marry my goldfish! pic.twitter.com/GleVb1fQTV
— Neil (@jones1686) August 11, 2015
Why am I the only one the sees #MarriageEquality as a great boost for the economy? More weddings more events, more jobs, more gifts! #auspol
— dontboilthesauce (@dbtsauce) August 11, 2015
Sally Rugg seemed to have some hope, mixed with a warning:
Whether @LiberalAus allow #freevote on #marriageequality will make/break them. Their opportunity 2 show they're not completely out of touch.
— Sally Rugg (@sallyrugg) August 11, 2015
There was plenty of time for reflection as the party room debate took six hours. When news broke, actor Dan Ewing spoke for many:
My heart goes out to Aussie gay & lesbian couples. Don't judge the rest of us on our half wit government. We love you all. #MarriageEquality
— ᴰᴬᴺ ᴱᵂᴵᴺᴳ (@_DanEwing) August 12, 2015
These views typified the overwhelming negative response:
Disgraceful. Shame on @LiberalAus and @The_Nationals for trying to deny equality. #marriagequality https://t.co/p6nhnxz88X
— Patrick Stewart (@_pstewart) August 11, 2015
Tony Abbott: Wrong side of public opinion; wrong side of history. #marriagequality
— Lou Hayward (@LouHayward) August 11, 2015
This very personal issue became even more so with the reminder that the Prime Minister's lesbian sister supports same sex marriage:
I wish the Prime Minister supported his sister’s civil rights as much as I do. #auspol #marriageEquality
— Van Badham (@vanbadham) August 11, 2015
Tara Vern shared her cynicism born of experience:
Better head off to work now, where I divorce heterosexual couples for a living #auspol #marriagequality #sanctityofmarriage
— Tara Vern (@Tara_Vern) August 11, 2015
Many others were equally scornful of Abbott's suggestion of a plebiscite somewhere down the track:
A plebiscite on gay marriage is like a referendum on homophobia. Divisive. It will bring out the haters. Australia needs LEADERSHIP. #auspol
— Sandra K Eckersley (@SandraEckersley) August 12, 2015
An interesting sideshow was the popularity of the misspelt hashtag #marriageequaility. Even professionals were not immune:
I feel so sad, for all of us. When I say the word “Australia” the hum in my heart is different to this decision. #MarriageEquaility
— richard glover (@rglover702) August 11, 2015
Richard was just one of many in the mainstream media to fall into this trap:
Cartoon of the Day: Ron Tanberg with Abbott “I haven't changed my position” http://t.co/NW0ziHrrHm #MarriageEquaility pic.twitter.com/IuowyeLZhM
— Federal Politics (@PoliticsFairfax) August 12, 2015
Hopefully, they won't make the same error when marriage equality next trends in Australia as it will inevitably do.
[Thumbnail photo by Michael Miller copyright © Demotix (10 August 2015)]

author: Kevin Rennie


text:
In Malaysia, Myanmar’s Refugee Children Go to School in Fear · Global Voices
Seelan Palay

School for refugee children from Myanmar in Malaysia. Source: EngageMedia
Fleeing prolonged conflict and persecution in Myanmar, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims or Christian Chin find themselves living as refugees in neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia.
In Malaysia alone, there are an estimated 150,000 asylum seekers or refugees, mostly from Myanmar. A third of them are not registered with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
Amongst them are thousands of unregistered school-aged refugees, who aren't allowed to attend public schools in Malaysia. Many of them resort to going to informal or community-run schools, where they live in constant fear of being arrested or harassed.
According to a video called ‘In Search of Shelter’ produced by Myanmar refugees in Malaysia, at a school catering to 360 Chin refugees, only 40% of the students are registered with the UNHCR. According to a Chin community leader in the video:
Students not registered with the UNHCR cannot get any exam recognition from the government or enter university. They also face security problems when they come to school and (travel) in between. Those aged 13, 14, 16 have been arrested many times.
In Search of Shelter is part of a 13-video series that aims to highlights the plight of the migrant worker and refugee community in Malaysia. The series called Crossroads aimed to teach migrant rights activists video production and distribution skills and was produced in collaboration with EngageMedia and Citizen Journalists Malaysia.
In the series, asylum seekers share how they've united and combined resources to establish access to basic services like health clinics and primary schools for their children. They also share the many hurdles they face in getting registered as refugees with the UNHCR in Malaysia.
In Search of Shelter, community leaders explain that many of the teachers in the school they have set up have been arrested by the police due to their lack of legal status.
Malaysia, which has stated that it will not sign the UN convention on refugees, also does not have any legal framework for national asylum and does not distinguish between refugees and undocumented migrants, leaving refugees at constant risk of detention, deportation and abuse.
There are currently an estimated 150,000 refugees from Myanmar in Malaysia. Source: EngageMedia
At one of the community screenings of Crossroads held in Malaysia, the organizers found that 80 to 90% of those present have had personal experiences being harassed by the police or faced problems with permits and employers. One member of the audience pointed out that there have been incidences where even if they produce their registered refugee card or supporting letter, the document was simply torn up by the authorities that had approached them.
An undercover investigation by Al-Jazeera in 2014 revealed that some refugees pay up to $1,000 for official refugee status in Malaysia, as part of an illegal trade allegedly involving the UN Refugee Agency itself.
Migrant children from Myanmar at a United Nations advocacy event in Malaysia. Source: EngageMedia
With continued reports on acts injustice and exploitation committed against refugees in Malaysia, it remains to be seen how its government and the UNCHR will effectively address this grave and growing situation.

author: Seelan Palay