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Bangladesh: Proposed International Airport Stumbles Over Environment Controversy · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

This is the first of the two part series on the debate in Bangla blogosphere over the protests against the proposed international airport at Arial Beel, a low-lying vast wetland in the middle of Bangladesh.
In August 2010, the government of Bangladesh endorsed an ambitious infrastructure project, namely the construction of a new, modern, world-class International airport. A Public-Private Partnership (PPP) venture, the initial cost of the project was estimated at Tk. 500 billion. The land required for the project was estimated to be around 6000 acres.
A beel at Tangail. Image by P. K. Niyogi. Courtesy Wikimedia.
Initially, three possible sites were explored — two in Madhupur of Tangail and one in Mymensingh's Trishal — with Trishal emerging as the favorable choice. However, on realising that in Trishal the task would be to displace/relocate a large number of people, the government, fearing resistance, changed its mind and without conducting any sort of feasibility study or environment impact assessment, earmarked the low-lying vast wetland Arial Beel (currently the 3rd largest beel in Bangladesh which stretches across parts of Sreenagar of Munshiganj, and Dohar and Nawabganj of Dhaka) situated 6km south of Dhaka city, as its chosen location. Interestingly, by then the proposed project had grown from an airport to include a satellite city as well, bringing up the land requirement from the erstwhile 6000 acres to 25000 acres. (See some pictures of Areal Beel by Lonely Traveler).
The Controversy
No sooner had the project been announced, heated debates erupted among citizens in those localities. Many feared displacement and offered stiff resistance to the government’s decision and willingness to sacrifice the wetlands in its quest to build a shining new airport and city. Environmental activists pointed out that the move to erase the wetlands would severely impact both environment as well as livlihoods of the local people living in the beel area. There were concerns that the government had finalised the location based on land survey records that were over 100 years old, without taking into account a) the changes that have come about over time in terms of habitations, land usage and overall terrain of the land and b) the critical role played by wetlands in recharging the groundwater resources.
However, there were others who welcomed the initiative, hoping that the project will usher in employment opportunities and overall development of the area concerned. Apart from local residents, there was also excitement about the project among a section of non-resident Bangladeshis. After all, the project promised a world-class airport and city, an IT hub, a textile hub and many other such initiatives and a new expressway and monorail system that would connect the airport with Dhaka city. The Minister of Urban Development, Mr. Abdul Mannan Khan claimed that once the project was underway, the current legal landowners would get 5-10 kathas of land in the project area which would then be as valuable as a diamond mine – much higher than its current yield value. He stated that the people could not even imagine how their standard of living would leapfrog once the project materialised.
Protests against the proposed international airport at Arial Beel. Image courtesy www.move4world.com. Click on the image for more.
Both groups (for and against the proposed project on Arial Beel) began to get organised. Soon however, the issue got politicised, with the leading opposition party, the BNP, joining hands with the protesters and raising the volume of the protests and agitations to thwart the proposed land acquisition. The unrest soon spread and when the government tried to use the police  force to control the protests,  violence erupted in the area which left 1  policeman dead and over 100  injured.
The Online Debate
The protection versus land acquisition debate quickly spread online and fuelled the blogosphere. Bloggers reacted to various points associated with the issue.
For those OPPOSING the project, their arguments were mainly two-fold: a) the ecological importance of preserving the Arial Beel and b) questioning whether a new airport was indeed required at this time. In this post, we look at the ecological arguments advanced by bloggers in voicing their opposition to the project.
Arial Beel – A critical ecosystem that sustains biodiversity & livlihoods
In the International Conference on the Commons at IASC 2011 in Hyderabad, India, a global community came together to reaffirm the importance of conserving and protecting the world's water resources. Their concerns were reflected among the Bangla bloggers who put forth strong arguments for protecting the Arial Beel.
A.B.M Mohsin at Amarblog writes[bn]:
এমনিতেই জলবায়ুর বিরূপ প্রভাব আর মানুষের অপরিকল্পিত বাঁধ এদেশের জলাভূমিকে  ধ্বংসের কিনারে নিয়ে এসেছে।  এর সাথে যদি এমন অযাচিত অধিগ্রহণের মত ঘটনা  চলতে থাকে তবে জীববৈচিত্র্যে ভরপুর আর ছোট মাছের প্রাকৃতিক প্রজননভূমি এই  আড়িয়াল বিলের মত ধীরে ধীরে সব জলজসম্পদ ধ্বংস হয়ে যাবে।
In an open letter to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, blogger Tanvir Rabbani at Sachalayatan, points out[bn]:
মাননীয় প্রধান মন্ত্রী…আপনার পরিকল্পনা কমিটির কেউ কি জানেন না যে বিলটি প্রতিবছর বন্যায় ১৫-২৫  ফুট পানিতে তলিয়ে যায় এবং এই এলাকার মাটিতে পিট কয়লার গভীর স্তর আছে যা  বিমান বন্দর সহ যেকোন ভারী স্থাপনার জন্যেই হুমকিস্বরুপ?
[…]মাননীয় প্রধান মন্ত্রী,  আপনি হয়ত জানেন তবু আরেকবার বলি; আপনাদের  অধিগ্রহন করতে চাওয়া আড়িয়াল বিলের ২৫,০০০ একর  জমি থেকে বর্তমানে ৪০,০০০  মেট্রিক টন ধান (প্রায়),১০,০০০ মেট্রিক  রবিশস্য (প্রায়) , ৭০০ মেট্রক  টন মাছ (প্রায়) উৎপাদিত হয় এবং এই জমি অধিগ্রহন করলে স্থানীয় বেকারত্বের  সংখ্যা দাঁড়াবে ১১ লক্ষ।জমি অধিগ্রহনের পর কিভাবে পূরন করবেন এই  খাদ্যশষ্যের ঘাটতি? তার চেয়ে বড়কথা কোথায় যাবে এই মানুষগুলো?কি হবে  তাদের বাসস্থান,জীবিকা কিংবা স্বপ্নের? জানি আপনারা জানেননা, আর জানেনা  বলেই তারা আজ পথে নেমে এসেছে।প্রতিরোধের দেয়াল বানিয়ে সেখানে রক্তের ছোপে  লিখে দিয়েছে  “আড়িয়াল বিল শাসকের নয়, এই বিল বিলমানুষদের”।
On his blog at Somewherein, blogger Roder Chele wonders how the government could override its own National Water Policy which lays down specific conservation rules restricting landfill of natural waterbodies such as the Arial Beel. Pointing out (through pictures) to the difference  in the class of people campaigning for and against the Beel, the blogger concludes that the ordinary, local people are all resisting the project while a section of the elites were campaigning for the project. He writes[bn]:
আড়িয়াল বিল হচ্ছে বাংলাদেশে পরিকল্পিত চাষাবাদের অন্যতম বিল। এখানে সেচের সমস্যা নেই। পুরো বিলে আছে পর্যাপ্ত ডেঙ্গা (বড় পুকুর)। যেখানে মাছ এবং ফসলের চাষে পানির যোগান হয় সমান তালে। মাটির যে উৎপাদন উত্তেজনা, কৃষকের শৃঙ্গারে তার ষোলআনা উসুল হয় এখানে। আড়িয়াল বিলের চেহারা আর বাংলাদেশের চেহারা একই রকম। আমরা সবুজের আধুনিকায়ন লাল দিয়ে করতে চাই না। সবুজ আরো সবুজ হবে, বিস্তৃত সবুজ। মাটির গায়ে মার্বেল পাথর দিয়ে আমাদের মাটিসভ্যতা ধর্ষন করতে চাই না। এ মাটি পরিত্যক্ত নয়, এ মাটি অহেতুক নয়। এ মাটিতে ফসল এবং শ্রমের যে সংগম, তা অভূতপূর্ব।
Many other bloggers too are discussing how the government could bulldoze over their own National Water Policy, opining that this shows that the government is not serious about conservation and protection.
This post concludes in another part. To read more about the ‘Airport versus Arial Beel’ online debate, please look out for part 2 of this series, coming soon.

author: Aparna Ray


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Bangladesh: The Green Mosque · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bangladesh Unlocked writes about the green mosque at Sunamganj, which was built in the early part of the twentieth century.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rezwan


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Cambodia, Thailand: Tweets about the border conflict · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Tharum Bun gathers twitter reactions in Cambodia about the current border conflict involving Thailand and Cambodia.

author: Mong Palatino


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China: Campaign to Free Blind Human Rights Activist · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Since his release from prison on September 8, 2010, blind Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng has been held under 24 hour home surveillance by security police in Shandong, a province in eastern China.
According to non-governmental organisation China Human Rights Defenders, upon the release of a video showing the illegal detention of Chen and his family produced by United States-based Christian group China Aid on February 9, 2011, Chen and his wife were badly beaten by police. The video can be found on Youtube:
Campaign for Freedom
Since September 2010, Chinese activists have been campaigning to free Chen Guangcheng and his family from house arrest.
On 30 September, 2010, a number of human rights activists staged a cultural T-shirt protest [zh] in front of the Shandong regional government office in Beijing.
Activists stage a 'free Guangcheng' t-shirt protest.
Activists have also been trying to visit Chen's family since October 2010, resulting in the attack on one on October 1 2011 [zh] by security guards. The woman in question, @pearlher, is now urging other activists and netizens via Twitter to visit Chen's village:
千呼万唤，不如村头一站！现在开始接受报名去探访陈光诚。想去的话，DM偶您可能有空的时间。
Visit to Chen's Village
Another activist, @chen_yunfei, went directly to the security police and demanded to visit Chen Guangcheng on November 30, 2010. He strategically told them that the purpose of this trip was to clear up the online rumors surrounding Chen's condition. Below is a record of their conversation:
我答：“我就是来找你们证实啊，如是假的，那就是诋毁党和政府形象！我们不能给反华敌对势力宣传的借口。同时我了解真相后也可以为此四处辟谣。”
“如网上说的是事实，我就想做二件事：第一，我想见见陈光诚先生，我想做他思想工作。我想知道他为什么这么顽固不化，与党和政府为敌呢？搞 得水火不容。我给他讲讲现在外面党和政府领导下的大好形势，讲讲前无古人后无来者的‘和谐’维稳盛世。并且劝他早日改过自新，争取早日回归社会，消除恶劣 影响。第二，无论陈光诚怎么坏，但孩子是无辜的，我想看看孩子，亲自给她点零花钱，买点书包、笔纸、玩具什么的。”
I answered: “I have come here to crosscheck the facts. If what has been said online is fake, it is defamatory to the [Chinese] government and the [Communist] party! We cannot let the anti-China force take advantage of this. I can clear up the rumors once I get hold of the truth.”
“If what has been said online is the truth, I want to do two things. First of all, I want to see Mr Chen Guangcheng and educate him. I want to know why he is so stubborn in insisting on turning himself into the enemy of the government and party. I want to share with him a rosy picture of the current ‘harmonious’ and prosperous era and persuade him to repent and return to society, so as to eliminate his negative impact. Secondly, even if Chen Guangcheng is really bad, his child is innocent. I want to see his child and give her some pocket money for exercise books, toys and whatever.”
Jail for a ‘Secret’ Crime
国保甲：“陈光诚你就不用见了。那里我们的群众基础好围得水泄不通，你想见也见不上。还告诉你那里群众不会给你讲理，去了造成后果我们也不负责的。 我们国保都不去，我都从来没见过他，也不想见他。”国保甲接下来的话更让我惊惶不安，“你跟他不同，他是‘汉奸’！他与国外勾结出卖国家利益。”
我惊叹道：“哇塞，出卖什么国家利益？”
国保甲：“这你就用不着知道，这是秘密。”接着又说：“他里通外国有很多联系，究竟多少联系，我们正在办理他的事，你最好不要掺和他的事，赶紧回家。”
Security Police A: “You can't meet with Chen Guangcheng. We have a very strong grassroots base there – even water can not leak in. You cannot see him. The people there will not reason with you and we shall not be responsible for the consequences if you insist on going. Even security police will not go there. I have never met him before and I don't want to see him.”
I felt unease when he said, “You are different from him. He is a ‘traitor’. He works with overseas powers to sell out our country”.
I exclaimed, “What did he exactly sell out?”
Security Police A answered: “You don't have to know. This is a secret.” He continued, “He has many contacts with overseas forces. Exactly how many? We are still investigating, you'd better stay away from this and go home.”
Village Jail
In December 2010, prominent blogger Zhai Minglei wrote at length about his encounter with Chen Guangcheng before his arrest in June 2006:
光诚采取关键行动前，我和他有一场严肃的对话，我劝他不要这么做，这样会坐牢，会连累家人。他轻轻地摇头：“我完全明白，他们威胁我不仅我要坐牢， 我的妻子也会被报复，连我的孩子都会陷入危险，无人理睬，无法上学的境地。”但是他说他已无法忍受村民的苦况，他要去做，即使牺牲了自身的一切。
他果然去坐牢了，可以称得上“义无反顾”。我对他说，“你去坐牢，好好休息，我们在外面劳作，你出来再加班补回来。”
四年来，我很惭愧，做了点事，但成绩单很差。
在牢中，因为是盲人，他受尽了折磨，长年腹泄便血，得不到医治，到最后嗓子嘶哑，说不出话来。
四年后，2010年9月9日，光诚走出牢房。
可是他发现他不过从一个小牢房进入一个更大的牢房，而且陪他坐牢的亲人更多了。
I had some serious conversations with Guangcheng before he took action. I actually persuaded him not to do so as he would end up in jail and hurt his family. He shook his head and said, “I understand the situation completely. They have threatened that they would send me to prison and take revenge on my wife. Even my child would be hurt and could not attend school.” However, he said he could not bare the suffering of the villagers anymore and he had to take action, even if he would lose everything.
He ended up in jail eventually, unrepentant. I told him, “Please rest while you are in jail. We will keep on our work and you can work overtime to compensate later on.”
It lasted four years and I felt ashamed. We have done something, but nothing very remarkable. In the jail, he suffered a lot because he is blind. He suffered from diarrhea without any medical care. He lost his voice in jail.
On September 9, 2010, he was released from jail. However, he then found out that he just entered a bigger prison cell back in his village and what's more his family is jailed alongside him.
RMB 50 Million House Arrest Costs
Blogger Zhai Minglei continues:
陈光诚出狱后，我至今未能和他通上电话，所有电话被屏蔽了，难道这就是四年来我们的进步吗？以前被看守，但朋友们能通上电话，现在因为屏蔽技术的提 高，电话也不通了。夫妻俩连买菜都被禁止。连兄弟姐妹都无法探视。生活极度困难，从十月份，陈光诚的老母亲都没见过陈光诚。100多农民与看守被雇来每天 看守四个村口。外人无法进入。以前我去过陈光诚家，家徒四壁，用的还是奶奶的柴木老家俱。他的家叫寒凉。而我现在的心更为寒凉。
与此惊人对比是，山东用在光诚身上的维稳费的数目，你猜猜，有多少？
一位乡镇干部透露，用在光诚身上的维稳总费用是五千万，目前已用掉一千多万。看守光诚的看守劳动力成本低下，根本用不了这么多钱，这五千万可能是从上到下大小官员利益均占了吧。
I could not reach him over the phone after he was released from jail: the phone line has been blocked. So this is progress? In the past, even though he was under house arrest, friends could reach him on phone. Now technology has advanced and the phone line is blocked. The couple cannot leave the house, and even close relatives cannot visit them. Their living conditions are very harsh. Since October [2010], Chen's elderly mother has not been able to see her son. More than 100 villagers and security guards have been hired to monitor him. It is impossible for outsiders to enter the village. I once visited Chen's home. It is an empty house with some very old furniture left behind by his grandma. The house is cold but now my heart feel even colder.
Can you guess how much the Shandong government spends on maintaining Guangcheng under house arrest?
A county official revealed that the budget for this task is up to RMB 50 million [around USD 7.5 million], and until now they have spent more than RMB 10 million [around USD 1.5 million]. It is impossible to spend so much money on security labour; the money is probably shared among the personnel.
Zhai Minglei has urged concern citizens to join the ‘Free Guangcheng’ campaign:
1. Purchase flowers online to be delivered by courier, along with your message for the family;
2. Purchase toys or children’s books online to be delivered by courier to Chen’s 5-year-old daughter, along with a greeting;
3. Mail artwork on a postcard to the Chen family and their captors;
4. Mail a greeting card, invite Chen Guangcheng and his family to come visit you in your city;
5. To mark holidays such as Christmas, New Year’s Eve or Spring Festival, mail a holiday card to the Chen family and their captors;
6. Find opportunities to ask politicians, academics or other prominent individuals to inquire into Chen and his family’s situation, to visit them if possible, or even provide some audio, video or a photograph which we would then display on the Free Guangcheng website.
Blocking ‘Light and Sincerity’
The literal meaning of the name ‘Guangcheng’ is ‘light and sincerity’, but Chen Guangcheng's name is blocked in the Chinese intranet. One can find very limited discussion on the topic in web forums hosted in China.
Twitter however, is a hot spot where news and information are disseminated. Below is a selection of comments from the social networking and microblogging service:
@ivaniweb
陈光诚的五十分钟录相说明我们正在这个紧要关头。光诚呼喊“救中国”的道理也在此。 难以想象光诚用何种方式一天天冒着巨大风险拍下这献给所有网络公民们的录相，又是如何送出来，环环相连，任何一个环节出错，都有生命危险。在连食物都无法供应的艰难困境中，这不是奇迹吗？
@jtyong
在陈光诚案中，中共将一个无罪的盲人陈光诚送进监狱，且一天不少的服满4年3月的徒刑，创世界非法、非人道、非人性之记录；今天，中国官方将因官方渎职犯罪酿震惊中外“中原血祸”致感染艾滋病、乙肝、丙肝的受害者田喜判刑一年，再创中共兲朝威武记录！
@wgzgz
陈光诚现状，中国政府能把一个村子变成监狱，说明中国政府是不讲诚信道德，有法不依，对自己颁布实施的宪法、法律、法规和签署国际人权公约当成一纸空文， 有法不依，维权与其说理，即当成敌对不稳定因素镇压，各级政府私雇用黑恶势力对维权者进绑架、殴打、关黑牢、违宪劳教等。中国政府有法不依的无赖
@guozhifei
光诚兄弟，你做的已经够多的啦，多多保重，事情得大家都去抗。

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Farewell to all Mubaraks! · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Any lessons from Egypt for the next dictatorship to fall? A February 12 post [zh] in the Chinese literary tradition of addressing a topic without mentioning it directly, from novelist and political commentator Yang Hengjun: ‘Farwell, Mubarak!’:
今天，又可以从这些名字中划掉一个了。在埃及执政三十多年的穆巴拉克迫于人民的力量而辞职，“穆巴拉克”时代结束了。虽然这十几天来，我的心无时无刻不和那些埃及街头的民众在一边，但我的“国际知识”却让我无法对“穆巴拉克”这个名字生出更多的痛恨，我甚至有些惆怅：埃及少得了穆巴拉克？埃及不就是穆巴拉克吗？
埃及、穆巴拉克、木乃伊，至少对于我这个年龄的读书人来说，已经无法分开了。我们被看上去改变不了的现实，以及穆巴拉克自己制造的“事实”告知：“穆巴拉克”这个名字曾经让埃及在动荡的北非与中东之间稳定了相当长一段时间；他统治时期的埃及，有一段时间经济发展非常迅速，而且，穆巴拉克的政府也是这个地区最世俗化的政权之一；是他，解决了埃及人民的温饱，带来了稳定；他和木乃伊都成为埃及必不可少的象征。穆巴拉克哦，这个名字一度承载了埃及人的光荣与梦想，也控制了世人对那个文明古国的想象。
埃及与伊拉克，还有东亚的几个国家，都是人类历史上历史最悠久的文明古国，也正因为如此，现代民主理念在这些国家碰上了相对比较顽固的“古老文明”的抵触，也使得埃及、中东、东亚等人类文明的发源地反而成为地球上最后几个仍待进一步民主化的国家集中地。不过，这本来应该成为穆巴拉克你建功立业的好机会啊，你应该知道，民主大潮浩浩荡荡，顶多推迟几天，绝对无法阻挡，你为什么不在执政三十年的漫长岁月里的任何一个时刻改弦易辙、从善如流，利用你手中的权力，同民众一起，让古老的文明焕发青春？你一味拖延、抵制，对一些原本可以为埃及带来光明、为你自己也带来出路的改革说绝不？最后等来的是被迫的黯然辞职？
穆巴拉克，原本还可以承载埃及人更多的光荣与梦想的，如果他不是以这种方式下台，如果在他执政的三十年里，即便在他享受了三十年的绝对权力之后的最后的岁月里实行政治体制改革；如果他能够顺应民意，抓住机遇从善如流的话，他不但可以风风光光走下政坛，甚至有可能会被知恩图报的埃及民众摆上圣坛供奉起来，像美国人对待华盛顿一样。但这种可能性没有了，他犯的最大错误就在于忘记了艾森豪威尔说过的一句话：如果人民只要温饱就能够满足，他们还不如呆在监狱里。
说实话，以我有限的国际知识，我并不认为今天以后的埃及就会比你统治埃及时经济发展更快，政局更稳定，社会更“和谐”——这些也正是你一直不肯放弃绝对权力还权于民、进行改革的理由与借口，也是美国一直支持你的重要原因——但，如果你有点历史知识的话，你应该清楚，今后的埃及无论经历怎样的阵痛与磨难，都再也不会回到“穆巴拉克”时代了，而且民众会逐渐认识到，今后的这个国家经历民主转型的混乱，不是没有了你穆巴拉克，而是曾经你在那里统治埃及太久的缘故！别了，穆巴拉克！
在我尚在大学的时候，就在研究与背诵你如何治理人民，带领他们打仗，解决他们的温饱，用你的方法与埃及特色构建和谐社会，我儿子至今又在大学里阅读关于你的教科书，现在，埃及人民终于站出来，给你，也给全世界上了如何治理一个国家的最重要一课：不合法的政权，终究是不合法的，不管你拥有多么冠冕堂皇的理由，不管你如何花言巧语，不管你的军队如何强大。对于你这位老人来说，这显然是最后一课。但对于这个世界上还有为数不多的国家与掌握绝对权力的人来说，却不是最后一课。我真希望你能有机会谈谈对这一课的体会，给这个世界最后留下一点有用的东西。
在过去的十几天里，民众走上街头，局势急剧变化，这期间，你一定犹豫过、彷徨过，可能还考虑过是否下令向人民开枪，最后，你只不过希望民众能够再给你一段时间，哪怕只几个月——有人说你想利用这个时间安排后路，转移你们家族和你庇护下的利益集团贪污的钱财，让自己交出权力时能够软着陆，但我却有另外一种想法，或者说是幻想：对于一个八十多岁的老人，这十几天你依然挣扎着想保住权力，会不会是因为你心中幡然醒悟，你后悔了？于是，你想抓住最后一点权力，为你的人民做一件小事，把自由与公正的选举权还给他们？也同时为你自己做一件大事：把梦想留给人民，让自己光荣离开，也让你名垂青史？
但，太晚了！你有足足三十年的时间，可你都没有给埃及人民机会，这次，他们自然也不愿意再给你哪怕一天时间的机会，你不配了。
因为你的下台，今年的情人节仿佛提前到来，让一些仍然生活在散发出木乃伊气味国度的民众突然想起，我们每一个人，其实都和自由、民主的美好生活有一个不见不散的约会。
别了，穆巴拉克们！
Because you stepped down, it feels like Valentine's Day came early this year, reminding some of the people living in this country which smells of mummies, that each and every one of us has a date lined up, with freedom, democracy, and a better life.
Farewell, you Mubaraks!

author: John Kennedy


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Hong Kong: Hiking · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Journey to Hong Kong introduces a hiking route where one can have a glimpse of the city's history while enjoying the unique landscape.


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India: Magazines Trusted More Than Newspapers · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sans Serif informs citing statistics that Indians trust magazines more than newspapers.


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Indonesia: Java Jazz Festival · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Java Jazz Festival in Indonesia will take place next month. It will be one of the largest jazz festivals in the world.


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Iran: Protesters interrupted a State sponsored concert · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Here is a film showing Iranian protesters interrupted an Iranian government sponsored concert in Malaysia.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:Protesters on rooftops · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several video films show protesters on rooftops in Tehran chanting ‘God is Great’ and ‘down with dictator’ on Sunday. Tommorow Iranian opposition called for a demonstration in Iran.


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Jordan: “Egypt’s Revolution. My Revolution.” · Global Voices
Betsy Fisher

Humeid of 360east.com traces his personal political journey from Jordan's 1989 political liberalization project, to his blogging career, to the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions.  “If I allowed, apathy or hopelessness to creep into my mind over the past 20 years, the courage of the millions of people on the street in Cairo and all over Egypt gives me a million reason to cast hopelessness aside.”

author: Betsy Fisher


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Jordan: What Would You Write to the King? · Global Voices
Betsy Fisher

7iber.com asks Jordanian readers what they would write in a statement to the king, with dozens of responses so far.


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Malaysia: Anti-mega tower Facebook page expands advocacy · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The 1M Malaysians Reject 100-storey Mega Tower Facebook page, which was set-up last October, has gathered almost 300,000 followers. It has also expanded its advocacy by including public accountability issues.


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Malaysia: National language and patriotism debate · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Jebat Must Die from Malaysia writes about the online debate between prominent political bloggers about the use of the national language in the country and its link to nationalism.


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Malaysia: “Today we are all Egyptians” · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Malaysiakini gathers online reactions in Malaysia after the people of Egypt succeeded in forcing the resignation of Hosni Mubarak.


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Malaysia: Unemployed college graduates · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Greg Lopez, writing for the New Mandala, tackles the issue of unemployment among college graduates in Malaysia.


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Pakistan: Protests Against Impunity for US Diplomat Raymond Davis · Global Voices
Muhammad Farhan

On January 27, In broad day light, an alleged American security official, Raymond Davis was found wandering around on the busy roads of Lahore in a private car. Besides carrying arms Raymond was also found carrying wireless phones and other devices. Making the best use of his weapons, Raymond opened fire at two alleged robbers. Not just that, as he could not flee from the scene, a 4WD vehicle arrived and tried to rescue Raymond from the mob that started to gather there. The vehicle ran over a motorcycle and a rickshaw, thus killing another person and injured several citizens.
Hamza Malik at The True Perspective reports the story in his own words:
One such tragic and truly heart rending tale occurred yesterday when an American diplomat called Raymond Davis shot at and killed two young men – Faizan and Faheem at a traffic signal on Qartaba Chowk in Lahore. While the killer tried to flee from the shooting scene, his companions following him in a Land Cruiser entered the wrong side of the road and hit a motorcyclist killing him on the spot and injured another pedestrian seriously.
He expresses his concerns with these words:
And just as I was about to revel in the fact that justice might indeed be served, out came the news that he had been shifted to an undisclosed location. That undisclosed location is most probably his home in the United States and consequently once again the abhorred level of police professionalism came to the fore.
Activist group ‘Pasban Pakistan’ protests against American diplomatic staff Raymond Davis at the Karachi Press Club in Pakistan. Davis, is under investigation for the double murder of two Pakistani motorcyclists in Karachi, Pakistan. Copyright Demotix.
The story got controversial to a huge extent when the US Embassy asked for the release of Raymond Davis, citing that according to the international laws, he enjoys the diplomatic immunity. Rai Muhammad Saleh Azam quotes from the US Embassy's press release at Teeth Maestro blog:
It may be pertinent to note that the U.S. Embassy’s press release of 29 January 2011 makes the following, rather surprising, claim:
“On January 27, the diplomat acted in self-defense when confronted by two armed men on motorcycles. The diplomat had every reason to believe that the armed men meant him bodily harm. Minutes earlier, the two men, who had criminal backgrounds, had robbed money and valuables at gunpoint from a Pakistani citizen in the same area.”
The case took depressing turn when on Feb 7, Shumaila Kanwer, the widow of Faheem, a Pakistani man allegedly shot and killed by Davis, committed suicide.
Sana Saleem voices her concerns in these words;
While her death should and will trigger a response from the public, it should be a response that is devoid of political agendas and hate-mongering. It should be a call for the rule of law to be upheld and justice to be served. After all, it is the hate-mongering, the conspiracy theories, the knee-jerk anti Americanism that made Kanwal believe that justice would never be served in her case.
She goes on to say:
Kanwal was not looking for justice from the US instead she was expecting her own government and the judicial system to rise to the occasion, to which they did. Regardless, her hopes were shattered by constant reminders that ‘the country has been sold to America’ and that the ‘Government is planning a safe passage for their ally’. References that Davis might be a part of a mercenary force, Blackwater or XE Services only fed her doubt.
There have been reports of alleged US threats to Pakistan over Raymond Davis's release to which Pakistani Ambassador to US responds on his twitter as:
Read my tweets: No US official, incl the NSA, has conveyed any personal threats 2 me or spoken of extreme measures as cited by @ABC
Following the US demand to release Davis, the protesters took to the streets in a country which already has increasing anti-US sentiments. Not surprisingly, the protesters include people from all walks of life. As Sarah Khan of CriticalPPP blog quotes Imran Khan's call for protest in following words:
“Come out on streets if you want to get justice and secure your rights,” he emphatically urged the people.
People from civil society gathered to protest on streets.
Image: CriticalPPP blog. Used under Creative Commons License
Taking full advantage of the opportunity, religious organizations such as JUI and Hizb ut Tahrir are also joining the protests.
Activists shout slogans during a protest against the Islamabad killing of two Pakistanis by a US citizen Raymond Davis. Hyderabad, Pakistan. Copyright Demotix. 11/02/2011
Inspired by Egyptian revolution, many Pakistani digital activists are also also gearing up for organized protests under the banner of Pakistan Revolution Movement.
As of today, the protests continue and the fate of Raymond Davis is undecided.

author: Muhammad Farhan


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Philippines: Netizens react to suicide of former Army chief · Global Voices
Julius Rocas

It was a news that shocked the nation. Angelo Reyes, former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Cabinet secretary of National Defense, Energy and Local Government, took his own life on the morning of February 8, right before the grave of his beloved mother. Many speculate that the suicide was caused by tremendous pressure brought on by the Senate investigation of the corruption in the armed forces of which Reyes was allegedly involved.
Photo from Wikipedia
While Reyes’ family and friends mourn his tragic death, the nation continues on with the discourse on the systemic corruption in government and its armed forces, trying to make sense of it all and for a way to move forward.
Marie at a crazy mom's world shares how Reye's suicide has affected her. Being a government employee herself, she cannot help but feel some sympathy for Reyes as she points out that everyone deserves to be presumed innocent until proved otherwise:
What can I say? That we really don’t know if he did steal or not. It’s easy to be high and mighty about judging him na nakonsensya sya because of the things he supposedly committed and the huge amounts of government funds that he supposedly partook of. He may, he may have not. Personally, I think there is some truth to it. But, but! Let us not assume that just because he is from the government that’s why he did it! It just sorta burns me up inside. Yes I know that there are absolute corrupt officials and employees within the branches of the government. But it is unfair to use that “because he is from the government” thing para isakdal na ang tao.”
Andrew Pua delves into the possible reasons why the former AFP Chief of Staff took his own life:
Now, you see in the news a lot of potential explanations. This seems natural. We try to overthink/underthink reasons for suicide. Perhaps he did not want to get caught. Perhaps he was ashamed (but he almost served in public office for more than a decade, yet was not ashamed of the payout if it were true). Perhaps he loved his family too much for them to carry the blame. In our times, these are the sins of the father. Somehow, people translate all these sins and ascribe them to the family. They have indirectly benefited if the corruption were true. Willful blindness is not an excuse. I am sure the family members knew about the corruption if it were true. So, in effect, all of us are diminished by their inability to be human. Perhaps he was pressured or had debts of gratitude that were cashed in by some of the other possible beneficiaries of corruption. Thus the need to end the investigative trail. Perhaps, he wasn’t actually part of it. That evidence, or whatever pathetic substitute we have for evidence, may actually be tainted. In this case, Reyes had nothing to fear. But he might have been fearing something else–something more insidious. In the end, WE DON’T KNOW.
Patricio Mangubat re-traces the path that Reyes took which eventually led him to his tragic demise - a path least travelled by great military men:
The world would have seen Angelo Reyes in a different light had he chose to retire peacefully after his stint as the military's main man. He would have lived a life of a statesman, unblemished and untarnished by politics.
Yet, because he associated himself with the vilest and the most unpopular administration of all time, Reyes had no choice but to protect himself from the numerous enemies of that administration. His only way out was to continue playing politics, a world which he does not fully understand and a world of differing values, values which differ from his.
When he shot himself in the heart, it was a sign that Reyes probably regretted some of the choices he made in his life. Prior to his death, his family said that he became totally depressed.  And it is expected since Reyes was part of an administration most hated by many and now, with the most number of enemies lurking. When he was fighting those rebels in Mindanao, Reyes at least knows what they are fighting for. In the world that he chose for himself after retirement, Reyes was like an animal trapped at all sides by shadows of unknown enemies.
Reyes wanted probably to tell the world that he was not the man whom every single one hated. That he was different. That, yes, he probably sinned by closing his eyes and covering his ears and not making any single protest against those who sin around him. Reyes was part of a corrupt and evil system. His sin was he tolerated the corruption and not even lifted a finger to correct it.
Bayan Secretary general Renato M. Reyes believes that the death of Angelo Reyes should be taken as a reason to continue on with the investigations, seeing that the corruption in the AFP top brass seems to also involve its former Commander-in-Chief:
The death of Angelo Reyes, coming as it is at the height of congressional investigations, is the most compelling reason why we need to know the truth about corruption in the AFP. That this tragedy happened at this time, and after all that has been revealed, should give us a sense of urgency to pursue the probe and demand accountability from our institutions. Those officials who benefitted from corruption should not consider themselves off the hook. That includes the former commander-in-chief.

author: Julius Rocas


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Sudan: May the wind of change sweep through the Upper Nile · Global Voices
Mahid (Sudanese Guardian)

On a Friday full of hope, freedom, resistance and perseverance, the Egyptian people showed the world that even if there are “wannabe pharaohs” in Egypt they are out there to uproot them. For the past two weeks Egypt have inspired youths in many parts of the Middle East and Africa to speak against injustice wherever it might be. Sudan is not an exception.
Sudan Prime Minister al-Azhari Visits Egyptian Premier Nasser Source http://www.corbisimages.com
Sudanese online have been sending tweets of support and wishes to the Egyptian people on the lower Nile basin. The basic message is: We congratulate you and salute you for a wonderful inspiration and the power to empower us and many people around the world.
@Nilempress Congratulations/ Mabrouk #Egypt #Jan25. May the winds of change sweep toward the valley of the Upper Nile #Sudan #Jan30
@SudaneseThinker Iranian revolution was not called “Cassette Tape” revolution. Stop calling #Jan25 & #SidiBouzid “FB Revolution.” *PEOPLE* Power!
SudaneseThinker Good night Twitter & Congrats Egypt. 2nite, after more than 2 weeks of crappy sleep, I'll sleep happily like a baby! Arab dictators won't!
@SudanGuardian May this fire of hope and freedom sweep to the whole middleeast & Africa and ignite the fire of hope within its people #Egypt #Sudan #Jan25
And while SudaneseThinker sleeps happily like a baby, Nesrine wonders how would many Arab heads of state would go to sleep:
@NesrineMalik Not a single Arab head of state is going to sleep tonight.
Simsimt points out some of his concerns and thoughts hoping that revolution came a little earlier:
@simsimt Had #Jan25 revolution came just a little earlier, we may have had a chance to convince southerns there's a bright side to being an Arab.
And a wonderful ending to wrap this post up:
@binmugahid In other news, dictators around the round scramble to rename all squares in capitals to Triangles. Cant be too careful #egypt #jan25

author: Mahid (Sudanese Guardian)


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Sudan: Protesters still under detention · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Dozens of people in Sudan, many of them university students, who were arrested after participating in the protests that started on 30th January are still under detention.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Sudan: Southern Sudan and the challenges of self-rule · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ken analyses the challenges of self-rule in Southern Sudan: “The spotlight is on the political elite in the South. Will they hammer out a power and resource sharing deal or will despotism yet again kill the independence dreams of an African nation? I can’t stop thinking that John Garang’ de Mabior died too soon.”


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The Psychology of Autocratic Dictators · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bangladesh, Canada And Beyond highlights the common psychology of the present and past autocratic dictators of the world.


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Tunisia: An Ongoing Battle for Democracy · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.
It has been almost a month since former Tunisian president  Zine El Abidine Ben Ali  has fled the country and took refuge in Saudi Arabia, amid a series of protests all over the North African country calling for his departure. For Tunisians, however, the fight is not over yet and getting rid of the dictator does not mean that the dictatorship is gone. Indeed, Tunisians often describe the 23-year-old repressive regime of Ben Ali as an octopus which its head was successfully cut but not its arms.
A protest for the dissolution of the RCD. Photo byWassim Ben Rhouma
Ever since the fall of Ben Ali’s regime, Tunisians have protested for the dissolution of the so hated former ruling party the RCD (Le Rassemblement Constitutionnel Démocratique), which has been associated with corruption, oppression, dictatorship and, viewed as a threat to the transition towards democracy. The RCD is also accused of spreading chaos and destabilizing the country following the end of Ben Ali’s rule. Then, it's quite normal that the Tunisian people has too much contempt for the RCD and yearns for cutting all ties with the past.
Abdallah Belakhoua (@Abdallah__B) calls for Tunisians to stay united and focus on one major goal which is the dissolution of the RCD:
Les vieux clowns de l'RCD veulent nous voir désunis et égoïstes, pour qu'on les oublient, on doit rester UNIS et FORT #tunisie
He adds:
J'apel tous les tun à NE PAS dériver vers les demandes scindés; ils veul nous fair oublier notr prncpal objctif : ENTERRER l'RCD #sidibouzid
Abdrabba Yassine, a Tunisian software engineer, raises a major question: How far are RCD members ready to abandon their privileges in favour of the revolution in Tunisia?
هل من السهل أن يقبل أناس كانت لهم سلطات غير محدودة و مداخيل غير محصورة أن يتخلوا عن تلك المتيازات ببساطة #tunisie #rcd #degage
Although the current Prime Minister, Mohammed Ghannouchi left the the RCD and his political career is not tainted with corruption, he has been criticised and accused of allegiance to Tunisia's most hated party.
Using some harsh words, Alyssa, a Tunisian blogger does not hide her contempt for PM Mohammed Ghannouchi:
Monsieur Mohammed Ghannouchi, je ne vous aime pas, je ne vous ai jamais apprécié et cela ne risque pas de changer. Je ne souhaite pas vous connaitre davantage, dans l’espoir de déceler chez vous quelque vertu cachée, car vous êtes malheureusement affublé d’un défaut majeur : la lâcheté.
Khem (@TunisianCityzen) tweets:
Qui est il Ghannouchi pr donner au peuple tunisien des lecons de démocratie ?? Lui qui a soutenu la dictature pdant 13ans !!!
Houssem HAJLAOUI, a Tunisian blogger  wrote an article entitled: “These are the enemies of the revolution, and the dream of a free Tunisia”.
For him, the RCD and the interim government are among these enemies.
He says:
التجمّع الدستوري الديموقراطي
نعم هو معلّق النشاط و حلّه مسألة وقت ولكن خلاياه السرطانيّة منتشرة في كل مكان. و ما دام الرأي العام في تونس لا يعلم بدقّة تقدّم عمل لجنة التحقيق في الفساد، فمن المنطقي اعتبار التجمّع الدستوري الديموقراطي خطرا قائما على الثّورة و على مستقبل المشروع الديموقراطي في تونس
He adds:
This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Afef Abrougui


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Zambia: Mines Audit Reveals Massive Tax Evasion · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

The issue of windfall tax on Zambia’s main export, copper, refuses to go away for the current administration of President Rupiah Banda, which it removed a couple of years ago apparently because of low international copper prices at the time. The latest issue is the revelation that mine companies, or at least one of them, Mopani Copper Mines is involved in a massive tax evasion scam.
Today, the price of the mineral has hit the US$10,000 mark and yet the Zambian government refuses to re-introduce it. However, what is more embarrassing for the government is the release of the audit report of an exercise undertaken by an international team comprising Grant Thornton and Econ Poyry auditors which was engaged by the Zambia Revenue Authority to conduct a pilot audit of selected mining companies operating in Zambia.
Some of the big mining companies operating in Zambia include First Quantum Limited, Konkola Copper Mines and China Non-Ferrous Metals.
The issue of tax evasion whose report the Zambian minister of finance and economic development, Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, is said to have received last year, has not received any coverage in the state-owned media while the Post newspaper has given it some coverage. Zambian bloggers and netizens have played their part by putting meat to the bone.
One blogger, Chola Mukanga, was forced to pull out the full report from his blog apparently because he received threats from people connected to the government.
Maravi, had this to say about the audit:
The audit revealed that Glencore AG, the purchaser, determines prices and that some copper from Mopani is sold under an “old” contract with copper in one instance being sold at 25 per cent of official prices at LME. ” In other words, they are not paying taxes over 75% of the copper ‘sold’ to Glencore under that contract.  Also see the summary to the Pilot Audit of Mopani Mine in the comments below from Friends Of The Earth.
On Glencore International – it is operated by old Bill Clinton friend Marc Rich, who has also been convicted for tax evasion in the US, as well as for trading with Iran. He was pardoned by President Bill Clinton. Rich's legal representation was Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, who himself barely escaped prison after a conviction for his role in outing CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. (More on Marc Rich on Youtube.) At one point rich was on the FBI's Most Wanted list, for “trading with embargoed states, tax evasion, racketeering and arms trafficking” (quoting Keith Harmon Snow's article Merchants Of Death). I would say the mines are better off in the hands of the state, with a proper legal framework in place.
Chola Mukanga, on his Zambian Economist blog had this to say:
As many of you know we make great effort to put out information and hold government to account. In taking forward this website we of course continue to receive threats from largely supporters of the current government – the usual “we will get you” or “we will shut you down” looms large. As recent as December 2010 even one relative was contacted on my account. These things of course don't bother me because every noble cause carries some sacrifices. I have always published and written with a clean conscience before God. In this vein I pay zero attention to such threats and until now I have never mentioned to readers. A time will come when this website is no more, but I am convinced such threats will never be the reason to stop updating it.
The reason I mention this now is because we have just uploaded a report passed onto us by concerned people and we now had yet again someone issuing threats that we should not have done so. I apologise to the readers that we have to remove the report. We hope the Zambian government, and the MMD in particular would stop this activity of threatening me constantly. I also hope that they will show some leadership and begin to publish reports that should be in the public domain. If they give people the information they deserve we would all get along nicely.
At the height of the windfall tax debate last year, Francis Muma, a PhD candidate in China, wrote on the Lusaka Times website on the pitfalls of the windfall tax and argued thus:
I have listened with interest to the debate on the windfall tax—a tax which seems to find so much favour in some quarters. We are told that the windfall tax is a one-off, but it seems to me to be spread over a span of corporate years.
Therefore, like most taxes, it will have downstream consequences and an ever-growing tail of expenditure, which will cause considerable difficulties for the Ministry of Finance in future years. Windfall tax is merely a tax levied on any supernormal profit or to use a street language it is simply a tax paid by fat cats.
I believe that the only honest way to raise tax to tackle a difficult situation is by means of income tax.
It is immediate, quick and effective of taxation. I am not sure that to grab a windfall tax just because it is handy is the best way to proceed and I fear that, in the long term, it will be proven not to have been a wise way to proceed. Essentially for any country to raise tax is to increase GDP so that fiscal revenue per GDP (T/GDP) is raised and maximised.
How do you achieve this? This is simple if you encourage investment, but how can you encourage investment if you are creating disincentives for the main drivers of economic growth by coming up with such taxes like windfall tax?
In response to Muma’s write up, Che Guevara, had this to say:
no wonder you went to china. its your sponsors who told u to write such tosh. you are the pipo who are enjoying while my relatives in northwestern are going on an empty belly. if the company has made profit why not get some of it to the people.
Look at Bafokeng in South Africa. see how sharp the king of the Bafokeng has out classed you. for every Titanium and Platinum mined from his area, grudaz have to go back and that why they have built even one stadium where the world cup will be held next month.
Senior Citizen's reaction:
Very good researched article. Let me add on by saying as we can see, slowly but sure the economy in most of our mining cities and indeed the country as a whole is now getting better. We should not error by succumbing to shortsighted theoretical politician trumpets on taxation. Theoretical politicians look at macroeconomic variables with paranoia. These mining companies invest billions in their production before they take one penny out. Let’s avoid doing anything to jeopardize their investment in the mining sector.
I believe that over taxing mining isn’t the way to move Zambia out of its economic challenges. State government needs to become “more efficient and determined in diversification of the economy from mineral dependency syndrome
With exponential investment in the economy, I predict a recovery and real economic growth in 2010-2011 when jobs in the state should grow by an inspiring percentage after many years, followed by 8 percent GDP growth in 2010.
Mukanga’s Zambian Economist has also been publishing regularly updated post with quotes from leading analysts and public figures urging the government to reintroduce the windfall tax. A quote from Professor Oliver Saasa, a Zambian economic and business consultant:
This report is very damning on the part of the mines and should be seen as a wake-up call to government….And this should not be politicized. This report means the problem may not only be confined to Mopani, but it maybe symptomatic of more complex, much longer and wider problems in the mining sector. Although this report maybe preliminary, it shows the inadequacies of our tax system.
The government has not really, maybe them mines, realise that compliance to the country’s tax policy is important….When you had the former president late Mwanawasa announce the windfall tax, a number of them foreign mining firms refused to pay. Now, you are talking about the government negotiating with the mines to pay that tax obligations. Where do you hear negotiations on that policy? Now, they are even refusing to have them auditors access to valuable information.
In light of the revelations of the audit, the windfall tax is the only tax that can secure what the government can get.
Anothe quote from former Finance Minister and opposition Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) president, Edith Nawakwi:
Can you imagine Nigeria is a far much greater economy than Zambia but they have introduced windfall tax on their oil, but here we don’t have? The people in front of us (leaders), they have eyes but they can’t see, or they can see but are not just interested…They are indifferent, because if we have more money we will put up another university in Namushakende. We will build bridges. People are living in squalor in Misisi; we will build new houses as our friends are doing in other countries. But somebody is sitting in an air conditioned office at the Ministry of Finance and says ‘we can’t collect windfall tax’, and the President is watching.
Zambia’s public infrastructure is in a state of disrepair because of lack of funds which are mostly provided by the donor community. Windfall tax campaigners say it is disappointing that government cannot collect the money due to it from the mines, and to add salt to injury, mining companies even evade paying the taxes that they are legally supposed to pay. The failure by government to re-introduce windfall tax is likely to be a campaign issue by the opposition parties for the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections later this year.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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Afghanistan: Taliban and al-Qaeda ‘distinct groups with different goals’ · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nick Fielding reviews new book by the Centre on International Cooperation, which says that the Taliban and al-Qaeda remain distinct groups with different goals, ideologies and sources of recruits. The authors insist that understanding this is a key to success in Afghanistan.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Armenia: Facebook revolution? · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Following successful protests in Tunisia and Egypt, aided in part by social media, The Armenian Observer reports that the extra-parliamentary opposition in Armenia hope to replicate attempts to overthrow the government with Facebook. However, the blog notes, with usage incredibly low, such hopes might be sorely misguided.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Anti-corruption drive following Egypt and Tunisia · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Fatalin's Blog comments on word that an anti-corruption drive in Azerbaijan has been initiated following popular revolts in Egypt and Tunisia. The blog cites some examples and hopes that the crackdown will last long after the time when the oil-rich country's regime believes it will be spared any similar protests.


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Bahamas: Is Cuba Next?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I would love to see a non-violent uprising for human rights…sparked by blog writers and fed and sustained till victory by the power of the internet. As we have seen it is entirely possible”: Womanish Words would like to see Cuba follow in Egypt's footsteps.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bahrain: Police Quash Today’s Protests (Videos) · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.
A series of ‘illegal’ protests took place in Bahrain today, February 14, as demonstrators marked a ‘Day of Wrath’ inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Several videos from the protests have been shared on YouTube showing how demonstrations were quashed by force. One death has been confirmed, as well as many injuries.
Bahrain is a small island country with approximately 1.2 million inhabitants, located near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. The country is ruled by a constitutional monarchy and has a poor human rights record and critically uneven distribution of wealth.
smohd92 shares this video from Diraz village, showing riot police charging on a peaceful demonstration and opening fire as people flee.
A similar scene was repeated in Daih where a peaceful protest is broken up by police shooting tear gas canisters at close range as demonstrators run. Margadoosh posted this video:
mudaif shared this video from a protest in Sanabis. Protesters, including many women, are seen marching down the street. Later, a group of protesters hide between two buildings, as smoke rises from what looks like tear gas canisters. Finally, one person shows a wounded lip, presumably from clashes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inHDgMmBnYk
A video from Sunday night in Karzakan, shows police confronting a group of people amidst traffic chaos, before opening fire with rubber bullets on cars and people, setting off a chorus of honking cars and car alarms, and eventually screams. This video is censored on the web in Bahrain. Anyone attempting to view will be met with the block page below.
A block page from February 14
This video, by bh1net, shows a few seconds of a rally in Maameer, in Sitra:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFSZ5npJ7-Y
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.

author: Solana Larsen


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Bahrain: Snapshots from a Day of Protest and Injury · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.
@Awadhi4: Today morning in Nuwaidrat. #Feb14 #Bahrain http://yfrog.com/h25rhwkj
Bahrain was rocked by violence today as the latest country to stage protests in the so-called Arab revolution time-table inspired by uprisings in Tunisa and Egypt. Police quashed demonstrations in various cities today, and both videos and photos of the crackdown are dodging internet censors, and making their way around the web.
At least one person has died.
News began to circulate about a February 14 uprising at the beginning of the month. Only days ago King Hamad, Bahrain's monarch, announced that the government would be giving each family in Bahrain a gift of BD1,000 (US$2,650) to mark the 10th anniversary of the country's return to constitutional rule.
Bahrain is an oil-rich country with approximately 1.2 million inhabitants, located near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. The country has a poor human rights record and very uneven distribution of wealth. Adding to the trouble is strong sectarian tension between Shiites (majority) and Sunnis (minority, power-holders). The bigotry is often visible on Twitter, as are also online efforts to quell disagreement. Although Bahrain is small, it is strategically important to the United States as the home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and a close neighbor to Saudia Arabia and Iran.
Snapshots from a day of turmoil
Throughout the day, there were messages and photos on Twitter showing the demonstrators’ perspective of events (See hashtag #14Feb). Several people posted updates about major roads and intersections being closed. Najeel Rajab has posted photos on Facebook showing multiple injuries sustained today.
@ramyraoof: protesters chanting “we are not rioting, we are demanding our rights” http://yfrog.com/h3ke6tj – http://yfrog.com/h7e06klj #Feb14 #Bahrain
@maryamalkhawaja: Man hit with sound bomb #feb14 #bahrain http://yfrog.com/gy43bigj
@ba7ari: Tear gas shots in Sanabis village #Bahrain #Feb14 #HRW http://twitpic.com/3zq9eh
@ammar456: Things are getting crazy in Sanabis tear gas being thrown people running around #Feb14 #Bahrain http://twitpic.com/3zq0qi
@bahraini14feb: Pic from a protest today in Bahrain. See the bahraini flag!! http://twitpic.com/3zpwqr #bahrain #feb14
@Awadhi4: Today morning in Nuwaidrat. #Feb14 #Bahrain http://yfrog.com/gyoqfvgj
@Awadhi4: The only person injured. Today morning in Nuwaidrat. #Feb14 #Bahrain http://yfrog.com/h41f7ffj
@Awadhi4: Today morning in Nuwaidrat. #Feb14 #Bahrain http://yfrog.com/hs6buajj
Official response
Bahrain's Ministry of the Interior created a Twitter account today where they are sharing their own version of what happened in Arabic and in English.
@moi_bahrain: What happened in Nuwaidrat today resulted in one person being injured. He is in hospital & is stable. He had suffered bruises in the face.
moi_bahrain: Interior Minister met the father of the man injured in Karzakan. He directed that the injured be treated abroad & has ordered an inquiry.
moi_bahrain: Illegal rally in Karzakan 3 policemen attacked, Police had to fire 2 rubber buttons. 1st as warning shot 2nd bounced & hit a demonstrator
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.


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Bahrain: The Day of Wrath · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.
Protests took place in many places in Bahrain today, in what has been called Bahrain's Day of Wrath. Netizens gasped in horror as they saw how police forces dealt with peaceful protesters from the early morning, quickly exchanging links to horrible videos showing police atrocities on Twitter and other social networking sites.
Still from a video showing riot police charging at a peaceful demonstration in Diraz village, Bahrain on 14 February 2011, firing as people flee. Video posted on Youtube by user smodh92.
One protester is reportedly dead (killed) and several people are said to be injured as riot control police fired gas canisters and rubber bullets directly at protesters at close range, as you can all see from this video and this photo post.
Tweeps are now complaining that the Internet is slow. While some are debating whether the government has a hand in this, others are quick to point that the slow speed could be as a result in the surge in traffic as people rummage through different sites to see what happened in the country today.
Also today, the government censored a YouTube video page and reportedly the Bambuser account of Human Rights activist Nabeel Rajab.
Here's a snapshot of reactions on Twitter:
@chanadbh: Internet censorship in #Bahrain continues: Bambuser channel of activist @Nabeelrajab is blocked, along with other videos of protests
@BuZain: @ahmedalsairafi excessive uploads excuse doesn't make sense. int. uplinks r usually symmetric with same up/down bandwidth @eyade @ammar456
@BuZain: @JustAmira hard to tell. I've been running tests with no conclusive results. it's clear than only international uplinks are slow.
@eyade: @BuZain is on the money, I am not buying it, upload and download aren't the same thing @ahmedalsairafi @ammar456
@ba7ari: Regime had slows down the Internet in a way to stop ppl to send what is happening in #Bahrain #Feb14 #HRW #EU
@bh14feb: The government is very likely throttling the internet speed to hinder people from reporting the crimes committed by the police #bahrain
@ahmadbr: Internet is becoming more slower over the time #Bahrain #batelco #Internet #feb14
@nadooi_wish: #Bahrain get the internet back into normal. This getting on my nerves!
@BaghdadBrian: #CONFIRMED from #Bahrain its very very slow, internet is generally slow, doesnt appear to be targetted, no blocks #friendinbahrain
@phoul: To the people of #Bahrain: Use Tor to get around the Internet Blockade and avoid monitoring. https://www.torproject.org/ #Tor
@justamira: The Internet is dying. Bye bye laptop, off to grab those carrier pigeons I have been training for this dark day #Feb14 #Bahrain
@M_Sharaf: Viva and Zain internet disconnect and connect a minute later simultaneousely… #Bahrain experimenting with the off switch?
@MennatAllah87: #Algeria-Internet banned just like wt took place in #Egypt. Now in #Bahrain they r playing it smart..Slow;so no1 can upload anything. SHAME.
On blogs, Bint Battuta in Bahrain translates some of the demands made by protesters; Mahmood Al Yousif calls for wisdom to prevail and I predict how the police forces will deal with political dissent in my country.
For more on the protests in Bahrain, follow the Twitter hash tag #14Feb
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Bangladesh: World Cup Makeover Breaks The Law · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Bangladesh government has decided to remove beggars and hawkers from major streets of Dhaka city  in preparation for the ICC Cricket World Cup. Rahnuma Ahmed reports that the police in Bangladesh is breaking the law to implement this directive.

author: Rezwan


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Brazil: Criminalization of Sharing Internet via Wifi · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

On January 27 ,  Anatel  (Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency), the  regulatory agency responsible for regulating, executing  and supervising the telecommunications sector, seized  equipment  and fined an internet user R$ 3,000  (approximately $ 1,810 USD) for sharing his wifi connection with  neighbors  in  the city of Teresina, Piauí state (Northeast of Brazil). [GV note: one of the poorest states in Brazil.]
Anatel headquarters in Brasilia. Photo by Flickr user Pablo H shared under a CC 2.0 license
The first website to run the story was 180º graus (180 degrees) [pt], that stated:
A prática é corriqueira de muitos usuários de Internet via wireless não  só em Teresina, mas no Brasil e no mundo inteiro. Ocorre que, de algum  modo, o fato chegou ao conhecimento de fiscais da ANATEL, que, em uma  “visita” à residência do proprietário da linha telefônica, apreendeu  computador, modem e roteador lá instalados, lavrando auto de infração e  aplicando multa de R$ 3 mil, sob a acusação de que o mesmo estaria  prestando serviços de provedor de acesso à internet sem a devida  autorização da Agência.
Henrique Parra, writing for the blog Trezentos (Three hundred), criticizes [pt] how ANATEL interprets the law:
Tal interpretação da lei, se generalizada, destruirá infinitas  possibilidades de uso, compartilhamento e acesso à internet. Ora, ao  contratar o serviço de acesso à internet eu pago uma franquia de uso  (velocidade e volume de tráfego de dados). A maneira como eu a utilizo  não é objeto claramente definido: se quero ser solidário e deixo minha  internet aberta para que outras pessoas sem acesso à um serviço pago  (caro e de baixa qualidade) possam utilizá-la qual o problema?
And concludes, making comparisons:
Aplicado o mesmo entendimento ao mundo físico seria o equivalente a  criminalizar o dono do bar que disponibilizou a mesa (comida e bebida)  para que bandidos organizassem um assalto. Ou então, multar as empresas  de telefonia que permitiram que suas linhas telefônicas fossem  utilizadas para ações  ilegais.
A Voz do Além (The Voice  from  Beyond), writing for the blog Nerds Somos Nozes (Nerds ‘R [n]U[t]S), criticizes [pt] the way ANATEL works:
[A ANATEL] É basicamente um canal de defesa da população contra uma possível  tirania corporativa.  Mas a realidade se mostra bem diferente do  que está no papel.
He points out a few reasons why he defends the practice  of  sharing internet  connections:
Analisemos o caso sob dois outros aspectos: 1) a qualidade do serviço  prestado no Brasil e 2) a relação dele com outros exemplos possíveis.  Vá até o Google e faça uma pesquisa por Brasil banda larga.  Notícias como Banda larga no Brasil é cara, lenta e restrita, avalia  Idec; Banda larga no Brasil é cara e ruim, entenda; Banda larga no Brasil é uma das piores do mundo; Brasil tem a quinta pior banda larga do mundo, etc;  logo aparecem. Então, para início de conversa, o tal serviço que a  Anatel defende é de ruim pra péssimo. […] No ranking dos dez mais do Reclame Aqui, SEIS  empresas são de telefonia/internet. NESSE índice do Procon-SP […], das dez mais, quatro são de telefonia.
Em  outras palavras, podemos concluir – um pouco apressadamente, é verdade –  que além da qualidade técnica da banda larga do Brasil ser uma das dez  piores do mundo, o serviço oferecido ainda é péssimo e leva a milhares  de usuários a reclamarem.
Let's analyze the  case by two aspects: 1) the  quality of service in Brazil  and  2) it's  relationship with other possible examples. Go to  Google  and  search for Brasil banda larga [Brazil broadband]. News such as  Broadband  in  Brazil  is  expensive, slow and limited, evaluates  Idec; Broadband  in  Brazil  is  expensive and bad, understand it; Broadband in Brazil  is  one  of  the worst in the world; Brazil has  the  fifth worst broadband in the world, etc; soon  appear.  So to begin the conversation, the  service that ANATEL defends is bad to awful. […] In the  rankings of the top ten most cited in Reclame Aqui [Complain  Here, a website that gathers complaints – GV note], SIX companies  are telephone/internet ones. IN THIS Procon-SP [Consumer Protection service – GV note] Index […], of  the  top  ten,  four  are  telephone companies.
In  other  words, we can  conclude  –  somewhat  hastily, it's true  –  that  beyond the technical quality of broadband in  Brazil to be one of the ten worst in  the  world,  our  service still awful, bringing thousands  of  users to complain about it.
Eduardo Niedarauer regrets [pt] the episode:
É triste ver uma situação destas, que demonstra o absoluto despreparo de  alguns fiscais investidos de grandes atribuições, mas sem grande  comprometimento com a função.
According to a comment by Vanat on the blog Nerds Somos Nozes (Nerds ‘R [n]U[t]S) [pt], Brazilian legislation [pdf, pt] does not consider sharing of connections to be a crime, given that an internet service provider should charge for its services to be considered as such, which is not the case.
In the same direction, Bruno Maeda asks [pt]:
E por acaso a ANATEL multa ou dá autorizações à  cafés, bares, restaurantes e hotéis que fazem uma infraestrutura de  rede para seus clientes? Isso não é prover uma conexão, logo,  categorizar-se como um provedor?
Alexandre Hannud Abdo adds [pt]:
Mais uma demonstração de que a ANATEL está aí  para proteger o lucro abusivo das operadoras e não o bom funcionamento  da Internet.
To this news, one could add the fear that the netizens  have  experienced with ANATEL's attempt [pt] to monitor phone  calls of Brazilians without the need  for a warrant. Claudio Colnago, on  his  blog, rebate, considers the measure illegal because  “although it is commendable that  ANATEL wishes to  fulfill  its duty to supervise the phone operators, it cannot do so  at  the  expense of fundamental rights of citizens. “
"O Brasil não entendeu a Internet" – Internet offline, não precisa de cadastro (Brazil didn't understand the Internet. Internet offline, no need to register). Photo by Flickr user cinco555 shared under a CC 2.0 license
On Twitter, reactions [to the wifi sharing fine] were similar: anger, disbelief  and  the sense  of being cheated.
Wilson Cunha Junior and Ulisses Furquim complain * [pt]:
@wilsoncjunior: O estado  brasileiro ainda não entendeu pra que é que serve. Tira de alguns pobres  o que deveria dar a todos. http://migre.me/3LZ7E
@ulissesf: #anatel #fail total. Não existe  mais bom senso nesse país.
@wilsoncjunior: The  Brazilian  state has not understood yet what it's for. It takes  from some poor people what it should be giving to  everyone. http://migre.me/3LZ7E
@ulissesf: #anatel Total #fail. There's no longer any common sense in this country.
Leo Dias jokes [pt], while,  ironically, Eduardo  Macan asks [pt]:
@Leo_Dias: Bem, eu ia convidar vcs pra tomar café cmg mas vai q  a agência nacional dos päes de queijo me multa p compartilhar meu café  da manhã #anatel
RT @eduardomacan Meu filho e minha namorada não moram comigo e usam meu #wifi. Serei multado? :P http://zapt.in/fi0 #ANATEL
@Leo_Dias:Well, I was going to invite  you  guys to have breakfast with me but imagine if the  national  agency of cheese breads fines  me for  sharing  my breakfast #anatel
RT @eduardomacan My son and my girlfriend don't live with me and they use my #wifi. Will I be penalized? :P http://zapt.in/fi0 #ANATEL
Bruno Ayres gives an idea [pt]:
@Bayres: E se todos nós liberássemos o acesso aos nossos  routers? http://bit.ly/iimYop #tiraasenha #desobedeça #anatel
Well Zenji questions [pt] ANATEL:
@wzol: #Anatel multa usuarios que compartilham acesso a internet com equip. radio  frequencia, pq ao inves disso eles nao barateiam o valor da banda
And Bernardo Cotrim finds it [pt] bizarre:
RT @bernardocotrim Eu pago a banda larga; compro um roteador; ESCOLHO não bloquear a rede.  A #Anatel pode me ferrar?  BIZARRO…
Finally, Cecília Tanaka, Douglas Arruda and Gilson Pôrto Jr [all pt] question ANATEL about  digital  inclusion:
@cecilia_tanaka: Atitude horrível da #Anatel em tempos de  inclusão digital. Deveria facilitar o acesso aos usuários c/ valores +  acessíveis e – burocracia.
@douglasarruda: Ao invés de a #Anatel ficar multando  moradores que compartilham internet, deveriam diminuir burocracia e  impostos pra baratear o acesso.
@gilporto: @andrelemos @andredeak Lamentável é pouco. Vergonhoso acho mais  apropriado a posição da #Anatel,  principalmente quando defende-se a inclusão

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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China: Could better PR have prevented Groupon’s China gaffe? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Imagethief looks into Groupon's public relation strategy in setting up their business in China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: A “dry canal” to rival the Panama Canal? · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Bloggings by boz reports: “Colombian President Santos told FT there is a ‘real proposal… quite advanced’ for a rail link connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through Colombia, serving as a “dry canal” to rival Panama's.” He adds: “For Colombia, it's a fantastic opportunity that comes only because it has managed security gains over the past decade that allow it to hold and protect infrastructure in that border region near Panama”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Colombia: Outrage after failed FARC hostage release · Global Voices
Julián Ortega Martínez

On December 8, 2010, in an open letter to former senator Piedad Córdoba, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced they would release five hostages: local politicians Marcos Baquero and Armando Acuña, from San José del Guaviare and Garzón, respectively; marine infant Henry López; national police official Guillermo Javier Solórzano; and army corporal Salín Sanmiguel.
After obtaining permission from the national government, and the participation of Brazil as mediator and logistics provider, the hostage releases, assisted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), were taking place without any difficulty: on Wednesday February 9, Baquero was released (even bringing a cat [es] from the jungle, who was his only companion [es] during his captivity); and on Friday, February 11, councillor Acuña and infant López met again with their families. On Saturday it was announced that another hostage would be released on Sunday, police officer Carlos Ocampo, kidnapped late December 2010 in San Antonio, Tolima.
However, things did not go as planned on Sunday. Initially, bad weather was blamed as the cause for the delay of the operation. Ocampo was freed after being picked up from an unknown location and taken to the Ibagué airport (central-western Colombia), and later to Bogotá where he was reunited with his relatives. But Solórzano and Sanmiguel were not present at the coordinates provided by FARC to former senator Córdoba. Eduardo Pizarro Leongómez, who was appointed by the Santos administration as delegate for the releases, told the media that the FARC had given the wrong coordinates and that the kidnapped were not in Tolima but in Cauca (southwestern Colombia).
Many Colombian Twitter users expressed their outrage:
María Isabel Ángel (@MaisAngel) (1, 2):
Con el envío de falsas coordenadas, las FARC demuestran que no había ningún acto humanitario en entrega de secuestrados. Quién sabe que hay detrás de eso, la interrupción de operativos militares para liberaciones les conviene de algún modo.
José L. Peñarredonda (@noalsilencio) (1, 2, 3, 4):
La pregunta complicada que hay que responder es si @Piedadcordoba actuó o no de mala fe. A la larga, a @PiedadCordoba le convenía más que todo saliera bien. ¿Pero si los uribestias tienen razón después de todo? Si las Farc usaron a @PiedadCordoba para ganar ventaja estratégica, eso cambia muchas cosas[, p]ero si @PiedadCordoba usó al Gobierno para darle ventaja estratégica a las Farc, pues lastimosamente los uribestias tenían razón
Camilo Andés (@n0ta_mental):
y para mi que @piedadcordoba y su grupito armado Farc, están transportando droga del Tolima al Valle usando las liberaciones como excusa!!
@Vulturno:
estos hijueputas de las FARC se parecen cada vez más a esos generales que sacan el resultado a punta de caguémosla y despues nos disculpamos
@ensergio:
Las Farc son unos desgraciados y buscan show. Pero si mañana se puede de nuevo coger el helicóptero pa liberar a la gente, ¿no vale la pena?
Victor Solano (@solano):
Lo de hoy con las falsas coordenadas recuerdan otros episodios de mentiras enormes de las farc como el caso de Emmanuel, hijo de Clara
Since FARC top leader Guillermo Sáenz, aka Alfonso Cano, is long believed to be hiding at Las Hermosas National Park [es] (which is close to the area where the hostage release operation took place), with the Colombian Army actively pursuing him, some Twitter users claim the false coordinates were a strategy:
Diana (@DianaPala):
Los defensores d Colombianos x las Farc serán tan ignorantes q se tragan cuento d “error” en las coordenadas? Las dieron falsas! Entiendan!
Juan Gutiérrez (@JuPaGuCa):
Sabe usted cuando vamos a saber de Alfonso Cano. Cuando alguno se lo encuentre en Isla Margarita. Y sin duda ya va a mitad de camino.
Daniel Arango (@stultaviro), with irony, writes:
Felicitaciones a @PiedadCordoba. El operativo de liberación del comandante Alfonso Cano fue todo un éxito.
Still, some questioned the government's version, like Laura Gil (@lauraggils) (1, 2):
No entiendo cómo se pasa juicio a favor FARC o Gob ref: liberaciones. Nadie sabe exactamente qué pasó. ¿No deberíamos tener cosas + claras? / Pregunta para los q tienen todo claro sobre incidente liberaciones: como sabe el Gob q los dos secuestrados estan en Cauca?
On Sunday night, Pizarro announced [es] that early on Monday February 14, the ICRC would propose an area in Cauca for the hostage releases to be finally completed, but that military operations will resume in Tolima at 06:00 (11:00 UTC) on Monday, as previously agreed.

author: Julián Ortega Martínez


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Cuba: What do the Cables from Havana Say? (Part II) · Global Voices
Elaine Díaz

*This is the second part of a series. Please read the first post here.
On July 31, 2006, Fidel Castro Ruz, due to his critical state of health, provisionally resigned to the Presidency of the State Council and appointed his brother Raúl Castro Ruz as his replacement. Two years later, on February 18, 2008, the former president sent a message announcing:
No aspiraré ni aceptaré- repito- no aspiraré ni aceptaré el cargo de Presidente del Consejo de Estado y Comandante en Jefe (…) No me despido de ustedes. Deseo solo combatir como un soldado de las ideas. Seguiré escribiendo bajo el título Reflexiones del compañero Fidel.
¿What is Revolution? Photo by consumerfriendly. Published under CC License.*
Since early 2006, rumors began to circulate about the health of Fidel Castro, but a cable dated April 2006  contradicted these assumptions with the statements of a group of Russian officials who had met with the former president and described him as “lucid and in good health.
Fidel’s health began to falter and this determined his subsequent resignation. The health of the president led to the creation in March 2007 of a detailed report by Michael E. Parmly, then head of the US Interests Section in Havana. In it, it was predicted a “gradual deterioration of physical and mental health of Castro that would end with his death” and pointed to this moment as the trigger for “substantial change” in the Island. Two years later, in January 2009, Jonathan D. Farrar, sent a message with “speculation about Fidel's health” in which he announced the death of the president based on his public absence and the lack of his usual reflections, but he also  said he did not expect “violent protests nor a migratory wave” to be unleashed on the Island.
Parallel to the debate on Fidel’s health the focus was also on on the governmental administration of the current president, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz. A wire revealed by Wikileaks on January 18, dated in Havana in July 2008, summarizes a meeting that the Cuban President had with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Celso Amorim, held between May 30 and 31 of the same year.
At the meeting the Cuban leader said, according to the words of the director of the Brazilian Embassy in Cuba, Vilmar Coutinho, :
no tenía intención de eliminar la tarjeta blanca [permiso de salida] en un futuro cercano ya que esto provocaría un éxodo masivo de cubanos principalmente hacia México y podría deteriorar las relaciones bilaterales con esta nación
The political scientist Armando Chaguaseda explains that the white card “is not only indefensible, but it also violates the rights of the people.” There seems to be an ample consensus on the implications of the withe card within Cuban intellectuals and artists, some of whom are members of the Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC), and within prominent representatives of national culture, such as the singer songwriter Pablo Milanés.
Facebook groups have also been created with the objective of spreading the message in favor of the elimination of the white card and many of its members are currently residing in the Island. However, the end of the exit permit will remain an unpaid debt. In the guidelines of the economic and social policy for the VI Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) this topic is not listed in any of its twelve chapters and the cable revealed by Wikileaks seems to confirm the government's refusal to address this claim in the foreseeable future.
*Photo taken by  consumerfriendly and published under License CC NC-SA 2.0.

author: Elaine Díaz


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Egypt: Freedom Party Continues (Videos) · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011.
Since the news came out that Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down as president of Egypt, celebrations were carried out across the country. Throughout the world, people are celebrating in solidarity with the Egyptian people and their newly recovered freedom. More and more videos are uploaded on social networks and video sharing websites. Millions of people filmed different angles of a globally celebrated moment. Here's a tiny sample of the videos posted online.
Following the announcement of the resignation of Mubarak, millions flooded into the streets of Cairo, cheering and hugging each other in joy. This video posted by sweetbabynikki captures these unique moments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn7QiqWNF5c
Throughout the world, people have been joining the party.
This video of a rally held in the city of Chicago, USA, was posted by DavidMoskow:
From Geneva in Switzerland, this video by gasoline90:
Hundreds gathered in Trafalgar Square in central London on Saturday. In this video, posted by 20088mmm you can hear marchers chanting “State security where are you? … Facebook has just fooled you!”:
In the following video, posted by GodBlesstheGrass, Egyptian Americans hold a rally and make a snow pyramid in front of the Minnesota Capitol to celebrate the end of the Mubarak dictatorship:
In the Jordanian capital Amman, people celebrated the departure of Mubarak in front of the Egyptian embassy, as shown in this video posted by nadine89er:
This other video, posted by TheHolyDamnation, shows people gathering in front of the Egyptian embassy in London, braving the cold weather, extatically chanting: “Here are the Egyptian people!”
This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011.

author: Hisham Almiraat


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El Salvador: Citizen Reactions to disclosure of wages in the Legislative Assembly  · Global Voices
Omar Nieto

Sigfrido Reyes- the representative of the Farabundo Martí Liberation National Front (FMLN) who has recently assumed the presidency of the Legislative Assembly- took an unexpected step on February the 5. He ordered, as one of his first actions in the presidency, to issue the Nº 515 legislative decree [es] which encompasses the Minimum wage law and legislation. The disclosure of this law  not only allows people to be informed about the different wages of the main authorities, but they can also see the wages of assistants, drivers, office boys, a person who performs several activities including simple maintenance work, etc. This has opened a Pandora's box [es].
Nonetheless, the list just provides the wages of the professions established in the Law of Wages. Most of the Assembly employees work under contract, that is to say, they are not formal state employees, but they work under a contract the is renewed regularly. The wages below are an example of the wages included in the Wage Law:
… Sueldos en US$ Dólares
11 Asistente: $2,049.09
12 Colaborador de Departamento IV: $2,029.14
13 Motorista V: $1,528.57
14 Colaborador de Departamento IV: $1,500.00
15 Colaborador de Departamento IV : $1,328.40
16 Colaborador de Relaciones Públicas III: $1,328.40
18 Auxiliar Contable III: $1,265.00
19 Secretaria IV: $1,214.70
20 Secretaria III: $1,193.57
…
This has triggered a wave of outrage among citizens and the Salvadoran blog community who have immediately criticized the representatives of the Legislative Assembly, widely known as the “Fathers of the Nation.”
Paolo Lüers, from the Siguiente Página blog [es], writes a thoroughly ironic letter [es] to the president of the Legislative Assembly, Sigfrido Reyes, asking “formally” for a job as an adviser, and if this is not possible, at least a job as a “driver III” ($2.113.57).
Yo me conformaría con este sueldo, ya que supera lo que ahora gano escribiendo columnas para dos periódicos. No tengo idea qué hace un Motorista III para que le paguen mejor que a un médico, un director de escuela, un periodista, o un inspector de la PNC.
Júpiter, a collaborator from the Blogotepeque blog, writes a post called “Legislative Assembly Wages: corruption, nepotism and political machine” [es] in which he conveys his total discontent about what he considers a barbarity: having drivers and assistants earning more than a good lawyer, a doctor or an engineer.
Los salarios hablan por si mismos, motoristas y ordenanzas ganando más de mil dólares, que barbaridad! ¿Cuánto gana un doctor, un abogado, un ingeniero después de años y años de estudios universitarios? ¿Qué dice el Ministro de Educación al respecto? Cuál es el incentivo entonces que tienen los jóvenes para estudiar si gente sin estudios tienen un salario más alto únicamente por los contactos que tienen. ¿Cómo podemos confiar en nuestros diputados si viven en un pantanal de la corrupción?
Ernesto Rivas [es] joins the outraged citizens, in a post called “¡Ay, esos manirrotos diputados!” [es] which was published in his blog Conversaciones con Neto Rivas. He points out that now that Sigfrido Reyes from the FMLN assumed the presidency “the best kept secret until now starts to unveil, the generous wages that are paid…”
El nuevo presidente y ex vicepresidente de la asamblea Sigfrido Reyes dijo que la Junta Directiva no ha autorizado ningún sobresueldo y que la única persona facultada para autorizar ese tipo de sobresueldos ha sido el presidente de la Asamblea Legislativa, en una clara referencia a Ciro Cruz Zepeda, el malo de la película.
Esas son las maniobras sucias que se dan a diario en el augusto cuerpo. Otra, igualmente común maniobra, es que el diputado que consigue un hueso para un su chero le cobra un porcentaje mensualmente, que puede ser hasta un 25 por ciento del salario.
The new president and former vice president of the Assembly, Sigfrido Reyes, asserted that the Directive Board has not allowed any wage over the standard amount of money and the only one person responsible for authorizing those kind of wages was the former president of the Legislative Assembly, Ciro Cruz Zepeda, the antagonist of this story.
Those are the dirty strategies that are daily devised in his immaculate body. Another common strategy is that the representative finds a job for someone that charges a monthly wage, which could be up to 25 percent of the salary.
Jjmar, from the Hunnapuh-Comentarios [es] blog, thinks that even though the legislative budget does not have money wasted, irrationality and dishonesty, [es] it must be pointed out that this is only the tip of the iceberg since the distinguished Legislative Assembly just represents 1% of the national budget, whereas the Supreme Court of Justice has 6%, and the 93% left goes to other local and state authorities including the Executive power and its ministries. According to Jjmar, the first step that should be taken is approving a Transparency Law, then establishing austerity measures, after that, fixing and establishing the wages of the three powers -Executive, Legislative and Judicial systems- within the standard amount, and lastly, transforming the Court of Audit into a real supervision authority, not in an organization used as a shield against citizen inquiry.
Con estos elementos, como mínimo, se puede iniciar un proceso que nos lleve a racionalizar el gasto público, volverlo más eficiente y centrado en las necesidades fundamentales de la sociedad y manejado con honestidad y transparencia. La tarea es grande y no se puede realizar sin la participación ciudadana.
Carlos Abrego [es], in his blog Cosas tan pasajeras [es], thinks that a Transparency Law will be passed but that it will come out tarnished, since both President Mauricio Funes and the representatives of FMLN promised several times honesty in their administration. But corruption was unveiled and now they do not know how to calm down citizens. On the one hand, Funes asserted that he needed a year to pass the Transparency Law. On the other hand, Sigfrido Reyes complains about the media, which does not stop talking about the wages over the standard amount and the wasted money in his organization. From now on, he has promised a “friendly administration” with the other parties. He will also try to avoid making more uncomfortable disclosures as he did before. Carlos writes:
Para denunciar y tomar medidas a fin de que este desfalco acabe, se necesita honestidad, integridad y valentía. Pero nuestro nuevo presidente de la Asamblea tiene la misma mano que el presidente de la República, que aseguraba que la suya, su mano, no iba a temblar y que castigaría a los corruptos. Luego Mauricio Funes se nos enfermó, tiene olvidos constantes y le ha entrado una tembladera en las manos, que para qué les cuento. Hace una semana cuando felicitó a Reyes tal vez lo contagió… El caso es que Reyes no quiere hablar de los carros, de las múltiples prebendas de los diputados, esas cosas, para nuestro revolucionario, son nimiedades, él prefiere “una agenda positiva del futuro”. ¿De qué futuro positivo podemos hablar, si se cimienta en tanta corrupción y tanta pudredumbre?
These are some of the reactions that brought about the wages disclosure of the Legislative Assembly. Nowadays, citizens want to know more about how the authorities spend the money of the taxes, an issue that was considered as a taboo years ago.

author: Omar Nieto


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Ghana: The Witches of Gambaga premiers in Accra · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Witches of Gambaga premiers in Accra, Ghana: “Tomorrow the 15th of February at 10 am Yaba Badoe‘s documentary film premiers at the British Council in downtown Accra. The film, the Witches of Gambaga, shows us the destiny of women arriving at the notorious camp for witches that has been established in the north of Ghana, sent by relatives who believe they are witches.”


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India: More Awareness Required To Fix The Education system · Global Voices
Rezwan

Himanshu Rai advocates for more awareness of the complexity of the problem in the Indian education system. The blogger opines that “the education model needs to be transformed from teacher-centric to a learning-centric.”


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Indonesia: Attack on religious minorities · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

The Ahmadiyah followers in Indonesia have been experiencing a series of prosecutions in the country. In 2008, the government issued a decree recognizing their existence but disallowed the group from spreading their teachings. Since then, the members have been attacked in public places by thugs and religious fanatics. However, the culprits of the previous incidents were never arrested by the police.
The latest incident took place about eight days ago, when a mob of more than 1,500 people attacked an Ahmadi congregation in Cikeusik Sub District. While the elderlies, women and children were able to flee the congregation house, the Ahmadi men were attacked by a mob screaming “God is great”. The mob used stones and machetes. Three of of the Ahmadis died, while few others were badly injured, reports said that the victims’ bodies were later on hanged on trees.
A group of Human Rights NGOs including Kontras managed to obtain a lengthy video recording of the incident. Some parts of the video were uploaded on Youtube. The NGOs also claimed that the police didn't perform their duty by allowing the attack to continue despite their presence in the area
The Banten Chief police was stripped off his rank following the incident.
(WARNING: DISTRESSING IMAGERY IN THE VIDEO BELOW)
Check also a video of the attack uploaded on EngageMedia (WARNING: DISTRESSING IMAGERY)
Marjuki Alie on his Politikana blog post said that the Ahmadi murderers are not the ones to blame.
[…]hukum di Indonesia  payah, mudah dibeli, mudah juga ditekan-tekan oleh kelompok-kelompok kepentingan.
[…]Kok pembunuh tidak bersalah, dimana logikanya? Mereka yang mengeroyok dan membunuh rame-rame itu pikirannya sudah sesat. Sesat gimana? Ya sesat karena mereka itu telah diajarkan bahwa yang mereka lalukan itu adalah benar.  Mereka itu telah diajarkan bahwa yang mereka lakukan itu mulia, atas nama agama untuk membela agama.
Enraged Twitter users share their opinions:
harimauterbang: My goodness. So the KKK moved to Banten! Hanging people from trees! Ugh! !#ahmadiyah murders
TiaraMarieta :  walaupun #ahmadiyah adalah ajaran yang menyimpang.namun tak selayaknya diperlakukan semena-mena.
syukronamin: Org2 yg membunuh warga #Ahmadiyah itu tdk sadar, bhw dasar negara kita bukan Islam, tapi Pancasila.
[…]Knp Ormas2 se-aliran #FPI hanya ‘protes’ ketika Teroris dihukum mati? Ketika ada warga #Ahmadiyah dibunuh mrk diam?
gitaputrid: Negara ini #Bohong menjamin kerukunan umat beragama,sebagaimana bohong melakukan pembrantasan korupsi
Temanggung riot
A couple of days after the Cikeusik incident, a riot occured on Temanggung, Central Java. Under the Anti Blasphemy law, Antonius Richmond Bawengan received 5 year for desecrating Islam and Christianity. Later that day, a mob of 1,000 men arrived from other cities and began to destroy Churches and a Christian school in Temanggung.
Colson, wrote a post on Pelopor website, saying:
It looks like the President and the government lack the courage to confront them head-on. On the contrary they are making concessions to appease the hard-liners. The Indonesian bishops rightly said: the state fails to protect minorities.

author: Juke Carolina


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Iran: “Al Jazeera, Please Cover Iran as you did in Egypt” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

As Iranian cyber activists flooded into the virtual world to encourage an officially banned mass demonstration on 14 February (25 Bahman) in the name of the Egyptian and Tunisian peoples, a Facebook page has been launched to encourage Al Jazeera to cover the event.
There is an image on this Facebook page that says “Al Jazeera please cover Iran as you did in Egypt”. The page has attracted more than 3500 fans so far.
Semohos writes [fa]:
Dictators are like dogs if we run away they will bite us, but if we attack them, they will run away. From Monday we will all attack together until victory.
Afkar Sabz writes [fa]:
Two days until the demonstration, we should go to rooftops and chant Allaho Akbar (God is Great) and encourage our family members and friends to join the demonstration on Monday.
This video on YouTube shows Iranians chanting “Allaho Akbar” in Tajrish, Tehran last night.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Protesters back to Streets · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian protesters demonstrate in Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan,Rasht and several other cities. Here is a video film shows Sharif University students in Tehran chant against ‘dictator’.


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Iran: Today’s Protests in Videos · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Despite a government ban, Iranians demonstrated in several cities today, including Tehran (photo above), Shiraz, Isfahan, and Rasht. The Iranian opposition had sought permission to demonstrate in solidarity with the Egyptian and Tunisian people but the Islamic regime ignored the request.
According to media reports, news has been circulating online of clashes between protesters and security forces in Tehran, Iran's capital. According to these reports, thousands of demonstrators marched on Enghelab and Azadi streets (which connect, creating a straight path through the centre of the city), with a heavy presence in Enghelab Square and Vali-Asr Street.
Videos of today's events have begun to appear online.
The sky is no limit
A protester hoisted a picture of martyrs of the Green Movement on a crane in Tehran. Security forces brought him down quickly, but his act of bravery will be shared via citizen media for long.
And clashes in Tehran
In this video, protesters in Tehran are seen burning an image of Ayatollah Khomeini.
Down with the dictator is Isfahan
Demonstrations and clashes between protesters and police force have been reported in Isfahan.
Heavy military presence in Mashhad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVdCAPe0qU0


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Israel: A Music Video Celebrating Egypt’s New Freedom · Global Voices
Carmel L. Vaisman

A group of Israeli indie musicians have gathered to create a song, entitled Children of Liberty, expressing their support of the Egyptian people's newly acquired freedom, and have a “toast” to new neighbors, human rights and equality in both countries.

author: Carmel L. Vaisman


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Jamaica: Banton Wins “Best Reggae Album” · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

YardFlex.com “sends hearty congratulations to Mark ‘Buju Banton’ Myrie” on his Grammy win last night.


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Jamaica, Cuba, T&T: Egypt’s Revolution  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Regional bloggers rejoice over Egypt‘s “Revolution 2.0″


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Kyrgyzstan: The ghost of state-level racketeering returns · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Kamilla reports on a clash between the Kyrgyz authorities and Russian investors over the status of MegaCom, one of Kyrgyzstan’s leading mobile operators – while the government claims that the company’s stock has been nationalized, the Russians claim that their share (51%) is in the government’s hands for safekeeping.


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Pakistan: Love Or Hate Valentine’s Day · Global Voices
Rezwan

In Pakistan there is a growing opposition against Valentine's Day celebrations on religious and cultural grounds. But Pakistani blogger Adil Najam asks: “since when is mohabbat (love) not part of our saqafat (culture)?”


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Panama: Crowdsourcing to Map Corruption and Crime · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Periodismo Ciudadano [es] describes Mapa Transparente [es], a crowdsourcing initiative in Panama which allows users to track corruption, theft, homicides, sexual assaults, kidnappings and other forms of crime on a map.


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Russia: Blogger Detained for Spreading Bombing Rumors · Global Voices
Masha

Internet Access, by whurleyvision
Russian maritime region of Primorsky krai seems to be too far (some 8,944 km) from Moscow to notice what is going on in the capital. This is why Vladivostok, center of Primorie, often has a very different agenda: local news and traffic jams are more interesting for its netizens than, let's say, nationalistic riots in the Moscow's center. This is why the detention of a 20-year old Ilya Korol, IT student and an blogger from Ussuriysk (satellite of Vladivostok), became an important event in the regional blogosphere.
On January 26, two days following the Domodedovo bombings, Korol allegedly (the blog post is currently not available) wrote in his Mail.ru microblog:
Следующий теракт проведем в Пулково, с тротиллом и шахидками.
The last part of the phrase can be interpreted as a reference to the popular RuNet meme “with blackjack and hookers” borrowed from Futurama cartoon series, the detail that underscores a black humor intonation of the posting. Still there's no evidence it was just a joke.
Wherever it was joke or not, police's reaction was straightforward. It took three days for security services to find Korol and arrest him. News portals informed [RUS] that blogger has already confessed and repented. Moreover, the representative of Pulkovo airport security demanded [RUS] a show trial:
Очень жаль, что находятся люди, способные на такие жестокие шутки. Судить этого шутника надо показательно, освещать во всех СМИ, чтобы другим в следующий раз неповадно было
The crackdown on blogger can be explained by the will of Security Services to regain the trust from the society and the government after the bombings. After the suicide bombings, a lot of people raised a question that, despite increasing financing of security the terroristic acts, keeps repeating. Netizens pointed out that this security enthusiasm was in need before the attack. Nim exclaimed [RUS]:
Лучше бы так реальных террористов искали. А то поймали шутника и все: какие мы крутые! Где был этот ваш […] “комплекс оперативно- розыскных мероприятий с применением специальных технических средств” , когда террористы взрывали бомбы в метро, в Домодедово? В Википедии за один только 2010- й года перечислено 25 террористических актов. Гже была тогда ваша бдительность, уважаемые спецы? Обидно.
Another blogger matvienko_vlc pointed out [RUS] that “residents simply think that the ‘robust security regime’ is the only ‘necessary measure aimed at preventing terrorist act,’ but in fact these ‘measures’ start only after a ‘call from Ussuriysk’ and do not apply to the ‘robust security regime.'”
Now, Korol is waiting for his prosecution under the Article 207 of the Criminal Code “Consciously false report of a terrorist act.” Depending on the verdict, he will either have to pay the fine (about $6,800) or would have to spend around 200 hours at corrective works. As a maximum penalty, he may be imprisoned for three years. But it's highly unlikely given the fact that he confessed.
It is clear that these types of jokes are not appropriate under any circumstances. Yet there are several questions raised in this regard. Since Korol didn't advertise it, how did security services found out a short message in the other hemisphere? Does that mean there's a secret content surveillance system? Finally, why it took three days for the security services to find the blogger?
If such content surveillance system exists, it will be reinforced starting from February 7, 2011. “League of Internet Safety,” as Radio Free Europe reported in a detailed article, “a heavyweight organization … [aiming] to fight against child pornography and … police other ‘negative” content'” just had its launch. As an important part of the initiative, Press and Communications Minister Shchyogolev proposed forming cybersquads (groups of cyber volunteers, suspiciously reminding China's “50 cent party”) that would report “dangerous” content.
Besides content monitoring, netizens are concerned that this measure will be used as a tool to silence the oppositional voices. At the same time, some people are concerned that the budget money dedicated for that project will be stolen. As blogger nil_desperadum put it [RUS]:
Под эгидой борьбы с детской порнографией, что совершенно необходимо, нам втюхивают политическую цензуру. […] Призыв на митинг будут трактовать как экстремизм. Видимо, испугались скорости сбора протестующих на демонстрации в Египте.
Hopefully, Russia will not follow China in its enthusiasm to regulate the Internet. It seems, however, that Kremlin realized all the power of social networks and blogging in the process of mass mobilization. Not a surprise, but the news about the “League of Internet Safety” made Russia netizens feel neither more secure nor safer in their blogging.

author: Masha


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Rwanda: Africa’s newest stock exchange · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Africa’s newest stock exchange is the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE), launched on 31 Jan to start trading the shares of brewer Brasseries et Limonaderies du Rwanda BRALIRWA (www.bralirwa.com). The exchange replaces the Rwanda-Over-The-Counter (OTC) market which has operated since 31 Jan 2008.

author: Ndesanjo Macha