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New Footage Shows Diamond Diggers Being Tortured With a Machete in Angola · Global Voices
Manuel Ribeiro

A screenshot of the video showing guards using machetes to beat men.
A new video showing ten diamond diggers being tortured with guards wielding machetes in Angola has emerged on YouTube.
According to independent news site Maka Angola, which was founded by human rights journalist Rafael Marques, the video was filmed in April 2016. The seven minutes and 14 seconds of footage show “vicious” and “sadistic” violence against the unarmed men, who are seated on the ground.
Maka Angola reported that “the assailants have been identified as security guards working for a private company which operates in the diamond-mining region of Lunda-Norte,” a northeastern province of Angola.
Angola's diamond mining industry is notorious for human rights violations. During the country's 27-year civil war, which ended in 2002, all sides fought fiercely to rule the country after it gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Reports say one of the sides, UNITA, took control of diamond fields and started selling the precious gemstones to finance their war activities. That's where the term conflict or “blood” diamond comes from, which according to the United Nations refers to diamonds that are used to fund military action in opposition to internationally recognized governments.
Rafael Marques.
Marques is an Angolan journalist who has dedicated most of his life advocating human rights in the country. His efforts have awarded him with multiple international prizes, but have also gotten him in trouble with authorities in his home country of Angola.
In May 2015, he was given a six-month suspended jail term for supposedly defaming a group of Angolan generals he cited in his book “Blood Diamonds: Torture and Corruption in Angola“.
“We are in 2016 and still have diggers being tortured with a machete,” Marques said in a recent interview with Deutsche Welle, Germany's international broadcaster. Many of these atrocities are carried out by former combatants who now work as private security guards, but their actions don't often make headlines. According to Marques, authorities aren't doing as much as they could be to stop it.
On Facebook, one user agreed. Commenting on Maka Angola, he wrote:
Os verdadeiros torturadores não são esses seguranças, mas sim os que estão a governar Angola.
The real torturers are not these security guards, but those who are governing Angola.
In 2015, a group of young diggers protested for not getting paid. One of the protesters was reportedly murdered by a security company officer from a diamond field. The officer hasn't been charged so far.
In December 2014, Global Voices reported a video that purportedly showed a similar incident of torture where private company's officers used machetes to injure diamond diggers. This video was first released by Marques on Maka Angola.

author: Manuel Ribeiro


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Protests Around the World Demand Justice for Angolan Activists, Imprisoned One Year Ago · Global Voices
Manuel Ribeiro

“20 June. The Day of Liberation”. Image from: CentralAngola
Various demonstrations are planned to show solidarity with Angolan activists, dubbed the “15+2“, who were imprisoned on 20 June 2015 and later convicted of preparing rebellion against the government.
The main protest, named the “Dia da Libertação“ (“Day of Liberation”), is set to take place in the capital Luanda on 20 June. Other events are organized in places around the world where the Angolan diaspora lives, with the goal of drawing the international community's attention to what protesters deem to be violations of freedom of expression and other human rights.
The 15+2 activists are the following,
according to Front Line Defenders:
In June 2015, 13 activists were arrested, accused of preparing an attack on President José Eduardo dos Santos. They say, however, they had been simply discussing peaceful methods of protesting repressive governments in a series of meetings, particularly ideas from the book “From Dictatorship to Democracy” by Gene Sharp. They were subsequently joined by two others arrested, and two more were charged without pre-trial detention, giving rise to the name “15+2”.
Criticism of the persecution has come from various rights organizations, including Amnesty International, International Federation for Human Rights, and Liberdade Já (“Freedom Now”). Nevertheless, their long trial, delayed several times, resulted in March 2016 in prison sentences ranging from two to eight and a half years. In April 2016, an Amnesty International communique asked members of the public to call for the release of these “prisoners of conscience”.
Supporters of the activists say their treatment at the hands of authorities goes against “rights enshrined in the Angolan Constitution.”
A Facebook page for Luaty Beirão, one of the 15+2 activists who received a prison sentence, explained:
O caso dos 17 despertou a atenção de grande parte dos Angolanos e da comunidade internacional mas estes e outros ativistas continuam presos ou limitados na sua liberdade. Porque precisamos de todos os que querem contribuir para uma Angola melhor, livres de o poderem fazer, porque manifestar não é guerra, porque não há paz sem justiça e igualdade, porque acreditamos que juntos vamos virar uma página na história do nosso país, apelamos a que, em Angola e na diáspora, cada um, na sua língua, na sua localidade e na sua maneira, se associe.
The case of the 17 activists generated great attention from many Angolans and among the international community, but these and other activists are still detained or facing constraints on their freedom. Because we need everyone who wants to help build a better Angola to be free to do it, because demonstrations are not war, because there is no peace without justice and equality, because we believe that together we can turn a page in our country’s history, we call upon each of you, in Angola and the diaspora, in your language, in your city, and in your own way, to join us.
The organizers suggest various ways to show solidarity with the activists on the day which marks one year since their detentions:
Dia 20, porque todos somos reféns, vamos manifestar a nossa solidariedade com os presos e reclamar a nossa “Libertação” prometida há 40 anos! Como?
On 20 June, because we are all hostages, we will demonstrate our solidarity with the political prisoners and claim our “liberation”, as it was promised 40 years ago! How?
News outlet Central Angola 7311 reported that the movement began on Saturday, 18 June in Brussels and then spread to other European cities, including Lisbon (20 June) and Paris (21 June). On 19 and 20 June various gatherings were planned in Angola, and on 21 June, demonstrations are expected in Pretoria, South Africa.

source: news-globalvoices

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


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Russia Mulls A ‘National Big Data Operator’ to Control Internet User Data · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

State officials believe a national “big data” controller could help protect Russians’ personal information online. Image from Pixabay.
Russian state officials are concerned about big data. More specifically, the personal data of Russian Internet users. And they believe more legislation regulating how this data is collected, stored, and protected will help make Russians using the Internet safer.
Head of Russian state Internet regulator Roscomnadzor Aleksandr Zharov suggested Russia could create a “national big data operator” that would control how the RuNet users’ data was being used. Speaking at the Saint Petersburg international economic forum this week, Zharov stressed that big data use had to be regulated, as a lot of the information, even though it wasn't personal, could still be used to identify users.
Государство, бизнес и общество должны определить правила обращения больших данных. Большие данные – большие возможности, но и большие риски на всех уровнях. Поэтому закон о больших данных должен быть.
The state, the business [sector], and the society must determine the rules of big data use. Big data means big opportunities, but also big risks at all levels. So there should be a law about big data.
The RBC news agency reports that while there isn't an immediate plan for a big data law, it could see light in the near future.
President Putin'd aide, Igor Shchegolyev, who was also at the forum in Saint Petersburg, stressed that at the moment, even the simplest app developers could gain unrestricted access to user data, and said that under the new law any collection and transmission of user data would only happen with the users’ permission. At the same time, the specific nature control mechanisms imposed by the state under such a law remains unclear.
Russia already has an existing law that regulates how Russians’ personal data is stored and processed. The data localization law came into power on September 1, 2015 and mandates that Russian and international companies must store the data of Russian users on Russian territory. The law also obligates Internet services to store user data for at least six months. Some institutions, like foreign embassies and consulates, as well as airline ticket sales services and mass media, are exempt from the requirement to store user data on Russian soil.
Roscomnadzor has already inspected 600 companies for compliance with the data localization requirements, and found four that violated the law. The agency promises to inspect 900 more companies before the end of 2016, including Russia's largest social network, VKontakte.
Roscomnadzor head Zharov said the regulator has the power to inspect any companies working with Russian Internet user data, regardless of their jurisdiction or whether they have an office in Russia, referring to ongoing negotiations with websites such as Twitter and Facebook.
Если мы найдем нарушение закона, то мы будем в каждой ситуации разбираться индивидуально и предметно. И будем давать достаточный срок для того, чтобы компания начала движение в сторону локализации персональных данных, а не сразу ее «закрывать».
If we find a violation of the [data localization] law, we will deal with each situation individually and specifically. And we will provide a long enough term for the company to begin moving towards localizing personal data, and not “shut it down” immediately.
Zharov stressed that the state regulator would only take matters to court if a company “outright refused” to comply with the data localization law. While some companies, like PayPal and Booking.com, have announced they plan to comply with data localization demands, others, including Facebook and Twitter, have been more tightlipped about how they plan to deal with new legal restrictions in Russia. Human rights and free speech advocates have said the data retention legislation presents more opportunities for state surveillance on Russian users and have called on international companies to refuse to store user data on Russian territory.

author: Tanya Lokot


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Erdogan’s New Turkey Finds Forgiveness for Some, Tear Gas for Others · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

Scenes from Istanbul PRIDE 2014. Photo by Arzu Geybulla.
Two recent incidents of police violence in Istanbul highlight the worrying turn being taken by the New Turkey that religious conservative and authoritarian President Recep Tayyiip Erdogan declared in 2014 .
In one, police launched an assault on an unsanctioned PRIDE rally in central Istanbul with tear gas and water cannons.
In another, police used the same tactics to break up a gathering of people protesting against a thuggish attack on fans of the group Radiohead by assailants who were quickly released after being detained.
The incidents were separated by just a day.
During the same year Erdogan promised his New Turkey — apparently more democratic and reflective of the general will than the old one — the author of this post stepped out of the metro station in Taksim, armed with a camera to join hundreds of peaceful LGBT activists in central Istanbul.
Rainbow flags, PRIDE posters and drag queens washed over the city's iconic Istiklal avenue, as Turkey's busiest pedestrian street filled with chanted demands for equality and even a song or two.
Istanbullus of all ages and backgrounds joined the PRIDE march that day.
Scenes from PRIDE 2014 in Istanbul. Photo by Arzu Geybulla.
But this year, city authorities banned the rally, citing security concerns.
Istanbul PRIDE organisers maintain security was not the main reason for banning the protest.
Tweeting under #LoveWillWin the organizers said authorities “prefer to limit people’s rights and freedom instead of taking measures to deal with the threats!”
Others agreed. Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International’s Turkey researcher tweeted:
Istanbul Governorship's Pride marches ban hides behind “security” grounds. transphobia, homophobia, allergy to demonstrations are real cause
— Andrew Gardner (@andrewegardner) June 17, 2016
So, on June 19 this year, love did not win.
Instead, police used tear gas and water canons to disperse crowds of peaceful LGBT community supporters who had gathered in Taksim in defiance of the ban to commemorate the victims of the Orlando shooting earlier this month.
Istanbul has been a home to PRIDE events since 2003, welcoming visitors from the broader region as well as different parts of a country where single sex relations are not outlawed.
But last year, police also greeted organizers and participants with tear gas and water canons, marking the beginning of a trend.
The police response to PRIDE this year evoked memories of the 2013 Gezi protests and contrasted sharply with their passive approach to a June 17 attack in the same city on a group of Radiohead fans that had gathered at a vinyl store in the neighbourhood of Firuzaga to celebrate the release of the band's new album.
While sitting at the shop, fans of the band were suddenly attacked by a group of men angered that the young people were drinking beer and listening to music during the holy month of Ramadan.
Islamists attack #Radiohead event in #Istanbul #Turkey #Firuzağa https://t.co/SolKiVWjsO pic.twitter.com/I1uOSloivS
— Murat Çekiç (@muratcekic) June 18, 2016
The following video circulated online shortly after the attack shot with an amateur camera:
Ramazan gerekçesiyle #ist. #Cihangir‘de bir kafeyi basan saldırganlar bir kişiyi yaraladı. Saldırıya tepki yağdı. pic.twitter.com/faEoTXpbpR
— dokuz8 (@dokuz8haber) June 18, 2016
One of the assailants ended up wounding one man citing Ramadan as the reason for the attack in Istanbul's Cihangir neighbourhood. The attack has been condemned.
Their gathering was part of a global party organized in support of Radiohead's new album “A Moon Shaped Pool”.
The band promptly released a statement calling the attack an example of “violent intolerance” and pledged “love and support” for fans in Istanbul.
President Erdogan condemned the attack and called for “common sense”.
But assailants were released not long after their detention, and worse was yet to come.
On June 18, as people gathered in Firuzaga to protest the violence, police resorted to tear gas and water canons to disperse them.
#Firuzağa‘da polisin gazla müdahalesi sonrası grupların bir kısmı kahvehaneye sığındı. @sahmetsahmet @medyascopetvhttps://t.co/sLG7n41HOx
— 140journos (@140journos) June 18, 2016
After police intervention in #Firuzaga, some groups took refuge at the coffee shop.
Riot police have used more rounds of teargas and grenades to counter reconvening protesters in #Firuzağa #Istanbul pic.twitter.com/AhAzwBHmKv
— D8 News (@D8News) June 18, 2016
Opponents of Turkey's powerful president see these events as confirmation that while some in the country have the right to demonstrate their outrage in the most unacceptable way, the right to peaceful assembly does not apply to those whose faces do not fit in New Turkey.
Scenes from PRIDE 2014 in Istanbul. Photo by Arzu Geybulla.

author: Arzu Geybullayeva


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Four Donors in India Rescued a Man in Bangladesh with a Rare Blood Group. Now What Were You Saying About Borders? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Diagram showing the molecular structure of the ABO(H) antigen system. Image: Wikipedia
People say that the gift of blood is the gift of life. A 25-year-old man named Kamruzzaman from Dhaka was admitted to a hospital on May 21 after an accident. He needed blood transfusion for an urgent surgery to treat multiple fractures. Doctors soon discovered, however, that his blood group is the rare Bombay blood group. After a frantic search among 50 donors in Bangladesh, the Mumbai-based organization Think Foundation managed to collect blood from four donors in Mumbai: Swapna Sawant, Krishnanand Kori, Mehul Bhelekar, and Pravin Shinde. The blood was brought from India by one of Kamruzzaman's colleagues and used in a surgery that saved his life.
The Better India group shared this video:
Writing on Facebook, Rajesh Warna shared the following about the rare blood group:
In India, less than 400 people are known to have the Bombay blood group. Here's a list of details about this rare blood group:
1. This is an extremely rare ABO group, called so because it was first discovered among some people in Bombay (now Mumbai).
2. This blood group is not just restricted to East Indians but also found in Caucasians, Japanese, etc.
3. In Bombay blood group, the H antigen is absent. Therefore, A, B, AB and O blood groups, which are essentially manifestations of H, are completely unknown entities for persons with Bombay blood group.
4. It was discovered about 50 years ago at Parel’s KEM Hospital when a patient had come for treatment and developed reactions to O blood.
5. Bombay blood group individuals should never be transfused with blood from any other group.
Himadri Shekhar Nath said he thinks people need to demonstrate this kind of global community more often:
We badly need such type of borderless humanity that is expected for living a better life in this earth..
Thanks to save a life and an entire family from destroying…… these sweet examples always inspire us to do a better work for humanity.
Anirban Roy celebrated the donated blood as a species-affirming “gift”:
The four kind heart(s) sent their gift to save a life! Humanity still exists!
Samia Mohsin said the donors showed that people can't be divided in spirit:
আবার প্রমান হয়ে গেল মানুষ মানুষের জন্যে। যতই কাঁটা তারের বেড়া থাকুক না কেন আর যতই প্রোটকল থাকুক না কেন। সবার ওপরে মানুষ সত্য তাহার ওপরে নাই। যেখানে ধর্ম বর্ণ ভাষা সব তুচ্ছ হয়ে শুধু মানুষ কে ভালবাসার টানেই এমন কাজ করা যায়। আমি এই ১৬ কোটি মানুষের পক্ষ থেকে আপনাদের কে জানাই আমাদের আন্তরিক শুভেচ্ছা। আমাদের অনেকেরই জানা ছিল না, এমন বিরল গ্রুপের রক্ত মানুষের শরীরে বহমান। আপনারা বাংলাদেশের এক যুবক এর জন্যে যা করেছেন তা শুধুমাত্র ধন্যবাদ দিয়ে দায় শেষ হবার নয়। রক্তের ঋণ কক্ষনো ধন্যবাদ দিয়ে শেষ করা যায় না। সারা জীবন এই ঋণ মাথায় করে রাখতে হয়
It has been proven again that humans are for humans. No matter if you try to divide them with barbed wire at the border or alienate with protocols, humans are above all. Where love supersedes all religion, race and language differences. I salute you (four donors from India) on behalf of the 160 million Bangladeshis. We did not know that you possess this rare group of blood. What you did for this Bangladeshi man cannot be repaid with thanks only. You cannot repay blood debt with thanks only. The debt we will carry on forever.
According to latest reports, the operation on Kamruzzaman was successful and he is recuperating. His elder brother, Masud Alam, was reportedly surprised that blood of four people from another country could actually save his brother's life.

author: Rezwan


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Global Voices Is Looking for a Passionate Editor to Lead Our Middle East Coverage · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Are you a bilingual—or, better yet, multilingual—expert on the Middle East and North Africa who values justice, equality, friendship across borders, and can't seem to get enough of the Internet? Do you enjoy working from home? Global Voices is looking for you!
Global Voices’ Middle East and North Africa (MENA) editor leads daily newsgathering from the region, writing and coordinating stories by our borderless community of volunteer writers and translators, while developing a robust set of online sources to stay on top of regional social, political and activism trends on the Internet.
Our newsroom is unique: it’s completely virtual, our writers are volunteers, our sources are multilingual and live on the Internet. Our newsgathering focuses on trending news, freedom of speech, online censorship, activism, and stories that are underreported or misrepresented in mainstream media.
The Middle East and North Africa editor will:
Successful candidates will:
To apply:
Submit a résumé and a cover letter that highlights your work and explains why you would be a great fit for Global Voices to us at adminjob@globalvoicesonline.org by July 4, 2016. Please include your name and ”MENA Editor” in the subject line.
Before applying, it would be useful to read 8 Solid Reasons to Work for Global Voices.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Journalist Couple Attacked in Makassar, Indonesia · Global Voices
Advox

Arpan Rachman and Icha Lamboge covering security during elections in Makassar. Photo courtesy of Arpan Rachman.
Two digital journalists based in Makassar, in the region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia were attacked on June 5, 2016, while attending an event held by Makassar branch of Islamic Students Alumni (KAHMI Makassar) at Makassar mayor's house.
Global Voices author Arpan Rachman and his wife Icha Lamboge, who is also a journalist, told Global Voices that two men in black uniforms – not the standard uniform of city security guards – stopped them and asked for their journalist ID cards. The men then took them into a small room behind the house where Arpan asked them to identify themselves, which they refused to do. One of the men then snatched Lamboge's mobile phone, which is her main reporting tool. When Rachman intervened and tried to get her phone back, the man grabbed punched him in the chest while the other man strangled him.
The couple reported the incident to police, and Rachman was examined by a doctor. He is recovering from the incident, however, both he and his wife are fearing for their safety.
The Alliance for Independent Journalists in Makassar has documented 12 cases of journalist abuse thus far in 2016, including harassment while reporting, destruction of reporting tools, intimidation, and physical assault. Neither KAHMI, AJI, nor Makassar officials have issued any statement regarding the attack on Rachman and Lamboge.
Arpan Rachman and Icha Lamboge covering the aftermath of elections, when the Palopo Mayor's office was burned. Photo courtesy of Arpan Rachman.
Shortly afterward, Lamboge expressed concern that the incident would be “dismissed and forgotten or the evidence record doctored.” They have since obtained legal representation from Legal Aid Foundation Makassar, but much remains uncertain about their case. They continue to fear for their physical safety.
Both work actively as journalists, with Lamboge working chiefly with SINDO Trijaya FM, a radio station based in Jakarta, and Rachman working as investigative journalist with multiple local news outlets including BaKTINews, inspiratifnews, Membunuh Indonesia and Media Lingkungan.
The couple has worked together on stories that they suspect could have provoked the incident. For a recent print edition of the human rights magazine Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives, they wrote about controversial mass evictions taking place in the Bulogading zone at the center of Makassar. More than one online story about the evictions has been taken down as tensions have risen.
In Indonesia, violence against journalist happens regularly. Attacks like these often go unreported in the media, and perpetrators often go without punishment.
The case involving Arpan and Icha was covered by one local news website, but the story was subsequently removed for unknown reasons.
Global Voices community condemns all forms of violence against journalists in Indonesia and elsewhere in the world. As a community, we stand by our colleague Arpan and his family's appeal for truth and justice.

author: Advox


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National Bank of Kenya Takes Blogger to Court for “Defamatory” Blog Posts · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyan blogger Cyprian Nyakundi. Photo from his public Facebook page.
A Kenyan blogger Cyprian Nyakundi is being sued by Kenya's National Bank for writing a series of posts about alleged corruption at the bank, which the country's main financial institution deemed defamatory. His court case began this month.
In March this year, the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) asked the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya and the Cabinet Secretary for ICT to intervene in cases of online defamation of banks.
The bank expressed concern over social media users spreading malicious and false information about banks and other commercial organisations in Kenya as the economy faces challenging times.
The bank also wrote to the Media Council to find out if the council has jurisdiction over blogging and called on the industry lobby and affected companies to seek a lasting legislative solution to issues arising from “unregulated blogging” and social media use.
The bank took controversial blogger Cyprian Nyakundi to court this month following a series of posts about the bank. Nyakundi describes himself as a “Kenyan-based blogger who has an interest in politics, governance, corporate-fraud and human-interest stories.”
Initially the bank filled an ex parte motion asking the court to bar him from writing about the bank on his blog, Twitter account or any other social media platforms.
On June 6, the court granted an interim injunction and allowed NBK to furnish the blogger with a court summons through newspaper advertisements, email and the blogger’s WhatsApp account.
In Kenya, an interim injunction is granted by a court for a certain period of time to restrain a party from performing a certain act. It is a common practice in defamation cases.
The order reads:
Pending the hearing and determination of the application inter partes, an interim injunction is hereby granted restraining the defendant (Cyprian Nyakundi) whether by himself, his agents or his employees from publishing or causing to be published any statements defamatory of the National Bank of Kenya, its shareholders, directors and or employees in any manner whatsoever on his blog page, Twitter handle or any other of his social media platform accounts whatsoever.
The first hearing was on June 16.
One of the articles in question alleges looting at the bank by senior executives. NBK suspended six top executives including its CEO earlier this year to allow for an audit following an increase in bad debt.
Nyakundi is facing two other separate cases of defamation.
In June 2015, Safaricom, the largest mobile phone company in Kenya, sued him for defamation. The company also managed to get a restraining order on him from further publishing other defamatory articles about it and a mandatory injunction to pull down from his blog all the articles defaming Safaricom.
In September 2015, Nyakundi was sued for defamation by Kenyan businessman Vimal Shah.
Observers of Nyakundi's case are unsure whether he is a blogger-for-hire being deployed in inter-corporate wars in Kenya or an innocent economic analyst being targeted by big companies to serve as an example to other bloggers and social media users writing stories on economic topics.
Whatever the truth, the bank's suggestion to shore up corporate reputations through new legislation bodes ominously for freedom of speech in the east African country of over 45 million people.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Russian TV Journalist Tells Man to Work Harder, If He Can’t Afford a Vacation · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Vladimir Soloviev on his pile of hard-earned money. Image by Kevin Rothrock.
Earlier this month, on June 10, one of the Russian Internet’s most popular parody accounts drew attention to the journalist Vladimir Soloviev, who was spotted at a Moscow airport boarding a plane to Rome. The parody account tweeted, “Propagando Vladimir Soloviev flew to his villa in Italy, a country in the aggressive NATO bloc. But the national-traitor is you!”
Soloviev is one of Russia’s most recognizable television and radio hosts. Like nearly everyone so prominent in the Russian media, he’s generally sympathetic to the Kremlin, scoring, for instance, the first interview with Vladimir Putin after the beginning of Russian airstrikes in Syria last fall.
With 1.42 million followers on Twitter, Soloviev is also uniquely willing to talk to totally random people on the Internet, often entering into long arguments with people who tend to be very unhappy with him.
This past weekend, on June 19, he wrote at least a dozen messages to a man named Petr Zamkovoi, who claims to live in Rostov-on-Don, a port city near the Sea of Azov. Zamkovoi has just 111 followers (up from 33, last week), but Soloviev took the time to lecture him about the merits of hard work and providing for one’s family.
RuNet Echo translates the remarkable exchange into English:
Vladimir Soloviev [addressing all his Twitter followers]: Where do you like to go on vacation and why?
Petr Zamkovoi: I stay at home because there’s only enough money for food and the utilities, but you hang in there… [This is a reference to a recent meme inspired by awkward comments by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.]
Vladimir Soloviev: How old are you?
Petr Zamkovoi: I’m 38 years old. I live in Rostov, and I work as a manager for 25,000 rubles ($390) a month. My wife is on maternity leave. My mom is 75, and her monthly pension is 8,500 rubles ($132).
Vladimir Soloviev: So work more, and provide your mom with dignity in her old age. But you’d rather play at “oops,” instead of working up a sweat.
Petr Zamkovoi: Yeah, not really, Vladimir. I had my own business, and I worked my butt off 24 hours a day, but the guys from the OBEP [Russia’s police department that combats economic crimes] didn’t like it too much. They saw to some things…
Vladimir Soloviev: And these guys just showed up? Or did they have a reason to come? Or is this now your excuse for not earning more money and not supporting your family?
Petr Zamkovoi: In this regime, there’s always some reason. On one side, you’ve got serfs, and on the other, there are the lords.
Vladimir Soloviev: Now you’re just babbling. So you were working “in the gray” [declaring only part of one’s earnings to the government for tax purposes]
Petr Zamkovoi: And these conditions were created specially—so everyone would be holding [cash] and handing it out to everyone.
Vladimir Soloviev: Created by whom? The choice [to report your earning] is always yours.
Petr Zamkovoi: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin personally, and his team. But Yeltsin’s to blame for everything, you slave away saying. And [you say my] position is wrong…
Vladimir Soloviev: Funny. It’s immediately clear that you weren’t working in the 1990s. And when you were working “in the gray,” you were fine with everything. You could have come clean.
Petr Zamkovoi: I finished school in 1995, and graduated from college in 2000. I didn’t work in the 90s. […]
Vladimir Soloviev: Well that’s why it’s funny to read [you write] about the “system created by Putin.”
Petr Zamkovoi: Vladimir, the idea that everyone is a freeloader and just needs to get off their butts is wrong at its core!!! I think you understand this, but your job requires you [to say otherwise].
Vladimir Soloviev: I’m moved by all these assumptions about me. You think you don’t need to work your butt off? Your position is that they’re all to blame for everything, and I’m just a silly dummy.
Petr Zamkovoi: I don’t like the Putin regime. Do I have the right to see a new government by legal means?! And I’ve worked my ass off since I was 16. I grew up in a village, and I never stop.
Vladimir Soloviev: You’ve got the legal means. But this won’t help you. The alternatives [to Putin] in the opposition are hopelessly bad. It’s just a bunch of crooks and clowns.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Will the Extremely Boring Twitter Feed of Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Be Enough to Save Him? · Global Voices
Akhal-Tech Collective

Massimov (right) with Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev during happier times in 2012. Russian government photo licensed for redistribution taken in front of the presidential palace in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The social media accounts of politicians in the former Soviet Union have provided journalists with rich material to work with in recent times.
Among the most notable are Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's wildly unpredictable Instagram page and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev's Armenia-baiting Twitter handle.
But over in the oil-rich Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan, Prime Minister Karim Massimov's recently re-invigorated Twitter deserves an honourable mention for the sheer brain-wrenching boredom of his tweets.
Below are four Massimov missives capturing events that presumably took place some time between him brushing his teeth in the morning and bedding down to sleep at night:
Parliament has approved our budget performance report for 2015.
We answered all questions & compared our notes.
— Karim Massimov (@KarimMassimov_E) June 17, 2016
Chaired budget commission meeting. Starting to prepare budget plan for 2017.
— Karim Massimov (@KarimMassimov_E) June 20, 2016
I held a meeting on the new Budget Code.
— Karim Massimov (@KarimMassimov_E) June 20, 2016
Took part in the meeting of the Bureau of the Nur Otan Party.
— Karim Massimov (@KarimMassimov_E) June 21, 2016
None of these largely ignored tweets evoke a man fighting for his political life, and Massimov is well known as one of 75-year-old President Nursultan Nazarbayev's most trusted allies.
But if one of Kazakhstan's top political analysts is to be believed, Massimov's return to social media is a direct reflection of power struggles at the very apex of politics in the Central Asian state.
In a recent Forbes.kz column, Dosym Satpayev wrote:
Не секрет, что борьба за премьерский пост также идет нешуточная. И долгое присутствие Масимова на этом посту объяснялось, в том числе, тем, что в Акорде его рассматривали в качестве эффективного антикризисного менеджера, что в условиях Казахстана является довольно условным обозначением. Ведь настоящая эффективность определяется не только способностью сжигать ресурсы Национального фонда или проводить девальвацию нацвалюты, но и повышением производительности труда всего государственного аппарата. Хотя в этом отношении имидж премьера уже находится под ударом. В глаза бросается массированная информационная атака, которую начали против премьер-министра другие игроки: и вечно «флюгерные» депутаты, и аффилированные с разными олигархическими группами медийные структуры.
It is no secret that the struggle for the prime minister's spot is a serious business. The long stay of Massimov in this post can be explained by the fact that [the administration of President Nursultan Nazarbayev] considered him an effective manager during a period of crisis that has come to define Kazakhstan […] In this respect, however, the premier's image is already under assault. A massive information attack has begun against the prime minister launched by forever fickle MPs and those affiliated with different oligarchic groups and media structures.
Satpayev continued:
В свое время с этого информационного поля Масимов также ушел, чтобы не дать своим противникам повод выставить себя в качестве «второго солнца на небе». Сейчас премьер чувствует, что «ловить тишину» уже довольно опасно. Пора демонстрировать активность, в том числе, и в глазах президента, который явно недоволен сложившейся политической и экономической ситуацией. Тем более, что в начале мая глава государства уже заявлял: «Политик должен говорить с людьми, разъяснять свою позицию, завоевывать доверие общества».
There was a time when Massimov vacated the information space, so as not to give his opponents a reason to depict him as a “second sun in the sky”. Now the premier feels it is more dangerous to stay silent. The time to demonstrate activity has come, including in the eyes of the president, who is clearly displeased with the current political and economic situation. Especially because at the beginning of May, the head of state said: “A politician has to talk to people to explain his position, to win the trust of society.”
This view of political pressures forcing Massimov's re-entry into the social media fray was also shared by Asemgul Kassenova, a journalist for one of the country's few relatively independent news websites, Tengri News, which at one time was rumoured to be owned by Massimov himself:
Масимов вернулся в Твиттер, и снова шутит на заседаниях, и снова заседания открыты. Ага, ага . Заколебали эта возня и игры престолов :/
— Асемгуль Касенова (@AsemgulKasenova) June 21, 2016
So, Massimov has returned to Twitter and has begun to joke at government meetings again. Ahem, ahem. How fed up we are with all this nonsense and Game of Thrones :-/
To be certain, Massimov's Twitter handle is a far cry from the never-ceasing drama of HBO's cult series watched by millions around the world, but perhaps Kazakh politics as a whole isn't.
Clan-based and corrupt, Kazakhstan's national political elite seems suddenly gripped by the uncertainty rooted in long-term ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev's age, plus an economic crisis stoked by recession in Russia and the collapse of global oil prices.
That has manifested itself recently in a number of high profile arrests and court cases against top-ranking officials and power-brokers that some have associated with Nazarbayeva's daughter Dariga taking up the post of deputy prime minister last year.
This could mean trouble for the long-serving Massimov, an urbane and intelligent administrator by all accounts, but one who as an ethnic minority* may lack the deep-rooted support networks required to fend off a sustained attack on his position.
If Kazakhstan's head of government is destined to go, he will hope that this tweet from when he first created his Twitter account back in 2012 does not come back to haunt him.
I’m off to Karaganda.
— Karim Massimov (@KarimMassimov_E) January 20, 2012

author: Akhal-Tech Collective


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10 Athletes From Four Countries Will Compete at the Olympics Under One Banner: Refugee · Global Voices
Rami Alhames

The confirmed Refugee Olympic Athletes team. Source: UNHCR Facebook Page
This year, the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will be the first ever to host a team comprised entirely of refugees. The team consists of six male and four female athletes who have fled South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria and Ethiopia. They will compete in the games as well as enter the opening ceremony in Maracana Stadium under the Olympics flag.
Forty-three people competed for a spot on the refugees team. The good news was announced by International Olympics Community (IOC) President Thomas Bach while revealing the team to press.
These refugee athletes have no home, no team, no flag, no national anthem. We will offer them a home in the Olympic Village together with all the athletes of the world. The Olympic anthem will be played in their honor and the Olympic flag will lead them into the Olympic Stadium.
Here are some of their stories.
Rami Anis, 25, and Yusra Mardini, 18, are two swimmers from Syria who will compete in the refugees team.
Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini. Screenshot via YouTube.
Yusra and her sister fled her hometown of Damascus in August 2015, first reaching Lebanon and then Turkey, where she paid smugglers to cross the Aegean sea to Greece and seek asylum in Europe. According to a story by non-profit US radio broadcaster NPR, the dinghy that took them across started taking on water, so Yusra and her sister, both strong swimmers, jumped in the sea to give the half-sunk boat more buoyancy. After spending three and half hours in the water, she finally reached the island of Lesbos.
In Germany, where she finally settled, she connected with a swim club and started training for the Olympics.
In a video released by the IOC, Yusra describes her last training in Syria by “looking up at the roof over a pool and seeing the sky through holes blown by bombs.”
Sadly, whereas 2016 marks the opening of the Rio Olympics, it marks the fifth year of the war in Syria, with no end in sight.
Yolande Mabika. Screenshot via YouTube
Popole Misenga, 24, and Yolande Mabika, 28, applied for asylum in Brazil while visiting the country for the 2013 Rio World Judo Championship.
Both come from Bukavu in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area where violence and human rights violations have persisted even after the end of the Second Congo War.
Judoka Popole Misenga, Screenshot via YouTube
Both said that they suffered from mistreatment by their coach back in Congo each time they lost a competition. According to them, he would lock them up for days with limited access to food.
After having asylum granted in Brazil they settled in Rio de Janeiro and were offered training in the judo school founded by Flavio Canto, a Brazilian Olympic bronze medalist.
For 30 months, the South Sudan Civil War has been pushing hundreds of thousands of refugees to neighboring countries. But five lucky Kenya-based South-Sudanese athletes were selected to join the refugee team.
They are Paulo Amotun Lokoro, 24, Yiech Pur Biel, 21, Rose Nathike Lokonyen, 23, Anjelina Nadai Lohalith, 21, and James Nyang Chiengjiek, 28. All five South Sudanese athletes currently live and train in Kenya and will be competing in the 800-1,500 meter run in the Olympics.
They share horrifying stories of escape, hunger, and suffering as refugees. Yiech told Radio Tamazuj, a daily news service covering South Sudan:
In the refugee camp, we have no facilities – even shoes we don’t have. There is no gym. Even the weather does not favor training because from morning up to the evening it is so hot and sunny
Ethiopian runner Yonas Kinde, Screenshot via YouTube
Marathon runner Yonas Kinde, 36, will also be on the Refugee Olympic Team at Rio 2016, having fled Ethiopia. He has lived for five years in Luxembourg, taking French classes regularly and driving a taxi for a living.
“It’s impossible for me to live there… It’s very dangerous for my life,” he told the United Nations refugee agency about his home country.
He trains twice a day to prepare for the games. “I will go to participate in the Olympic Games. I will be proud. I will be happy,” Kinde said to a reporter from the official Olympics website. He still finds it difficult to talk about why he had to leave Ethiopia.
In a music video from 2015, refugees say thanks to Brazil for welcoming them.
Brazil has seen a surge in the number of asylum seekers in the past few years. In 2010, less than a thousand people applied for asylum in Brazil. In 2015, it was more than 28,000.
Brazil is now home for 8,863 recognized refugees (excluding asylum seekers living in the country) from 81 nationalities, according to the Brazilian National Committee for Refugees (CONARE). Most of them are from Syria, Colombia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Brazil has had an open-door policy for asylum seekers — they are provided with residency, work permits and temporary travel documents while their refugee request is pending. Although the government does not provide special housing or allowance benefits for either refugees or asylum seekers, they are free to move and find a job in the Brazilian territory, as well as access public healthcare services.
But it hasn't been all good news for refugees in Brazil. The Brazilian provisional government, acting while President elect Dilma Rousseff is waiting a final impeachment trial, has announced it is suspending all talks with the European Union over resettling refugees in the country.
However, only weeks away from the Olympics, Brazil welcomes the refugee team with open arms, Mario Cilenti, Rio 2016’s Olympic Village and National Olympics Committee relations director, said:
It is fantastic news that the IOC has created a team of refugee athletes to compete at the Rio 2016 Games. Alongside athletes from all corners of the globe, they will be received with open arms at the Olympic Village and by all of Rio 2016, and we are sure that Brazilians will also welcome them with the warmth for which they are renowned.
While IOC President Thomas Bach commented:
This will be a symbol of hope for all the refugees in our world, and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis.

author: Rami Alhames


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120 Sheep Killed by Lightning in Kyrgyzstan, Sparking Parliamentary Comparisons · Global Voices
Akhal-Tech Collective

Sheep in the long grass. Wikipedia image.
Lightning struck and killed 120 sheep in rural Kyrgyzstan earlier this week, with local social media users in the country calling the event a “warning” for the country's hapless parliament, where 120 lawmakers — often referred to derogatorily as ‘goats’ or ‘sheep’ — have their seats.
According to local outlet Turmush.kg:
Помимо 120 убитых молнией овец на пастбище Суук-Добо Аксыйского района, с обрыва выбросились 145 овец.Об
этом сообщили в областном управлении МЧС КР. По его данным, когда ударила молния, овцы испугавшись начали разбегаться, и 145 животных упали в обрыв. Чабан вел скот на пастбище Кашка-Суу. А на перевале Суук-Добо был организован временный ночлег, так как стемнело. В общем чабан с помощниками перегонял около 600 голов мелкой домашней скотины. Найдены туши 115 упавших в обрыв овец, которые отданы владельцам. Туши остальных еще не найдены. Комиссия гражданской защиты района и Аксыйское райуправление МЧС проводят уточняющие работы.
In addition to the 120 sheep killed by lightning in the Suuk Dobo pasture in Aksy district, a further 145 sheep threw themselves off a cliff [after lightning hit]. This was reported by the regional department of of the Kyrgyz Republic's Ministry of Emergency Situations [MES]. According to their data, the frightened sheep began to scatter [after the lightning], and 145 animals fell into the precipice […] The Commission for Civil Protection and the Aksy district department of the Ministry of Emergency situations are carrying out an assessment on the ground.
Under comedian Nurlan Anarbayev's Facebook post on the topics, the jokes rolled in:
Евгения Бердникова Это знак того, что просьбы к Мирозданию должны быть максимально четкими. Наверняка ведь кто-то просил космос избавить страну от 120 баранов.
Evgenniya Berdikova This is an indicator that requests addressed to the universe should me more specific. Someone [in Kyrgyzstan] clearly asked the cosmos to rid us of 120 sheep.
Azamat Mamytkhan не тех!! не тех баранов! Их тоже 120!
Azamat Mamytkhan Not those 120 sheep, a different 120 sheep!
Бакыт Молдожанов эт типа – это вам предупреждение. В следующий раз на месте баранов окажитесь вы?
Bakyt Moldozhanov Is this a sort of warning from above? Like, next time, instead of the sheep it will be [MPs]?
The lack of sympathy for the sheep and their shepherd is alarming, but antipathy towards lawmakers is perfectly understandable.
In six years of working under a system in which its constitutional mandate has been expanded, the legislature has done little to endear itself to the public, with MPs championing frivolous legislation as well as the more serious kind that represses fundamental rights.
To their credit lawmakers were thoughtful enough to sacrifice several sheep in 2011 in a bid to drive evil spirits out of government, but it didn't work. Corruption in the country remains pervasive at all levels.
In China's Xinjiang province, which borders Kyrgyzstan and co-hosts the Tien Shan mountain range, 143 sheep were killed by a lightning strike that also saw a further 30 sheep drown in 2012.


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A Jamaican Children’s TV Show Promotes Respectful, Caring Communities · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

A screenshot of a YouTube video of the Ackee Walk television episode “Best Interest of the Child”.
Take a stroll down Ackee Walk, where children have fun while learning about their rights and responsibilities. Need directions? Well, it’s actually an imaginary community somewhere in rural Jamaica, created by the energetic youth advocate and media entrepreneur Emprezz Golding and her husband Steven.
Ackee Walk is a weekly children’s television puppet show for three to nine-year-olds, which has been running now for eleven weekly episodes, each with a theme related to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The series airs on Television Jamaica every Saturday morning and can also be viewed on the program's website and on YouTube.
Let Emprezz and the star of the show — communications student Makeda Bawn, aka “Lucea” — tell you more about it.
Emprezz Golding talking to a little girl at the Kingston Book Fair in March, 2016. Photo by Emma Lewis, used with permission.
Global Voices (GV): What was the genesis of Ackee Walk? What inspired you to create this show?
Emprezz Golding (EG): Having a son and working with children in my advocacy guides me in my creative and business endeavors. I searched and searched for readily accessible modern day children's programs that promoted good values in a Jamaican way. I did not find much, so I decided it was time to create what I wanted. Most importantly, I wanted to educate, entertain and empower our children while providing job opportunities for youth and others in the creative industries. During a trip to Brazil for Talk Up Yout [a youth empowerment program founded by Emprezz] I found some hand puppets that looked like most Jamaican children. I bought them for my son. He made up stories and songs and after some sessions, with my husband involved, Ackee Walk was a no-brainer – a must — an exciting new product. We put it down on paper.
We shared the vision for the program with the General Manager at Television Jamaica and with UNICEF Jamaica , and the team for Season One was born!
Makeda Bawn (MB): Emprezz Golding is a phenomenal woman! I am thankful to be working with her. I first met Emprezz in person during one of her school tours at my alma mater, Glenmuir High School. I remember showing her some of my poetry pieces. However, it was always hard to get through to her because of her busy schedule. Little did I know that she would change my life with just a phone call. My good friend Dominique Davis re-introduced me to Emprezz. Dominique and I were one of the lucky few who had the opportunity to participate in Phase Three Production’s two-week workshop in the summer of 2014. We worked together on a short film, ‘Broken House with Forgotten Voices’. Emprezz saw the film and got in touch. She liked my creativity and writing skills. She began to mentor me and I started writing short online articles that were occasionally posted on the Talk Up Yout Facebook page.
Makeda Bawn at the University of Technology campus in Jamaica, where she is studying communications. Photo by Emma Lewis, used with permission.
GV: This is a children's show with an underlying purpose. How do you see yourself reaching the children?
EG: Ackee Walk is a cultural product that we would love to see exported globally. We want to teach the world's children — and parents — about the rights and responsibilities of the Child. We teach good manners, respect, caring, love for Self, community and the environment.
MB: I was a sickly child growing up, and I still have health issues; I wanted to be a pediatrician to care for and help children. Ackee Walk enables me to do so, in a different way. I help them by molding their minds. I teach them through puppeteering, playing the part of the little girl Lucea, a pre-schooler in rural Jamaica. Ackee Walk is more than a puppet show. It is a cultural retention program. It is a program designed to empower the young ones at an early stage. Children must know their rights; it is our responsibility as a nation to ensure that they do.
GV: Makeda, do you identify with your character, Lucea? How do you bring her to life?
MB: I can relate to her. She brings out the child inside me. We have similar stories. I was also raised in a rural area of Jamaica; I too lived with my grandmother for some time, before starting primary school. We both understand the emotions of the ‘barrel child’ and having to adjust to a change in environment. We are both smart, funny at times. Lucea always brings something special on set.
Puppeteering is an art that requires a lot of focus. There are special techniques in entrance and exits, lip synchronization and mouth action, with the downward movement of the thumb and fingers up. It is also important to maintain eye contact, to connect with the audience. Another critical technique is posture. As a puppeteer you also have to create the illusion that the puppet has legs.
Makeda Bawn and her puppet character, Lucea. Photo courtesy Ackee Walk, used with permission.
GV: How has the feedback been so far?
EG: Overwhelming. I am guided by the responses of the children we meet along the roadside. When I ask, ‘Do you watch Ackee Walk?’ they respond, ‘Yes, Miss, mi love it. It nah miss me on a Saturday'…and that’s all we need to keep going.
I have taken the show (in a movie marathon format) into children's homes and schools, and tested the response from the children. They GET it, they know it, they love it and they are learning from it. That is what is most important.
This is mainly for them. However, I am developing resources for parents and caregivers so they can be involved in discussions with the children. I have a team of special advisors in early childhood education and media, helping to create the activity book to support the episodes. This is the next big project, alongside Season 2 and Season 3. (Deep breath) Aww boy…Breathe! We can do this! Investment will come!
GV: Emprezz, you are a highly motivated woman with strong beliefs. How does Ackee Walk reflect your own personal philosophy?
EG: I believe that media shapes our values, ideas and attitudes. Let's create GOOD media. I believe there must be a balance, so why not create our own BIG animation series, reflecting Jamaican culture. Let us see black children in a positive light, as characters in children's programming. Let us inspire with media. Where the parents are failing to teach, educate and instill positive values, then it is my responsibility to do so, the best way I can.
Children's show creator Emprezz Golding. Photo courtesy Ackee Walk, used with permission.
GV: Why do you consider Jamaican youth such an important constituency? Do you feel that they have a clear enough voice in the society?
EG: If we don't invest in the youth, we will never grow. They need our hands, our wisdom, our support, our investment. I don't believe we are here to make ourselves rich and comfortable, ignoring the plight of others. That is selfish! WE are all ONE, each one of us affected by the decisions and actions of the other. Let's have a collective vision. This means it is going to take teamwork. I am a team player and the youth are the strongest part of my team. They must be involved, inspired. Young people are crying, calling, asking for us. Why don't we listen? The youth will tell you they feel that no one listens to them. Well, I heard, and am creating as many avenues as possible, so their voices can be heard.
GV: What is the one youth-related issue that concerns you the most?
EG: Mmm, now that is a hard question. I think…lack of self esteem, motivation and inspiration…all three in one.
GV: Do you see this show developing, changing or evolving into something else, perhaps for a different age group?
EG: Ackee Walk is for the pre-schoolers. I am staying right there. But oh, yes — I have such a big plan that my brain cannot contain it all. And I NEED all the support I can get. I need you all.
Ackee Walk is educational. It provides jobs and helps to develop our creative and animation industries. It is a resource for educators. It is line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It promotes respect for family, people with disabilities and the environment. It uses multiple intelligences and learning styles to reach every child.
GV: Makeda, where do you see your interest in television performance leading? What would you like to be doing in five years’ time?
MB: I cannot see myself walking away from television performance. I have always wanted to be a part of the television industry. In five years (I am being optimistic!) I will be an actress in a Jamaican movie in a minor or lead role. My inspiration stems from Jamaican actors and directors, like Madge Sinclair, Carl Bradshaw and Esther Anderson. I would also like to direct, write and co-produce a short film and publish my first volume of poems. And of course, tour schools across Jamaica with Ackee Walk!
Emprezz adds, with her characteristic energy:
EG: It means a lot to us all, writers, actors…my purpose in life is to do what I am doing. I have found my purpose, and I want others to find theirs. I want the world to see Jamaican skills and talents. I want to inspire the youth constituency to go for their dreams. It’s a mixture of purpose, profit and VISION.
Here's a sneak peek — an episode of Ackee Walk which deals with religious freedom:

author: Emma Lewis


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As Election Day Approaches, Zambia’s Largest Independent Newspaper Shut Down by Tax Authority · Global Voices
Isabella Mukanda-Shamambo

The Post newspaper headline announcing the shutter. Image shared on its public Facebook page.
In a move that is being seen by some as politically motivated and by others as a long overdue necessity, The Post newspaper, Zambia's largest independent daily newspaper, has had their offices locked up and their printing equipment seized by the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) because of outstanding taxes alleged to be at K68 million (US$6.1 million).
The newspaper announced on their Facebook page on June 21, 2016, that ZRA and police officers acting on the instructions of the president's office stormed their offices around 17 hours, demanding that The Post settles the outstanding amount immediately.
The newspaper's general manager explained to the officers that the money in question had been settled almost completely, according to The Post's account of what happened. The officers, however, stated they had warrant of distress (which allows for the seizure of property and goods) that could not be revoked, even after The Post's lawyers produced a court order restraining the officers from issuing a warrant of distress. According to The Post, the officers then went ahead with dismissing all workers, confiscating equipment and locking up the premises.
The newspaper is known for biting criticism against the government. Its editors and journalists have been locked up and taken to court many times by successive governments since it was established in 1991. Last year, bullets were fired at the newspaper's newsroom. No one has been arrested for the incident. There are at least two cases against The Post in the courts at the moment.
Some people are suspicious of the timing. Zambians will be going to the polls to vote in general elections in August 2016, and the newspaper has been the main platform for the opposition candidates as the public media is owned and controlled by the government and the ruling party.
However, some Zambians believe President Edgar Lungu and his government are doing what they must by taking action against The Post.
For example, George Mu'chi Mubanga commented on The Post Facebook page saying:
That's job well done, I was almost voting EL out for not fulfilling his promise he made last year that he will get the money from the post back. Hard luck guys don't tak it personal!
Mike Mubanga concurred:
If really instructions are from state House, then state House is working, we need that money to buy medicines in hospitals.
Collins Musonda cheered the move:
No one is above the law.Dont think you own zambia!!!if a poor marketeer can pay tax what of Me'mbe [The Post owner] ?this is justice congrates ZRA [Zambia Revenue Authority].
Malone Zaza countered the arguments of those supporting the government:
The government itself owes contractors, food suppliers, stationery suppliers, pensioners, utility companies, and civil servants and nobody, NOBODY, has shut them down…. [President Edgar] Lungu is a danger to this Country's democracy…
Responding the The Post announcement which says ZRA was instructed by the State House, Chichi Love Musonda Jnr said:
I had no idea the Supreme Court was situated at state house!!!! Once again, your theatrics and usual manner of playing victim at full play!!! If you're as good a citizen as you demand for just about anyone to be ” Just Pay”.
On the same issue of State House instructions, Gabriel Mbewe asked:
“Under instructions from state house, was it state house that caused you not to be paying taxes?”
Opposing the decision to shut down The Post, Petronella Chanda wondered why foreign companies are treated differently when it comes to taxation:
Take time to understand taxation in Zambia you will realise how our tax laws crucify locals compared to foreigners.
It is no secret that foreign companies come to this country and receive tax holidays worth billions of kwacha after that holiday is over they leave and return in another name […]
We should be ashamed, objective and non biased. This has nothing to do with taxation or we would have dealt with all those multinationals that cheat our country through transfer pricing everyday.
This is sad that we can go savage on our own people.
Vycal Mulenga pointed out that there are many companies owing ZRA which have never been shut down. He then warned of anarchy:
Zambian politics, cadres and lack of information. ZRA should never lie that only the post owes it money. u will understand that closure of the post newspaper is purely politically motivated wen u cross check the list of companies owing ZRA millions and are operational. Tampering with the media has been the beginning of arnachy [sic] in many lands and not the tax liability to the governments. just an objective observation.
It has been reported that government-owned newspapers Times of Zambia, Zambia Daily Mail and the national broadcaster National Broadcasting Corporation owe ZRA over US$100,000. ZRA has never shut them down.
Closing the company is vindictive and retrogressive, argued John Mutofwe:
This news is soul troubling. Even if the Post owes ZRA ,there ought to be better ways to requidate the debt.closing the company is not only vindictive but alas..it's also retrogresive.Think of the employees across the country as well as those of us who love reading the post.
Fred Mumba is neither supporting The Post nor the action taken by ZRA:
Closing down the Post Newspapers & the printing plant is surely not the way to do things in a quest to recover Governments statutory obligations.
However,Fred Mmembe & The Post,you have yourselves to blame cause while on one hand you having insulting the Govt,on the other hand you have abrogated the law.So just pay your obligations.We want that money…Its our money as Citizens
Finally, Chrispine Chupa warned against tampering with press freedom in an election year:
I personally don't believe closing the Post Newspapers was the best thing to have done. So many people have just lost a job. Besides government loses a lot of pay-as-you-earn [a form of income tax], and other taxes. Regardless of the political preferences we all got, it is a very bad decision by the government to temper [sic] with press freedom especially in an election year like this one. I am extremely disappointed.

author: Isabella Mukanda-Shamambo


text:
India’s LGBTQ Community Accuses Prime Minister of Hypocrisy Over His ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ for Orlando · Global Voices
Vishal Yashoda Manve

Bengaluru Queer Pride Parade 2009. Image from Flickr by Vinayak Das. CC BY 2.0
The massacre in a gay club in the American city of Orlando on June 12, 2016, left 49 people dead and 53 injured. In India, numerous rights groups staged peaceful marches to stand in solidarity with the victims of the deadliest incident of violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in the US.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi also offered his condolences and condemned the shooting in a tweet, surprising the LGBTQ community, who don't view him as much of an ally.
Many activists rightly pointed out, however, that Modi refrained from mentioning the term LGBTQ in the tweet:
Shocked at the shootout in Orlando, USA. My thoughts & prayers are with the bereaved families and the injured.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 12, 2016
In India, violence against sexual and gender minorities, who face death threats, attacks and social marginalisation, is a grave problem. In 2009, a landmark judgement by the Delhi High Court decriminalized consensual homosexual relationships between adults, annulling Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which was adopted into the Indian Constitution by the Imperial British empire in 1861. It considered gay sex “unnatural” or “against the order of nature.”
Consequently, several appeals were filed with the Supreme Court of India, challenging the Delhi High Court judgement. The Supreme Court overturned the Delhi High Court's judgment on December 11, 2013, ruling that the judgment was incorrect. The issue remains suspended, caught between court and parliament. The ruling right-wing government Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) refuses to amend the law.
Social media users went after Modi for refusing to acknowledge that the Orlando attack targeted the LGBTQ community.
@narendramodi sir, gay nightclub tha.
— #InflationExpert (@sambha_bhilane) June 12, 2016
Sir, it was a gay nightclub.
Rachita argued Modi's tweets weren't sincere.
@narendramodi you do that, you don't have a right to show solidarity with the community in Orlando. #scrap377
— Rachita (@visualfumble) June 13, 2016
@narendramodi there's no point of giving “thoughts & prayers” to the families of the LGBTQ community in Orlando if you don't walk the talk 1
— Rachita (@visualfumble) June 13, 2016
Some condemned Modi's lack of empathy towards the LGBTQ community:
@narendramodi no prayers wud work unless u scrap 377 or pray some 2002 times. Good day😃
— Siddharth Patni (@aageSeLeftLelo) June 13, 2016
But not shocked that gay people are still branded criminals in his country. https://t.co/hdmEV8KJ3R
— Utsav Chakraborty (@Shockraborty) June 12, 2016
Dear PM @narendramodi ji, you think LGBT people are safe in India? That too, in YOUR government?
— Veejay Sai (@veejaysai) June 12, 2016
While others called him a hypocrite.
The gay community members who died in #Orlando would be considered criminals as per existing Indian Laws. Catch 22 for Modi.
— Bahadur (@my2bit) June 14, 2016
Sakshan Bhatnagar described on Facebook how hurtful he thought Modi's tweet was:
Narendra Modi, you murder the victims of the Orlando shooting a second time by refusing to acknowledge that they were killed because they were LGBT. Would it have reduced your shock or sorrow to speak of the root cause of shooting, the homophobia we in india still call our culture?
Filmmaker and screenplay writer Apurva Asrani, whose previous film Aligarh dealt with the subject of homosexuality, wrote an open letter to Modi. He questioned:
While your words seemed kind and compassionate, I would like you to know, sir, that they shook me up. I have never felt more betrayed. Your 110 character tweet was missing five important characters. Five characters that would reveal a truth that your government is refusing to acknowledge-LGBTQ’!
The Orlando shooting took place in a gay club. Those that perished were all members of the LGBTQ community. You surely know sir, that LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer people. It is an umbrella term for a people with an alternative sexual orientation. We exist not just in the United States and the rest of the world, but in India too.
And speaking with news site First Post, transgender rights activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi called out Indian government and said, “I, again, tell Narendra Modi to act upon the entire basis of democracy that India is built upon and to own our own people in our own country and make them safe.”

author: Vishal Yashoda Manve


text:
Updated and Translated, ‘Hiroshima Archive’ Preserves Eyewitness Testimony of Atomic Attack · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Screenshot of Hiroshima Archive project online mapping tool.
A newly translated interactive mapping project combines first-hand testimony from many witnesses to comprehensively document the bombing of Hiroshima and its aftermath.
The goal of the Hiroshima Archive and an earlier mapping project documenting the bombing of Nagasaki is to preserve the memory of what happened now that more than 70 years have passed since the end of the war, and fewer witnesses and survivors remain alive to pass on their stories.
On August 6, 1945, in the final days of World War II, an American aircraft dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in western Japan. Up to 80,000 people—30% of the population of Hiroshima— were killed instantly, and much of the city was destroyed. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, the city of Nagasaki experienced a similar attack.
The Hiroshima Archive provides a personalized experience of what happened during the bombing. For example, using the online tool, archive users can view a 1945 map of Hiroshima while browsing survivors’ accounts and photos, and where they were located in Hiroshima at the time of the attack. It's possible to then switch to a contemporary aerial photograph of Hiroshima to see how the location has changed in the years since 1945.
The Hiroshima Archive maps the eyewitness testimony of bombing survivors such as Hiroso Niimi. Screenshot from Hiroshima Archive.
“More than 70 years since the atomic bombs fell upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” said project lead Hidenori Watanave in an interview with Global Voices about the Hiroshima Archive. “Few survivors remain today and soon there will be none. Who then can speak from personal experiences of the effects of nuclear war upon humanity?”
A video walk-through of the original Japan-language version of the archive, which has been been online since 2011, provides an introduction to the scope and depth of the online archive:
Besides being recently translated into English, the online mapping tool has been migrated from Google Earth to a new format that can be accessed by any browser in any operating system.
Watanave's technology makes use of Cesium, a JavaScript library for creating 3D globes and 2D maps in a web browser without a plugin. Watanave is also the creator of a similar innovative mapping project that tracks the last moments of the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan:
Screenshot of video walk-through of interactive map of Tohoku Tsunami. Image taken from YouTube.
There are plans to use The Hiroshima Archive and The Nagasaki Archive at two youth peace conferences in Boston and New York. The project will include talks by atomic bomb survivors living in the United States, an exhibition of archive materials, as well as opportunities for discussion among Japanese and American youth, and other participants and members of the public.
Check out @hwtnv‘s plans for a high school peace conference featuring the Hiroshima Archive: https://t.co/nKzbq5ipPI pic.twitter.com/r1P0tXeqZR
— Cesium (@CesiumJS) June 13, 2016
The high school students in Hiroshima and Nagasaki who are organizing the conference are seeking help through crowdfunding:
Those of us involved in the Nagasaki/Hiroshima Archives would like to […] send high school students from Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the United States to hold the Japan-U.S. High School Student Peace Conference. Participants in the conference will include Japanese and American high school students, as well as the public and atomic bomb victims living in the U.S.
More details about the crowdfunding campaign can be found here.

author: Nevin Thompson


text:
An Online Campaign Seeks to Identify the Authors of Anonymous Prison Poetry From the Argentine Dictatorship · Global Voices
Erin Gallagher

Pages of the Rawson notebook. Used with permission of Archivo Provincial de la Memoria del Chubut (Provincial Archive of Chubut's Memory)
The Dirty War of Argentina from 1974 to 1983 marked a dark period of Argentine history during which an estimated 30,000 people were killed. Tens of thousands of civilians were kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured and murdered. Workers, students, teachers, journalists, activists, anyone who expressed the slightest dissent to the right-wing dictatorship — all were subject to its brutal death squads.
Clandestine detention centers throughout the country housed many Argentine citizens. Rawson Penitentiary, an isolated maximum security prison in Chubut Province, was one of the most extreme facilities. An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 political prisoners passed through Rawson from 1975 to 1984. Former prisoners who lived through their imprisonment called it a legal concentration camp.
A page of the Rawson notebook. Used with permission of Archivo Provincial de la Memoria del Chubut (Provincial Archive of Chubut's Memory)
In 1983, Hebe Mabel Garro, a literature teacher who gave classes in the prison, left Rawson with a notebook of poems written by detainees between April 1982 and August 1983. None of the texts were signed by their authors.
Now 40 years after the coup, those poems have been published. The authors finally have an audience for their voices, but they still have no names. Cosecha Roja (Red Crop), a network of legal journalism and human rights organizations, has launched the #CuadernodeRawson (Rawson notebook) campaign to find the original authors.
Writing in the prison was forbidden. Prisoners broke the tip off of a pencil and used cigarette paper to write. The poetry created in Rawson transcended the physical boundaries of the prison; it was raw testimony that expressed what could not be conveyed in mere speeches.
The poems all contain darkness, hunger, loneliness, and anger. There is also nostalgic loss and hope. For example, below is a poem called “Vamos Andando” (We Carry On):
Vamos Andando
Por todos los chicos que sueñan y cantan
por todos los chicos que esperan
por los que recuerdan
por la mano tierna que busca una mano
y que no la encuentra
por los cuentos de hadas
que ya nadie cuenta
por los que interrogan en cada mirada
a la vieja abuela
a la dulce hermana
por los que conversan con mama en secreto
u le inventan juegos
como si estuviera
por los que recorren semana a semana
un itinerario
de muros hostiles, de gestos extraños
con una sonrisa que tiembla en los labios
y aplastan la ñata contra un vidrio helado
por todos los chicos que sueñan y cantan
por todos los chicos que buscan
de noche una estrella
en el alto cielo
por todos los chicos que esperan
la hora del sol
por todos ustedes seguimos andando
We Carry On
For all the children who dream and sing
for all the children who wait
for those who remember
for the tender hand searching for a hand
and cannot find it
for the fairy tales
that no one tells anymore
for those that interrogate with every glance
the old grandmother
the sweet sister
for those who converse with their mother in secret
and invent games like she was there
for those who wander week to week
a path
of hostile walls, strange gestures
with a smile that trembles on their lips
and skin crushed against
cream and crushed against a frosted glass
for all the children who dream and sing
for all the children who are seeking
a star at night
in the high sky
for all the children who await
the sunrise
for all of you we continue to carry on
The notebook that was secreted out of Rawson U6 has 84 fine, yellowed pages and some writing that bled through the pages. The cover shows a sailboat on the water.
Eighteen anonymous poems are in need of the names of their original authors. Cosecha Roja hopes that identifying the Rawson poets will bring some measure of closure to a painful period of Argentina's history. If you are the author of one of the texts or know any of them, please contact info.cosecharoja@gmail.com and centrocultural.dhchubut@gmail.com.
Cuaderno de Rawson

author: Erin Gallagher


text:
Chinese Village Leader Who Planned to Protest Land Seizures Suddenly Confesses to Corruption. Suspicious? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

School kids protested for the release of Wukan village head Lin Zuluan. Screen capture from Hong Kong public broadcast RTHK.
Wukan, a coastal fishing village in Guangdong, has been back under the media spotlight over the past week thanks to the arrest of elected village head Lin Zuluan and his grandson on June 18 on corruption charges after Lin called for a protest in Shanwei city against seizures of village land without prior approval from the village government and villagers.
To prepare for the protest, Lin divorced his wife, cut family ties and declared on China's Twitter-like Weibo that he was prepared to sacrifice his life for the village. Two days after his arrest, Lin appeared in a video released by the Lufeng third-tier city procuratorate and Shanwei second-tier city government confessing that he had taken bribes. State-owned CCTV news posted the video on Twitter:
Lin Zulian, democratically elected leader of Wukan village in Guangdong Province, confesses to taking “huge bribes”https://t.co/U8cr9zO5lG
— CCTVNEWS (@cctvnews) June 21, 2016
Lin said in the video:
Due to my lack of legal knowledge, I received kickbacks from civil engineering projects, and received huge kickbacks from the village’s collective asset purchases as well. This is my biggest crime.
But villagers from Wukan firmly believe that Lin was forced into confession to protect his grandson, who was still detained in Lufeng's police station at the time of Lin's confession. Over the next few days, hundreds of villagers rallied for Lin's release. Below are some photos of the protest that circulated on Twitter.
Students march in #Wukan, #China carrying banner that says: “Wukan villagers do not believe Lin Zulian took bribes” pic.twitter.com/Ij7ldapTo9
— Bill Ide 易順泰 (@Bill_Ide) June 22, 2016
Thousands of #wukan villagers,young&old,continue to march today demanding land compensation&release of party chief pic.twitter.com/ieXMC32MSf
— Xinyan (@xinyanyu) June 22, 2016
Wukan caught the world's attention in December 2011 after a series of protests against corruption and land seizures. In reaction to the death of a major protest organizer in prison, thousands of villagers sieged the local government building. Eventually, the provincial government stepped in to investigate the problem of land seizures. They set free a number of protesters, acknowledged the need to resolve the dispute in a mutually agreeable manner and held a re-election of village officials. In March 2012, Lin Zulan, who led the protests, was elected as the village head.
After five years, the problem of land seizures is still unsettled, and grassroots leaders including Lin Zulan decided in early June to organize another round of protests, appealing to the upper-level Shanwei city government.
To prepare for the protests, Lin posted a divorce statement on his Weibo on June 12 (text below via investigative online news platform The Initium):
為了烏坎的事，甲乙雙方自願脱離夫妻關係 […] 現有的家庭成員，今後的稱呼是朋友，鄰居，不管以後一方暴屍野外也不用埋修，由自願信群火化後，全撒在虎頭山，只留肖像.
For the sake of Wukan, both parties agree to divorce […] Now I will just call my family friends and neighbors. In the future, either one of the parties die, the other party do not have the responsibility to take care of the dead body. Let the body be incinerated by followers, let the ashes spread on Fushan [the hill near Wukan village]. Only photo be remained on earth.
It is an open secret that Chinese authorities use family relationships to exert control over activists. Lin demonstrated his determination in the struggle by divorcing the wife and cutting filial ties with others. Another protest organizer, Chang Jinxin, echoed the sentiment behind Lin's status on Weibo:
幹大事不可有情感糾葛，不可有情緒波動，故背離家人而放手一搏，不再往日的兒女情長，不負家人的牽絆，有一人做事一人當的決絕和無奈。
It is necessary to put our relationships and feelings aside for big issues. Have to walk away from family so that you won't be bound by emotion and family attachments. This is the will and the only choice of a man taking a stand.
On June 15, Lin Zuluan submitted an application to the upper-level Donghai town government to prepare for the protests in Shanwei city on June 21. He wrote on the protest application document:
集體利益深受（地方）政府侵害⋯⋯地方政府不執行省工作組妥善處理涉土問題的安排，反而允許發生『華輝事件』
The interest of the collective village has been infringed by local authorities… the local government has not implemented the advice issued by the working team of the provincial government and has allowed [property developer] Huahui to exploit the land.
Huahui has started a 170,000 square meter property development project on Wukan farmlands without the approval of the village committee and villagers. However, the developer insists that the Donghai town government has approved the construction project.
Beyond Lin's arrest, the Shanwei city government has accused Hong Kong media outlets, including Apple Daily and the Initium, of inciting, planning and directing protests in the village.
On Weibo, a large portion of comments accused the Shanwei government of staging the TV confession and covering up local corruption:
人家要带村民上访，你就给人家来个欲加之罪。～
Lin was set to lead the petition, and you impose criminal charges on him.
“反腐”这词真好！既可整政治对手也可以用来栽赃人民中的真英雄。
“Anti-corruption” is such a useful word. It can be used to attack your political opponent and to incriminate the people's hero.
要不是你们这些人，捉了他家人逼着林老，会这样说吗？颠倒黑白……你看 林老，说假话承认自己犯错，他说话一直手不停搓，眼睛不停的眨，说话好像背书一样。
If his family hadn't been arrested, would he say such things? This is turning white into black… Take a look at Lin, when he lied to admit his crime, he kept rubbing his hands and blinking his eyes. He was reciting words. [..]
很明显不是林自己的语言表达！非常书面语的表达。是怎么回事，大家应该很清楚！
This is clearly not Lin's tongue! The speech uses written expressions. People see clearly what it is all about.
林书记是我们乌坎民选一人一票推荐出来的、我们乌坎需要林书记、或者说：陆丰政府半夜带几十名特警进村抓一个受贿赂贪污而年过7旬的老人，村民不是应该高兴吗？为什么村里所有人都想通过媒体来求救他？因为他是村民唯一能信任的心腹、乌坎人民需要他
Secretary Lin is elected by villagers from Wukan. We need Lin. Or if Lin is really corrupt, when the Lufeng government sent the few dozen armed police officers to arrest the old man after midnight, shouldn't the villagers be happy about it? Why are all the villagers trying to reach out to the media to rescue him? Because he is the only person villagers can trust, people in Wukan need Lin.
抓了别人孙子威胁，臭不要脸，你们都知道这件事老百姓清楚，还在自导自演，这叫自掘坟墓
You threaten him by arresting his grandson, totally shameless. The whole thing is crystal clear to people and you still self-direct such a lie. You are digging your own grave.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
For a Short Time, Documentary ‘Humano’ Is Free to Watch Online in Celebration of the Incan Sun Festival · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

The film will be available until June 24 to celebrate the Inti Raymi, or the Sun Festival. Screenshot from the film, available on Vimeo.
To mark the Sun Festival, or Inti Raymi, which celebrates the Inca new year, the documentary “Humano” has been made available online free of charge.
[Update: Until June 30] viewers who register with the film's website will be able to watch the quest of a young man in search of answers about the human condition in the Peruvian Andes. The Spanish-language documentary is available with English and Portuguese subtitles.
According to the documentary's description:
HUMANO es una película documental que narra el viaje de un joven a las montañas andinas, acompañado solamente por una cámara, doscientas preguntas y las [ansias] de descubrir el origen de [los seres humanos]. En Q’eros [en el Cuzco peruano] se encuentra con un chamán que le explicará que antes de responder sus dudas, él deberá aprender a ser Humano.
HUMANO is a documentary film that tells the story of the journey of a young man into the mountains of the Andes, accompanied only by a camera, two hundred questions and the longing to discover the origins [of human beings]. In Q'eros [in Cusco] there's a shaman, who will explain that before answering any of his questions, he will have to learn how to be a human being.
The film focuses on personal discoveries and the search for identity from the point of view of Incan traditions. It also deals with ancestral teachings from the region that promote a better understanding of the nature of things.
According to the filmmakers, the documentary was unscripted. They say they used technology and social media to widen the reach of not only the film itself, but also its overarching message:
Filmada en el altiplano andino durante tres meses ininterrumpidos, no hubo guión ni planificación de rodaje, la única guía fueron las preguntas, el corazón del director y el paqo andino (chamán). Ellos fueron los únicos protagonistas y testigos de este íntimo viaje a las profundidades del inconsciente colectivo. El documental ha demostrado que otra forma de hacer cine es posible, tanto en su producción como en su exhibición, donde se aprovecha al máximo el uso de la tecnología y las redes sociales. Gracias a la ayuda de más de doscientos humanos que colaboraron como mecenas, técnicos y colaboradores se ha podido generar esta película que habla de lo que somos.
Set in the high Andean plateau for a uninterrupted period of three months, [the documentary] didn't have any script or planning. The only guide were the questions, the heart of the director and the shaman. They were the only main characters and witnesses of this intimate journey to the depths of the collective unconscious. The documentary has demonstrated that other ways of making films is possible, not only regarding their production, but also their exhibition. [We] took the maximum advantages of all the technological resources available and of social media. Thanks to the help of more than 200 humans that collaborated as sponsors, technicians and collaborators it was possible to make this movie, that tells the story of who we are.
The Sun Festival, or Inti Raymi, comes from the Incas and is celebrated in communities of this descent. The blog Cometa Mágico (Magic Comment) explains the tradition:
Inti Raymi era la más grande e importante celebración que se llevaba a cabo en tiempo de los Incas y que se continúa hoy cada solsticio de invierno (24 de junio, en el hemisferio sur), en los Andes mientras en el hemisferio norte se celebra la “Noche de San Juan”. [Para los incas] Inti Raymi marca el comienzo de un nuevo año. Era celebrado al final de la recolección de papas y maíz para agradecer a Inti por la abundante cosecha o, de otra manera, pedir por una más exitosa en la próxima estación.
Inti Raymi was the biggest and most important celebration in the times of the Incas, and continues today every winter solstice (June 24 in the southern hemisphere) in the Andes. Meanwhile, in the north, it is the St John's Eve. [For the Incas] Inti Raymi marks the beginning of the new year. It was celebrated at the end of the harvest of potatoes and corn to thank Inti (the Sun) for the abundance, or to ask for a better harvest in the next season.
The post goes more extensively into detail about the festival's rituals and history, such as the fact that celebrating the festival was prohibited during the time of Spanish colonization. Finally, the author points out the importance of the tradition as a way to keep an ancient memory alive:
Actualmente el Inti Raymi es una representación teatral, pero también una de las manifestaciones tradicionales más evocadoras de nuestra identidad nacional porque simboliza los valores y recuerdos de nuestro pasado.
Today, Inti Raymi is a theatrical representation, but it's also one of the most evocative traditional manifestations of our national identity, for it symbolizes the values and the memories of our past.

author: Laura Vidal


text:
Founder of Protest Reporting Outlet Goes Missing in China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A photograph of demonstrations in Shandong province, posted on Twitter by Lu Yuyu. Photo via Weibo.
Lu Yuyu, founder of citizen media outlet Not in the News (非新聞), has been missing since June 15, along with his girlfriend.
The citizen news outlet has been reporting and distributing news of mass demonstrations in China via the Twitter account @wickedonnaa, Blogspot and YouTube since 2013.
The news team also keeps track of the scale and number of incidents, the number of arrested demonstrators and the reason behind the demonstrations through its monthly statistics report. It recorded 28,950 incidents in mainland China in 2015. The site recorded 9,869 incidents in the first quarter of 2016.
The site collects videos and photos of grassroots demonstrations from online sources and redistributes the news via various social media platforms. Twitter account @wickedonna is a major distribution spot and usually the account, managed by Lu Yuyu (Darkmamu), has several daily updates.
Since June 14, the @wickedonna account has posted no new updates. Lu's friend @youyuping alerted followers on June 20:
紧急寻人，这位敏感新闻自媒体 @wickedonnaa 失踪了。
— Pepee—皮皮游 (@youyuping) June 20, 2016
Urgently seeking missing person, @wickedonnaa, a highly sensitive news outlet [founder] has gone missing.
On Weibo, Lu's friend @ZGHQW99 is also looking for him:
卢 昱宇自11年来专业收集国内各种民间群体性事件，分别发布在他的新浪微博和推特上面，几年间从未间断过，让中外网友看到一个真实而苦难的中国。中国红旗网 《工农之声》版块也长期采用稿件。也一直上个星期，小卢突然失踪，至今无法联系到本人，连其家属的手机也突然处于无人接听状态，请各位多多关注！
Lu Yuyu has been researching mass incidents across the country since 2011 and distributing the news on Sina Weibo and Twitter. He has been doing this non-stop for years so that netizens from China and overseas can see people's suffering in China. Even [Party-affiliated] Hongqi's “Worker and Peasant” column has republished his writings. Last week, Lu went missing and out of contact. Even his relative's mobile phone is unanswered. Please pay attention to this.
In an interview with @beidaijin published on Paopao.net in 2014, Lu explained the mission of his work:
为抗争者放声助力，尽可能引起关注，将有效的抗争模式传递给更多处于近似境遇的人群以供参照。
To magnify the voices of the protesters and catch social attention. To spread people's experience of struggle so that others can learn from their successes or failures.
Lu began researching mass demonstrations and incidents in 2011 and began actively distributing the news through social media in 2013, developing what became a counterweight to China's online censorship regime. As witness accounts of protests are dispersed on social media and quickly deleted by web censors, Lu sought through his work to give people greater access to information of public interest and document a more complete picture of the incidents.
Lu Yuyu, the person behind @wickdonnaa. Photo from Twitter user @youyuping.
He usually spends eight hours a day tracking protest news on social media, cross-checking the information via different search engines, and verifying that videos and images are really coming from the protest spots. @hpgd0 praised Lu's work on Twitter after he learned about his disappearance:
非新闻每天替我们目睹了多少惨事啊。我光是想想都肃然起敬了。我自己经常会把头扭过去，不敢看别人的惨状的，但就看着他每天每天地记着账。这些新闻放在日本的话相信大多数都可以被作为新闻头版了吧，各种社会不公和法律不彰。一个社会确实不可能天生完美，但靠屏蔽负面新闻更不可能完美起来。
— 无名☂ (@hpgd0) June 20, 2016
“Not in the News” bares witness to so many sufferings for us. Putting such serious effort into this work is an act of respect. I sometimes intentionally ignore the news, as it takes courage to look at others’ suffering. But I notice that he keeps track of every incident, every day. These stories can make headline news in Japan, they are all loaded with social injustice. Society is not perfect, but filtering out negative news  will not make society better.
It is very likely that Lu and his girlfriend's disappearance is related to his citizen journalistic work. Many speculated that they have been detained because of recent protests in the town of Wukan, Shandong province, where protests have erupted over an ongoing land dispute. Xing Jian, an exiled dissident told Radio Free Asia:
乌坎事件再次持续升温，中国官方很有可能担心他们对乌坎事件会持续报道，所以人被失踪，也说明了中国政府对言论自由的进一步打压。我们呼吁国际社会及人权机构予以关注
As Wukan incident continued to gain public attention, the Chinese authorities are worried about media reports on the protest. That's why they made him vanish. This is a further suppression of freedom of press. We urge international society and human rights organizations to pay attention on this.


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Iconic Pakistani Sufi Singer Amjad Sabri Is Murdered in Broad Daylight · Global Voices
Faisal Kapadia

Amjad Sabri sings at a concert in February 2012 in Trafo, Budapest. Screenshot from YouTube
Amjad Sabri, one of Pakistan's most renowned qawwali performers, was shot dead by gunmen in the southern port city of Karachi, triggering an outpouring of grief across the country. Qawwali is a form of Sufi devotional music popular in South Asia.
The police are calling the attack “a targeted killing and an act of terrorism.” Sabri, 45, was shot five times on Wednesday afternoon, in the city's Liaqatabad area, after gunmen on a motorcycle pulled up to his vehicle and opened fire. Qari Saifullah Mehsud, a spokesperson for a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Amjad Sabri was one of the most sought-after qawwals in the country. Sabri came from a family of musicians. His uncle Maqbool Sabri and his father, the late Ghulam Farid Sabri, formed an iconic qawwali group in the 1950s and became known for their soul-stirring renditions of mystic poetry.
Amjad Sabri was keeping the family tradition alive and was leading a movement to make qawwali more mainstream following in the footsteps of legendary musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
In the aftermath of Sabri's assassination, social media in Pakistan was full of grief and fury at the brutal killing of the icon in the Islamic month of Ramzan, also known as Ramadan.
Fakhre Alam, singer, songwriter and head of the Pakistan censor board, tweeted:
Law Enforcement has failed us. All this garbage of high level meetings is bullshit. No one is safe here. I am heart broken & disgusted
Publisher and journalist Najam Sethi expressed his grief and sorrow on Twitter in the following words:
Terrible loss of Amjad Sabri. His voice touched so many hearts & souls across the globe. Let's not be numbed by these murderous terrorists.
As news of his death stirred an uproar all over Pakistan, gory images and videos of his body at the crime scene started to surface online. Jibran Nasir, a civil society activist, suggested caution and protested the circulation of gory images on Twitter:
Plz show respect to #AmjadSabri & family. Stop sharing graphic videos/images. Remember him as the big man who moved millions with his voice
Shehzad Ghias Sheikh an improv and standup comic and actor, remembered the death of Karachi's cultural icon Sabeen Mehmud, who was gunned down last year, in this post:
Countries can be won through war but if you want to defeat a nation, you have to kill the artists, thinkers, scholars and lovers. Amjad Sabri has been brutally murdered on the streets of Karachi and the condolences are pouring on from all over but soon he will just be another number on the long list of the deceased for no rhyme or no reason.
Sabeen Mahmud died on the same streets, Wasim Akram's car was shot at and Hamid Mir was almost gunned down. These are just a few of the reported crimes. There are even more which go unreported. One of the most prominent actors in Pakistan was recently kidnapped and held at ransom. Just yesterday, the son of the sitting Chief Justice of Sindh was kidnapped.
Can we rest the notion that Karachi is now a safe city? How long will we lie to ourselves just to protect our “reputation on the international stage”?
We have death threats against a prominent media personality floating freely on social media these days. Would we mourn him if some psycho acts on them?
Did we do anything to stand against the multiple death threats received by Amjad Sabri when he was accused of blasphemy for singing a famous qawali just because Geo and ARY were in a war with each other?
We do not know why Amjad Sabri was murdered. Honestly, does it even matter?
As a fellow member of the artist community, I can testify that there is hardly an artist in this country who has not received a death threat for some reason or the other.
When artists do not die in Pakistan from a bullet; they die from our indifference. Habib Jalib and Mehdi Hasan died because they could not afford better treatment. Let that sink in people.
Amjad Sabri is dead and people are sharing videos of him dying and bleeding in his car on social media, this is the country we live in.
If you're looking for a reason as to why he died. You won't find one, if someone asks you ‘Why’, just say “Because…Pakistan”.
The government of Pakistan, spurred on by the uproar all over the country, has started arresting suspects and have vowed to arrest the killers. The chief minister of Sindh, Qaim Ali Shah, suspended District Superintendent of Police Liaquatabad and Station House Officer Liaquatabad following the incident.
Salman Ahmed, a famous guitarist, shared his frustration over the apathy and frustration in the following tweet:
The PM & Sindh Gov't is sorry about #AmjadSabri‘s murder…. are we all just lambs for the slaughter?No leadership,No plan & Zero competence
The killers of Sabri might be found because there is pressure on law enforcement to seek justice. However, the writing on the wall in Pakistan is clearer than ever: the space for arts and culture is shrinking in the face of a rabid assault by radicalisation and violence.

author: Faisal Kapadia