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Brazil: Humanities Students Claim Right to Study Abroad · Global Voices
Emmanuelle Leroy Cerqueira

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages except when otherwise noted.]
The announcement to exclude the humanities in the new government notice outlying the official rules for application to the federal program to send Brazilian university students abroad, Ciência Sem Fronteiras (Science Without Borders), published November 20, 2012, infuriated a number of students who have created an online campaign to reverse the decision.
The new government notice bars application by students from at least 24 university disciplines, 20 of which correspond to the humanities (including publicity and advertising, journalism, media studies, digital and systems and media, information studies, information management and documentation, and others). The government program focuses on technology, but, until now, the “creative industry” category provided a way for students of the humanities to apply for the scholarship.
Cristiane Nascimento and Davi Lira reported to one of São Paulo's largest daily newspapers, the Estadão:
A justificativa é que esses cursos no Brasil não têm lacunas a serem preenchidas como os de Ciências Exatas, Engenharias e áreas tecnológicas e, portanto, não precisariam ser complementados com o estudo em universidades do exterior.
The justification is that these disciplines in Brazil do not present voids that need to be filled like the exact sciences, engineering and technology do; they therefore do not need to be complemented with studies in foreign universities.
In response, students created a Facebook group on November 21 entitled “Ciência COM Fronteiras” (Science WITH Borders), which comprises more than 2,640 members as of the publication of this article. The page's creators are attempting to pressure the Science Without Borders Program to revert its decision.
The Science With Borders Facebook page
Larissa Goulart writes on the page:
Acho que vocês deviam começar um movimento pela inclusão de TODOS os cursos, não só desses que foram excluídos, mas também os das humanas que NUNCA foram incluídos e pela amor de dells não me venham com essa história de que ciências humanas não são ciências.
I think you need to start a movement to include ALL disciplines, not only those that were excluded, but also those disciplines within the humanities that were NEVER before included… and, for God's sake, do not start with the argument that the humanities is not a science.
Kátia Flavia comments:
Ah gente. Que país maravilhoso. Já não bastasse os sem terras, sem teto, desempregados, os pobres, a periferia, os excluídos digitais, agora mais uma miserável categoria produzida especialmente pelo nosso maravilhoso país: Os excluídos da Ciência. Tem coisas que a gente faz muito bem mesmo.
What a wonderful country, folks. It's not enough that we have the landless movement, the homeless movement, the unemployed, the poor, the geographically marginalized in the outlying slums [and] the digitally abandoned, but we now have one more miserable category designed especially for our wonderful country: those excluded from the sciences. There are some things where we just excel.
Fernando Strongren proposes going further:
Uma página como essa não pode se portar como um point de ‘bebês chorões’, que só reclamam que estão desmamados. É preciso apontar argumentos que mostrem a importância do desenvolvimento do homem – entendido como fim das Ciências Humanas – para o desenvolvimento do país. Só assim deixaremos claro como esse processo de abandono das humanidades é um absurdo!
A page like this cannot act like a meeting point for cry babies who start whining only when they are being weaned. Arguments need to be made to show the importance of humankind's development – viewing this as the ultimate aim of the humanities – for the country's development. This is the only way we will make it clear that abandoning the humanities is absurd!
An article published by the movement on November 26 on Facebook makes the the group's objectives clear:
Cover photo on the Science With Borders Facebook page
O que de fato nos incomodou e nos motivou a recorrer à justiça foram os mais de 1.100 casos de alunos de humanas e saúde homologados nas duas chamadas passadas e a mudança repentina nessa atual, sem que nenhum sinal de alteração tenha sido feito. (…) Assim, centenas de estudantes tiveram gastos com exames de proficiência, cursos preparatórios, passaportes, passagens para outras cidades onde os supracitados exames seriam realizados, etc.
What truly bothered us and motivated us to seek justice were the over 1,100 cases of health and humanities students included in the last two application processes and the sudden change in this application process, without any notice that the change had been put into effect…. Thus, hundreds of students spent money on proficiency tests, prep courses, passports, trips to other cities to take said tests, etc.
The same article further states that the group has gathered “approximately 36 pages of evidence from people whose participation in the selection process was a financial encumbrance,” and raises the following questions:
1. Como o governo espera lidar com os estudantes que investiram no idioma para tentarem a bolsa?
2. O que torna os alunos homologados para o início do ano diferentes de nós? Sorte? E onde fica o princípio da isonomia do art. 5?
3. Por que a decisão de nos excluir não foi avisada logo na abertura do edital desse ano (que vale para as duas entradas: janeiro e agosto/setembro de 2013)? É legal alterar dessa forma um edital enquanto ele ainda está em vigor?
1. How does the government plan to deal with students who invested money to learn a foreign language in order to apply for the scholarship?
2. What makes those students who were allowed to apply earlier in the year different from us? Luck? And what of the principle of legal equality granted under article 5 [of the Constitution]?
3. Why was the decision to exclude [students of the humanities] not publicized when the government notice was published this year (which is valid for both application dates: January and August/September 2013)? Is it legal to change a government notice in this manner while is still in effect?
And it ends with:
Vocês podem revolucionar as descobertas na saúde, na robótica, na ecologia e tudo quanto é mais ciência, mas não se esqueçam: nós revolucionamos o pensamento e sem ele, nenhuma sociedade democrática se sustenta.
You can revolutionize discoveries in health, robotics, ecology and all that is science but do not forget: we revolutionize thought, and no democratic society is sustained without thought.
As promised, on Monday, November 26, students personally submitted “the signed petition, the open letter signed by the students and proof of expenses dispersed by people who had prepared for the application based on the government notice” to CAPES (Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Higher Education) in Brasília. A “temporary injunction or writ of prevention to suspend the selection process until this matter of excluded disciplines is resolved” was also filed. A petition started on Avaaz, addressed to the federal government, the Ministry of Education and the CAPES already includes nearly 2,950 signatures. A Twitter campaign was also planned for Monday, November 26, 7:00 p.m. under the hashtag #CienciaComFronteiras [ScienceWithBorders].

author: Emmanuelle Leroy Cerqueira


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Bulgarian Activist on Hunger Strike Against State Monopoly · Global Voices
Ruslan Trad

On Dec. 1, Chavdar Yanev set up a tent in front of the Bulgarian Supreme Judicial Council in Sofia and went on hunger strike to protest a judicial system that allows cases filed by individuals against state institutions to continue for years. Or even decades: Yanev and his wife, Latinka Georgieva, have been in a legal battle against Toplofikatsiya [bg], a state monopoly that provides heating to the country's residents, for nearly 12 years [bg].
A flashmob in solidarity with Yanev, organized via Facebook group “We are against high prices for electricity” [bg] (more than 3,000 members), is scheduled for Dec. 4.
This poster, urging people to come to a flashmob to support Chavdar Yanev, has been shared by 2,060 Facebook users.
The event has many supporters in “Saprotiva”” (“Resistance”) Facebook group, which has over 12,000 members. A newer Facebook group – “Support Chavdar Yanev in his civil disobedience” [bg] has more than 400 members now.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ruslan Trad


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Chinese Writer Foresees the Future of China in Social Media · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Prominent writer and critic of censorship in China Murong Xuecun sees great potential in Chinese social media in pushing for a more democratic China. He tweeted on Nov 28[zh], translation here:

author: Abby Liu


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Crossing the Colombia-Venezuela Border · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The Colombo-Venezuelan border is a two-faced, majestic beauty burdened by the protracted armed conflict in Colombia, the massive drug trade, and the illegal armed groups that enter and leave both countries as if there were no immigrations controls in a European-like fashion. The palm trees and false calm that may appear on the way from Cúcuta to San Cristóbal at seven in the morning can mislead one into thinking this land is peaceful.
Jonathan Pfaehler recounts his experience crossing the Colombia-Venezuela border in a guest post for the blog Caracas Chronicles.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Ecuadorian Blogger Paúl Moreno is Freed · Global Voices
Daniela Gallardo

On the afternoon of December 3, Paúl Moreno, the Ecuadorian blogger who had been arrested on charges of fraudulent access to computer systems and databases, was released. Moreno had demonstrated that the government website datoseguro.gov.ec [es] lacks adequate security mechanisms for obtaining data on its citizens.
Moreno said on his blog [es] that the he found the flaw in the system by using easily accessible information on Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. Moreover, a post on hackeruna [es] indicates that on March 7 (the date on which datoseguro.gob.ec was officially launched) vulnerabilities in the platform had already been detected.
On November 30, the National Bureau of Public Records (DINARDAP [es]) sent out a press release [es] stating their reasons for filing a suit against Moreno, in accordance with the law, with the district attorney's office.
To demonstrate support for the blogger and the security of the people of Ecuador, on November 30 the Ecuador Cyber Army (@EcuCyberArmy) hacked both public and private websites [es].
Several media outlets, like Diario Hoy [es], Expreso [es] and El Universo [es] published news of the arrest. Rafael Méndez Meneses (@kevinhurlt) [es] explained the media's attitude toward the blogger's arrest on his blog [es].
On December 1, Paúl Moreno sent a letter [es] asking forgiveness “for any misunderstanding that may have been caused by the misuse of Mr. Rafael Correa's name.” On his end, President Correa said that he has nothing to hide, and called for the blogger's release on his Saturday broadcast:
After his release, Paúl Moreno (@paulcoyote) [es] announced to his Twitter followers:
@paulcoyote: Estoy libre. Muchas gracias a todos. #LiberenaPaulCoyote (Free Paul Coyote) pic.twitter.com/2lvMKeGd
@paulcoyote: I'm free. Thank you everyone. #LiberenaPaulCoyote pic.twitter.com/2lvMKeGd
Photo shared by @paulcoyote on Twitter after his release
Moreno's son, Pulpo Potter (@pulpineitor) [es], also thanked his Twitter followers for supporting his father:
@pulpineitor: Gracias a todos de logro de #LiberenaPaulCoyote este momento ya salio se encuentra bien agradecemos su apoyo gracias de corazón.
@pulpineitor: Thank you everyone for supporting #LiberenaPaulCoyote he's out now and is doing well. our heartfelt thanks for your support.
Carlos Correa (@calu) [es] reported on developments in the case, from the time of Paúl Moreno's arrest until his release, via an online note [es] that he updated several times.

author: Daniela Gallardo


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Have M23 Rebels Really Left Goma, DRC? · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Recurrent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent decades has eroded the political, social and economic foundations of society. The Eastern region is even more weakened by the periodic fighting between armed rebels and the Congolese army that has flaired up again in 2012.
The conflict in the Kivus region this year is a continuation of a war between M23 rebels, essentially composed of mutineer Tutsi soldiers against the majority-Hutu Congolese army. Backed by the Rwandan government, the M23 rebels seized control of the city of Goma in the Kivu region, near the Rwandan border.
Despite reports that the rebellion have agreed to pull out of Goma, it seems that there is still a great deal of uncertainty over when they will effectively do so, and whether they might return. Melanie Gouby of the Associated Press reports on the extremely fluid timeline for the withdrawal:
The delay raises the possibility that the M23 rebels don't intend to leave the city they seized last week, giving credence to a U.N. expert report that says neighboring Rwanda is using the rebels as a proxy to annex territory in mineral-rich eastern Congo. An M23 spokesman said Friday morning that for “logistical reasons” the rebels needed 48 more hours to complete their withdrawal, promising that the fighters would leave Goma by Sunday.
M23 rebels on a truck in the streets of Goma, after they captured it (November 29, 2012) Voice of America via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
A follow-up report states that the rebels have begun to pull out and that the retreat is near completion:
Ugandan Brig. Jeffrey Muheesi, who is part of a mission sent by regional leaders to oversee the rebel retreat, said the rebels’ pullout from Goma was complete. “They have pulled out of Sake and Goma, and now Congolese government policemen are controlling the central bank, the governor's office and the border post,” he said from the outskirts of Goma.
Eyewitnesses say that while in Goma, M23 rebels looted the city, entering homes and shops and stealing cars, cell phones and cash. Radio Okapi reports [fr]:
Les rebelles du M23 ont pillé plusieurs habitations et bâtiments de Goma le jeudi 29 novembre dans la journée. Ce butin aurait été acheminé vers Kibumba, futur quartier général du M23, à près de 30 Km de Goma. Ce sont notamment les quartiers Katindo, Katoyi et Keshero qui ont été pillés par ces hommes en uniforme. La plupart des édifices publics, par contre, ont été épargnés puisque gardés par les forces de la Mission des Nations unies en RDC (Monusco) à Goma.
The M23 rebels broke into several homes and buildings in Goma on Thursday, November 29. Their loot was transported to Kibumba, their next HQ, 30km from Goma. The looting was carried out by men in uniform mostly in the borough of Katindo, Katoyi and Keshero. The administrative offices were left alone mostly because the UN MONUSCO forces were protecting them.
A sustainable solution to the conflict is evidently wanting. For now, the International Crisis Group recommends the following measures including these initiatives:
Given the Rwandan support of M23 and despite the UN recommendation that M23 pulls out of Goma, it is unclear whether M23 will ever fully withdraw from the city.
Meanwhile, the M23 were evicted from Facebook last week. Before then Gabriella Mulligan on Humanipo wondered how long a rebel group would be allowed to recruit and tease the Congolese government on the social network, and Trésor Kibungula on Jeune Afrique illustrated their social media evolution [fr].

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Iran: Sanctions and Shortages, Empty Pockets for Healthcare · Global Voices
Arseh Sevom

This post was originally published on Arseh Sevom. By Peyman Majidzadeh.
The Evil from Within
There is no doubt about the immediate results of unprecedented sanctions on the lives of millions of patients in Iran. There is not a single day when we do not hear a new story about medicine shortages in Iran and how it adversely affects Iranians, especially those requiring uninterrupted medication.
Over the past three weeks though, local media in Iran have highlighted allegations of mismanagement and mishandling of imports by the government. This has contributed to the drug crisis and revealed corruption and incompetence at the highest levels.
Hossein Ali Shahriari, the head of the parliament's health commission, stated [fa], “The government has paid no attention to the domain of health and medicine.” He added that there has been “virtually no currency” for the budget and the import of medicines over the last six months.
The minister of health, Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi, also criticized the budget allocation, saying: “We don't know what happened to the hard currency allocated to the purchase of medicine.” According to her, only 24% of the required budget for the purchase of medicine has been provided by the Central Bank.
The parliament's health commission discussed a motion for impeachment of the health minister, which motivated some to start looking into the other side of the story.
In the post Suffering by Design on the blog Uskowi on Iran the author commented:
“As a healthcare professional I thought it would be interesting to dig a little deeper and see what, if any, steps were taken by the regime to alleviate this ‘medicine shortage’ problem, or is it simply aggravating the problem in the hope of using the resulting human suffering as a tool to fight the sanctions in general.”
On Zamaneh Tribune, the author of the post Medical Sanctions or Playing Innocent [fa] writes:
“ًWhat should alert us is The Islamic Republic’s selfish use of ‘sanctions’ in sacrificing its citizens at the cost of staying in power. Embargos on the import of medicine means playing with the lives of citizen whose lives depend on medical care.”
Mr. Hosseini from Qasr-e-Shirin in Kermanshah has also voiced his concerns over the shortage of medicine in his city on his blog [fa]. He criticizes the government for its claim that 95% of required medicines are produced domestically and wonders how many of those locally produced medicines are certified according to international standards. He adds:
“Nonetheless, required currency for medicine and emergency items must be sufficiently provided [by the government] and necessary controls over its expenditure must be in place. This is to avoid wasting the little remaining currency in the shaky market by middlemen, instead of buying medicine.”
In his blog post on Challenges to People’s Health [fa], Ahmad talks about patients suffering from hemophilia and reflects that part of their suffering is due to the shortage of medicine. He says:
“The reason for the Central Bank’s procrastination in allocating currency to the health sector and its indifference to the current crisis is unknown.”
Ahmad gives details of the government’s budget allocations to the health sector and claims that the government has not kept its promises. He concludes:
“Problems as those in the health and medical care sectors provide practical evidence of the government’s lack of attention to health. The government’s persistant behavior in [failing to] allocate required budgets will risk the lives of thousands of patients; a fact that the Ministry of Health is trying to hide… but telling the truth and making the authorities hear it, is better than risking the lives of thousands like the 15-year old hemophilic teen [who died].”
Helping Hand for Iran
Amid all this criticism over sanctions and the government policies leading to a shortage of medicine, a group of Iranian students and human rights activists in Germany and Switzerland established a non-profit NGO to provide a bridge between European drug suppliers and patients in Iran. Helping Hand for Iran aims to supply patients with rare medications in the shortest amount of time.
UPDATE: This post has been updated to remove the photo of Manouchehr Eslami who was said to have died due to a lack of medication. This turned out to be a lie. Hugh Tomlinson reports that the boy had lost too much blood by the time he reached the hospital to be saved.

author: Arseh Sevom


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Remembering the Night the Russian Opposition Would Prefer to Forget · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Yesterday, on December 3, The New Times published a retrospective [ru] on last winter's mass protests, highlighting how the Internet played a vital role in mobilizing thousands of people in a city that, until then, could only produce a few hundred demonstrators at a time. The middle class, the youth, and the technophiles of Moscow had awakened and the possibilities seemed endless.
Then came the “schism,” what The New Times describes as a night the opposition's leaders “would prefer to forget.” In what has provoked much discussion in the RuNet today, The New Times piece includes revelations from journalist-activist Sergei Parkhomenko [ru], who now recalls new details about a closed-door meeting with Moscow city officials late on December 8 that resulted in the transfer of the December 10 mass rally from Revolution Square (where it was originally planned, just outside the Kremlin) to the less central Bolotnaia Square. As it turns out, Alexey Gromov — then deputy chief of staff under President Medvedev — had attended the meeting, dropping by to confirm its resolution and partake in a celebratory round of whisky (courtesy of Ekho Moskvy chief editor Alexey Venediktov, who was also present).
Sergei Parkhomenko, attending the “Occupy Abai” protest, 11 May 2012, photo by Evgeniy Isaev, CC 2.0.
What's so scandalous about Gromov's appearance at this meeting? Many, Parkhomenko included, would reject the question, arguing that his attendance changes nothing. Parkhomenko explains:
Громов сел за стол и вел какой-то не относящийся к делу разговор. Мне кажется, он хотел убедиться, что все происходит ровно так, как рассказывает ему Горбенко
Gromov sat at the table and carried on some conversation that didn't relate to ours. It seems to me that he wanted to make sure that everything was happening just as Gorbenko had described it to him.
Alexander Gorbenko, Moscow's deputy mayor, was ostensibly the one who hosted the meeting, which also included city officials Vladimir Kolokoltsev (then head of Moscow internal affairs), Vasily Oleinik (deputy head of Moscow regional security), and Gulnara Penkova (the mayor's press secretary), not to mention Parkhomenko, Venediktov, and oppositionists Vladimir Ryzhkov and Gennady Gudkov (though the latter individual apparently “doesn't remember” this). In other words, this was a gathering of Moscow's administrators and the protest movement's self-appointed leaders. While the secrecy of the consultations upset many protesters at the time (indeed, The New Times credits it with diminishing the movement's popularity among young people), it was still formally true at least that the negotiations were with the city and not the Kremlin. This, it seems, imbued the talks with a certain legitimacy, even if that impression was only sustainable from an admittedly naive perspective.
Journalist and blogger Oleg Kashin wrote on Parkhomenko's Facebook page earlier today, accusing [ru] him of “concealing” the fact that Gromov participated in the December 2011 negotiations, asking him why he said nothing [ru] of it at the time. Parkhomenko defended himself [ru] within minutes:
[…] а что именно меняет в этой истории появление (физическое) Громова? Вас удивляет, что он дергал за ниточки Горбенку и прочих “мэрских”? Вы об этом сейчас от меня узнали? Физически в переговорах он участия не принимал – во всяком случае, я никогда в таких переговорах не участвовал. Что Горбенко каждые пять минут выбегал из комнаты с кем-то советоваться по телефону – всегда было важной частью всех разговоров про эти дни.
[…] and what exactly changes in this story with the (physical) appearance of Gromov? Does it surprise you that he was pulling the strings of Gorbenko and all the other “mayor's people”? You just learned about this from me? Physically he didn't participate in the talks, or I at any rate never participated in such negotations. That Gorbenko would run out of the room every five minutes to consult with someone over the telephone was always an important part of all these conversations.
After a scolding [ru] from Kommersant's Arina Borodina, Kashin ceased his questions [ru] to Parkhomenko, convinced that arguing about Gromov's role would only play into the Kremlin's hands.
Other Russian Internet users, however, were not so quick to forgive, attacking Venediktov and others for colluding with the federal government.
Roman Fedoseev (@morkvo) tweeted:
охуительная история, как Венедиктов и Громов из АП выпили вискаря и перенесли митинг с Революции на Болотную. сука-сука
what a f*cking story, how Venediktov and Gromov from the [Presidential Administration] drank whiskey and moved the rally from Revolution [Square] to Bolotnaia. sonofabitch
Twitter user @sssmirnov wrote sarcastically:
а давайте в следующий КС выберем Горбенко и Громова, Венедиктов же объективный журналист и не будет участвовать
how about for the next [Coordinating Council], we elect Gorbenko and Gromov? Venediktov's too objective a journalist and wouldn't run
Arkady Babchenko, a former candidate for the Coordinating Council and a deeply polemical figure within the opposition, reposted the story from The New Times, writing:
Как, кто, с кем, в каких кабинетах, с какими чиновниками и какими словами договаривался о сливе революции под вискарь Венедиктова в ночь на 9 декабря. По ролям. Мастрид.
[It's about] how, who, with whom, in what offices, with which officials, and with what words it was agreed to drown the revolution in Venediktov's whiskey in the early morning hours of December 9. Role by role. A must-read.
Russian whiskey, 9 June 2011, photo by Mad Wraith, CC 2.0.
Much about the negative reactions to Parkhomenko's latest disclosure might be dismissed as emotional. Indeed, it appears almost common among netizens to experience a pang of disgust at learning that Venediktov marked this cloak-and-dagger event with a celebratory bottle of booze. On the other hand, the informality of the protest movement's leadership has changed significantly in the last few months, thanks to a Coordinating Council that at least superficially offers the opposition's leaders a mandate to lead. In today's situation, any dealings with Gromov or the Kremlin would ideally occur with protesters’ duly elected representatives.
The question remaining, however, is whether or not the Putin Administration has any lingering interest in negotiating with a protest movement that, after a year's time, is on the decline.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Slovenia’s New President Elected Amidst Anti-Corruption Protests · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The second round of the 2012 presidential election in Slovenia, in which the former Slovenian PM Borut Pahor defeated the incumbent president Danilo Türk, took place on Dec. 2, amidst ongoing mass protests.
On EurActiv.com, Marko Bucik examined the election campaigns of Pahor and Türk – and commented on the current situation in Slovenia:
[…] Pahor will start his mandate among very tense social and political circumstances. In the past week, numerous mass protests have spread across Slovenia expressing genuine feelings of disappointment and anger about the precarious situation in which Slovenia finds itself merely 21 years after gaining independence.
With the number of those unemployed persistently above 11% and with Slovenia's GDP projected to contract by 2% in 2012 and a further 1.4% in 2013, little optimism is left. The frustrations with the current economic hardship have been further strengthened by perceptions of corruption among the ruling elites, their insensitivity to the population's fears and their inability to cope with the crisis.
[…]
None of the presidential candidates convincingly responded to the social unrest and expression of disaffection that will probably only grow over the coming months. […]
The official results of the election look like this:
(A Wikipedia entry screenshot.)
On Facebook, Blaž Babič presented a somewhat different picture:
For the fellow readers from abroad. New president of Slovenia Mr. Pahor (“Barbie”) won with the votes of 27,7% of the electorate.
The minority of 13,4% wanted to reelect former president Türk.
Those figures are so low because the electorate is fed up with false choices – only 42% did bother to cast a vote at all.
Conclusion – over 72,3% of the electorate did not elect the new president who ran the campaign under the slogan “Together!”.
Babič added:
14.546 ballots were “invalid”. That's 2% of all votes cast.
Majority of them had two ex-post-commy candidates stricken out and option 3. Gotof Si (you're finished) added.
“Gotof si!” is also the last fashion motto of the protest against the corrupt elite.
A screenshot of the Facebook page [sl] of the “Gotof je” protest: “A community for a new Slovenia. Enough of corruption, nepotism, clientelism! WE ARE SLOVENIA”
Dr. Filomena commented on the recent rallies:
[…] Right now, protests are being held in various places around the country, aimed against politics in general, against politicians who have been unable to steer the country clear of the continuously deepening crisis. The protests are spontaneous and no politician or political party dares claim them as their own. They do, however, try to pin them onto others, much to the disgust of the protesters. […]
Ljubljana, Slovenia: Protesters give flowers to the police during a peaceful protest that later turned violent. Photo by Nina Blaž, copyright © Demotix (30/11/2012).
Piran Café shared a photo report from the Nov. 30 rally in the capital city of Ljubljana, which ended in violence:
[…] Upwards of 10,000 people gathered in Ljubljana yesterday, one of seven Slovenian cities where hastily organized demonstrations took place to protest what’s perceived as widespread fraud and corruption, austerity measures, and the economic reform policies of the center-right government of Prime Minister Janez Jansa. Here in the capital, the demonstration began at 4 pm in Kongresni Trg, or Congress Square, before moving a couple hours later towards Trg Republike, or Republic Square, near Parliament. Protesters were loud and at times blunt, but peaceful. Police stationed near Parliament were relaxed –certainly much more than they were on Tuesday – some of them exchanging banter and conversation with demonstrators. Many were wearing carnations given to them by protesters whose chants included, ‘higher salaries for police’.
I left at about 6:30; an hour later the mood shifted dramatically. Provocateurs, described by many on the scene as well organized and numbering perhaps four to five dozen, began throwing bottles, rocks, bricks and fireworks. Under the spotlight of a helicopter, police soon responded with tear gas. When the rock-throwing idiots were eventually forced from Republic Square and back towards Congress Square, the water cannon was brought in. At night’s end, 33 were arrested and 18 treated for injuries at local hospitals. […]
Water cannons were used against the protesters during the Nov. 30 protest in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Photo by Luka Dakskobler, copyright © Demotix (30/11/2012).
Another photo report from the Nov. 30 Ljubljana rally was posted on Suncan's Daily Photo:
[…] And then a gang of some 50 (they say) covered up bastards rushed into the crowd and started throwing everything (and yes, they came well prepared) they had in their pockets at the police and the crowd. As someone I know very well (and who I totally believe would not be making up this) described: A guy was standing close to me, and he said into the phone. ‘Ok, it is all ready. Come in now’ And then a gang of what she described as highly organised covered up people rushed into the crowd, just a few meters away from me. And that was when all hell broke loose.
So, my honest opinion is: No it wasn't the protesters fault. No, it wasn't the police's fault (I know it sounds weird coming from under the fingers of somebody who does not believe in any repressive government bodies). It was the fault of a few dozen highly organised mercenaries (I have no idea what to call them, but from the description of their actions I do have a feeling that they were paid for this action, so I will use the word mercenary.) As far as I am concerned the main question is: Who paid them?

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Trinidad & Tobago: What Direction For Creative Industries? · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

On September 6, 2012 The Cabinet of Trinidad & Tobago took the decision to create the Trinidad & Tobago Creative Industries Company (TTCIC) . The purpose of this “supercompany”, from the government's point of view, is to merge existing “creative” entities, including the Trinidad & Tobago Film Company (TTFC). Its mission? To communally develop develop the following industries: film, fashion, theatre, dance, visual arts and other branches of entertainment, including the country's flagship festival of Carnival.
On Tuesday November 20, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Senator Vasant Bharath, laid out his plans for the “rationalization of institutions in Trinidad and Tobago” at a breakfast conference hosted by the Trinidad & Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce. During this presentation (audio link below), Minister Bharath revealed his plans for the TTCIC:
There was consternation from various members of the artistic community as they felt there was a lack of consultation prior to this decision. Many artists were concerned by the relative paucity of information in the public domain, even though the decision to form the TTCIC was made about three months ago. On November 25th, various stakeholders in the artistic community met with Minister Bharath at the Little Carib Theatre in Woodbrook to share their concerns.
Filmmaker Mariel Brown was sceptical of the direction in which the Minister wants to take the film industry:
On the one hand, Minister, I agree that adequate reporting needs to be put in place – but the idea that a country should ever attempt to privatise cultural practice is ludicrous. All the major developed countries have arts programming that is built around government funding as those governments recognise that these programmes are not about hand-outs but about creating an environment in which development through creative expression [is] encouraged. And to suggest anything else says that you are trying to hoodwink many people who know a lot more about this than apparently you.
Brown, along with several other stakeholders, protested via Facebook:
My cover and profile photos are black in protest of the proposed TTCIC. As a filmmaker and stakeholder, I demand that there be full and open public consultation on the TTCIC and that the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company be allowed to continue its work with an appropriate budget allocation from the Government.
Nigel A. Campbell was wary of importing formulas from larger countries:
In a small developing country, the standard rules don't always apply. I remember in my university days when a statistics lecturer made an eye-opening revelation that the formulae and rules we use generally work for large populations, but have to be modified for small ones. That distinction works whether we are speaking about bacteria count or relative success of creative enterprises in TT versus the UK.
Campbell suggested that greater attention needs to be paid to what has already worked as opposed to blowing everything up and starting over:
Tried and true always wins an argument for me, and the notion that success in wooing cinema goers to a Cineplex with blockbuster films with individual budgets approaching US$200M is the same winning formula needed to develop an entire film industry with an investment of less than TT$100M is a myth worth debunking. The portfolio of Minister Bharath covers Investment as well as Trade and Industry. The minister must be aware that there has been steady investment by private sector companies in the arts and culture. The rush to catalyse the creative industry growth pole from ‘undisciplined’ micro-entrepreneurs to an ‘industry’ is apparent and unfortunate. Differentiation of the industry between more market-based segments and the more culture-related segments was absent from Bharath's intervention, and his focus negates the real economic and workforce impact that the industry has on the local economy. Unstructured yet dynamic and fluid, some segments of the industry—pan, Carnival—have grown and have been exported despite government intervention
After sharing some recommendations from a report on the creation of music industries in developing countries, Campbell concluded by wondering whether TTCIC could meet its goals, based on the performance of previous state boards:
…government intervention, even in TT, should not be in competing with entrepreneurs to reward a few ‘people who have been successful’, with board positions. More successful entrepreneurs than those named have been on state boards with little to reflect in diversifying the economy. The manufacturing sector despite the intervention of IDC, EDC and TIDCO has not become globally competitive, but rather regionally focused if only relatively successful. For all these years later, one would have thought that we would be able to compete with India and China or Vietnam! Industry is the segment of economy concerned with production of goods. Creative industries are about goods, services and intellectual property.
Timothy C. Teemal offered a series of proposals for government policy re: the Trinidad & Tobago film industry, whether via the TTFC or TTCIC:
1) An immediate release of all auxiliary staff including consultants.
2) An immediate freeze on travel for staff.
3) An immediate freeze on funding for any programmes and initiatives offered.
4) The introduction of a CONTEST to determine the ‘best’ script based on ‘doability’ within a prescribed budget and its commercial merit – that is, its ability to make money.
5) After script is selected, gather all stakeholders (Directors, producers, cinematographers etc.) and challenge them to make a feature length film within the prescribed budget which will be fully funded by the ‘slimmed down’ TTFC/CIC either from its own subvention from the Ministry or in partnership with the business community. The TTFC/CIC will lead the charge to meet with and convince the other investors of the film’s commercial viability and its positive return on investment.
6) The TTFC/CIC will lead the charge in acquiring official project certification from the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism which allows said project to offer a 150% tax back incentive to businesses investing in the film.
7) The TTFC/CIC will lead efforts to ensure that the 35% cash back guarantee for production costs on the film is maximized.
8) The TTFC/CIC will lead efforts to acquire distribution for said project. This will include local and regional cinemas and Cineplex’s as well as International deals.
But perhaps one of the most compelling arguments for leaving the Trinidad & Tobago Film Company as is came from filmmaker Dion Boucaud:
The PEOPLE’s Partnership Government has decided WITHOUT ANY FORM OF CONSULTATION to dissolve the Trinidad & Tobago Film Company (TTFC) and re-brand it as the Trinidad & Tobago Creative Industries Company (TTCIC). Under this new Company they plan to bring together Film, Fashion, Theatre and Entertainment. To this end the Trinidad & Tobago Entertainment Company (TTENT) has already been dispatched.
To most people, this may not seem threatening, just another Government scheme. But they won’t see the barrel until they are in it with the other crabs.
One floated rationale is that the film sector is doing so well that they want to apply that model to develop the other sectors.
The current success of the film sector is directly attributable to the singular focus of the TTFC with CONSTANT CONSULTATION with industry stakeholders. It is lunacy and fallacy to believe that this same success can be achieved by destroying a successful entity, and splintering it’s focus to such disparate sectors. What is most likely to happen is that the ball is dropped and any forward advancement of the film industry will be lost as the new entity struggles with the many competing needs of the various sectors and decisiveness and immediacy will give way to pandering and prioritizing.
Worse is the swiftness with which they are systematically dismantling the hard won gains of stakeholders WITHOUT CONSULTATION and the total lack of understanding that would engender them to believe that all Creative Industries can be lumped together. I mean ‘obviously’ film, fashion, theatre, entertainment! How different can they be?
This ‘TOP DOWN’ over handed and yet underhanded approach to Film stakeholders does not speak to the ideas of cooperation and inclusion. It displays a gross disrespect and ignorance of how the Industry works and what it needs to grow and develop.

author: Matthew Hunte


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Activists Reject Southeast Asia’s Human Rights Declaration · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

More than 50 human rights groups in Southeast Asia issued a statement criticizing the recent unveiling of a Human Rights Declaration drafted by the 10-member nation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The signing of the joint declaration was done during the 21st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh last month. The initiative to establish the region’s first joint declaration on human rights was discussed in Laos in 2010 but key stakeholders and other human rights advocates complained that they were not consulted.
When the declaration was made public this month, it was immediately dismissed by regional human rights organizations for containing provisions that allegedly distort universal standards on human rights protection. In particular, they question the wording of the declaration’s general principles which balance rights with duties and responsibilities imposed by member countries.
Hundreds join a protest action in Phnom Penh to assert the human rights agenda during the 21st ASEAN Summit. Photo by Erika Pineros, Copyright @Demotix (11/16/2012)
The controversial provisionreads this way:
…the realisation of human rights must be considered in the regional and national context bearing in mind different political, economic, legal, social, cultural, historical and religious backgrounds.
The exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others, and to meet the just requirements of national security, public order, public health, public safety, public morality, as well as the general welfare of the peoples in a democratic society.
Indeed, several fundamental rights were identified in the declaration like the right to vote, the right to participate in government, and the right to form and join trade unions, but these supposedly universal rights are apparently applicable only if they conform to existing national laws and policies.
Prachatai published the statement of civil society groups which criticized the declaration:
The document is a declaration of government powers disguised as a declaration of human rights.
It is deplorable that the governments of ASEAN have insisted on making a Declaration that implies that their people are less deserving of human rights than the people of Europe, Africa or the Americas. The people of ASEAN should never accept a lower level of protection of their human rights than the rest of the world.
The Declaration fails to include several key basic rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to freedom of association and the right to be free from enforced disappearance.
It is highly regrettable that governments in the ASEAN who are more democratic and open to human rights succumbed to the pressure of human rights-hostile governments into adopting a deeply flawed instrument.
This Declaration is not worthy of its name. We therefore reject it. We will not use it in our work as groups engaged in the protection of human rights in the region. We will not invoke it in addressing ASEAN or ASEAN member states, except to condemn it as an anti-human rights instrument.
According to Maruah, a human rights group in Singapore, the declaration subverts the concept of human rights:
This is objectionable and self-defeating…This provision in the (declaration) is prohibitive and subverts the concept of human rights. We are very concerned with this inclusion of ‘public morality’ as it is subjective and can be interpreted in such a manner that affects people, particularly women from fulfilling their rights. This provision is objectionable, as subjectivities in the interpretation of morality will adversely increase the vulnerability of certain communities…instead of embracing universality, it has marginalised certain communities by exclusions.
Karapatan, a human rights network in the Philippines, is worried that the declaration might be used as a ‘blueprint for further rights violations’:
These are not just mere loopholes of the declaration which may be suited to the State parties’ interests, but we fear these provisions will be used to justify the States’ continuing violations of human rights in the region. The declaration will not only be deemed meaningless in the promotion, protection and realization of human rights, it may likewise be used as a blueprint for further rights violations
The Committee to Protect Journalists notes that the document ‘lacks a corresponding mechanism for enforcement.’

author: Mong Palatino


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Body Types : Cold, heat and dampness · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

CINCI EC, a Chinese medicine practitioner explained the three kind of body types according to Chinese medicine theory and gave health advice to each group of people.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Breastfeeding in Public in Lima, Peru · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

How do mothers from Lima [Peru] breastfeed in public? Are there breastfeeding areas in malls? Are we protected by law? These are some of my questions as I write, but I want to go back to the initial question: Why is breastfeeding in public seen as unpleasant?
In parenting blog Mamacitas [es], Diana Vela writes about the way society looks at mothers who decide to breastfeed in public.


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Cuba: Democracy Advocate Rodiles Released; Blogger Diversent Remains Detained · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

Update (December 27, 2012): Blogger Laritza Diversent was released shortly after her detention. More information here [es].
Antonio Rodiles, curator of the independent scholarly forum Estado de SATS [es], was released in Havana last Wednesday after enduring over three weeks of detention. Rodiles was arrested on November 7, along with numerous other bloggers and civil society advocates on the island, including well-known blogger and attorney Laritza Diversent, author of the blog Jurisconsulto de Cuba [es] (Cuban Legal Advisor). There has been no report of Diversent’s release as of December 3, 2012. [Update (December 27, 2012): Diversent was released shortly after her detention.]
Antonio Rodiles, in Havana. Photography by Tracey Eaton, posted with photographer's permission.
Blogger and human rights advocate Juan Wilfredo Soto García [es] reported the following bloggers and human rights advocates had been arrested in the same sweep: Yaremis Flores, Laritza Diversent, Veisant Boloy, Antonio G. Rodiles, Ailer González, Andrés Pérez, Mario Morales, Vladimir Torres, Rolando Reyes, Reinaldo Figueras y Luis Manuel Fumero, Yoani Sánchez, and Guillermo Fariñas Hernández. Many including Sánchez were released shortly after their detention, but Rodiles and others remained in police custody for several days.
Twitter users [es] reported that Rodiles began a hunger strike shortly after being detained. Police did not give an official reason for Rodiles’ release, but this could have impacted authorities’ decision on the matter.
Both Diversent and Rodiles have become prominent figures among bloggers and human rights advocates in Havana. Since 2010, Rodiles has organized Estado de SATS, a series of open panel discussions on the future of politics and civil society in Cuba that aim to provide a “pluralistic space for debate and participation that is mediated by open and frank exchange.” Over the past year, Estado de SATS has been the target of increasing criticism from government officials who claim the program to be “counterrevolutionary.”
Blogger Luis Felipe Rojas surmised [es] that Rodiles’ arrest was in response to “The Citizen Demand for Another Cuba,” [es] a memorandum authored and circulated by Rodiles and open for sign-on here [es].
A estas alturas muchos se preguntan por qué emprenderla con Antonio Rodiles. ¿Qué encontraron los sesudos de la policía política en este inquieto intelectual? “La Demanda Ciudadana por otra Cuba” pudiera haber pasado como una iniciativa más, pero las garras de la contención desde las altas esferas de la contrainteligencia militar no quieren jugarse una carta más.
At this point in time, many ask themselves why the aggressions against Antonio Rodiles. What did the prudent political police officials find in this restless intellectual? “The Citizen Demand for a Another Cuba” could have gone by as just another initiative, but the restrictive claws of the high ranks of the Military’s Counter-Intelligence do not want to take any more chances.
The memorandum calls on the Castro government to “ratify the covenants it signed at the UN in 2008” and “immediately put legal and political guarantees in practice” that are articulated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Acclaimed blogger Yoani Sanchez wrote a chilling post [es] describing her emotional response to Rodiles’ detention:
Me levanto en la mañana y me digo: “ya todo terminó, ha sido sólo un sueño”. Pero después de un rato suena el teléfono y alguien me cuenta que Antonio Rodiles sigue detenido, acusado de resistirse a un arresto tan arbitrario como injusto.
I wake up in the morning and say to myself: “it’s all over, it was just a dream.” But then after a while the phone rings and someone tells me that Antonio Rodiles remains in detention, accused of resisting an arrest as arbitrary as it is unjust.
Soto García wrote [es] that he viewed the arrests as part of a larger pattern of government action towards citizens. He observed that while the government has garnered positive international responses to its new, more liberal travel policies, it has simultaneously taken an increasingly hard line against those advocating for greater civil and political change.
Hace muy poco el régimen cubano ha desatado una cortina de humo, con sus pretendidas reformas y en particular con la modificación de las leyes migratorias, que imperaban en La Mayor de las Antillas, para tratar de dar al mundo una visión de legalidad y respeto por los derechos humanos. Sin embargo una vez más, el gobierno de Raúl Castro con el proceder en estos  arrestos, demuestra que ni siquiera respeta sus propias leyes.
Not long ago the cuban regime unleashed a curtain of smoke, with its attempted reforms and in particular the modification of immigrations laws […] in an effort to give the world a vision of [Cuba] oriented around legality and respect for human rights. However once again, with these arrests, Raul Castro’s government shows that it doesn’t even respect its own laws.
Previous Global Voices coverage of Estado de SATS can be found here, here, and here.

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


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Iran: Jailed Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Ends Hunger Strike After 49 Days · Global Voices
Hooman Askary

Nasrin Sotoudeh, source: http://ahurai.com/social
The Iranian blogosphere is filled with joy as lawyer and prisoner of conscience Nasrin Sotoudeh has reportedly ended her hunger strike after 49 days. Multiple sources, including Kaleme website who are affiliated with the opposition Green Movement, have quoted Nasrin Sotoudeh's husband, Reza Khandan, saying that meetings with MPs and negotiations with the Iranian Parliament Speaker and Head of the Judiciary have resulted in lifting the travel ban imposed on their teenage daughter. With her demand fulfilled, Nasrin Sotoudeh ended her hunger strike.
A very proud and happy Iranian blogger, Azadi Esteghlal Edalat (meaning Freedom, Independence and Justice) writes [fa]:
Standing up against cruelty and injustice till death, and making the whole world join in her battle against the injustice that was done to her loving daughter [Mehraveh] by the regime, our dear Nasrin Sotoudeh ended her hunger strike now that legal restrictions against Mehraveh have been lifted. She taught the suffering Iranian people a lesson of hope and resistance. Nasrin Sotoudeh, the lioness of Iran, the pride of every single liberal Iranian. Happy Victory!
Artwork from Nasrin Sotoudeh support group on Facebook. The words read: “Your mere presence is the shattering of darkness.”
Azadeghi praised Nasrin Sotoudeh's courage and says [fa]:
It was the victory of an Iranian woman's will against the Taliban's regime [some Iranian activists compare the Islamic Republic to the Taliban in Afghanistan]. Nasrin Sotoudeh should know she was not alone and many Iranians supported her.
Nasrin Sotoudeh talks about juvenile execution
In this short interview (English subtitles) Nasrin criticizes the Islamic Republic's judiciary system, and calls for the regime to stop executing prisoners under the age of 18.

author: Hooman Askary


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Italy: Governement and Immigration – plenty of words, less action · Global Voices
Bah Abdoulaye

According to Stefano Femminis (popoli.info [it]), the current Monti government has shown more talk than actual action in regard to immigration, and the followings are emphasised  [it]:
The situation remains the same as an year ago: expensive and unnecessary “human dumps” that in fact function as prisons for people that have committed no crime except for not having documents. The citizenship law persists on deeming as immigrants hundreds of thousands of people that have never immigrated from anywhere else: those are the 705 thousand children born and breed in Italy from foreign parents, companions in playing and learning to other children, not being any different from them if not for their rights.

author: Bah Abdoulaye


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Mauritania: Commemorating Inal’s Massacre against Black Soldiers · Global Voices
أحمد جدو

The 28th of November should have been a happy day for Mauritanians as it marks the country's independence from France.
However, it also brings back sad and bloody memories [en], since it reminds them that on that same day in 1990, an ethnic cleansing was perpetrated within the Mauritanian Army. In mysterious circumstances, at least 28 black African soldiers were executed in a remote village located 500km to the north of the capital Nouakchott. So and on Mauritania's 52nd Independence day, a group of Mauritanian activists from more than 17 human rights organizations, headed to Inal [en], where the victims of the massacre lay, accompanied by some of the murdered soldiers’ relatives, to pay tribute to them, ask for justice and also bring attention to this case, which has long been buried and forgotten. The group was first intercepted by the authorities, who eventually freed its members. Last year, a similar visit took place, organized by the same group. Like last year, the group also visited the village of Sori-male [en] in the Brakna region, to commemorate what is known by the “Years of Ash”, during which hundreds of black Mauritanians lost their lives between 1989 and 1990.
Al Watan (the Nation) website featured some testimonies of the parents of the genocide victims, who spoke about their tragedy and the injustice they have been subjected to, demanding punishment for the massacre perpetrators [ar]:
السيدة سالمتا جالو: تحكي أن زوجها وأخاها قتلا هنا وهي مفجوعة بمصيبتين في آن واحد، تحلف بالله إن هذه المجازر وقعت على حين غفلة من الأهالي “وتمت في يوم واحد هو يوم 28 نوفمبر هذا اليوم الذي يحتفل به الموريتانيون عيد استقلال وطني، حوله هؤلاء إلى مأساة تذكرنا كل سنة بهذه المجزرة”، تبدي سالمتا جالو تأسفها على تغاضي السلطات وتراخيها في معالجة الملف، وقالت إن ما قيم به حتى اليوم من صلاة على الغائب في مدينة كيهيدي وإعداد خريطة عن القبور “مجرد تحايل”.
وطالبت المفجوعة سالمتا جالو الحقوقيين وأصحاب الضمائر الحية أن يتحركوا جميعا ً لإعادة العدالة إلى ذويهم بإجراء تحقيق شفاف في ملابسات ما أسمته “المجزرة الجهنمية”.
Mrs Salmta Jalou says that her husband and brother were killed here so she was hit by two calamities at the same time. She swears by God that these massacres happened without the parents knowing and on the 28th of November, the day where Mauritanians celebrate their independence. These (the genocide perpetrators) have transformed it into a tragedy which reminds us every year of this massacre. Salmta Jalou expresses her desolation on the slackening of the authorities in dealing with the case and said that all what has been done so far such as prayers for the victims in Kihidi and talks about mapping the tombs is just a gimmick. Heartbroken Salmta Jalou asked lawyers and those with living consciences to act to bring justice by a transparent probe into what she described as the “infernal massacre”
Photograph of the group in Inal, taken by Dedda Ould Cheikh Brahim. Used with permission.
Dedda Ould Cheikh Brahim, took part in Inal caravan and blogged about the event, mentioning the harassment the group was subjected to by the security forces, relating as well the atmosphere of the massacre commemoration.
بعد انتهاء الخطب والترحم سار المشاركون في الرحلة على أقدامهم خلف مؤلف كتاب “جحيم إنال” والعسكري الناجي من تلك الأحداث ممدو سي، حيث وجههم إلى أربع تلال مكسوة بالحجار قال إنها المكان الذي دفن في رفاقه بعد تعذيبهم…
كان تحديد ذلك الموقع المجاور لمكان الثكنة العسكرية كفيل بإطلاق العنان للنحيب والبكاء والإغماءات بل وذهب الأمر إلى أبعد من ذلك حيث قام بعض الشباب بالدعوة إلى حمل السلاح لأخذ الثأر بدل البكاء.
After the speeches and the prayers, the participants went on their feet behind the author of the book entitled “Inal Hell” and the surviving solider Mamdou Se, who took them to four hills covered with stones and said this was the place where his friends were buried after being tortured.
The location of that spot near military barracks brought tears to many and caused others to faint. This made some youth to call for carrying arms, and taking revenge, instead of sobbing.
Gerry Adams criticizes the silence of the Mauritanian elites:
في ليلة الذكري الثلاثين لاستقلال موريتانيا نفذ الجيش الموريتاني مجزرة في قرية “إينال” في أقصي الشمال الموريتاني أعدم خلالها, بدون محاكمة ولا حتى تهمة واضحة, 28 عسكريا من الزنوج بعد أن مورس عليهم في تلك الليلة أبشع أنواع التعذيب والتنكيل…. وفي صمت أشبه بالمتعامي عن الجريمة سكت الجميع….. سكت المثقفون والسياسيون وعلماء الدين ودعاة المبادئ…. سكت التقدميون المدافعون عن الضعفاء والمحرومين…. سكت الإسلاميون الآمرون بالمعروف والناهون عن المنكر….. سكت الجميع قبل ذالك وبعد ذالك في ولاته وفي الجريدة و في غيرهما وتوالت جرائم قتل الزنوج الموريتانيين وتشريدهم ونهب أموالهم وهتك أعراضهم علي مرآي ومسمع من الجميع.
On the eve of Mauritania's 30th Independence commemoration. The Mauritanian army perpetrated a genocide in Inal, in northern Mauritania, where 28 black soldiers were executed without trial and not even a clear accusation. They were also subject that night to the ugliest forms of torture. And in a silence close to being blind to the crime, everyone shut up. The intellectuals shut up, so did the politicians and the clergymen and those who call for principles. The progressives who defend the weak and deprived also shut up. There was the same silence from the Islamists, who apply the sharia. Everybody shut up before and after the massacre. And the crimes against black Mauritanians were repeated as well as their displacement, and the confiscation of their money, and their honor was sullied and defiled under everyone's eyes.
On Aswat (Voices), Djibril Jalou wrote a series of blog posts on the crimes which Mauritanian blacks have been subject to. There, we can read testimonies of surviving soldiers:
جانب آخر من الوحشية حين كان الجناة يحتسون الشاي وهو يجلسون على الجثث في انتظار شنق الآخرين، أحد الناجين سمع، الضابط “خطري” يقرأ آية من القرآن وهو يجلس على جندي بعد أن شنقه، يقول هذا الناجي لا أصدق بأنه يؤمن بالرب الذي أنزل هذا القرآن العظيم المقدس.
لقد دام وقت الإعدام شنقا أكثر من ساعة زمانية. كان التعذيب في هذه الليلة جنونيا عقب الإعدامات، لقد ضرب المعتقلون ضربا شديدا. وأطلق الرصاص على بعضهم، لأنهم فقط “تأثروا” من هول ما رأوا. فقد قتل خمسة آخرين في نفس الليلة هم : لي همدي ،ممدو عصمان،جوب بوكر بيلا،صل عمر ،صل أمدو الحاج. يقول الضابط منصور، وهو مطابق لما وردر في كتاب “جحيم إنال”.
بقي في الأذهان أن 28 عسكريا أسودا قتلوا في هذه الليلة ، والحقيقة أن عدد قتلى إنال كثيرون في تلك الليلة ،يقول الضابط الناجي كان منصور، في شهادته المسجلة، وهو يحكي كيف طلب منه أن يعترف أمام “مسجلة” بأنه شارك في الإنقلاب ،  لقد جاء في هذه الشهادة أن كبار الضباط  الزنوج جمعوا في 23 من نوفمبر وبدأ تعذيبهم  وتهديدهم بالقتل وقد توفي أثناء تعذيبهم كلا من :  الملازم صل عبد الله موسى،  الملازم آن طاهير ضرب حتى الموت عند بوابة الزنزانة التي اعتقل فيها الضباط،النقيب لوم ، صل عمر مات وهو يقول منصور اعطني ماءا.لقد عذب حتى فقد جسمه كل السوائل.
Another side of the brutality was when the torturers were having tea while sitting on the bodies awaiting to execute the others, one of those who survived heard sergeant “khotri” reading the Koran while sitting on a soldier after hanging him. The survivor says: “I can't believe he believes in God who gave us this mighty and holy Koran.”
The executions lasted for more than an hour. Torture during that night was crazy in the aftermath of the executions. Detainees got severely beaten and some of them were shot just because they were touched by what they have seen. Five more were killed in that same night: Li Hamdi, Mamdou Osman, Job Boker Bil, Sal Oumar, Sal Amdou el Hajj, says sergeant Mansour. This statement being identical to what is related in “Inall Hell” book.
What remains in the memories is that 28 black soldiers were killed that night and that the truth is that the number of dead in that night is numerous as stated by sergeant Mansour in his recorded testimony where he says how he was asked to admit on a recorder that he participated in the massacre. The testimony also says that on the 23rd of November, senior black soldiers where rounded up, tortured and threatened to death and some of them died under torture, like Sal Abdallah Moussa, An Tahir who was beaten to death at the gate of the prison where Loum was arrested. Sal Oumar died while saying “Mansour, give me water.” He was tortured until his body was fully dehydrated.
Activist Sidi Aly Moulaye Zeine expresses on Facebook his sorrow that Inal massacre took place on independence day:
البعض يستعد للإحتفال ب ٢٨ من نفمبر بينما يحي هذا التاريخ آلام حداد لم يكتمل بعد عند آخرين. جنة الفردوس لشهداء موريتانيا من ضحايا الحكم العنصري و الدكتاتوريات العسكرية آمين
Some are getting ready to celebrate the 28th of November while for others, this date revives the pains of a mourning which has not been completed. Paradise for Maurtania's martyrs, victims of the racist rule and the military dictatorships. Amen
Also, “Don't Touch my Nationality” opposition movement, held a rally asking to punish all those involved in the elimination of black Mauritanians. But the Mauritanian regime met the march with oppression and tear-gas. The movement had earlier issued a list containing the names of members of the Mauritanian army accused of committing crimes against blacks, especially former president Moaouia Ould Sid Ahmed El Tae.
This video has been posted by Al Akhbar website on its Youtube page on Inal Caravane's 2012.

author: أحمد جدو


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Myanmar’s Foreign Investment Law · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

altsean uploads the English translation of the full text of Myanmar's Foreign Investment Law which was approved by the government last month. The law which provides tax breaks, land leasing agreements, and opportunities for joint business ventures, was welcomed by many investors.


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“Romania’s Non-Election” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Romania's general election is scheduled to take place on Dec. 9. Bucharest Life notes that “this has been the most lacklustre Romanian election campaign since 1990″ and that “it’s not the outcome of the election that we need to pay attention to, it’s the outcome of the outcome”:
[…] Given how boring the campaign itself has been, the week or two after the election could be fun.
The Economist's Eastern Approaches highlights the campaign of Iulian Craciun:
[…] If elected on December 9th, the 34-year old IT expert would be the first disabled person ever to enter the Romanian Parliament. […]
Csíkszereda Musings comments on the ethnic Hungarian dimension of the election, and also warns that “the description of the likely-to-win USL coalition as ‘centre left'” should be taken “with a massive pinch of salt”:
[…] They've always been a bunch of corrupt socially illiberal populists at the best of times, but now they even include the loathesome racist homophobic bigot Gigi Becali under their banner. This is a man who would make Jean Marie le Pen look centrist. Any coalition with him in is NOT in any way left, centre left, or even centre anything. […]


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Summarizing English-Language Coverage on Macedonia · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Expat blogger Rainier Jaarsma provides periodical roundups of the English-language coverage of events in Macedonia. The latest one regards this past November.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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“The Slovenian Uprising” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sleeping With Pengovsky comments on Slovenia's presidential election (GV text is here) and on the protest movement – “which appears to be totally decentralised and operating via Facebook”:
[…] At the moment protests in Slovenia are directed against many different targets. Mayor Kangler, Mayor Janković, prime minister Janša, interior minister Gorenak, the failed industrial and construction tycoons, the banksters, even the president-elect Pahor already found his way to the “Gotof je” (He’s Done With) posters. But there is a common message to these protests. The people realised they’ve been robbed of their own country. And they’ve come to take it back. […]
Amila Bosnae translates an “open letter by a [Slovenian] policeman expressing his anger at the ruling elites and support with his fellow citizens”:
[…] I have written this letter for the sake of all of us regular people. I will lower my shield, I will take off my helmet, I will ignore the order, because I am one of you, the people!
And as for the government: you are THROUGH. We will lower our shields!


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Winning Applications from Latin America’s Biggest Hackathon · Global Voices
Susannah Vila

This post was originally published in the engine room
Desarrollando America Latina [es], a kind of World Cup for hackers in Latin America, took place this weekend in 8 countries in South and Central America. When technologists get in the room with open data and a mandate to address social problems, a lot can happen. Here are some of the winning ideas.
1. Codeando Mexico [es]: Why should hackathons be time bound? Codeando Mexico would be an online space for a hackathon that is always happening.  The platform would provide an opportunity for people working on social issues to post ideas for things they would like to do with open data, and create entry points to get technologists involved. This idea is really only 10% about code and 90% about community building, but Mexico would be a great place to pilot the concept.  (Mexico)
2. AlertaCiudad [es]: Allows people to find information about where they are in their city taken such as the closest hospital, the owner of a car (based on license plate), the cheapest medical services, the closest fire and police stations.  It's 100% made for SMS, and the code (the hacker used Python on a Linux server to create an SMS Gateway) is available now for anyone interested. (Peru)
Desarrollando América Latina
3. Ciclas Rutas [es]: An application for cyclists to share their favorite routes so that the municipality can then react accordingly by replicating the characteristics that people like so much when it is designing other bicycle routes. (Chile)
4. FondoxDiabetes [es]: Aims to spotlight the problem of sugary beverages and diabetes in Mexico by creating a geo-referenced voting mechanism for people to express their opinion the prospect of a 20% tax [es] on such beverages. (Mexico)
5. Mapa de Asistencia a la Víctima [es] (Victim Assistance Map): Makes it easier for Argentinians to find community centers providing legal aid and other kinds of support for victims of politically motivated false accusations. (Argentina)
6. LimaiO [es]: This is a piece of hardware which collects information about its surrounding environment like air quality and temperature and uses its own internet connection to send this information out to citizens. It might sound simple (which it is) but the creators decided that someone needed to start collecting information about changes in the environment after growing sick of seeing the same traffic light display the words “without data” instead of the information is was put there to display. (Peru)
7. Grandes Problemas, Pequeñas Acciones [es] (Big Problems, Small Actions): Because statistics about pressing, global problems often overwhelm people, this team opted to create a toolkit for people to get together and start small, community initiatives and then see how these community-driven initiatives that are related to pressing global problems like climate change. (Argentina)
8. Seu Lixo [pt]: Visualizes the amount of trash produced daily in Brazil, to show the impact of major cities on the country's garbage production. (Brazil)
9. Friendly Food [es]: A smartphone tool allowing people to do a rapid evaluation of food when they are in the aisles of their local super market so that they can choose what is healthiest. (Chile)
10. InfoAgua [es]: An application for people to learn more about the relationship between population growth and water quality by district. (Mexico)
There were 14 other winners – 3 for each country – and a few runners up, including:
- Seg3 [es] from the Chileans, which makes it easier for people to track their health as they get older and supports activities to avoid physical and mental deterioration.
- Escuadrón Salud [es] from the Costa Rican team, which raises awareness and provides information on public health epidemics and provides advice on how to avoid contracting prevalent diseases.
- EducaYa! [es], an online learning platform for students in Peru which takes existing resources [es] from the Ministry of Education and makes them more user friendly. The only reason we didn’t include the latter in the top ten was because the low internet connectivity in most of Peru makes an online learning platform seem like a stretch.
If you want to learn more about who won in Uruguay, talk to DATA (@DataUY) [es]. If you’re interested in applications from Bolivia, check out their winning entry: a crime map called SeguriMapas [es].
The winning teams will now have one week to continue developing their ideas before they head to the regionals. Three teams will win this contest, and they will get personalized mentorship from Movistar’s innovation lab [es].

author: Susannah Vila


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Traditional Weddings in Brunei · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Haji Daud bin Haji Abd Rahman writes about the traditional wedding customs and practices in Brunei. He also features some wedding photos in the 1950s and 1960s.


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7D: Argentina Prepares for New Media Law · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

Argentina appears to have formed a habit with regards to labelling important announcements with the date and first letter of the month; it happened with 8N alluding to November 8, 2012, and now 7D has come about with regards to December 7, the day in which the new Law on Audiovisual Communication Services (LSCA) goes into full effect.
As the blog Venas Abiertas Americanas [es] (American Open Veins) explains,
El 7 de diciembre los medios de comunicación audiovisuales deben comenzar a cumplir con la nueva Ley de Medios Audiovisuales, aprobada este año por el Congreso y que suplanta a la vieja ley promulgada durante la última dictadura militar en el país (1976 a 1983).
On December 7 all audiovisual media must begin to comply with the new Audiovisual Media Law, approved this year by Congress and which replaces the old law enacted during the last military dictatorship in the country (1976-1983).
But what does this law regulate? News site Telam [es] responds with a series of frequently asked questions:
¿Qué regula la Ley? El objeto de la LSCA es la regulación de los servicios de comunicación audiovisual en todo el ámbito territorial de la República Argentina así como el desarrollo de mecanismos destinados a la promoción, desconcentración y fomento de la competencia con fines de abaratamiento, democratización y universalización del aprovechamiento de las nuevas tecnologías de la información y la comunicación.
What does the law regulate? The objective of the LSCA is to regulate audiovisual communication services throughout the territory of the Republic of Argentina, as well as to develop mechanisms destined for the promotion, decentralisation, and encouragement of competition with the aim of reducing costs, democratising, and spreading the use of new technologies of information and communication.
The same page explains [es] the number of licences that each media group can have:
¿Cuantas medios audiovisuales puede tener un grupo? Para garantizar la pluralidad de voces, la diversidad de contenidos y el respeto por lo local, la LSCA establece en su artículo 45º limitaciones a la concentración de licencias. Así, a nivel nacional, una persona puede ser titular de 24 sistemas televisión por cable, 10 licencias de radiodifusión -sean de radio FM, AM o de televisión abierta- y una señal de contenidos (canal de cable). Mientras que a nivel local, una persona puede ser titular de una licencia de radio AM, una FM y una de radiodifusión televisiva.
How many audiovisual media can a [media] group have? In order to guarantee the plurality of voices, the diversity of content and the respect for the local, the LSCA establishes in article 45 the limitations in the concentration of licences. In this way, at a national level, a person can be a holder of 24 cable television systems, 10 licences for broadcasting- be it FM or AM radio or open television- and one contents signal (cable channel). While at a local level, a person can be a holder of one AM, one FM radio licence, and one broadcasting television licence.
The Media Group most affected by this adaptation to the law is Clarín Group [es], which brought an injunction which temporarily suspended Article 161 of the new Media Law. La Nación [es] explains:
El artículo 161 dispuso que quienes tengan mayor cantidad de licencias que las permitidas por la nueva ley debían regularizarse un año después que el Afsca [Autoridad Federal de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual] estableciera los mecanismos de transición. Vencido dicho plazo se les aplicarían las sanciones correspondientes, que incluyen la caducidad de la licencia así como el desapoderamiento de la infraestructura necesaria para la emisión y su adjudicación a otro licenciatario.
Article 161 has stipulated that those who have more licences than that allowed by the new law will have to be regulated a year later, after the Afsca [Federal Authority of Audiovisual Communication Services] establishes transition mechanisms. After this deadline, appropriate sanctions will be applied, which include licence revocation as well as the necessary divestment of emission infrastructure and allotment to another licensee.
The suspension of the article expires on December 7, marking 7D as the deadline for the regulation of media licences according to the new law.
Clarín voices its complaints [es]:
Planteó la inconstitucionalidad de varios artículos de la ley de medios, como el impedimento que un licenciatario de TV abierta pueda tener una licencia de TV por cable en una misma ciudad, la restricción a la producción de señales de cable, que los canales abiertos solo puedan producir una señal audiovisual y que los cables solo puedan tener una señal de generación propia. También cuestionó la restricción a 24 licencias de TV por cable y las 10 de radio y TV abierta, así como la reducción al 35% de participación y cobertura en los diferentes segmentos del mercado nacional.
[Clarín] raised the unconstitutionality of various articles in the Media Law, such as the obstacle that an open-TV licence holder can have a cable TV licence in the same city, the restriction to the production of cable signals, that open channels can only produce one audiovisual signal and that cable channels can only have one signal that is generated by themselves. [Clarín] also questions the restriction to 24 cable TV licences, 10 for radio and 10 for open-TV, as well as the reduction to 35% participation and coverage in the different segments of the national market.
A video titled “The Media Law is not Unconstitutional” from the Casa Rosada ‘s [es] YouTube channel responds to the Clarín Group, emphasizing that the law is constitutional:
In turn, the Clarín Group, through its YouTube channel [es], broadcasts its response, noting that the reader, viewer, cable-TV user, radio listener or Internet user have options for choosing other media outlets:
Many bloggers have reflected on 7D. Daniel Satur and Martín Espinoza, from the blog El diablo se llama Trotsky [es] (The devil is called Trotsky), write:
Plantear hoy la cuestión en términos de “o se está con Clarín o se está con el Gobierno” es caer en una trampa. Si colocarse del lado de Clarín es defender un esquema mediático monopólico y reaccionario, entusiasmarse con una hipotética intervención estatal o con una redistribución k sobre los medios es depositar expectativas en el garante último de la más absoluta falta de libertad de expresión: el Estado capitalista.
To consider the matter in terms of “you are either with Clarín or you are with the Government” is to fall into a trap. If you put yourself at the side of Clarín, you are defending a media scheme that is monopolistic and reactionary; if you get excited about a hypothetical state intervention or about a media redistribution, you are depositing your expectations in the final guarantee of the absolute lack of freedom of expression: the capitalist State.
In turn, Facundo Landivar from the blog También soy argentino [es] (I am also Argentinian), considers 7D to be utter nonsense on both parts; that of the Argentinian leaders and that of Clarín.
Pero se sigue con este tema de ambos lados lo cual resulta una total mentira, yo no me creo que lo mas importante que esta pasando hace ya un tiempo en Argentina es la aplicación de la ley de medios.
This two-sided matter just goes on and only results in yet more lies. I don't believe that the implementation of this Media Law is the most important thing to be going on for quite some time in Argentina.
Meanwhile, Argentinians await December 7 and on Twitter Cecilia Greaves (@CeciGreaves) [es] writes:
@CeciGreaves: Ya empezó el mes del 7D, de los mayas, del fin del mundo, de la tormenta solar, del calor, de las compras navideñas.. ‘Or dió, que mes!
@CeciGreaves: And so begins the month of 7D, the Mayas, the end of the world, solar and heat storms, Christmas shopping… Good God, what a month!

author: Laura Schneider


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Africa: Online culture magazine crowdfunds to print special issue · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Buala, an online magazine on culture in contemporary Africa, is crowdfunding to finance its first print edition next year. In existence for two years, publishing over 900 articles by over 300 contributors, Buala has had over 430,000 hits. With versions in French, English and Portuguese, it attempts to present a “broader” vision of post-colonial Africa.

author: Janet Gunter


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Argentina’s Impending ‘Monsanto Law’ is Not Welcome · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries [es] of Argentina is working on a new law to protect the intellectual property rights of companies that produce transgenic seeds. This bill, dubbed by small producers as ‘Seed Law’ or ‘Monsanto Law’, is being strongly criticized by various sectors who consider that Argentina could lose its food sovereignty if the law moves forward.
The website Partido Pirata [es] (Pirate Party) writes about the consequences that such law could bring to Argentina:
Quiere legalizar la policía de semillas que tan nefastos resultados tuvo en EEUU y Europa. Esta ley le daría la propiedad de las semillas a Monsanto. Porque bastaría que las semillas que siembran nuestros campesinos y chacareros estén contaminadas por el gen para ser propiedad de Monsanto, los productores de semillas no podrán acopiar sus semillas.
[The law] wants to legalize the seeds policy that has had disastrous results in the U.S. and Europe. This law would give Monsanto the ownership of seeds. The seeds that our small farmers and landholders sow would just have to be contaminated by the gene to be considered the property of Monsanto, and seed producers would not be able to collect their seeds.
In Tribuna de Periodistas [es] (Journalists’ Tribune), Carlos Forte quotes Minister of Agriculture Norberto Yahuar:
Protest against  Monsanto in Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 17th 2012. Photo: Maximiliano Ramos, copyright Demotix.
“En los últimos tiempos se compraban semillas de tecnología que pasaban a ser propiedad exclusiva de los productores, y después esos campos generaron cantidades que excedían a la que necesitaban para una nueva resiembra, por lo que se produjo un comercio que no tiene prácticamente control. Lo lógico es que todo el desarrollo que hacen tanto el Estado como empresas privadas tengan un respaldo en el resguardo de esa propiedad intelectual.”
“In recent times, the purchased biotech seeds would become the exclusive property of producers, and then the amount of seeds generated in those fields exceeded the amounts needed for a new reseeding, so a trade with virtually no control sprung up. The logical thing is that all development carried out by the State and private companies be backed up under the protection of intellectual property rights.”
Forte also writes about the 10 motives [es] that different organizations presented to fight against this new law:
Las organizaciones Movimiento Nacional Campesino Indígena (MNCI), CLOC-Vía Campesina Argentina, GRAIN, Amigos de la Tierra y Acción por la Biodiversidad accedieron a un borrador del proyecto de fines de agosto al que calificaron como un intento de “subordinar la política nacional de semillas a las exigencias de la UPOV (Unión Internacional para la Protección de Obtenciones Vegetales) y las transnacionales”.
En una declaración de “10 motivos para luchar contra el proyecto de ley” señalaron que la norma propuesta “sólo fomenta la privatización y protege la propiedad sobre lo que es un patrimonio colectivo de los pueblos, especialmente de las comunidades campesinas y los pueblos indígenas”.
Organizations such as Movimiento Nacional Campesino Indígena (MNCI, National Farmers and Indigenous Movement), CLOC-Vía Campesina Argentina (Farmers Way Argentina), GRAIN, Amigos de la Tierra (Friends of the Earth) and Acción por la Biodiversidad (Action for Biodiversity) accessed a draft of the bill at the end of August, which they called an attempt to “subjugate the national seeds policy to the demands of the UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) and transnational corporations. “
In a declaration of “10 motives to fight against the bill” [these organizations] emphasized that the proposed law “only promotes and protects the privatization of the collective heritage belonging to the people, especially to the rural communities and indigenous people. “
Forte also adds:
Mientras esto ocurre, los grandes medios callan respecto a este tema. Lo mismo sucede con referentes políticos, tanto del oficialismo como de la oposición. La única que ha hablado claramente es Cristina Kirchner. Eso sí, a favor de Monsanto.
While this happens, big media companies remain silent about the subject. The same happens with politicians, both from the ruling and opposition parties. The only one who has spoken clearly is [President] Cristina Kirchner. Of course, in favor of Monsanto.
Meanwhile, Monsanto spreads the news about the approval for commercialization [es] of a new technology that will increase soybean yield:
“Hoy vemos con agrado que se están dando las condiciones necesarias para avanzar con un nuevo modelo de negocios que reconozca la propiedad intelectual a las invenciones tecnológicas en soja. Así, continuaremos trabajando junto a los productores y a toda la cadena para contar con un modelo consolidado al momento del lanzamiento comercial de la tecnología”.
Monsanto, junto con todos los actores de la cadena de soja, se encuentra finalizando un proceso de consenso que permita el establecimiento de un modelo de negocios que reconozca y respete los derechos de propiedad intelectual sobre las tecnologías patentadas, de modo de estar en condiciones de lanzar comercialmente INTACTA RR2 PRO en el año 2013 en el norte del país.
“Today we are happy that the necessary conditions to move forward with a new business model that recognizes intellectual property rights in soybean technological inventions are being met. Thus we will continue to work with producers and the entire chain to have a consolidated model at the time of the commercial launch of the technology. “
Monsanto, along with all actors in the soy chain, is finishing a consensus process that allows the establishment of a business model that recognizes and respects intellectual property rights on patented technologies, in order to be able to launch INTACTA RR2 PRO commercially in 2013 in the north of the country.
A ‘mega event’ under the slogan “Out Monsanto” [es] was organized through Facebook for December 2, 2012. The same event had been convened on September 17.
Cucharaargentina shares the following video of one of the protests:
El mega evento se desplegó copando la Plaza San Martín con el objetivo de repudiar el accionar criminal de la empresa, el uso de agrotóxicos y rechazar la modificación a la ley de semillas que propone el gobierno nacional, que ya se conoce como “Ley Monsanto”.
The mega event spread through Plaza San Martín in order to condemn the criminal actions of the company, the use of pesticides, and reject the amendments to the seed law proposed by the national government, already known as the ‘Monsanto Law’


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Besieged and Bickering, Russian Online Portal Begins Anew · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

On November 29, 2012 Aksana Panova, editor-in-chief of the embattled Yekaterinburg internet news agency URA.ru [ru] posted a note in her Facebook saying her last goodbyes [ru] on behalf of the website:
Это наш последний текст. Он стоял на сайте. Но сайт уже заблокировали. Поэтому публикую здесь. Вот и все. […] Король умер, да здравствует король. Сегодня мы покидаем «URA.Ru», чтобы на следующей неделе запустить новый проект – интернет-газету «Znak.Com».[…] Что касается судьбы самого «URA.Ru» – она нам неизвестна.
This is our last story. It used to be up on the website. But the website is already blocked. So I publish it here. That's all folks. […] The king is dead, long live the king. Today we are leaving “URA.ru”, and next week we will launch a new project – an internet newspaper “Znak.Com”. […] As to the fate of “URA.ru” itself – it is unknown to us.
Panova and URA.ru has been under pressure for months, presumably as punishment for criticism of regional government officials. In September local police raided [GV] the newspaper offices. Two weeks ago the website experienced an attempted domain hijacking [GV]. Panova herself is under investigation for alleged extortion (she is accused of demanding money to stop negative coverage.) The last straw was apparently a URA.ru shareholder meeting scheduled for November 30, where the majority shareholders (who hold 51% of the shares) were expected to ask for Panova's resignation.
URA.ru front page. December 5, 2012. Screenshot
Rather than wait for this to happen, Panova and her editorial team decided to leave preemptively. In a followup note she wrote [ru]:
Буквально через несколько минут, в 10.30, начнется совет директоров ООО “Ура.ру”, который снимет с меня полномочия директора и шеф-редактора URA.Ru. Место займет Михаил Вьюгин. Мой друг. Он остается один.
In just a few minutes, at 10:30, the OOO “Ura.ru” board of directors will begin its meeting, where it will fire me from the positions of director and editor-in-chief of URA.Ru. Mikhail Viugin will take my place. He is my friend. He remains alone.
Earlier Panova wrote the following [ru] of Viugin:
Это единственный человек из 30 сотрудников агентства, который по личным причинам принял решение остаться.
This is the only person out of the 30 employees of the agency, that for personal reasons decided to stay.
The claim that Viugin is the only person to stay is odd, since there are articles currently being published on URA.ru which are authored by journalists who have previously contributed to the website (for example Sergey Leonov [ru]). Nevertheless, Panova  does not seem to be upset with Viugin, having gifted him with the 49% of company shares she still controls.
Viugin, on the other hand, has a bone to pick with Panova. On November 29 he blogged on his Facebook, accusing Panova [ru] of reneging on promises of equal partnership and sacrificing the company to corporate infighting:
«Ты – моя опора, – сказала мне ты. – Официально мы не делим ООО пополам, но знай – мы равные партнеры». Работать с тобой – удовольствие и счастье. Но только до тех пор, пока ты, выбирая между дружбой и деньгами, не выбрала деньги, и предала.
“You are my buttress,” you told me. “Officially we don't divide the OOO in half, but know – we are equal partners.” Working with you is joyful and happy. But only until the time when you, choosing between friendship and money, chose money and betrayed.
Viugin seems to imply that Panova did not share with him the money she received from the sale of 51% of the company shares (the sale which ironically ended up forcing Panova out of the driver's seat). In the same blog he accused of Panova of manipulating her staff to follow her in resigning from the agency:
я смотрю, что ты делаешь с ребятами, и вижу каждую манипуляцию. Ты как паучиха плетешь паутину лжи, а ребята в ней вязнут.
I watch what you are doing with the guys, I see every manipulation. You are like a spider spinning a web of lies, and the guys are stuck in it.
Panova did not respond to Viugin's accusations, insinuating that he had no choice but to write what he did.
Brand new Znak.com. December 5, 2012. Screenshot
In the meantime, Panova's team has, as promised, launched a new website Znak.com, self-described as [ru]:
интернет-газета, рассказывающая о жизни Урала и всей России, не боящаяся острых тем, не имеющая высокопоставленных цензоров
[an] internet-newspaper about the life of the Urals and all of Russia, unafraid of controversial issues, without high-placed censors
The website is up and running with columns from Oleg Kashin [ru] (recently fired from Kommersant) and Gleb Pavlovsky [ru]. As such, it appears that Znak is aiming for a less regional approach and wider audience. Panova likened [ru] the launch itself to giving birth:
Чувствую себя мамой новорожденного. Вот в прямом смысле. Не спишь, не ешь, никуда от кроватки.
I feel like the mother of a newborn. Literally. No time to sleep or eat, no leaving the crib.
With the attack on URA.ru effectively over, Yekaterinburg based political scientist Konstantin Kiselev summed up the fall-out [ru]:
лизать власть (и областную, и федеральную) в итоге скандала, развязанного силовиками и властью против УРА.ру, в области стало еще более не модно.
as a result of the scandal launched by the siloviki and the government against URA.ru, to be a lickspittle to the powers that be (both regional and federal) has become even less hip in our region.
Hopefully Kiselev is right, and in the long run this unfortunate incident will lead to more freedom of the press, not less.

author: Andrey Tselikov


text:
Counting the Hours Before Ghana’s Presidential Elections · Global Voices
L. Abena Annan

It is just one day before  Ghana's election day and campaigns are intensifying – some early morning street campaigns are accompanied by horn blowing, loud singing and clapping. Some people are proudly wearing party-affiliated shirts around town while others are taking the subtle route of keeping it private. Television networks are transitioning programs with peace messages from both children and adults amidst a handful of stories about political violence in some towns.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo – Ghana's main opposition presidential candidate. Photo released under Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) by Nana Addo.
@Macharia_M tweeted on December 5, 2012:
@Macharia_M: These guys are taking the peace campaigns pretty seriously. Even in their music programs a whole 15 minutes of peace songs. Whoa.
@accradotalt tweeted on December 4, saying:
@accradotalt: All these peace songs are a bit much- as if prior to the elections #Ghana was unstable.
The Electoral Commission of Ghana has warned the public not to use cell phones to take pictures of their votes while in the voting booths. The warning, however, doesn’t seem to sit well with some voters.
Commenting on a story about the warning published on MyJoyOnline, Freedom Fighter had this to say:
Everyone has the right to announce who they supported, and vote buying will continue as long as this is a capitalist country. The US allows photo taking. They cannot stop freedom.
Commenting on the same story, Kobbie wrote:
I wonder how they’re gonna enforce that. Pat-downs before entering the booth?
On the issue of peace, @novisid, clearly a supporter of the National Democratic Congress party tweeted:
@novisid: I won't merely pledge to vote. I pledge to vote 4 Mahama [current president John Mahama]. Against all die be die. PEACE!
It appears the rhetoric has intensified in the few days leading to the elections as staunch party members are using social media platforms to counter statements from their opponents.
@novisid tweeted again:
@novisid: Seems Bawumia was told that for him to be seen as a politician whatever he sees, he should just call it ‘propaganda’.
And he adds:
@novisid: What has dominated debate ahead of election is not education but Akuffo Addo's fraud called free SHS [Free Senior High School].
A supporter of the opposition party, New Patriotic Party, @ohenebagyimah has been raining tweets for the party in the days leading to the elections.
On December 2, he wrote:
@ohenebagyimah: When NDC says (in their ad) that “for peace to prevail in Ghana, vote JDM [John Dramani Mahama] and the NDC” what are they telling us?”
On December 3, he tweeted:
@ohenebagyimah: For a better value for your vote,votewyc for Nana Addo #3 on the ballot paper.
It will be interesting to see what happens between supporters of the two major parties, NDC and NPP, on social media platforms come Saturday, December 8, after the elections. There will be a run-off on December 28 if no candidate receives an absolute majority of 50% plus one vote.

author: L. Abena Annan