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‘New schemes of deception’: Russian election observers report on the voting · Global Voices
openDemocracy Russia

Elections poster in Moscow, Russia, September 2021. Image by Kotofey2016, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
This article by Natalia Shkurenok appeared on Open Democracy on September 22, 2021. It is republished as part of a content-sharing partnership and has been edited to fit the GV style.
The September 17-19 elections to the Russian parliament and to St Petersburg’s city assembly were, once again, notable for multiple election violations: voters were bussed into certain polling stations, and both election commission members and observers complained of people being removed from polling stations. It seems the city’s reputation for election falsification, gained most recently at the 2019 municipal elections, is still alive and well. The head of Russia’s central election commission has since promised to “punish” those responsible for violations in Russia’s ‘second capital’.
The election campaign itself in St Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, also drew concern. For example, opposition politician Boris Vishnevsky faced off against two other ‘doppelganger’ candidates with the same names in his constituency – only a few months earlier, Vishnevsky’s opponents had completely different names. In June, Maxim Reznik, an opposition city councillor, withdrew from the city race after police detained him on drug charges.
In the end, United Russia, the country’s ruling party, appears to have received a majority in 19 districts, while the Communist Party and For A Just Russia, a ‘system’ opposition party, received two districts each.
The city’s election commission is now examining appeals for recounts by several opposition candidates, who have reported violations. openDemocracy spoke to several election observers and members of election commissions in St Petersburg to find out what happened.
Voting member of district election commission No. 20, Pushkin, St Petersburg; election observer since 2018
Ekaterina Belyankina, image courtesy of openDemocracy.
I have been an election observer since the 2018 presidential vote. At first I was an observer, then I became a member of my neighbourhood election commission, now I’m a member of the district commission with a decisive vote. This year we had experienced observers at almost all polling stations, we prepared them in advance in the summer. Instead of the usual 30 people, we trained almost 200 and thus got a more complete and detailed picture.
Our district distinguished itself from the very first minute of the election. On Friday, for example, polling stations No. 1991 and No. 1992 were closed simultaneously due to an anonymous bomb threat. The police removed all observers, and we couldn’t see what was happening inside the building. All the surveillance cameras were turned off. The city’s human rights ombudsman had to intervene; employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, firefighters, and the police came – they removed us all from the building and removed some of the documentation from both polling stations. Then they annulled the voting results in these polling stations.
Other polling stations were accessed overnight. At polling station No. 1995, we sent a report about someone entering the polling station to the police. Then, on the next night, a kitchen worker entered on her own initiative – as she later admitted, she forgot that she was not allowed. We do not know what was happening there at that time, because access to video recordings is now extremely difficult.
Of course, all elections are held with violations, but these were held with record numbers of violations! Our investigation of gross errors and violations went ahead though, we even appealed to the Central Election Commission with a demand to appeal the voting results. We have already agreed with all the candidates (except, of course, the winners) that we will dispute the results and, at least, demand a recount. We have already written an appeal to the prosecutor’s office demanding to annul the results of voting at several polling stations and to hold repeated elections. We have also collected a record number of complaints, including a large number of incidents of ballot stuffing.
The prosecutor’s office has already started investigating our district. Vitaly Milonov [a Russian MP known for scandalous, often homophobic public statements] even came to the precinct where I vote – he ran for the State Duma in our district. As it turns out, the largest number of complaints about violations came from the polling stations he visited. We are already writing complaints and demanding inspections.
(openDemocracy was unable to contact Vitaly Milonov for comment, but Dmitry Pavlov, a candidate in Petersburg close to Milonov, said earlier this week that election observers had interfered with the work of the election commissions and that, in Pushkin specifically, the elections had been fair).
On September 21, for example, at polling station No. 1995, which Milonov also visited, an inspection was carried out – law enforcement took fingerprints from the polling station safe, and the deputy chairman of the commission was taken for questioning. And we see this across [the southern St Petersburg town of] Pushkin.
Milonov arrived accompanied by a group of sporty-looking men. We have screenshots of messages between his supporters [released via a journalist for local media Fontanka who went undercover in the group] that discuss tactics – how to provoke and forcibly withdraw independent observers from polling stations. Milonov personally visited some polling stations and supervised the proceedings. We were forbidden to film, we managed to record only 38 seconds of footage, which shows how Vitaly Milonov aggressively snatches the camera from the hands of a rival candidate. On September 19, the police refused to accept our complaint against Milonov, but we will still try to get it accepted.
In my opinion, everything depends on how many independent observers are at the polling stations. If at least a few of them closely follow the course of voting and the members of the election commission, then, as a rule, few violations are found. If the polling stations are located in remote areas where there are no observers, there are always violations. We reported the restriction of the rights of observers and members of commissions – for example, we were illegally prohibited from filming. In our opinion, the opinion of independent observers, it is necessary to annul the results for all disputed polling stations in our district, of which there are more than a dozen out of 74.
That said, there were some very quiet polling stations – for example, I was present at the counting of votes at polling station No. 1959, I myself voted there and stayed to observe. And everything went very calmly, without violations.
Voting member of Kronstadt election commission No. 15; election observer since 1998
Stanislav Beloborodov, image courtesy of openDemocracy.
In Kronstadt (a port city within one of St Petersburg federal city districts), the elections were calm this year, but our town is specific. A significant number of voters here are in the military, mainly sailors. They come to the polling stations in units or they are brought in groups by buses – which, of course, is a violation, but no one pays attention to this here.
On the morning of Friday September 17, military personnel started queuing up at the polling stations in Kronstadt. By Friday afternoon, at some polling stations the turnout was almost 50% of all eligible voters. In Kronstadt, more than 90% of precincts have electronic counting systems, so, in principle, fraud and falsification are practically impossible.
But we also have polling stations that are completely unmonitored: these are the navy warships that go out to sea. This year from Kronstadt there were four ships that voted this way. Each ship is a separate polling station, of course, and they showed 100% turnout. At one of them, candidates from United Russia received 100%, and the rest the Communist Party and For a Just Russia got a few percent, which looks more like a statistical error. There are no observers there at all, the commission consists of the captain and his deputies. Judging by the results, they got the result that the authorities expected from them.
There were, of course, many errors, but they were mainly caused by the fact that electoral commissions have to submit a huge number of reports through a complex and confusing procedure. But, according to my observations, all these errors are procedural, the commissions tried to correct them as soon as possible. And these mistakes did not affect people’s votes! And they did not affect the result in any way – in Kronstadt, United Russia has a significant lead, and in particular on the navy ships.
Member of District Election Commission No. 35; Neighbourhood Election Commission No. 255, Vyborgsky District
Natalia Voznesenskaya, image courtesy of openDemocracy.
It seems to me that the situation with the elections gets worse with every new election – these aren’t the first elections I’ve observed. In 2018, there were big violations in the presidential elections, and in these elections the level of violations has been about the same. The only thing is that, in my opinion, the authorities have learned since then how to come up with new schemes of deception and how to cover up the traces of violations.
This time, the electoral commission where I worked consisted of quite normal people – they weren’t motivated to commit violations. They responded to my comments adequately and sometimes even thanked me. These other election personnel themselves did not know many details of the law on election observers. In general, it was very difficult for me to simultaneously observe and fulfil the duties of a member of the commission, especially since the turnout at our precinct was very high.
People came in waves, especially on September 17 and 18. And I was the only observer at this polling station from the district commission. Therefore, despite the fact that the other members of the commission were loyal towards me, I cannot be sure that they did not commit any illegal actions behind my back – for example, when I was leaving to organise voting at home for older people or when I left for lunch. When I returned after the home voting, the atmosphere at the polling station had clearly changed – members of the commission started finding faults with me, making some senseless claims against me, and tried to provoke me. Fortunately, I managed to extinguish the conflict, and everything worked out.
I needed support, at least one more normal observer. Other observers were there, but we could not rely on all of them – they were hired by other parties, mainly United Russia and For A Just Russia. These were mainly young people who did not know the election legislation. When I asked them to follow the commission while I went to lunch, they said they had been instructed to help the members of the commission. That is, they simply do not understand why observers are needed! But they constantly took selfies and reported to their bosses. Members of the commission themselves believed that observers were supposed to help the commission, and they were sincerely amazed when I pulled them away – why are observers needed at all in this case?
At our polling station, United Russia led the elections to the State Duma, and the communists led in the city assembly. But I wouldn’t make the conclusion that these elections have been a pure falsification. When you talk with older voters, they are almost all for United Russia.

author: openDemocracy Russia


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Afghan refugees might complicate Ugandan politics · Global Voices
Brian Oduti

“Nyakabande Refugee Camp in Uganda” by gsz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Uganda is often praised as a model of hospitability for refugees. The country is home to at least 1.5 million refugees and has a remarkable open border tradition that spans decades, despite dealing with high domestic poverty levels. But the news that Uganda might be a destination country for Afghan refugees following the US withdrawal from that country in August 2021 has raised alarms in Uganda. Some local human rights defenders are concerned that accepting Afghan refugees might excuse President Yoweri Museveni's continued authoritarian rule.
In Today's @DailyMonitor page 12.
About Afghan refugees and Ugandans deployed in Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/ay1uhULZaP
— Ivan Bwowe (@BwoweIvan) August 30, 2021
Share your thoughts on Uganda's move to host 2,000 Afghan refugees. #NBSLiveAt9
Courtesy Photo pic.twitter.com/Ox4JKT5673
— NBS Television (@nbstv) August 17, 2021
Okello Oryem, the State Minister for International Cooperation, told the Daily Monitor, a Ugandan daily news outlet, about a request by the US government that Uganda hosts the Afghan evacuees until their relocation:
They are not refugees; the US asked us on whether we could take them in temporarily as they are vetted possibly for relocation.
But before we could agree we asked them for certain information; under what terms and conditions, who are they bringing in — are they former soldiers, prisoners, translators, and for how long are they staying here? Once we are sure of that then we can agree.
The US embassy in Kampala confirmed the deal to confirmed to the Daily Monitor:
We deeply appreciate Uganda’s generous offer of assistance to host Afghanistan evacuees on a temporary basis. We have not yet made a final determination of assistance requirements in Uganda and discussions with the government of Uganda concerning the situation in Afghanistan, are ongoing,” a US embassy official noted.
The previous controversy around refugees in Uganda had been about the Uganda Government's lack of accountability in managing funds. Some government officials were suspended in 2018 after allegations of fraud and refugee number inflation.
Makerere University historian Mwambutysa Ndebeesa expressed fears that hosting the Afghan evacuees might threaten Uganda's national security. He told Deutsche Welle that:
Afghan refugees may turn the attention of international terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, al-Shabab, and ISIS to Uganda and destabilize the country.
In July 2010, 74 people were killed and 85 injured in twin bomb attacks in Kampala orchestrated by the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab. The attack was considered retribution for Uganda's role in the African Union's peacekeeping force fighting the extremist group.
Eron Kiiza, a human rights lawyer, counters Ndebeesa's fears. In an interview with Global Voices, he said:
It is good for countries including Uganda to welcome Afghan refugees fleeing uncertainty and extreme circumstances in their homeland. Human dignity, human solidarity and sheer necessity should allow us open arms to refugees and hope for a change in circumstances in their countries that would enable them to return to their homeland as a life in exile is no piece of cake.
Despite the praise Uganda has received for its open-door policy, donor funding does not match it. By June 2021, the Uganda Refugee Response Plan was only 22 percent funded, leaving a considerable deficit to cover the food, health care, and education for refugee communities.
Global Voices spoke to Peter Manza, a humanitarian response worker in Kampala, via phone. He said,
The first thing is to open borders and ensure the safety of refugees. There may be funding constraints, but we cannot refuse to let them (refugees) in. The Afghans are here temporarily as arrangements are made to resettle them elsewhere. Resettlement is a complex process and can take months. It is also cheaper to keep the refugees in Uganda than in other countries.
In January 2021, Ugandan saw one of the bloodiest elections in its history. The government shut down the internet during election week. In the weeks leading to the elections, journalists were assaulted by Ugandan security personnel, human rights NGOs had their bank accounts frozen. At least 19 were killed in response to opposition protests in Kampala, and scores of opposition supporters disappeared and still remain missing.
The US government imposed a raft of sanctions against Uganda officials, citing human rights violations and undermining democracy.  The US government's inconsistent policies in Uganda, including imposing sanctions while propping up the Kampala regime and now placing Afghan refugees under the care of the 35-year-old Kampala regime, raises questions about its commitment to human rights.
Lornah Afoyomungu, a Ugandan lawyer, explained the implications of the deal to host the Afghan evacuees in Uganda in a WhatsApp interview with Global Voices:
The driving force behind Uganda's foreign policy has been less about alleviating the suffering of civilians in conflict areas but more about capital/ and capitalism.  Thus, being a host to some of the highest numbers of refugees globally and regionally is not as noble as we'd like it to be. The (NRM) regime has used the plight of these vulnerable people to enrich themselves while continuously dehumanizing refugees and denying them basic rights.
With this in mind, and Uganda's less than ideal human rights record, no (“democratic”) country should actively want to alleviate the suffering of civilians by bringing them into Uganda. That is where US imperialism comes in. In addition to playing a significant role in the creation of the Taliban in Afghanistan, should the “liberation” of its people then be left in the hands of the US president working in cohorts with a known dictator?

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Brian Oduti


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Critical thinking is crucial to progressive art: Bosnian musicologist Amila Ramović · Global Voices
Balkan Diskurs

Amila Ramović. Photo by Damir Šagolj, used with permission.
This story by Kristina Gadže was originally published on Balkan Diskurs, a project of the Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC). An edited version is republished by Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Amila Ramović, assistant professor at the department of music theory and pedagogy at the Music Academy of the University of Sarajevo, talked to Balkan Diskurs about critical thinking through art. In addition to her academic title, she is the president of the Musicological Society of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a member of the International Musicological Society based in Basel.
Ramović pointed out that her profession gives her the opportunity to meet many future artists:
Art students are passionate about this vocation and in their work they are guided by optimism that the values they instinctively and intellectually feel will be recognized by their environment. That is why it is a special privilege for anyone interested in art to work with young people who are not yet „corrupt“ by conformism, which is the greatest enemy of progressive and critical artistic thought – as only such art is the real one. However, it is true that this attitude of theirs is quickly tested as soon as they finish their studies, because our society does not have any platform to support artists“, points out.
She said that the young musicians she works with, even the most talented and award-winning ones, usually give up artistic activities very quickly and look for a job in music schools, and that such daily work exhausts them. She added:
This is not strange at all, especially when we know that, for example, in the public institutional sector in Sarajevo, there is only the Philharmonic and the Opera where someone can play music professionally. In this sense, we can neglect the independent sector, because it is also neglected by the administrations with miserable financing. So young artists cannot do music for living. This reality worries them, demoralizes them and in the end they come to simply surrender to that reality.
She survived the siege of Sarajevo (1992–1996) and saw how art works even in such conditions. It was during the siege, she says, that it became visible and clear, that the experience of art is directly related to survival as one of the most resilient ways of preserving people’s identity.
Ramović recalled that it was a period when citizens risked their lives to go to exhibitions and shows:
In a situation when our physical existence was called into question, when we as human beings were annulled by the aggressors, but also by the „civilized“ European world that surrounds us, the continuity of life was confirmed by the achievements of the spirit. At that time, we felt that biological survival, survival itself, having to eat, being warmed up, was not enough.
History and culture are always interesting topics for artists, she adds, and in BiH, which is burdened with historical narratives, this is especially pronounced. Amila Ramović explained:
In post-war Bosnia, precisely because of the dominant policies and narratives that those policies placed, there was a flood of ethno-national kitsch in the field of art, based on historical and mythological narratives where devotion to the people and homeland is manifested in the format of works of art. I say in format, because these works are consciously or unconsciously conceived with the aim of initiating some empathic processes, in the way that pop culture seduces its consumers. In the end, such achievements are often strengthened by social support.
She says that serious art requires a contemporary critical approach, contextualized in the knowledge not only of BiH reality, but also of contemporary artistic discourse:
Such artistic speech, which we recognize as the face of successful BiH art, is largely carried by artists who work internationally, independent of the reactions from our environment. Braco Dimitrijević is certainly the most important artistic figure of the BiH art scene of all time. His works are regularly in the permanent exhibition of the world’s most important museums. Despite that, I am not sure that he is recognized through the administrations in his full capacity, but also in our wider social space.
She explains that the limits of artistic discourse are largely connected with the fact that BiH, at all levels, actually invests very little in critically oriented art, because it is not in the interest of what leading policies aim for.
When asked whether critical culture sometimes leads to separation from one’s own culture in the context of the departure of young people from these areas, Ramović answered that these two things work side by side:
Young people are leaving BiH because they do not see the possibility that something could change, and that is especially true in the artistic milieu. What is true is that the situation can be changed by serious critical action. And that critical culture, that is, critical thinking through arguments, formation of attitude, articulation of attitude and its placement in public space, is what we as a society lack on every agenda. I often see young people, but not only young people, giving up critical action.
Art is independent of politics, but the question arises as to how much they need to be connected, if they are to achieve goals benefiting  the whole society. Ramović believes that art involves people and, therefore, in her opinion, it is political in nature, as it shapes the spirit and cultural heritage that builds the identity of a certain region.
Because art is attuned with reality, regardless of its subjects and form—abstract or concrete—it enables its audience to recognize nuance and understand the world in its ambiguity. For Ramović, good art is usually the enemy of right-wing politics, and good artists are almost always somewhere directed to the left.
She advises young artists to imagine the future, have concrete goals in front of them and fight to achieve them.
Very often, the achievement of these goals is quite realistic, only that the messages from the social reality lead us to doubt and pessimism. The dominant policy in BiH is based on the prevention of resistance and on breaking the will for rebellion and change, so we are ‘trained’ by both the administration and the media. But this position of theirs is fundamentally very weak and it can easily be defeated in the face of strong creative energy.
She points out that it is necessary for associations of art students and young artists in the independent sector to articulate their own visions and use public space, social networks and media to put pressure on those who can create the conditions for their visions to be realized.
Ramović concludes:
I do hope that young musicians, but also young artists in general, will initiate some public actions and ask public administrations to change their attitude towards them, but that has not happened yet. If we look at the spending of budget funds, it turns out that refined intellectual work is not something that those who finance cultural production recognize as a value. That would have to change if we want BiH to get an active, stable, coherent and relevant art scene.

author: Balkan Diskurs


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Preserving Africa’s musical heritage by combining traditional folk music with modern sounds · Global Voices
Njeri Wangari

“Old Wooden Djembe” by dejankrsmanovic is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Traditional African musical sounds and songs are under threat today. More than 50 years after the end of official colonial rule, the legacy of colonialism continues to sideline many traditional musical practices as capitalism commodifies the art form as pure entertainment — rather than a cultural tool for preserving tradition and community.
Ethnomusicologists began recording, collecting, and archiving African Folk music as early as the 1920s, in an effort to preserve and document disappearing cultures. According to the Vinyl Factory:
Record labels and ethnologists started recording ethnic communities’ music in the 1920s and 1930s, at the dawn of field recording technology, when they realized they had the means to record, and not only transpose music made in the rural areas away from the studio.
Global Voices compiled some samples of these recordings in a YouTube playlist. And a piece from the Nigerian Yoruba Tribe is available below.
Huey Tracey is perhaps one of the most renowned ethnomusicologists who, together with his wife Barbara Tracey, made over 35,000 recordings of African folk music between the 1920s and the 1970s. He later founded the International Library of African Music ( ILAM) — the largest repository of African music in the world which preserves thousands of historical recordings going back to 1929. The research institution has since become devoted to the study of music in Africa.
In recent years, there has been renewed interest and efforts among African musicologists, historians, and enthusiasts to record, digitize, and archive traditional music and ancient sounds from indigenous communities on the African continent. The primary goal has been to preserve and sustain the music's extraordinary heritage which has become inaccessible. The influence of Christianity on indigenous people's perception of traditional music and accompanying practices, urbanization, the ubiquity of radio and studio-recorded music, and commodification have all contributed to the demise of African folk music.
Tabu Osusa is a Kenyan music producer, author, and the founding director of Ketebul music — a nonprofit organization dedicated to researching, documenting, developing, and promoting the diverse musical traditions of East Africa. His organization together with the Abubilla Music Foundation started the Singing project wells nine years ago  This is a collaborative project that travels to remote villages across East Africa with mobile recording studios in order to record and archive traditional sounds and music of Eastern Africa in an audiovisual format. These musical performances are then published on their website, on their SoundCloud podcast, and on YouTube.
Unlike some ethnomusicologists whose recordings are mainly for archival purposes — making it difficult for music producers or musicians to access the songs for sampling or adaptation purposes — the Singing Wells project says they are determined not to become “fossil collectors.” As noted on their website:
We work with musicians to make sure their music traditions continue to be practised, can be shared amongst the widest audiences and become a source of inspiration for new musicians.
Osusa’s immense contributions towards music as a historian, not just on the Singing Wells project but also in a project documenting the history of popular music in Kenya from 1946–2016, were recently recognized through an Order of Arts and Letters honours. In August this year, Osusa was given the award which recognizes eminent artists and writers who have significantly contributed to the creative industry.
Benson Rukantabula is a young Tanzanian who founded the Tanzania Heritage Project in 2012 with the mission to find, restore and share Tanzania’s rich musical heritage through digitization. In so doing, he hopes his contribution will go towards supporting and promoting modern-day cultural expression that will keep Tanzanian creativity and art vibrant and accessible.
While speaking to the Global Post following the launch of the project on Kickstarter, Rukantabula said;
I hope that by making this music available, the country can both preserve its heritage and inspire young Tanzanian artists through the musical storytelling of their past. The popular Bongo Flava music that blares from local nightclubs hardly reflects Tanzania’s rich musical history.
The messages are all messed up… If we digitize the archives, they can know where they lost their way.
Thanks to technology, these recorded and archived sounds are now finding a new life as modern musicians, DJs, artists, and music producers fuse ancient sounds with modern musical concepts.
And just like in the 1950s when field recordings of African music precipitated the beginning of the musical avant-garde in Europe, where producers such as Henry Cowell, incorporated tonal and rhythmic ideas into his own compositions, modern-day musicians, and music producers are borrowing from this very template.
One of our favs with @SarondeMusic Ft. Waliko – Contains samples of field recordings made in Zambia & Malawi in 1952 & footage filmed by Hugh Tracey on his recording expeditions throughout Sub Saharan Africa (1939-1964)#FutureSounds ?https://t.co/OfbeKFq9HF
— Beating Heart (@BeatingHeart500) November 15, 2019
Saronde, a project that fuses ancient sounds with modern musical themes was started by musician and producer duo Chris Pedley and Olly Wood when they launched their Beating Heart label in 2016. It has since become a collaboration between established music producers from Africa and around the globe to remix vintage field recordings from the International Library of African Music (ILAM).
Saronde has so far produced 10 songs which include field recordings of folk music from the Sub-Saharan Region in collaboration with various African musicians.
.@SarondeMusic have been busy working to bring Hugh Tracey's legacy into the present day. Their latest release ‘Beating Heart Origins’ samples his field recordings from Malawi, Congo & Zambia – tracks have been hyped at festivals and in Ibiza this summer. https://t.co/X0StAn1VB4 pic.twitter.com/mNmtIr5YPK
— Beating Heart (@BeatingHeart500) August 27, 2019
Oxhala is a musical project of the Portuguese duo Maria and Luis that blends traditional ethnic folk elements with contemporary electronic music. Now on their fifth album, the duo are greatly influenced by ancient rhythms from field recordings from Iberic, Brazilian, and African cultures
The Laibon dance a song by Ohxala that was released under the Shika Shika Presents Eco compilation album features field recordings from the Maasai in Kenya. The song became the soundtrack to the film Endangered species by Scott Shields.
Traditional African music is a gem! and it holds the foundation on which today’s music is built notes the Citizen, a Tanzanian media publication
With so much diversity in new musical sub-genres as streaming becomes the way of the future for music distribution, the vastness, rich and distinct sound of traditional music now becoming secret sauce that is giving modern music its unique texture as the production of music becomes more and more digitized.
Global Voices created a Spotify playlist to highlight some of this genre-bending music. Check it out below.

author: Njeri Wangari


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Three Melbourne teenagers inspire public with their COVID-19 data tracking website · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

COVID Base AU logo – Image used with permission of @COVIDBaseAU
For those in need of a feel-good COVID-19 story, this one from Oz should fit the bill.
The three people behind CovidBaseAU, one of the most successful Australian pandemic data website and Twitter account, have outed themselves. Guardian Australia explained the backstory:
It turns out one of the most authoritative Covid-19 tracking sites in Australia is run by three teenagers.
The team, who have been running CovidbaseAU, became part of their own statistics after getting their first doses of the Moderna vaccine in Melbourne.
CovidBaseAU presents daily data about the pandemic in Australia, including local case numbers, tests, hospitalisations, deaths and vaccinations. It has national and state figures.
Jack and Darcy are 15 years old and Wesley is 14. Their pinned tweet to celebrate getting their first shot of vaccine gave the game away:
BOOM! 12-15s can get the?
Today the three of us who run @covidbaseau, Jack, Wesley and Darcy, had our first dose of the Moderna vaccine.?
Thought this would be a good time to share who we really are.?
Thrilled that we will finally be included in our data! pic.twitter.com/SeIQFXPjGW
— CovidBaseAU ???? (@covidbaseau) September 23, 2021
There were over 1,400 replies to the tweet in the first few hours. This exchange shed some light on the three go-getters:
I (Jack) actually do have one working in a restaurant (not right now due to lockdown). Darcy does a bit of work on thermal modelling. Wesley is under 15 so not so easy. But thanks!
— CovidBaseAU ???? (@covidbaseau) September 23, 2021
There were some high-powered congratulations, such as this tweet from public health professor Bill Bowtell:
Warmest congratulations and many thanks for your great contributions to quantifying Covid. Good policy can only be made on basis of good and honest figures provided quickly. You have made a real difference.
— Bill Bowtell AO (@billbowtell) September 24, 2021
The trio was interviewed by a fellow ‘numbers gremlin’, Casey Briggs, on ABC TV News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Briggs has been the ABC's regular TV data guru during the pandemic. His graphic presentations have won him a large loyal following on social media.
The ABC joked that the trio was ‘unmasking’ themselves, which they literally did in the video:
They explained that their homeschooling lessons during lockdowns in Melbourne have helped them with this project.
‘Data geek’ Ben Krauth celebrated the complexity of their work:
For those not as familiar with the amazing coding abilities of the trio behind @covidbaseau.
Check out this amazing tweet today, from a BOT they coded!
This is one of the most advanced tweets I've seen on covid anywhere. So awesome. https://t.co/sA3aRpibl8
— Ben Krauth (@KrauthBen) September 23, 2021
There were plenty of doses of humour:
Are you telling me that you three high school kids provide clearer info than the entire Department of Health? Damn…
— SJ Williams (that fella downunder…) (@sjwill99) September 23, 2021
They have a Patreon account if you'd like to become a patron.
Jack, Darcy and Wesley were overwhelmed by the response of their fellow Melburnians and well-wishers globally:
My 8year old boy saw you on the project tonight and he was blown away at what you guys are doing! Keep striving and inspiring. There is hope ??
— Jess (@J_Trimmy) September 24, 2021
Warm congratulations from the Netherlands ?? You 3 really put a big smile on my face. Keep up the good work you'll do on your website, it is really incredible!
— Melanie (@MelRamaekers) September 24, 2021
There was media coverage in several languages and from a far away as Ireland.
Anyway, we'll give them the last word:
Hi all. Just wanted to put out this tweet. We've received a number of messages from people in the media who have reached out. Really sorry but its just impossible to get to everyone. We're working it people but the number of messages we have received is very overwhelming.
— CovidBaseAU ???? (@covidbaseau) September 24, 2021

author: Kevin Rennie


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A veteran Hong Kong Wikipedia editor: “Wikipedia’s policies are vulnerable to authoritarian abuse” · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Image from Wikimedia (CC: AT-SA)
Upon investigation over the infiltration of the Chinese Wikipedia community, the Wikimedia Foundation has recently decided to ban editing access of seven users and revoke the rights of twelve administrators’ rights from mainland China. It stressed that the decision was made because “some users have been physically harmed.”
Global Voices interviewed a veteran mainland Chinese Wikipedia editor earlier this week to give our readers more background on the Foundation's decision. In the following interview, Global Voices talked to a Hong Kong Wikipedia editor (under pseudonym Henry Kwong), who is currently residing in the UK, to discuss the gravity of the harassment, threats and actual harm that the Chinese Wikipedia community has faced in recent years. The interview was conducted through email, and the editor's identity has been hidden for security concerns.
Henry Kwong pointed out that just days after the Foundation announced their decision, a veteran mainland Chinese Wikipedia editor, Philip Tzou was doxxed and threatened.
On Weibo, Sitoka 98 (@斯图卡98), a commentary writer on Chinese military news with 5.7 million followers, claimed that Philip Tzou was responsible for the decision made by the Wikimedia Foundation. The doxxing post had included his real name, his household address in China, his current job in the US, his Twitter handle and a photo of him with his girlfriend. It also claimed that Philip Tzou was pro-Taiwan and pro-Hong Kong independence.
As anticipated, all kinds of verbal threats emerged in the comment thread, such as “hunt down his parents,” “arrest him” or even “learn from the Russians and murder him.”
Kwong also observed that a group of veteran mainland Chinese Wikipedians previously united under Wikimedia User Group China (WUGC) had been “bullied into silence” by newcomers organised via the chatroom WMCUG (Wikimedians of mainland China user group) or WMC (Wikimedians of mainland China) which claims to represent the mainland Chinese community.
He said that the WMC, the “pro-Beijing caucus” started dominating Chinese Wikipedia elections in 2017, and by 2019 “not a single editor with a known Beijing-skeptical personal opinion has been elected to Chinese Wikipedia administrator status.” Wikimedia Foundation's statement has confirmed the existence of threats, verbal attacks and election canvassing in relation to the WMC.
In recent years, governments in both Hong Kong and mainland China have encouraged people to become informants for the police authorities. When asked to explain the effect of such political culture, Kwong says:
Every civil society leader from Hong Kong is now either in jail or in a self-exile, and I am speaking to you on the condition of anonymity. Need I say more?
The infiltration concerns surrounding doxxing and threats within the Chinese Wikipedia community escalated after the “edit war” between Hong Kong and mainland Chinese editors on entries related to the 2019 Hong Kong protests was picked up by a number of media outlets in Hong Kong. Kong shared his frustration over the editing of articles related to the 2019 anti-extradition protests in Hong Kong:
Every article about notable deaths in the 2019 Hong Kong conflicts have been brutally fought over. When the facts of the case are uncertain, as with the horrible deaths of Chow Tsz-lok and Chan Yin-lam, some editors sought to cite Beijing propaganda that tried to smear the personalities of the deceased citizens…
Both China state-owned or affiliated media outlets and Hong Kong pro-establishment media outlets mobilised to depict the 2019 protests as a “riot” or even “terrorist acts” in order to justify the deployment of armed forces, including tear gas and rubber bullets by the Hong Kong police.
He said that there were cases when Wikipedia's “neutral point of view” principle was abused to suppress information, and he pointed to the debates over a protest incident when a first-aid responder using the pseudonym “K” was allegedly shot blind by riot police on August 11, 2019.
According to the discussion page of the entry, a photo taken by “Studio Incendo“ was removed from the original entry in May 2021. The photo was taken when other first-aiders in the protest site were taking care of K, and it showed the pair of blood-tainted goggles taken off of K, which had been damaged by a bean bag round. While the photo caption did not claim that K was shot by Hong Kong riot police, the key argument for the removal decision is that the image itself “is asserting the accusation against the police.”
Kwong believes that the edit war is not simply a result of differences in opinions but state influence:
I have every reason to believe that the pro-Beijing editors I fought against were sincere in their belief in Chinese propaganda. They aren't the problem. The problem is with their state censorship, which means other voices in China have no representation in the debate.
In China, netizens could be arrested for bypassing the Great Firewall, China's internet censorship infrastructure, to access blocked overseas websites. Chinese Wikipedia has been blocked since 2005, and this means that the mainland Chinese Wikipedians have to circumvent the Chinese network to get access to Wikipedia. This places the mainland Chinese Wikipedia community in a legally vulnerable position that exposes them to political exploitation, Kwong explains:
The Great Firewall of China has blocked Wikipedia in one way or another for over a decade, so the playing field has not been level in a long time. Yet we are having a problem with Mainland Chinese editors pushing a pro-Beijing agenda […] This is what happened to Chinese engagement with politically sensitive topics on Wikipedia: lock up netizens who are skeptical of the Chinese establishment, let the regime's loyal cheerleaders pass through the net, and multiply that by the sheer population of China, and voila you have an army of self-motivated propagandists who can create a “consensus” that supports the Chinese establishment's view.
He is supportive of the Wikimedia Foundation's decision:
For too long, censorious authorities have abused the open knowledge movement's goodwill to push their agenda.
Yet, to prevent the powerful, such as state-backed actors and corporate, from infiltrating the community and using Wikipedia as a means to advocate for a political agenda, Kwong believes the Foundation has to further review its editorial and community policies:
…now Wikipedia is the central hub of the world's knowledge and a target of willful, coordinated abuse. The first step is to recognise that Wikipedia's policies are vulnerable to authoritarian abuse, and redress any state or non-state actors’ attempts to create an unequal playing field of knowledge, for example by setting editorial principles that ban media outlets owned by authorities that censor Wikipedia from being used as citations. … The nascent plans to set up a global Wikimedia Code of Conduct Committee is a welcome start and I hope the committee will take an active part in tackling governments and corporations who try to abuse Wikipedia to promote their propaganda.

author: Oiwan Lam


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In Turkey, a citizen sentenced to prison for insulting the president · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

“jail” by khalid Albaih is licensed under CC BY 2.0
In 2016, German newspaper Bild published an article, titled “Dictator Erdoğan: Where does it all end?” criticizing Erdoğan's increasing authoritarianism. The story was translated into Turkish and shared across several local media platforms at the time. Among those who shared the article was a man named Mehmet Şah Tekiner, 62. Five years later, on September 27, Tekiner, was sentenced to one year and three months in jail for allegedly “insulting the President,” under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code. In his defense, Tekiner said he was innocent and that he had never even created a social media account. He did say, however, that an account may have been opened under his name by his children or grandchildren.
But his testimony was not accepted, according to reporting by Bianet. “The security director considered his statement to ‘be aimed at evading penalty’ and did not accredit the statement,” wrote Bianet on September 27. While the pronouncement of the verdict has been deferred, Tekiner's lawyer, Resul Tamur has appealed the court decision, according to Bianet.
Since getting elected as president in 2014, some “100,000 people have been accused of defaming the president,” and breaking Article 299 of the Penal Code, a provision rarely used before according to a 2018 report by Human Rights Watch.
According to Article 299 of the Penal Code, any person who insults the president can face up to four years behind bars. So far, students, artists, journalists, lawyers, and average citizens, have been prosecuted or faced trial. According to the Ministry of Justice, General Directorate of Criminal Records and Statistics, 36,000 people were investigated for allegedly insulting the President in 2019, and 31,000 in 2020. In comparison, according to the same database, only four people were investigated under the article in 2010.
Authorities in Turkey, explain the increase in the number of cases filed for “insulting the President” corresponds with an increase in the number of unjustified insults against the head of state, according to a 2016 opinion piece by the Venice Commission.
Since the constitutional reform of 2007, the President of the Republic was elected by popular vote and, as a consequence, he is much more involved in politics than his predecessors. This situation reportedly also increases the intensity and quantity of attacks against the President. Thus, according to the authorities, the primary reason for the recent increase in the number of prosecutions under Article 299 is the increase in the number of unjustified insults uttered against the Head of State.
In its observations, the Venice Commission wrote, “the use of offensive, shocking and disturbing words especially within the context of a debate on matters of public interest, are guaranteed by the freedom of expression […] Besides, the use of vulgar phrases in itself is not decisive as it may simply serve stylistic, including sarcastic purposes, which are protected as freedom of expression.” The prosecutions were “likely to create [a] chilling effect on society as a whole” and could not be “considered proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued, i.e. protecting the honor and dignity of the President.”
These conclusions had little impact.
For instance, in March 2021, Selehattin Demirtaş a politician and former co-chair of the Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) who has been imprisoned since 2016, has his sentence extended by 3 years and 6 months for “insulting the president.” In April 2021, the Turkish government banned students convicted of insulting the President from living in state dormitories. In August 2021, prominent actor, Genco Erkal, was accused of insulting the president on Twitter for three tweets he posted in 2016 and 2020. If convicted, Erkal could face up to four years and eight months in jail.
Meanwhile, President Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party insist, there must be a fine line between criticism and insults.

author: Arzu Geybullayeva


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Is China exporting its surveillance state to Venezuela? · Global Voices
Alessandra Soler

Illustration by Giovana Fleck, used with permission.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s clampdown on democracy in Venezuela has used technology to implement social control mechanisms and to thwart freedom of expression on the internet. Critics have pointed out that the Venezuelan government aims to emulate the surveillance state that prevails in China, and that China has eagerly exported this model to Venezuela.
In June this year, a report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association to the UN Human Rights Council noted that the Venezuelan government has restricted access to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram in the context of protests. The Freedom of the Net report published by Freedom House considers Venezuela “not free.”
In this regard, China’s involvement in the development of mechanisms used to undermine democracy and human rights in Venezuela becomes of particular interest when discussing the nature of bilateral relations. For years, activists and journalists have pointed out that the government is becoming better at implementing the same mechanisms seen in China to limit and even block access to the internet.
When President Hugo Chávez rose to power more than 20 years ago, Venezuela became one of China’s staunchest allies in the region. Over these two decades, the countries have shared a common narrative of anti-imperialism and resistance to the U.S.-led liberal international order. Venezuela became the recipient of nearly half of the loans made by China to Latin America.
In social and digital media, there is an ongoing discussion on what are the ultimate goals of the “comprehensive strategic partnership” both governments promote. Some observers consider it is merely economic and only exists because China perceives a direct economic benefit. For others, Venezuela is a pawn in China’s larger goal to contest U.S. power, and therefore, China’s support of the Maduro government is also a geopolitical strategy.
The specificities of China’s alleged participation in these anti-democratic practices in Venezuela is, however, a puzzle. Scant official information exists on bilateral agreements between the countries from 2000 to 2020. Independent journalists and civil society organizations have taken on the task of piecing together some critical aspects and implications of these agreements, but details remain sparse.
As repression and censorship increase in Venezuela, the activities of one Chinese company have garnered increasing interest: the state-owned China National Electronics Import & Export Corporation (CEIEC), one of the main companies responsible for providing the Venezuelan government with the digital means to silence and persecute its critics.
But CEIEC is not an ordinary tech company. It is one of the largest military contractors in China and one of the few defense companies authorized by the Chinese government to sell overseas.
CEIEC is not new to doing business with the Venezuelan government. In 2005 and 2014, Venezuela acquired radar and command posts manufactured by the company as part of a series of agreements on defense cooperation.
According to its webpage, CEIEC helps its customers respond to the challenges of “sovereign threat, natural disaster, social crisis, and economic development” by providing them with software, equipment, and infrastructure for defense, public security, and digital identity. By 2019, it had 24 overseas branches and a presence in 160 “countries and regions.”
In 2013, Venezuela paid the company $1 billion USD to develop a public security system that comprised the installation of 30,000 security cameras and national, regional, and municipal command centers interconnected by independent telecommunications systems. The project aimed at supporting a government’s initiative to tackle one of the highest crime rates in the world. It failed to achieve its goals, among other reasons, because the agreement was not fully implemented.
In 2016, CEIEC provided the Venezuelan government a surveillance system for the penitentiary system that aimed at “guaranteeing security, order, discipline, and human rights” in Venezuela’s prisons.
More recent agreements in the telecommunications sector are even harder to pinpoint, signaling they may be highly sensitive for both countries.
In November 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury, through its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), sanctioned CEIEC for helping the Maduro government undermine democracy, including “efforts to restrict internet service and conduct digital surveillance and cyber operations against political opponents.” According to OFAC, CEIEC provided Venezuela with the commercialized version of China’s “Great Firewall,” a nationwide filtering system and set of protocols enacted by Beijing that prevents politically sensitive content from entering the domestic network.
The sanctions sparked a discussion about the nature of CEIEC’s operations in Venezuela, and the lack of official information has been fertile ground for a variety of theories to emerge. This is not the first time the U.S. has imposed coercive measures on CEIEC. Between 2006 and 2008, the U.S. State Department sanctioned the company for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act that seeks to prevent the three countries from acquiring equipment or technology that can be used for the development of weapons of mass destruction or cruise or ballistic missile systems.
In 2020, during an interview in a popular online show, William Peña, a Caracas-based journalist specialized in telecommunications and ICTs, stated that CEIEC exported and manages software that collects big data on Venezuelans, which helps the government exercise social control through approaches such as access to healthcare and much-needed government subsidies. Two years earlier, another Chinese company, the ZTE Corporation, was the subject of public scrutiny for its significant role in helping the government develop this system.
According to Peña, CEIEC has also provided technical assistance to the Venezuelan government to conduct espionage of journalists and opposition leaders, throttle internet speeds, and block digital broadcasts.
One critical journalist, Ibéyise Pacheco, attributes to CEIEC an even murkier role. She wrote in an April 2021 opinion piece in Diario Las Americas that the Chinese company has taken control of the Venezuelan state-owned telecommunications company, CANTV (Compañía Anónima Nacional de Teléfonos de Venezuela) – Venezuela’s main Internet provider – and from its headquarters in Caracas sabotages and attempts to hack the military software used by countries hostile to Venezuela’s government.
For its part — without providing any information on the activities of CEIEC in Venezuela — the Venezuelan government condemned the sanctions, claiming that the U.S. attacked an international company that was “providing services” to Venezuela. Other government officials and pro-government media implied that the sanctions would affect internet access in the country, which is already among the slowest in the world. According to this narrative, the sanctions are an attempt at sabotaging a company that intends to improve internet access for Venezuelans.
Independent experts have debunked this claim, noting that CEIEC does not provide telecommunications equipment directly to the public in Venezuela and its projects are not related to internet infrastructure.
Most mentions of CEIEC and Venezuela in Chinese media are about the U.S. sanctions and the reaction of the Chinese government, which strongly criticized the measure as interference in domestic affairs and undue coercion on Venezuelan and Chinese enterprises.
According to a report published by the Venezuelan chapter of Transparency International on the China-Venezuela bilateral agreements from the past two decades, telecommunications is the second sector with the largest share of agreements at 51, only after hydrocarbons production in Venezuela. The launching of three and possibly four satellites, and projects to bring 5G technology to Venezuela stand out among the projects funded within this cooperation framework.
Considering Venezuelan state-owned telecommunications company CANTV’s decline due to corruption, mismanagement, and lack of investment, journalists and social media users have speculated whether the company was or would be acquired by Chinese investors to, in principle, improve the provision of internet access. Among the companies mentioned are Huawei and CEIEC.
With the lack of transparency surrounding China's relationship with Venezuela, it is difficult to confirm just what role China plays in telecommunications in Venezuela and how it is affecting the digital rights and freedom of expression of Venezuelans.
This story is part of a Civic Media Observatory investigation into competing narratives about China’s Belt and Road Initiative and explores how societies and communities hold differing perceptions of potential benefits and harms of Chinese-led development. To learn more about this project and its methods, click here.

author: Alessandra Soler


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Kazakhstan considers new legislation to hinder social media · Global Voices
Paolo Sorbello

New restrictions for social media companies in Kazakhstan are poised to restrict internet freedom. Photo: “DSCF4899″ by Бесплатный фотобанк is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Kazakhstan's parliament has passed a bill, “to protect children's rights,” that will restrict the activity of social media companies, the latest of a number of moves to restrict and control social media activity in the country.
In Kazakhstan, widespread internet penetration, accompanied by scarce trust in traditional media, make messaging services such as Telegram and Signal, in addition to Facebook-owned WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram the preferred way to communicate, spread news, and, in some cases, mobilize.
The proposed amendments to the law “On the Protection of the Rights of the Child” would force social media companies to remove content flagged by the local authorities as potentially harmful for children within 24 hours. Failure to comply would result in a complete shut-down of the service.
Aidos Sarym and Dinara Zakiyeva, MPs for the Nur-Otan ruling party, said that their initiative is not directed against social media companies. Their first aim, they told media, is to keep children away from potentially harmful content.
Sarym said that the other proposed amendments to Kazakhstan's legislation that were adopted in the bill “are more important and significant than the clickbait argument about ‘shutting down social networks’.”
Other proposed amendments include obliging social media companies to open a representative office in the country and officially register their company. Foreigners and foreign residents would not be allowed to act as official representatives of these companies.
In a Facebook post, Zakiyeva said that this is in line with global practices and aimed specifically at the protection of children.
First, opening a representative office will not be a problem for large companies. Second, this is global practice, applied, for example, in France, Germany, and many other countries. I would also like to note that these amendments were considered by all government agencies and were recommended by the government within the framework of the working group on the issue of protecting children from cyberbullying.
Kazakhstan's parliament approved the legislative amendments after just one reading, a sign that the government considered the measure expedient. To become effective, the bill will have to be signed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Data on youth suicides were used as an additional rationale for stricter legislation. Nurlan Nigmatullin, president of the parliament, said in an interview that 143 people under 18 committed suicide in 2020, while 105 took their own life in the first six months of 2021. Bullying and cyberbullying were highlighted as some of the principal triggers for youth suicides.
UN agency for children UNICEF, however, offers a different explanation: “at least 90 per cent of adolescents who committed suicide had depression symptoms and low resilience level.”
Government-affiliated media Kazakhstanskaya Pravda quoted interior minister Yerlan Turgumbayev as saying that “one-third of every case of attempted suicide arise from a conflict with parents or relatives.”
Human rights activist Tatyana Chernobil told Kloop that these measures could be a pretext to extend the state control over communication.
These amendments are very broad in nature and go beyond the interests of children. Virtually everything on the Internet can be placed under the protection of a child.
Days after the parliament approved the first set of amendments, international watchdog Freedom House published its yearly ‘Freedom on the Net’ report, in which Kazakhstan features as a “not free” country.
In December 2020, the government tested the National Security Certificate, a MITM technology enabling it to monitor users’ online activities, in Nur-Sultan. The test made many social media platforms inaccessible to users who did not download the certificate.
MITM, or man-in-the-middle, is a technology that allows the government to observe internet traffic from the vantage point of the middle ground between the user and the content. This kind of MITM attack has been repeated through the years, with decided pushbacks from several web giants who aimed to protect the user experience from government snooping. Kazakhstan also featured prominently in the Pegasus Project, an investigation on a ‘Trojan horse’ software that was installed in the devices of several journalists, activists, and politicians in the country.
Besides widespread monitoring, the Freedom on the Net report highlighted the censoring role that the authorities have played every time unwanted material made it through social media channels.
The authorities use various nontechnical means to enforce the removal of content, including direct pressure on outlets to take down specific material and similar requests aimed at international social media platforms.
Freedom House quoted a 2019 report, in which the Ministry of Information said that “more than 25,000 ‘illegal materials’ were deleted by website owners or administrators” in the previous 10 months. Users who create or interact with such content often risk fines or prison sentences in Kazakhstan.
Similar regulatory acts were adopted in Russia in February with the objective of keeping social media companies in check.
Such pervasive monitoring could result in drastic measures against social media companies that fail to comply with government censorship.

author: Paolo Sorbello


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Socializing with extremists and ‘hoaxers’: Tennis star Novak Djokovic’s controversial visit to Bosnia · Global Voices
Mirza Hota

Collage made from Wikipedia photos of Novak Djokovic by Carine06 (CC BY-SA 2.0), Milan Jolovic by CarRadovan (CC BY-SA 4.0), Milorad Dodik by micki (CC BY-SA 2.0) and Semir Osmanagić by Agneta Geijer (CC0).
Last week Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic (also written “Đoković”) was involved in another controversy over his ties to Serb extremists. Bosnian media outlet Faktor.ba reported that during a visit to the country, Djokovic was seen in the company of both Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and Milan Jolović, the former commander of one of the most notorious units of the Republika Srpska rebel army—the Drina Wolves.
The world’s No. 1 men’s tennis player Novak Djokovic spent the last few days hanging out w/ a former underling of convicted genocidaire Ratko Mladic, & contemporary genocide denier & secessionist Milorad Dodik. Let’s see how many sponsorships “Nole” loses as a result. pic.twitter.com/lnVhMMwV3U
— Jasmin Mujanović (@JasminMuj) September 19, 2021
As the Bosnian news article notes, the Drina Wolves took part in the final attack on Srebrenica in July 1995 and were responsible for capturing the fleeing Bosniak civilians and bringing them to the various execution sites after the fall of the city.
The footage above, taken during the attack on Srebrenica shows Jolović leading one of the final attacks on the enclave. Footage on Twitter, below, shows Jolović and his men in the company of the notorious Greek Volunteer Guard, comprising members of the far-right Golden Dawn and other Greek extremists. This group was stationed in eastern Bosnia and fought alongside the Republika Srpska army, including taking part in the attack on Srebrenica.
Milan Jolovic (aka Legenda) and Drina Wolves caught in video shoulder to shoulder with Greek GoldenDawners of the ‘Greek Volunteer Guard’ during the days of #Srebrenica massacrehttps://t.co/DxN9K7Vxke
— XYZ Contagion (@XyzContagion) September 23, 2021
During his stay in Bosnia, Djokovic also met with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, arguably one of the most fervent genocide deniers, secessionists and Serb nationalists in the region. Aside from obstructing the work of the country's institutions and promoting war criminals, Dodik's government has poured millions into shady NGOs that deny the established facts of the genocide in Srebrenica.
In July, when the outgoing EU high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Valentin Inzko introduced an amendment to the country's criminal code, making war crimes and genocide denial a punishable offense, Dodik called for the dissolution of the country. Since then he has often repeated the claim that there was no genocide in Srebrenica. Dodik has so far enjoyed impunity, and has not been questioned by the public prosecutors, even though nine NGOs and individuals have filed charges against him.
This is not the first time Djokovic (nicknamed “Nole”) has caused controversy by endorsing deeply problematic Serb nationalist figures. Last year, he was photographed with a type of brandy named “Draža,” after the notorious Second World War Chetnik leader and Nazi collaborator, Dragoljub “Draža” Mihailović.  Besides the well-documented genocidal campaign against Bosniaks in eastern Bosnia and Sandžak and war crimes against captured antifascist Partisans, the Chetniks also committed numerous atrocities against Croats, Jews, and other Serbs.
Opet se javljaju naivni sa konstatacijom, nije ti ovo trebalo Nole. Ne bih da vam rušim snješka, ali se čini da mu je trebalo, inače bi najjednostavnije odbio da pozira sa četničkom radžom. pic.twitter.com/7Skm8Tp1wa
— Dragan Bursać (@dijalekticar) December 25, 2020
Again naïve fans benevolently comment that Nole didn't need to do this. I don't want to rain on your parade, but I think that he needed that, otherwise he would have just refused to pose with chetnik brandy.
It's possible that lack of scientific education during his formative years—which he spent perfecting his tennis skills—and his susceptibility to emotional appeals by family, friends and hosts who welcome him to their homes, make Djokovic susceptible to dubious influences.
He is also on record promoting the works of quasi-scientific and ultra-nationalist pseudo-historians and conspiracy theorists Jovan Deretić and Milan Vidojević. Djokovic used his wife's Instagram account to show his admiration for Deretić and his alternative histories, including a well-known Serb nationalist trope that Serbs are an ancient, “heavenly people” (nebeski narod).
The scientific community underestimated the impact of such claims about the historical, ethnic and religious supremacy of Serbs when Deretić started publishing them during the 1980s. Even though such “theories” were satirized, for instance, through the popular theatre play Chauvinistic Farce, they gained wide acceptance among the less educated Serbian population, inspiring ideologies that justified the mass atrocities during the violent breakup of Yugoslavia 10 years later.
Amateur digging and construction of the government-supported tourist complex based on the “Bosnian pyramids” hoax might have damaged genuine archeological and paleontological sites around Visoko in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Photo by Wikipedia user TheBIHLover, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Another reason for Djokovic's visit to BiH was the sprawling “Bosnian Pyramids” compound in Visoko, so becoming its most famous promoter and most frequent celebrity visitor. Run by a Bosnian-American businessman and quasi-archeologist Semir Osmanagić, the “Bosnian Pyramids of the Sun” complex has become a major tourist attraction, and while it's clear that the site is of some importance when it comes to archeology, Osmanagić's claim of it being the seat of the largest and most ancient human-made pyramids has been debunked by experts.
Osmanagić has since changed his sales pitch, claiming that the compound is a place for natural healing and regenerating. Speaking about Djokovic's most recent visit, he said that the long network of tunnels his team has excavated have regenerative characteristics, “cleansing out viruses and bacteria.”
Osmanagić has also used his clout and popularity to engage in conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic on his YouTube channel, as documented by the fact-checkers from Raskrinkavanje.ba.
While not openly endorsing anti-vaccine sentiment, Djokovic advocated against mandatory vaccinations after he was infected with COVID-19 in June 2020 at a controversial exhibition tournament he organized in Croatia. The event allegedly included parties that defied anti-pandemic measures recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
While over the years Djokovic and his father have been vocally supporting hardline Serbian positions against Kosovo independence, he has also shown that he can transcend the pull of Serbian nationalism. He has often advocated reconciliation between the Serbs and Croats, standing up to antagonistic nationalism that caused enormous human suffering during the 1990's wars.
When in 2008 a French newscaster mistakenly labeled him as a Croat, the Serbian tennis champ said in a statement for Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list that he didn't mind. He has often repeated that the two peoples are very similar, “almost the same” and that it's understandable that “foreigners” can't tell them apart.
Many people in the Balkans idolize Djokovic because he matches his athletics accomplishments with philanthropy,  funding humanitarian causes through his considerable wealth. On his website, he describes himself as a “holist,” meaning someone applying a holistic approach to life. Increasing his critical thinking skills when it comes to science-related issues and history and expanding the range of his empathy to all Balkan peoples who have suffered from hardline extremists would be welcome. Sadly, as things stand now, his embrace of conspiracy theories, revisionist history, quack medicine and his habit of socializing with Serb extremists undermine his positive efforts.

author: Mirza Hota


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South Asia mourns Indian feminist icon Kamla Bhasin · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kamla Bhasin at TEDx MSIT. 2017. Image via Flickr by TEDx MSIT. BY NC-ND 2.0.
Kamla Bhasin, a pioneer of the women’s rights movement in South Asia, breathed her last on Saturday, September 25, 2021, in New Delhi, India. She was 75 years old and was diagnosed with cancer a few months earlier. She is known as a feminist, author, organizer, protester, secularist and social scientist. She was deemed one of the best gender trainers in the region and an icon of women's rights. During the five decades of her work in fields of women’s rights, human development, peace and democracy, she has trained and inspired thousands of feminists across many South Asian countries. Activists remembered her on social media and mourned her death.
Bangladeshi human rights activist Khushi Kabir mourned Kamla Bhasin on Twitter:
Our dearest friend, our comrade, most beautiful human being,Kamla Bhasin left this world at 2.45 am. She was diagnosed with cancer three months to this day. Having touched so many lives in such a positive way, Kamla continues to live on in us and among us. Rise in Power, Kamla pic.twitter.com/Ia5Q7wtZqj
— Khushi Kabir (@KhushiKabir) September 25, 2021
Kamla Bhasin was born on April 24, 1946, in Shaheedanwali village in present-day Pakistan and her family moved to Rajsthan during the partition of India in 1947. She completed a master's degree from Rajasthan University and went to West Germany in the late 1960s with a fellowship to study sociology of development and was later employed as a teacher in Bad Honnef. After she returned to India in 1970, she started working for Seva Mandir, a grassroots NGO in Udaipur, as a development worker and activist. After that, she joined the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and was first posted in Bangladesh in 1976 to work with Gonoshasthaya Kendra, a rural public health organization. In the next decades, her main job was organizing capacity-building programs, identifying innovative development work in Asian countries and creating networks between people in many countries of South Asia.
Development Analyst Shobha Raghuram from Bangalore remembered the many facets of Bhasin:
Feminist, Philosopher, Culture critique, Poet, Writer, Mentor, Movement builder, Passionate, Kamla Bhasin was deeply human, secular in her faiths, outspoken about injustice, critical member of civil society, inclusive-generous to a fault with her time & her love-Missed infinitely pic.twitter.com/Vcx6oC9nMw
— Shobha Raghuram (@ShobhaRaghuram) September 25, 2021
Bhasin is best known for her work with Sangat, a South Asian Feminists Network which came out of the Sangat Month Long Course (a feminist capacity building course on gender, sustainable livelihoods, human rights and peace) as part of her FAO work. Sangat has developed the capacities of hundreds of women activists from South Asian countries during the 1980s and 1990s. The Sangat Network was officially formed in 1998 at a workshop of gender trainers, held in Bangladesh and organized by an FAO-NGO Programme. Bhasin quit her job with FAO in 2002 and joined the Sangat Network as an adviser, to continue her work. The alumni of the Sangat courses across South Asia are connected with each other, and engage in cross-border cooperation and events each year. The network is currently facilitated by Jagori, a feminist organization Bhasin co-founded in 1984.
Bhasin also played a crucial role in the outreach of the One Billion Rising global campaign as the South Asia Coordinator.
Kamla Bhasin was featured in several interviews and TEDx talks across India. Here is one such talk from last year at TEDxDurbarMarg:
Kamla Bhasin wrote over 19 books and many training materials on understanding patriarchy and gender, some of which have been translated into dozens of languages. In the 1980s, while buying nursery rhyme books for her young children she was shocked by the stereotyping and inbuilt patriarchalism in most books, where the fathers went to work and mothers stayed at home to cook and take care of children, and the boys would go on adventures leaving the little girls behind.
So Bhasin wrote rhymes that reflected the modern household, which told the stories of working mothers and girls who were into sports just like the boys. She published those rhymes in a book titled “Housework is Everyone’s Work – Rhymes for Just and Happy Families,” which was translated into several languages.
One of her poems, “Because I Am a Girl, I Must Study,” which stresses the need for women's empowerment through education, is very popular among activists. Sruthi Kalyani tweets:
I can't explain how much this poem means to me. We have a lot to do. We must study. #KamlaBhasin pic.twitter.com/7qTlGjvZvK
— Sruthi Kalyani (@sruthikalyani) September 25, 2021
One of Bhasin's slogans — azadi (freedom in Urdu) — is very popular among activists and had been used in different socio-political protests. She first heard the chant for azadi in 1984, among feminists in Pakistan, who were protesting against the Zia-ul-Haq regime. Inspired, she wrote a poem and popularized the chant in India, and it went on to be featured in a Bollywood movie.
Activist Anjali Bhardwaj tweets:
मेरी बहनें माँगें आज़ादी!!!✊?
The incomparable Kamla Bhasin has left her body. But her songs, slogans and writings will continue to inspire us and energise our struggles for a more equal and just world. Rest in power, Kamla! pic.twitter.com/qGyqIuIcS5
— Anjali Bhardwaj (@AnjaliB_) September 25, 2021
Activists across South Asia remember her work and how she touched people's lives. Bhasin helped build bridges between activists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka through her training works via the Sangat Network.
Pakistani activist Nadia Agha tweeted:
Today is a sad day for the women of the global South. Social Scientist, feminist activist and a stalwart of the women's movement in India Kamla Bhasin passed away. She was an inspiration to many young feminists today, including me.
Rest in power #KamlaBhasin! pic.twitter.com/9KdJE0DKh6
— Nadia Agha (@AghaNadia) September 25, 2021
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan acknowledged Bhasin's contributions:
#KamlaBhasin was a South Asian citizen in the true sense of the word. She embodied some of HRCP’s most cherished values: the struggle to protect democratic ideals, the resistance against patriarchy and, above all, the power of communities to mobilise for their rights. pic.twitter.com/b2dX4OwxCB
— Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) September 25, 2021
Bangladeshi singer and journalist Elita Karim remembers Bhasin:
Today is a sad day.
You will live through your work, your smiles, the goodness of your heart and your eagerness to watch people rise up, survive and do so much more.
Wands Up for the one and only Kamla Bhasin! May you rest in peace :( #KamlaBhasin pic.twitter.com/YzRfEUQIBR
— Elita Karim (@elitakarim) September 25, 2021
Bhasin rejected the idea that feminism is a solely Western concept, insisting that it is rooted in the struggles and tribulations of people of different countries. She held that the struggle for gender equality was not a fight between men and women, holding that the patriarchy is equally damaging for men because it dehumanizes and brutalizes them. According to her, despite all the advances of women in South Asia, they are falling behind because of three things: capitalist patriarchy, right-wing politics and religious fundamentalism.
Pakistani author and feminist Maria Rashid tweets:
Kamla Bhasin- a powerhouse of love, solidarity & feminist action across borders.
You were loved by younger and older feminists in Pakistan, in India, in Srilanka, in Bangladesh and in Nepal. We see you,
we hear you,we sing with you- you are still with us.
Rest in power Kamla ji pic.twitter.com/CE6xssJdzs
— Maria Rashid ماریہ (@mariarshd) September 25, 2021

author: Rezwan


text:
The aftermath of #EndSARS: The Twitter ban and what it means for young Nigerians · Global Voices
Aniekan Augustine-Edet

#EndSARS protesters in Lagos, Nigeria. Image released to Wikimedia commons by Kaizenify, October 13, 2020 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
In recent times, young Nigerians have discovered, and begun to use, the power digital media has afforded them to advocate for better governance and an end to all the injustices they suffer daily.
The nationwide #EndSARS movement against police brutality which took the country by storm in October 2020, fully demonstrated just how powerful digital media can be when it is used as a tool for advocacy. #EndSARS was a youth-led movement, spurred by a video that went viral online showing a young man being assaulted by SARS officers. By October 8, the nationwide protests were in full stride, and those who could not join the protests on the streets began the biggest online protest this country has seen to date.
During the protests, Twitter was the virtual meeting place for the youth. It was where they organized the protests, shared information, raised awareness and delivered the best courses of action. It was also where they encouraged one another, fed off one another's energy and emphasized the importance of staying united and true to the movement's objectives.
Since then, it has become evident that the Nigerian government is desperate to strip the youth of what has proven to be one of their most powerful weapons. All social media platforms are powerful in their own way, but Twitter trumps them all when it comes to helping the online activism of Nigerian youths to thrive. Their ability to change and control the narrative with a single app, by just tweeting, is something the Nigerian government had never seen before.
Twitter is above the government's manipulation. They cannot control it in the same way they have always controlled traditional media, and this poses a big problem for the state. Therefore, it is no surprise that the Nigerian government finally took action against what it considers to be one of the biggest threats to Nigeria's existence — Twitter.
The Twitter ban, which took effect in the early hours of Saturday, June 5, is the government's latest attempt to silence the ever-growing voice of the Nigerian youth. It was suspended not just because the platform recently deleted one of  President Muhammadu Buhari's tweets, which violated its rules, but likely also in retaliation for what transpired in October 2020 and all the events that followed. Since Nigeria’s information minister Lai Mohammed considers the use of the platform as a “national security threat,” one can assume that the #EndSARS protests are the kind of activity he was referring to in that statement.
This indefinite suspension is unconstitutional, and a direct violation of the digital and human rights of Nigerian youth. If the app is made completely inaccessible to them it will have a severe impact not just on those who depend on the platform as a source of livelihood, but also on those who use it to advocate against injustice and human rights violations. Various netizens raised their voices in protest on Twitter, under a #KeepitOn hashtag provided by the platform:
Modupe “Moe” Odele recalled how they were able to raise legal aid for arrested protesters:
We organized legal aid for arrested peaceful protesters all over the country using Twitter. Lawyers arrived at police stations in some cases within 20 mins of arrest.
This platform is essential. #KeepitOn
— moe (@Mochievous) June 7, 2021
Rene lamented the negative impact of the ban on her work and advocacy causes:
My charity, my businesses and my success comes mostly from twitter. It’s Impacted my life In so many ways. I see how lives are changed here every day. My government hasn’t considered me or the millions of people who rely on this platform. Wicked souls #KeepitOn
— Renè The Leader ❤ (@Rene_noire) June 5, 2021
The same cry of anguish was repeated by this Twitter user:
In Nigeria, Twitter is our 911, it's our crowd funding community, e-commerce platform, our fact checker and the main CRM tool for most companies.
It is some people's source of livelihood. If the government can't give Nigerians food, they shouldn't take our plate.#KeepitOn
— Alex Oluwatobi (@alexlobaloba) June 5, 2021
As of now, netizens can still access the platform with a VPN but the government has already announced its intention to combat the continued use of Twitter even after the ban is over by ordering the prosecution of those still using the app. However, this would be unconstitutional, and not enough to keep Twitter users off the app.
Several months have passed since the ban, and though no arrests have been made and netizens can still access the platform via VPN, the situation still looks bleak as it is hard to tell how long this ban will hold.
However, there is a glimmer of hope.
Negotiations have begun between Twitter and the Nigerian government, according to information disclosed by Segun Adeyemi, the special assistant to the president for media on June 22. Twitter had announced its intention to negotiate with the Nigerian government on June 11, to see if they could come to an agreement that would lead to the possible restoration of Twitter services in Nigeria. The negotiations are being carried out by a team of ministers headed by Lai Mohammed.
In mid September, the Nigerian government announced that it will be reinstating Twitter “in a few days.” However, nothing has happened since then, and Twitter remains banned in Africa’s most populous country.
Nonetheless, the question remains, whether any reasonable agreement can be met with a government so determined to silence any and all dissenting voices.

author: Aniekan Augustine-Edet


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Turkish students protest as rent prices skyrocket · Global Voices
Doga Celik

A screenshot from Euronews report on protesting students.
Turkish universities will resume in-person classes in October. But as students are preparing to return to schools, they are facing a housing crisis — there are not enough dorms, and rent prices have skyrocketed amid the pandemic, leaving many homeless.
In an effort to solve this crisis, a group of students launched the Movement of the Unsheltered. Their demand is clear, support students by lowering housing and rent prices. In protest, students are also camping out in urban parks in cities across the country.
According to the Council of Higher Education data, there are in total over 8.2 million university students registered for the 2020–2021 academic year in Turkey, while there are only 769 dorms with a capacity for 719,567 students.
There are two types of dorms in Turkey, public and private. While public student accommodations are more affordable, the demand is high, and securing a spot is hard.
“I applied for a room in my school dormitory, but there was no place left,” explained 22-year-old chemistry student Olcay Atik at Bogazici University in an interview with Middle East Eye. Atik was paying 700 Turkish Lira (81 US dollars) for rent in a shared house last year. But this year, Atik's rent has gone up. “I am living in a humid apartment, and I have to pay 1,800 liras (208 US dollars) every month,” he said. The net monthly minimum wage in Turkey is about 2,825 Lira (382 US dollars), and the students are not the only ones hurting from the affordable housing shortage.
Over the last year, apartment rates have increased an average of 55 percent amid double-digit inflation that peaked in August, reaching 19.25 percent.
There are a number of factors that explain the high inflation, according to economist Mustafa Sonmez. These “ossifying dynamics” include a Turkish economy that is heavily dependent on imports; foreign investors who are wary of Turkey's increasing instability; a constantly depreciating national currency; and a central bank that remains under the scrutiny of the President.
Due to these factors, the surge in real estate costs in Turkey is unsurprising. According to reporting by Middle East Eye, Turkey's construction industry relies heavily on imported construction materials that have seen an unprecedented price increase. The outlet reported:
Construction expenses have quadrupled due to [the] high inflation rate and the loss of the Turkish lira, which has depreciated by 45 percent against the US dollar since the coronavirus pandemic began. Some construction companies have recently declared that they will stop working because they can not afford the cost of materials. For instance, one tonne of cement was around 160 lira ($19) last year while it is now 500 TL ($60). The Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) has also released numbers outlining that total construction expenses have increased by 42.5 percent in one year.
According to the Center for Spatial Justice, only 2 percent of Istanbul's rented property market is available for minimum income earners.
“To rein in price increases, the government is said to be looking at a new renting model similar to that applied in some parts of Europe,” reported the pro-government Daily Sabah on September 14. The model would involve companies leasing properties under contracts instead of individual owners renting property.
According to Funda Gökgel, a board member from TÜYİSEN (Union of All Dormitory Employers), the housing crisis is unique to this year. In an interview with the BirGun newspaper, Gökgel explained that because the government failed to allocate many benefits during the pandemic, many private dorms were forced to shut down, and more were not added. This gap and lack of control mechanisms have allowed hotels, hostel owners, and property owners to raise prices, leaving people with few options.
One solution is to open up guest homes owned by state agencies to students and purchase hotel services, suggests Gökgel. “There is the State Hydraulic Works, Police, Military, Teachers housing. At least some arrangements must be made this year. You cannot just open new space in one day in [the] private sector,” explained Gökgel in an interview with BirGun newspaper.
Meanwhile, on September 16, President Erdogan promised to tackle soaring rent costs. “We are well aware of problems about the cost of living caused by inflation. We will prevent excessive price increases on the shelves by placing the inflation under control as soon as possible through lowering costs and fighting opportunists,” President Erdogan said while addressing tradesmen in the central Anatolian city of Kirsehir, according to reporting by Bloomberg.
The leader of the main opposition party Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, proposed a quicker solution — promising to turn the President's palace into a dorm:
Bugüne kadar sarayını üniversite yapmayı düşünüyordum. Artık yurt yapmayı da düşüneceğim! Gençlerden çalınan her şeyi, onlara geri vereceğim. Senin yanlışlarını, israfını telafi edeceğim.
— Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (@kilicdarogluk) September 20, 2021
[To Erdogan] Until now, I thought of turning your palace into a university. Now, I will think about turning it into a dormitory too! I will give everything stolen from youth back to them. I will compensate for your wrongdoings, and your extravagance.
In the meantime, the Movement of Unsheltered is encouraging supporters to sign a petition “aiming to spur legislative action that would bring down exorbitant rent prices.”
On September 19, while staging a protest at one of the Istanbul parks, the group shared their goals:
We are university students who are going back to their campuses after two years. We are left homeless because of state dormitories’ insufficient capacity and high prices at private dorms.
If all the opportunities we have of living a decent, humane life are taken away from us, we will create those opportunities ourselves. That’s why we are getting together. To make our voices heard, we are gathering on benches, in your neighborhoods’ parks.
So far, the group has gathered public support and sympathy:
Kadıköy halkı, bugün sokakta yatan üniversite öğrencilerine çorba getirdi.
Yoğurtçu Parkı’nda saatlerin ilerlemesine rağmen “Barınamıyoruz” diyen üniversitelilere desteğe gelen vatandaşlar da var. pic.twitter.com/0wGaPiDfhS
— Hazar Dost (@hazardost) September 20, 2021
The people of Kadıköy [neighborhood in Istanbul] brought soup to the protesting students today. Even though it's late, citizens continue to support those who claim they cannot find shelter.
So far, the sit-ins have been peaceful, except in Ankara, where nine students were detained, according to the Gazete Duvar.

author: Doga Celik


text:
Why did Twitter support Nigeria’s #EndSARS and not Ghana’s #FixTheCountry? · Global Voices
Kofi Yeboah

Accra Central, Accra, Ghana. Image by Muntaka Chasant and released to Wikimedia commons, January 14, 2019, (CC BY-SA 4.0).
In Nigeria, when social media companies failed to comply with governments’ requests, the government resorted to authoritarian models of control to restrict civic and democratic engagement in public policies.
When authoritarian models of control are introduced, some social media companies succumb or resist. Twitter — when faced with governmental repression of online expression in Ghana and Nigeria — chose to capitulate in one case and to resist in another. Can Twitter continue to defend digital rights and freedom of speech in Africa?
Jack Dorsey’s decision to pick a side in Nigeria's politics has made the social media company unpopular to President Buhari’s government. During the #EndSARS protest in Nigeria, Dorsey tweeted in support of the protest and called for people to donate to stop ongoing police brutality against Nigerians. The #EndSARS hashtag was amplified by Twitter, reaching millions of users.
In Ghana, a similar non-partisan protest is using the hashtag #FixTheCountry. The movement highlights the challenges faced by young Ghanaians, including high unemployment, increasing corruption, and military brutality against social activists and protesters.
On May 3, 2021, a young social media influencer, Joshua Boye-Doe, tweeted his frustration, using the hashtag #FixTheCountry, about young graduates who do not get jobs after several years of completing school.
After NSS plenty people I know dey house cos dem no get jobs. Why should it be so. Are you educating people to go and sit home?? #FixTheCountry
— KALYJAY (@gyaigyimii) May 3, 2021
After [completing the] NSS [National Service Scheme], many people that I know, are still at home because they could not get jobs…
His tweet resonated with young Ghanaians on Twitter and resulted in a coordinated effort to organize a protest in the capital Accra. This effort was stopped by the Ghana Police and a court order from the Supreme Court of Ghana.
Young Ghanaians tweeted at Dorsey, requesting his support for the #FixTheCountry protest as with #EndSARS, but neither Twitter nor Dorsey responded. Instead, the hashtag initiator’s Twitter account was suspended and the government-sponsored hashtag #FixYourself was  trending on the platform.
Police curtailing the 2014 #OccupyFlagStaffHouse #OccupyGhana protests. Image by Dieu-Donné Gameli, released to Wikimedia Commons, July 1, 2014 (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Nigeria’s population is over 200 million, while Ghana’s population is under 40 million. Ghana contributes a tiny number of users to Twitter’s global expansion. Nigeria, in contrast, has the largest number of Twitter users in Africa, with some three million active monthly. If Twitter is struggling to build a good relationship with the Nigerian government to get access to Africa’s largest market, the alternative is to let the citizens [users] fall in love with Twitter.
Twitter’s decision, as disclosed in the company’s blogpost, to set up an office in Ghana was based on the country being a “champion for democracy, a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet.” Nigeria, which has a bigger market than Ghana, has sparred with Twitter, unlike Facebook, has not been in the good books of Buhari’s government, which banned the platform in June.
Ghana, however, does not have a spotless human rights record, so the blogpost does not fully explain why Twitter chose the country over Nigeria for its office. In Ghana, journalists and social activists have been physically abused and killed for either protesting or speaking against a government that violates their freedom of speech. Ghana’s president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the legislature have publicly refused to respect the human rights of minority groups, including protecting the rights of the LGBTQ community in Ghana. The Parliament of Ghana, led by the Speaker of Parliament, is currently working on a law to criminalise the activities of the LGBTQ community.
Although the reason is unclear, Twitter’s actions suggest it does not want to interfere in the politics of Ghana as it did in Nigeria, even if it means not defending the digital rights of citizens. In addition, staying in Ghana protects Twitter from the temperamental Nigerian government’s policy arbitrariness, coupled with a difficult business landscape. In addition, setting up the African hub in Ghana still gives Twitter access to the Nigerian market and its tech expertise.
Civil society organisations are in a legal battle with the Nigerian government to reverse the decision to suspend Twitter, which serves as a civic space for citizens to engage in dialogue. The recent lawsuit at the regional bloc Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) court by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) determined that Nigeria cannot arrest or prosecute people or companies that circumvent the ban. This case is an indication that the civil society organizations can be a unified and powerful entity to hold both Twitter and the government accountable in respecting the digital rights of citizens and ensuring an open internet in West Africa.
Twitter said it has reached out to the Nigerian government for “an open discussion to address mutual concerns and see the service restored.” The government has expressed her willingness to discuss with Twitter.
The business model of social media companies poses an ethical conflict in allowing Twitter to be the sole negotiator with the government to discuss issues of restoring access to the platform and freedom of speech in Nigeria. When social media companies anticipate losing a large portion of their user base due to the government's restrictive policies, they resort to complying with governments at the detriment of the digital rights of their users.
After a recent meeting between Twitter and the government of Nigeria to settle their differences, the government’s spokesperson said they have agreed with Twitter on some areas, including Twitter agreeing to set up an office in Nigeria in 2022. This could be a tactic by a government to repress the digital rights of citizens because having a local office makes Twitter employees subject to local law. Such a request was made to Twitter in India in order for the government to have access to local staff they can hold accountable.
In India, a country that is also crucial for Twitter’s global expansion strategy, the social media company was unable to resist the Indian government's account removal demands. Rather Twitter complied with several government requests to permanently suspend about 500 accounts and removed tweets critical of the government.
But Twitter is not the only culprit.
Facebook has historical complicity in silencing human rights activists. Facebook censored and flagged #EndSARS content by Nigerians as “fake news.” This is not surprising, as Facebook cemented its relationship with the Nigerian government to dominate the Nigerian market, after Mark Zuckerberg’s second visit to Nigeria to meet with President Buhari.
When the Government of Nigeria introduces stricter measures — a new set of social media rules will require social media companies to register in Nigeria —Twitter’s defense of open internet and freedom of speech in Nigeria will be weakened.
If civil society groups in Nigeria want to ensure both the government and Twitter’s negotiations do not violate the human rights of Nigerian citizens, they will need to collaborate, and build political support for their positions. They will also need to propose better resolutions, using legal means to protect the rights of citizens.

author: Kofi Yeboah