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Fiji: EU cancels 2009 sugar subsidy · Global Voices
Michael Hartsell

The European Union announced that it was suspending  2009 payment of 24 million Euro in subsidies to help prop up Fiji’s sugar industry.
European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, admitted Fiji would have received the payment if it would have had a “legitimate government” in place.
He was referring to the events that began on December 2006 when Commodore Frank Bainimarama dissolved Parliament and overthrew the government of Laisenia Qarase, which he called corrupt and racially divisive. It marked Fiji's fourth military coup since 1987. On April 9, 2009 three judges ruled that Bainimarama had come to power illegally and directed the military leader to step down and the country’s President to appoint a caretaker regime to guide Fiji to elections. However, the President claimed the constitution did not provide him with that power, so he abrogated the document, reappointed the Bainimarma government and provided it with a five-year mandate, promising elections in 2014.
Sugar has a longer history. 130 years ago, British colonial rulers first brought Indians to Fiji to work in the country’s sugar plantations. While its status has declined in the past two decades, Fiji’s sugar industry has been a backbone of Fiji’s economy for the past century. It contributes to roughly seven percent of the country’s GDP, brings in a large amount of foreign earnings and directly supports a quarter of the population. Not to mention that people in Fiji consume sugar at twice the world average.
However, critics maintain, the cost of sugar production in Fiji has increased over the years, while yields and quality have declined. Because the predominately Indo-Fijian cane farmers work on land owned by ethnic Fijians, land issues are highly politicized and take on a racial dimension.
The EU money would have come from a fund for the export sectors of former European colonies to become more globally competitive. The funds are also meant to off-set World Trade Organization-mandated reforms that blocks the EU from buying sugar (and other commodities) on a preference-based quota system, paying former colonies a higher price for its exports.
Coup Four And A Half points out, Fiji’s government broke some of the 12 commitments it made with the EU in April 2007.
The interim regime, in consultation with the three senior interim ministers, agreed to the following commitments:
- Free and fair elections to be held within 24 months from March 2007, meaning elections are to be held by March 2009 subject to the findings of the assessment to be carried out by the independent auditors appointed by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.
- Interim Regime to have consultations with the civil society and relevant stakeholders when adopting major legislative, fiscal and other policy initiatives.
- Interim Regime to use best endeavours to prevent statements by security agencies designed to intimidate.
- Interim Regime to uphold the Constitution and guarantee normal and independent functioning of Constitutional institutions such as the Fiji Human Rights Commission, Public Service Commission, Constitutional Offices Commission, as well as preserve the substantial independence and functioning of the Great Council of Chiefs.
- Interim Regime to fully respect the independence of the judiciary, appoint a Tribunal by 15th July 2007 to preside over the hearing of suspended Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki, appointment and dismissal of judges to conform to Constitution, and no interference whatsoever by the military, police or the regime with the judicial process including full respect for the legal profession
- All criminal proceedings linked to corruption to be dealt with through appropriate judicial channels and that any other set up to investigate alleged cases of corruption should operate within constitutional boundaries.
- Interim Regime to ensure all cases of alleged human rights infringements are investigated and dealt with in accordance with the various procedures and forums under laws of Fiji.
- Interim Regime to lift the Public Emergency Regulations in May 2007 subject to any threats to national security, public order and safety.
- Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in all its forms are fully respected as provided in the Constitution.
- Interim Regime to maintain regular dialogue to allow verification of progress made and to give EU/EC authorities full access to information on all matters linked to human rights, peaceful restoration of democracy and the rule of law in Fiji.
- Interim Regime to cooperate fully with eventual missions from the EU and EC for assessment and monitoring progress.
-	Interim Regime to send progress reports every three months starting 30th June 2007 regarding the essential elements of the Cotonou Agreement and the commitments.
The blog also reported that some media in Fiji was barred from reporting on the loss in aid because of the Public Emergency Regulations that went into effect after the abrogation of the constitution and were recently renewed for another 30 days.
Fiji TV, the Fiji Times and the Indian newspaper, Shanti Dut, were banned from reporting the cancellation of more than 70 million dollars of European Union aid to cane farmers.
The aid money was the allocation earmarked for 2009 to help cane farmers overcome declining sugar prices.
Many who subscribe to Fiji Television news headlines received a notification on their mobile phones saying the 6pm news would feature the EU story.
But the story failed to appear – the bulletin instead went with the appointment of Pita Wise as permanent secretary in the interim Prime Minister’s office as its lead.
We have been told the EU aid money story, was removed at the order of the Ministry of Information censors.
The Daily Post, Fijivillage and the government-owned Fiji Broadcasting Corporation were able to evade censors and run the story.
A post by corruptionfighter99 at Raw Fiji News contends that Mahendra Chaudhry, the country’s first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister who was taken hostage on May 19, 2000 by Fijian nationalists and soldiers and later joined the military backed regime of Commodore Frank Bainimarama may have lost some of his support in the country’s largely Indo-Fijian sugar belt.
With the sugar industry facing collapse, it looks like sugar politics are about to change.
In the past, if Mahendra Chaudhry made a claim about the sugar industry, his loyal followers always believed him, regardless of what his opponents may say. Whether it’s the National Federation Party or the SDL, Chaudhry has been able to dismiss any statement they make.
But this time it’s going to be different. The EU price for sugar has already dropped but the biggest drop in price kicks in later this year, 2009/2010. Farmers payments are going to shrink, even after the devaluation boosts the number of shrunken Fiji dollars they receive.
The EU Reference Price for white sugar falls from 541 Euros in 2008/2009 to 404.4 Euros in 2009/2010. If we count the 08/09 price in pre devaluation dollars it was about $1190. The 09/10 price, even in post devaluation dollars is only $1068. But the cost of fuel and fertilizer are rising fast
because of the devaluation.
The EU promised aid because they knew that many farmers would go broke with the new price for sugar. The aid is supposed to help farmers adapt by helping them to move into new industries and assisting larger more efficient farmers to takeover unviable farms.
Without the aid, many farmers will go broke. They will walk away from their farms with nothing to show for generations of hard work.
No doubt Mahendra Chaudhry will blame [Ousted Fijian nationalist Prime Minister Laisenia] Qarase for all the problems. But this time around, the Chaudhry magic has gone.
Arvinesh Chand, writing in Fiji Today, says the government is washing its hands of ‘big sugar.’
Fiji Broadcasting Reports “Minister for Primary Industries Joketani Cokanasiga says farmers should not be disheartened by the withdrawal of the European Union aid for sugar but only take it as a challenge to open up untold opportunities.”
This is the third statement in recent days that suggests that the Government sees sugar as a historical crop and is quietly stepping away from support in favor of other crops.
Cokanasiga  explains that their role is to advise the Fiji Sugar Corporation on how farmers could adjust by diversifying into planting other crops to maintain their livelihood.
He  adds that the Legalega Research Station in Nadi is working very closely with farmers to establish demonstration plots in order to transfer technologies researched at the station for the benefit of the farmers.
The research station is advising farmers not to only rely on the income from their sugarcane
farms but to also grow short term cash crops and raise livestock within their farming systems.
The day the EU announced its decision, Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama left for a conference regarding sugar with other members of the ACP, African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States. In his remarks, he thanked the EU for past aid and warned without continuation of EU trade preferences, Fiji may not be able to make needed reforms to its sugar cane industry.
From Fiji Today.
No News Agency other than Fiji reported the speech. The final report from the conference doesn’t even mention Fiji’s problems with the EU. There was consternation that Fiji was trying to involve the conference in Fiji’s spat with the EU and a concerted effort was made to avoid politics and deal with the EU at a non political level.
A New Zealand-based blog, Fiji: The Way It Was, Is and Can Be, looks at how the regional actors are reacting toward Fiji.
The [EU] announcement came as PM Bainimarama, unaware of the announcement, left to attend a ACP (Asia-Caribbean-Pacific) ministerial conference on Sugar in Guyana, South America. Before leaving, the PM said he knows Australia and NZ are pushing hard to ensure Fiji is not assisted by the EU, the United Nations, the Commonwealth and the Asian Development Bank.
Australia, NZ and the US are reported to be talking about “targeted sanctions.” Nearly one person in three in Fiji is involved in some way in the sugar industry. It is hoped the Australian, NZ and US aim will be more accurate than the Europeans — or there will be no one left to aim at. I doubt any of them would try the same tactics on China.
In a similar vein, Café Pacific argues the EU’s fund freeze will only push Fiji deeper into the arms of China.
While the politicos and media flacks in New Zealand and Australia are rubbing their hypocritical hands with glee, cane growers are wondering how to survive. Now that the European Union has confirmed it will not be paying the 2009 sugar allocation for sugar industry reform (worth more than $US30 million) for the second year running, it is a matter of looking to Plan B. The EU has blocked the sugar assistance because of the military-backed regime’s refusal to return the country to democratic rule (until 2014).
When the funds were first suspended, Fiji was found to have breached the Cotonou agreement between the EU and the ACP bloc of countries (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific). Speculation was rife about whether Fiji regime censorship would gag this story, but it has at least slipped past the censors on Fijivillage News and Fiji Daily Post websites. Fijivillage added that it had been told that regime leader Voreqe Bainimarama said – before flying out to sugar meetings in Guyana and Brussels – that the governments of Australia and NZ were “trying to collapse the Fiji economy”.
Sabotage in other words. And yet another relentless push into railroading Fiji further into the arms of China and chequebook diplomacy. Chinese aid to Fiji has soared after the December coup – from $US23 million in 2006 to $US160 million in 2007 and still climbing.

author: Michael Hartsell


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India: Bowing Down Before Your Wife · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sumanth at Desicritics reports of a verdict of the Indian Supreme Court on a divorce case, which asked the plaintiff to “bow down before his wife's ‘diktat'”. The post containing Sumanth's reaction to the verdict sparks a heated debate in the comments section.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rezwan


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India: Communication Via Word Of Mouth · Global Voices
Rezwan

A Year In India realizes that word of mouth is a strong mean of communication in India because: “this may have to do with illiteracy, a lack of technology and infrastructure, and a large percentage of the population living in isolated, rural settings.”


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Iran: An award for a blogger · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Potkin Azarmehr,was awarded the Cutting Edge Breakaway Prize for New Talent at the Next Century Foundation’s annual International Media Awards on 11th of May.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: In presidential race, ex-revolutionary guard leader uses internet least · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iran's Guardian Council on Wednesday approved four candidates for the June 12 presidential election.
The four lucky finalists who were chosen from hundreds of registered candidates, are current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi, ex-parliamentary speaker Mehdi Karroubi and the former head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Mohsen Rezai.
Mohsen Rezai recently criticised Ahmadinjead's policies and said he is open to talks with the United States. He also blamed the Iranian administration for $1 billion in missing oil revenue, pledging to recover the money if elected.
Digital Kalashinkof, an Iranian blogger and journalist publishes a video of Rezai's speech where he answers a question about the role of Sunnite minority in the Iranian government. Rezai said he is “against any discrimination of Iranians and want to share responsibilities with them.” At present  there is no Sunnite minister in Iranian government.
Mohsen Rezai and his supporters are using the internet to promote their campaign, but their digital strategy is relatively weak compared to their three rivals, and they do not list as many supporting bloggers.
Reazi's blog supporters on his personal website are divided in 3 categories:
1- Iran-Iraq war oriented blogs:  These are a group of blogs that want to remember and honour Iranians fighting against Iraqi during Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. On Rezai's site these blogs are categorized under the name of ‘Holy Defense’. Nasleh Hamseh is one of these blogs. The blogger writes [fa] about Rezai that his faith and honour are his great resources. He wants them to be used for the progress of the country.
2-Local blogs: These blogs are collected on Rezai's website under the name of Zagros  (mountains) inhabitanat or residents. It is a clear reference to Rezai's ethnic background. Farzande Zagros ( means child of Zagros) writes [fa] about Rezai's speech on his intention to form a coalition government and collaborate with  Iranian former presidents such as Khatami and Rafsanjani.
3-A mixed blog group: A third group of blogs are published under the headline “supporters’ blogs” on Rezai's site. Most of them, just like in the second category, are created only to promote the campaign. We can find specific city-based blogs such as Rezai's Isfahan supporters or Child of Nation.
Rezai's digital campaign is light weight compared to his three rivals. it seems the other canidates were faster using digital weapons and internet power than the former leader of the Revolutionary Guard.


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Iran:  State-run Press TV in London · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Spider, an Iranian blogger, has published a photo of one of Iranian State-run Press TV‘s advertisement in a metro in London. In this publicity we read Press TV wants to ‘give a voice to voiceless’. The blogger has published several links to show that how ironically Iranian government who wants to ‘give a voice to voiceless’ in UK, bans Iranian journals and foreign media's activities inside country.


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Jamaica: Discussing Human Rights  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Traditionally, the discussion of human rights in Jamaica has been conducted in what may be considered ‘the privileged voice'”: Raw Politics…Jamaica Style! questions the value of this norm.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Jamaica: The Ananda Alert · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaica's Yardflex.com finally sees “a glimmer of light on the horizon when it comes to the protection of our children.”


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Pakistan: A Humanitarian Crisis · Global Voices
Ammar Faheem

River Swat, Kalam, Photo from Flickr by Farooq Nasir, used under a creative commons license
Pakistan has been hit by a severe humanitarian crisis as a result of the military onslaught against the Taliban insurgency. The valley of Swat is in Pakistan’s Malakand division, a beautiful valley often dubbed as another heaven on planet earth. It used to be a prominent tourist resort before it was struck by militancy and extremism of the local Taliban.
It is being reported that over one million (some reports even suggest that figure stands at near 2 million) people have fled their homes from various areas in the Malakand division and FATA including Buner, Dir and Swat. These “Internally Displaced People” (IDPs) are seeking refuge in other areas of Pakistan. Temporary camps have been established in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) where registered IDPs are provided food and shelter.
The crisis is huge. The problems seem impossible to overcome. But Pakistan as a nation has always proved its resilience and unity in testing times. In this regard, a massive relief effort has been launched by many organizations and individuals. The Pakistani Blogosphere is also taking a leading role to provide relief to our Pakistani brothers and sisters in distress.
In this regard, a weblog has been setup titled “Internally Displaced People in Pakistan” which mentions:
“The primary purpose is to track the estimates and the real-time data that is cited by international organizations, such as the UN, as well as the government agencies (NDMA and others) to determine and communicate the scale of the problem.”
The crisis is being labeled as the worst-ever in Pakistan’s history and I believe it is one of the biggest challenges faced by the PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) led government in Pakistan. It is also a challenge for the ANP that leads the provincial government in the NWFP.
The Pakistani Spectator has posted a list of organizations and bank accounts to which donations may be sent, including the Edhi trust, Al-Khidmat, PTI and others.
A detailed list of organizations and individuals who are working on the cause has been at Chowrangi.com and they sent out an appeal to everyone, saying:
“This is an appeal to all individuals, organizations, charities and NGOs in general and nationals of Pakistan in particular, whether resident or expat, to come forward and help by extending financial, technical and moral support to hundreds of thousands, feared to be displaced in Swat Crisis. If nothing else, please spread the word.”
Fauzia Minallah, an active civil worker from Islamabad has sent an email to “Rise of Pakistan”, saying:
“According to some news reports there are nearly 50,000 IDPs in Islamabad. Civil Society Islamabad, visited 4 locations identified by out of these only one was an informal camp with approximately 40 tents near the Katchi Abadi in G 7/1. The IDPs are not registered in Islamabad and unless they are registered it is difficult to identitify deserving and genuine IDPs.
…
Their problem is the sudden increase in rents by the locals. They are vulnerable to exploitation by individuals and dodgy NGOs. Despite all these problems atleast there is a roof over their heads. They need to be registered during summer break these families can spend the hot summer months in schools…”
The above blog post also features several photographs of the IDP’s.
Dr. Awab Alvi, popularly known as the Teeth Maestro on the blogosphere is leading a collection drive and plans to head for the relief camps soon. He informs:
“I plan to lead a team to the affected areas hopefully to depart from Karachi on the 18th of May 2009 to take the collected donation items personally into the region of Mardan and physically distribute the items only to the needy and suffering.
We are interested in anything that you can contribute. We are hoping to pre-pack the collected items into small handy packages so as to distribute items to each individual person. The small packages will help us avoid hoarders who made even the 2005 Earthquake a business.”
On the other hand, some problems, irresponsible behavior and hindrances in relief efforts have been reported as well.
Kashif Aziz at Chowrangi.com reports that a refugee camp was being uprooted in Islamabad:
“Amongst huge governmental claims of relief and support activities for the IDPs of Swat, reality on the ground is quite different. However, the advancements in media and citizen journalism has made it difficult for the Ministers and their gangs to cover up their blunders and drawing-room statements.
On one hand the displaced people of Swat, Buner, Dir and adjacent areas are trying to cope up with harsh living conditions out of their comfort zones, on the other they are being exploited and manipulated by opportunists. One such incident occurred right in the capital, Islamabad.”
At the PakistanIDP, it has been reported that National Database and Registration Authority, NADRA, is charging people for registration and for the issuance of new ID cards to those who have lost or misplaced them while fleeing their areas:
“NADRA is charging Rs.50 for folks who lost/misplaced or had their cards destroyed in the process of fleeing their homes. The provincial government, district government, civil society and individual citizens are doing all they can to feed, house and clothe these IDPs.
The federal government charges them Rs.50 for their Identification Cards. Call your MNA, Senator, Uncle, or Auntie, call anybody and everybody you can, and tell them how outrageous this is. NADRA should stick to making money on contracts from foreign governments (as it does when it mass produces machine readable passports for other countries). This software house financed by the taxpayer should not be charging IDPs for a document that is a human and constitutional right in Pakistan.”
The situation is tough. And time is running out. I would like to urge the global community to come forward and help the IDPs. This is a severe humanitarian crisis at hand and the risk of the spread of disease is imminent. The Pakistan army is battling the enemy within; an enemy that many in Pakistan believe was pampered and brought up by the West against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 80’s. We, the global community, can do it together and make this world a better, peaceful place to live for everyone.

author: Ammar Faheem


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Pakistan: Relief Effort For IDPs In Karachi · Global Voices
Rezwan

Deadpan Thoughts writes about the relief efforts for Swat IDPs being carried out in Karachi. Pictures of relief collection are also posted in that article.


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Palestine: Family Fun? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

In the West Bank, Samuel Nichols notes: “Parents taking a Friday afternoon walk carrying their newborn is cute. Parents taking a Friday afternoon walk carrying their newborn (with an M-16 slung over the father's shoulder while intimidating Palestinian farmers) is disconcerting and scary.”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Philippines: Storytelling for Hunger Awareness · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

hunger
A few years ago, a short film won the public's  approval at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival, and to this day, it is still making its rounds through internet, raising awareness on poverty and hunger.  Chicken Ala Carte by Ferdinand Dimadura is one of the videos we bring you today about hunger past, present and future.
The following video is available at Culture Unplugged a website promoting documentary videos, shorts and mobile films, as well as rewarding the most popular ones with cash prizes. Chicken A la Carte is 6 minutes long and its visual nature makes it cross language barriers without a hitch:
Many as children heard our mothers tell us to finish the food on our plate, as there were children starving in other areas of the world: the truth is that the starving children may just be around the block from us.
This next video by CarolinaMed warns about the injustice stemming from wasting or throwing away edible food and includes numbers regarding how much is wasted from a single specific first world country, and how many people would benefit from that thrown away food.
And from Singapore, azahahasupernova poses the question: What is your excuse for wasting food, and gives ecological reasons of why it is harmful for the environment.
In the Philippines, hunger is not recent: there are myths based upon the need to find food to stave off hunger: such is the case for the following short, an animated film made in watercolors. Animator  tokomokolika tells us a bit more about it:
A Bontoc story about a tree that used to stand near Lake Danum near Sagada. This is a mythology story about a woman named Maeng, and her quest to save her family from hunger.
It is an adapted story from Damiana Eugenio's collection of Philippine Mythologies. In the book, the protagonist is nameless, and the name of the village she came from was Maeng.
Thumbnail image used is Give us This… by Mr. Kris

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Qatar: Kingdom, Sultanate, Emirate? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Marjorie in Qatar asks, “Is there any real difference between a kingdom, a sultanate, and an emirate?”


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Sri Lanka: What Are We Celebrating? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chatu at Groundviews asks some questions: “what are we celebrating? Defeating an entity we forced into existence? Are the reasons that forced a young Prabhakaran to assassinate the Mayor of Jaffna resolved? Is Sri Lanka truly united towards peace and coexistence?”


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Taiwan: LiveCast and music for saving rural livelihood · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Agricultural issues are getting more and more attention recently in Taiwan, sadly not because of the vibrant development of the agricultural sector, but quite the opposite.
In March, I reported about the debate on Statue of Rural Renewal that was about to be passed in Legislative Yuan. Given all the problems and controversies in the Statue, the Council of Agriculture had been pressured by a coalition of farmers, scholars, and social activists to organize more public hearings, in particular in rural areas for collecting more public opinions. However, these public hearings have been neglected by mainstream media, and the only way the public get to know the discussion and debate is via citizen journalists who have participated in the hearing and posted their reports at online platforms, such as  dfun.com (zh) :
Citizen reports on public hearings
On April 21st, Kaohsiung County, citizen journalist Relax reported:
美濃林英清先生也表達公聽會並沒有達到政府資訊真正公開，他是自己上網下載條例看了五遍，認為條例中有許多問題，但是也無法在公聽會中表達意見。…
最後，李分局長似乎沒有聽到這些質疑的聲音，說出「今天民眾全都是支持農再條例」的結論準備總結高雄場公聽會，但台下馬上有民眾回應「哪裡有！」
The next day, in Hualien County, peggy reported:
開放發言的時間到了，看著現場許多聽不懂國語、不會寫字的老人家，我擔心不會寫發言條的他們，是否會有發言權？
果然，上台發言的幾乎全都是立委、議員、社區發展協會總幹事、村長。…
聽完一場不談農村再生發展條例內文，也沒有任何政府與民間對話與回應的公聽會，我跟阿公、阿嬤一樣，在離開時領了便當。
The bureaucratic and formalistic public hearings were under serious criticism online and finally President Ma Ying-jeou agreed to meet the anti-Statute activists in the Presidential Palace(zh) on April 29th. During the meeting, Ma required Chen Wu-siung (陳武雄) the Chief Councilor of the Council of Agriculture to review the whole Statute and post the revised Statute online “if necessary”.  However, nothing had really changed after the meeting and the majority of Legislative Yuan are determined to pass the Statute before May 20th, a day marked the inauguration anniversary of Ma's presidency.  Activists then initiated a “citizen public hearing” via webcast. They call this activity “3 small media Webcasting“:
LiveCast
苦勞網、台灣環境資訊協會是就是二小媒體，但三小媒體還有一小就是「你」。
第一次跨媒體合作將會在5月26日上午九點半，台北立法院現場進行網路直播，三小媒體也邀請公民記者、部落客、地方組織者、社區營造團隊一同參與「台北現場報導」或參與「地方端點直播」。
希望將辯論現場畫面傳送到農村與社區，你可以協助報導在地的聲音、將討論農再的心得繼續投稿民間媒體。 農再的討論不能只在官方辦的公聽會中草率結束，地方更可以以主動的方式，要求官方來地方辦公聽會，透過網路直播在一起檢視公共政策是否有問題？激盪起真正 「由下而上」的討論，非讓「由下而上」成為政府卸責的口號。
We wish to show the debate of the Taipei public hearing to other rural villages and communities. Apart from LiveCast, you can also help by covering local voices or submitting your view on the statue to other civil media. The discussion should not come to an end in those official public hearings. We expect the LiveCast to encourage local communities to be more active in demanding the government for local public hearings, and the LiveCast would allow people from across the country to discuss public policy together. We need to realize the genuine “bottom-up” discussion process rather than letting the government turning the “bottom-up” consultation into mere slogan and political performance.
Farmers-activists also use twitter , stickeraction, justin.tv, and other social media to spread the above message.
However, recently president Ma faced a new wave of political crisis after the mass rally and over night sit-in protest against his China policies on 17th of May. Public attention might be directed to more dramatic political controversy rather than “regular law enactment”, like the Statute of Rural Renewal.
Songs and musics
Meanwhile an indie band, Hao-Ke (好客樂團) took another approach to raise public awareness of Taiwan's rural crisis. Members of the band are all farmers and they have recently entered the entrant list of the 20th Golden Melody Award on Best Bands. Indeed, the cultural approach is very effective.
Ecogoodies recommended Hao-Ke's album “Love to Eat Rice”:
這是我喜愛的一張專輯”愛吃飯”，是好客樂隊的主唱陳冠宇，在2006年離開喧囂的城市，走進台東池上的有機稻田，開始耕田計畫…
跟許多人一樣，我早早就離開生長的家鄉，自此在都市裡停留，家鄉的記憶也總是愈來愈遠。每次，感覺受傷或是失望的時候，就會想起家鄉空氣和土地的味道，讓我想要回到最先出發的地方，找到重新來過的力量。
Photo by Guan Yu, the vocal of Hao-Ke.
Hao-Ke described  their feeling after they were nominated in the Award on their official blog:
現在我待在田裡的時間更多了，每天心繫著田地裡的植物，覺得心頭充實。金曲獎反而成了惱人的外務。我做音樂的目的不是為了金曲獎；但他的力量卻又那麼強，讓我不得不把它掛在心上，心情跟著它起起伏伏 …..
They started the experimental project of “rice coop” about 3 years ago. Ke Zhi-hao, the guitar player of Hao-Ke explained their idea and daily routine of the “rice cooperatives” on e-info.org:
我們在農田中演出，下田插秧除草，替稻米拍攝紀錄片，攥寫文章，攝影，寫歌，製作唱片，甚至將我們種的有機米，在台北女巫店演出時實地煮給來看演出的觀眾們一起享用
我們相信健全的市場機制是提供較多的選擇，可以使整個市場更強韌與增加彈性，生產者不再只有藉由仲介者來進行行銷，甚至可以選擇一半透過仲介者，另一半自己直購
The band uses wikimapia to show the location of their farmland, and encourage audiences and fans to join the cooperation.
Apart from Hao-Ke, bands like Country Boys (zh) and Sheng Xiang also convey their love, sorrow, and anger for the disappearing Taiwanese agriculture through their music. These bands and musicians also actively participate in street gatherings or protests against destructive agricultural policies and globalization.
Artists and activists in Taiwan are cooperating more and more frequently on various social issues though their influence is still weak when compared with the government and big corporates. But joint handedly, they make the civil society more vibrant .
Last but not the least, please listen to “I Don't Want to Be a Farmer Anymore”, a song full of anger depicting the erosion of Taiwanese agriculture and rural life, performed by Country Boys when they attended “Free Burma, Free Aung San Suu Kyi” concert last year.

author: Portnoy Zheng


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Trinidad & Tobago: Internet Killed the TV Star?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The one media outlet that best serves the fat, the dumb, the happy, is one that is in for a wild roller coaster ride as people around the world tune out so that they can tune in on the Internet”: Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, KnowProSE.com thinks that television has more to worry about than newspapers.


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Uruguay: Photos of the Funeral of Mario Benedetti · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Mario Blanco took photos of the funeral of Uruguayan writer, Mario Benedetti [es], who recently passed away.

author: Eduardo Avila


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USA: Blogger talks immigration with Joe Biden · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

A blogger from Underground Undergrads who campaigns for citizenship rights for undocumented students in the United States describes a meeting with vice president Joe Biden.

author: Solana Larsen


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Afghanistan: Ammunition Trouble for Afghanistan · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust reports that a U.S. Army contractor was giving the Afghan National Security Forces obsolete and faulty ammunition, and now there are yet more ammunition troubles for the Afghan forces.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Afghanistan: Attacks Highlight Need for New Strategy · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust reports on a coordinated suicide attack on government buildings in Afghanistan that took between 10 and 20 lives.


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Afghanistan: Expats’ Routine Life · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Onne Parl writes that the life of the international community in Afghanistan is ruled by security companies.


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Afghanistan: Rights Abusers Among Nominations  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Sanjar reports that there are persons, who have committed and continue to commit heinous violations of human rights, to run for the provincial council elections in Afghanistan, and lists thier crimes.


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Afghanistan: Taliban’s War Statistics · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Colla says the Taliban has issued detailed statistics for its operations in Afghanistan during the month of April, and finds that the figures they produce make interesting reading.


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Afghanistan: Update on the presidentials · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Peter Marton reviews a political situation around presidential campaign and candidates in Afghanistan.


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Armenia: Eurovision Bribes · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Adding to the existing controversy surrounding this year's Eurovision international song contest, In Mutatione Fortitudo says that Russian bloggers have been receiving emails from an Armenian offering payment for publishing an article accusing Azerbaijan of bribing various competition juries.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia: Jethro Tull in Yerevan · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

A day before their concert in Yerevan, Armenia, Global Voices Online's Caucasus editor interviews Ian Anderson from the legendary British folk-rock band, Jethro Tull.


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Bahrain: No Longer Anonymous · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahraini blogger Hala, who blogs at When it Beeps, has decided Bahrain is too small for a person to try to be anonymous – so she introduces herself to her readers.


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Bangladesh: Indian Elections 2009 In Bangladesh Perspective · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ambassador Serajul Islam's Political Blog posts an analysis of the Indian parliamentary elections 2009 in Bangladesh perspective.


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Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago:  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados-based B.C. Pires publishes a column by the journalist who exposed alleged plagiarism by the former Chairperson of Trinidad and Tobago's now-defunct Integrity Commission.


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China: A turmoil triggered by T-shirt · Global Voices
Bob Chen

Lawyer Liu Shihui's T-shirt, on which a quote is printed, seems to have the power to attract police and disturb the social order. Below is a partial translation of Liu's blog entry about his experience in Guangzhou.
2009年5月12日下午5点多，我在广州市岗顶地铁站靠近C出口的地铁闸口外面等我女朋友….电话联系知道她已经快到了。
这时一个保安（胸牌号PT1776）径直向我走来，一双警觉的眼睛上下打量着我的衣服，一脸凶悍地问道：”你是干什么的？在这里干嘛？”我说我在这里等我女朋友。这个保安瞪着凶神恶煞的眼睛，指着我的T恤衫说：”你的衣服不对，这是什么意思？不能在我们这里穿！”
我自制的T恤衫前面印了”一党独裁，遍地是灾。——《新华日报》”几个字，后面印了”共产党反对国民党的一党专政，绝不是要建立自己的一党专政。—-刘少奇”这样一句话。后面的字较小，现在被保安发现”不对”、引起阶级斗争警觉的是我恤衫的前面。
我反问道：”我的衣服怎么不对了？我穿什么衣服关你什么事？我在这里等人接人碍着谁了？”
Unexpectedly, more attention was attracted.
这时，一个警察（警号是018464）来了，另一个保安（2409号）来了，地铁工作人员数人来了，其中地铁一人手持相机对我拍照。围观的人越来越多，人们以新奇和不解的目光注视着我的衣服和眼前突发的事情。在警、保、铁三方如临大敌、铜墙铁壁的包围中，在围观人群不明就里的注视中，我犹如汪洋中的一条独木舟。
“你上面这句话（指”一党独裁，遍地是灾”）不对，要跟我们去调查。”保安满脸阶级斗争。
指着胸前的文字对保安解释：这是共产党自己说过的话，是新华日报的社论，如果你读过书的话，应该知道抗战时期有个《新华日报》，你可以自己去查，并且告知他我是律师，请你不要妨碍我的人身自由。1776号保安暴跳如雷，露出了十足地痞的面目，当着警察以及众多围观人群破口大骂：”你个傻逼，管你是什么师，我读书比你多得多。”并且当众对我讪笑道：”就你这个样子也有女朋友？”面对这个满嘴喷粪的人渣，我怒不可遏，一阵恶心。
警察态度虽然没有保安恶劣，但是显然把我当嫌疑人看待，这让我很不舒服。我给他解释：这句话是1946年3月30日中共中央机关报《新华日报》的社论，并跟他说，我女朋友已经出站了，现在她找不见我，我要去接她。警察不许，并要对我“进行传唤”。我指出这是对我人身自由的非法限制，我接不到女朋友，她会很着急。这时警察人数已增为几人，有的强硬，有的和缓。他们和保安将我推拽到一处空地上，然后地铁人员迅速地在我周围竖起了屏风帷帐，将我圈在墙边，以隔阻围观人群探寻的目光和我恤衫文字的对接。
The police and guards later took Liu to a small room for investigation. A security guard, according to Liu, shouted ‘F**k you’ for several times and rushed to in an attempt to punch him. Fortunatelly, the irritated guard was stopped by the police. They then took pictures of Liu.
警察问我衣服上这句话的出处。我向他们作了详细说明，并且提出愿意帮助他们在网上搜索这句话，警察说这里上不了网。但是我相信他们通过一定的渠道验证了这句话的存在。
During the process, Liu noted down their police numbers on the sneak with his cellphone.
我要求警方向我出具对我进行留置或者其他类别强制措施的法律手续，但是警方称没有。我要求做笔录，先是被拒绝，后来在变换了一个拘禁地点后，才应允我。我于晚上19时自书了一份《我被非法拘禁的经过》交给警方，要求对方“赔礼道歉，赔偿损失。”我告诉警方：这是非法拘禁，我作为律师日后将会告你们，并且会把这件荒唐的事情传上网。
一位警察态度明显和缓，要和我“交流思想”，称：“抗战的时候，国民党很独裁，那个时候共产党反对国民党的一党独裁，所以发表了那篇遍地是灾的社论。但是这句话放到现在，就很敏感……”云云。
我回应道：我是一个律师，做的是法律工作，我判断是非的第一尺度是法律，符合法律规定的事情没有人能够阻止我去做，违反法律的事情我压根不会去做。“依法治国”不是已经入宪了吗，是依法治国，不是依“敏感”治国。
I replied, ‘ I am a lawyer. The yardstick I use to judge about right and wrong is law. No one can stop me from doing anything that is not prohibited by the law. Isn't ‘ruling the country by law’ written into the constitution? It doesn't say ‘ruling the country by considering whether it is sensitive or not’.
一警员经过较长时间的伏案工作，终于敲出了一份针对我的“讯问笔录”。我粗略地看了一下：上面关于涉嫌违法的事由是“制造谣言和扰乱社会秩序”。我讥笑着对张副所长说：“你不觉得这太侮辱公众常识了吗？如果把它放到网上去，你不怕这个东西会气死躲猫猫？”张副所长无言。鉴于笔录中多处与事实不符，并且警方不同意我复印该笔录的要求，所以我顺理成章地拒绝在那份笔录上签字。
或许是警方已经查证了那句“敏感”话的出处，或许是与我对程序的熟知和严谨苛责有关，或许是警方觉得凭一件文化衫就拉一个人太过意不去（特别是那个喷粪保安的行为太过出格），或许是受我要告他们和上网的声言所影响，最后警方人员摆出了要和解的姿态，问我有什么要求。
Perhaps the police had found out where the quote was from, perhaps I was so familiar with the due process of investigation, or perhaps they didn't think it proper to detain someone just for his T-shirt, perhaps they were alerted by my warning that I will put my experience online, they compromised, asking what I wanted.
Finally, the guard that cursed and shoved Liu apologized to him.
晚上8点10分，我离开岗顶地铁派出所。从开始在地铁闸口被盘查，直到被放走，前后历时近3小时。
在和女友回家的路上，我满脸疲惫，感慨万千。今天的环球已然大不同于抗战时期，星星不再是那颗星星，月亮也不再是那个月亮。我不知道，在人类近三分之二的国家已经采用民主制度的今天，因为将某一政党昔日曾经揭示了客观规律的一句历史名言印在恤衫上，而受到后世同一政党（政府）如临大敌之生猛对待的，在当今世界扳着指头数，究竟还能扳倒几个指头？

author: Bob Chen


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China: Taobao is toxic and Alibaba has no antidote · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

BloggerInsight from CN Review translated Keso's comment on Alibaba's recent campaign on e-business. The blogger warned the university students to be cautious of the vicious cycle of purely price competition – which has already turned milk into melamine.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Fiji: Police detain, seize laptops of three suspected bloggers · Global Voices
Michael Hartsell

Police in Fiji detained three local lawyers and seized their laptops, supposedly because of a possible connection to a popular anti-government blog.
The lawyers, Richard Naidu, Jon Apted and Tevita Fa were taken into custody Tuesday, May 19, held for a few hours and then released.
Police admit the three were detained, but would not provide a reason why. The investigation is ongoing. However, Dorsami Naidu, President of Fiji Law Society claimed the men were detained in alleged connection to Raw Fiji News, an anonymous blog that is highly critical of the regime of military ruler Frank Bainimarama.
Impunity Watch reported the three lawyers are certain the police won’t find any evidence of their alleged blogging; rather, they suspect authorities could be looking for confidential client information. Naidu and Apted are partners in one of Fiji’s most prestigious law firms and have represented the Fiji Times in court. Fa is the legal counsel for Laisenia Qarase, the Prime Minister ousted in the December 2006 coup that brought military leader Frank Bainimarama to power.
During the previous week, Real Fiji News, a pro-government blog, began naming whom it considered to blog for Raw Fiji News, alleging it is Naidu, Fa and Apted. Also on the list is Vice President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi and Netani Rika, editor of the Fiji Times. The only proof offered is that the names Ratu (a Fijian word meaning chief) Joni, Fa and Naidu spell out the acronym RFN.
While the three were detained, Raw Fiji News continued publishing.
Blogs have played an important part in Fiji’s news landscape since April 10 when the country’s president abrogated the constitution and appointed the government of military commander Frank Bainimarama to a five-year term. Shortly after, the government passed a series of public emergency rules regulating the media (among other things). The rules, which were extended for another 30 days on May 10, forbid the media from printing stories that could “give rise to disorder.” The government carries out these directives by placing censors in media offices. Internet cafes are also forced to close at 6 pm.
Since April 10, five local journalists have been detained by police for breaking these rules. On top of that, three foreign journalists have been asked to leave the country because their reporting is viewed as critical of the regime.
With the media clampdown, news from inside Fiji is hard to come by. In turn, news media in Australia and New Zealand have reported on items culled from Fiji’s bloggers.
See Global Voices special coverage of Fiji's constitutional challenge.


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India: Aid Collection For Sri Lankan IDPs · Global Voices
Rezwan

Madhat at Blogbharati informs about an effort by some Indians to collect aid from various Indian cities to help the IDPs (internally displaced people) in Sri Lanka.


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Iran: Behrouz Javid Tehrani,prison and hunger strike · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several Iranian bloggers including Zarebin informed [fa] that Behrouz Javid Tehrani, a political prisoner and student activist, is in his 16th day of hunger strike and his life is in danger.


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Iran: Blogging against homophobia · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

A few Iranian bloggers wrote comments on ‘International day against homophobia’ on May 17 and shared their concerns about existing discrimination against homosexuals in Iran.
Pesar has published an open letter from Iranian homosexual students to other student activists in the country:
ما دانشجویان همجنسگرای ایران، سال‌هاست هم‌پای جنبش دانشجویی و روشنفکری ایران، در متنِ مطالبات سیاسی و اجتماعی قرار داریم و از مدافعان سرسخت تغییر شرایط نابرابر جامعه‌ی ایران بوده‌ایم. اینک که همه‌ی آزادی‌خواهان و نیک‌اندیشان و مدافعان حقوق بشر دریافته‌اند که حقوق همجنسگرایان حقوق بشر است  …اما در ایران، و دیگر کشورهای نابرخوردار از آزادی‌های اجتماعی و انسانی، همجنسگرایان هم‌چنان مورد سیاه‌ترین آزارها و ستم‌ها و شکنجه‌ها قرار می‌گیرند و کسی حاضر نیست
Ketabkhane has published  [fa] a series of books written by and/or about homosexuals. They explain why they decided to make their works available on their blog:
این بودن تنها حضوری فیزیکی در شهرها و روستاهای ایران نیست. ما در درون این جامعه قرار داریم؛ از آن تاثیر میگیریم و بر آن اثر میگذاریم. ما در این جامعه “زندگی” میکنیم
گروهی از ما مینویسند، میسرایند و تولید اندیشه میکنند. اما مردم ما را نمیخوانند چون نمیتوانند به نوشتههایمان دسترسی داشته
Gameron writes [fa] that homosexuals face problems in Islamic countries where they can be executed. The Islamic regime in Iran denies the existence of homosexuals, instead of helping the population to learn about homosexuality.


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Iran: Fararu, a news site was filtered · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iran based Fararu news site announced  [fa] today that Iranian authorities filtered the site. Fararu's managers got no information about the reason (s) of filtering. [update:Farau news has become accessible on 26th of May 2009]


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Jamaica, Barbados: Calabash Kicks Off  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands reports that leading off the readings at Jamaica's Calabash Literary Festival this year will be “Jamaican writers Velma Pollard and Esther Phillips, and Bajan poet Millicent Graham.”


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Jamaica: By the Bye · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Girl With a Purpose notes that Jamaica is in for another by-election, adding: “One unfortunate thing about this…is that Jamaicans will have to fork out another JMD $40 million, or more, for the Electoral Office of Jamaica to administer it.”


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Jamaica: Look Behind  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican diaspora blogger Labrish takes us to Cockpit Country, “The Land of Look Behind”.


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Japan: John Roos to be U.S. Ambassador to Japan · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Unexpected appointment of lawyer John Roos as the next U.S. ambassador to Japan: Blogger namekawa01 gives a high evaluation of Roos's close connections with President Obama and speculates that he must have forgone more visible positions in favor of this one, while Koichiro Mizuochi compares this appointment with that of Utah Governor Jon Huntsman as ambassador to China and finds it lacking. Most bloggers that have commented on this announcement, however, are adopting a wait-and-see attitude.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Kazakhstan: Astana Cycling Team Is in Trouble · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

KZBLog reports that the cycling Team Astana, funded primarily by the Kazakhstan's state-owned companies, has financial problems, and it may be suspended if it fails to meet financial obligations.


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Kazakhstan: Languages and Perspectives · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Thousand-pa reflects on the situation around state, Russian and English languages in Kazakhstan – how affordable it is to study them, and knowledge of which of them is economically more beneficial.


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Kazakhstan: Tortures Continued · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

KZBlog writes about the visit of Manfred Nowak, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on Torture, to Kazakhstan, during which he noted that prison conditions have improved, yet urged officials to stop beatings, asphyxiation and other “techniques” used to get confessions from suspects.


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Kyrgyzstan: “KyrNet” In Numbers · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Elena tells about the research of Internet in Kyrgyzstan and posts some interesting data from the report.


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Palestine: Remembering Al Nakba  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Arab-American joint blog KABOBfest marks the 61st anniversary of the creation of Israel, commonly referred to as Al Nakba (catastrophe), saying: “Israel's foundation meant the dispossession of hundreds of thousands of
refugees. This created the largest, long-term refugee population in the world. But, they should not mourn Israel's creation.  They should celebrate what a failure it has been.”

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Qatar: Abaya, Yes or No? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Qatari blogger Amal Almalki writes about the dilemma she faced when deciding whether to continue wearing the abaya: “I had to question and convince myself of what it means to me. Is it a religious or a cultural symbol? Is it used as a cover-up or a statement?”


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Russia: Medvedev’s Visit to Kirov · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

IZO links to LJ user rem-lj‘s photo report on the consequences of president Medvedev's visit to the town of Kirov: “His route crossed a railway track. So someone decided to cover the track with asphalt.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Saudi Arabia: Beheadings in the Kingdom  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Stilettos in the Sand, from Saudi Arabia, discusses beheading in the kingdom and notes: “The crimes punishable by beheading, or execution, are:  rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking.”


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South Korea: Banning Suicide  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

To counter growing group suicides in the nation, the South Korea government decided to ban keywords related to suicide and block access to Web sites. More from Gusts of Popular Feeling


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Sri Lanka: Abuse, Disbelief And Bitterness Persist · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Sri Lankan government's civil war for over 25 years against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended a few days ago when the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed. The question remains that “has the dream of many Tamils of having a separate state free from discrimination died with him?” Although Prabhakaran is deemed as a mass murderer and terrorist, many still revere him as a fighter of their cause and some are still in denial mode that he really has been killed. Many theories emerged making Prabhakaran's death controversial and some also resorted to Photoshop to prove that he is still alive.
The polarized Sri Lankan Blogosphere is buzzing with a lot of analysis and counter analysis on the developments.
Although the Sri Lankan government has been successful in finishing off the LTTE insurgency, its methods were controversial and much criticized. In Mutiny quotes a Time article which lists the Rajapakse doctrine of counterinsurgency.
Serendipity is critical of the Western media for not portraying the feeling of many Sri Lankans who were relieved and have celebrated the news of the end of the bitter war. The blogger accused the Western media for using sensationalism in their writings and urged the Sri Lankan blogosphere to help balance the biases by raising their voices.
Reacting on the news that the EU wants to organize a tribunal to investigate civilian deaths by Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE, The Whackster's Lair challenged the world to come to Sri Lanka and see with their own eyes whether the alleged war crimes happened for real. However sporadic incidents of kidnapping Tamil activists are still being reported in the media.
Criticizing the ban of foreign journalists and aid workers, renowned journalist John Pilger wrote that the sufferings of the Tamils are being unnoticed by the world and distant Tamil voices are not being heard. In recent times we have seen that the pro Tamil voices have become feeble due to intimidation and fear.
Sujai at Desicritics is not a supporter of LTTE but supports Sri Lankan Tamils’ desire and aspiration to establish a separate Tamil state on that island and asks:
“Can we ignore the history of how Tamils were targeted, discriminated, and marginalized in Sri Lanka? Does Sri Lanka have a prior record which suggests they are going welcome Tamils participation in that country? Can a Tamil become President of Sri Lanka the way a Sikh can become Prime Minister of India?”
Tamil protest in london, Image from Flickr by danie, used under a CC license
Musings from Toronto questions the Diaspora support for the LTTE:
I don't understand why they support the LTTE.  [..] I don't understand how they claim the LTTE is any better than the government of Sri Lanka.
But it would be wrong to think that all Tamils are supporting the LTTE. Amardeep at Sepia Mutiny posts a video of Tamil Canadian journalist Ignatius Sellah talking on CBC which tells a different view, that the Tamil protests in Canada were instigated by the LTTE arm in Canada.
Terms like “Genocide” have been indiscriminately used by LTTE which has overshadowed the real problems. Nilanjana at Sepia Mutiny quotes the human rights abuses of both the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE and writes:
Terms like “genocide” (and “terrorism,” for that matter) raise our blood pressure and focus our attention on those who have committed violence, but they don’t even begin to address how minorities can be more effectively represented and fairly treated in the future.
Indrajit Samarajiva at Indi.ca tells the Sri Lankan Diaspora:
It is not enough to lobby the UN or the ‘international community’ or the consciences of the fashionable thinkers of the global elite. [..]
To change Sri Lanka you need to reach the kid in the IDP camp, you need to work with the police office in Hambantota. You need to chat with the Muslims in Galle and the tea pluckers in Nuwara Eliya. [..]
Sri Lanka still needs its bright children to come home.
Gunaratne at Groundviews is amazed at “the mobilization of young people from the Tamil Diaspora around the world to organize protests against the Sri Lankan government’s purported human rights violations.” But the question is how to end the cycle of hatred?
Maybe once the conflict is over, they will come back to Sri Lanka to rebuild the country together. However, there is long way to go for reconciliation between the two communities as so much hatred has manifested, especially amongst the Diaspora overseas.
Appu's advice to the Tamils is to try something different:
Invest in your people, your lands, your future. You work wonders for your employers in other parts of the World, now do it for yourselves.
To do that however, you need to walk away from the bitterness that you are entitled to feel.
But how can the bitterness and disbelief be removed when there are still reports of human rights abuses? According to the latest reports, women were raped and men “disappeared” from the Sri Lankan refugee camps and the Red Cross has been banned from the entering the camps. Reports of revenge on Tamils have begun to appear. So sense of disbelief and worry is still present in many Sri Lankan Tamils. The future of many refugees in the IDPs is uncertain. The world needs to be aware of the situation and take measures to stop these human rights violations to pave the way for some kind of reconciliation.


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Sri Lanka: On The End Of The Conflict · Global Voices
Rezwan

London Lanka and Drums highlights some Sri Lankan blogs and blog posts that have written about the end of the civil war and comments: “Whatever our views, whatever our race and for differing reasons most of us would agree that this is one of the biggest single events in our lives.”


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Syria: How to make stuffed zucchini  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Syrian blogger Abu Fares shares a recipe for stuffed zucchini in yogurt sauce in this post.


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Tajikistan: Incidents at Tajik-Uzbek border · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Incidents at Tajik-Uzbek border remain very dangerous for people, Musafirbek says reporting on another border accident with a gunned civilian.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Sulphur Story  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As news breaks about the presence of excessive sulfur in the aviation fuel being used to refuel aircrafts in Trinidad and Tobago, This Beach Called Life criticizes the government's downplaying of the situation, saying: “If a company is making something as important as aviation fuel and does not have a procedure in place to check themselves then we can expect a repeat.”


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Uzbekistan: ISAF Logistics, Reloaded · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Peter Marton informs that Uzbek President Islam Karimov agreed to give a cargo airport in the city of Navoi for the airborne transport of NATO non-lethal supplies destined for coalition forces in Afghanistan.


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Armenia: Belated election blogging · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped says that the incumbent Mayor of Yerevan, Gagik Beglarian [AM], has started blogging ahead of next week's municipal election in the Armenian capital. However, the blog wonders why the blog has appeared only a week before the potentially controversial vote, but also says that with comments so far heaping praise on the ruling government party candidate, Internet users have hardly missed much.


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Bahrain: Our Need For Indians Is Like Our Need For Air · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Earlier this month, Bahrain announced that it would be ending the system of sponsorship of foreign workers, meaning that from August workers will no longer be dependent on their employer, but sponsored directly by the government's Labour Market Regulatory Authority, and will be permitted to change jobs without their employer's consent. The move is designed to stop the practice of Bahrainis sponsoring large numbers of workers, usually from the Indian subcontinent, and charging them a “visa fee” to work with another employer.
However, for some in Bahrain, which has demographic tensions and a problem with unemployment amongst its citizens, the idea of it becoming easier for foreigners to work in the country is worrying.
Blogger Mohammed Marhoon describes a recent experience:
At first I thought he wanted to sell me a bottle of water, but I didn’t see any water bottles in his hands. Here I should clarify that I mean mineral water, in Hindi “pani”, and what Mary's children [English-speakers] call “water”, so we are not subject to questioning or accused of belonging to any terrorist organisations. At any rate, I opened the window, and found he was asking for help: “Baba, am poor…I no money…God mercy your parents… poooor, baba, am pooor, baba.” I was surprised. Was it by chance, or are there hundreds like him? I won't focus on poverty and need here, as there are other communities just like him living all over Manama, and it isn't strange to see them – but this was the first time I’d noticed an Indian begging!
تستقطب منطقة المنامة يوم الجمعة من ساعات الصباح الأولى الهنود وهم “ضاربي دهن الراس”، “وثياب مكوية”، “وأذواق مختلفة” وتلاقح ثقافات وطقوس، فتجدهم يتبادلون التحايا ويتحاضنون “Hug’” ويصطفون لصلاة الظهر، يتدفقون من كل حدب وصوب.. لينتهي الحال الجلوس على عتبات باب البحرين عصرا.. وارتياد الكورنيشات.. يوم حافل لديهم..
The early hours of Friday morning in the Manama souq area attract Indians, with their oiled hair, ironed clothes, and different tastes. It is a meeting of cultures and rituals. You see them exchanging greetings and hugs, then lining up for the midday prayers. They come from all over the place, and in the afternoon end up sitting by Bab Al Bahrain, or visiting the corniche [waterfront promenade]. It is a busy day for them…
إذا ما نظرنا للأعمال المتعددة التي يقوم بها “الهنود” في خدمة الشعب من أصغرها حتى أكبرها، فمن غسيل السيارات، بيع الياسمين في الطرقات إلى بناء الشاهقات، المحلات التجارية، رياض الألعاب، وصولا لمدراء و”كبارية” أينما “قلبت” وجهتك فثمّة “هندي” ولا غرو في ذلك!
If we look at the numerous jobs Indians perform in serving people, from the youngest to the oldest, these range from washing cars and selling jasmine on the streets, to building skyscrapers, shopping complexes and playgrounds, all the way to being managers and tycoons. Wherever you turn your face there is an Indian, and this is no surprise!
تجدهم مصطفين بنتظام طابور طويل على آلة السحب الآلي “A.T.M” ذلك لأخذ كشف الحساب، على أرباب العمل أن يمنحوا الهنود شهادة راتب ليزيحوا بذلك العناء النفسي والهوس لدى عامليهم “يجي فلوس”،”ما يجي”، “ناقص موجود”،”أرباب كنجوز”.. ويخفوا علينا “شوي”.
الهنود هم أكبر الجاليات المنتشرة في العالم التي تقدر عدد أفرادها حوالي 25 مليون هندي يعيش حول العالم! شريحة واسعة في البحرين مع فتح باب “فري ويزا” راح يكون الوضع مرعب! أكرر أول مرّة أشوف هندي “بابا فقيير.. بيزات مافيي” يطلب في وضح النهار من السيارات المارّة هنا وهناك! اليوم متعقّد من الهنود صراحة..!!!
You find them lined up orderly in a long queue for the ATM, in order to get their account balances. Employers have to give the Indians a salary slip to relieve their workers from the stress of thinking, “Is the money coming?”, “It’s not coming”, “Some is missing”, “My boss is greedy”, and “This is too little”.
Indians are the community most widely spread around the world. It is estimated that 25 million Indians live abroad. A large number are in Bahrain and with opening the door to free visa workers, the situation will be scary! As I said, this was the first time I had seen an Indian saying, “Baba, am poor, no money.” In broad daylight he was asking the cars passing here and there. Frankly, I think today I have developed a complex about Indians.


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China and Taiwan: Support democracy · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David explains why Taiwanese should support democracy in China.


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East Timor: Dili stops on Friday mornings for cleaning · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

There is a new compulsory activity in Dili every Friday morning: the city stops to clean up the public spaces. Wiernie Walshe tells us about it in a guest post called “Limpeza Geral. Or, sweeping dirt by force“.

author: Sara Moreira


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Egyptian Tycoon Sentenced to Death · Global Voices
Nermeen Edrees

Egyptians witnessed the most unexpected verdict in the history of their judiciary system: Billionaire Hesham Talaat Moustafa, along with his hired hitman Mohsen El Sokary, have both been sentenced to death for their roles in the murder of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tameem. The gruesome murder took place in Dubai, UAE, and Thursday's sentence was met with shock and bewilderment as the blogosphere comes to terms with the verdict.
Egyptian prolific blogger Zeinobia broke  the news:
On May 21, Judge Muhammadi Qunsuwa announced the case will be referred to Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, the nation's highest religious official, who will rule on Moustafa's death sentence on June 25.
Shocking as it is to everyone, the verdict left the convicted in awe.  Journalist Ahmed El Desouky was among the first who reported the reactions from the court to the Egyptian online community saying:
Reactions fluctuated, between approval and support to the verdict to sympathy and sadness.  In her post, Desert Cat  was surprised that both Moustafa and El Sokary  received the same verdict:
Ahmed Shokeir answered her question in the comments section of this post saying:
The Egyptian real-estate tycoon’s supporters on Facebook, reacted to the verdict on “Free Hesham Talaat Moustafa’ group as well.
Ashraf Elmanwaty said:
I still have hope HTM will be free… This is an over  reaction judgment
While Miral El Ramlawy  wrote:
90% of Egyptians do NOT believe he did it and the court owes it to the Egyptians to announce what they based the verdict upon!! Phone calls that don't have any explicit message is NO PROOF…we are waiting for justification!
After the shock, analysis took place.  Zeinobia  explains:
•  when the judge says that that the papers of the convicted will be sent to the grand Mufti for consulting means in most situations that that convicted will face the death penalty. The death penalty needs the opinion of the grand Mufti to support it from the religious point of view ,the Sharia point of view to fulfill justice.It is not everyday that you order the death of someone.
•  In most cases if not all of them the grand Mufti approves and supports the judge’s verdict.
She then continues:
•  Second in case of Hisham and Sokary,the judge will announce the final verdict on the next 25th of June 2009 ,which is nearly about month and 5 days ,I believe it is a long period to stand in the death row.
•  Third when the judge announces the final verdict , the lawyers of the convicted will have the right to [appeal].
So there might be a second round which is what we will figure out on June 25th.
Meanwhile, there are questions and doubts about Hisham’s high profile real estate business.  The Mideast Institute Editor's blog reports:
The Talaat Mustafa Group (TMG), a huge real estate conglomerate through which Mustafa made his billions, doesn't want any stockholders to worry just because the company's founder and namesake is under a death sentence. A TMG official reassures investors:
Sawaftah said that TMG’s corporate structure prevents “the absence of one individual” from affecting its activity

author: Nermeen Edrees


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Iran: Face Book and Twitter got Filtered · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several Iranian sites and blogs such as demokracy reported that Face Book and Twitter got filtered in Iran.Ghomar,says [fa] President Ahmadinejad wants to beat his rivals in the presidential election and they are much more present than him in the world of internet including Face Book.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Japan: Children’s Day · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

At Hi, I am Ruther, a travel blog about Japan, two posts (Koinobori and Kabuto and Kashiwamochi)  describe [en] some customs and festivals related to the  Children`s Day (子供の日, kodomo no hi), celebrated on May 5th.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Japan: NHK says no to Takafumi Horie on backstage YouTube video · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Former Livedoor chief Takafumi Horie wrote on his blog that NHK, Japan's national public broadcasting organization, rescinded their request for an interview when Horie stated as his terms the right to videotape the interview and upload it on YouTube. Keita Akai is not surprised, saying that for NHK, allowing unlimited coverage of their reporting process would be to deny everything that the existing media stands for. The blogger at Halt387, while admitting that s/he's not a fan of Horie's, says that this is quite clever of Horie, who's had his share of run-ins with the media in the past.


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Korea: North Korea cancels all contracts with South Korea at the Kaesong Joint Industrial Complex · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

North Korea cancels all contracts with South Korea at the Kaesong Joint Industrial Complex.
There are several posts about this news.
1:
[…]북한이 계약서 알기를 휴지조각정도로 알고 있으니 그들과 신용이란게 생길 수 없죠. 신용이 장사의 기본이란건 누구나 알거라 봅니다. 아고라 바보들은 경제적인 비판이 들어오면 항상 개성공단은 경제적 문제보다는 북한에게 자본주의의 맛을 들이기 위한 조치라고 하는데 자본주의사회에서 계약이 갖는 의미는 상당히 중요한데 그게 왜곡된 자본주의의 맛이란 거의 양아치들의 삥뜯기나 다를바 없겠져. 또다른 바보들은 개성공단 폐쇄하면 북한이랑 관계 경색되어서 전쟁날거라고 하는데 그런 사람은 거의 망상환자라고 봐야 할겁니다. 북한도 아는것중 하나가 남한쳐들어가면 자기들이 지구상에서 지워져 버린다는 점입니다. 지금 돌아가는 것으로 보아서는 결국 개성공단은 폐쇄될겁니다. 그리고 아고라 바보들은 MB 가 석고대죄한거 처럼 말할겁니다. 개성공단 폐쇄되면 물론 당분간 남북관계 냉냉할겁니다. 한집에 사는 식구끼리도 언제나 웃는 얼굴로만 살지는 않습니다. 그렇다면 오히려 가식적인 집안이져 ㅡㅡ;; 남북관계도 마찬가지 아닐까요? 계약서 알기를 휴지조각쯤으로 아는 북한이라는 어린이에게 자본주의 교육시키는 남한입장에서 가끔은 매도 들어야 할겁니다.
2:
개성공단 남북 합작사건은 애초부터 남측의 짝사랑에서 시작된 잘못된 태동이었다  금강산관광 개성관광도 마찬가지이다 우리는 인도주의적 견지에서 북측에 실질적인 도움을 수없이 베풀었다 도움뒤에 따라오는것이 동족으로서의 화답이었으면 얼마나 좋았겠는가? 저들은 도와주고 뒤돌아가는 우리의 뒤통수에 항상 총구를 겨누어왔고 그행태는 지금도 변함이없다 동족의 어려움을 도우려는 의도는 당연하고 순수하고 아름다운것이지마는 북한의김정일은 이를 역이용하고 군비를 팽창하는데만 혈안이되고 인민들에겐 혜택을 주지않고있다. 잘못된태동을 반성하며 기업들의 존폐기로의 문제가있겠으나 정부에서 좋은방안을 강구해서 개성에서 철수해야할것이다.
3:
북한이 “6.15를 부정하는 자에게 6.15혜택을 줄수없다는 것은 자명한 이치”라며 새로운 조건에 합의하지 않으면 “나가도 좋다”고 발표했다. 이명박 정부는 출범과 동시에 2000년 6.15공동선언에 대해 “남북기본합의서”를 지키면 된다는 투로 말하면서 “결과적으로 우회적 파기선언”을 했다. 대북강경책!!이었다.
한나라당과 청와대 그리고 극우진영은 김대중, 노무현 양정권의 대북정책을 퍼주기로 확정짓고 “10년간 퍼주기해서 그 돈으로 미사일 만들었다” “인민을 굶겨가며 그돈으로 핵무기 만들었다”고 공격해 왔다. 그리고 이명박 정권의 성립후에 그러한 주장에 근거하여 이제 “더이상 퍼주는 방식의 대북정책은 없으며”, “남북관계에도 새로운 질서를 만들어야 한다”고 호기롭게 말했으나……. 북한의 강경한 입장에 따라 새로운 질서는 오히려 북한의 주도로 잡혀가고 있는 것으로 보인다.
6.15 공동선언의 결과로 공단이 생기고, 이를 위해 군사시설도 영향을 미쳤고, 싼임금으로 생산활동을 할수 있었는데, 이명박 정권이 그 선언을 “지켜야할 협약”에서 ‘제외'시켜버렸으므로, 합의결과에 따른 공단운영과 임금조건 등 여러특혜를 거두어들이는 것이 당연하다는 것이 북한의 주장이다. 간단명료한 논리다.[…]
한쪽에서는 경제영토가 개성과 금강산까지 넓어진 것으로 북한과의 경제협력은 우리가 퍼준것이 아니라 받은 것이 훨씬 크다는 주장을 하기도 했다. 최전방 군사지역인 이들 지역에서 북한군이 이동했을 테니 맞는 말이기도 하겠다. 이제 개성공단 문제가 더이상 풀리지 않으면 철거될 수 있을 것이고, 철수하거나 이동했던 군사력은 다시 더 남쪽인 이들지역으로 이동할수도 있다. […]
The Grand National Party, the Blue House, and extreme ultrarightists have been criticizing North Korean policies of Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo Hyun Governances, “they have dug money out to North Korea for 10 years and North Korea made missiles with that,” “North Korea made nuclear weapons with the money while people there have been dying to starvation.” Based on those arguments, the Government announced “there is not going be a North Korean policy to dig out our things to them,” “We need a new relation between North and South Korea…..” But now after the strong attitude of North Korea, it seems that the new order has been led by North Korea.
After the 6.15 Joint Declaration, factories have made, it has also influenced weapon facilities, and cheap labor fee could be possible in Kaesong. But the Lee Government “excluded” the declaration from “agreements we have to follow” and therefore North Korea insisted that conditions of management and of salaries and benefits that North Korea has given to South Korea based on the negotiation of the 6.15 Joint Declaration should be canceled. That’s a simple logic.[…]
Some people say that we had more economic land because we obtained Kaesong and Mt. Keumkang. Therefore we just didn’t dig our things out of North Korea and actually we obtained more benefits. And it is right that due to this North Korean soldiers left from the forefront. If the negotation between North and South Korea regarding the Kaesong Industrial Complex is not going well, those soldiers who left the forefront might come back south.[…]
4:
[…]북측은 남측 기업에게 개성공단의 광활한 토지를 장기 저임대료로 임대해 주었고, 임대료를 5년 간 유예해주는 특혜까지 제공했다. 이는 6.15공동선언과 < 우리민족끼리>라는 민족적 대원칙과 남북통일을 위한 북의 결단으로 볼 수 있다. 그런데 남쪽과 언론에서는 적반하장으로 개성공단에 대해서 ‘퍼주기'라 하고 북에서 ‘외화벌이'를 위해 개성지역을 개방한 것이라고 왜곡된 주장을 일삼았다. 이런 적반하장의 주장을 들으면서도 북측에서 그 동안 개성공단을 지속시켜 왔던 것은 < 우리민족끼리>라는 대의와 ‘통일 기반'을 위해서 남측의 악의적인 왜곡선전까지 감내해온 것이라 생각된다. 그런데 맹박정부 들어서 6.15공동선언과 10.4합의를 부정하고…[…]

author: Hyejin Kim


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Korea: The Death of the Least Corrupt President in Korean History with the Corruption Scandal · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Roh Moo-hyun, the previous president of Korea, died today. Suffering from the bribery scandal and investigation from the prosecution authority, the previous president who tried to live a quiet life in his hometown after his governance jumped off of a mountain behind his house. Without any clear evidence of bribery, the pressure from the judiciary and continuous chasing by theof media seemed to lead him to make the dramatic decision. His death shocks Korea. People are upset about this news and pending chaos in politics are cautiously predicted. People’s reactions seem to start from the Internet first.
A storm of posts and opinions regarding this shocking news:
한국이 그를 죽였다
역사는 당신을 기득권층에 맞서 서민들을 위해 싸운 대통령으로 영원히 기억할 것입니다.부디 저 세상에서라도 편히 쉬시고 다음에 태어나실때는 당신의 고귀했던 이상과 뜻을 마음껏 펼 수 있는 곳에서 태어나시길 빌겠습니다.
이나라의 사법부는 국민을 위한데 있는것이 아니라 권력에 빌붙어 가진자만을 위해 존재한다!!내주위에 돈은 없지만 옳은길을 가는 친구가 있다면 나또한 사비를 털어서라도 그를 도울것이다..도데체 노대통령이 무엇을 얼만큼 잘못했단단 말인가!!전직 대통령이 고향에서 환경운동하면서 살겠다는데 도데체 현정부는 무엇이 그리도 그가 미웠단 말인가!!오바마는 힐러리도 함께 손을 잡고 미국의 미래를 위해 정치하는데..노무현 대통령은 우리 서민의 희망이였다[…]
진정한 우리의 대통령이셨다는걸 훗날 역사는 말해줄것입니다.
현재 전세계 유튜브 , 구글 이용국가중 유일한게 대한민국만 어떠한 덧글도 달지 못하게 봉쇄되어있다 . 언론에서는 정확하지 않은 노통의 비리문제에 대해서 연일 발표를 하고 외신들은 조중동같은 언론의 말을 전할뿐이다 . 글로벌 개념의 매체에서의 한국민 덧글 봉쇄로 조중동의 발표가 진리인것처럼 포장되어 세계인들에게 알려지고 있다…. 얼마나 치밀하고 악독한 독재가 진행되고 있는지 다들 눈을 크게 뜨고 느껴보아라.
What did the current government do?
[…]착잡한 심정을 지울 수가 없다. 2002년 대선 때, 그렇게도 지지했었고 그 후 그렇게도 비판해 오던 사람이었는데…어쨌든 그가 대중에게 가장 가까이 다가선 인물이었고, 많은 젊은이로 하여금, 또한 네티즌으로 하여금 정치에 관심을 가지고 바라보게 만든 인물이라는 사실을 부정할 사람은 없을 것이다. 그의 죽음을 전해들은 이명박 대통령의 모습을 TV에서 보았다. 기분 탓인지는 모르겠지만 굉장히 초췌해 보인다. 설마하니 노무현이 자신을 내던져 가면서까지 무언가를 주장하리라고는 생각하지 못했을 거다. 아마 이명박 대통령은 그 누구보다도 노무현 전대통령의 서거에 가장 큰 충격을 받았을 거다. 여러가지 의미로.역시나 오늘 노무현 전대통령의 죽음을 애도하는 사람들이 모였다. 설마했지만, 역시나 전경들이 출동했다. 그리고 그를 추모하고자 모인 시민들과 충돌이 일어났다. 게다가 그의 서거가 알려지자마자 수사 종결을 선언하는 엽기적인 짓을 하기에 이른다. 이로서 이명박 정권은 그 스스로 또 하나의 업적을 기리게 된 것이다.
-전직 대통령을 살해한 정권.
-The government that murdered the previous President.
Did obssessed investigation and news before the detailed investigation cause this tragedy?
결국 노무현 대통령이 모든것을 않고 떠났습니다.”누구도 원망하지 마라. 운명이다.”평생을 권력과 싸워왔지만 결국은 어쩔수 없음을 운명으로 받아 들이시며 우리 곁을 떠났습니다.검찰….  조중동….  한나라당….  이명박…. 이제 만족하십니까? 속 시원하십니까? 그토록 원하는것이 이것이었습니까?
People don’t want to acknowledge this news.
[…]그런데 왜 당신은 몸을 던지셔야만 했나요. 너무나 슬픈 일입니다. 살벌한 독재시대 때 온몸으로 싸우셨던 노무현. 그 독재시대를 주물럭거리며 통치했던 사람들은 부끄럽게도 버젓이 살아있는데.왜 당신이 먼저 가야만 합니까. 부패를 넘어 수많은 민주인사들을 죽음으로 몰고 갔던 시대의 비겁자들은 저렇게 시퍼렇게 살아 뻔뻔하게 살아있는데.[…]
Supporters or non-supporters have the same feeling
[…]학교에서 배웠던 ‘정치'는 학교 밖에서의 ‘정치'와 너무도 달랐었다. 기존 정권에 대한 실망도 컸지만 그래도 그가 말한 ‘소신'과 ‘원칙'에 대한 믿음과 그만한 기대가 있었기에 그를 응원했었다. 열렬한 지지자는 아니었어도 보수 정권과 언론의 돌팔매질에도 꿋꿋한 그를 한 국민으로서 보호해 주고 싶었다. 그래서 난 오히려 거침없이 발언을 하는 그의 모습도 나쁘지 않았다. 오히려 인간적이다 싶었다.[…]
This post shows how everyone over the weekend react to this sudden tragedy. Many netizens wrote letters to him.
한 주의 피로를 풀어보려고 늦잠을 잤습니다. 무척 고된 한주를 보내고 맞이하는 토요일의 아침잠은 달콤했습니다.하지만, 늦잠을 자고 일어나 보니 세상이 난리였습니다.믿기지 않았습니다. 믿을수가 없었습니다.하루를 멍하니 뉴스만 바라봤습니다.똑같은 뉴스가 되풀이 되고 있음에도, 화면 가득 익숙한 사람의 얼굴만이 나오고 있어도 실감이 나질 않았습니다. 하루를 마감할때 까지 멍하니 있었습니다. 배도 고프지 않고 그냥 멍하기만 했습니다.
하지만 이제 인정해야 할것 같습니다. 노사모 회원도 아니고, 참여정부에 대해서 비판도 많이 했지만, 당신의 정치철학만은 위대하다고 느꼈습니다.암울한 해충의 시대에 들어서면서 부터 더욱 절실해졌습니다. 기득권에 대한 당신의 함성이 이토록 크게 느껴질때가 없었습니다. 그리고 당신이 우리와 같은 모습으로 넉넉한 웃음을 짓는 것이 큰 위안이 되었습니다.시간이 지나서야 당신의 외로움이 이해가 되었습니다. 기득권과 권위에 대한 당신의 도전이 얼마나 무모하고 위험한것이었는가를 깨닫게 되었습니다.정치적 철학을 이야기 하는 정치가는 많지만 실천하는 정치인은 별로 없습니다. 그런 의미에서 당신은 스스로 험난한 길을 마다않고 실천했습니다. 안주하지 않고 무모한 길을 묵묵히 걸어갔습니다.쉬운길을 택하지 않고 어려운 길이더라도 열정과 신념을 가지만 할수 있다는 것을 보여주었습니다.소수가 아닌 모두가 평등하다는 기본 원칙을 스스로 보여주었습니다.반백년을 이어온 오만한 권위로 부터 승리할 수 있다는 것을 보여주었습니다.아마도 그것은 희망이었던것 같습니다.모진 매를 맞아도, 비바람이 몰아치는 날씨에도 묵묵히 걸어가던 당신의 모습을 이제서야 기억합니다. 왜곡과 박해는 있어도 진실을 감출수 없다는 당신의 말도 기억합니다. 사람들은 바보 노무현이라고 불렀지만, 알듯 모를듯 웃음짓는 당신의 미소를 기억합니다.아마도 그것은 원칙과 소신을 가진자만이 느낄수 있는 여유로움이었던것 같습니다.
이제 인정해야 할것 같습니다.당신이 세상을 떠났다는 사실을 말입니다.그리고 기억해야 할것 같습니다.당신이 하고자 하는 말이 무엇이었는지, 우리가 해야할것들이 무엇인지를 말입니다.어제는 내가 세상에 태어난 날이었습니다.그리고 다음날은 당신이 세상을 떠난 날이 되었습니다. 잊지 못할것 같습니다.당신이 꿈꾸던 세상과, 이루고 싶었던 많은 것들은 결코 잊혀지지 않을겁니다.당신의 목소리를 듣던 사람들이 자라고 성장해서 당신이 꿈꾸던 세상을 만들수 있을겁니다.고생 많으셨습니다.이제 차별과 억압이 없는 그곳에서 행복한 시간 보내시길 바랍니다.
삼가 고인의 명복을 빕니다.
But I think I have to acknowledge it now. I am not a member of Rohsamo (association that loves Roh Moo-hyun). I criticized your governance, but I always thought your political philosophy is great. Since this horrible period (current government) started, I have felt more desperate to you. I have never felt how important your voice against the vested has been. And your familiar smile like ours comforted me. As time goes by, I could understand your loneliness. I realized how dangerous and risky your challenge against the vested and the authority was. There are many politicians who talk about political philosophy, but there are a few who make those happen. But you didn’t hesitate and tried to implement. You didn’t stop and kept walking your way. You didn’t choose the easy way. You showed that passion and belief can make it happen even though the process is not easy.You showed everyone not a few is equal. You showed that we can win against arrogant authority that has been kept more than 50 years. I remember you who kept walking in harsh times and storm weathers. I remember you said that even though there are distortion and persecution, the truth can’t be hidden forever. People called you dumb Roh Moo-hyun, but I remember your smile. The smile could be only from the person who has his own principles and belief.
Now, I think I have to acknowledge the fact that you left this world. And I should remember what you would like to say and what we have to do. Yesterday was the day I was born in this world. And today is the day you left this world. I will not forget. I will not forget the world you have dreamt and you would like to accomplish. The people who listen to your voice will grow up and will make the world you dream. You did so many things. I hope that you have nice time in a place that doesn’t have any discrimination and pressure.
I pray for the repose of your soul.


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Kuwait: Cinema Censorship, Quality Woes and Limited Telecom Services   · Global Voices
Amer Al-Hilal

Amer Al-Hilal here, salutations from scorching hot Kuwait! Following the Kuwaiti elections and all the previous political drama, bloggers are now focusing their energies on entertainment and technology posts, with Cinescape, the Kuwaiti national cinema company monopoly, taking the brunt of the criticism from younger viewers due to quality control and censorship woes.
We start off with BlogAllAlong  in a post entitled ‘Do You Feel Relaxed At A Kuwait Cinema?‘ which criticizes a study publicized by Cinescape (the Kuwait National Cinema Company) claiming that 96 per cent of audience members in Kuwait are satisfied with the cinemas and overall services. BlogAllAlong highlights the print and sound quality of the films, the excessive editing which now includes political themes (Cinescape does not have a ratings system like the rest of the Gulf countries) and more.
The blogger defends her point of view concerning her dissatisfaction with Kuwait cinemas:
Cinescape is using a study made by FAME (Film Audience Measurement and Evaluation), based in UK, which claims 96% of the movie-goers are not distracted, and happy with the movie visit. I tried to reach this study but this is the closest I got. The study as Cinescape puts it means that out of every 100 people I ask, only 4 should say they get distracted. I’m not sure how the case is in UK, and, but I’m sure it’s a totally different story here, and Cinescape is trying to fool advertisers with such numbers for the following reasons:
1- In the UK, people are usually more considerate to others watching the movie. If they don’t like it, or if they need to go out for something, they would do it quietly and try to bend low to avoid distracting others. They won’t at least stand up to clean their popcorn leftovers from their shirts during the film. Not to mention also how many people insist on coming late, and then taking all time they need to set down.
2- They enforce age limits there. Why does it matter so much? Cause here after they strip you of any food item before you go in, and then you pay triple the price or more for some snacks, you go inside to a +18 movie, and in the middle of the movie, a few months old baby starts to cry! Why on earth was this baby allowed inside anyways? You can keep out my bottle of water but you failed to see this baby going in?
3- Films here are censored (badly): Not only for porn and offensive scenes, but its reaching blood scenes in a vampire movie, and lately a friend of mine told me how a major political scene about the US immigration was censored. This doesn’t make any sense, and I doubt any movie-goer would be ok about it.
4- Quality of the movie: I’ve been to Flags of our Father, great war movie, and the sound was distorted. How disappointing? Other movies part of the screen was eaten from bottom and top a little.
I for one had cinema as a weekly thing. Now, I only go once every few months for the sake of change, or when there is a big hit movie I dont wanna miss or have spoiled. In those cases, I have to take great care in avoiding noisy and distracting audience. Most often than not, I can’t avoid distractions. I know many many people who also stopped or cut-short they cinema visits for the same reasons. So is the 96% satisfaction even close to real in Kuwait? Or is it just that people have no where else to go?
Marzouq in a post for Z District called ‘KNCC Confectionary And Seating‘ criticizes the seating arrangement reservations and the limited concession food availability from ‘Cinescape’ stating the poporn is subpar, for example:
Just recently going to the movies I remembered how bad the popcorn and nachos tasted at the KNCC. The popcorn was dry and really lacked flavor, and the Nachos were slightly stale. Even though they didn’t look that good I wanted them for the movie. I understand that KNCC wants to make as much money as possible from the film viewers, but still providing such bad quality food is very sad. I don’t know why they don’t produce sweet popcorn which is easily available from any company in the UK. They can get better recipes to make popcorn, how they can screw up popcorn so bad bewilders me. Honestly the popcorn that you make in your microwave tastes better then the one KNCC has, I just hope that at some point in time they hope to improve the food and selection, outsourcing would be better for them but knowing how closed minded they are I doubt they would even consider it citing quality control as an issue.
Alarzala in a post titled ‘Cinescape‘ criticizes the programming system at the Kuwait National Cinema company, in which it screens direct-to-video trash such as ‘Shark In Venice‘ and older films such as ‘White Noise 2‘ (2007) and blames the company for insulting the intelligence of its customers. Alarzala published two stills confirming his suspicions about the aforementioned films:
From http://3erzala.blogspot.com/2009/
Moving on to technology, NumberXIV in a post entitled ‘Telecommunication Monopoly in Kuwait‘ laments the monopoly that grips certain Telecom and ISP sectors in the country, stating that Kuwait is behind the rest of the Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia in opening up the sector. The blogger explains:
We suffer from the monopoly exercised by the Telecommunication Companies in Kuwait pertaining to new mobile technology such as Blueberry and IPhone.We have three telecommunication companies but unfortunately the BlackBerry services are strictly monopolized by Zain company,while in some countries in the region like SaudiArabia,Qatar and UAE the IPhone and Blackberry services are officially open for all the companies without any restrictions. The telecommunication technology is developing rapidly in the world while here in Kuwait it is so inferior even to the much poorer countries. I really don’t know until when this miserable situation will continue.This unfair monopoly is really pushing the hackers forward to invent all possible and illegal ways to connect between IPhone and Blackberry among the users in Kuwait. Believe it or not ,even Skype is blocked and no one can benefit from its fantastic services and technology except the hackers!! SO,in order for a user in Kuwait to be up to date with the latest technology in telecommunications,he/she must convert to a HACKER!! I THINK IT IS TIME FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO LAY DOWN NEW LAWS TO STOP THIS UNFAIR MONOPOLY AND OPEN A NEW ERA OF COMPETITION AMONG ALL THE THREE TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES IN KUWAIT WHICH WILL BE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE USERS OF THESE ADVANCED SERVICES.

author: Amer Al-Hilal


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Lithuania: Election Roundup · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

With a Grain of Druska writes that in Lithuania, “it is time for a younger, more energetic leader.” Eternal Remont mentions president-elect's karate skills: “[…] who wants to see the judo master Putin go against the black belt Grybauskaite in an ultimate fighting match?” More updates – at Lituanica: Dalia Grybauskaite's bio; the candidate that outgoing president voted for; possible replacement for Grybauskaite as EU commissioner; major policy changes under Grybauskaite aren't likely; Grybauskaite's views on economic development.


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Malawi: Malawi Election Coverage Using ICTs · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A video from PenPlusBytes about using Information and Communication Technologies to cover Malawi Elections 2009.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Malawi: Presidential Elections Results At a Glance · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

African Elections Project posts Malawi Elections 2009: Key Presidential Results at a Glance.


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Malawi: Time to heal campaign bruises · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

It is time for Malawi to heal 2009 campaign bruises: Mutharika said it was time for Malawi to heal “bruises of a gruelling campaign” and focus on developing the country. To prove his commitment to this endeavour, the president assured the opposition and all Malawians that he will not practice the politics of vengeance and retribution at all in the next five years.


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Morocco: Therapy Abroad, Apathy at Home · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

The global economic downturn seems to be affecting tourism worldwide, a sector upon which the Moroccan economy is heavily dependent, when it doesn't simply rely on agriculture.
Earlier in March this year, the Moroccan authorities have come up with a novel idea and launched an advertising campaign targeting main western markets to attract more travellers. Road shows were organized across western European countries. A website available in three different languages (French, Spanish and English) was created with a fashionable, trendy design and eccentric format, purporting the concept of Morocco as a healing destination. The site lists a series of imaginary modern diseases that may occur as a result of current insecure economic times and proposes Moroccotherapy, humorously, as an efficient treatment.
The ad seems to have struck a chord with blogger The View From Fez:
The Morocco Therapy website is beautifully designed and comes with its own doctor. It is available in English, French and Spanish. After an introduction by the good Doctor Karam, you are invited to take a rather bizarre test to see just what ails you. Then it is on to the diseases.
Targeted markets are democracies where arguably authoritarianism is no longer a “disease” that needs treatment.
Beyond the clichés, and with the forthcoming communal elections due in June 12 fast approaching, many bloggers reveal less glorious aspects of their country's political realities.
The Maid — Ouarzazate, Morocco by Cromacom in Flickr
Fatima, nicknamed La Marocaine, interviewed by fellow Moroccan blogger Le Politiquonaute Marocain, expressed deep concerns about the prospects of democracy in her country – the official line being the country is in a transition period and a rhetoric that hasn't changed in 10 years:
Transition. Ce mot me rappelle une citation de Hervé Serieyx “nous sommes toujours dans une période de transition entre deux périodes de transition” ! […]
[S]ur le fond, le pouvoir est toujours concentré entre les mains du roi. Alors transition démocratique je veux bien mais la transition est censée avoir un horizon et pour le cas du Maroc, j'ai peut-être raté un épisode, mais je ne le vois pas.
Many analysts, including Reporters Sans Frontières, have recently deplored the steady decline in the country's freedom spaces. Blogger Taha Balafrej quotes a report labelling Morocco as an authoritarian country:
C’est le classement 2008 de The Economist Intelligence Unit qui le dit !
Sur 167 pays examinés, le Maroc figure à la 120ème place, dans la catégorie régimes autoritaires. Les trois autres catégories sont celles des démocraties pleines, des démocraties avec des défauts et des démocraties hybrides.
Other bloggers go as far as calling for a boycott of the next polls.  Abu An'naji is one of them. Under the title “I Boycott, Then I Exist“, the blogger defiantly sends a message to electoral officials:
لم تتركوا لنا الخيار، لقد أصبحت قضية كرامة أن نقاطع و ألا نشارك ككومبارس في مسرحيتكم الرديئة….المقاطعة خيارنا و حقنا.
This sentiment is similar to the position expressed by Mimoun Um Al'id who comments sarcastically:
هذه الأيام نسمع كثيرا أن لنا حقا لا يجب أن نفرط فيه , و يحثنا المخزن [أو النظام] على أن نمارس هذه الشعيرة الوطنية , لماذا لا يختار هو بنفسه من” يمثلنا ” ويرضاه لنا دون أن يزعج نفسه و يتحمل مشاق المجيء إلى هذه المداشر البعيدة النائية , فكثيرة هي الحقوق التي لم نستفد منها و
لا بأس أن نتنازل أيضا عن هذا الحق التافه
!
But not all bloggers agree with the boycott approach. In an interview with Politiquonaute, award winning blogger Larbi, and one of the most influential Moroccan bloggers, pleads for a change from within the system:
[M]on rêve c’est d’être un jour maire d’une petite ville (genre Oued Zem ou Ksar Lekbir :) pour la transformer et mettre l’action des élus locaux au service des citoyens pour améliorer leur quotidien.
A y réfléchir sérieusement, un élu local ou un maire à plus de possibilités d’agir et changer les choses au niveau de sa commune. Et j’irais même jusqu’à dire plus qu’un député au parlement qui, au niveau national et en l’état actuel des institutions ; n’est là que pour la figuration politique.

author: Hisham Almiraat


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Pakistan: Local Resistance Against The Taliban · Global Voices
Rezwan

CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan informs that the local tribesmen near Swat Valley are forming militias (lashkars) to prevent the Taliban influence in the region. Earlier the Talibans executed many tribal leaders to weaken the domestic resistance against them.

author: Rezwan


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Russia: “Best Designed Russia Blogs” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sublime Oblivion rates a number of “Russia-watching” blogs by their design.


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Russia: Eurovision Roundup · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

In Moscow, Eurovision coincided with this year's Night of Museums (IZO) – and with an attempt to hold a gay pride parade, which was interrupted by riot police (Robert Amsterdam's Blog). Some more thoughts on this year's contest – at Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog.


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Russia: Foreign Pirates on Torrents · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Profy reports that “more than a half (52%) of all the visitors to all the web resources in the Russian internet segment are foreign pirates who rush to the local web resources looking for free content that is easily available on the popular Russian torrents.”


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Russia: Spiderman in Moscow · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A sighting of Spiderman in Moscow – by IZO, via LJ user mrparker.


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South Korea: Roh Moo-hyun dies · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Todd Thacker from Ohmynews International reported about South Korea former president Roh Moo-hyun's sudden death. Western media mostly assumed that Roh had committed suicide because of corruption scandal.


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Ukraine: Russian Ads; PM’s Hairdo; Crimea · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russian ads in Ukraine; Yulia Tymoshenko's hairdo; labor minister's text message interaction with her daughter regarding a government job offer for her father; the Crimean Tatars’ situation and the mess in the Crimean capital's city council – at Ukrainiana.


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Zambia: Final thoughts on HIV discrimination case · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The postponement of HIV discrimination case in Zambia is surprising: So the only reason for the postponement was that the lawyer assigned to the case from the Attorney-General’s office was unable to come to Livingstone from Lusaka for the trial today. A few reasons why I find this surprising. First, the date of the trial has been set for months now and both sides have been informed of the date.


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Arabeyes: The launch of Yamli bookmarklet · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Earlier this morning, Tunisian blogger Slim Amamou, announced on Twitter the launch of the Yamli bookmarklet that he, along with other Arab Techies, have developed in their Arab Techies Code Sprint 2009 in Cairo.
Yamli is a real time smart Arabic keyboard that allows users to type Arabic without an Arabic keyboard, from within their web browser. With this bookmarklet, you can now use Yamli on any website, with a simple click of a button.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Azerbaijan: Smiling dos and don’ts · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Once again comparing life in the UK with that of her native country, Scary Azeri in Suburbs looks at the cultural dos and don'ts of women smiling in Azerbaijan.


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Bangladesh: Tipaimukh Dam Threatens Lives · Global Voices
Rezwan

Despite protests from within India and Bangladesh, India is going ahead with the construction of the massive Tipaimukh barrage on the Barack river near the border, which will reduce the water flow in Surma and Kushiara rivers in Bangladesh. Onnesha.tk brings up this concern that by depriving Bangladesh of life-giving waters, the dam will effect adversely on millions of lives and result in desertification of vast areas.


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Brazil: Fighting against cyber surveillance · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Brazilian cyberactivists are again taking action against online surveillance in defence of the netcitizen rights. The Mega Não! protest has been triggered by the controversial digital crimes bill which aims to control cybercrime, raising serious issues on digital rights management and the free use of digital devices. There will be another demonstration tomorrow, 25th of May, this time in Rio Grande do Sul State. Check their twitter coverage out.


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Morocco: Eleven Killed in Deadly Stampede at Music Festival · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

At least 11 people were killed and 30 wounded on Saturday night, 23 May, during a music concert in Rabat, the Moroccan capital, at the Mawazine world music festival.
The incident happened when the festival was drawing to a close on Saturday night after a wire fence collapsed in the Hay Nahda stadium where over 70,000 spectators were packed.
The news was reported by The View From Fez and blogger Taha Balafrej who deplores a sad and regrettable incident:
D’autant plus […] que le festival Mawazine, aujourd’hui endeuillé, s’est imposé par sa programmation, par l’engouement du public, par la qualité des prestations et des moyens techniques, comme l’évènement populaire et culturel par excellence de la capitale, du Maroc et peut-être même du continent.
Also on Global Voices Online:
Morocco: When Arabs Rock


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Egypt: A visit to the glass factory · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

VagabondBlogger, an expat currently living in Egypt, wrote an inspiring post with illustrating photographs about her trip to a glass factory in Egypt.


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Egypt: Message to Obama · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

The Arabist linked to Voices for a Democratic Egypt head Dina Guirguis’ message in The Washington Post to US President Barack Obama, ahead of his expected visit to Egypt next month. She urged him to confront the Egyptian regime, and choose a neutral location for his speech.


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Indonesia: Presidential election survey · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Survey result shows Indonesia's incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is still leading among the candidates for the July polls.

author: Mong Palatino


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Indonesia: Wealthy candidates · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Jakartass reviews the wealth reports submitted by Indonesia's presidential candidates. Many of them have businesses outside of Indonesia.


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Influenza A(H1N1) cases in Southeast Asia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Several Southeast Asian countries have confirmed that some of their citizens have tested positive for Influenza A(H1N1) infection. The region is no longer swine flu-free.
Reacting to news reports about the discovery of a swine flu case in Malaysia, Nuraina A Samad fears the worst:
we know that there are those other passengers on the two flights who have not reported to the health officers. And multiply that by the number of people they have come into contact with….and so on and so forth. Scary, isn't it?
But…aaah, to think that just two weeks ago, the Swine Flu, — whoops, Influenza A or the H1N1 virus — was way yonder in far far Mexico.
Before you could say la Cucaracha, it flu to the US, Canada……and now it's here.
Othman bin Hj. Ahmad thinks it is already too late for Malaysia to contain the virus:
With the limited success in quarantining all passengers or people in contact with swine flu confirmed cases, coupled with the delay in testing and confirming these swine flu cases, it is too late to contain this swine flu.
Please note that many swine flu cannot be detected with these tests and many now appear like normal flu except that they are not resistant to Tamilflu unlike the normal flu in US. Malaysian normal flu may vary.
aeqmal onetale thinks Singapore should be doubly alert now that Malaysia already has a swine flu case:
Singapore has lowered its flu alert level from ‘Orange’ to ‘Yellow’; but Malaysia has just announced it’s first swine flu case yesterday afternoon. It’s not time yet to party and do keep your personal hygiene in check.
Thailand has confirmed that swine flu has entered the country as well. More than 20 people with flu symptoms are under surveillance. Not the Nation features a satirical article about the presence of “swird flu” in Thailand
The precautionary measure was based on speculation that a pig with swine flu spending time with a chicken with bird flu could lead to the outbreak of a new flu virus he called “swird flu”.
Cambodia is on alert after Thailand confirmed its 1st swine flu case. Recently, Cambodia is monitoring the health of three Cambodian-Americans who tested positive for swine flu. Meanwhile, a Vietnamese air passenger was quarantined in South Korea after exhibiting symptoms of being positive with the dreaded virus.
For want of a better title reminds us that there are deadlier diseases than swine flu:
If youre worried about H1N1, Don’t. There are 5 more deadlier diseases that are more virulent and have a better chance of killing you. Think Dengue, Ebola, AIDS, Cholera and Spinal Meningitis. I mean cholera has been around forever, and dengue is among us. I think I would worry about those a lot more.
See leong Kit warns against communal eating in Singapore. To prevent the spread of A(H1N1), he proposes the following:
-Health Promotion Board should mount an effective campaign to educate Singaporeans on “Eat The Hygienic Way” (using serving spoons) to complement its on-going efforts on ”Eat The Healthy Way” (more fruits and vegetables).
-National Environment Agency, using its licensing clout, to issue a compulsory directive for hawkers and restaurants to provide serving spoons automatically.
The Philippines has two swine flu cases already. The dominant Catholic Church is thinking of banning the holding of hands during mass as a measure against the spread of swine flu.
As the swine flu scare continues to grow, more and more people are getting paranoid about eating pork. This may explain why Cambodia’s rat meat exports to Vietnam are increasing in record numbers.