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Turkey: Lynch Attempt on Kurdish Members of Parliament in Sinop  · Global Voices
Baran Mavzer

Two-thousand angry protesters attacked and attempted to lynch members of a Kurdish delegation visiting Sinop, a city in the Black Sea region of Northern Turkey.
The visit of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and Democratic Congress of the People (HDK) was part of their tour to cities with relatively small Kurdish populations. BDP is the only party in parliament which stands for the Kurdish people's rights and is also known to be the legal and political wing of the Kurdish guerrilla organization, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK.)
BDP's decision to visit the region, known for its nationalist and conservative population, was a first in the history of the Kurdish movement, since the party focuses on eastern regions and big cities which of a mixed demographic.
At the end of 2012, the Turkish government started negotiations with the imprisoned leader of the PKK Abdullah Öcalan, for a solution to end the 30-year war between the Kurds and the government. At the center of these negotiations is a new constitution, that includes Kurdish identity and will not imprison Kurdish guerrillas who are fighting or have fought against the Turkish military.
The delegations visit to Sinop was the first step in starting a dialogue with the larger Turkish population to garner their support for the Kurdish-government negotiations.
But when the delegation arrived, protesters threw stones and shouted angrily at BDP's member of parliament Sırrı Süreyya Önder. To escape the the attack the BDP and HDK members raced into a nearby teachers’ lodge. The angry protesters then surrounded the building, threw rocks inside and also destroyed the vehicles of the BDP members. Two protesters climbed on the roof of the building to hoist a Turkish flag and a put up a poster of Atatürk, the founder of the country.
BDP members are trying to build a barricade on windows by using the tables and chairs. Picture is taken from Sirri Sureyya Onder's Twitter account.
One of the destroyed cars of BDP members. Picture is taken from Twitter.
During the protest, Sırrı Süreyya Önder shared these pictures on his Twitter account and tweeted:
@sirsureyya: Lincci fasist guruh iceriye tasve yanici madde atiyorlar. Polis birsey yapmiyor. Kendi onlemimizi aliyoruz. pic.twitter.com/yMChw5O0
The fascist, lynch group is throwing rocks and combustible materials inside. Police is not doing anything against them. We are trying to take precautions by ourselves. pic.twitter.com/yMChw5O0
A few hours later the protesters finally left the area, after policemen asked them, rather politely, to leave.
Diyarbakır, a Kurdish city at the south-east of Turkey, hosted protests a few hours later against the lynch attempt. The police responded to these protests with tear gas and water hoses. Protests then spread to other cities, including İstanbul and the capital Ankara.
Protesters left the area after policemen's polite requests of hours. Picture is taken from Ötekilerin Postası's Page.
BDP member of parliament Ertuğrul Kürkçü tweeted about the protests in İstanbul by sharing this picture:
Protests in İstanbul against the lynch attempt. Picture is taken from Ertuğrul Kürkçü's twitter account.
@ekurkcumedya: İstanbul'da eylem devam ediyor. pic.twitter.com/SF9IMD8z
Protests continue in İstanbul. pic.twitter.com/SF9IMD8z
There were mixed reactions to the incident on social media. Journalist Gonca Şenay tweeted a picture taken from inside the teachers’ lodge during the protest and tweeted:
@goncasenay: Sinop ogretmenevinde camlardan iceri giren olmasin diye alinan onlem sanirim cok sey anlatiyor…. pic.twitter.com/RcGWTULq
I guess, the barricades on the windows in Sinop Teachers’ Lodge tell us a lot.. pic.twitter.com/RcGWTULq;
Columnist Hayko Bağdat shared a picture of Sırrı Süreyya Önder while he was building a barricade on a window by tweeting:
@haykobagdat: Sırrı Abi Sinop'ta barışı inşa ediyor…  pic.twitter.com/OlDCW8um
Brother Sırrı is building the peace in Sinop… pic.twitter.com/OlDCW8um
Twitter user B. Akoz shared a a picture of a banner that protesters were holding. The banner says: “Leave Sinop. Only three things can silence Sinop Youth Platform. Sound of Azan (call for prayer), a moment of silence, the Turkish National anthem…”
Here is Akoz's tweet that mentions the “SinopDurDedi” (Sinop said stop) hashtag which was started by the supporters of the Sinop protests:
@BerkAkz: Helal olsun bplı pkklılara Sinop DurDedi mecliste kimse dur diyemedi ama Sinop DurDedi çocuk katillerine .. pic.twitter.com/1or2xKtI
Good, Sinop said stop to the BDP and PKK members. Nobody could say stop in the parliament but Sinop said stop to the child killers… pic.twitter.com/1or2xKtI
Another Twitter user shared a picture of a destroyed car of BDP members and tweeted:
@ErolOnay60: Sinoptaki Bdp'lilerin arabasını Sinoplu kardeşlerimiz yeniden şekillendirmiş :)) Sinop DurDedi pic.twitter.com/PBdW1TWh
Our brothers in Sinop reshaped the car of BDP members :)) Sinop said stop. pic.twitter.com/PBdW1TWh

author: Baran Mavzer


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Matisse Bustos Hawkes, Witness and the Power of Video · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Witness, an international non-profit organization that, for the last 20 years, has been using the power of video and narrative to open the world's eyes to human rights’ abuses, participated in the most recent Global Voices Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
In the panel discussion entitled “The Global Rise of Citizen Media,” Witness’ communications manager, Matisse Bustos Hawkes, spoke about how the different uses and applications of video are changing the dynamic of human rights defense. She also presented the issues raised by using video:
Now that we can shoot and share video instantaneously, how can people control the information they're sharing about themselves and the people they film. [Matisse] tells the story of a woman who tells her story, and whose face is obscured in the video to protect her identity. She shows efforts by the Iranian government to crowdsource the identity of protesters. Wael Abbas is using the livestream platform Bamboozler, which shares the location of livestreams. His friends can track where he is; so can the police.
View Matisse's talk in the following video:
This is not the first time that Witness and Global Voices have worked together. In fact, in 2007, a video jointly produced by Witness and Global Voices was the winner of the One World Media award. In 2012, GV republished articles by Witness and reported on a number of its activities, including this article by Juliana Rincón about the video series designed to teach activists how to film protests:
The five-part video series, created with the support and insight of video activists, provides important information for anyone who might find him or herself with a camera in the midst of a news-worthy event such as the Occupy Protests, the Syrian Uprising and anything else. The five videos in the series cover topics such as preparing to film, choosing the right equipment, filming protests in a team, capturing quality image and sound and conducting interviews.
After her presentation, I spoke briefly with Matisse about Witness and other aspects of video:
A number of Witness-supported or Witness-produced videos on Latin America, many of which document forced evictions in Brazil (on account of the World Cup) and in Mexico (to build dams), can be found on the playlist Forced Evictions, with articles on this same topic listed on this Witness blog page. One video that provides a global overview of the topic of forced evictions is People Before Benefits, which can be viewed with Spanish subtitles.
This playlist deals with the problem of the disappearance of women in northern Mexico (Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez) and includes Dual Injustice, produced in 2005 by Mexico's National Human Rights Commission and Witness. Bound by Promises raises the issue of rural slavery in contemporary Brazil.
An interesting series of Witness videos that trains activists in the use of film to defend human rights is Video for Change. A number of videos in this playlist can be viewed in Spanish. An on the topic of training, this video was recorded at a Witness workshop in Paraguay during the Americas Social Forum in 2010.
Browse more videos on Witness’ YouTube channel.
Related posts:
Chris Moya, SpainRevolt and Cyberactivism
Afef Abrougui, Blogging From Tunisia
Talking With Rebecca MacKinnon About ‘Consent Of The Networked’

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Juan Arellano


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Mauritanians Protest Tahrir Square Assaults · Global Voices
أحمد جدو

A protester saying “No Harassment” by “Mauritania Today” on Facebook.
On Tuesday February 12, 2013, a group of Mauritanian activists staged [ar] a protest in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital, against sexual harassment and rape which Egyptian women are being subject to in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
The event was organized by “Etkelmi” (Speak up in Arabic) [ar – fr], an NGO fighting against rape in Mauritania. Mekfoula Brahim salutes all those who took part in it [ar]:
شكرا لكم يا مواطنو ا العالم على وقفتكم امام السفارة المصرية فى انواكشوط لدعم نساء مصر اللائى يمارسن حقهن فى التظاهر السلمى فى مصر وعلينا جميعا القيام بوقفة اخرى احتجاجا على دعم الارهاب علنا من طرف الكثيرين والتأصيل له فى ثقافتنا المنفتحة

author: أحمد جدو


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E-Journal on Balkan History and Archaeology · Global Voices
Vasilka Dimitrovska

Haemus journal Vol.1 (2012)
http://haemus.mk
The inaugural issue of Haemus Journal, an academic e-journal devoted to the history and archaeology of the Balkan Peninsula, also covering a wide range of related interdisciplinary topics, was published recently. It follows the principles of Free and Open Access and publishes its content under a Creative Commons license.
Haemus Journal is a publication of ‘HAEMUS‘ – Center for Research and Promotion of Culture, based in Skopje, the Republic of Macedonia. The publishers hope that the serious and thorough approach, as well as the quality of the content, will cause interest in the academic community, thus helping to establish a longstanding, effective scholar co-operation.

author: Vasilka Dimitrovska


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President Correa, “Citizens Must Control Technology”  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

It is increasingly important that citizens control technology. That is why we must expand the use of these open tools in our society.
The Free Software Association of Ecuador has published an open letter [es] to the recently re-elected president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, encouraging him to take action and enforce the use free software in his administration in response to a bid by the Internal Revenue Service to acquire licenses from Microsoft Office.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Saudi Arabia: Activist Accuses Judge of Conflict of Interest · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

This post is part of our Special Coverage: Reformists on Trial in Saudi Arabia
Earlier today, February 20, 2013 the first hearing session for Saudi Political and Civil Rights Association (ACPRA) co-founder Dr Abdulkareem al-Khadr was held at Criminal Court in Buraidah, the capital of Al-Qassim Province in north central Saudi Arabia. The session was supposed to be held two weeks ago, but the judge did not attend. Two of the association's co-founders, Dr Abdullah al-Hamid and Dr Mohammad al-Qahtani, have been already under trial and contentious weekly interrogation for the previous six months. al-Khadr is the author of several papers making the case for political and civil rights from an Islamic prospective, contradicting the state's official positions.
The list of charges against al-Khadr was published by ACPRA. It was similar to the ones that are against al-Hamid and al-Qahtani and both of them included [ar]:
A photo taken inside the courtroom via @alajmi01
Over 50 attendees managed to get into the courtroom, but tens of others were unable to do so because the courtroom was small. Unlike the hearing sessions that were held in Riyadh, the attendees were also allowed to get their phones in and to take photos.
Back in 2008, al-Khadr headed al-Hamid's defense team when he was charged of supporting demonstrators in front of the same judge who found al-Hamid guilty and sentenced him to four months in prison. al-Khadr's defense team asked the judge to quit the case because of a personal conflict between him and the defendant that may be related his earlier role. The judge said that the court head is responsible for such decision.
The public prosecutor demanded preventing al-Khadr from traveling, and applying Article 6 of the Cybercrime Law [ar], the punishment of which is:
يعاقب بالسجن مدة لا تزيد على خمس سنوات وبغرامة لا تزيد على ثلاثة ملايين أو بإحدى هاتين العقوبتين
Imprisonment for up to five years and a fine of up to three million riyals [~800,000USD], or one of these two punishments.
The next hearing session will be held on April 10th.
This post is part of our Special Coverage: Reformists on Trial in Saudi Arabia

author: Anas Soliman


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Thai Paper Reveals Rape Victim’s Name · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The publication of the full name and personal documents of British sexual assault victim in Thai media outlets raises yet again the issue of lacking ethics in Thai mainstream media when it comes to reporting about crimes and the persons involved in those.
Saksith Saiyasombut criticizes Thai media papers for publishing the identity of a rape victim

author: Mong Palatino


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The Bobs Awards Are Back – Nominate Your Favourite Sites & Microbloggers today! · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

That blog or online activism site you visit each day without fail. That microblogger whose 140 characters sparkle with such wit and insight. Here's your chance to have those sites and users rewarded for their excellence by nominating them for the Bobs, Deutsche Welle's 9th annual international blog and social media awards.
Started in 2004, the Bobs—originally an acronym for “Best of Blogs”—were conceived by the German broadcaster as a means of demonstrating that blogging, then in its infancy, “was worthy of being taken seriously and to point to the excellent examples of work being done online to foster dialogue across language barriers.” In 2005, Global Voices was the winner in the Best Journalistic Blog category.
As the citizen media landscape has changed, the Bobs have adapted to suit. Today, Deutsche Welle describes the Bobs more broadly as honouring “websites in 14 languages that champion the open exchange of ideas and freedom of expression.”
Global Voices is a Bobs media partner once again this year, and three members of the Global Voices community will sit on the 15-person international jury—Global Voices en Français editor Claire Ulrich, Middle East and North Africa author Tarek Amr, and myself. The jury will meet for two days of deliberations in May to select winners in the six main categories. Winners in the other categories will be decided by the public through an online vote. In 2012, the Bobs received over 3,300 submissions, and over 66,800 online votes were cast.
Members of the public can submit nominations in 34 categories in any of the following languages: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Hindi, Turkish or Ukrainian—the latter three are new additions to this year's language line-up. Also new this year is an award for microblogging, with nominations being sought for the best users of Twitter, Weibo and other platforms. Awards for Best Blog and Best Person to Follow will be awarded for each languages, with blogs in all 14 languages vying for the top prize in the other four categories.
Eligible web sites must be accessible to the public, with no password restrictions or registration requirements. Nominations for the Bobs are open until March 6.
Bobs web site in English: http://thebobs.com/english/

author: Georgia Popplewell


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[Webcast] Thoughts On The Fallout from Kony 2012 · Global Voices
Berkman Center for Internet and Society

Every Tuesday, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society hosts a public lunch gathering in our conference room in Boston. Each session involves a short presentation by a guest speaker or one of our community members, talking about a challenge that emerges from his or her current work. We are excited to partner with Global Voices to bring these presentations to a wider audience.
Title: The Next 27 Minutes Are An Experiment: Thoughts On The Fallout from Kony 2012
Date: February 19, 12:30pm ET
Presenter: Ruha Devanesan, Executive Director of the Internet Bar Organization and Berkman Fellow
On March 5th, 2012, the American nonprofit, Invisible Children, published a video called “Kony 2012″ on the social video-sharing network, Youtube. Within six days, the video was dubbed the “most viral video in history,” beating out pop artists Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Beyonce’s music videos in how quickly it hit 100 million views. Much has been written on the Kony 2012 phenomenon by journalists, bloggers and academics. My aim in this talk is to only briefly summarize their thoughts and my own on the successes and failures of the initial Kony 2012 campaign, but then, more importantly, to explore the way in which Invisible Children has responded to criticism and adapted its messaging, and to ask what lessons can be learned by the human rights advocacy community from Kony 2012 and Invisible Children's subsequent actions.
Ruha is the Executive Director of the Internet Bar Organization, a nonprofit organization working to improve access to justice through technology through applied research in the fields of Online Dispute Resolution, mobile technology for dispute resolution, ICT4D, ICT4Peace and digital-economic inclusion for individuals in emerging economies. In her capacity as Executive Director, she has led the design and implementation of several tech-focused social justice initiatives, of which PeaceTones is her personal favorite. The PeaceTones Initiative helps talented, unknown artists from developing nations build their careers while giving back to their communities. Through PeaceTones, Ruha and her team are looking to rework the traditional record label into something more fair to the artist, while teaching musicians the legal, marketing and technology skills they need to succeed as social entrepreneurs of their own making.

author: Berkman Center for Internet and Society


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Bengali Language History Not Lost on Youth · Global Voices
Rezwan

Farah Subhan at Amader Kotha highlights how Bangladeshi youth feel about 21 of February, the day commemorating the martyrs of the Bengali language movement, also known as the The International Mother Language Day.

author: Rezwan


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A Fistful of Bloggers: Russian MP Pressured to Resign · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

It's not often that Russian anti-corruption activists can boast about their results. This week is one of those times. On February 12, 2013, head of RossPil and Coordinating Council of the Opposition member, Alexey Navalny, wrote [ru] a long post accusing the Chairman of the Duma Ethics Committee, Vladimir Pekhtin, of breaching parliamentary ethics. He alleged that Pekhtin has failed to declare over two million USD worth of Florida real estate in his Declaration of Income and Assets [ru]. Russian officials are obligated to make such declarations. Remarkably, after several days of incessant harrying from media and bloggers like Navalny, on February 20 Pekhtin finally resigned [ru].
A crudely photoshopped image of Vladimir Pekhtin in front of an ocean-front property being passed around RuNet. Anonymous image freely distributed online.
As head of the Ethics Committee, Pekhtin has long been openly hostile to the three Just Russia MPs who also happen to be active members of the opposition — the Gudkovs (father and son), and Ilya Ponomarev. Last summer Pekhtin accused them of instigating the crowd at a May 6, 2012 rally that turned violent, prompting Dmitry Gudkov to invent the term “pekhting” [ru] to describe such political pressure. This history and Pekhtin's position made accusations against him even more biting.
Although Navalny got most of the credit for breaking the story, the detailed minutia of real estate contracts for Pekhtin's two apartments and a plot of land in Miami was originally worked out [ru] by a newcomer to online anti-corruption activism. The legwork was done by Dr. Z, a physicist blogging from Spain [ru], who started his blog last spring [ru], stating:
Мое хобби – антикоррупционные расследования.
My hobby – anti-corruption investigations.
Before he published the Pekhtin story, Dr. Z dabbled in substantiating plagiarism accusations [ru] against several Duma deputies. Then, on February 6, he posted detailed guidelines [ru] on how to track down foreign property owned by Russian politicians, using Western public domain records and registries. Pekhtin appears to have been the first of Dr. Z's forays into such research. Curiously, while Navalny thanked Dr. Z for giving him a “heads up” on Pekhtin, he never made it clear that around 80% of the materials he posted were first found and published by Dr. Z. Navalny also didn't link to the original post. Dr. Z doesn't seem to mind — at least he hasn't publicly complained.
While Dr. Z's allegiances are unclear (one blogger [ru] has interpreted some of his interviews to mean that he is backed by former Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin and a group of government officials hostile to the siloviki), his results are impressive. Pekhtin's resignation came as a surprise to many, including Navalny, who complained [ru] upon seeing the news:
Немного жаль $189 долларов, которые нам прийдётся заплатить за получение, апостилирование и пересылку оригиналов документов о его недвижимости. Они придут в Москву завтра, но уже не пригодятся (а может и пригодятся). Было бы славное разбирательство.
I'm a little sorry for the $189 dollars that we are going to pay for the delivery, notarization, an forwarding of the original documents on his real estate. They will arrive to Moscow tomorrow, but now they won't be needed (or maybe they will). It would have been a grand inquest.
Most, including publicist Dmitry Olshansky, predicted that nothing would come of the accusations — Pekhtin didn't do anything criminal, just unethical, and Russian politicians tend to protect their own. Olshansky compared [ru] Russia to a third world country:
Однако печатать остроумные разоблачения в Нью-Йорке – это одно, а делать то же самое где-нибудь в Африке – совсем другое. Если в Нью-Йорке разоблачитель добьется позора, судов и отставок на голову своих героев, то в Африке он будет долго прикреплять свои бумажки к пальмам и баобабам, а потом приедут государственники с чулками на головах и увезут разоблачителя неизвестно куда.
But publishing clever exposes in New York is one thing, and doing the same somewhere in Africa is another. If in New York the whistle-blower will achieve shaming, trials, and resignations for his subjects, in Africa he will spend a long while affixing the posters to palms and baobab trees, and then state supporters with stockings on their heads will come and take him away who knows where.
But, of course, a resignation was precisely what happened. Why? Perhaps Pekhtin was simply not important enough to protect — after all, by the standards of corrupt Russian officials two million dollars worth of real estate is practically peanuts. Or maybe, Putin, who has already distanced himself from the ruling United Russia party, is himself gearing up to corner the market on fighting graft. Pekhtin's sworn enemy, MP Dmitry Gudkov, was not particularly happy with that idea, or with how the deed was done, tweeting [ru] darkly:
Я,кстати,не радуюсь отставке Пехтина. Все равно решение приняли за него в Кремле. Я против размандачивания без суда и следствия.Даже Пехтина […] Отставкой Пехтина все не закончится. […] Закончится роспуском ГД, думаю
By the way, I'm not that happy with Pekhtin's resignation. The decision was made for him in the Kremlin anyway. I am against stripping office without trial and investigation. Even for Pekhtin. […] It won't end with Pekhtin's resignation. […] I think it will end with the parliament dissolving
DemVybor's second in command, Kirill Shulika, disagreed [ru], thinking that its more likely that Putin is finally becoming embroiled in faction-based elite infighting:
Есть мнение, что теперь Путин будет сдавать всех попавшихся, но мне думается, что это не совсем так. Скорее, если брать Думу, будет баланс между “Единой Россией” и оппозицией, а если брать исполнительную власть, то тут жертвы будут в межклановых войнах.
There's an opinion that now Putin will give up anyone who gets caught, but I don't think so. More likely, if you take the Duma, there will be a balance between “United Russia” and the opposition, and if you take the executive branch, the victims will come from inter-clan warfare.
Regardless of the upshot, there is one bright thought: apparently, even in Russia, internet campaigns against corrupt officials aren't completely useless.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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China Not Blocking Hack Attack Discussion · Global Voices
Abby Liu

U.S. cyber security firm Mandiant has reported that the Chinese People's Liberation Army is behind many cyber attacks against American organizations, but the usually heavy-handed Chinese government is not blocking online discussion of the news, according to TeaLeafNation. Taiwan-based Next Media Animation has produced a cheeky animated explainer of the hacking revelations.

author: Abby Liu


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North Korea Breaks YouTube Rules Again · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

It's been less than a month since a video uploaded by the official North Korean account Uriminzokkiri was removed from YouTube on grounds of copyright infringement. Now another propaganda video has been removed for using the soundtrack of a video game without consent. North Korea Tech explains in detail about the recurring copyright infringement cases.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Chile Takes Twitter User to Court Over Parody  · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

A Twitter user is facing jail time in Chile after a powerful business mogul accused him of identity theft for creating parody accounts on the microblogging site.
Attorney Rodrigo Ferrari Prieto was charged [es] on February 19, 2013 as the man behind the now inactive @losluksic, @andronicoluksic, and @luksicandronicoparody Twitter accounts, which mocked Chilean business tycoon Andrónico Luksic [es] and his familiy [es].
If convicted, Ferrari Prieto could face up to a year and a half in prison.
According to Luksic's lawyer, the Twitter user not only published tweets under his client's persona, but also published personal pictures and made inappropriate comments that damaged his image.
Andrónico Luksic. Photo from Wikimedia Commons used under license (CC BY-SA 2.0).
Digital rights activists have said the case is a violation of online freedom of expression. For his part, Ferrari Prieto has said that he is only responsible for the @losluksic account – with an avatar that featured money raining down and a description that read, “we have tons of money” – and that it was part of a joke and therefore should not be considered a crime.
Adding to the controversy, a key element in the investigation that led authorities to the owner of the account's identity was, according to the prosecution, an international request sent to the United States State Department asking them to mediate so that Twitter would deliver the information of the account owner and its IP.
Luksic became a trending topic on Twitter in Chile after news of the formal charges against Ferrari Prieto broke.
Journalist and radio host Nacho Lira (@nacholira) [es] pointed out:
@nacholira: Para cualquiera que la haya leído, hay un abismo de sentido común entre la cuenta de parodia @losluksic y la usurpación de identidad.
@nacholira: For anyone who read it, there's a common sense abyss between the parody account @losluksic and identity theft.
User Sed Non Satiata (@mysickness) [es] made a comment regarding President Sebastián Piñera, who is a common target of Twitter jokes:
@mysickness: o sea que podemos weviar a @sebastianpinera pero a un #luksicnicagando #chile
@mysickness: so we can prank @sebastianpinera but #luksic no way #chile
Twitter user @elquenoaporta [es] jested that if the mogul became angry enough, he could end the problem by buying Twitter:
@elquenoaporta: El viejo podría irse en volá, hacerle una transferencia a Jack y cerrar esto. Digo, la billetera le da. Del terror.
@elquenoaporta: The old man could overreact and make a transfer to Jack to put an end to this. I'm just saying his wallet has enough cash. Terrifying.
Journalist and photographer Autherpen (@Autherpen) [es] spoke ironically of the case since it involves a businessman with a hand in the media industry:
@Autherpen: Curioso q el dueño de un canal de TV como es #Luksic persiga la libertad d expresión, en este caso, d la sátira a rostros públicos.#irónico
@Autherpen: It's curious that the owner of a TV channel like #Luksic prosecutes freedom of expression, in this case, the satire of public figures. #irónico (ironic)
Journalist Felipe Bianchi (@bianchileiton) [es] condemned that users defended Rodrigo Ferrari:
@bianchileiton: Me perdí. ¿En serio para algunos el tema es la plata de Luksic y no el delincuente que lo suplanta? tamos claritos
@bianchileiton: I'm lost. Really, for some people the issue is Luksic's money and not the criminal who impersonates him? We are clear.
Others, like lawyer Luis Mariano Rendón (@lmrendon) [es] remembered the scandal [es] in which Luksic was accused of asking for a judicial favor from Vladimiro Montesinos, intelligence adviser of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori. Rendón wrote sarcastically:
@lmrendon: Q barbaridad !! Manchar el nombre de una persona tan honorable como Luksic !! Se acuerdan de los vladivideos?http://www.economiaynegocios.cl/especiales/caso_lucchetti/index.htm …
@lmrendon: Outrageous !! Tarnishing the name of such an honorable person like Luksic !! Do you remember the vladivideos? http://www.economiaynegocios.cl/especiales/caso_lucchetti/index.htm …
Lawyer Claudio Ruiz from the nonprofit online human rights organization Derechos Digitales (Digital Rights), and member of the defense team, commented on the case on FayerWayer [es]:
“atenta contra el ejercicio de la libertad de expresión. Hoy cualquier tipo de cuenta en Internet que intenta ser una sátira de una figura pública constituiría un delito de usurpación de identidad. Este caso se mantiene sólo porque se trata de Andrónico Luksic” […]
Un caso como el de Rodrigo no habría llegado a juicio jamás en Estados Unidos, Twitter no habría entregado la información, porque sólo la otorgan con una orden judicial. No lo hizo con WikiLeaks, o sea, ése es el estándar que tienen” […]
En definitiva, lo que se obtuvo fue una dirección IP desde donde se conectaba la cuenta @losluksic, lo que de todos modos podría ser cuestionable, porque una IP puede ser utilizada por diferentes personas
“it puts in danger freedom of expression. Today, any type of Internet account that intends to be a satire of a public figure would be consider an identity theft felony. This case is only viable because it's about Andrónico Luksic” […]
A case like Rodrigo's would have never reached the court in the United States, Twitter would've not handed in the information, because they only give it away with a judicial order. They didn't do it with WikiLeaks [es], so you can see the standard they have […]
In conclusion, what they obtained was an IP address where @losluksic logged in, which in any case could be questionable because an IP can be used by several persons.
This is not the first time that Andrónico Luksic has intervened in matters of freedom of expression on the Internet and offline. Only a week ago, news broke of the blocking of a YouTube video [es] with an extract of the book “Impunidad Diplomática” (Diplomatic Impunity) by Francisco Martorell – the video is supposedly available now on Vimeo [es] – due to a Chilean court order. The book, published in 1993, talks about scandals that involved the Argentinean ambassador in those days and important Chilean politicians and businessmen, Luksic being among them.
“Diplomatic Impunity” never reached Chilean bookstores – even after the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights considered the fact a violation of the American Convention – also thanks to a legal resource the tycoon presented that was afterwards confirmed by the Supreme Court. The YouTube blocking is also relevant because its the first recorded case of content censorship by Chilean Courts on this social platform.
Luksic Group [es] controls companies from diverse industries such as mining, forest, finance, food and mass media and its fortune is said to be $17.8 billion dollars.

author: Elizabeth Rivera


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Global Voices in Sesión de Control · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

We are pleased to announce that, as of a few weeks ago, Sesión de Control, an online Spanish political affairs magazine, is republishing articles from Global Voices on its website. Sesión de Control is quite a new site launched in November of last year. Although it is mainly focused on local Spanish politics, it also counts on the participation of people writing from Argentina, Venezuela, Peru, United Kingdom, Brussels, Uruguay, Mexico and Chile, to tell first-hand what happens in those countries.
On the information page about the project, the administrators explain that they created the magazine:
“Because we are convinced that, even though the opposite is believed, politics is indeed interesting. Everything is politics if you pay attention: the music you listen to is politics, the social movements make politics, and the movies you watch at the cinema express political ideas… But politics is in crisis. It is in crisis because the political language is obscure, because it´s hard to understand how our institutions work and why things are done that way, because the citizens feel our representatives are more and more distant from our reality and unconnected to our problems, because we don´t trust in our leaders’ honesty and professionalism.”
In a short e-mail exchange with Borja Ventura, project director, he explained to me that his interest in the Global Voices content is part of an opening of the project to diverse content; for example, they also republish the content of prestigious digital friendly publications, such as the scientific Materia, cultural Yorokobu, the platform Qué hacen los diputados (What the deputies do) and the African publication GuinGuinBali.
He also added that he was particularly interested in Global Voices because:
Firstly, the interest of what it says and secondly, the format in which it tells it: avoiding the traditional mass media to give a voice to the direct witnesses of the stories is an idea that connects perfectly with what we want to do in our magazine, to bring politics closer from a less “official” perspective than the traditional one. In addition to the above, the possibility of knowing first hand the reality of different bloggers from all over the world and rely on a “window to the world” through a network that works in several languages and dozens of places on the planet, It's the perfect opportunity to find out what goes on in places where some people don't necessarily want others to find out what happens there.
The content of Global Voices in Sesión de Contol can be found here, but for our readers interested in the Spanish political landscape, we suggest that they visit Sesión de Control and take a look at the different articles they have about that topic. Of course they can also check our coverage on the matter.


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Honduran President vs. Freedom of the Press · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

We make no claim that the Honduran press is exceptionally reliable, or lacking in bias. But Lobo Sosa wants to stop the press from doing anything that makes his government uncomfortable, even though part of the role of a free press is just that: making the powerful uncomfortable.
RNS from Honduras Culture and Politics reports on a proposal for a new law that “would allow the government to close media outlets, and would introduce an unprecedented censorship body.”


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Media Freedom Still Murky in Myanmar Despite Progress · Global Voices
Juan Cebu

Myanmar's decision to dissolve its notorious censorship board was praised by many groups as a step forward in promoting media freedom in the country. But press freedom watchdogs also highlighted the continuing threats, difficulties and attacks experienced by Myanmar-based journalists throughout the past year.
For example, independent reporters continue to face a high risk of being slapped with various lawsuits if they expose controversies in the bureaucracy or criticize high ranking government officials. On February 7, 2013, Myanmar parliament has formed a commission to investigate the writer behind the internet blog post titled “Above the Law” [my]. The post was written by someone who used the pseudonym “Dr. Sate Phwar” in the blog Voice of Myanmar [my]. The article accused members of parliament of disregarding the constitution and also for making decisions on their own without regarding the president's remarks. He sarcastically wrote:
why not add this new amendment in the constitution that whatever the constitution may dictate, the Chairperson of the Hluttaw (parliament) and his companions can decide among themselves by casting votes in the Hluttaw (parliament).
Photo shared by Freedom Media Group (Burma) which wrote that a reporter is being attacked by squatters in a relocation area. The caption also added that “it is said in some news that this is set up by the special police force to make people hate the squatters.”
Similarly last year, domestic journal The Voice Weekly was charged with defamation by the mining ministry for reporting the misuse of funds and fraud inside the ministry. Fortunately, the ministry dropped the charges earlier this year.
Recently, a number of journalists received [my] warnings from Google that there may be pending attacks from “state-sponsored attackers.” The warning was given after the Facebook pages of independent local journals The Voice Weekly [my] and Eleven Media Group [my] were defaced by a group called Anonymous Myanmar. However, the government denied any involvement in the cyber attack.
Perhaps in response to the hacking of media sites, the official website [my] of Myanmar's president was attacked last February 5, 2013 by hackers suspected to be members of a group called “Indonesian Fighter Cyber”.
It is also common to find various hate groups, propaganda photos and messages on the social media. During the Rakhine riot in 2012, propaganda photos from both sides of the conflict circulated on the internet.
Meanwhile, Taw Win Daund shared on his Facebook page a photo which is thought to be the photo of hired comment writers. He labeled the photo:
Hired comment writers or military students? Photo shared by Taw Win Daund
Hired comment writers, lobbying the fight between the president Thein Sein and Vice-senior General Min Aung Hlaing by writing hate comments under the posts of the Eleven Media, the Voice Weekly and 7 Days News journal.
There are mixed views on the photo. Steven Myo commented
the writers also include those who have learned in Russia.
La Min Aung refuted the allegation:
this is wrong, using the photos of the students of the military academy to mislead is not good. This is to divide the people and the army.
Although it is hard to say whether it is true or not, hate comments using vulgar language are very common on Facebook in Myanmar.

author: Juan Cebu


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Senegal Balks as President Recycles Predecessor’s Pal · Global Voices
Mamadou Cherif Faye

[All links forward to French-language articles unless otherwise stated]
The president of Senegal's decision to appoint a local architect, renowned for his work but notorious for his political schmoozing with previous regimes, as the head of a proposed Senegalese cultural house in New York has come under fire.
Pierre Goudiaby Atépa, who was selected by President Macky Sall [en] to explore the creation of a house of Senegal in the Big Apple, is the architect behind Senegal's controversial African Renaissance Monument [en]. The statue, which stands 160-feet tall [49 meters] and cost 27 million US dollars [16.6 million GB pounds] to build, was commissioned in 2006 by former President Abdoulaye Wade [en], who made an unsuccessful and highly criticized bid for a third term [en] in office last year.
Unveiled in 2010, the monument was blasted by Wade opponents at the time as a scandalous waste of money in the midst of an economic crisis in Senegal.
The selection of Atépa, who also served as a special adviser for other major government projects under Wade, for such a high-profile post has some questioning President Sall's promises of a “new era” [en] post-Wade.
The African Renaissance Statue designed by Pierre Goudiaby Atépa, from Wikipedia. CC-BY-SA
Ousseynou Diakhaté wrote on the RNS (Restore our Senegal) Facebook page that the whole affair seemed fishy:
Voilà le premier gros dossier sous l’ère Macky qui suscite en moi plusieurs interrogations.  La lumière doit être faite sur cette affaire au parfum de scandale foncier/financier. Quel a été le rôle de l’architecte ? S’il a vraiment été mandaté par le président à New York, au nom de quoi et dans quelle condition ? Qu’attend l’Assemblée nationale pour se saisir du dossier afin d’éclairer l’opinion publique  ?
This is the first big issue in the Macky era which raises several questions for me. Light must be shed on this matter, which has the stench of a financial/real estate scandal. What was the role of the architect? If he really was sent by the President to New York, on behalf of what and under what conditions? What is the National Assembly waiting for to take the matter up and inform the public?
Fabienne Diop called Sall's appointment of Atépa a shame:
C’est vraiment dommage que le président recycles ce type qui est au centre de toutes les affaires nébuleuses de Wade et compagnie
It is a pity that the president recycles this individual who is at the centre of all of Wade and company's business nebulae
Jiggy, who commented on the subject on the news website Dakaractu, was unforgiving when it came to the infamous Senegalese architect's credentials:
Cette affaire sent encore l’arnaque. Quand est-ce que nous allons arrêter ce pseudo architecte ? Atépa est radié de l’ordre des architectes alors qu’il n’est qu’un simple dessinateur sorti d’on ne sait quelle école
In the commentary section, Deumfatick urged the Senegalese to take action against what he called a misuse of funds:
Une escroquerie publique. Le peuple se tait, se laisse berner. Comment l’argent a-t-il été déboursée dans l’avis ni l’aval de l’Assemblée nationale ou des sénégalais dans leur ensemble ? Goudiaby cherche à valider son aveu. Il est dans une affaire où l’on sent l’arnaque à mille lieues. Il faut une pétition nationale contre ce projet et l’argent qui doit y aller. Ce gré à gré insulte l’intelligence nationale des sénégalais, vole leur argent et va enrichir quelques individus…,
This is a public fraud. The people are silent, they let themselves be fooled. How has the money been disbursed without clear notice of approval from the National Assembly and the Senegalese people? Goudiaby seeks validation from his dubious project. It is a case where one can see the scam from a thousand miles away. We need a national petition against this project and the money that it requires. This accord insults the collective intelligence of the Senegalese, robbing them of their money and enriching few individuals …
Bounkhatab pointed out that the presidency's preference for elaborate and expensive artistic endeavors continues with Sall:
Que je sache, ce terrain est déjà acheté et payé par l’Etat du Sénégal du temps de Wade au prix fort. Question : Que doit faire le gouvernement actuel du Sénégal ? C’est comme la statue de la renaissance, c’était une connerie mais les héritiers doivent le valoriser. C’est ce qu’on appelle continuité de l’Etat.
From what I know, this land is already bought and paid for by the Wade-era Senegalese State at a high price. Question: What does the current Senegalese government need to do? It is like the Renaissance statue, it was complete nonsense, but the next in charge had to make something of it. This is what we would call the continuation of business as usual.
On Facebook, Cheikh A. T. Diagne accused Sall of employing too many of Wade's associates. He commented that:
le recyclage des anciens conseillers de WWW (Wade Wakh Wakhète, Wade, celui qui se dédit) est devenu une spécialité de Macky et, pour la rupture, c’est bien dommage .
recycling old advisers of WWW (Wade Wakh Wakhete, Wade, the one who went back on his word) has become a Macky specialty, so much for doing away with the old method, what a pity.
Cheikh Tidiane Khouma wrote there were many parallels between Sall and Wade:
Notre président recycle par manque de vision. Le programme Yonou Yokouté (Voie de l’épanouissement) est juste du bluff. Il pense nous nourrir avec de grandes promesses et discours comme son mentor. La rupture est devenue un rêve pour nous autres
Our president recycles because he lacks vision. The programme Yonou Yokouté (the path to Development) is just fluff. He thinks he can feed us with big promises and speeches, just like his mentor used to do. Real change has became a pipe dream for us.
With Sall, it's just more of the same, Fabienne Diop concluded:
On s’est battu pour rien ! Il va falloir retourner au charbon ! Ce que j’ai senti à Dakar c’est qu’il est en train d’enrôler n’importe qui en vu de sa réélection. Il nous gave de discours mielleux et au même moment, il applique les méthodes de Wade.
We fought for nothing! We'll have to go back to the drawing board. What I felt is that now in Dakar, Sall is currently recruiting anyone who supported his re-election. He gave us suave speeches when in fact he reuses the Wade Method.

author: Mamadou Cherif Faye


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St. Vincent, Grenada: Silly Electoral System?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The stupidity is the electoral system we operate under that leaves thousands without a political voice in the Parliamentary Halls.
A landslide victory for the opposition in Grenada's national elections prompts Abeni to wonder whether the region needs constitutional and electoral reform.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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The Spanish Government’s ‘Obscene’ Hashtag Makes Waves on Twitter · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

*All links lead to Spanish websites unless otherwise stated.
We all know that these days the Spanish government's popularity is going through a period of criticism. Information in the press has uncovered what could be one of the most substantial and lengthy cases of corruption [en] in the country's political history. The accusations, that the most prominent members of the ruling party -amongst them, even the president of the government, Mariano Rajoy- could have been receiving undeclared money from illegal party funding, have caused a public outcry [en].
In order to alleviate the devastating effects that these revelations are having on the governing Partido Popular's [People's Party] image, and in an almost desperate attempt to clean his name, a few days ago President Rajoy published a copy of his income tax return (IRPF), in which assets paid for by direct taxes are reflected.
This act of supposed transparency has been praised amongst his fellow party members, who have been sure to throw down the gauntlet to the leader of the opposition, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, demanding that he also publish his IRPF tax return. Thus, the hashtag that appeared on the Partido Popular's twitter feed:
@PPopular: Mariano Rajoy ya ha publicado su declaración de la renta y de patrimonio #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba [#ShowyoursRubalcaba]
@PPopular: Mariano Rajoy has now published his income and assests tax return #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba [#ShowyoursRubalcaba]
As if it were foreseen, the hashtag #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba, with its many possible interpretations, has been received with great furore on Twitter, becoming a trending topic within a few hours. In this article we've collected some of the sharpest and most caustic tweets, as well as some images that net surfers have been uploading onto the social network.
Carlos Carrascoso and mariaml1998 show certain doubts:
@CharlyFalcao9: Me diréis que tengo la mente sucia, pero “#QuelaenseñeRubalcaba” suena mal, muy mal.
@CharlyFalcao9: Tell me I've got a dirty mind but “#QuelaenseñeRubalcaba” sounds bad, really bad.
@mariaml1998: Soy la unica que ha pensado sucio al ver el TT de #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba
@mariaml1998: Am I the only one who thought the TT #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba sounds dirty?
Breaking Bad, Luis Serrano, Alfonso Landabaso, Gema C_F y Raquel Martos would prefer that things didn't go any further:
Photo uploaded to Twitter by Ana Álvarez
@carterego: Joer, estáis enfermos…
@carterego: Jeez, you're sick…
@luisnomad: pero no en horario infantil, por favor…
@luisnomad: but not during kid's hour please…
@Shilk2 ¿pero esto es un chiste? no les vale con robarnos que ahora tb quieren que nos suicidemos.
@Shilk2 Is this a joke or what? It's not enough to rob us, but now they want us to be suicidal too.
@GEMAJ61: We're in for a shock!
@GEMAJ61: Pa sustos estamos!
@RaquelMartos: Entrar en Twitter, ver el hashtag #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba y lamentarme por tener imaginación visual.
@RaquelMartos: Go on Twitter, see the hashtag #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba and regret having a visual imagination.
Others, such as Rubén Sánchez, ioetx, pilar m. velasco, Pablo Serrano, Alejandro Tanco, Jorge Blanco y Adrián take it out on the hashtag's creator:
“I'm very embarrassed by it.” Rubalcaba in an image sent by Jaime Nuñez Cabeza on Twitter.
@rubensancheztw: el último tiro en el pie del PP. Me pregunto si el que les idea los hashtags aprendió a respirar con un curso de CCC.
@rubensancheztw: the PP's latest shot in the foot, I wonder whether the one who came up with the hashtag learnt to breathe with a self help book.
@ioetx: Teniendo community managers como el del PP…¿quien quiere oposición? ¿Qué será lo próximo? ¿#averquienmeamásalto?
@ioetx: With Community Managers like those in the PP, who needs an opposition? What's next? ¿#averquienmeamásalto?
@pilmagan: ¿Quién es el figura del PP que ha lanzado el TT #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba? De verdad que están sembrados.
@pilmagan: Who from the PP wrote the TT #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba? Honestly, how witty of them.
@pabloserran: Se confirma que el CM del @PPopular es un infiltrado del 15M, la única duda es si él lo sabe ya o no. #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba
@pabloserran: It's confirmed, the @PPopular‘s Community Manager is an insider of the 15M attacks, the only question is whether he know's it or not yet. #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba
@Jandrotanco: Los Monty Python se retiran: “No podemos competir contra el creador de hashtag del PP”
@Jandrotanco: Monty Python surrender: “We can't compete with the PP's hashtag creator”
@bokanovski: El encargado del Twitter del PP no pensó en el doble sentido de #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba o quizas si, entonces pasará a ser mi idolo
@bokanovski: Whoever's responsible for the PP's twitter feed didn't think of the double meaning of #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba or maybe they did, in which case they're my idol
@R11Adri: Mañana habrá un parado más, el creador del hashtag #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba
@R11Adri: Tomorrow there'll be another unemployed, the creator of the hashtag #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba
Dani Ponce and JUANVI take it with humour:
“What are you saying, crazy?” Image on Twitter by Laura Vivero.
@DaniPonce1: #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba ¡¡¡y la Declaración también!!
@DaniPonce1: #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba … and the tax return to!!!
@jvmendezdeleon: #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba y que Ángela Merkel se decida.
@jvmendezdeleon: #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba and let Angela Merkel decide.
There are others who display their disgust at such immature behaviour from the country's leading political parties, such as Blue note, Condesa du Cornavin, oscarmg and Hextre:
@aycarmela67: Caca, culo, pedo, pis, #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba …el lenguaje del PP.
@aycarmela67: arse, fart, poop, pee #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba …the language of the PP.
@condesacornavin: #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba ¿Lo próximo será “rebota, rebota que tu culo explota”? Los párvulos son más maduros que los políticos de este país
@condesacornavin: #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba Will the next one be “Wham, slam your ass bangs?” Schoolkids are more mature than the politicians in this country
@oscarciomg: #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba estrategia del partido de los recortes y la miseria: otros lo han hecho, otros tienen mas… Suena a colegio VERGÜENZA
@oscarciomg: #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba stratgey of the party of cuts and misery: some have it, others don't… sounds like the school of SHAME
@hextre:#QuelaenseñeRubalcaba #RebotaYEnTuCuloExplota #YTúMás venga niñ@s, se acabó el recreo!!! a gobernar ya! coño
@hextre:#QuelaenseñeRubalcaba #RebotaYEnTuCuloExplota [#Wham and your ass bangs]#YTúMás [#Butyoumore] come on kids, playtime's over!! let's get to governing hey, idiots
Ál, VamosAContarMentiras and alexjo are amongst the many who think all this is a diversionary maneuver on the government's part, given that in an IRPF tax return you're hardly likely to see presumed illegal payments showing up:
“Do you want to see something fat?” Rubalcaba in an image by José David Sánchez on Twitter.
@alscrawl: —Perdona, ¿De dónde sale el dinero de las cuentas Suizas? —Las dos y media. Y ahora #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba
@alscrawl: – Excuse me, where does the money from the Swiss accounts show up? – Two and a half. And now #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba
@Contar_Mentiras: #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba como si lo que cobran en negro apareciera en la Declaración de la Renta
@Contar_Mentiras: #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba as if undeclared money they earn shows up in the tax return
@alexjo17: #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba ¿Alguien me indica la casilla de la declaración para sobres con dinero negro? Gracias…..
@alexjo17: #QuelaenseñeRubalcaba Can someone show me where the box for envelopes with undeclared money is? Thanks…..

author: Lourdes Sada


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Trinidad & Tobago: Suggestions for Carnival  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Mark Lyndersay offers some suggestions to the National Carnival Commission Chair, Allison Demas, after her first Carnival in office.


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A First for Africa: Ex-Dictator to be Judged on the Continent · Global Voices
Anna Gueye

A new hybrid court system, the Extraordinary African Chambers has just been set up, opening its doors on February 8, 2013, to judge Hissène Habré, ex-president of Chad in Senegal. The organisation Human Rights Watch has been working since 1999 with victims of the ex-dictator, currently exiled in Senegal, to bring him to justice.
Hissen Habré – still from a Euronews video, YouTube
[The french quotes in this article were directly replaced by their translation in english]
On website France-Rwanda Tribune we read of the Inauguration of the Special Tribunal [fr] charged with judging Hissène Habré:
Senegal initiated its Special Tribunal on Friday (february 8), charged with judging the former president of Chad, Hissène Habré.
An article on website fasozine.com entitled Senegal: Inauguration of Special Tribunal for the Trial of Hissène Habré gave more information:
Habré is accused of thousands of political assassinations and of systematic use of torture during his time in charge of Chad, from 1982 to 1990. Habré has lived in exile in Senegal for more than 22 years.
On website lanouvelleexpression.info, an article entitled An Important First: Africa Judges Africans [fr] included the following:
For the first time in Africa, a former African president is going to be judged in another African country, the African Union (AU) having being given the mandate to find African solutions to African problems. The Juristic advisor of the African Union (AU), Djenna Diarra, noted that “the Hissène Habré affair is important, not for Senegal, but for Africa. So that Africa judges Africans.
Concerning questions regarding impartiality and risks of pressure from Idriss Déby, who overthrew Habré in a 1990 coup to become current president of Chad, an article on website xalimasn.com included the following:
The  prosecution, like the defence, are going to make use of complete freedom to conduct their investigations on Chad soil. It is an essential condition for the good conduct of the trial, and we will be paying particularly close attention to it.
The rights of the defence will be respected. The accused will have recourse to advice. They will lead their investigations freely. They will produce their own witnesses…
If we go back to the article on website lanouvelleexpression.info, it continues [fr]:
Regarding the quality and impartiality of the judges, Djenna Diarra’s opinion was just as clear: “We had taken into account a certain number of concerns which were that maybe the Senegalese courts would not be objective enough and we went towards this international element. …There will be judges from Central Africa, South Africa and elsewhere in future chambers.
We aren’t reinventing the wheel. We needed a system allowing plenty of objectivity and transparence. And we thought that the best way was the system put in place by Cambodia (to judge the former leaders of the Khmer Rouge). This method allows every guarantee of a trial in which the rights of the defence are guaranteed.
An article on website sunuker.com, entitled Hissène Habré Faces Justice, an Historic Moment for Africa, detailled the charge and the trial [fr]:
The 10 judges and four prosecutors who make up this court, named by the African Union, are now going to be able to start the long examination of the Habré file. On the other hand, Hissène Habré may not been seen in court before the end of 2014”, according to Reed Brody. “The trial is not going to be held for a while yet, but at least the process has been started, which was almost unimaginable”, continued the Juridic advisor of Human Rights Watch. … “I think that this show trial will make history for Chad and for Africa. It is going to show that humble victims can, by their action and their perseverance manage to judge a dictator.”
Following the many African dictators [fr] who have been judged in Europe by the International Criminal Court, it is definitely worth celebrating the fact that an African affair will, for once, be heard by an African court. The continent's credibility in the face of its other interlocutors will benefit greatly if the trial unfolds according to accepted standards of international law.

author: Anna Gueye


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A Timeline of Colombian Peace Talks · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Adam Isacson has been updating a timeline on the peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). The timeline includes relevant links with more information on each event.


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Bangladesh Raises Voice to End Violence Against Women · Global Voices
পান্থ রহমান রেজা (Pantha)

With fists raised to the sky, thousands of Bangladeshis throughout the country stood together in city streets and plazas last week chanting “no more, no more!” to demand an end to violence against women as part of the “One Billion Rising” movement.
Bangladesh was among the 203 countries around the world that organised anti-violence demonstrations for February 14, 2013. More than 13,000 people throughout all 64 districts in Bangladesh “rose” up in protest.
For the southern Asian country, the “One Billion Rising” movement hits home. A reported 174,691 women in Bangladesh were the victim of violence, including acid attacks, abductions, rapes, murders, trafficking, and dowry-related violence, between 2001 and 2012, according to a report by the country's police.
And according to the United Nations Human Development Report, Bangladesh has the worst record for rape in the region, meaning that statistically one in every 1,000 women is raped.
One Billion Rising, the V-Day campaign's largest global action, was named for the fact that at least a billion women worldwide will experience sexual or physical violence in their lifetime, according to the UN.
Below are some photos from the movement, courtesy of the One Billion Rising Bangladesh Facebook page.
Parliamentarians’ solidarity with One Billion Rising campaign
Action Aid Bangladesh protesting violence against women through song.
Garment workers rising up against violence against women in Gulshan, Dhaka.
Men and women from the small town of Sirajgonj rising up.
The United Nations in solidarity with the movement.
People rising up at Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka.
Shadhona performs an inspiring dance known as Bidrohi at Shilpakala Academy.
Lighting candles in memory of women subjected to violence during the 1971 Liberation War during the One Billion Rising protests in Shahbag’s Generation Square.
More photos and stories are available on One Billion Rising Facebook Page and on their blog.

author: পান্থ রহমান রেজা (Pantha)


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Bolivia’s President to Seek a Second (or Third?) Term · Global Voices
Pablo Andres Rivero

Bolivia's ruling party MAS has announced that President Evo Morales will seek re-election in the upcoming presidential contest scheduled for December 2014. Morales, a former coca grower turned unionist and leftist leader, enjoys great support in Bolivia, particularly among the indigenous and rural populations.
But the announcement has sparked a debate over whether his current term counts as his first or second, and whether the country's four-year-old constitution would allow him to run again.
Back in 2005, after years of political instability, Evo Morales was elected president with 54 percent of the votes. His first term began in January 2006, but political conflict continued, mainly between eastern regions and Morales’ leftist government, which promoted a new constitution.
Evo Morales image during presidential campaign. Photo by vocesbolivianas on Flickr, under Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
After the ruling party and the opposition reached political agreements in 2008, a referendum was called for January 2009 to approve a new constitution. The president’s term was shortened and new elections took place in December 2009. Evo Morales won for a second consecutive election with 64 percent of the votes.
The 2009 Bolivian Constitution [es] states:
Artículo 168. El periodo de mandato de la Presidenta o del Presidente y de la Vicepresidenta o del Vicepresidente del Estado es de cinco años, y pueden ser reelectas o reelectos de manera continua por una sola vez.
Article 168. The term of office of the President or the Vice President is five years and may be reelected continuously only once.
Further down, the same constitution also mandates:
Los mandatos anteriores a la vigencia de esta Constitución serán tomados en cuenta a los efectos del cómputo de los nuevos periodos de funciones.
Previous mandates to the effective date of this Constitution shall be taken into account for purposes of calculating new terms.
Supporters of Morales’ third candidacy, such as Senator Rene Martinez, consider [es] that the eventual re-election of Morales is constitutional and legitimate.
Martinez argued on his Twitter account (@ReneMartinez_) [es]:
@ReneMartinez_: Disposición Transitoria Primera de la CPE, solo reguló la elecciones del 2009. no tiene mas aplicación en el tiempo.
@ReneMartinez_: [This] transitory article on the Constitution only regulated the 2009 elections, it is not applicable afterwards.
On the other hand, others claim that this is clearly Morales’ second term and a third candidacy is constitutionally not allowed.
Following that argument, political activist Julio Aliaga (@JulioAliagaL) [es] tweeted a photo of an official post stamp released by Bolivia’s government in 2012 celebrating the second term of president Evo Morales:
“Second term. Constitutional President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.” Image shared on Twitter by user @JulioAliagaL
The case is now under consideration by the Plurinational Constitutional Court of Bolivia.
However, as Mario Duran, a blogger based in El Alto, explained [es], Morales’ supporters still have an alternative if the court rules against allowing him to run again:
para habilitar al presidente Morales a una nueva re-eleccion se requiere un referéndum que apruebe cualquier modificación a la Constitución Política del Estado, ahora considerando el apoyo superior al 50% en votación que posee el Presidente Evo Morales, sus partidarios deberían optar por el referendum.
In order to make President Morales eligible for a new re-election, a referendum is required to approve any amendment to the constitution, considering that President Evo Morales enjoys support from more than 50 percent of the electorate, his supporters should opt for the referendum.
Electoral calculations are under way as the Bolivian electoral machinery could be tested once again in the coming months.

author: Pablo Andres Rivero


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Is Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Spread Racist? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Mitch Blatt from China Hush takes a look at debate over the appropriateness of Sports Illustrated magazine's set of photos for its swimsuit edition that feature ethnic minorities in China. While some think that the photos disparage minority culture in China, the blogger argues that such comments stem from a desire to “whitewash the truth”.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Ecuador’s Political Future After Correa’s Reelection · Global Voices
Gina Yauri

On February 17th 2013, Rafael Correa was reelected as President of Ecuador with more than half of the vote, securing him the longest uninterrupted mandate in Ecuador's history.
Seventy two hours after the election, the National Electoral Council [es] (Consejo Nacional Electoral, CNE) released the official results of the quick count, according to which the ruling party will have at least 96 of the 137 seats in the new Assembly. This means that the ruling party will have a majority in the Assembly, allowing it to approve laws that are still in discussion, but it will not have an absolute majority.
After hearing the official results, the reaction from Ecuadorian bloggers was quick.
On the blog Realidad Ecuador (Reality Ecuador), in a post titled “Ecuador's political future” [es], Juan Pablo Martínez writes:
La agenda del gobierno para los próximos cuatro años parece bastante clara. Primero, la tónica de los últimos años continuará, tanto en los aspectos positivos, como la inversión social, como en los aspectos negativos, como los ataques contra la libertad de expresión. Segundo, el plan de trabajo de Rafael Correa, que espero analizar a profundidad en artículos posteriores, incluye algunos puntos que darán mucho de qué hablar como la “Revolución del conocimiento y de las capacidades” y la “Revolución agraria”.
The government's agenda for the next four years seems quite clear. Firstly, the tonic of the last few years will continue, with all its positive aspects, such as social investment [es], as well as its negative aspects, such as attacks on freedom of expression [es]. Secondly, Rafael Correa's work plan [es], which I hope to analyze in depth in subsequent articles, includes some points which will give people much to talk about, like the “Knowledge and skills revolution” and the “Agrarian revolution”.
For Martínez, there are various questions, including what will the be the future for the new opposition lead by Guillermo Lasso, the candidate with the second largest number of votes in this election.
Results from the quick count. Image posted by the National Electoral Council (CNE)
Una de las posibles conclusiones de los últimos comicios es que Guillermo Lasso se ha posicionado como la principal cara de la oposición al régimen. Lasso, a diferencia de Gutiérrez, Noboa, Nebot (quien es muy poco popular fuera de Guayaquil), o quien sea que represente a Bucaram, no parece generar un amplio rechazo o resistencia entre los ecuatorianos. Después de conocer los resultados electorales, el exbanquero afirmó que “de cero nos hemos convertido en la segunda fuerza política del Ecuador.”
One conclusion that can be drawn from the last elections is that Guillermo Lasso has positioned himself as the main face of opposition against the regime. Lasso, unlike Gutiérrez, Naboa, Nebot (who has little popularity outside Guayaquil), or whoever represents Bucaram, does not seem to generate widespread rejection or resistance among Ecuadorians. On hearing the election results, the former banker affirmed that “from zero we have become the second largest political force in Ecuador.” [es].
In addition, Martínez argues that Lasso should be very selective when choosing his political companions in the next few years:
Lasso deberá mantenerse como un candidato de centro-derecha, coninterés en políticas sociales dirigidas a la reducción de la pobreza, y ser cauteloso en no asociarse con grupos dogmáticos de derecha que son fuertes en el Ecuador (léase libertarios). Rodearse de personas con esas creencias podría llevarlo a posturas que, además de ser perjudiciales para el país, resultarían impopulares en sus aspiraciones presidenciales (por ejemplo, pretender revertir el énfasis que el gobierno actual ha puesto en la inversión social).
Lasso should maintain his status as a center-right candidate, with an interest in social policies aimed at poverty reduction [es], and be careful not to associate himself with dogmatic right-wing groups that are strong in Ecuador (read: libertarians). Surrounding himself with people with these beliefs could lead him to positions that, in addition to being damaging for the country, would be unpopular for his presidential aspirations (for example, reversing the emphasis that the current government has placed on social investment).
The blogger also wonders who will take Rafael Correa's place as the candidate for the PAIS Alliance when Correa finishes his presidential mandate, if he does not reform the constitution to allow for his reelection:
Bajo el supuesto de que Correa cumpla su palabra de no cambiar las leyes para buscar ser reelegido en el 2017, Alianza País deberá empezar a decidir quién será el encargado de tomar la posta como candidato presidencial. ¿Empezará Correa a brindar más protagonismo a su sucesor? De ser así, ¿desde cuándo? ¿El sucesor se elegirá a través de un proceso de elecciones primarias dentro del partido o será directamente seleccionado por Correa? Si bien será difícil para Alianza País posicionar un sucesor fuerte ante la sombra de un líder como Correa.
Supposing that Correa keeps his word not to change the law in order to get reelected in 2017, the PAIS Alliance should start to decide who will take over his post as presidential candidate. Will Correa start to give a greater role to his successor? If that is the case, when? Will the successor be chosen through a primary election process within the party or will they be selected directly by Correa? It will be difficult for the PAIS Alliance to position a strong successor in the shadow of a leader like Correa.
Meanwhile, blogger Anita Parada Cotrina [es] reflects on the candidates that are elected every four years. In her post titled “Ecuador's 2013 Elections. Personal opinion” [es], Parada comments that citizens should be responsible when they choose their candidates:
Un buen o mal manejo de la política es una consecuencia no una causa, y su alcance social, del que somos parte nos afecta a todos, pero también depende de todos.
Si queremos que nuestros representantes sean gente bien preparada y justa, debemos ser eso nosotros mismos, así cambiaremos nuestra representatividad. Para explicar esto inventaré un ejemplo: si 7 de cada 10 personas son corruptas, hay un 70% de posibilidades de que el representante que se eliga [sic] sea corrupto, pero si personalmente 4 de esas personas quisieran cambian y lo hicieran, y ahora solo 3 de cada 10 son corruptos, la posibilidad de que el próximo gobernante sea corrupto baja dramaáticamente a un 30%.
Good or bad political management is a consequence and not a cause, and its social significance, of which we are a part, affects us all, but also depends on us all. When we take responsibility for our roles, we promote a fair system.
If we want our representatives to be well-qualified, fair people, we must be these things ourselves, in order to change our representation. To explain this I will use an example: if 7 out of every 10 people are corrupt, there is a 70% change that the representative they elect will be corrupt. But if 4 of these people personally want to change and do so, and now only 3 out of every 10 people are corrupt, the chances of the next leader being corrupt reduces dramatically to 30%.
Finally, Parada emphasizes that, in order to have better representatives, every Ecuadorian should make an effort to be a better citizen.
For each person that decides to make a difference and be the best citizen that they can be, the chances of having a better representative increase.

author: Gina Yauri


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Evacuate the Children of Fukushima · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

Children evacuated from the town Futaba, enjoying a magic show in front of the Saitama Super Arena. Saitama, Japan. photo by Miyoko Fukushima.
copyright © Demotix (27/03/2011).
The fear of lethal radiation exposure to their children, has pushed a group of parents, lawyers, and residents to demand that the state sanction an official evacuation from Japan's Fukushima region. Together they are known as the Fukushima Collective Evacuation Trial Team [ja] and they are planning a demonstration on February 23, 2013 in Shinjuku, in the capital Tokyo.
The group has been fighting a losing battle in court since 2011, when a nuclear plant released enough radioactive waste in their region to be declared the world's second largest nuclear disaster ever.
Fourteen students from Koriyama city in Fukushima filed a lawsuit against their local government in June 2011, demanding that the city stop mandatory education in high radiation exposure areas and sponsor a collective evacuation to restart education in safer areas. The case was dismissed by the Koriyama District Court in December 16, 2011. An appeal is now proceeding in closed hearings at the Sendai High Court.
Koriyama City in Fukushima Prefecture. Image captured from wikipedia
Messages supporting the demonstration [ja, en] have been submitted from Japan and around the world:
松尾憙澄(東京都:自営)
戦時中に全東京、全大都市で行えた「疎開」が、なぜいま出来ない？
あの当時より文科（部）省は子どものいのちを粗末に考えているのか？
人も社会も、進化し改善される叡知への信頼無しには、未来への希望は持てない。
政治も司法もそれが存在理由でしょう？。
それが後退を後押しするなどあってはならない。
松尾憙澄(Tokyo, Self-employed)
Looking back during wartime, the government were able to handle mass evacuation, and ordered people to move from major cities including Tokyo to rural areas. Why can't they handle evacuation now?
Does the Ministry of Education devalue the lives of children today?
We cannot hope for a better future if we cannot trust the wisdom that improves our society.
That is why political and judicial systems exist, right??
Nothing should encourage them to aim for less.
Guillaume Gellenoncourt (France, Unemployed)
None of the words I might say are strong enough to say how this makes me feel… I fully apologize for the damages of the MOX my country sold to yours. Your government has abandoned you all… Stay as strong as possible, stay together, and maybe….
Jean VOGUET (France, Composer)
You have to take care of your children !
高橋陽一 (滋賀県:弁護士)
福島の子どもの健康被害が心配です。
子どもの健康被害という大切な問題であるのに，報道がほとんどされていないことにも憤りを感じます。
高橋陽一(Shiga Japan, Lawyer)
I worry about the health of children in Fukushima. I feel resentment towards the media for its minimum coverage, even though the health of children is a very important issue.
庄田政江(大阪府:通訳案内士)
父は原爆が落とされてすぐに広島に救援活動に行き被爆し３１１前に肺がんで亡くなりました。私は被爆2世、父の代わりとして福島周辺の方達への定期健診と国の補償を要求します。国際的ビジネスを続けるためにIAEAや国や電力会社は被害の矮小化を計ろうとしています。
「核と人間は共存できない」ことを知らせるためデモに賛同したいと思います。
庄田政江(Osaka, Interpreter)
My father headed out to help people in Hiroshima right after the atomic bomb. He was exposed to radiation and had died before the 3/11 earthquake in 2011 with lung cancer. As his son, I demand periodic medical examination of residents and neighbors of Fukushima and demand that our nation compensate them, on behalf of my father. The
IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] other nation and electric power corporations are scheming to downplay the damage [of the nuclear disaster] to continue their “international business”.
I'd like to support this demonstration to let people know “Nuclear and human cannot live together”.
The reality of children in Fukushima is barely reported in mainstream media. On February 13, 2013, the non-profit Our Plant-TV reported [ja] that three out of 38,114 children under the age of 18, have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Another seven children are suspected of having cancer, according to [ja, pdf]  an official investigation done by Fukushima Prefecture.
At a press conference, Professor Shinichi Suzuki of Fukushima Medical University said these cases are unrelated to the nuclear accident, because the increase in diagnosis of thyroid cancer in Chernobyl, Ukraine was found 4-5 years after their nuclear incident. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster was considered the worst nuclear plant disaster till Fukushima in 2011.
With little help from the government, Toshio Yanagihara, a lawyer with the The Fukushima Collective Evacuation Trial Team [ja], went to the United Nations. This video documents his plea. It was recorded on October 30, 2012 in Geneva and uploaded by the World Network For Saving Children From Radiation.
Please take a look at this map of Koriyama City, which is 60km from the Nuclear Plants. The numbers are the airborne radiation readings and the level of soil contamination measured in August last year. The red dots on this map indicate the equivalent radiation level of mandatory evacuation zone around Chernobyl. If you apply the evacuation standard used in Chernobyl, most of the central part of the city would fall under the mandatory evacuation area, where the residents would be required to move out. It is in this level of dangerous contamination that the children remain and attend school.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that the 2011 accident in Fukushima was the largest nuclear disaster ever.

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Haiti: The Politics of Identity  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Tande blogs about “the relationship between cultural identity and belonging” and recommends a Haitian musician whose work goes beyond the identity politics and “offers a compelling example of how some of these tensions play out.”


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Hope on Horizon for Gays in China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chengdu Living looks into the mindset of young people who, surprisingly, demonstrated an open attitude toward homosexuality despite their Chinese cultural background.


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In Pictures: The Polluted Rivers of China · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Tencent News recently put together a photo story about the “colorful waters of China“, Offbeat China has translated the captions of the pictures.


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Indonesia’s New Law on Mass Organizations Ignites Protest  · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Indonesian Parliament is set to approve a bill that would amend the law governing mass organizations but human rights groups and experts have warned against its repressive provisions.
The latest draft requires mass organizations to adhere to the country’s 1945 Constitution and the principles of Pancasila, a state philosophy about the belief in one God.
Meanwhile, local groups are worried that the bill would give broad powers to the government which might be used by corrupt authorities to undermine the independence of various mass organizations, especially those which are critical to government policies.
Groups like the Red Cross will be affected by Indonesia's new Bill on Mass Organizations. Photo by Jefri Tarigan, Copyright @Demotix (5/8/2012)
The initiative to replace the 1985 Mass Organizations law was actually initially supported by many people who wanted the government to regulate local groups such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) which often uses violent methods to promote its advocacies.
Indonesian legislators quickly dismissed the opinion of UN experts and hinted that the Parliament might approve the controversial measure next month.
Pollyandra supports legislators in opposing the views of UN experts:
For once I stand by the government's stance to dismiss the “experts'” warning/claim. As much as I appreciate the values of western ideas of human rights & democracy, enforcing foreign ideologies into a society has never worked nor will the effect last. Change has to be gradual and come from the inside.
Amir Effendi Siregar, a member of the Independent Coalition for the Democratization of Broadcasting, warns against the negative impact of the regulation on media groups:
This regulation is dangerous for media, press and journalism organizations. How can journalists not mention ideologies, which are against Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, in their publications?
In a democratic system, media and professional journalists have an obligation to give the audience comprehensive information seen from different angles.
Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, urges Indonesia to pass laws that would not violate the principles of ‘pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness’:
The State must ensure that any restriction on the rights to freedom of association, expression, and religion is necessary in a democratic society, proportionate to the aim pursued, and does not harm the principles of pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness
Associations should be free to determine their statutes, structures and activities and to make decisions without State interference
The UN expert also reacted to the proposal to suspend organizations even without a court order:
Let me stress that suspension of associations should only be sanctioned by an impartial and independent court in case of a clear and imminent danger resulting in a flagrant violation of domestic laws, in compliance with international human rights law
Colson called the bill a ‘legal dragon’ in the making:
A special committee of the House of Representatives is busy creating a legal dragon. It’s gonna hit civil organizations. They will be banned if authorities label them as a threat to the “unity and safety of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia”. Criteria which are extremely vague and prone to arbitrariness.
This legal dragon in the making will seriously restrict fundamental liberties of freedom of association & assembly and freedom of thought & expression in Indonesia. For instance it potentially will effectively prevent civil organizations from revealing, denouncing, let alone charging, criminal practices, including human trafficking or corruption. Moreover administrations of these organizations will be under permanent surveillance and control of government.
What would be the impact of strictly implementing the Pancasila philosophy? Colson thinks several global NGOs would be banned in the country:
Strictly interpreted Red Cross and Care will be off limits. Just like Oxfam and Save the Children. Let alone the Swedish Humanistic Association or any of it’s sister organizations. Labour unions based on a social-democratic philosophy will also be forbidden.
Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights is also opposing several provisions of the bill. Meanwhile, a coalition of local organizations published a joint statement last February 18 entitled ‘The State Again Attempts to Put a Leash on Freedom of Association and Organization.’ The coalition recommends the following:
1. Revoke Law No. 8 year 1995 on Mass Organization and restore the regulation of mass organizations to the appropriate and relevant legal construct, namely to a Law on Association for membership‐based organization and the Law on Foundation for non-membership‐based organization.
2. Cease the deliberation and enactment of the Bill on Mass Organization and prioritize the deliberation of the Bill on Association, which has been included in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) for 2010‐2014. The Bill on Association has stronger legal basis but has been placed as a lesser priority to the Bill on Mass Organization, which is a misguided and lack of clarity draft bill.
But Pahala Nainggolan, executive director of Yayasan Bina Integrasi Edukasi, appreciates the provision stipulating a government review of financial records of organizations:
The registration of non-profit organizations to the government is not a mechanism of control. Each organization needs to register to be assisted with its accountability measures in the long term. Then the Home Ministry can establish a database and website containing financial and operational reports of all registered organizations.
This can lead to better mechanisms to enforce regulations. Organizations that do not submit their reports can be removed from the list. Society can get guarantees of the legitimacy of an organization by accessing the website and the government can provide assurances of transparency and accountability for each organization listed there.

author: Mong Palatino


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Journalists Under Pressure in the Gambia Turn to Blogs · Global Voices
Demba Kandeh

The hostile media landscape in the Gambia, marred by aggressive laws and regulatory measures that have almost crippled mainstream outlets, has some journalists in the country turning to blogs to report the news.
Advocacy groups have long criticized the Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh for his dismal record on press freedom. A self-proclaimed healer who says he has found cures to AIDS, obesity, and erectile dysfunction, Jammeh is on the 2012 list of predators to press freedom by Reporters Without Borders.
With the emergence of social media, many observers worry that Jammeh's brutal restrictions on mainstream journalists are likely to be transferred to netizens.
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. Photo by Wikipedia user JohnArmagh. Used under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Even though the West African country is said to have a lower cost of internet connectivity compared to other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the number of bloggers and netizens is relatively low. Here are some of the most active and popular blogs in Gambia, mostly run by Gambian journalists who have been sent into redundancy by the country’s anti-press laws and practices.
The Gambia News Online is run by Lamin Jahateh. It is an independent and non-partisan blog that seeks to feed its readers with the latest news and events in the Gambia and beyond with a special focus on economic and financial news, features, and analysis. “At Gambia News Online, we tell the news as it happens,” according to Jahateh.
Modou S. Joof is the editor and publisher of The North Bank Evening Standard blog, which is dedicated to “Telling the stories of Africa to over one billion Africans”. But just below that Joof has this for his readers: “To our dear subscribers, readers, and followers: please be informed that from now till 2015 this blog may not be UPDATED on a daily basis. This is because the publisher and editor is currently pursuing a two-year diploma course on journalism and mass communication. He maybe too busy to keep up with the much needed pace and frequency to keep this blog UPDATED on a daily basis.”
The Gambia News Wave is another news blog edited and managed by Demba Kandeh, also a journalist (the author of this post). The blog is dedicated to information sharing.
Image accompanying a post about the Gambian insurance industry's campaign to eradicate poor public image. Photo credit: Lamin Jahateh.
Amat Jeng is also a Gambian journalist based in Sweden and blogs at Media Revolution. He notes that his blog is a reservoir for news about the Gambia and the sub-region. It endeavors to give impartial reports to anyone interested in business, economy, financial, and political news about the Gambia.
In his latest post on February 7, 2013, Jeng revealed the Gambia’s domestic debt burden increase for the period 2011-2012. He is one of the few Gambian bloggers based abroad.
Women’s Bantaba is managed by Binta Bah, a journalist and a women’s rights activist. She notes that her blog aspires to tell stories that have never been told. Her latest post is an interview with one of the Gambia’s leading women and girls’ rights activists, Amie Bojang Sissoho, a programme officer at the Gambia Committee on Traditional Practice (GAMCOTRAP).
The Nget Cell blog is run by Abdoulie Nget. A layout designer, Nget was also the sports editor of the once popular newspaper in the Gambia, The Daily News. The newspaper, along with two media houses, was ordered to close down operations late last year by operatives of the Gambia’s notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
Other blogs on the Gambia include the following:
Kissykissy Mansa
Gambia Affairs
Gambia Business Updates
The Kingdom (Mansabanko)
Campus and Field News
Young Journalists Association of The Gambia

author: Demba Kandeh


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Lone Saudi Protester Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

When a Day of Rage was called for in Saudi Arabia back on March 11, 2011, only a handful of protesters challenged the heavy police presence and protested. Khaled al-Johani was the only one of them on tape. al-Johani spoke to a group of journalists who were brought by the Ministry of Culture and Information to the place where the protest was planned to happen and was arrested on the same day when he returned to his house. He was held until 25 July, 2012.
Many thought that he received a pardon. However, last Monday, the Riyadh Criminal Court held a session to issue the verdict in his case. Khaled's brother tweeted [ar]:
بعد مرور أكثر من أربعة اشهر تم الاتصال علينا من قبل المحامي وابلغنا بان المحاكمة ستستمر وان لكم جلسة قادمة في المحكمة الجزائية في الرياض
@I98A: After over four months [of his release], the lawyer called and told us that the trial will continue and a court session will be held in Riyadh Criminal Court.
He added:
كنت أثناء الجلسات أتوقع الحكم على أخي الفاضل خالد الجهني بالبراءة من حيثيات كثيرة
@I98A: During the session, I thought my dear brother Khaled al-Johani will be declared innocent of many charges.
And continued:
حكم على خالد الجهني بسنة ونصف و منع من السفر ثلاث سنوات وغرامة مالية ستمائة ريال و مصادرة أجهزته […]
@I98A: Khaled al-Johani was sentenced to a year and a half [in prison], banned from traveling for three years, fined six hundred riyals [~160 USD] and had his electronic devices confiscated […]
Activist Abdullah al-Hamid, who is being tried for his human rights activism, tweeted:
الحكم_على_خالد_الجهني بالسجن سنة ونصفا/ إعلان للعالم كله وبرهان على أن القضاء السعودي من مطارق قمع حقوق الإنسان إنها #المحاكمةالسرية
@ Abubelal_1951: The sentence on Khaled al-Johani to a year and a half in prison is an announcement to the whole world that the Saudi judiciary is a tool to suppress human rights. This is [the result of] secret trials.
Mohammad al-Olayan, who was detained for 36 days for a human rights sign, tweeted:
[…] لقول الحق ثمن نحن مستعدون على دفعه، ولا بد من التضحية ليزول الظلم… كان الله في عونك ياخالد وفي عوننا على عونك…
2wordsprisoner: Saying the truth has a price and we are willing to pay that price. We have to sacrifice for the injustice to end. May god help you Khaled, and may He help us help you.

author: Anas Soliman


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SenseCamp Berlin: a Social Entrepreneurship Gathering · Global Voices
Laila Le Guen

Berlin held its second SenseCamp on February 8 and 9, 2013, a barcamp dedicated to social entrepreneurship. The program included workshops, meetings and conferences, to raise the impact of social entrepreneurial start-ups. Creative types, entrepreneurs and those who were interested, were invited to register in order to participate in this event:
Video created by Stanislas Buagev to present SenseCamp 2013 in Berlin – Sous license CC-BY-2.0

author: Laila Le Guen


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Taiwan Politician Tries, Quits Sina Weibo  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Frank Hsieh, former presidential nominee of Taiwan’s pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), opened an account on Sina Weibo on February 19, 2013. However, the account was deleted less than 24 hours later. More from China Beat.


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The Worst Companies of the Year · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Here were the nominees for the Public Eye Awards, a contest listing the worst companies of the year, was published by the website Public Eye. Organized by the Berne Declaration and Pro Natura, since 2000, the awards is a counter-summit critique of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. To date, readers have ranked Goldman Sachs at the top of the list.  The reason for this is their actions in Greece :
A scam that amounted to half of Greece's debt, for exorbitant fees, a scam that led to the country's ruin.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


text:
Will High Speed Rail Improve Singapore-Malaysia Ties? · Global Voices
Oddznns

Relations between Singapore and its neighbor Malaysia have been prickly ever since Singapore withdrew from the Malaysian Federation in 1965. Prickly at least until the two current prime ministers Lee Hsien Loong and Najib Tun Razak struck a real estate deal in 2010 which resolved the problem of what to do about Malaysia’s last foothold in Singapore, a railway station near the heart of Singapore’s business district.
On February 19 2012, the two prime ministers announced a high speed train project which will provide a mere 90 minute link between the two countries, demonstrating that they were not just interested in fence-mending but in building much closer ties.
Both leaders clearly recognize that co-operation will bring economic benefits.
YTL Corporation proposed a high speed rail link between Singapore and Malaysia in the 1990s
Carlos Abdullah sees the project as the first step in rapprochement between the two countries which used to be one.
I view the railway initiative in the most positive aspect. This is the first major step among all others to the integration of Singapore into the Federation of Malaysia. Today, things are becoming much more clear as to where Singapore and Malaysia will be heading to. It is easier for Singapore to integrate with malaysia than for the whole of ASEAN to integrate among themselves.
The announcement is prompting Bertha Henson to consider moving to Johor across the Singapore border because of the cheaper housing.
When I grow old(er), I will move to…Johor! I mean, have you seen the stuff that’s coming up in Iskandar region? More importantly, did you read about what those homes could be priced at?
The announcements by the two Prime Ministers of Singapore and Malaysia look like the best news in recent time. For both leaders, it’s probably great timing. Malaysia has a general election due by middle of the year. Singapore is screaming about lack of space.
However, she decides in the end that home is where she should remain, because she has voting rights. (Even if whatever she says isn’t loud enough to be heard).
Oddznns, who takes everything personally, says she's just glad that the journey to her mother’s home-town Ipoh will just get easier:
It would be an attractive option, at the right price.  The Malaysian part of my heritage has just become easier to access
Below are some reactions on twitter:
@bossming Looking forward to the high speed rail to KL becoming a reality, and for closer relations between our 2 countries.
@Avenflame New KL-SG high-speed rail: Now you can speed all the way to KL without having to dodge speed racers & paying off the traffic police.
@dayanaleto Singapore and Malaysia agrees to build high speed rail link between Singapore and Kuala lumpur. Only for 90 minutes! Amazing!
@prasys actually inter-state high-speed rail would be much more beneficial for malaysians – at least reduces bus accidents
@scamboy Malaysia can't even offer proper public transport but wanna do high-speed rail link to Singapore that cost RM13bil!

author: Oddznns