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“I Am Scared to Live in This Country”: Crowd Attacks Women’s Rights Activists in Kyrgyzstan · Global Voices
Aliaskar Adylov

On March 5, an angry crowd attacked feminist activists in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. According to online reports, several activists from the Bishkek Feminist Collective SQ, a small women's rights NGO, were holding an information event dedicated to the International Women's Day (IWD) near a big bazaar. Standing under a big stand with number “8” and feminist symbols, the activists talked to passers-by about the history of the IWD and women's rights.
When the activists were wrapping up the event, a group of about 20-30 men surrounded them. Apparently, these individuals mistook [ru] the Venus symbol displayed on the activists’ stand for a Christian symbol and assumed that the activists were promoting Christianity. Shouting “nationalist and xenophobic accusations” as well as homophobic insults, the men destroyed the stand. They also directed their anger at the activists, “grabbing them by the collar, spitting at them and breathing out cigarette smoke into their faces”. As they tried to leave, the men beat up a male activist and hit another activist in the head.
This stand got feminist activists in trouble in Bishkek. The big “8” refers to March 8, the International Women's Day. Image by the Bishkek Feminist Collective SQ, used with permission.
According to a statement released by the Bishkek Feminist Collective SQ, a police officer who witnessed the attack refused to help the activists. They had to run to a nearby court district. However, even inside the building, they did not feel welcome: a guard tried to force them out of the doors, while several court employees suggested that the activists “did not believe in God and had to be punished”. The activists were finally rescued by police officers who took them to a local station, just at time when an angry crowd demanded that the activists be handed over to them for a “trial by people”.
In its statement, the group whose activists were attacked announced that the event was emblematic of the situation of women on the country as a whole:
This case of violence is not a single event or a turn of events: violence and hate are repeated systematically  and everywhere; currently such occurrences are perceived by the society as something normal. What we experienced yesterday is an everyday and usual personal experience of the majority of women and girls in the country. This action showed that the society does not want to see women in public places as active participants of public and civil life, and as the opponents of the event stated “women do not need rights, because they will always be in second place”. Often the home is called an appropriate place for women.
“Farce” and “provocation”?
Kyrgyzstani netizens were split in their reaction to the incident. While the reaction of many social media users was one of sympathy with the activists, some have doubted the motives of the organization behind them. Commenting under a report about the incident, Chel wrote [ru], for example:
Зная о делах данной организации и ее участников, предполагаю, что все это постанова. Помню, как они еще выходи в поддержку Пусси Райот
Being aware of what this organization and its members do, I assume that this farce. I remember that they came out in support of Pussy Riot [controversial Russian protest group].
Another user doubted [ru] the motives of the organization because of funding they receive from foreign donors:
Кыргызстанцы, поГУГЛите узнаете про них много “интересного”. Скью – одна из НПОшек финансируемых западом. Про истинные цели всех НПО Вы и так знаете.
Kyrgyzstanis, you can learn many “interesting” facts about [the Bishkek Feminist Collective SQ] by googling it. SQ is one of those NGOs that get funding from the West. I am sure you are all aware about the real objectives of all NGOs.
Serzh went even further by suggesting [ru] that provoking the crowd into attacking the activists was a deliberate tactic of the organization that dispatched them:
они специально пошли на ошский рынок чтобы спровоцировать скандал и чтобы о них услышали..разве не понятно..цель достигнута…
They went to the Osh bazaar [area where the incident took place] with an intention to become embroiled in controversy so that everyone talks about them… isn't it obvious?.. they have accomplished the goal…
Men destroy, women build
Yet, other netizens disagreed with such claims. One user, ‘Gusindr Matisius’, responded [ru] to the above comment:
imenno v takih mestah i nado provodit meropri9ti9, potomu chto imenno tam problemy. gde kak ne tam? togda smysl inofrmirovat lyudey, kotorye uje informirovany??
That place is exactly where such events need to take place because this is where the problems are [acute]. Where else if not there? What is the purpose of raising awareness among people are already aware [of the problem]?
Reflecting on the comments that blamed the incident on the victims, another user wrote [ru]
Жесть люди, вы что совсем с ума сошли?? ВЫ СЧИТАЕТЕ ЧТО ИЗБИВАТЬ АКТИВИСТОВ ЗА ПРАВА ЖЕНЩИН ЭТО НОРМАЛЬНО???! Мне страшно жить в этой стране, я рада, что никого из вас не знаю лично…
What's wrong with you people? Have you all gone crazy?? Do you think it is alright to beat activists advocating for women's rights???! I am scared to live in this country, and I am glad that I have not men any of you in person.
Commenting under a different news report about the incident, one person praised [ru] the work that female activists do:
Эти активистки храбры! Молодцы! Наш Кыргызстан будет держаться на таких людях как они. Пока мужчина плюется, бьет женщину и ломает, женщина строит, создает и работает.
These activists have courage! Well done for them! People like them make Kyrgyzstan [a better place]. While men spit, beat women, and destroy, women build, create and work.

author: Aliaskar Adylov


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Malaysia Airlines MH370 Mystery Fuels Conspiracy Theories · Global Voices
Jeff South

“So,” Gerry Shih, a technology reporter for Reuters in San Francisco, asked on Twitter, “what are the most titillating conspiracy theories about the #MalaysiaAirlines out there?? I'm thinking more ‘Homeland,’ less ‘Lost.’
Wild guesses abound on social media, where riveted users were thinking about everything from black ops to black magic. Some people suggested that aliens, UFOs or a meteor strike could be involved. Others blamed terrorists or speculated that the Malaysian military might have mistakenly shot down the passenger plane. Several hypothesised that the Boeing 777 could have landed safely and that its occupants are still alive.
Screen grab from Youtube: ABC news on the missing plane
After a week of conflicting information surrounding the disappearance of flight MH370 and its 239 occupants, theories ranging from ludicrous to plausible have cropped up to fill the void about what happened.
Members of the online community Reddit debated whether the plane, which vanished from radar screens while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on 8 March 2014, might have been hijacked and diverted to North Korea.
A Reddit user named nickryane wrote that the North Korean government has “kidnapped civilians from several nations before. They could have been targeting specific people they knew were on that flight, or they could be after some modern technology in the airliner.”
That idea gained traction on Twitter as well. A user named CA_KarateDog tweeted:
@STcom Are those features that of #NorthKorea? #MH370 did not crash it is in #Pyongyang! pic.twitter.com/6DoX8lV4rW
— CA_KarateDog (@CAKarateDog) March 10, 2014
Reddit spawned a competing theory, too — on the premise that 20 employees of a technology company called Freescale were aboard MH370.
“It seemed odd to me that 20 of their employees were on board the plane and that they are a defense contractor linked to cloaking technology … and then the plane vanishes,” a Reddit user named RachelvsPublic wrote.
On Facebook, a user named Riana Thiart gave a twist to that theory: “Another suspicious fact is that 20 of the best electrical motor vehicle engineers were on that plane. You can't help but assume if the OIL mafia was behind the terrorist attack. Super efficient electrical cars could have been about to launch.”
The Wabbster, a Twitter user in Mumbai, India, offered an explanation for the proliferation of hypotheses about the fate of the Malaysia Airlines jet.
So many conspiracy theories. This is what happens when there's no credible info from governments. #MalaysiaAirlines #MH370
— The Wabbster (@wabbster) March 14, 2014
Since the plane vanished, the news media have reported a number of unusual circumstances: Two of the passengers had boarded with stolen European passports; the smartphones of some people on board were still ringing days after the disappearance; and after ceasing contact, the jet may have made a U-turn or veered off its flight path.
On Friday, Manoj Mathew, an Internet entrepreneur in Kerala, India, called attention on Twitter to the latest development — that the plane was hundreds of miles off course:
Radar-tracking evidence suggests missing #MalaysiaAirlines flight #MH370 was deliberately flown towards Andaman islands: Reuters
— Manoj V Mathew (@manojvmathew) March 14, 2014
“No way it was ‘crashed,'” wrote Reddit user ithoughtsobitch. “If it was crashed someone would have found it by now. Creepy really. Just imagine with today's technology. Any plane in the world full of people could just ‘disappear’.”
Several netizens offered tongue-in-cheek speculation.
“Some alien teenagers snatched that thing straight out of the sky,” someone who goes by Hemp5678 wrote on Reddit.
That remark probably falls into the same category as this tweet by a Canadian man named Jeff Arwadi:
UFO abduction is slowly becoming the most realistic theory on the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines #MH370 right now. #thetruthisoutthere
— Jeff Arwadi (@spitonself) March 12, 2014
Vishal Ponnappa, a self-described nature worshiper and beer enthusiast, added, “Do you think UFOs are involved? Or Chinese terrorists?”
At Kuala Lumpur International Airport, a group of “bomohs,” or witch doctors, performed a ritual to aid the search efforts for the missing plane. That drew mixed reactions online.
Jun Sebastian of Malaysia tweeted:
I apologize if u saw the so-called witchdoctor claiming #MH370 “trapped” btw 3 countries in the underworld. I'm embarrased for my country.
— Jun Sebastian (@JunSebastian) March 12, 2014
But Anita Kapoor, a TV host in Singapore, countered:
Don't mock e bomoh angle being adopted in Malaysia. It's what folk believe in. Same as the belief in god/s. And not better or worse #MH370
— Anita Kapoor (@AnitaKapoor) March 11, 2014
YouTube also showcased offbeat and outlandish ideas about MH 370. TeamWakeEmUP, a group of videographers, posted a video that received more than 8,000 views:
A video by a YouTube user named connectingdots2 theorized that MH 370 was part of a scheme by governments to force citizens to submit to fingerprint identification technology and other biometric tools.
A Twitter user named Tiio Horn hoped that such theories would help her overcome insomnia. They didn't work any better than the story of Peter Pan, she wrote:
I googled conspiracy theories about #MalaysiaAirlines , ranted about PPan and then got over it.. Now what..? #insomnia
— Tiio Horn (@kaniehtiio) March 14, 2014
One theory that circulated widely online came from media tycoon Rupert Murdoch:
777crash confirms jihadists turning to make trouble for China. Chance for US to make common cause, befriend China while Russia bullies.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) March 9, 2014
Murdoch's comment was re-posted on Sina Weibo, China's microblogging service. Government censors deleted the messages, but the deleted postings were archived by an anti-censorship group called FreeWeibo.
Toward the end of the week, Internet users were grasping at anything. RK of Mumbia tweeted:
Blown up by terrorists? Hit by a meteor? Hijacked by elves? Or pulled out of the air by Godzilla? #MalaysiaAirlines
— RK (@rohit2250) March 12, 2014
A Reddit user named htat_guy suggested a solution with an allusion to characters from the cartoon show “South Park”:
“When are they going to get serious about this and call in the Hardly Boys? After all they are two young whippersnappers with a knack for solving mysteries.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Jeff South


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Korea: English, Borrowed Words, Konglish · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Words adopted from another language, or ‘borrowed words’ permeate the Korean language. R. Elgin wrote an informative post about how borrowed English words are being used in Korea compared to loanwords in other countries; many English words are, instead of being completely or partially naturalized, phonetically rendered into Korean, often in forms of Konglish.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Letters From Tajikistan: We Are Different, But We Have Much In Common · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

A unique book has been published in Tajikistan. Loki explains [ru] how the book, Letters from Tajikistan, differs from everything else that has been produced in the country:
The book is a collection of letters written by people who either live in Tajikistan or have visited the country. The authors of these letters come from various social and professional backgrounds as well as from different generational groups. The book reproduces original letters, leaving the authors’ writing styles unchanged and unedited.
Most of the letters in the book are in Russian, but there are also letters in English and French. The letters are also posted on a Facebook page.
The book is a final stage of the project that two Tajikistani artists, Anton Rodin and Sergey Chutkov, presented at the 2013 Venice Biennale, a biannual contemporary art exhibition held in Venice, Italy. In an interview conducted during the exhibition, the artists told [ru] that their aim was to identify issues which are relevant to all people in Tajik society irrespective of their various religious, cultural, social, and ethnic backgrounds.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Russia’s Crimea Ballot Fraud that Wasn’t · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

The Kremlin's ballot scheme in Crimea that probably never happened. Images mixed by author.
The Crimea will host a referendum this Sunday, March 16, 2014, to determine whether the autonomous republic will remain in Ukraine under expanded autonomy or ask to be absorbed into the Russian Federation. For the past two weeks, Ukraine’s new authorities in Kiev have railed against the vote, arguing that the Crimean parliament has no right to pursue secession without the participation of the national government.
Some Russian Internet users are now concluding from images circulating online that Crimean state officials might be planning to exclude their own electorate from the voting process, as well.
The photograph at the center of the ballot falsification scandal.
On March 12, blogger Rustem Adagamov published photographs from Itar-Tass by Sergei Fadeichev of referendum preparation throughout the Crimea. In one photograph (see above), a young man is moving what appears to be a stack of voting ballots. After Adagamov published the images, observant readers quickly noticed that the cover sheets on the stacks of paper were printed with pro-secession votes already selected.
The website freejournal.biz picked up the chatter on Adagamov’s blog, running a story with the headline, “Ballots in the Crimea Already Filled Out in the Right Place.” The piece also cited a Facebook post by Ukrainian parliament member Oleksandr Briginets, where he reported secondhand information that Russian citizens were being bused into Simferopol to stuff the ballot box in favor of secession. “My mom and many people living in Feodosia saw these buses!!!” Briginets wrote on March 13.
According to Yandex’s blogs search engine, there are 780 separate pingbacks to the freejournal.biz post, meaning that hundreds of Russian bloggers—writing mostly on Vkontakte and Twitter—shared this story, typically expressing their anger about the apparent voter fraud planned for this Sunday.
A close-up of the pro-secession Crimean referendum leaflets.
Upon closer inspection, however, the falsified ballots in the photograph on Adagamov’s blog may in fact be leaflets made by pro-Russia agitators. The same day that Adagamov posted the images, newspaper RBC Daily published its own photograph—a close-up—of the same documents (see above), which it identified as leaflets produced by a local chapter of the Party of Regions.
Admittedly, the leaflets were designed to be nearly identical to the real ballots. There are two important differences, however. Unlike the official ballot announced earlier this week by Crimean election head Mikhail Malyshev, the leaflets were printed on white paper. (The actual ballots are being printed on yellow paper.) The paper size of the leaflets also seems to be larger than the dimensions that Malyshev advertised this Tuesday. Finally, of course, there is the booming red checkmark on the leaflets. If you look carefully at RBC’s picture, you’ll see that the box around the checkmark doesn’t close completely. There is a small space left unfilled, making it impossible even to suggest that the vote was cast after the ballot was printed.
So does this mean that Russia won’t try to steal the referendum on Sunday? It absolutely does not mean that. But this one photograph and the reaction it’s causing online do suggest that Russians won’t be terribly surprised, if the vote is fixed. Many are ready to believe the worst now, even on laughably circumstantial evidence.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Speaking Through Graffiti in Kazakhstan · Global Voices
Mahina Shodizoda

Graffiti by Repas Workshop, image used with permission.
Over the last ten years, a street art group based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, has been using graffiti to express ideas and statements. The group, Repas Workshop, presents [ru] the most recent examples of their impressive graffiti artworks in a blog.

author: Mahina Shodizoda


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Ultraman Comic Book Banned in Malaysia for Using the Word ‘Allah’ · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Flickr photo by ted adnan (CC License)
The Bahasa edition of an Ultraman comic book was banned by Malaysia’s Home Affairs Ministry for using the word Allah. Ultraman is a popular Japanese comic hero.
The ‘Ultraman The Ultra Power’ edition featured a character described as being “considered to be, and respected as, the ‘God’ or Elder of all Ultra heroes”. The word God was translated as Allah in the publication. Officials who banned the comic book said children might be confused when they read Allah.
Malaysia is a Muslim-majority nation. There is a current controversy about an order banning non-Muslims from using the word Allah to refer to God. The matter is now pending in the high court.
Most comments are not in favor of the ban. They pointed out that the government could have simply requested the publisher to change the translation. Here are some comments from the alternative news site Malaysiakini:
Relevancy: Why ban a book when they can request for a change in the wording? Is everything to be considered as banned material rather than to request for remedial action to be done? What kind of ministry do we have here?
BernieBaby: Ultraman, we are in dire need of your services. Please save Malaysia. We have monsters in control of the government.
Not Smart: Our administration always takes the easy way out. They are afraid of (or maybe cannot do) hard work and think smart to improvise/rectify an issue/problem. It is most of time just the easy way of cancelling/banning/changing or creating new laws and regulations.
The #ultraman ban in Malaysia is so retarded I thought it was a joke.
— Daryl Tan (@ExDaro) March 7, 2014
The only VALID reason for KDN to ban Ultraman; they wear tights & they don't look as good as Superman in tights pic.twitter.com/34cu9dhjxE
— Aida Anuar (@aidaadibah) March 6, 2014
Meanwhile, L.A.M. mocks the ruling by recommending the censorship of other cartoons:
As I am a supporter of protecting public morality, I would like to offer them additional suggestions on what other childhood favorites they can ban to justify their headcount and salary.
Jasmine: Encourages mixing around with thieves. Also the first 2 syllables of Aladdin should be banned.
Mulan: Encourages cross-dressing and transsexualism.
Pocahontas: Look at what she is wearing? This is public indecency.
Also heroines is 2 letters away from heroin, a banned drug in Malaysia.
Kevin Tan is worried over the successive negative news stories in Malaysia such as the drought, the missing MH370 plane, and the Ultraman ban:
Smog, dengue, water shortage, dry spell, Ultraman, now MH370. Why all these negativity haunting us? Becareful of our deeds.
— Kevin Tan (@kevingptan) March 9, 2014
But Ariff Iman Anuwi reminds other netizens that only one edition of the comic book is banned:
Why are people so dumb? Ultraman is not banned, only the one edition of the book.
— Ariff Iman Anuwi (@AriffImn) March 7, 2014

author: Mong Palatino


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African Technology: The TechAfrique Project Assesses How Far It’s Come · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

Le continent africain apparaît comme la nouvelle frontière mondiale du développement numérique. Ce développement provoque une nouvelle impulsion entrepreneuriale en Afrique, et notamment en Afrique francophone. Mais ce potentiel reste très largement méconnu en Europe ainsi qu'en France.
The African continent appears to be the new global frontier of digital development. This development has caused a new entrepreneurial impulse in Africa, particularly in Francophone Africa. But this potential remains largely unknown in Europe and in France.
To change this, Samir, author of the blog Startup BRICS [fr] that specializes in start-ups in the emerging countries, organized a field mission called the TechAfrique project to identify and list technology initiatives, start-ups, Fablabs projects, and other co-working places of tech creativity in Francophone Africa and Kenya.

author: Claire Ulrich


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Are ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ Outdated Terms in African Politics? · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

[All links lead to French-language pages unless otherwise noted.]
The classification of the political spectrum into “left” and “right” dates back to the French Revolution (1789-1799), when members of France's revolutionary assembly who supported the monarchy sat on the right side of the hémicycle (semicircular debating chamber) and revolutionaries who opposed it sat on the left. These terms gained wide currency throughout the Western cultural sphere.
Simply put, right-wing politics prioritize national identity, security and economic liberalism, while left-wing politics emphasize social progress, equality and solidarity. These classifications continue to be used worldwide.
But some experts think that they no longer reflect the complex political, economic and social dimensions of African politics.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu meeting US President Ronald Reagan in 1984 to advocate the introduction of economic sanctions on apartheid South Africa. Public domain
In Jeune Afrique, Charlotte Cans discusses the dominance of left-wing thought in Africa:
In the majority of African countries, most parties call themselves socialist. Very few openly identify themselves as right-wing. The left-right divide, whatever it may be, does not exist in the same way as in industrialized countries.
[The independent MPs] are unwilling to join a specific political party or be indoctrinated [in an ideology] to avoid betraying their constituents, who elected them because of their status as independent. Although this situation might reflect the fact that voters do not trust political parties, it does not facilitate the implementation of legislation.
From the 1950s through the 1970s, African independence struggles were generally led by leftist revolutionaries who rejected the colonial status quo. The right-left cleavage reached its height during the Cold War between the USA and the USSR, with both superpowers competing for control and influence on the continent.
Cartoon of the Cold War in Africa by Tim in French newspaper L'Express. Published in 1977. Public domain
With the end of the Cold War, external powers no longer took such an ideological interest in Africa, as Julien Assoun of Djibouti explains:
Avec la fin du clivage Est/Ouest, l’Afrique cesse d’être un enjeu géopolitique, et se trouve marginalisée. Ce continent autrefois « convoité » est désormais l’objet du désintérêt des puissances mondiales.
With the end of the Cold War and the competition between East and West, Africa found itself marginalized. The previously “coveted” continent was now an object of disinterest for the global powers.
Argentine revolutionary Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara and former Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila in 1965. Guevara led an ultimately unsuccessful small Cuban force in an attempt to spark a left-wing revolution in D.R. of Congo. Public domain
After this period, the political landscape in Africa changed substantially. Belgian writer Raoul Marc Jennar suggests that the left/right distinction becomes less important when economic problems are as severe as those in many African countries:
En période de crise, le rejet du clivage gauche-droite en tant qu'expression de la lutte des classes, la condamnation des partis politiques, le dénigrement du parlementarisme, l'exaltation de l'unité nationale sont des thèmes récurrents.
In periods of crisis, the rejection of the left/right distinction as the expression of class struggle, the condemnation of political parties, attacks on parliamentarianism and the exaltation of national unity are recurring themes.
Charles Blattberg, a philosophy professor at the University of Montreal, proposes making ideological distinctions between groups based on how they respond to conflict:
A new conception of the political spectrum is advanced, with its basic terms reinterpreted on the basis of how people should respond to given conflicts: those on the left would have us do so with conversation; those in the centre with negotiation; and those on the right with force.
What's next for African political parties?
Chiek Oumar Sissoko in Mali thinks that the continent's problems require a response based on the principle of solidarity and advocates a union of leftist parties. As he explains:
La situation actuelle de l’Afrique oblige à un constat désolant. Mais je reste convaincu que la situation inacceptable de l’Afrique est la conséquence des politiques néolibérales. Et, comme cela dure, le moment est arrivé pour que les forces de gauche à travers le Mali, puis à travers l’Afrique, se donnent la main pour sortir leur continent de la misère et de la pauvreté inacceptable.
The current situation in Africa is a constant source of despair. But I am convinced that the unacceptable situation in Africa is the consequence of neoliberal policies. And, as it continues, the moment has come for the forces of the left throughout Mali, and Africa more broadly, to join hands and transform their continent of misery and unacceptable poverty.
Others think that solidarity's moment is over. Aquilas Yao in Ivory Coast argues that opening up markets could harness the continent's economic dynamism:
Les pays africains malgré un sous-sol riche et des ressources naturelles abondantes n’arrivent pas à sortir de la pauvreté. Ceci s’explique, en partie, par l’absence de liberté sur les marchés du fait d’une forte intervention des Etats très dirigistes. L’exemple de la Côte d’Ivoire est intéressant dans le secteur de la téléphonie mobile. L’ouverture à la concurrence a engendré une diminution vertigineuse du coût de communication qui en dix (10) ans est passé de  1000 CFA Franc la minute (avec un seul opérateur) à 25 CFA  la minute (avec 5 opérateurs). Ceci implique une rupture avec le protectionnisme souvent utilisé, de manière démagogique par les dirigeants qui pensent rassurer leurs populations en leur promettant la sécurité
Despite rich subsoil and abundant natural resources, African countries have been unable to escape poverty. This is explained in part by the lack of freedom in their markets, which remain controlled by highly interventionist central governments. The mobile phone sector in Ivory Coast is a case in point. The opening of the industry to competition led to a sharp decrease in charges, which fell from 1,000 CFA Francs [$2.11 USD] per minute (with a single operator) to 25 CFA Francs [$0.05USD] per minute (with five operators) over a ten-year period. This exposed government demagogues’ claims that protectionism was good for the population.
This post was translated from French by Rakotomalala and proofread in English by Tom Walker.

author: Rakotomalala


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Did Russia’s Most Famous Actor Just Denounce Vladimir Putin? · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Russian actor Konstantin Khabensky. YouTube screenshot.
Konstantin Khabensky is one of Russia’s most famous actors. International audiences know him best for starring in the Night Watch and Day Watch films directed by Timur Bekmambetov. He’s also had minor roles in Western movies like Tinker Tailor Solider Spy and Wanted. Yesterday, March 15, 2014, a day before Crimea’s secessionist referendum, a message appeared on a social network page supposedly belonging to Khabensky, where the actor denounced Vladimir Putin and expressed his support for Ukraine. In follow-up posts, Khabensky revealed that hate mail flooded his inbox, after his pro-Ukraine post.
In many countries, political statements by actors that criticize a sitting president are a perfectly ordinary occurrence. In Russia, it is exceedingly rare for anyone who regularly appears on television or the silver screen to criticize, let alone denounce, Vladimir Putin. In fact, people as famous as Khabensky are far likelier to laud the President in times of international crisis.
For instance, more than five hundred cultural figures recently signed a public letter of support for Putin’s position on “Ukraine and Crimea.” The letter, with a list of signatories, was published on the Ministry of Culture’s official website. Opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta soon responded with its own public letter, collecting signatures from anti-war personages, including some actors and musicians, but drawing also on fellow liberal journalists.
Khabensky’s fame and the blunt language he used to condemn the Kremlin, however, made his announcement something special. This was a statement by a true cultural icon—not the murmurs of some Russian subculture. Khabensky helped personify the Sochi Olympics, where he voiced commercials for MegaFon and appeared in the Olympic video that featured leading Russian actors performing famous moments in Russian history. Indeed, the news portal NewsRu.com carried the Khabensky announcement as a top story. (At the time of this writing, the article is still there.)
There is strong reason to suspect, however, that Khabensky is not the author of the pro-Ukraine, anti-Putin post on Vkontakte. The account in question does claim to be an “official page,” displaying a green checkmark denoting as much, but this is not how Vkontakte formally recognizes official pages. Study the site’s policies and you’ll see that Vkontakte identifies official pages by adding a blue checkmark immediately to the right of a user’s name. (Look at Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev's page for a clear example.)
In other words, Khabensky’s Vkontakte page is not verified, but the owner of the account wants readers to think it is. That should set off alarm bells: the page is probably fake.


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Accused of Murder and Desperate for Justice, Peasants on Hunger Strike in Paraguay · Global Voices
Jazmin Acuna

Five landless peasants, accused of taking part in the killing of eleven farmers and six policemen during a land eviction procedure in June 2012 in Paraguay, have gone on a hunger strike for more than thirty days in order to demand justice and freedom. The issues of land distribution and judiciary corruption come to the forefront in one of the most controversial conflicts that the South American nation has seen in recent years.
Peasants accused of the Curuguaty massacre on hunger strike. Photo credit: Articulación Curuguaty.
Campos Morombí, or Marina Kue as the field property is commonly known among villagers in the city of Curuguaty, was the scene of a deadly clash between farmers and police officers. The massacre later served as a pretext to oust democratically elected President Fernando Lugo from office via an impeachment marred by a lack of due process and unsubstantiated claims.
The peasants asserted that the property belongs to the state and that Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguay‘s former dictator, had illegally passed it to Mr. Blas Riquelme. A former senator from the Colorado Party, powerful businessman and one of the dictator‘s close friends, Riquelme had claimed the land was his.
Cases like this are common in Paraguay, one of the most unequal countries in South America, which has more than 80% of the land in the hands of less than 2% of the population according to UN development reports [es].
After three hundred riot police entered Marina Kué to evict fifty landless peasants that had occupied the fields, including women and children, a fire shooting ensued resulting in the killing of both policemen and farmers. Although it was not clear where the shots began or who started them, the state prosecutor was quick to press charges against eleven peasants.
For more than a year and a half now, the peasants have been involved in a long legal battle. The peasants are accused of murder, criminal association and illegal invasion of private property, but no hard evidence that prove the accusations of the state prosecutor have yet emerged. According to activists and human rights organizations, the legal case is really a political one – a façade to cover up an orchestrated move to impeach Lugo and criminalize demands for land reform.
Some of the accused peasants are under house arrest, while Adalberto Castro, Arnaldo Quintana, Felipe Benítez, Néstor Castro and Rubén Villalba have been locked up in a small cell in the Tacumbú prison, from where they endure the hunger strike. Journalist Santi Carneri took some photos of them for his blog Fotoreportajeando:
Campesinos presos por masacre en Paraguay cumplen un mes en huelga de hambre FOTOS http://t.co/1JAFxpXrG2 @hacerfotos pic.twitter.com/g87vhKHrnj
— Santi Carneri (@SantiCarneri) marzo 15, 2014
Peasants jailed for massacre in Paraguay have been on hunger strike for one month
To add to the ambiguities of the case, the judiciary investigation has focused solely on the murder of the officers, while the killing of peasants, denunciations of torture, summary executions and other human rights violations that civilians suffered have passed unnoticed.
Furthermore, the question of whom the land belongs to remains unanswered. The defendants hold that here lies the most important issue at stake.
The hunger strike has reignited public outrage over the mishandling of the case. Alfredo Boccia, a well-known opinion writer for newspaper Ultima Hora, posted on his latest blog post:
El error de los huelguistas es el de ser paraguayos.Si hubieran sido de la oposición venezolana tendrían mejor prensa, parlamentarios que se rasgaran las vestiduras y políticos de todos los colores haciendo fila para visitarlos.
The strikers‘ mistake is that they are Paraguayans. Had they been part of the Venezuelan opposition they would get better press coverage, Congressmen crying foul and politicians of all ideologies standing in line to visit them.
Precisely, in another twist of events that has sparked criticism, former president and now-turned senator Fernando Lugo and his colleagues from the political coalition Frente Guasu denounced that they were unable to see the hunger strikers due to “superior orders“.
Como en los mejores tiempos de la Dictadura de Stroesner, senadores del FG, por Orden Superior, no pudieron entrar en la Cárcel de Tacumbu.
— Fernando Lugo (@lugo_py) marzo 14, 2014
Just like during the prime of the Stroesner dictatorship, senators from Frente Guasu were not allowed to enter the Tacumbu jail, due to a “superior order”
El Pdte @Horacio_Cartes debería explicar por qué a senadores del @FrenteGuasuPY se les prohibió visitar a huelguistas del caso #Curuguaty.
— Esperanza Martinez (@esperanza_py) marzo 14, 2014
President Horacio Cartes should explain why senators from Frente Guasu were kept from visiting hunger strikers from Curuguaty case
In a letter [es] of solidarity and support, Argentinian Nobel Peace Prize Adolfo Pérez Esquivel criticized the unfair treatment that the peasants are receiving from the legal authorities:
Esta falta de humanidad y respeto a los derechos humanos de las personas,no hacen más que corroborar una política de evitar el esclarecimiento de lo sucedido realmente en el Caso Curuguaty
The lack of humanity and respect for human rights only serves to corroborate that there is a policy which will not allow any further clarification over what truly happened in Curuguaty.
As the hunger strike continues, the question “what happened in Curuguaty?“ will resonate ever stronger. The answer to that question will determine not only the fate of the accused peasants, but also the confidence of Paraguayans in their country's justice system and their hope for equitable development.

author: Jazmin Acuna


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PHOTOS: Birdwatching in Southern Philippines · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Pied Triller. Photo by Arnold Alamon.
There are more than 600 bird species in the seven thousand islands of the Philippines which means there are plenty of opportunities to watch the graceful beauty of these flying creatures. Further, thousands of migratory birds can be seen in the islands since the country is located in the Asia-Pacific flyway. Unfortunately, bird habitats are threatened by development aggression projects and the rapid destruction of the natural environment.
In recent years, birdwatching has become more than a fun activity organized by amateurs and scientists across the country. Birders have also actively advocated the protection of bird sanctuaries aside from promoting awareness about the country’s wild birds.
A few weeks ago, the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines successfully conducted a bird festival in Zamboanga City, located in the southern island of Mindanao. Zamboanga may have a reputation of being a dangerous city (it figured prominently in the news last year after armed rebels attacked several villages and abducted hundreds of civilians), but it is home to hundreds of bird species, including migratory birds like the Pacific Barn Swallow.
One of the organizers of the festival, maiabird, wrote about some of the rare bird species in Zamboanga:
I also got a lifer while guiding! I saw my first dark phase Eastern Reef Egret! Sadly, it didn't go out into the open but flew into the dense mangroves to hide. But I did get a good look at the whole bird as it glided out of sight.
So, I got three lifers in four hours birding in Pasonanca. I was also able to hear the Mindanao Hawk Owl and Everett's Scops Owl when I joined an owling trip a few days earlier in the area too. The Pasonanca Natural Park is such a wonderful place to go birding in. The place and bird life is amazing (and the trails are easy!) I really, really loved the time I spent there. We will definitely be back and spend more time discovering more of the forest. And besides, I've dipped on the White-eared Tailorbird there twice!
She was also thrilled to see a nest of Great Egrets, a rare finding in the country:
Of course, our bins were automatically drawn to the cluster of nesting Great Egrets which makes the fishponds an important birding site. The occurrence of breeding Great Egrets there is a great subject for further study!
Great Egrets in a school fishpond in Zamboanga. Photo by Angela Colmenares-Sabino
Angela, one of the bird festival delegates, shared a Facebook video of a Philippine serpent eagle which she saw at the Intake Watershed in Zamboanga.
Meanwhile, university professor Arnold Alamon has been uploading photos of birds in Gitagum, also in Mindanao island. The town of Gitagum is near Laguindingan, the site of a new international airport. Below are some bird photos from Arnold’s Facebook page:
Olived-Backed Sunbird. Photo by Arnold Alamon
Robin Magpie. Photo by Arnold Alamon
Yellow Vented Bulbul. Photo by Arnold Alamon
Coppersmith Barbet. Photo by Arnold Alamon
Pied Fantail. Photo by Arnold Alamon


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The Hidden Rules of Chinese TV Series Censorship  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

“If anyone made ‘House of Cards‘ in China, it would certainly be censored,” award-winning Chinese film actor and director Zhang Guoli commented during the recent Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Chinese TV series have lost their appeal among young audiences due to their dull content and lack of creativity. With the rise of online channels, American and Korean TV series have gained great popularity among Chinese youth. Chinese film and TV directors often blame strict censorship for losing domestic viewers; it is obvious that the government restricts any content that is against socialism and promotes human rights, democracy and freedom.
But what are the other regulations on TV content in China? A recent Chinese-language article exploring a few hidden rules about television production in China has gone viral online. The article highlighted four rules restricting topics covered in series:
1 主人公不能太花心，小三不能有幸福
法规解读：《电视剧内容管理规定》第五条第(九)条规定电视剧不得载有危害社会公德或者民族优秀文化传统的内容。虽然在现行的电视剧中依然不乏违背社会公序良俗的内容出现，例如“小三”，但此类人物通常会以反面教材做负面形象处理。
1. The main character can’t be too much of a playboy, and the mistress can’t have a happy life
The regulation reads: TV series shall not contain content that is harmful to social morality and Chinese cultural tradition. While current dramas do contain content that violates public order and morals of society such as the role of the mistress, such figures are usually portrayed in a negative light, serve as teaching material.
This explains why mistress characters end up being miserable.
2 80后未婚生子情节一律绕道
法规解读：《电视剧内容管理规定》第五条第(十一)条规定电视剧不得载有违反现行法律、行政法规和规章禁止的内容。根据《中国人口与计划生育条例》，普遍情况下80后只能有一个孩子、有准生证才能生育孩子，私生子更是违反法律规定。
2: No children before marriage
The regulation reads: TV series don't allow content that violates existing laws, administrative regulations and rules. According to “China's Population and Family Planning Regulations”, those born after the 1980s are usually only allowed to have one child, and a birth certificate must be obtained in order to have a child. Illegitimate children are against the law.
According to the piece, a TV drama called “Fiancee” featured a main character having a child before marriage, but censors didn't approve it until that part of the storyline was changed.
3 拒绝鬼魂，“异能”人士只存在于儿童剧
法规解读：电视剧不得宣传邪教、迷信等….“外星人”之类的“异能”元素目前只存在于儿童剧中。
3:  Superpowers only exist in children's dramas
The regulation reads: TV dramas cannot promote cults and superstition. “Aliens” with superpowerscan only exist in children’s dramas.
4 校园内不能有早恋，不能有暴力
法规解读：电视剧不得出现有害未成年人身心健康的内容；普遍社会舆论认为学生在校园里谈恋爱会耽误学业，因此电视剧中几乎是严禁表现中小学生早恋的情节，而校园暴力直接侵犯了未成年人的合法权益，更是表现的禁区。
4: No dating or violence at schools
The regulation reads: TV dramas cannot include content that’s harmful to the physical and mental health of minors. Widespread public opinion believes that dating on campus would affect their studies, so content related to dating at primary or middle school is not allowed. School violence is against the legitimate rights and interests of minors, and so it is forbidden.
How does the process work?
An infographic from Wangyi news explains the process of China's TV series censorship. It starts with the self-censorship by the production companies themselves. Then they submit the name of the TV series and the story outline to the provincial Bureau of Radio and Television before getting the license to make the series.
An infographic about censorship of TV series in China. Image from Sina Weibo.
Once it’s finished, the final product will go through the provincial Bureau of Radio and Television again. To be able to be broadcast on TV, a certificate from the State Administration of Radio Film and Television is required.
Topics related to important issues such as historic events, state leaders and religion need special permission. Topics about wars after the Chinese revolution of 1949 is not allowed.
Who are the censors?
The censors are composed mainly of retired leaders from state media and university teachers. They get paid from 50 to 100 yuan per episode (about 8 to 16 US dollars). They are on random rotation.
A commentary piece from China's Sohu news called for more relaxed censorship:
按照现行的电视审查制度—国产电视剧不是“来源于生活”，而是远远把真实的生活撇在了身后。一者，审查是必要的。没有规矩，不成方圆。二者，过度审查是有害的。不仅扼杀创作能力与创意水平，也令市场走向僵化与畸形。尤其是在国际竞争中，“自我阉割”式的审查制度，令文化输出能力雪上加霜。
According to the current censorship system, Chinese TV series don't portray real life, but try to hide from real life. Censorship is necessary, but when it's too strict, it can be harmful. It kills creativity and lead to a rigid and distorted market. Self-censorship will certainly affect our cultural influence in international competitions.

author: Abby Liu


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What Does Russia’s Top Blogger Think About Crimea? · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Alexey Navalny speaks from confinement. An artist's depiction.
Before Alexey Navalny's LiveJournal blog was blocked [Global Voices report] in Russia late last week, ostensibly for breaking the terms of his house arrest, he published a long opinion piece [ru] on the situation in Crimea. So, what does the putative leader of the opposition and popular blogger think?
The piece was a direct response to Navalny's critics and allies, who were wondering why he is staying silent on the issue — after all Navalny is an outspoken Russian nationalist, with a strong anti-migrant position. Unfortunately, there is no easy position to take. As a leader in the opposition he should criticize Putin's intervention, but as a nationalist that would leave him open to attacks of hypocrisy. Navalny himself described the conundrum:
Тут мне передали, что в комментах ко всем постам оставляют “а что же Навальный по Крыму не выскажется? Боится, значит? Хочет на двух стульях усидеть!”. На двух стульях я, конечно, усидеть хочу (кто же не хочет) […]
Someone told me that everybody is writing me comments “why doesn't Navalny speak out on Crimea? Is he afraid? He is trying to sit on both chairs [have it both ways]!” Of course I want to have it both ways (who doesn't) […]
Did Navalny succeed in “sitting on both chairs”? First he picked the chair that comes most naturally to him — talking about the corrupt Russian government. In this view, Putin's Crimean escapade is a way to punish the Ukrainians for rebelling against their own corrupt government. By making an example out them, Putin will make sure that a similar revolt will be less likely in Russia.
Navalny also tried to score nationalist points, however. He wrote about the importance of maintaining friendly relations with Ukraine, because of a “pan-Slavic” brotherhood that he says any Russian feels towards Ukrainians and Belorussians but does not feel towards, say, the Uzbeks and the Kyrgyz. He also questioned the fact that Russians in Ukraine are being persecuted in any way, by claiming that ethnic Russian populations in Central Asia and Chechnya have it worse.
Navalny also feels that Crimea “unfairly” belongs to Ukraine, and any “normal” Russian would feel the same. At the same time, he is against annexing the region, even if its citizens vote for this in a legitimate referendum. Why? Because:
Для нас самих вопрос территориальной целостности – болезненный. В интересах России – всегда заминать эту тему и всегда выступать против, как это делает Китай.
For us the question of territorial integrity is a painful one. It is in the interests of Russia to always sweep [any talk of changing borders] under the rug, and to always speak out against it, like China does.
Any such referendum supported by Russia sets a precedent, says Navalny — a precedent for the dissolution of Russia in the future, when regions with strong non-Russian ethnic minorities and majorities, like Dagestan or Chechnya, decide to break away from the country. While his other points might or not be valid, Navalny's reasoning for not supporting a referendum is the oddest, especially viewed through the lens of his ideology. After all, did Navalny not support the slogan “Stop feeding Chechnya” in the past? Nationalist blogger Egor Prosvirnin pounced on this disconnect, sarcastically writing [ru] that any sane nationalist would willingly trade the hostile Chechnya for the ethnically Russian Crimea:
Совершенно верно, Алексей Анатольевич Навальный пугает русских, что если русские поддержат референдум в Крыму, то от России может уйти… Чечня. Обменять Крым на Чечню, что может быть ужаснее? Это же какой-то ночной кошмар каждого русского, поменять Севастополь на Грозный.
That's right, Alexey Anatolyevich Navalny is scaring Russians that if they support the referendum in Crimea, then Russia might lose… Chechnya. To exchange Crimea for Chechnya, what could be more horrible? This is some kind of nightmare of every Russian, to exchange Sebastople for Grozny.
In the end Navalny's solution to the Crimean crisis is eerily similar to the official Russian position, short of recognizing the referendum: “increasing autonomy for Crimea, guarantees of Russian language status, guarantees of Ukraine's non-participation in NATO, amnesty for the current Crimean self-government.” Wishful thinking or not? With the referendum under way, we will soon find out.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Young Woman in Madagascar Kills Herself after Photos Were Re-posted on Facebook  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Koolsaina writes that a Malagasy girl killed herself [fr] after photos of her were posted on a Facebook page that showcase photos of young women from Madagascar without their consent. A call to Facebook administrators was initiated to take down the page. As of today (March 16, 2014), Koolsaina reports that the page is still accessible.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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5 ICT Solutions From Miss Geek Rwanda 2014 · Global Voices
Ephraim Percy Kenyanito

MsGeekRW is a competition for Rwandan women encouraging them to showcase their knowledge and skills in ICT. The event was held during 2014's International Women's Day on March 8, 2014. The event shortlisted the following 5 best ICT solutions:
1.Mobile Cow
2. Wireless Blackbox
3. Item Locator
4. Online Driving System
5. Class Attendance System

author: Ephraim Percy Kenyanito


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Australia’s #MarchInMarch Street Party Protests · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Prolific tweeter @geeksrulz reports on the No Fibs citizen journalist website about Melbourne's part in the nationwide marches against the Australian government: Melbourne #MarchInMarch Street Party Protest
A grassroots movement that started on Twitter managed to get tens of thousands of people onto the streets away from their keyboards. That is an achievement in and of itself!

author: Kevin Rennie


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Digging into Uganda’s Anti-homosexuality Bill  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kristoff Titeca looks beyond a single explanation on Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill:
A crucial point is that President Museveni has never been an outspoken supporter of the bill, instead being rather dubious about it: he was fully aware of the disastrous international consequences. In his first public reaction after the introduction of the bill, he argued how it did “not represent the party of government position” and how “Uganda cannot risk its foreign policy by allowing the Bill to pass in its current form”. In the following years, the bill was weakened and consistently shelved, (in 2009, 2011 and 2013), until it reappeared on 20th December 2013, when it was passed by parliament.
After its passing, Museveni continued to pursue an ambiguous position: he claimed how the bill was passed without his consultation, and in a rushed manner, by a small number of MPs led by speaker Kadaga. This had then forced him to look further into the matter. In his interviews and statements, Museveni has consistently focused on two issues: On the recruitment of homosexuals (and related with this, the ‘recruited’, those who become homosexuals for ‘mercenary reasons’), and secondly, ‘exhibitionism’ of homosexual behavior. In doing so, he left a loophole, being that there was a possibility that certain people were ‘born homosexual (…) rare deviations in nature from the normal’. In doing so, he could both satisfy the domestic constituency – he was criticizing homosexuals – but also the international constituency, by leaving this loophole open. For example, even after announcing that he was going to sign the bill, in a response to Obama’s criticism, Museveni argued how he encouraged the US government to provide evidence that some people are born homosexual, which would then allow him to review the legislation.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Ethiopian Journalist Reeyot Alemu Has Been in Jail for 1,000 Days · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

March 16, 2014 marked the 1,000th day of imprisonment for Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu. She is serving a five-year sentence after she was found guilty on terrorism charges in January 2012.
Jailed Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu. Photo via Facebook page of Free Reyoot Alemu campaign.
Reeyot, an English teacher, is the recipient of the UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, the Hellman/Hammett award, and the International Women's Media Foundation Courage in Journalism Award.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Ethiopian government has convicted 11 independent journalists and bloggers including Reeyot and Eskinder Nega under a sweeping anti-terrorism law since 2011. Among those jailed are two Swedish journalists who are serving an 11-year sentence for allegedly supporting an ethnic Somali rebel group.
In this blog post, blogger BefeQadu Z Hailu described the plight of imprisoned Ethiopian journalists:
If the objective of imprisonment is to correct the convicted ones, then to encourage reading and education should be one of the tools to meet the objective. In Kality prison both are allowed but not easily to these journalists and others who are convicted in relation to ‘terrorism’.
These prisoners are not allowed to get books. Eskinder says, “Especially those kinds of books that have titles combining words of ‘Ethiopia’ and ‘history’ are not allowed in.” The same is true to the ward of Reeyot Alemu and others such as Wubshet Taye, Bekele Gerba, etc.
Local independent newspapers and magazines are not also allowed in; Eskinder further explained it to me that even News TV channels like BBC and Aljazeera are not allowed to be viewed in zones where he and others are imprisoned.
Reeyot Alemu, after a tough struggle with the prison admins and after the media revealed the story, is now allowed to get distance education. But, it is still difficult for her to get supplementary books other than the books directly sent to her from the College.
Twitter users sent out tweets using the hashtag #ReeyotAlemu to express their support for the jailed journalist. Below are a sample of tweets:
Hope the world cares about her too! Yet to see any campaign!MT”@LisaMisol: #Ethiopia journalist #ReeyotAlemu marks 1000th day in prison.
— vineetkhare (@vineetkhare) March 16, 2014
#EPRDF government of #Ethiopia continues to show weakness & paranoia as journalist like #ReeyotAlemu scare the daylight out of it. Free her
— MediaET (@MediaETHIOPIA) March 16, 2014
#ReeyotAlemu: why are 3rd world dictators afraid of journos more than death itself? Is a sign of weakness. Scared of ideas & idea people!
— MediaET (@MediaETHIOPIA) March 16, 2014
#Ethiopia – journalist #ReeyotAlemu‘s 1000th day in prison today. She is denied family visits. @SJLambrinidis – why is @EU Ashton silent?
— Ana Gomes, MEP (@AnaGomesMEP) March 16, 2014
March16 marks 1000 days of imprisonment of #ReeyotAlemu & clarifies #ethiopia rule by dictate, injustice & oppression @AnaGomesMEP @amnesty
— EPHREM SHAUL (@eph_sh) March 15, 2014
#Ethiopia: #journalism is not terrorism. Free award-winning journalist #ReeyotAlemu, grant her #health care #women pic.twitter.com/UyzmniGrb6
— alex (@alexbiruk) March 16, 2014


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How Cafe Culture is Destroying Indonesia’s Street Food Culture · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

An Ismanto from Yogyakarta in Indonesia observes how new western-style cafes are edging out ‘plastic tent-covered food carts’ known as ‘angkringan':
…the angkringan is in decline. Students don’t frequent them anymore, preferring to pay at least twice as much to eat, drink and socialise in the stylish surrounds of the kafe. If they think of angkringan at all, it is as something exotic, still a Yogyakarta icon, but a place frequented by people with thin wallets, not classy, rich students. There’s no social prestige for students in that company.


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Kazakh Artist Remembers Zhanaozen Oil Riot · Global Voices
Mahina Shodizoda

A piece of art by Saule Suleimenova. Image by Selikzhan Kovlanbaev, used with permission.
Photo blogger Serikzhan Kovlanbaev presents [ru] a photo report from a recent exhibition of works by Saule Suleimenova, perhaps the best known contemporary artist in the country. Suleimenova has been described by another blogger as “one of Kazakhstan’s deepest, most interesting and prolific artists”.
The theme of the exhibition is Zhanaozen, an oil town in southwestern Kazakhstan where police and riot troops clashed with unarmed protesters in December 2011, killing at least 15 people and injuring nearly 100.


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Kenyan Company Launches Social Media Sharing Card · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Gigwapi, an online event listing service, has launched a cashless payment system and social media sharing card. The card, Gigwapi card, will be used to pay for tickets and goods at events:
The card holds your personal information and can automatically integrate to your social media profile. This provides a way to share your current physical engagements like check in, upload event pictures and messages to your follower on social media. All this is done by just tapping on designated kiosks – scan points – at an event.
Messages shared via the Gigwapi card will act as personal endorsements resulting in event organizers and brand sponsors getting advertising. It stands to make the brands talked about in the messages credible and relevant.
“If a kiosk is configured for check-in, once the card is tapped then it will automatically update the user’s Facebook page saying they have checked in at the event. If an event’s sponsor once to share or send a message online, once the card gets tapped the generated message will be shared through the card users page, and on this we are also working on ways to share revenue with the user.” says  Kinyanjui Njonde, Co-founder of Gigwapi.


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Leftist Candidate Wins Presidential Elections in El Salvador by a Margin of 6000 Votes · Global Voices
Omar Nieto

Leftist candidate Salvador Sánchez Cerén won the presidential elections in El Salvador by a slim margin of only 6,364 votes. His victory came amid accusations of mass fraud as the losing party, ARENA, refused to accept the result of the election. ARENA candidate Norman Quijano and other members of the losing party urged their supporters to protest and demand a vote-by-vote recount.
Both national and international observers, including the UN and the OAS (Organization of American States), have called the country's electoral process fair, transparent, and efficient.
The surprising final tally revealed the following definitive results of the second electoral round: the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) with 1,495,815 votes (50.11%) and the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) with 1,489,451 votes (49.89%).
The FMLN accused ARENA of making up ground in the polls by using a terror campaign that presented the conflicts in Venezuela as an incentive to not vote for the FMLN, accusing the leftist party of propagating Communism, Chavismo, and zealous Bolivarianism. The FMLN also claims that workers in some companies were told that in the case of an FMLN victory, the companies would close and move abroad, leaving the employees without work. The ARENA party also collected the votes of most of those who had supported the right-wing coalition UNIDAD, which lost in the first round of elections.
Salvadorian bloggers are also divided, some supporting ARENA and others supporting FMLN.
On his blog Siguiente página [es], Paolo Lüers writes a “Carta en defensa del berrinche” [es] (Letter in defense of throwing a fit), where he supports ARENA's continued demands for a vote-by-vote count.
Señores de ARENA:
Les autorizo (más bien: les exhorto) a defender mi voto, de la manera más firme e inteligente posible.
Dear Sirs of ARENA:
I authorize you (or, rather, I urge you) to defend my vote, in the firmest and wisest possible way.
Salvadorian community site Blog de San Pedro Nonualco [es] posts a photo summary [es] of the electoral process in the city, including some reflections:
¿Para qué sudar calenturas ajenas por ARENA o FMLN? Si al final no son tan diferentes, son caras de una misma moneda, no puede vivir uno sin el otro, por eso viven sólo criticándose y no tienen interés por solucionar los graves problemas del país.
Why get caught up in ARENA versus FMLN? At the end of the day they aren't that different. They're two faces of the same coin, one can't live without the other, so they only live to criticize each other. They aren't interested in solving the country's serious problems.
Neto Rivas, well-known Salvadorian blogger and right-wing sympathizer, posts the final results [es] and mentions that the appeal put forward by ARENA:
…ha exacerbado la tensión política que ha puesto en riesgo la misma estabilidad del país. Hoy día, nadie sabe qué va a ocurrir y adónde vamos a estar en los próximos días.
…has exacerbated the political tension that has threatened the country's very stability. Today no one knows what will happen or where we will be in the coming days.
On his blog Cosas Tan Pasajeras [es], Carlos Abrego writes the post “Volvamos a la Realidad” [es] (Let's Return to Reality), where he begins by citing the fact that the landslide victory predicted by the polls never appeared. He criticizes the FMLN for having given in to the “framework of domination of the oligarchy”:
…y que en lugar de plantearse formas de lucha, hablan de buscar entendimientos con el patronato desdeñando la promoción de las luchas populares.
Los resultados electorales reflejan la falta de esperanza entre los trabajadores. El FMLN no pudo, no puede llevar a cabo una campaña entusiasmante, pues le falta el motor de la lucha cotidiana por mejores condiciones de vida y de trabajo.
…and that instead of suggesting ways to fight, they're talking about coming to an understanding with the ruling class, disdaining the advancement of popular struggles.
The electoral results reflect the lack of hope among workers. The FMLN couldn't and can't carry out a motivating campaign, as it lacks the drive of the daily fight for better living and working conditions.
The blog Colectivo de análisis de la realidad [es] publishes the post “Imposible detener las ruedas de la historia” [es] (Impossible to stop the wheels of history), criticizing ARENA for the tricks it used to delegitimize the elections:
Las maniobras areneras habían sido denunciadas desde antes de la primera vuelta electoral. Desde entonces, ARENA buscaba justificar una muy probable derrota ante su militancia.
ARENA's manipulations have been criticized since before the first round of elections. Since then, ARENA has been trying to justify a very likely defeat in the face of its militancy.
El Blog de Salvador, the presumed blog of FMLN candidate Salvador Sanchez Cerén, thanks the Salvadorian public for their confidence in his party's plans, urging unity and hard work [es]:
Reafirmo ante el pueblo salvadoreño que seremos un gobierno participativo, amplio, transparente y plural.
I reaffirm before the Salvadorian people that we will be a participatory, broad-minded, transparent, and pluralistic government.
Blogger Tim Muth reviews FMLN's victory in the final tally, ARENA's rejection of the results, and the losing party's taking to the streets to demand a vote-by-vote recount, citing accusations of fraud that are not shared by the public. Tim also points out that the Armed Forces have already declared their intention to respect the electoral tribune's decision, which refutes ARENA candidate Norman Quijano's call for the Armed Forces to intervene and “defend democracy.”
The process leaves the country tense and polarized. As of this morning, ARENA's next step is not clear.
But the real battle is playing out on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, where accusations, jokes, threats, and calls for common sense are mixing together in a chaotic explosion of ideas.
Some leaders, like representative Roberto D'Aubuisson of ARENA, are summoning their supporters to marches and protests for this Friday, March 14.
Los invitamos! pic.twitter.com/QZe2MV7szA
— Roberto d'Aubuisson (@rdaubuisson) marzo 13, 2014
We invite you!
Others are already tired of what they consider a political circus.
Al fin termino el circo politico, proxima funcion dentro de 6 meses mas o menos para las #EleccionesSV del 2015
— Irvin Estrada (@IrgEst) marzo 13, 2014
The political circus has finally ended, next show in about six months for the elections in 2015.
The artist Hugo Rodriguez, known as Crack Rodriguez, ate his ballot in protest because he does not believe in the electoral process.
“Hugo Rodríguez se comió su papeleta frente a JRV, según el en denuncia a la relación de hambre y poder” – uffff. pic.twitter.com/bPbJFvYs1A
— Oscar Martell (@oscarmartell) marzo 10, 2014
Hugo Rodriguez ate his ballot in front of the voting stations, according to him, to denounce the relation of hunger and power
On their blog, the Center for Investigation of Central American Resources published a manifesto [es] written by Rodriguez:
SV// Manifesto de @crackrodriguez, el artista que comió su papeleta de voto http://t.co/5mtJgwsAGe via @el_circa #EleccionesSV #ElSalvador
— CIRCA (@el_circa) marzo 13, 2014
Second round of elections: Manifesto from Crack Rodriguez, the artist who ate his voting ballot.
The 2014 presidential elections in El Salvador have been unprecedented, and there may be more surprises still to come.

author: Omar Nieto


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Lies and Falsehoods Keep the World Go ‘Round in Japan · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

Twitter user @suzaks1 criticized [ja] the amount of lies and inaccuracies that are making Japanese headlines:
ホテルの食材も北の国のレールも何処かの役場の書類もクラッシックの楽曲も国が誇るトップレベルの研究所や有名大学院で博士なるための論文も、みんな虚偽だらけ虚偽まみれ。それでも回っちゃってる変な国。原発だって爆発して当然だわ。国土汚染しても嘘の上塗りで皆を騙せられる便利な国。こえ～
— 須崎真一NoMyCar,NoNukes (@suzaks1) 2014, 3月 14
[Japan is a] country covered in lies: fake ingredients on the menu of top Japanese hotels, railway gauges fabricated in Hokkaido, major symphony music by a fraud composer, and falsehoods continues to prevail in the nation's top-level research institute, as well as on doctoral dissertations. It's scary to see how this country is run by continuous frauds. No wonder the nuclear plant exploded. Even if the land ends up contaminated, they can just lie everyone and continue on with life.

author: Keiko Tanaka


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On Rwanda’s Twittergate · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Susan Thomson discusses Rwanda’s Twittergate in the context of disinformation campaign by Rwanda's president Paul Kagame:
Rwanda’s Twitter-gate raises questions about the central role of RPF Twitter-trolls in calling out foreign journalists who seek to hold it to account for its excesses at home and abroad. President Kagame’s reactionary tweets provide insight into the political reality behind his government’s carefully crafted narrative that Rwanda is a nation rehabilitated from the ruin of the 1994 genocide.  Twitter-gate is also illustrative of the harassment and intimidation to which critics of the RPF regime regularly experience.
Twitter-gate is the first crack in the armor of the RPF’s longstanding disinformation campaign that has relied on exchange students, public relations firms, commemorative events, and a whole host of other techniques to craft an idealized and often invented version of what Rwanda was like before the onset of colonialism and what it has become since the 1994 genocide.
Since 2009, the RPF has worked with American and British PR specialists whose primary task is to drown out the voices of foreign critics and bury evidence of the RPF’s human rights abuses under rosy language about political stability, economic growth, and the stated intention of helping the poor.  In January, Rwanda launched the Kwibuka20 campaign, from inside Kagame’s office of course, for the same instrumental reason: to substitute the trope of genocide for the trope of authoritarianism in narratives about Rwanda.


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Russian Officials Sanctioned Over Crimea Scoff on Twitter · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Soviet statue Mother of the Motherland claims its post-referendum prize. Anonymous image found online.
In the aftermath of the March 16, 2014 Crimean referendum, in which the vote (rigged or not) was overwhelmingly for joining the Russian Federation, the White House released an executive order freezing the financial assets of seven Russian officials who are deemed responsible for threatening Ukrainian territorial integrity. The seven officials have also been banned from traveling to the United States.
Two of these officials are active on Twitter, while another has an incredibly popular Twitter doppelganger who regularly tricks media into thinking that his account is real. How did these “micro-bloggers” react to sanctions imposed against them?
One of them is Dmitriy Rogozin, a Vice-Prime Minister in the Russian government in charge of Russia's military-industrial complex, who tweets at @Rogozin. He did not seem particularly impressed, implying he has no assets that Obama's order could affect:
http://t.co/Iv8zxBdx4u Тов.Обама, а что делать тем, у кого нет ни счетов, ни собственности за границей? Или Вы об этом не подумали?)
— Dmitry Rogozin (@Rogozin) March 17, 2014
Comrade Obama, what should people who don't have any foreign bank accounts or property do? Did you not think of that?)
Later he tweeted:
По-моему, какой-то шутник писал проект указа Президента США)
— Dmitry Rogozin (@Rogozin) March 17, 2014
I think some joker wrote the US President's executive order) [note: “)” is an understated smiley face -ed.]
Elena Mizulina, also targeted by the sanctions, is a Russian MP who is responsible for much of recent Russian legislation discriminating against homosexuals and also the 2012 law which famously banned US adoptions of Russian orphans. She tweets at @emizulina, and also responded on Twitter. First, like Rogozin, she claimed [ru] that neither she nor her family have any assets “beyond the borders of the Russian Federation.” She also claimed that the sanctions against her were based on her position on homosexuality and other social issues — not Crimea:
Думаю, мне припомнили ряд резонансных законов, касающихся, в частности, защиты детей от информации, причиняющей вред их здоровью и развитию.
— Елена Мизулина (@emizulina) March 17, 2014
I think that I was targeted for a series of high profile laws, which touch on protecting children from information that can harm their health and development [law banning homosexual propaganda -ed.]
Штаты пытаются оказать на меня давление, с целью принудить меня изменить мнение. Мой ответ оппонентам – ничего подобного не произойдет! — Елена Мизулина (@emizulina) March 17, 2014
The States are trying to exert pressure on me, in order to make me change my opinion. My answer to my opponents – this will never happen!
For all her claims of not being affected by the sanctions, Mizulina's tweets got progressively more strident, culminating with this rather odd pronouncement:
То, что произошло, расцениваю как грубейшее нарушение моих прав и свобод, как гражданина и политика.
— Елена Мизулина (@emizulina) March 17, 2014
I view what happened as a gross violation of my rights and freedoms as a citizen and a politician.
Vladislav Surkov, formerly the grey cardinal of the Kremlin, now demoted to being in charge of Russia's Ukraine policies, is also on the White House list. While Surkov does not tweet himself, the witty person behind the fake account @SurkovRussia has over 60,000 followers, and to this day manages to fool journalists and other bloggers into thinking he is the real deal. Obviously, @SurkovRussia had a field-day with the news:
Какая у меня “собственность в США”? Вспомнил! Год назад забыл в отеле Чикаго носки и диск Тупака. Носки пусть арестовывают. А Тупака жалко.
— Сурковъ (@SurkovRussia) March 17, 2014
What “US properties” do I have? I remember! A year ago I forgot some socks and a Tupac CD in a Chicogo hotel. They can freeze the socks. But it's a pity about Tupac.
Vladislav Surkov is famously a fan of Tupac Shakur and other hip music. In fact, in a comment to Moskovskiy Komsomolets today, the real Surkov said [ru] that all he cares about in the States is Tupac, Allen Ginsberg, and Jackson Pollock, and that he doesn't need to go to America to enjoy them.
Russian government officials weren't the only ones to scoff and sanctions that appear extremely narrow and weak — probably too weak to affect Russian foreign policy. Alexey Navalny sounded off from under house arrest:
Список из 7 человек под санкциями смешной конечно. Обама только развеселил всех наших жуликов и ободрил их.
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) March 17, 2014
The list of 7 people who fall under the sanctions is laughable. Obama just made our thieves and crooks laugh and reassured them.


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Inside #SOSVenezuela: “People of the World, Help Us!”  · Global Voices
Future Challenges

#SOSVenezuela graffiti on the highway and behind the National Bolivarian Guard Soldiers watching the demonstration below. Photo by Kira Kariakin.
This article by Kira Kariakin was originally published in the What's hot? section of the Future Challenges website. This post is part of our special coverage on Protests in Venezuela.
On February 12, 2014, Día de la Juventud (Youth Day,) the Federation of Universities’ Students decided to take a stand to demand more security from the government in a country-wide demonstration. The origin of the protest was one in San Cristóbal, Táchira, that occurred a week before after students saved a female classmate from attempted rape on the campus of Los Andes University. The authorities violently put a stop to this protest, causing students to unite on Día de la Juventud to stand up for their rights, continuing to demand more security. The demonstration on February 12 was strongly quelled causing three deaths and several injuries, and started an ongoing chain of demonstrations.
To this day (March 11,) the violence of the protests has claimed 21 lives, and led to 318 injured and the arrest of more than 1,000 people. The opposition and the students are accusing the security forces, the National Guard of the People, the National Bolivarian Police and the “colectivos”, of being responsible for these casualties. “Colectivos” are civilian (paramilitary) urban organizations that were supported and armed by the government of Hugo Chavez to defend his revolution. Colectivos like “La Piedrita” and “Los Tupamaros” have been photographed working with the special intelligence police, SEBIN, shooting, beating and intimidating protesters.
Demands
Students are now demanding a cessation of  violent repression and especially respect for the human rights of detainees. Citizens that have been detained over the course of the protests are said to be brutally tortured (electric shocks, rape, beatings) and denied legal rights. They are demanding that detainees be cleared of all charges and released. Another plea is to end the censoring of information and the limiting of the free media. The protests have not been adequately reported by local television and radio stations because any station that broadcasts this kind of news may face severe legal consequences like fines and the revoking of their licenses. Accordingly, recorded incidences have been disseminated mostly through social media channels rather than through other sources due to the restrictions and ambiguity of the Ley Resorte. The government has failed to fully acknowledge, take responsibility for, or show any diligence to investigate these events. For the most part, NGOs and pro-human rights groups like Foro Penal Venezolano, Provea, Espacio Público have  gathered documents and testimonies and presented them to the Ministry of Public Affairs, the “Defensoría del Pueblo” (a sort of Ombudsman,) and international bodies like the Organization of the Americas States.
En #SOSVenezuela, cuando el ciudadano común pide PAZ los militares de @NicolasMaduro lo apuntan con las armas pic.twitter.com/sXsqCQgsT5
— Noé Pernía (@noepernia) March 2, 2014
When the common citizens ask for PEACE, the military of Nicolás Maduro points at them with guns.
Responsibilities
From the government’s point of view, opposition leaders are responsible for the violence resulting from the protests, and students are merely useful fools that they are using to advance their agenda. This argument would be credible if the main opposition leader, Henrique Capriles (First Justice Party,) had not been against these protests foreseeing the possible consequences. The students were in fact supported by Leopoldo López (Popular Will Party,) and Representative María Corina Machado (Independent) who insisted that the demonstrations would be non-violent. While Capriles was preparing for a long-term goal to better connect to the needs and problems of the least-privileged, López and Machado wanted to show the discontentment among the youth and middle class through protests. This brought friction to the coalition of the opposition parties, MUD (Mesa de Unidad Democrática – Table of Democratic Unity.)
Machado and López’s support of the demonstrations allowed the government to accuse them of conspiring to perform a “fascist” coup d’état against President Nicolás Maduro, with the aid of the “empire” of the United States of America and the CIA, extending his accusations to CNN since it is a station that is actively covering the protests (video.)
On February 18, Leopoldo López surrendered to the authorities for charges of conspiracy, instigating rebellion and murder (the murder charge was withdrawn later on.) That day, the “guarimbas,” barricades on the streets, began throughout main Venezuelan cities. “Guarimbas” are not controlled by opposition leaders, and are also not supported by the general population. They are an expression of the more radical opposition that wants the government to fall. Some retired generals, like Ángel Vivas, have been supporting the “guarimbas” by giving them instructions regarding how to make “miguelitos” to damage the tires of motorcycles or putting wires across streets to injure passersby arguing that it is on self-defense among others reasons. These measures have claimed the lives of at least three civilians.
The students have remained largely independent from opposition leaders in regards to their actions and decisions. The effectiveness of the protests have been questioned by Chavistas because in Caracas, demonstrations have mostly broken out in only the eastern part of the city, but lately have started to happen on the west as well, like in Caricuao. Some analysts say that the absence of people on the streets in the west is not caused by lack of discontent but a fear of the retaliation of the “colectivos” in their controlled neighborhoods. However, in other major cities the protest have been all-encompassing. In San Cristóbal, for example, the protests have been particularly strong.
The government called for a peace conference extending an invitation to anyone who would like to participate, including students and leaders. Most opposition leaders refused to attend until the government put an end to repression, arrested students are liberated, and words like “fascists,” “murderers bourgeois,” “conspirators,” etc., are eliminated from the government’s rhetoric. Because there is no trust between the different stakeholders, the dialogue is at a standstill.
In the meantime, strong repression has not stopped, not even for the first anniversary of the death of Hugo Chávez on March 5th.
The role of social media
“In Venezuela the only ‘peace’ is had by the dead. #PrayforVenezuela”. Photo by Kira Kariakin.
Venezuelans have actively blogged, tweeted, and posted testimonies, videos, and photographs on Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and other platforms. Due to media censorship, Twitter has become a dominant media outlet for Venezuela. Under the hashtags #SOSVenezuela, #PrayforVenezuela, #ResistenciaVzla among others, all the events have been documented and the news has spread far beyond Venezuela’s borders. Photos and videos that local media outlets cannot broadcast have been published by citizens and are available for the world.
In the days previous to the Oscars, a Twitter campaign was used to ask artists to publicly support the protestors in Venezuela with some success. Also heart-breaking declarations, personal statements and frustration have been vented using these hashtags.
“Somos demasiado jóvenes para ser tan infelices” #SOSVenezuela #PrayForVenezuela pic.twitter.com/lWDngdOnsJ
— Juan M. Fernandez (@Janman93) February 25, 2014
We are far too young to be this unhappy.
“@ElNacionalWeb: Manifestantes en Altamira honran a los venezolanos caídos en protestas estudiantiles pic.twitter.com/3g06Vct6gx” #SOSVenezuela
— Alejandro Rodriguez (@alejandrorf) March 3, 2014
Protestors in Altamira honor the Venezuelan students who fell in the protests.
Looking forward
After almost 30 days, it is still not clear if the demonstrations will fade. There are a lot of rumors and hypotheses as to what is actually happening within the government and in opposition groups and parties. In the government, the rumors are about clashes between two factions: the military represented by Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Assembly, and the civilian embodied by the President Nicolás Maduro.
On the side of the opposition, there are four conflicting fractions: the students’ movement which acts mostly independent from the political parties, the followers of Henrique Capriles with a moderate approach, the followers of Leopoldo López and María Corina Machado prone to stay on the streets, and the radicals, “guarimberos,” that are pursuing a quick fall of the government with a combination of civilian-military action.
The dynamics of all these sectors are now in play. The protest has taken its course and is out of the control and influence of the opposition leaders. Uncertainty and despair about the future are now combined with frustration and rage. It is difficult to foresee possible outcomes. The population is suffering under rampant crime, scarcity of products and human rights limitations, and is asking for help: #SOSVenezuela.
“People of the world, help us! Venezuela is fighting for its freedom” #SOSVenezuela. Photo by Kira Kariakin.

author: Future Challenges


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The Syrian Uprising through the Eyes of Syrian Women · Global Voices
Syria Untold

This post was previously published on Syria Untold.
March 15 marks the anniversary of the popular uprising against tyranny in Syria. A few days before that date in 2011, Syrian citizens were already demonstrating in front of the Tunisian, Libyan, and Egyptian embassies, to support the mobilizations that spread throughout the region starting in late 2010. Men and women stood in solidarity with the struggles of their neighbors, which Syrians could very much relate to. Three years into the uprising, Syria Untold looked at Syria through the eyes of three women who have actively worked to promote justice and freedom in the country.
Banner from the campaign for the release of Syrian activist Razan Ghazzawi: “The regime does not fear those imprisoned, but those who do not forget them.” Source: Syria Planet
A women's uprising?
Since very early in the uprising, women worked hand-in-hand with men in the organization of protests and other civil disobedience initiatives. Marwa Ghamian was one of the first people to be arrested for calling for freedom in public, on March 15, 2011, during a demonstration in Damascus's Hamidiah market.
For decades, freedom of expression and assembly were forbidden in the country, so there was no room to engage in free independent discussions on any issues, including those affecting women. “With the beginning of the uprising, I felt there was a space for personal and public freedom that I had never experienced in my life,” Khawla Dunia said to Syria Untold. “I could raise my voice, speak up, demand my rights, in the streets of Damascus and elsewhere.”
“This was the case for women from very different intellectual and social backgrounds, who were involved at every level of the protests,” Razan Ghazzawi added.
If women played a crucial role during the peaceful stage of the uprising, they have been less instrumental in the armed struggle. “As militarization gained ground, the role of women decreased significantly, and became mostly reduced to humanitarian aid and relief,” Yara Nassir said.
In areas free of regime control, however, the participation of women has ranged from very active to anecdotic, depending on who controls the area. The nature of power in each city and village, which varies from civil to moderate Islamic ruling in some, to Al-Qaeda affiliated groups in others, makes a big difference regarding women's freedom of movement and action.
Hammered by the regime's oppression, and by new impositions
“Syrian women today continue to be hammered by the regime's oppression on the one hand, and by new impositions on the other,” Nassir added. “The situation is dramatic, as women continue to suffer in areas under regime control, while in many liberated areas they are pushed out of public spaces and decision-making processes. Women continue to look for a civil space where they can freely develop and express themselves. The fact that the revolution did not incorporate women's rights at its core is part of the problem. Gender equality was not at the center of the movement for change.”
A change in mindset is needed, Dunia agreed, and that is what drove Syrians to the streets in the first place, but current circumstances have not allowed this change to come about.
“I often get interrogated at checkpoints about what I am wearing, where is my family and whether I am married or not, questions that men never get asked,” Ghazzawi highlighted. “As if I could not work freely for my own country, the country I own a passport for.” She blames her fellow activists, both from the armed and peaceful struggle, for not speaking out against the treatment female activists receive in some of the liberated areas. “I have not heard one of my comrades publicly denounce such restrictions against women,” she complained.
Nassir's experience in the liberated areas is quite different. “All the time I was there, I never covered my head and I was not once talked to about this issue, neither by the local population nor by any soldier.”
Regarding the different sources of violence, the activists agree on the regime bearing the ultimate responsibility for the abuses taking place in the country. “The comparison between violence coming from the regime and that coming from the opposition is a false one. The regime targets the population as a whole, engages in massive detentions, torture and killing,” Ghazzawi said.
Today, women find themselves trapped between the struggle against the regime and other daily threats, such as the ones posed by extremist groups filling the power vacuum in the liberated areas, that have a chilling effect on women´s rights. In addition to that, many are asking whether this is the time to discuss such issues, considering them to be luxuries in the face of death, hunger and deprivation on the ground. However, as Dunia said, it is not about women's rights only, but about the demands of justice, equality and citizenship that took Syrians to the street since March 2011.
This post was previously published on Syria Untold.

author: Syria Untold


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Two Historic Saigon Buildings to be Demolished in Vietnam · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Tim Doling, writing for the Saigoneer, gives a brief history of the Ho Chí Minh City People’s Committee building and an art deco office block which are both scheduled for demolition in Vietnam.
A Date with the Wrecking Ball: 2 Historic Saigon Buildings Slated for Demolition http://t.co/M6e9ACY5DB #Vietnam pic.twitter.com/PPjEBJzl7e
— Saigoneer (@Saigoneer) March 11, 2014


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What Vybz Kartel’s Conviction Says About Jamaican Justice & Dancehall · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

The conviction of dance-hall star Vybz Kartel (Adidja Palmer) and three associates for the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams has dominated online discussion in Jamaica since the verdict was announced. Much of the debate has centered around what Kartel's conviction says about dancehall culture and Jamaica's justice system, with some social media users wondering how someone with as much talent and resources as Kartel could have found himself in such a situation.
Blogger Annie Paul curated various responses to the Kartel verdict.  She also shared some of her own:
I fully believed that Kartel and co. would walk; because of the weakness of Jamaica’s justice system,  the strength of the defence team, and because the powerful are rarely tried, let alone found guilty in this society. But no!
She continued:
Many of us thought that Kartel would have got off because the jury would have felt too intimidated to find him guilty. Clearly they didn’t. This too was something the DPP must have been keen on establishing, to signal to potential jurors and a timorous public that the all-abiding fear that curtails the carriage of justice too often is perhaps overstated and unnecessary.
Paul also had some thoughts about Williams, the murder victim who, to her mind, has been overlooked in the coverage:
Lizard’s sister, Stephanie Breakenridge, sat in the courtroom sobbing every now and then as the final moments arrived. In all of the circus around this celebrity court case her brother, seen in the video above dancing and bigging up the Gaza Empire, had been virtually forgotten in the media coverage of the trial, except perhaps as its subject, in cold, clinical terms. His terror-filled texts had been read to the courtroom earlier in the trial but otherwise very little was known of the young man who thought his moment in the sun had arrived the day he was adopted by Kartel and his group.
This Twitter user wondered why, given the lyrical content of Kartel's songs, so many are still adamant about his innocence:
All these 'Jamericans' need to shut the hell up about 'free world boss'. The man makes music about murdering but ya'll say he's innocent?
— TroubleMan (@Kid_illmatic) March 17, 2014
One fan pointed out that Kartel could continue to make music whilst incarcerated:
I understand unnu want worldboss free, but free or in jail di man still a mek music, so a no like seh from im gone a jail im no drop no song
— KelRiah (@Nah_Aintboutit) March 17, 2014
Another argued that it was unfair to compare Vybz Kartel's situation to Buju Banton's, adding that another difference was in the support that the two artists received:
I wish ppl Will stop comparing Buju situation to kartel. Buju was clearly entrapped.Kartel had a choice to let it go.Buju will see road!
— Michieboo (@michieboo101) March 17, 2014
How many artist showed up to be a character witness for Buju? ManyHow many showed for the world boss?It speaks to the character !
— Michieboo (@michieboo101) March 17, 2014
Speaking of character, one netizen compared Kartel to the notorious don Christopher “Dudus” Coke:
Kartel was the dudus of dancehall, because everyone jumps when #worldboss speaks…
— ********* (@star_jibril) March 17, 2014
Yet another tweeter compared Kartel's Portmore Empire/Gaza crew to the American rap label, Death Row Records:
Portmore Empire/Gaza kind of remind me of Death Row records in the 90s.
— Ren DeWitt (@Ren_Egade) March 17, 2014
Some of Kartel's over-exuberant fans attempted to petition the US government to grant Kartel a re-trail (the petition has since been taken down.) This attempt was met with bemusement by some on Twitter:
Petition launched for Obama to investigate Vybz Kartel Trial. MY jesus lord Jamaica, get a life
— Lupeita Fiascyong'o (@IAmPlateface) March 17, 2014
“@Gordonswaby: Vybz Kartel petition removed from US Gov’s “We the people” website. *smh*” u no hear say Jamaica is the 53rd state??!
— KIM NAIN music XO (@Kim_Nain) March 17, 2014
Finally, Trinidad-based music promoter Tony Chow Lin On tweeted a message for those who continue to support Kartel:
Instead of trying to free d world boss, you should free your mind

author: Matthew Hunte


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10 Ways Russians and Ukrainians Reacted to Crimea Annexation Speech · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

On March 18, 2014, two days after Crimeans voted in a referendum to join the Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin gave a speech [ru] in which he announced that he would bring Crimea and the port city of Sevastopol into the fold as two new federation members. Until this announcement was made, it was not clear whether Russia would annex the new territories outright, or if it would leave them as an independent, contested region like Abkhazia, South Ossetia, or Transnistria.
Regardless of how one feels about the Crimean question, it was a landmark speech, and one that bloggers reacted to the way they usually do on the Internet. Through memes. Here are some of them:
1.
Putin as Tony Stark. The caption reads “Got Crimea back.” Anonymous image found online.
Many Russians reacted with glee. After all, even according to opposition polls [ru] a majority supports the “re-acquiring” of the picturesque peninsula.
2.
Anonymous image found online.
For others, the feelings were more mixed. If Putin “stole” Crimea, is it still a good thing? Perhaps it's hip, like a video game.
3.
-“Must not sleep, must not sleep”
-“Zzzzzz”
Anonymous image found online.
You can depend of PM Dmitry Medvedev to provide a sense of stability and narrative. His falling asleep during public functions has certainly been a common thread over the last couple of months of Russian policy-making.
4.
Anonymous image found online.
“Starting today I get rid of all American products in my life. Friends, join me! #StopUSA” tweeted Mikhail Dvorkovich, a Russian businessman and brother to a Medvedev adviser, as a response to threat of American sanctions [Global Voices report] against Russian officials. Many people pointed out the irony of him tweeting from an iPhone, and, indeed, using an American founded service to reach out to his audience.
5.
President Obama dressed in an FSB (Federal Security Bureau) uniform. Anonymous image found online.
Some Russian bloggers seem to view weak American sanctions as a sign of US tacit support of President Putin's actions. Hence this rather delicate photoshop of him in a Russian security forces uniform. “Thanks comrade Obama!”
6.
On the other hand, Ukrainians are demonstrably upset with President Putin's speech. This particular reaction seems as vehement as it is futile.
Users of the public Facebook group “This is Kiev, baby” are making their displeasure known. Collage from kievtypical [ru].
7.
Left: “Hitler announces the annexation of Austria to the Reichstag” Right: “Putin announces the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Parliament.” “Find 10 differences.” Anonymous image found online.
Nazi comparisons have been a mainstay of the discourse between Ukrainians and Russians for the last few months, and now, post a new “Anschluss,” it is no different.
8.
Anonymous image found online.
An even less charitable Nazi parallel, if that's at all possible.
9.
“Crimea, Summer of 2014″ Anonymous image found online.
An image of North Caucasian youth dancing in a Russian street. “If you aren't careful, Crimea,” says the author of the image, “Russia's ethnic minorities will take over!” This is especially ironic will all the accusations of Nazism flying around.
10.
G8 logo. Russian flag has been replaced with the Ukrainian one, on the lower left. Anonymous image found online.
Some Ukrainians remain hopeful that the USA and the EU will take decisive action to punish Putin and Russia. And if the Russian Federation does get kicked out of the G8 this year, who better to take its place but Ukraine?


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11th Century Kannada Literature Available On Wikisource · Global Voices
Rezwan

Vachana Sahitya is a form of rhythmic writing in Kannada language that evolved in the 11th Century C.E. and flourished in the 12th century. Subhashish Panigrahi reports (co-authored by Pavithra Hanchagaiah and Omshivaprakash HI) in Wikimedia blog that Two Wikimedians along with a Kannada linguist have converted 21000 verses of Vachana Sahitya in Unicode and made available in Wikisource, an online digital library of free content textual sources.

author: Rezwan


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Trinidad & Tobago: Coup Commission  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Do Trinis care dat de report from de Commission ah Enquiry into Abu Bakr coup attempt in 1990 finally out?
A Trini Speaks suggests that the release of the findings may be a case of too little, too late.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Activists Add Female Heroines to Wikipedia in Macedonian · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

The informal citizens’ group “Fight Like a Woman”, (@borisezenski), organized a mini marathon with the purpose of adding articles about notable women from Macedonia to Wikipedia in Macedonian to raise awareness about women's rights and gender equality.
The campaign involved activists working within the site of International Women's Day celebrations titled “Firstborn, and a girl” [mk] (wordplay on a popular Balkan saying expounding the importance of firstborn male children, usually expressed as “Firstborn, and a boy!”), and from home, coordinated using the hashtags #ЖенскаАрхива (Female Archive) and #WikiFem.
A Facebook photo of the basic Female Archive team, whose description displays links to the new articles, garnered hundreds of likes/shares.
The activists who were, as they put it, “defying oblivion”, managed to create 40 articles during the short campaign, with short biographies of important women, from early 20th century feminists and human rights activists to World War 2 freedom fighters, contemporary academics and artists.

author: Filip Stojanovski