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Interview with Chanphal Sok: Cambodian Writer and Songwriter · Global Voices
Kounila Keo

Going through highs and lows in life, Chanphal Sok found himself moving from place to place with his mother as a child to find enough to support themselves. Writing about his tough life in his Khmer blog between Kampong Cham province and Kratie province, Chanphal has used his blog to write mostly about literature, short stories, short novels as well as Khmer history in Khmer language. Sometimes, he uses Khmer self-effacing humor to write about his personal life. In 2009, he won the third prize of the Nou Hach Literary awards for his 10-page short story ‘Kaboub Luy’ or “Wallet”.
A graduate in English literature, although more popularly known as a song writer for many of the most famous contemporary Khmer songs, the 28-year-old song writer and prolific blogger presently works for Hang Meas production, one of the most popular music production companies in Cambodia.
“Life is a trade off. After writing my life story in this blog, I’ve found that I’ve walked so far. Life is a journey, and although it is not an eternity, it is long enough to live a proper life from now on,” he said. Global Voices writer Kounila Keo has the opportunity to email-interview Chanphal.
Chanphal Sok
1. I think you have some connection wth Nou Hach literary award. How many other awards have you got? What do you think of the current situation of writers in Cambodia?
Writing comes natural to me. I love writing, and this talent doesn't come to me that easy, as I have to keep polishing it all the time. Since I've found that I can write, I start putting it into work. Ever since, I've got a lot of support from audiences who listen to songs I write. I had tried many times for Nou Hach Literary award, but finally I got a third place award for my short story: Wallet, in 2009, but several other awards were just certificates of excellence. I think that very few people in Cambodia are interested in writing novels but there are more journalists than novel or story writers. If you ask me to count names of Khmer novel writers, it is very hard to do so. Unfortunately, Khmer people don't read a lot; therefore, not many people are interested in writing. Compared to neighbouring countries, Cambodia doesn't produce a lot of locally-made books or movies, and even our cinemas are quite quiet.
2. I've seen that you've used Facebook and some other online platforms to publish your work? What do you think about the online world today for a professional like you?
Even though I haven't been able to earn a dime from publishing my stories on Facebook or some online platforms like issuu.com, I am however happy when I get support from Khmer readers. This is what I write for. For my audiences. So far I've met a lot of Khmer readers online, and I am delighted to be able to share much stuff with them on the Internet.
3.What do you think of the printing cost of paper books in Cambodia? Do you think the online platform such as blog (wordpress/blogspot) and Issuu are useful for writers here?
Yes of course. From the past until now, I've published several books which don't cost a lot, but it was hard to sell them. The distribution among small book stores did not work, so those who wanted to buy them also found difficulty to do so. Eventually, I lost a lot of money in the printing. When I publish my stories on the Internet, I don't need to spend a single dollar on it, though I don't earn anything from it either.
4. Do you think the internet will soon become an important source for writers like you to publish your work?
I've always wanted to be a writer since I was little. Growing up, I just want to share my thoughts with the rest of the world, so the online platform is the best choice for me to publish any story. It comes to a point where you don't need to be a professional writer to publish your stories. The Internet provides a very easy means to publish your articles, stories or novels and get a lot of following. More and more Cambodian people are becoming online, so this is a positive sign for the growth of online readership. When we didn't have the Internet in the past, we had to go and beg the printing company to publish our books, but now the Internet can replace the printing industry in some ways. Nowadays, everyone just wants to write and share. Nonetheless, I still love “paper” books, yet it is just that our country doesn't have a lot of book readers. Some people who try to publish books fail a lot, but if I have a lot of money, I will try to publish books and put them at some book stores. We need to strike a balance.
5. Would you like to recommend this to other writers?
I've used the Internet for several years now, and I don't mean to say that publishing books isn't recommended. I would like to recommend that writers now start thinking about publishing their works online if they don't have money to pay for the printing cost. When I first used WordPress, I published my stories on the blog right away. With that said, I still strongly love paper books because they are like souvenirs which I can put in my book shelf, on the bed shelf. They are different from e-books which come in millions, easy to download and read – modern and tiny in size, but they don't have a sentimental value like books.

author: Kounila Keo


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Puerto Rico: Social Media Users Rally Behind “Boicot a La Comay” · Global Voices
Ángel Carrión

Antulio “Kobbo” Santarosa (aka, La Comay), provoked widespread anger when, amidst gossip and innuendos, he blamed a recent victim of a gruesome torture and murder for allegedly bringing his own death upon himself.  Julio Varela writes for Latino Rebels about the Facebook page which has gathered over 60,000 followers in 5 days and aims to pressure network executives at WAPA to cancel its number-one rated TV show, SuperXclusivo.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ángel Carrión


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Slovenia: “Second Republic (Again)” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sleeping With Pengovsky explains the current political situation in Slovenia (more – here and here):
[…] [PM Janez Janša] already controls the parliament. He controls the economy. And as of last Sunday, he also controls the president of the republic. […]
The only unknown in this scenario are protests. The political class, even down to “middle managers” is shit-scared and they honestly don’t know how things will turn out. I don’t think anyone does. […]

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Sounding the Alarm on Hungary’s New Electoral Law · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum posts an English translation of the appeal by the members of the pre-1989 Democracy Movement to organizations of the European Union, in which they share their concerns regarding the new electoral law:
If the next Hungarian elections in 2014 were to be held under the recently rammed-through rules, they would be illegitimate and fraudulent which would be a first in the European Union. […]


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Spain: Young Emigrants Have “Spirit of Adventure” · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

This article is part of our special news coverage Europe in Crisis.
[All links lead to Spanish language pages, except when otherwise noted.]
A few days ago, “Marina del Corral” was one of the most popular topics on Twitter. Del Corral, who has entered the spotlight after statements which set the social networks alight with indignant messages, is a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Employment and Social Security [en], specifically, the Secretary General of Immigration and Emigration.
The Secretary General opined that emigration rates among Spanish youth were not due solely to the crisis currently confronting the country, but also “why not say it; to young people's drive for adventure”.
Spanish Youth; emigrants or adventurers? Image from the Lo que no pasa blog.
These statements proved extremely controversial, particularly coming from a high-ranking official in a government which has almost made gaffes its signature. The “fuck them” [en] directed at the unemployed by Andrea Farber, Pilar Sol's accusations that some out-of-work people were wasting public assistance money on “plasma screens,” and the nearly innumerable nonsensical statements by government representative  Cristina Cifuentes and Education Minister  José Ignacio Wert [en] all bear remembering.
As would be expected, the Twittersphere wasted little time in responding, with hashtags like #espírituaventurero (“spirit of adventure”) and #NoNosVamosNosEchan (“We're not leaving; they're throwing us out”) receiving hundreds of comments, mere hours after the statements came to light. Comments such as these, by @Haannnssss, 08181@ and Alvaro Velasco (@alvaro_velasco):
@Haannnssss: Me comentan que Marina del Corral está escribiendo el guión de la próxima “Indiana Jones: En Busca del Trabajo Perdido” #NoNosVamosNosEchan
I heard that Marina del Corral is writing the script to the next Indiana Jones: “In Search of the Lost Job”
Marina del Corral, Secretary General of Emigration. Image from www.xn--cartadeespaa-khb.es.
08181@: Que alguien le aclare a Marina del Corral que lo aventurero es quedarse en España.
Can someone make it clear to Marina del Corral that adventurousness is staying in Spain.
@alvaro_velasco: Marina del Corral… Espíritu aventurero es irte a hacer deporte extremo al Pirineo. No a currar en un Burger de Berlín.
Marina del Corral… The Spirit of Adventure is going to the Pyrenees to do extreme sports. Not grafting in some fast food restaurant in Berlin.
Nolesvotes recalls that the recent evictions [en] have already led to several suicides:
@Nolesvotes: Marina del Corral dice que los españoles emigran por espíritu aventurero y los desahuciados se tiran por el balcón para practicar balconing
Marina del Corral says that the Spanish people are emigrating because of their spirit of adventure and that people who got evicted and jumped off the balcony were doing balconing [en].
César states that, with each passing day, the government seems more and more distant from the realities facing the people:
@CatoMad: Los parados compran teles de plasma y los jóvenes se van de España por espíritu aventurero. Gobierno de España, con los pies en el suelo.
The unemployed are buying plasma screens and the young people are leaving Spain because of their spirit of adventure. The Spanish Government, with its feet firmly on the ground.
Tweeters (@whoanrubi), Яubén Sánchez (@rubensancheztw), Ciudadano Libre (@SuperTTuitero) y SorriSorrilla (@SorriSorrilla) take a humorous approach:
Sign: “If you finish your degree in Spain you have 3 ways out: by land, by sea or by air”. Image from kaosenlared.net
@whoanrubi: Secretaria g. d inmi: “lo españoles emigramos x el espíritu aventurero”. si claro, y nos operamos de apendicitis para conocernos por dentro.
Secretary of Immigration: “We Spanish are emigrating because of our spirit of adventure.” Of course, and people have surgery in order to get to know themselves better on the inside.
@rubensancheztw:De los creadores de “no son recortes, sino reformas” llega “la crisis no provoca emigración, sino espíritu aventurero”
From the creators of “Not cuts, but reforms” comes “the crisis isn't the cause of emigration, it's the spirit of adventure”
@SuperTTuitero: La única neurona de Marina del Corral también tiene #espírituaventurero.
Marina del Corral's only brain cell has the spirit of adventure, too.
@SorriSorrilla: “L@s subsaharian@s cruzan el estrecho en patera porque les gusta el rafting de alto riesgo” Marina del Corral
Subsaharian Africans cross the strait in open boats because they like extreme rafting” – Marina del Corral.
Map of Spanish emigration in the 21st century. Image from the blog “Periodismo con Gafas”
A group of Spanish emigrants in Switzerland published an open letter to Marina del Corral in which they explain the arduous conditions that many emigrants end up in once they leave Spain:
[…] A las historias positivas de aquellos que encuentran trabajo, se suman las historias de madres y padres que dejan a sus hijos en casa, de españoles que acaban durmiendo en sus coches o en lugares de acogida al no encontrar trabajo y acabar con los ahorros que trajeron, que no dominan el idioma pero pese a todo no les queda otra opción que salir, historias de fracasos y de vueltas a casa con una situación mucho peor a la que se tenia antes de partir. […]
[…] El Gobierno al que usted pertenece ha reducido en 60 por ciento las ayudas económicas destinadas a asociaciones y fundaciones que prestan asistencia social y médica a emigrantes españoles con escasos recursos en el extranjero, ha reducido en un 14,5% el presupuesto de la Dirección General de Emigración o ha sufrido la vergüenza de ver como el Presidente del Consejo General de la Ciudadanía Española en el Exterior afirma “Las leyes son como las mujeres. Están para violarlas“.
[…] lo que le exigimos es un poco de respeto hacia los muchos miles ya, de españolas y españoles honrados que no hemos salido de nuestro país para ver como sopla el viento en otros sitios o vivir una experiencia enriquecedora y volver cuando nos cansemos. Salimos de nuestro país forzados y con pena porque no tenemos en que ganarnos la vida ya tengamos formación básica o superior.
[…] To the positive stories of those who do find work must be added the stories of mothers and fathers who leave their children behind, of Spanish citizens who end up sleeping in their cars or in shelters after failing to find work and having no more savings left, who can't speak the language but, despite it all, they have no other option than to leave, stories of failure and returning home to a situation even worse than it was before they left. […]
[…] The Government to which you belong has cut by 60% the funding to associations and foundations which provide social and medical assistance to  Spanish emigrants of limited means, it has cut the budget for the  General Directorate of Emigration by 14.5% and faced the embarrassment of seeing the President of the General Council of Spanish Citizens Living Abroad state that “Laws are like women. They are there to be violated.”
[…] what we demand is a little respect towards the several thousands of honest Spanish men and women who have not left our country to see how the wind blows elsewhere, or to have an enriching experience and simply return when we tire of it. We left our country by force and with a heavy heart, because we have no way of making a living at home, whether we have a basic or an advanced education.
[All links lead to Spanish language pages, except when otherwise noted.]
This article is part of our special news coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Lourdes Sada


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Fighting Deportation in the U.S.  · Global Voices
Yarisa Colon

[All links lead to English language pages]
As a part of the national “We Belong Together” campaign, launched in the United States by the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, in collaboration with various organizations, numerous testimonies have been compiled that reveal the toll new federal and state immigration laws are having in perpetuating prejudice against immigrants. And because women and children are the ones who continue to be affected most, campaign leaders have devoted themselves to organizing delegations to listen, document and amplify their voices.
Thus far delegations have visited Georgia, Alabama and Arizona to investigate the effects of the anti-immigration laws H.B. 87 (and its federal program “Secure Communities”), H.B. 56, and S.B. 1070, respectively. They also managed to organize a “virtual visit” to Tennessee in partnership with Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and Knoxville United Against Racism:Alto 287(g).
Participants of the “We Belong Together” campaign in the United States. Taken from the campaign's Facebook page.
Here is a video from the campaign's visit to Birmingham, Alabama where they discussed some of the implications of the recent anti-immigration laws and the power of such alliances in fighting the radical transformation taking place in the country:
This past September, a delegation visited Tijuana, Mexico, in order to personally meet the women that have been forceably separated from their children and families as a result of deportation. In the following video, you will hear the stories of some of the women currently housed in the Mother Asunta Institute (Tijuana, Mexico) as they struggle to complete the seemingly endless paperwork required to be reunited with their children:
National Domestic Workers Alliance reports that 5.5 million children who currently live in the United States fear one or both of their parents will be deported. It is for this reason that large amounts of these children now participate in the presentations, protests and the various happenings that comprise this campaign, and in doing so they find solace in the community of shared experiences: the arrest of one's family, the pain of separation, the fear, the anxiety.
This Christmas, the campaign is hopeful that members of Congress will receive at least 20,000 letters from supporters of their mission. The message is very clear: stop the deportations so families remain intact. To join in their cause, please visit www.webelongtogether.org.
*Thumbnail photo taken from the “We Belong Together” Facebook page
[All links lead to English language pages]

author: Yarisa Colon


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The Very Different Fates of Two Chinese Nobel Prize Winners · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

This year's winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, Mo Yan, has travelled to Stockholm to receive his prize. However in contrast, the 2010 Nobel Prize in Peace winner, Liu Xiaobo, is still in prison in China and his wife Liu Xia under house arrest.
In her first interview in 26 months, Liu Xia finally spoke to the Associated Press journalists who sneaked into her apartment in secret during the security staff's lunch break, bursting into tears and saying, “We live in such an absurd place“.
Indeed, it is absurd. Mo Yan, a pen-name that literally means ‘Don't Speak’, attended the Nobel press conference yesterday on December 6, 2012, and said that censorship is inevitable and that he would not back a petition for Liu Xiaobo. However, 134 Nobel Laureates past and present launched a campaign, urging Chinese President Xi Jinping to release Liu Xiaobo back in early December. Mo Yan is obviously not signed up to the petition list.
Liu Xia bursted into tears and said, “We live in such an absurd place”. Screen capture from Now TV news.
While Mo Yan is a winner in every sense, Liu Xiaobo, who has chosen to speak up for democracy and against political injustice, was sentenced to 11 year's imprisonment, and his wife subjected to house arrest for two years. Liu won the Nobel Prize but lost everything.
Actually, the majority of mainland Chinese never had the chance to know that Liu Xiaobo was the first Chinese citizen to receive a Nobel Prize, as the news has never shown up on official media outlets. Similarly, Liu Xia's recent outburst cannot be heard online, as both Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia's names are unsearchable.
Online reactions
On Twitter, some dissidents are elaborating on the absurdity of China. Hu Jia described [zh] his own situation:
上午遭到门口便衣们拦截。当我质问看守们为什么要做奴才，他们的回应居然是“当奴才比当汉奸强。”9月18日我因十八大被开始软禁时，国保们有过类似表述。我问他们今天是否因为刘霞。他们露出得意之情。刘霞发声我被软禁，荒诞吗。
I was stopped by the under-cover police in the morning in my building's entrance. I asked them how you choose to be slaves, they said “slaves are better than traitors”. Since September 18, I was under house arrest because of the 18th national CCP Congress, the security police officers said something like that. Today, I asked them [if the strengthening of security control] was related to Liu Xia, they grinned. One of the consequences when Liu Xia speaks is that I have to be under house detention.
Jian Alan Huang pointed out [zh] that absurdity is the nature of authoritarian country:
在极权社会，每个人都像雨打的浮萍一样无力掌握自己的命运。刘霞无力抗拒2年多的软禁，只能哭诉；冯小刚无力拍摄1962，只能拍一部1942装逼；莫言无力改变审查制度，只能以词藻合法化之聊以自慰。
In an authoritarian society, everyone is like duckweed under the rain and cannot control their fate. Liu Xia can't do anything with her two year's house arrest and can only burst into tears; Fung Xiagang can't produce a movie on 1962 [the Great Leap Forward] and can only produce a film on 1942 [Sino-Japanese War]; Mo Yan can't change the censorship system and can only legitimize it for self-comforting.
Although micro-bloggers cannot talk about Liu Xia on popular forum Sina Weibo, many are speaking out against Mo Yan's cowardice [zh].
红尘三过客：@莫言 说的完全是屁话：“每个国家都有言论审查。”——但世界上只有一个国家将诺奖得主关在狱中。只要有一个作家因为写作而坐牢，这个国家就没有真实的言论自由。“刘大嗑吧不能在自己的国度里自由地生活和出版，那么我们也不能够为今年的诺贝尔文学奖的荣誉感到欣喜。”
@Three passerby in the earthy world: @Mo Yan is talking shit: “every country has censorship” — but only one country in this world puts a Nobel Prize winner in jail. If there is a writer in jail because of writing, this country does not have freedom of speech. If Liu [Xiaobo] can't freely write and publish in his own country, we cannot feel happy and honorable in the result of this year's Nobel Prize in Literature.
浩淼-mma：莫言巧妙的用必然来界定审查的结果，从而得出审查对文学、对言论并无影响，这太无耻了。舞蹈家戴着镣铐的舞蹈，一样比我无任何约束跳的好，但若没有任何束缚，舞蹈家会有更大的发挥空间，会有更大的可能跳出伟大的作品，这是常识，莫言的粉饰只能让人鄙视。
@Hao Miao – mms: Mo Yan used the word ‘inevitable’ to describe censorship and concluded that censorship does not have an adverse effect on literature, this is too shameless. Dancers dancing with their feet chained dance better than those without chains… but the issue at stake is that without the chain, the dancer will perform even better. This is common sense. Mo Yan's rhetoric is disgusting.
郑焰12：作为语言工作者，他偷换了国家机器审查和媒体自我核查的概念。并不高明。显得油滑且蠢。但如此处境的人要想在回国后安全生活，莫不是带着镣铐起舞。
@Zhen Yen12: As a language worker, he has secretly interchanged censorship by the state and media self-censorship. This is not wise, it makes him look stupid. Yet to make sure he can come home safe, he has to dance with his feet chained.
梦幻似泡影：莫言先生的获奖致辞组织上审查过关了吧。
@Dreamlike shadow: Mo Yan's talk obviously has gone through party censorship.
Wu Zuo Lai, a famous news commentator, used Mo Yan's logic and wrote [zh] a speech for him:
我替莫言写感言:感谢祖国感谢党创造了一个时代的苦难,所谓国家不幸诗人幸,这样的苦难与离奇,超想象,使我的作品获得丰富的土壤,如果中国人民过得与北欧人民一样的幸福,就没有我莫言今天在这儿获奖,感谢苦难,感谢党,对不起我的父老乡亲,因为我只能用文学话说,现实中我如此怯懦,无法面对真相说话,我忏悔!
I am writing the [Nobel Prize] winner's remarks for Mo Yan: Thanks to my country and thanks to the CCP for creating this suffering. This is the ill-fortune for the country but the fortune for the poet. Such suffering and absurdity is out of people's imagination and my work is grown out of such rich soil. If Chinese people were living as happy as the northern Europeans, Mo Yan wouldn't be speaking here for getting the prize. Thanks to all the suffering and thanks to the Party. Sorry to my fellows, I can only speak in literature, in reality I am a coward and I can't speak the truth. I repent for being like this.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Women Banned from Using Mobile Phones in Indian Villages · Global Voices
Lakshmi Sarah

A village council in the Indian state of Bihar banned the use of mobile phones by women in the Sunderbari village, roughly 385 kilometers (239 miles) east of Patna, the capital of Bihar. The population of Bihar is 104 million, larger than any European country and one third the population of the United States.
The most recent ban, comes after a July ban on mobile phones for girls in the Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh. This was followed by a ban in August on mobile phones for girls under age 18 in Jhunjhunu district's Udaipurwati in Rajasthan, according to The Times of India.
In Rajasthan, the ban was issued so that girls would not be “spoiled” by excessive use of cellphones. In UP the ban on mobile phones also included a ban on women under the age of 40 going shopping un-escorted by a man. Overall the bans target women's freedom and mobility. A local resident said:
It has been observed that mobile phones have given ‘unnecessary’ freedom to girls, which is distracting them from following our culture. The Panchayat’s decision will be followed strictly in the village as it has been accepted by all.
Photo courtesy of Gayatri Agnew
In the most recent case, in Bihar, the village officials claim mobile phones were “debasing the social atmosphere” by leading to couples eloping. In recent times the “elopement” from these villages have been increasing rapidly. The council has also imposed a fine of 10,000 rupees ($180) if a girl is caught using a mobile phone on the streets and married women would have to pay 2,000 rupees ($36.60).
Jagmati Sangwan, vice president of the All India Democratic Women’s Association, said that the men who head such village councils “want women to get cut off from the processes of modernization, education and employment.”  She said they that such laws, targeting only one segment of society, are not legal, according to India Ink.
As Techdirt reported: this is not about “eroding the moral fabric of society”, but about power, and in particular the erosion of traditional male power in the village.
Local officials have begun investigations saying such bans cannot be allowed in a healthy society.
While some twitter reactions from India have been surprised at the ban, and seem to blame it on the predominantly Muslim population of the village, religion does not explain bans in other regions of India.
@Against_Pseudos: Islamic Sharia!! Muslim dominated village in Bihar, Sunderbari, ban girls and women from using mobile phones!
@HeathaT (Heather Timmons): A ban on cellphone use for women & girls in rural Bihar shld spark a write-in campaign to Bihar tourist office: RC http://nyti.ms/TECSFd
@subtletea (Sameer Khandelwal): Indian Village Bans Unmarried Women & Girls from Using Mobile Phones. Why not ban it for everyone, irrespective of gender or marital status?
Kavitha Rao notes that mobile phones may be the single most empowering technology for Indian women. In other areas of Bihar, mobile phones are being used by activists and social workers to work on areas such as health and education and it contributed to results such as decrease in maternal mortality rates.
A couple of years ago Contador Harrison Wanarua wrote on a news of a similar ban on mobile phones for unmarried women in another part of Uttar Pradesh:
Only an neo-colonial mentality person can fail to support local women's rights group criticism of the measure as backward and unfair.
Mobile Phones have played a tremendous role in helping ease communication among people and one cannot discriminate in the use of these contraptions on the basis of sex. If effected this could be a national shame to all mobile industry players…
On Facebook Sethi Mushtaq writes:
Let's hope the real India stops restricting women's freedom and mobility.

author: Lakshmi Sarah


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Xinjiang Nut Cakes and Ethnic Conflict in China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Off Beat China highlights an ethnic conflict between Uyghur nut cake sellers and Chinese customers which had developed into a mass fight. The compensation of RMB 200,000 to the Uyghur sellers have generated a lot of resentment among Chinese on the ethnic policy.


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Algerian Solutions to the Film ‘Innocence of Muslims’ · Global Voices
algerianna

In the wake of the anti-Islam film entitled ‘Innocence of Muslims‘, and which was broadcast on YouTube, the Algerian tabloid Chourouk asked its readers in its online edition to answer the following question [ar]:
عرفت عدة دول إسلامية موجة احتجاجات على الفيلم المسيء للنبي الكريم صلى الله عليه وسلم، اتخذ بعضها طابعا عنيفا هل ترى بأن حرق السفارات والعنف طريقة مناسبة لنصرة الرسول الكريم؟ ام أنها شوهت صورة المسلمين ؟ وما هي افضل طريقة للرد على هذه الإساءات المتكررة برأيك؟
Several Muslim countries have undergone a wave of protests on the hate film directed against the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). Some of these protests had a violent form. Do you think that burning embassies and violence are a convenient way to support the Holy Prophet? Or has it further tarnished the image of Muslims? What, in your opinion, is the best way to respond to these repeated attacks on Islam?
Some 800 readers have attempted to answer this question and I will reproduce here a sample of their comments. The majority of comments have suggested that the best way to react to such repeated provocations is to follow the example of the Prophet (PBUH) and show his true character by putting his legacy into practice in all Muslim countries.  A number of commentators proposed boycotting all Western products:
الحل بـ: 1- العودة لاتباع سنة رسول الله ودين الاسلام ونشر احاديث وحث على حفظ كتاب الله 2- تفعيل المقاطعة بوضع استراتيجيات لاستعمال اموال البترول في انشاء مصانع تنافس عالميا “صنع في الجزائر” حتى لو كانت على سبيل التبعية الغير المباشرة متل الصين لكن على الاقل صنع في الجزائر وبيد جزائرية التي ستكتسب خبرة
The solution should be: 1) Following Islam and the Sunna (traditions) of the Holy Prophet, dissemination of his sayings (Hadith) and striving to preserve our Holy Book, 2) Putting boycott into practice by conceiving strategies for using oil money in development projects such as competitive factories which produce Algerian products (Made in Algeria), even if it would involve dependence on China for example. The main thing is that we would have products that are made in Algeria, by Algerian people who will gain experience in the process.
However, some commentators didn’t agree with the boycott option:
عن اي مقاطعة تتحدثون … هل تظنون أننا دولة و شعب و أمة … هم يؤكلوننا و يكسوننا … عندما نصبح دولة و شعب يأكل و يلبس مما ينتج … تكلموا عن المقاطعة …
What boycott are you talking about? Do you seriously think we are a State and a people and a nation? They feed and clothe us. When we become a State and a people who eat and wear what they produce, then you can speak of boycott
لا مقاطعة و لا محزان.يجب الرد على مثل هده الافعال الخبيثة باسلوب متحضر تجعل الشعوب الغربية تحلم بالاسلام. يجب دالك ان نراجع انفسنا ونتساال لمادا هدا. فنجد ان افعالنا و سلوكنا تجعل هؤلاء ينفرون من د يننا بل يخفونه و يكرهونه. لدا ان اردنا ان نحبب الاسلام لدى الغير فعلينا الابتعاد على العنف و الخيانة و التخلف الثقافي و الحضاري لان الاسلام يتماشى مع التقدم والتحضر و ليس بالرجوع الى الجاهلية او القرون الوسطى.
Boycott is not the solution. We need to answer such malicious acts in a civilised way which will make western people dream of Islam. We need to evaluate ourselves and ask why do such things happen? We will find that our actions and our behaviour scare others away from our religion and even hate it. So if we really want others to love Islam, we need to avoid violence, treachery and cultural and civilizational backwardness because Islam is adaptable to progress and not to regressing to the dark ages.
One citizen points out that boycott needn’t only target material possessions. He says:
- الرد يكون بعدم تطبيق الأفكار التي يدعون اليها كالديمقراطية التي يريدونها و حقوق الانسان التي ينظرون لها ….
– مقاطعة أفلامهم و أغانيهم و انتجاتهم الثقافية
– تبيين زيف ادعائهم للحرية الفكرية باثارة نفي المحرقة و تمجيد هتلر .
– اعلان وحدة العرب و المسلمين بتكتل عدة دول .
– استهداف من يقوم بالاساءة المنتج والممول شخصيا كالقس جو
The answer should be to boycott their ideas like democracy and human rights, their movies, songs and cultural products. We need to show how hypocritical and deceitful their calls for freedom of speech are by engaging in holocaust denial and glorification of Hitler. We need to demonstrate Arab unity by uniting several countries. We need to target the actual person behind such attacks, the producer and funder, Father Joe.
Many commentators pointed out that the reply should have the same form as the attack, so initiatives to show the real Prophet Mohamed through the media, arts and literature or via interactions in virtual or real social networks should be encouraged and supported [fr]:
La création d’un fond de la protection de l’Islam avec pour objectif la réaction dans un temps record à toute menace avec les moyens adéquats passifiques et autres. Ce fond sera secret et les membres seront musulmans et pas gouvernementaux comme les lobby à travers le monde.
The creation of a fund to protect Islam. Its objective will be to react timely to any threat, using adequate and peaceful means or others. This fund should be secret and its members should be Muslim civilians all around the world and not representatives of governments or any lobbies.
Hafid El Amir reckons:
أحسن رد سيكون بإنتاج فلم بلغات مختلفة عن حياة الرسول الكريم بمشاركة جميع الدول الإسلامية. وبما أن الهدف ليس ربح المال ، فبإمكاننا نشره في الدور السنيمائية بمختلف أنحاء العالم والدخول يكون بمبلغ رمزي. هم يدعون حرية الرأي فليسمعو رأينا في دور السنما لبلدانهم. وبما أن الحرب إعلامية فأحسن دفاع سيكون إعلامي. لا للتخريب لا للقتل لا وألف لا لكل أشكال العنف الحضارة تفرض علينا أن نستخدم عقولنا وقلوبنا فالمشاعر وحدها لا تكفي ولن تفي بالغرض. سلام.
The best answer would be to produce a film in many languages about the life of the Holy Prophet, wherein all Muslim countries would contribute. As the objective won’t be commercial, we could distribute the film in cinemas all around the world for a small fee. They are calling for freedom of expression, so let them hear our opinion in their cinemas. As the war is a media war, the best means of defense should be the media. No to violence and vandalism. Civilisation compels us to use our brains as well as our heart because feelings alone are not enough.
Soufiene thinks science and knowledge are the solution:
أفضل طريقة للرد على الغرب هي العلم وثم العلم وثم العلم لأننا وبكل صراحة وموضوعية لا نقدر حتى على تمثيل أفلام أو مسلسلات عادية فما بالك بالرسوم المتحركة ولو أردنا الحرب ضدهم بماذا سنحارب لأننا جاهلون وأصبحت المادة هي التي تسيطر علينا ونسينا ديننا ونسينا شرفنا وأقول لكم بأن الشعب هو الذي يصنع مجده ولكن المجد يأتي بالغلم والعمل ولكي نصبح أقوياء أكثر منهم يجب أن نعد الأجيال فلو أن كل عائلة في الجزائر تقدم في كل عام عالم جديد من أبناءها لأصبحت الجزائر مليئة بالعلماء ولتغير المجنمع للأحسن .
The best way to answer the West is science (knowledge) because, let’s be honest and objective here, we are not even capable of acting out ordinary films or series, let alone making cartoons. If we were to go to war against them, what would we fight with? We are ignorant, we’ve become enslaved by material things and we have forgotten our religion and our honor. I tell you, it is the people who make their glory, but glory comes through science, knowledge and hard work. To become stronger than them, we need to prepare the future generations, if every Algerian family produces one scientist every year among its children, Algeria would fill-up with scientists and the society will change for the better.
Some commentators felt that the best way to deal with such occurrences should be to simply ignore them until they die away:
Zaman Twi says:
هؤلاء ناس كفرة ماذا ننتظر منهم و نحن السبب في هذه التجاوزات المتكررة لان هدف هؤلاء تتلخص في ثلاث نقاط
1- اظهار كرههم للاسلام علنا و بمظاهراتنا حققنا هذا الهدف
2- الدعاية لانفسهم بغية الشهرة و بمظاهراتنا حققنا هذا الهدف
3- اظهار المسلمين على انهم همج و بالتكسير و القتل حققنا هذا الهدف
اظن انه لو اننا تجاهلنا اول من قام بهذه الافعال لما جاء هؤلاء بعده و لو تجاهلناهم لما تكلم عنهم الاعلام
و لن يظرو نبينا الكريم في شيء لاننا نعرف من هو و من هم
These people are unbelievers, what do you expect from them when we are the reason for these repeated abuses! The goal of these people is three-fold:
1-      Show their hatred of Islam publicly and by our demonstrations, we helped them achieve it
2-      Self-publicity for the sake of fame and by our demonstrations, we helped them achieve it
3-      Prove that Muslims are violent and by vandalising and killing we helped them prove it
I think that had we ignored the very first person who did such things, there would have been no others since and the media wouldn’t have made such a fuss. They cannot harm our Holy Prophet, because we know who he is and who they are.
Abdou says agrees but for a different reason:
احسن رد على هذه الاساءاة هو عدم الرد
لان اغلبنا لا يجيد الرد
والمسلمون يسيؤون الرسول صباح مساء
The best answer would be not to answer because most of us (Muslims) are not good at answering such abuse. In addition, we Muslims do abuse our Prophet day and night (by not applying his teachings).
A few commentators focused on specific aspects of Islam as the best way to answer such abuses. For example, Tarek says:
أفصل طريقة للرد هي المداومة على صلاة الجماعة فوالله ليس هناك أكثر ما يخيف أعداء الإسلام غير الانتظام للصلاة جماعة فهي عماد الأمر
The best way to answer is to make a point of attending the Friday prayer, because, by God, there’s nothing that scares enemies of Islam more than mass prayer for it is the pillar of Islam.
Abou Abd El-Barri thinks the best way is for all Muslim women to wear the veil:
بسم الله والصلاة السلام علي خير البشر أجمعين اما بعد: فخير طريقة للرد لبس بناتنا الحجاب وعدم ابراز الصدر والارداف ان كتم تحبون الله والرسول
The best to answer is for all our daughters to wear the veil and not expose their bosoms and legs if you really love Allah and his Prophet.
Alaidrous, from Kolea in Algiers, thinks that the Salafis adopt a double standard in the way they deal with such things, he says:
قال تعالى ..قاتلوا الذين يلونكم من الكفار وليجدوا فيكم غلظة……يبدوا ان دعاة السلفية الذين كثيرا ما اطلو علينا بخطابات نارية اذا ما تعلق الامر بالشيعة لم يجدوا غطاء اخر لخذلهم للمسلمين..هذا طبعا بعد سقوط تميمتهم المعتادة في وجوب عبادة السلاطين والحكام وقيام ثوراث ضد عبدة دعاة السلفية….لم يجدوا الا عبارات للالتواء على الراى العام في العالم الاسلاميفانا منذ يومين يطرق سمعي عبارة..انصر نبيك باتباع سنته..طبعا هده العبارة هي كلمة حق اريد بها باطل…هؤلاء المتمسلفة كما عودونا دائما وجه للانخذال وخ
Allah says: “O ye who believe! Fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you: and know that Allah is with those who fear Him”. It seems that these Salafi preachers who systematically grace us with inflammatory discourses about the Shia, after failing in their endeavours to convince us of the duty to worship kings and rulers and the revolutions against worshipers of Salafi preachers, found nothing but slogans to offer to the Muslim public opinion. Two days ago, I heard the phrase: “Support your Prophet by following his path”. This is of course a word of truth but it hides sinister intentions. These Salafis, like they’ve always accustomed us, are the epitome of humiliation.
On another front, Asma is angry at the Algerian government for failing to uphold the Constitution:
أناجزائرية حكومتي مبنية على دستور من ثاني بنود هدا الدستور الدين الاسلامي وحكومتي هي المدافعة عن الدستور الدي يمثلني و أنا اخترتها لتدافع عني فأين حكومتي ونار الغضب تلهب صدري اين حكومتي و قد ضربت في دستورها اين حكومتي و قد أخجلتني أمام خلق الله أنا أتبرأ من حكومتي فبأس الحكومة حكومتي أنا لاتمثلني حكومتي
I am Algerian. My government is based on a constitution whose second article declares that Islam is the religion of the State. My government should defend this constitution, which represents me and I chose this government to defend me, so where is this government when the fire of anger is burning within my chest? Where is this government when it’s been hit in its constitution? Where is this government which has embarrassed me in front of all Allah’s creatures. I disown this government, it is the worst government and it does not represent me.
Abdel Qader, from Adrar, sees in this a conspiracy to push Algerian people to revolt. He says:
هذه القضية مدورسة وهذا لنتفاضة الشعوب الاسلامية المتبقية علئ حكوماتها وخاصة الجزائر لان شعباها رفض تعبير با العنف والتغير من طرفا املاءات من طرف الخارج ولانه شعب ضاق المرة في العشرة السودا والحل هو مقاطعة البضائع المستوردة من كل الدول الامريكية والاوربية وخاصة فرنسا ومقاطعة السياسة والاعتماد على النفس……
This affair was well-planned and aimed to push the Muslim peoples who have not yet revolted against their governments to do so. In particular, Algeria, as its people refused change through violence and foreign dictates, and because its people have experienced the worst during the black decade. The solution is to boycott all American and European products, especially France and to boycott politics and rely only on ourselves.

author: algerianna


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Angola: Comedic Complaints About Stereotypes, Cost of Living · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Screenshot from Delvino's video post
Delvino Funetii, Angola's young video blogger who has been entertaining people for a year on Youtube, posted his first video in English. He first complains about stereotypes of African men as repair superheroes, and goes into a diatribe about the sudden price increase of his neighbor's cakes by four times. (Luanda is notorious for its cost of living.)

author: Janet Gunter


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: “Lost Time” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Amila Bosnae writes about the years “stolen” by the war in the former Yugoslavia:
You lose a couple of years once, and twenty years later, you still haven’t caught up. […] Time stopped for us in a way, then. I didn’t even grow at all for the better part of those years because there was nothing to grow from. We were isolated from the world, but the world just kept on going without us. Possibly still celebrating the reunification of Germany and a new Europe while we were running for cover. In new Europe. […]


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Counter of Syrian War Victims Installed in Bulgarian Capital · Global Voices
Ruslan Trad

“Support Syrian bloggers and activists” Facebook page published a photo of the counter of victims and refugees of the war in Syria, which has recently been installed by CommonStep Association in the center of Bulgaria's capital Sofia. The online counter can be found on CommonStep's website.

author: Ruslan Trad


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Egypt’s Opposition to Boycott Constitution Referendum Vote · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egypt's opposition coalition the National Salvation Front said tonight (Dec 9, 2012) they would boycott a referendum on a new constitution, scheduled for Saturday (Dec 15, 2012). Their rejection for the new constitution comes amid protests against the country's newly elected president Mohammed Morsi, who is accused of grabbing too much power for himself as well as curtailing freedoms.
This comes after two weeks of street battles between protestors and Muslim Brotherhood militias and supporters, who support Morsi.
Although Morsi had scrapped the presidential decree he issued which gave him absolute powers and fermented the most recent unrest, his insistence on a referendum on a controversial constitution is being met with fresh calls for protests.
Zeinobia blogs at Egyptian Chronicles:
I was going to vote No in the Constitution referendum , I refuse this disfigured draft constitution but after what happened on Wednesday from violence , torture and constant lying now I got a trust issue.
Regardless of what the MB claims now , how can I trust them as ruling party in the referendum !? How can I trust people like them when it comes to referendum's results !?
Another thing it is good that the new Constitution declaration stated that in case the people rejected the Constitution draft , we will have to elect a new Constituent assembly directly. Yet unfortunately it did not say how we are going to elect that assembly , on what bases and on what mechanism. I am speaking about a referendum that will take place after 6 days allegedly , there should be more clear steps.
The Constitution referendum should be delayed and a real national dialogue should be held. Egyptians killed Egyptians last Wednesday for God sake !!
On Twitter, many, however, see that boycotting the referendum is not the answer to Egypt's political stand off.
Amira Howeidy tweets:
@amirahoweidy:  Egypt 2011: Brotherhood: mobilize and win. The rest: boycott and lose. Egypt 2012: ibid. #yawn
Dalia Ezzat notes:
@DaliaEzzat_: Lessons never learned by the opposition : boycotting everything doesn't work. You end up losing. #Fact #Egypt
Ahmed Ezzat advices [ar]:
الناس اللي هتقاطع الاستفتاء والناس اللي هتصوت بلا …لو توحدتم حول موقف واحد سيكون أفضل بكثير، وامكانيات الانتصار ستكون أعلى.
@ahmed3zat: To the people who will boycott and those who will vote No: if you joined forces and unified under one stance, it will be better and the possibility of success will be higher
And Noha Abd El Raouf offers more advice:
@NouRaouf: Let's not Boycott the referendum if this was our last option, Let's have awareness campaigns to explain why we shud vote No #Egypt

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Jordan’s Season to Give  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A season to give. Photograph shared on Twitter by @AliDahmash
Jordanian Ali Dahmash tweets this photograph and writes:
@AliDahmash: Drop boxes at the gym, simple idea that can be done in every place in #Amman #Jo


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Lebanese Telecom Minister Launches Controversial #ProtectPrivacy Campaign · Global Voices
Nada

Calling for public support online is more often done by civil society activists than by government officials. On Monday December 3rd, 2012, it was Lebanese Minister of Telecommunications Nicolas Sehnaoui who called for help, asking people to mobilize in the name of Internet privacy. In a Facebook post, he said he had just refused to hand over the personal information of Lebanese citizens to the Internal Security Forces (ISF):
Tonight, for the sake of our Privacy, I am calling for your support.
A call to all bloggers, e-journalists, Tweeters and Facebook Users and all members of our Social Media Community. Our Internet Privacy as Lebanese People is at stake.
Today I took a decision and refused a request from “Fer3 Ma3loumet” [information department] demanding content of all SMS
as well as username and password of all data sessions, BBM Webmail of 4 Million Lebanese.
This request is unacceptable, illogical and cannot be justified. We cannot solve a crime by committing another crime.
The decision is now in the hands of the Council Of Ministers and this is where I need your support.
I need you to share awareness everywhere to put pressure on all Members of the Council and stop this invasion of our Privacy.
RT, SHARE, EMAIL, BLOG. Use ANY means you find fit to say “As a Lebanese Citizen I refuse to give up on my Internet Privacy”
The ISF allegedly needs this information in the context of investigations on a number of attempted assassinations and security incidents that shook the country in recent years. The most recent episode was the killing of Lebanon's chief intelligence chief Wissam Al Hassan, in a bomb explosion, which claimed the lives of eight people and wounded around 80 in October 2012.
Many responded to the call in support of the Minister and expressed their outrage at the ISF:
Micha Kandalaft tweets:
@michakandalaft: Privacy:the right 2 determine when, how, and to whom, one's personal info 2 b revealed AND IT'S MINE @NicolaSehnaoui #ProtectPrivacy
And Mohamad Shaer adds:
@mohdalishaer: hey ISF u may be able to outsmart part of the people but definitely not a whole population. my passwd:nonofurbusiness #protectprivacy
Within hours, it quickly became a full-fledged campaign under the hashtag #ProtectPrivacy. Sehnaoui retweeted every one of those messages, and declared he would be taking the tweets to the Council of Ministers.
@NicolaSehnaoui: I give you my word that I will be printing all the #ProtectPrivacy tweets and taking them with me to the Council of Ministers
Bloggers joined the chorus, denouncing a worrying invasion of privacy.
Abir Ghattas warns:
(…) it is not OK under the name of National security to invade my privacy and break the law, in the end that is how most dictatorships start.
However, others were skeptical about the politician’s claims.
In his blog, Mohammed Najm points out:
The dates requesting the username, name, address, passwords for emails, phone app, VOIP,.. are July and August? If this is the case, why did you wait from July and August to December 3 to start a just campaign against the illegal ISF request?
What was the Lebanese Government reply to these previous requests? And why we didn't know about it back then?
Indeed, documents about the data request in questions published by news website al Nashra [ar] date back to August 2012, and so far, there has been no trace of more recent requests.
On the other hand, some Lebanese see it as a case of Privacy vs. Security, and they want Security first. Elie Fares explains his choice in a blogpost:
As a Lebanese citizen, I don’t care about someone getting controlled access to my privacy if it meant I don’t have to die for finishing work at 3 p.m on a Friday. #ProtectPrivacy? Honestly, I’d rather #ProtectSafety first and foremost.
In a similar perspective, Wassim Labban tweets:
@Wlabban: @NicolaSehnaoui Please collaborate in protecting our life as a first step so that we can live then have privacy to protect #ProtectPrivacy
And Sara Assaf writes:
@SaraAssaf: Believe it or not, unless u killed Al Hassan, Ashraf Rifi doesn't give a damn about ur private SMS chats! #ProtectPeople vs #ProtectPrivacy
It is worth noting that the ISF in Lebanon is perceived as being under the influence of the March 14 political coalition, whereas Sehnaoui belongs to the rival camp known as March 8. Direct and indirect attacks are frequent between the two factions, and debates on local issues are undeniably affected by the spectrum of political allegiances. The affair is currently in the hands of the Council of Ministers. By Tuesday evening, Minister Sehnaoui announced the following on Twitter and Facebook:
@NicolaSehnaoui: The issue was not enlisted on today's Council of Ministers Agenda. Hopefully it will be discussed next Wednesday. #ProtectPrivacy

author: Nada


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Mock Bride-Kidnapping in Kyrgyz Capital · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Despite the recent introduction of harsher penalties for bride kidnapping and the efforts of civil society to tackle the practice, the centuries-old tradition is still widely practiced in Kyrgyzstan. Blogger Ilya Karimjanov writes [ru] about a recent mock abduction of a young girl in the center of Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek:
[D]espite the [girl's] cries for help and the clearly illegal and rude behavior of [the purported abductors], not a single person rushed to help [the girl] or called the police… Several young men watched the incident with interest. Some men discussed: “What is it? [Bride kidnapping]? It means there will be a wedding!”

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Regional Bloggers Attend Blogomanija Conference in Serbia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dozens of bloggers [sr] from Serbia, as well as from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia, attended Blogomanija [sr], a regional blogging conference that was held in Serbia on Dec. 7-9. Among other things, they discussed [sr] the impact of blogs and social networks on social and political life in Serbia and the region.


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Saudi Activist: “Public Trial Reveals Their Mentality and Lack of Evidence” · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

The eighth hearing session of one of Saudi Arabia's first public trials of two prominent human rights activists Mohammad Al-Qahtani and Abdullah Al-Hamid was held today [Dec 8, 2012] at the Riyadh Criminal Court. In the last hearing session, the public prosecutor responded to their defense, and today, the defendants provided additional defense. Ninety supporters attended the session, including three women and correspondents from Al Jazeera and Sky News.
At the very beginning of the session, the judge ordered the arrest of female journalist Iman al-Qahtani for “providing false information to the court.” In the previous session, she showed a journalist identification from al-Haya newspaper where she used to work. The judge said that al-Haya correspondent was present and that he told him that she no longer works there. She responded that she had not claimed that her attendance was to represent al-Haya, but she had, in fact, obtained her id from them. Dr. al-Qahtani said that the judge himself presented false tweets provided by the secret police last session and that he should punish himself first. By the end of the session, the judge decided to cancel the arrest order after a long debate.
Al-Hamid (second from left) speaking after the session. via @alajmi01
The judge also threatened, at the beginning of the session, to arrest the two activists if any of the attendees violated courtroom order. This comes after attendees’ warm applause for al-Hamid's remarks in the last hearing session. When Dr. al-Hamid objected, the judge said: “they are all your supporters!”
When the judge tried to ask Dr. al-Qahtani about some of his tweets, he refused to answer. The judge said that he had evidences that this was really his Twitter account: “it has your name and photo.”
آرائي واضحة، لكن لا تطلب مني الإفصاح عن حسابي على توتير لأن هذا ينتهك حرية التعبير…أنا لا أعترض من أجل نفسي ولكن من أجل الشباب الذين سيختطفون غدًا من أجل كتابة
My opinions are clear, so do not ask me to reveal my Twitter account, because this violates freedom of expression…I do not object for my own benefit, but for the benefit of young people that will be kidnapped because of some writing.
Dr. al-Hamid then started reading his defense. Responding to the “misspelling charge” (detailed in the post about the previous session), he said that it was normal for the public prosecutor, “being an employee of the repressive interior ministry”, to use the same techniques to distort activists. “Thanks god for the public trial that reveals their mentality and poor evidence.” Furthermore he said that any religious institution that fails to stand against totalitarianism “must be questioned.”
المُلك السعودي جائر لأنه جبري مستبد، أما الملك فقد ورث نظاما مستبدا وأملنا بعد وفاة وزير الداخلية: إن أوفى بوعده بأنه “سيضرب الظلم بسيف العدالة” فهو عادل، وإن أخلف فهو سلطان جائر.
The Saudi kingdom is repressive and suppressive, but the king himself only inherited this repressive regime and our hope is after the death of the interior minster. If he commits to what he promised, “to fight injustice with the justice sword, then he is just. If he doesn't, he is unjust.
On his views on Saudi judiciary:
إن القضاء السعودي لا ينصف الناس حقوقهم، ولا سيما الحقوق السياسية. هذا غير متوقع، لكنه مأمول. وهذا رأي، هل تحاكمون الناس على آرائهم؟
Saudi judiciary does not grant people's rights, and especially their political rights. We do not expect it, but we wish it. That is an opinion. Do you prosecute people for their opinions?
He concluded by saying:
التهم سخيفة…لكني رددت ليعرف الناس أسلوب المدعي العام في الغرف المظلمة وتركيزه على الثانويات وابتعاده عن الأساسيات.
The charges are absurd…but I responded so people can see what the public prosecutor does in dark [secret] courtrooms and his focus on secondary issues, instead of the main ones.
The public prosecutor made a few remarks after the two activists had read their defenses. He said that only a recognizable religious scholar can criticize the state Council of Ulema, not a literature graduate, referring to Dr. al-Hamid.
At the end of the session, the defendants asked for more time so they can provide more responses, but the judge refused and set the next hearing session for next Saturday, 15 December.

author: Anas Soliman


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Searching for Chingis Khan’s Tomb in Mongolia · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Although Chingis Khan (aka Genghis Khan), the ‘world's most famous conqueror‘, didn't want anybody to know where he was buried, people have stubbornly searched for his burial place for centuries. As Don Croner explains:
[M]any assume that [Chingis Khan] must have been buried with a huge amount of treasure which would have an immense historical – to say nothing of monetary – value.


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Slovak Government Keeps Paying Millions for Microsoft Products · Global Voices
Tibor Blazko

Every year, the Slovak state pays about 200 Euros per computer for a license allowing the use of the newest Microsoft products and services.
Activist Štefan Szilva has collected information [pdf, sk] about 30 percent of the 82,000 ‘state-owned computers’. From it, the IT website dsl.sk has computed this statistics [sk]: 76.4 percent of PCs have Windows XP (released in 2001) and 50.2 percent of PCs have MS Office 2003.
Despite the campaign [sk] organized by Szilva and The Society for Open Information Technologies (SOIT), and despite the appeals of Aliancia Fair-Play [sk], the current government is refusing [sk] to search for a more effective solution.

author: Tibor Blazko


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Tweets are Bittersweet for Popular Kyrgyz MP · Global Voices
Asel Tursunbekova

A Kyrgyz lawmaker has kick-started a debate in Kyrgyzstan about when journalists should and shouldn't be able to quote a Twitter feed to inform a news report. Shirin Aimatova, currently from the Ata-Meken faction, was outraged when local news blog and citizen media portal Kloop.kg cited her tweets during the latest parliamentary crisis in the country. Aitmatova argues that  her tweets were used without permission and fished from her “private” and now discontinued twitter account @thelostroom.
Shirin Aitmatova, Kyrgyzstani MP. Image used with her permission.
Aitmatova was famed for tweeting missives from the parliament in real time, but is apparently selective in terms of who can and can't relay those tweets. Aitmatova's “unofficial” and “private” account was followed by over 1,200 people, some of whom she had never met in person. On this occasion, her tweets concerned the potential collapse of the country's government.
The editorial team of kloop.kg responded [ru] to Shirin Aitmatova's complaint with an official reply. The response's author, Bektour Iskender, argues that Shirin Aitmatova, just like any other Kyrgyz politician, should be considered a public figure. Correspondingly, information that she publishes through her twitter account can be viewed as being in the public interest, especially when it concerns a public even rather than her private life. Iskender emphasized [ru]:
Интернет — это всего лишь новая плоскость в коммуникациях, и правила и законы в нём остаются такими же, как в оффлайновом мире.
The Internet is just a new platform for communications; the rules and laws in it remain the same as in the offline world.
A ‘burglary’
The confrontation between a popular media portal and a well-liked MP with a large online following did not go unnoticed by Kyrgyz netizens. Public opinion was split into two camps, roughly mirroring the tension between a journalist's duty to the public interest and a famous personality's right to privacy.
One commenter, J.S., made a rude comparison [ru] between Kloop's actions and a burglary.
Публикация Kloop — вульгарное вторжение в частную жизнь, а предложение редакции к открытию дискуссии по своему проступку — равносильно поиску оправдания кражи вещи из дома, в который вы были вхожи, как гость.
The publication by Kloop is a vulgar invasion of privacy, and the call to open a discussion about their misdemeanor is equivalent to looking for justification having stolen things from the house where you have been a guest.
But Reclaim Specialist disagreed [ru]:
Правильно, если написали то дело журналиста опубликовать это
This is correct, if something was written then it is a journalist's job to publish it.
Erica Marat, a Kyrgyzstani political scientist and expert on security issues in Central Asia called [ru] on Twitter for reporting restraint:
Мне кажется, что Клооп переборщил с твиттером Айтматовой. Хорошая журналистика не может строиться только на твитах закрытого аккаунта.
I think Kloop went too far with Aitmatova's twitter. Good journalism cannot be based on tweets from a closed account alone.
In the event Kloop's coverage of the coalition's near-collapse consisted of more than just Aitmatova's tweets. But debate about Twitter journalism continued to rage the following day, unsurprisingly, on Twitter, with interesting perspectives in English from @linarzairov , @bektour and @skyblue_kate.
Off Twitter
Then on December 5, hot on the heels of the row,  Aitmatova deleted [ru] her Twitter account, claiming that she had “got tired” of the micro-blogging service, thereby robbing Kyrgyz netizens of a direct line to the legislature.
Nevertheless, while Aitmatova is well regarded as a straight-talking MP, a defender of children's rights and the daughter of Kyrgyzstan's most famous author, she is not well known for her consistency. On November 29, for instance, @azat25 retweeted [ru] her apparent decision to leave her parliamentary faction Ata-Meken:
вчера я поняла, что несмотря на мое уважение и фанатизм к персоне Текебаева, я не могу оставаться во фракции
Yesterday I understood that despite my respect and fanaticism for [faction leader] Tekebayev, I cannot remain in the party [Ata-Meken].
The following day, Aitmatova announced [ru]: “the announcement of my exit from the party is premature”.
Netizens will be hoping she performs a similar u-turn over her Twitter participation. Lazat Takyrbashova, for instance, was one of many netizens who suggested [ru] that the sheer addictiveness of the social network would see her return for her fix.
тож думаю, скоро вернется. Долго не сможет…
I think she'll be back soon. She won't last long…

author: Asel Tursunbekova


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Bahrain: Mahazza Village Still Under Siege · Global Voices
Mona Kareem

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011/2012.
For almost a month in Bahrain, the village of Mahazza in Sitra has been under a security siege by the country's Interior Ministry. With the absence of free media in the country, citizen journalism, once again, was the only means of getting reports on what was happening on the ground. Through Facebook and Twitter, Bahrainis have posted their rallies in support of Mahazza and shared information about raids on houses and many arrests. In an event in solidarity with Mahazza, Al-Wefaq opposition bloc stated on December 2, 2012, that there have been more than 90 arrests and around 330 house raids until that date. The numbers have gone up since then.
Protesting the Siege
After a series of raids on houses and illegal arrests, the residents of Mahazza decided to be in an open protest as their village fights the security siege. On November 29, this video shows an attack with tear gas by the riot police against the residents of the village (posted by RevolutionBahrain):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5mfuzmsrUk
In return, villages around Bahrain held their protests in solidarity with Mahazza. This video was posted by nabihsalehmedia on YouTube showing the residents of Nabih Saleh protesting and chanting “Down with Hamad” – Hamad being the name of the king of Bahrain. The video also shows riot police throwing tear gas on protesters:
This picture shows women in Mahazza protesting the siege:
Posted by “Mahazza village Network” on Facebook
Another protest took place in Bilad Al-Qadeem
Posted by @BiladAlQadeem
In Sanad, protesters burned tires and blocked Istiqlal street in protest of the siege on Mahazza and against the trial of opposition figures:
Posted by @taha9988
Solidarity on Twitter
Through Twitter, a “media campaign” was launched to generate attention to what is happening in Mahazza. This poster circulated online declared a week of solidarity with the Bahraini village starting on December 2.
(Posted by @ModmorSupport)
The following pictures were posted to give information about the situation in Mahazza:
Posted by @AlModmor
Posted by @AlModmor
The picture states that posters have been posted on walls in Bahrain regarding the media solidarity week with Mahazza:
Posted by @Tailos0
Cartoonist Ali AlBazaz posted this work on Twitter mocking the Bahraini regime and its way of applying international recommendations to respect human rights:
Posted by @bazzaz32
Continuous Arrests
Since early November, Bahrainis have been sharing the pictures of the first detainees of Mahazza who have been arrested weeks ago and there is still no official information is given about them. To emphasize the illegality of arrests, the detainees are considered to be “kidnapped” since they have been taken with no legal orders and their families are still hoping for news. Here's the most shared picture of the first five detainees:
Posted by @Feb14Media
Another shared picture was of this young girl who is the daughter of Talib Ali, one of the five detainees. Her sign says “Where is my dad?” and the writing on her cake reads “Will I celebrate my birthday without you dad?”
Posted by @a7rar_sitra
After the recent visit of the United Nations Human Rights Council to Bahrain, activist Said Yousef Almuhafda from Bahrain Center from Human Rights, wrote on Twitter:
و نطالب وفد المفوضية بالضغط على النظام من اجل الكشف عن المختطفين من قرية مهزة و السماح للمعتقلين المرضى المحرومين من العلاج بحقهم في العلاج

@SAIDYOUSIF: We demand the UNHRC to pressure the regime to unveil information about those kidnapped from Mahazzaa village and to allow the injured detainees to get their right to medication.
With no political solution on the table, protests and security crackdowns continue.
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011/2012.

author: Mona Kareem


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‘The Economist’ Accused of Hacking by Bangladesh’s War Crimes Tribunal  · Global Voices
Rezwan

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) is an ongoing tribunal in Bangladesh that was set up to investigate and provide justice regarding the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.
On 6 December, 2012 the war crimes tribunal accused The Economist magazine of hacking and asked it to explain how it got emails and heard Skype conversations between Presiding Judge Mohammed Nizamul Huq and Mr. Ahmed Ziauddin, a war crimes expert of Bangladeshi origin living in Brussels, Belgium. The two individuals have known each other for 25 years. The court ruling accused the Economist of “interfering into the work of the tribunal and violating the privacy of its presiding judge” as the magazine contacted the judge directly about the conversations.
On 8 December, 2012, The Economist responded with a blog post where it claimed that it had “heard 17 hours of recorded telephone conversations and seen over 230 e-mails between the two men”. They also published a short account of their dealings with Mr Huq and Mr Ahmed. The situation escalated when a local daily Amar Desh [bn] published some transcript of the conversations. That material was sourced from a ‘foreign country’, the report suggests.
Amnesty for 1971 war criminals
The Bangladesh government claims up to three million people were killed and between 200,000 and 400,000 women were raped by Pakistani Army and local collaborators in one of the worst genocides in the history of mankind.
According to a tri-patriate agreement between Bangladesh-Pakistan-India in 1974, 195 Pakistani prisoners of war were handed over to Pakistan from Bangladesh pending trial and Pakistan never prosecuted them. A War Crimes Fact Finding Committee revealed that the local collaborators of the Pakistani army were involved in at least 53 types of crimes. Among the local collaborators were a large number of members of Jamaat-e-Islami, one of the largest Islamic parties of the subcontinent, who opposed Bangladesh and sided with Pakistan during the war. In an effort towards national reconciliation the Government announced amnesty (pdf) to those who had been convicted or accused of offences under the Collaborators Order (1972), except those accused of murder, rape or arson. Later all prosecutions were stopped and all the accused were released leaving a scar on the society who believe that justice was not done.
1971 war crimes and amnesty revisited in 2010
Girls carry placards of painted pictures of alleged war criminals demanding a quick trial. Image by Rehman Asad. Copyright Demotix (30/11/2012)
The ruling Bangladesh Awami League formed the ICT on 25 March 2010 by amending some aspects of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 of Bangladesh and the trial of war criminals was one of their election pledges. The tribunal is currently trying 10 individuals including several Jamaat leaders on charges of arson, rape and other atrocities committed during the 1971 war.
The ICT has been criticized by a number of human rights organization for certain flaws in the tribunal, they raised concerns about fair and impartial proceedings. On the other hand civil society in Bangladesh accused Jamaat-e-Islami for spending millions of dollars for lobbying against the ICT in several countries including USA and the UK. Jamaat is also conducting street protests across the country to stop the trial of their leaders, often using violent means such as attacks against the police.
The Economist's involvement in the Tribunal
The blogosphere erupted with reactions after the news that The Economist magazine had been accused of hacking emails and Skype conversations between Presiding Judge Mohammed Nizamul Huq and war crimes expert Mr. Ahmed Ziauddin. Aunarjo Sangeet asked:
বিচারকের কথা/আলোচনা তাঁর অনুমতি ছাড়া কেন রেকর্ড/হ্যাক/প্রচার করা হবে? এই প্রশ্নটির জবাব নিশ্চয়ই মাননীয় আদালত চাইবেন। বাংলাদেশের আইনানুযায়ী (এবং ব্রিটিনের আইনেও) হ্যাকিং শাস্তিযোগ্য অপরাধ।
প্রশ্ন হচ্ছে এরা কতদিন থেকে সক্রিয়? জামায়াতের হ্যাকাররা কতদিন থেকে হ্যাকিং করছে?
Why was the private conversation of a judge recorded/hacked or published without his consent? The respected court should certainly ask why. Hacking is a punishable offence in Bangladesh (as well as in UK).
The question is how long were they active? How much infringement of privacy was done by Jamaat hackers?
This investigative post [bn] reveals the suspicious activity of a pro-Jamaat Facebook page titled ‘Awami Tribunal’ which has been publishing the audio and videos of the Skype conversations hosted in Facebook and YouTube long before the local newspaper published it.
David Bergman, a journalist covering the ICT questions in his own blog “Would Economist publication of Tribunal e-mails be in breach of Editors Code?” He comments:
So whether or not the Economist would be in breach of the Editors code in the publication of these e-mail communication depends upon whether there is a strong enough public interest in their publication, and that depends upon how serious the level of impropriety the published communication shows.
He adds in another post:
There are many in the government, and amongst its supporters, who think that the Economist has it in for the Awami League government. This is principally because of an article which claimed that the Awami League government won the last elections with ‘bags of Indian cash and advice‘ (without putting forward any evidence). It has also been consistently critical of the war crimes trials.
Bloggers also discussed whether there is enough public interest in the disclosed conversations which dealt with mainly personal affairs and some discussions on the trial.
The former Jamaat chief Gulam Azam is taken to the Dhaka Central Jail as per the order of the tribunal. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (11/1/2012)
Pritom Das comments [bn]:
আহমেদ জিয়াউদ্দিন এবং নিজামুল হক নাসিম দুইজনেই চাইছেন সরকারের তাগাদা অনুযায়ী তাড়াহুড়ো না করে একটু সময় নিয়েই কাজ শেষ করতে। একাধিকবার তারা ‘ফেয়ার ট্রায়াল’ নিশ্চিত করার কথা উল্লেখ করেছেন।
Both Ahmed Ziauddin and Ziaul Haque Nasim suggested that the trial should not proceed hastily as per government's request, proper time should be given. They have talked about a ‘fair trial’ a number of times.
Arif Jebtik writes [bn]:
ড.জিয়াউদ্দিন কোনো দলের নেতা কিংবা কর্মী নন, একেবারে আন্তর্জাতিকভাবে খ্যাতিসম্পন্ন একজন আইনজীবী যার মূল এক্সপার্টিজ ও আগ্রহের জায়গা হচ্ছে যুদ্ধাপরাধ। তিনি যদি আদৌ এরকম কথোপকথনে অংশ নিয়ে থাকেন, তাহলে সেটি ট্রাইবুনালকে আন্তর্জাতিক গ্রহণযোগ্যতা এবং সঠিক মান অর্জনে সহায়তা করার উদ্দেশ্য থেকেই করেছেন- এজন্য তিনি সাধুবাদ প্রাপ্য।
Dr. Ziauddin is not a political activist or leader, rather an internationally reputed lawyer with specialization in war crimes. If he engages in such conversation, that would only to help maintain the quality of the tribunal – so he should be commended.
গোটা আলোচনার স্ক্রিপ্ট নামে যে দীর্ঘ লেখাটি আমারদেশ পত্রিকায় প্রকাশিত হয়েছে তার অধিকাংশই ব্যক্তিগত আলোচনায় ভরপুর। একই সঙ্গে দুই আইনের মানুষ নিজেদের মধ্যে দেশের এবং আন্তর্জাতিক বিভিন্ন আইন আদালতের খবর নিয়ে আলোচনা করেছেন। এরকম আলাপের মাঝে আমি দোষ দেখি না।
The long transcript published in the Daily Amar Desh was filled with personal affairs. The both men of law discussed different issues of trials of home and abroad. I don't see any discrepancy.
It remains to be seen whether the Economist will publish the story and whether this will have any impact on the Tribunal.

author: Rezwan


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Bulgarian PM Takes a Nap at Nobel Peace Prize Event · Global Voices
Rayna St.

On his Facebook page, Dimitar Vuchev  posts a screenshot [bg] from the livestreaming of today's Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony, featuring the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in what looks like a peaceful nap:
“Sleeping Beauty at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony,” reads the caption on Vuchev's profile.

author: Rayna St.


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Colombia: Cali Organises Its Third Barcamp · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

[All links lead to Spanish language websites unless otherwise noted]
On Monday, December 17, 2012 the third edition of Barcamp Cali, a Free Culture event organised in the city of Cali, Colombia, by DELM Cali and the Universidad Autónoma de Occidente will take place, with the participation of communities such as Fosschix Colombia, Fundación Casa del Bosque, PrimeCom and Trueque Digital. Here is an extract from the invitation made via the event's blog:
Se preguntarán ustedes que es un “Barcamp” es muy sencillo, es un espacio en el cual se comparte conocimiento de manera libre, abierta y participativa, en temas relacionados con las TIC a través de charlas voluntarias llamadas “desconferencias” […] lo que hay es gente dispuesta a compartir lo que sabe y también dispuesta a escuchar lo que uno sabe.
You may be wondering what a ‘Barcamp’ is; it's very simple, it's a place where knowledge can be shared freely, openly and in a participatory way, on topics related with ICTs [Information and Communication Technologies, en] across voluntary presentations called ‘unconferences'… there are people willing to share what they know and also willing to listen to what others know.
The event has created a buzz among netizens in Cali, who have been tweeting about it, like Luis RoDevia (@luisrodevia):
@luisrodevia: Me encantan estas iniciativas #barcampcali3 @barcampcalico http://barcampcali.co/blog/  #Cali
@luisrodevia: I love these initiatives #barcampcali3 @barcampcalico http://barcampcali.co/blog/ #Cali
Barcamp Cali, 2nd Edition (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Nelson Adrián Franco (@NelsonAdrianF), one of the organisers, pointed out:
@NelsonAdrianF:  A los que les gusta compartir software, arte y contenidos culturales no se puede perder #Barcampcali3 cc @barcampcalico
@NelsonAdrianF:  Those who like sharing software, art and cultural content can't miss #Barcampcali3 cc @barcampcalico
While Lina María (@LinaMaO) commented:
@LinaMaO:  Oye que cool va el Profe Julio a @barcampcalico http://barcampcali.co/2012/el-profe-julio-presente-en-el-3er-barcamp-cali/ … jeje no se imaginan las clases de calculo que le he visto xD
@LinaMaO: Hey, how cool is it that Prof Julio will go to @barcampcalico http://barcampcali.co/2012/el-profe-julio-presente-en-el-3er-barcamp-cali/ … hehe you can't imagine the calculus classes that I have seen xD
She is referring to the teacher and engineer from Cali, Julio Alberto Ríos Gallego, better known as ‘Profe Julio’ on YouTube, where he is very popular (almost a kind of star); and what is unusual is that he has done it in fields like physics and maths, ones that are so unattractive at first sight for users of that platform. The Barcamp's blog explains [es]:
Lo que comenzó en el 2009 como una opción para complementar las clases que dictaba un colegio, en poco tiempo se convirtió en todo un fenómeno en internet, el canal de Youtube julioprofe tiene 82,673 suscriptores, siendo el tercer canal más popular del país de la plataforma de videos. Sus videos han sido reproducidos más de 35 millones de veces, la comunidad atrás del ‘Profe Julio’ la integran usuarios de los 5 continentes.
What started in 2009 as an option to complement the classes that a school delivered became an Internet phenomenon in no time at all; YouTube channel julioprofe has 82,673 subscribers, being the third-most popular channel in the country on the video-sharing website. His videos have been played more than 35 million times, with users from five continents making up the community behind ‘Profe Julio’.
Barcamp Cali, 2nd Edition (CC BY-SA 3.0)
As was previously mentioned, the free software female community Fosschix Colombia will actively participate in the event, and one of its members, Liz García, will give an ‘unconference’ about the empowerment of free software and gender. The Barcamp's blog writes the following about Fosschix:
Esta comunidad viene trabajando desde hace 3 años en motivar a las mujeres para que participen y se inicien en el mundo del software libre ya sea en el desarrollo, investigación o difusión y hagan parte activa de la Cultura Libre. Hace poco organizaron con éxito en Bogotá el I Congreso Nacional de Mujeres, Tecnología y Cultura Libre.
This community has been working for three years to motivate women so that they participate and get started in the world of free software, whether it be in development, investigation or dissemination, and that they become actively engaged with Free Culture. Not long ago they successfully organised the first National Congress of Women, Technology and Free Culture in Bogotá.
It is worth pointing out that about 100 people attended the first edition of Barcamp Cali, while some 300 attended the second. The attendance this year is expected to be the same or greater. You can follow news about Barcamp Cali on Facebook, on its Twitter account (@barcampcalico), or under the hashtag #barcampcali3.

author: Juan Arellano


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Interview with Maksim Kononenko: Russian Non-Oppositionist Blogging · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

In connection with a larger research paper, I recently emailed with Maksim Kononenko (@kononenkome), to learn more about his views on “non-oppositionist” blogging and online social movements. Kononenko is widely considered to be one of the RuNet’s pioneers, and has worked as a publicist, a columnist, a programmer, and a television host, among other things. He is a self-described “liberal,” though his political positions place him squarely outside the Russian opposition.
Many thanks to Maksim Vitalyevich for taking the time to answer my questions! (Thanks also to RuNet Echo colleague Andrey Tselikov for polishing my questions in Russian.) I hope readers enjoy our conversation as much as I did.
Maksim Kononenko, photo by M.K., used with permission.
Kevin Rothrock: Greetings, Maksim Vitalyevich! I'm trying to understand if it's possible to argue that non-oppositionist bloggers in Russia constitute a social movement. Scholars and journalists generally assume that the non-establishment Russian opposition is a social movement, however splintered and weak. I want to know what can be said of their online adversaries.
One of the most famous definitions of social movements belongs to Charles Tilly. He argued that social movements combine the following factors:
1. A sustained, organized public effort making collective claims on target audiences: a campaign
2. Employment of combinations from among the following forms of political action: creation of special purpose associations and coalitions, public meetings, solemn processions, vigils, rallies, demonstrations, petition drives, statements to and in public media, and pamphleteering: the social-movement's repertoire
3. Participants’ concerted public representations of worthiness, unity, numbers and commitment (WUNC) on the part of themselves and/or their constituencies: WUNC displays
Question One.
Do you think Tilly's definition [of a social movement] characterizes your work as a blogger? Or maybe just a part of his concept relates to your work? Or are the Tilly's factors entirely unconnected to your blogging?
I assume that Tilly's definition isn't a perfect match, especially since political blogging is a relatively new phenomenon, done online and not on the street, where traditional “movement” activity takes place. So, even if you think most of Tilly's definition is non-applicable, I'm interested to know if you think some of it does describe your efforts as a blogger.
Question Two.
Regardless of whether or not you think that non-oppositionist bloggers constitute a social movement, what is your attitude about classifying certain bloggers as members of a social movement? Do you think this can be done scientifically, or is the entire enterprise a political game of glorifying certain individuals and vilifying others?
Maksim Kononenko: I hope you understand one important, fundamental thing about Russia: twenty years ago, we all lived in the Soviet Union. It was a rather peculiar society, thoroughly miserable on a quality-of-life level, but consequently quite equal socially. That is to say, everyone lived poorly equally, but—inasmuch as they all lived this way—this everyday misery did not particularly bother anyone.
Then, literally in an instant (in a matter of weeks during the winter of 1992), everything changed radically. Our society sharply divided into those who could adapt to the new, antisocial conditions (a minority), and those who continued to live as they had before (the vast majority). Those who continued to live as before greatly envied those who adapted. They envied their cars, their changing living conditions, their visits abroad. This envy bred the colossal social tensions of the 1990s—an era when virtually all income was viciously redistributed to those who had adapted (especially to the very few called “oligarchs”).
And then Putin arrived. And the price of oil rose. Putin moved to nationalize the oligarchs’ enterprises. And the offices of state enterprises grew many times over. That is, there were several times more people among whom to redistribute profits. And so the bureaucracy grew in step. All this, plus total corruption, still further increased the number of citizens reaching for crumbs of the great oil pie. And the social situation paradoxically balanced out. Bit by bit, money trickled out to the regions. People gained confidence about a tomorrow (this was impossible under Yeltsin), and started making plans, having children, borrowing on credit, buying cars and apartments, and building homes. And, to this day, the overwhelming majority of the country's population is busy doing just that: buying and spending, in an effort to catch up to what people were denied under the Soviet authorities and under Yeltsin.
In Moscow, just in recent years, a stratum of people has formed, for whom basic consumption is no longer an issue. This includes both Soviet people, who have reoriented to the new conditions, and others, who don't even remember the Soviet authorities, and grew up in an already capitalist Moscow, which they know how to navigate. It's these two categories of people that comprise the base of the present-day Russian street protests. And precisely this explains why there are protests in Moscow, but not in the regions—the regions still struggle with basic consumption. As regions become satiated, protests will spread to the regions. But they are unlikely [to mobilize] more than one percent of the population. (This is my estimate.)
It follows that Charles Tilly's formula doesn't really apply to our Russian reality. Any collective demands we make of the authorities are brought by rather small groups, and these demands are almost always highly utilitarian. We have a hard time with unity in Russia. After the collapse of a very united Soviet society, a new society never formed, and people live isolated.
For that reason, any study of the “oppositionist blogosphere” always risks turning into a study of a quite narrow community of people tied together by certain common interests—something along the lines of “blogospheres of fishermen” or “blogospheres of students from some particular university.”
It’s the same thing with the “pro-Kremlin blogosphere.” Generally speaking, this is a community of people who know each other and live in one city. (Sure, Moscow is a metropolis, but the pool of intellectual clubs and cafes in the city center probably can’t accommodate more than a thousand people.) That said, “opposition bloggers” and “pro-Kremlin bloggers” are inevitably acquainted and often studied or worked together. And their “standoff” online is, in large part, a game.
Around this core of mutually acquainted people, there are, of course, the ideological people—the followers, so to speak. You find them on both sides, and the core blogosphere (both oppositionist and pro-Kremlin) quite indulges these ideologically motivated followers, as one might children.
But there’s no conflict of super-systems.
So your assumption about a “political game” is generally correct. Political movements in the Russian blogosphere haven't yet formed. Charity movements are forming. Volunteer movements are forming. Environmental movements worse so, but they're forming, too. Since 2005, we've made great strides in this direction, but political movements are not forming. They haven't gotten beyond the old cliques of the first Putin decade. Moreover, the “opposition,” take note, is largely headed by people who supported the authorities during the first decade of the 2000s. Only later, grown disillusioned or tired, did they switch to the other side. Those who remained [on the authorities’ side] (like me) don't constitute some united force—they're loners. You might call this a kind of intellectual exercise, validating and justifying the actions of Putin today, inasmuch as doing so has become harder than it was five or six years ago.
But, by and large, the Russian blogosphere and the society from which it derives are entirely apolitical.
Kevin Rothrock: In 2008 book titled “The Web that Failed,” Floriana Fossato, John Lloyd, and Alexander Verkhovsky concluded that the Russian government is interfering consciously in the RuNet, sending pro-Kremlin bloggers and “trolls” to fight the opposition, in order to “to reproduce well-tested mechanisms of propaganda and manipulation.”
What do you think about this? Is it true what Fossato, et al, wrote? It’s their idea (and not only theirs) that an oppositionist grassroots movement exists on the RuNet. This movement is under attack by certain “trolls,” whom the Kremlin orchestrates. Could such an interpretation describe reality?
For instance, it seems to me that there are two alternatives: either (1) there is no such thing as grassroots, and all political bloggers are simply at the beck and call of their sponsors, or (2) “pro-Kremlin”/”non-oppositionist” actors write honestly, too, without manipulation from above. What’s your opinion on this issue?
Maksim Kononenko: The world is diverse. Certainly, there are public opinion leaders, whose loyalty is bought. But investment in the “opposition” happens exactly the same way. What’s more, this really only concerns the leaders, and there are only a few of them on either side. Sometimes they take on an assignment dictated from above, but that’s only occasionally. The main thing is that they aren’t going against their consciences when they are in one camp or the other. They write what they themselves believe.
Besides this, there are different categories of opponents on both sides.
First, there are the committed fighters—what you call “trolls.” One might compare their fighting with the battles between groups of sports fans, which are every bit as meaningless as they are entertaining. There are fans on both sides: Putin has them, and so does Navalny. And it’s precisely these fans who produce the overwhelming majority of the polemical traffic on LiveJournal. They don’t need any special resources to do this—they orchestrate their own entertaining plot-lines (for example, the story about a pregnant hipster [being beaten by police] at Bolotnaia [Square]).
Second, there are the committed trolls. These people aren’t committed fighters but are distinctly committed trolls, and their purpose is to troll each and every one of us. On Navalny’s LiveJournal, they troll Navalny’s adoring followers. On Maksim Sokolov’s LiveJournal, for instance, they troll Maksim Sokolov’s fans. Now this is just a part of the online culture. You need to understand that Anonymous varies. There is Anonymous that is against all government, and there is Anonymous that is against specific governments (for example, against Georgia).
And third, there are those who seek funds. Once again, what you find on one side, you also find on the other. To the degree that both sides are being financed, you find people eagerly trying to sell both camps ready-made bot-nets. Either that or they sell their own blog as an advertising vehicle.
A grassroots opposition movement does exist. (I've already addressed the nature of this.) But just as real is the grassroots patriotic movement, and it’s far stronger than the opposition, though it’s less entertaining in media terms. Believe me: the visits the opposition’s leaders make to American congressmen anger significantly more people online than Putin and his decrepit system. [Despite their anger about Putin], they’re not yet ready to share their grief with the politicians of another country.
Kevin Rothrock: I'm very interested in what you wrote about this incestuous “community of people.” If all the political blogosphere is playing in a clique, does this mean that the majority of bloggers consider their work a sort of game? You mention a certain “intellectual exercise.” Is such exercise a game for you? Is Maksim Kononenko just an articulate contrarian, or does he criticize oppositionists for some genuine purpose?
Maksim Kononenko: That's a good question. I don't know how it is for others (relationships to the current context can be complicated—just look at Marat Gelman, Gleb Pavlovsky, Marina Litvinovich, Stas Belkovsky), but I can tell you about myself. I’m a very liberal person. In my youth, my liberalism was absolute, but—as I’ve aged and become responsible for my family, children, and parents—that liberalism has been walled off from the big and noisy world. I remain a liberal, but I don’t want my world to intersect with the world of ideological revolutionaries—with the world of people who throw asphalt at police, or even the people who attend rallies at all. But insofar as I am still a liberal, I can’t allow myself to say, “Let’s exile all these people to Siberia.” No, for my part, I will battle these people with the same methods demanded by my liberal convictions. I will take the piss out of them, and throw their sins under the magnifying glass (like with the story about Navalny's legal experience). This is simultaneously a game, an intellectual exercise, and at the same time a political position.
Unfortunately, there are few people like me, but there are also other incarnations of the same thing. Take Navalny, for example. Navalny is a politician. His current image as the “Champion of Anti-Corruption Across Russia” is the fourth of his public political projects. First there was “Yabloko,” then the “Da-Debaty,” and then the “NAROD” movement. Each of these times, it didn’t work out, though the “Da-Debaty” were very popular and Navalny was even called to appear on television. And he took his role as television host completely seriously! This is because it was his capitalization, and he is—I repeat—a natural politician. Later he found success with exposing [corruption], and gained real political weight.
Now answer me: what for Navalny were “Yabloko,” the “Da-Debaty,” and the “NAROD” movement? A game? An intellectual exercise? A venture? And is it worth taking seriously his anti-corruption campaign, if he’s conveniently forgotten his three previous political incarnations? I don’t know.
Moreover, don't forget that nearly everyone knows each other on this side and on that side. They've worked together, sometimes on the same political projects, and later parted ways, taking up other political projects and opposing one another. Why, you could write a screenplay just about my relationship with Marina Litvinovich!
What’s more, everyone (that is, literally each person) has a completely different motivation. [Boris] Nemtsov wants revenge against Putin because he never became president. [Garry] Kasparov openly works for the U.S. State Department. [Oleg] Kashin hates the regime because of his beating. Everyone has their own reasons. Those on the other side do, too.
Kevin Rothrock: One last question: why have charity, volunteer, and environmental movements formed in the Russian blogosphere, but not political movements? Perhaps you're right that civil society in Russia is still too Soviet to activate, but why have certain parts of society nonetheless awoken? Why has it been precisely these groups?
Maksim Kononenko:  Because there's generally nothing to fight about in charity and volunteer movements, whereas, in any political project, the key question is “who's in charge?” In fact, this alone is the reason for the failure of all political coalitions in Russia over the last ten years. They've been totally incapable of agreeing on who's in charge. But these people who can't agree are people from the past—your Nemtsovs, Limonovs, and Kasparovs.
They're now being replaced by a generation born after the USSR. A generation of twentysomethings. They look at life a bit differently and are able to compromise. So political movements will emerge online, certainly. Just give it time.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Iran: Tehran Launches Own YouTube · Global Voices
Hooman Askary

Iran has launched, Mehr (meaning affection in Persian),a video-sharing website to compete against YouTube.

author: Hooman Askary


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Iran’s Diplomatic Missions Under Attack · Global Voices
Hooman Askary

Iran's embassy in Berlin, source: Iran Global
Iran's diplomatic missions have been under attack around the world in recent weeks by Iranians and Afghans, for different reasons. The Iranian embassy in Berlin was attacked by supporters of the Iranian opposition, and Iran’s consulate in Herat, Afghanistan was attacked by Afghans.
There are also conflicting reports about whether the Iranian embassy was attacked in Copenhagen, Denmark on Saturday. While one MP  accused [fa] the Iranian opposition of attacking the Islamic Republic's embassy in Denmark, another  denies [fa] such an attack took place.
Anger in Herat
A couple of hundred angry Afghan protesters tried to storm Iran's consulate in the western Afghan city on Sunday, December 9, 2012, in to protest the alleged killing of Afghan immigrants by Iranian security forces.
Berlin Attack
A group of Iranian nationals described as “activists” and “refugees” stormed [de] the Islamic Republic's embassy in Berlin on Wednesday, November 28. The action sparked a hot debate within the Iranian blogosphere, with ideas ranging from praise to condemnation and denouncements.
A video posted on YouTube, apparently from the incident, contains blurry footage that shows an often mentioned “red and black flag” that was erected in place of Iran's official flag.
Activists attacking Iran's embassy chanted slogans such as “Down with the dictator!” and “Down with the Islamic Republic!”
“This flag is a symbol of execution, massacre, torture, addiction, unemployment, imprisonment, prostitution, robbery and crime!”
Ashkan praises the invaders for torching the flag
On the opposite front, another Iranian blogger, nick-named Shahgholam [fa] calls the storming of the regime's embassy in Berlin, “barbaric”:
“When barbarism is institutionalized in a person or group, it does not matter if you live in Iran, in the third world, or the heart of modern Europe. It does not matter whose territory you are trespassing on. No liberated soul would support today's storming of the Iranian Embassy in Berlin just as no one supported the lunatic army's barbaric invasion of the British Embassy in Tehran one year ago.”


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Photos from 1962 of Mainland Refugees Fleeing Famine to Hong Kong · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Hong Wrong.com posted some historical photos collected by Life Magazine, showing mainland Chinese refugees fleeing from the famine to Hong Kong in 1962 as a result of the Great Leap Forward in mainland China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Remembering the Short-Lived Crimean People’s Republic · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

James Conohan guest-blogs at Greater Surbiton about the Crimean People's Republic, which existed from December 1917 to January 1918 and “was the first attempt in the Muslim world to establish a state that was both democratic and secular”:
This month marks the anniversary of the founding of the Crimean People’s Republic (CPR), one of the many ephemeral democracies that arose in the vacuum created by the Russian civil war, only to be destroyed by Bolshevik forces […]. […] An examination of the Crimean People’s Republic reveals that it was a successful experiment in one of the purest forms of democracy. […] if Crimea had remained unmolested it would have become a thriving democracy decades ahead of many Western European countries. […]

author: Veronica Khokhlova